Review: Tammy

by Trevor Kirkendall

★★

There's no denying that Melissa McCarthy's star power is enormously high at the point in her career. With her breakout role in "Bridesmaids" followed by commercially successful films such as "Identify Thief" and "The Heat," there's no question that audiences love seeing her even though she's never really developed her characters. "Tammy" marks her big screen writing debut, a screenplay she wrote with her husband - and the film's director - Ben Falcone. The problem here is that "Tammy" shows Melissa McCarthy doing what Melissa McCarthy has done before. She has yet to step out of her comfort zone and try a different character.

McCarthy stars as the title character Tammy. I’m not sure if her character is supposed to be stupid or if that’s just the way McCarthy is playing it. Either way, she doesn’t come across as very bright. She loses her job at a fast food restaurant and then learns that her husband Greg (Nat Faxon) has been carrying on with the neighbor Missi (Toni Collette). Tammy leaves and goes to her mom Deb’s (Allison Janney) home. There, she announces she getting out of town and needs to borrow her grandma’s car to do so.

Tammy’s grandmother is Pearl (Susan Sarandon), a profane woman with a very big drinking problem. Tammy isn’t thrilled about this, but Pearl has money so she goes along with it. They decide to go to Niagara Falls.  They must not know their geography too well because they end up in Louisville after starting out somewhere in Illinois. They end up at a bar where they meet Earl (Gary Cole), an old alcoholic farmer who falls all over Pearl, and his son Bobby (Mark Duplass) who Tammy likes. A lot of friction between Pearl and Tammy continues to build, mostly thanks to how she treats Tammy after she’s been drinking. There’s a lot of bad history between these two that is boiling beneath the surface and needs to be resolved.

The problem with “Tammy” is it never really tells you much about that history. A few think come to light, but are quickly cast aside in favor of more McCarthy slapstick humor. I never really understood whom I was supposed to be rooting for. Pearl isn’t all that unlikable until the plot demands her to be. She and Tammy seem to get along fine; they’re just an odd couple. Nothing ever really feels at risk. A definitive conflict is never fully developed.

The only reason for this film’s existence is for McCarthy to get onto movie theater screens and do her thing for the second summer in a row. I’m not saying she’s not funny, nor am I saying the movie isn’t either. The film itself lacks a compelling and fully developed story. McCarthy fans will find connection because she is a funny actress. But the best moments in this film don’t come from her at all. The scenes featuring Kathy Bates (with Sandra Oh playing her girlfriend) are the best in the movie.

Other good moments come between McCarthy and Mark Duplass. Duplass’s Bobby is probably the most developed of all the characters in this film. That doesn’t really surprise me since Duplass is already an accomplished actor/writer/director in his own right. I liked the interaction between him and McCarthy. This provides some rooting interest for Tammy. These are also the scenes where McCarthy leaves her shtick behind and shows a small amount of the acting range she’s capable of achieving.

But honestly, who is going to see “Tammy” looking for McCarthy’s dramatic acting ability? It’s one funny McCarthy moment after the next. The shaky plotline I cannot forgive though. “Bridesmaids” and “The Heat” worked well for her because the story was solid and the film was well written. I think they might also work because McCarthy was the supporting role in those films. We’ll see if audience flock to see “Tammy” like they did with her other films. It might be people don’t think of McCarthy as a leading role. Time will tell on that hypothesis.

For now, “Tammy” is a film for fans of Melissa McCarthy’s unique brand of comedy. Those looking for the next big R-rated summer comedy should probably look elsewhere. Nothing here but the same-old-same-old from a funny actress.

Review: Bad Words

by Trevor Kirkendall

★★★

“Bad Words” marks the feature film directorial debut of Jason Bateman. He’s no stranger to being behind the camera. He directed an episode of his cult television series “Arrested Development” for Fox. And before that, he directed three episodes of “The Hogan Family” when he was 18, making him the youngest ever director for the Director’s Guild of American at the time. So what took him so long to break into directing a feature film? I suppose he was waiting for the right script to come along. “Bad Words” was a very worthy script and he’s turned it into a very worthy first feature.

Guy Trilby (Jason Bateman) sure seems like a loser, but he might just be a genius. He’s also a ragging asshole, to put it nicely. Through a small loophole in the rulebook, Guy has worked his way into a children’s spelling bee. He dropped out of school in the eighth grade, and the contestants need to have not graduated from the eighth grade in order to participate. So Guy is in, much to the chagrin of all the parents and judges. And it’s not a piece of cake either. They’re not easy words; anyone who has seen the spelling bees on TV know they don’t take it easy on these kids. But since Guy is some sort of genius, he gets through with relative ease. All he needs is a media sponsor, which he has in Jenny Widgeon (Kathryn Hahn).

After winning a regional championship, Guy is off to the national Golden Quill Spelling Bee in Los Angeles. On his way out there, he meets one of the contestants, Chaitanya Chopra (Rohan Chand), a 10 year old bursting with energy and face that never frowns. Guy wants nothing to do with him, yet they end up on the same hotel floor.

Dr. Bernice Deagan (Allison Janney) oversees the Golden Quill and she hates the fact that Guy is here. She vows to get him out as soon as possible. The contest itself is the brainchild of Dr. Bowman (Philip Baker Hall) who is having it broadcast live on TV for the first time. Guy knows this, and its all part of diabolical little scheme. He may be a jerk and come across as a loser, but he’s very smart. He knows exactly what he’s doing. And he’s here for a purpose, one that he doesn’t share, to Jenny’s dismay.

Bateman has shown time and time again that he’s a great comedic actor (which he still doesn’t get a whole lot of credit for), but with “Bad Words” he proves himself as a very capable comedic director. The premise of this film, on the surface, seems very remedial and empty, but Bateman is able to breathe a lot of light into it, giving the film quite a bit of heart and depth.

The script comes from first timer Andrew Dodge, who has written what will surely be one of the year’s funniest movies. The whole story is simplistic and could have easily been told as a short film, but it works well in its extended length. Behind all the crude humor is a big-hearted narrative that resonates well. And while it may come across predictable, the final act is a riot with some unexpected happenings.

Bateman is solid as usual. He’s always seemed very comfortable in leading roles and I wish he’d accept more of those parts. Kathryn Hahn is strong in her role too. She’s been around for awhile in smaller roles and on TV shows, but I think she’s about to really break out into much bigger and more visible roles. I also liked seeing Philip Baker Hall in his role, as small as it was. Despite that, it’s probably one of his stronger performances in awhile.

But the real star of the film is young Rohan Chand. He steals every scene that he’s in. At first he might seem like he’s just going to be annoying nuisance of a secondary character, but he becomes a much larger part of the plot as we move along. He lonely, but that doesn’t seem to bother him. He’s a happy-go-lucky character and Chand plays it to near perfection. This movie is all his.

As the film’s director, Bateman has taken the relatively basic premise of “Bad Words” and made it into something much more meaningful. It doesn’t have an enormous impact emotionally, something that I thought it might achieve about halfway through, but it’s still genuinely heartfelt. Just because it’s a simple idea blended together with pervasive language and foul humor doesn’t mean it can’t be genuine. Bateman as a director has proven himself capable of making movies like that.

Review: The Way Way Back

by Trevor Kirkendall
★★★½

There’s a comedian I like who tells a joke about sitting in the back seat of a station wagon on a family vacation. Not the back seat but the way, way back seat; the one that faces in reverse. He says that the kids sitting in the back seat of the car tend to have a completely different vacation than everyone else in the car. The comedian wonders, “I wonder what all these signs say?” I think that this particular seat in the old station wagons is what writers/directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash had in mind when they wrote their brilliant new film “The Way Way Back”. Their main character starts the film sitting in this seat and throughout the rest of the film has completely different vacation than anyone else. This one shot should be enough foreshadowing of the continued brilliance that will follow.

“The Way Way Back” follows 14 year old Duncan (Liam James) during his summer vacation with his mom Pam (Toni Collette), her boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell) and his daughter Stephanie (Zoe Levin). They’re spending a couple of months at Trent’s beach house. Next door lives the persistently intoxicated Betty (Allison Janney), who has no social filter, and her kids Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb) and Peter (River Alexander). We also meet Trent’s friends Kip (Rob Corddry) and Joan (Amanda Peet).

Duncan can’t stand Trent or any of his friends. He doesn’t understand what his mom sees in him. He begins to stay as far away from these people as possible, and begins taking long bike rides around the area. He discovers a nearby water park called Water Wizz and meets the park’s eccentric manager Owen (Sam Rockwell). Owen likes Duncan and all his awkward quirks so he hires him to be a part time help around the park. At Water Wizz, he becomes well liked by the parks frequent visitors and the park’s employees including Caitlin (Maya Rudolph) along with Roddy and Lewis (film’s directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash).

Duncan’s attitude toward life in general begins to change as a result of his time with Owen working at Water Wizz. He even begins to attract the attention of the pretty girl living next door, Susanna. The two begin to form a friendship, something that might not have otherwise happened without his new life at the waterpark. He’s not even really afraid to share what’s on his mind with his mom and with Trent.

“The Way Way Back” is a brilliant display of what a coming-of-age movie should look like. The dynamic of every character in this film is written with such depth that you quickly lose yourself in the story. There are many moments where you could easily see yourself in Duncan’s shoes, even without the dysfunctional broken home element.

Oscar winning writers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash make their directorial debut with this film, and they’ve hit a home run. They’ve proven their screenwriting expertise on Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants” (which won them their Oscar) was no fluke. The amount of character development in their script vastly exceeds anything else we’ve seen this year. If this much characterization can be packed into such a short script, why can’t we get even a small portion of that in other films?

While the writing of “The Way Way Back” is fantastic, what really drives this film are the various performances from the whole cast. Liam James is on camera for the entire film, so its up to him to carry it. That’s no easy task for anyone, especially for someone his age. But James really takes command of his role. He should remind you of someone you knew when you were that age; if not a friend of yours, than maybe that quiet kid in the back of the class, or maybe even yourself.

The supporting roles, especially those of Toni Collette and Steve Carell, help to bring James’ character up to very a empathetic level. Collette is excellent as always. While she wants to look out for the best interests of her son, she’s also trying to find her happiness in this new life of hers. She’s torn and Collette really showcases it well. On the other hand, we’re used to seeing Carell in goofy and lightheaded rolls, but here he is downright mean. Every line and every glance toward James is that of sarcasm and disgust. He’s lovable in many films, but not here. Here, you have to hate him.

Sam Rockwell once again proves that he’s one of the most underrated and underappreciated actors working today. He turns in yet another unforgettable performance as Duncan’s best friend. He plays the role much like he’s done in the past; its a classic Rockwell performance. But he also brings out a little more depth that he hasn’t show in too many of his films (if you haven’t seen him in “Moon”, that’s one to find). In a film full of many bright spots, he shines the brightest.

“The Way Way Back” is a truly great film. Its a film with so much heart that’s delicately balanced between its scenes of emotion and its scenes of humor. There are so many memorable parts from the time it begins until the time it ends. The ending of the film may feel a little abrupt, but that’s the only thing I can find to complain about. In a summer full of movies that have underperformed expectations, “The Way Way Back” comes out of nowhere and surprises.