---
title: "Tammy: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/tammy/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/tammy"
critics_score: 34
critics_reviews: 25
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Tammy (2014): what the critics said

Critics' score 34 from 25 reviews: 0 positive, 4 mixed, 21 negative.

Most critics find Tammy an uneven, insufficiently funny road comedy whose cast supplies more pleasure than its script. Praise centres on Susan Sarandon’s comic presence, with several reviews also finding warmth, energy or vulnerability in Melissa McCarthy’s performance. Even among the negative notices, there is some appreciation for the film’s sincerity and its willingness to give its women room to misbehave.

The recurring complaints concern loose plotting, sluggish direction and shifts between slapstick and sentiment that leave both the jokes and the drama struggling. The spread runs from qualified affection to outright exasperation, with McCarthy dividing critics between those who find her winning and those who see a familiar routine poorly served by an underwritten character. There is disagreement even over the central pairing: Paste enjoys the barbed exchanges between McCarthy and Sarandon, while Digital Spy identifies their lack of chemistry as a central weakness.

## RogerEbert.com

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 

The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict cannot be established. No specific praise or complaint can be reliably identified from the available text.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/tammy-2014)

## The New York Times — A. O. Scott

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 1 July 2014. 

The review page could not be accessed, so its verdict cannot be verified. No praise or complaint can be reliably identified from the available page.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/02/movies/in-tammy-melissa-mccarthy-hits-the-road.html)

## Time Out — Keith Uhlich

Rating 3/5. 1 July 2014. 

The available page metadata identifies this as a review and assigns it three out of five stars. No review text is accessible, so the critic’s specific praise or complaint cannot be determined.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/tammy)

## Radio Times — Stella Papamichael

Rating 2/5. 

Papamichael finds the road comedy short on drive, rhythm and laughs. McCarthy is likeably brash, but the gags lack the expected impact.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-0dt0ry/tammy/)

## Total Film — Kate Stables

Rating 2/5. 4 July 2014. 

Stables finds the film warm but uneven, with its comedy and poignancy poorly balanced by flabby direction and an episodic script. She praises Susan Sarandon as a scene-stealer and says McCarthy’s sweetness keeps the comedy relatable.

[Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/tammy-review/)

## Vulture — David Edelstein

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 2 July 2014. 

Edelstein finds the film awkwardly caught between slapstick and sincere drama, rather than simply bad. He praises Susan Sarandon’s comic presence, which he says steals scenes, while criticizing the film’s tonal shifts.

[Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2014/07/tammy-movie-review-melissa-mccarthy.html)

## Slant Magazine — David Lee Dallas

Rating 1.5/4. 1 July 2014. 

The critic finds the film too tepid as comedy and too contrived as drama, despite its watchability. Kathy Bates’s performance and the film’s casually wayward road-trip sequences are singled out as highlights.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/tammy/)

## The Guardian — Mark Kermode

Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 6 July 2014. 

Kermode finds the film well-intentioned but says its laughs are too infrequent for it to find its stride. He praises McCarthy as a winning screen presence and applauds the film’s empowered women.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jul/06/tammy-review-melissa-mccarthy-susan-sarandon-comedy-road-movie)

## Variety — Justin Chang

Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 1 July 2014. 

Chang finds the comedy an amiable but ultimately mediocre misfire. He praises McCarthy’s versatility, while faulting the film’s unconvincing effort to turn formulaic comedy into affecting character drama.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-tammy-1201255994/)

## Los Angeles Times — Betsy Sharkey

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 1 July 2014. 

Sharkey finds the comedy unsatisfying, saying its humor and emotional moments never come together in a satisfying way. She singles out Susan Sarandon as an exception to an otherwise underused supporting cast, and argues McCarthy needs to vary her comic roles.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-tammy-review-20140702-column.html)

## The Independent — Geoffrey Macnab

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 3 July 2014. 

Macnab finds the road comedy erratic, veering between gross-out humor and sentimentality without a clear direction. He particularly criticizes the film’s uncertain attitude toward Tammy, who is both mocked and framed as a heroine.

[Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/tammy-film-review-melissa-mccarthy-takes-all-the-pratfalls-in-this-erratic-comedy-9581210.html)

## The New Yorker — Richard Brody

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 1 July 2014. 

Brody finds the film an original, socially observant premise undermined by weak comedy and unfocused direction. He praises the cast’s distinctive performances, while faulting the film for never integrating its comic and tragic elements.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/melissa-mccarthys-failed-tammy)

## Empire — Anna Smith

Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 2 July 2014. 

The review finds the comedy mostly mirthless, despite a few laughs. It criticizes the film’s lack of tension and sympathetic characters.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/tammy-review/)

## IndieWire — Anne Thompson

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 1 July 2014. 

Thompson finds the comedy limp and unfocused, arguing that it wastes McCarthy’s chance to show her range. She faults Tammy’s poorly constructed character and says Susan Sarandon and Kathy Bates outshine McCarthy.

[Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-and-roundup-why-melissa-mccarthy-vehicle-tammy-never-takes-off-191690/)

## Screen Daily — Brent Simon

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 2 July 2014. 

The critic finds the comedy tired, lifeless and under-motivated. The headline singles out its lack of vitality as the central complaint.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/tammy/5073714.article)

## Evening Standard — David Sexton

Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 23 July 2014. 

Sexton considers the comedy a disastrous, inept failure that wastes its cast. He finds only a few physical-comedy moments mildly amusing, while criticizing the film’s tone and portrayal of Tammy.

[Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/tammy-film-review-melissa-mccarthys-comedy-wastes-a-stellar-cast-9583285.html)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy

Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 1 July 2014. 

The critic finds the comedy unfunny, increasingly unconvincing, and dull, calling it a serious misstep for Melissa McCarthy. He singles out the squandered cast and McCarthy’s familiar aggressive shtick, which he says no longer works here.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/tammy-film-review-716027/)

## Consequence — Blake Goble

Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 7 July 2014. 

Goble finds Tammy a clumsy, middle-of-the-road dramedy, weakened by an unrefined script and undemanding direction. He appreciates the cast’s relaxed chemistry and the occasional moments of sincerity.

[Read the review](https://consequence.net/2014/07/film-review-tammy/)

## Paste — Christine N. Ziemba

Rating 4.4/10. 2 July 2014. 

The critic finds the film aimless and largely unsuccessful, with Tammy herself difficult to root for. She praises the barbed scenes between Sarandon and McCarthy as a few bright spots in otherwise scattered material.

[Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/tammy)

## Den of Geek — David Crow

Rating 2 out of 5. 2 July 2014. 

Crow finds the film rarely funny and ultimately not entertaining. He praises Susan Sarandon’s lively performance but says her character fails to anchor the comedy.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/tammy-review/)

## Collider — Harrison Pierce

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 24 December 2014. 

Pierce finds the road comedy hit-or-miss and says its weak screenplay fails to give McCarthy’s talents a worthy vehicle. He praises McCarthy’s energetic comic commitment, while criticizing the casting and the overqualified supporting cast’s underused performances.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/tammy-blu-ray-review/)

## Digital Spy — Stella Papamichael

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 4 July 2014. 

The critic finds the comedy poorly made and often unfocused, despite Melissa McCarthy’s on-screen energy. They single out the lack of chemistry between McCarthy and Susan Sarandon as a key weakness.

[Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a581929/tammy-review-melissa-mccarthy-loses-her-way-in-comedy-road-trip/)

## HeyUGuys — Stefan Pape

Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 4 July 2014. 

Pape finds the film frustrating and insufficiently funny, despite its emotional undertones. He praises McCarthy’s vulnerable dramatic moments but feels her talent and the supporting cast are wasted.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/tammy-review/)

## The Wrap

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 1 July 2014. 

The critic finds the film largely unsuccessful, faulting its weak comedy and underdeveloped protagonist. They praise the chemistry between Melissa McCarthy and Mark Duplass, but say the screenplay fails to make their romance believable.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/tammy-review-melissa-mccarthy-susan-sarandon/)

## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray

Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 3 July 2014. 

The review is sharply negative, arguing that the film’s comedy is repetitive and embarrassing. It singles out the ending as the best thing about the film, chiefly because it finally arrives.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/tammy-2014-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/tammy.md