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Canada · 2019
1h 25m
Director Amy Jo Johnson
Starring Felicity Huffman, Anastasia Phillips, Clark Johnson, Lauren Holly
Genre Drama
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When her mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer and the possibility of life without her becomes very real, so does Cathy’s repressed desire to leave her small town. Does she stay and trust the woman who has always let her down, or does she find the courage to live her own life?
Tammy’s Always Dying is a movie that does everything right but still somehow fails to be enjoyable. It is in every respect a good movie, but I can’t say that it was at all a pleasure to watch. It is well written, acted, and directed, and it skirts the line of overwrought melodrama and poverty porn.
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Barry Hertz
A uniquely Canadian exercise in down-and-out misery, Amy Jo Johnson’s second directorial effort, Tammy’s Always Dying, delivers a wealth of interesting talent to the table, and leaves them to fight for scraps.
The Hollywood Reporter by Beandrea July
The main reason the film is worth a watch is the strong performances of its two leads.
Competently crafted, Tammy is too glib to be poignant and too defeatist to be amusing.
The Film Stage by Jared Mobarak
The result is bittersweet and poignant in its complex truths, but also saccharinely convenient in its execution.
The film has more success in smaller beats, when it’s not hamstrung by over-the-top performances or obvious drama. It has just enough going for it to hint at the deeper story beneath the surface: a film only about half measures, not the kind that dishes them out on its own.
A bittersweet dramedy about an exceedingly fraught mother/daughter relationship and the ties that nevertheless bind, Tammy’s Always Dying is buoyed by a superb cast and a palpably stark setting (mostly Hamilton, Ontario with forays into Toronto) that combine to elevate the film above its more predictable aspects.
Los Angeles Times by Michael Ordona
Tammy’s Always Dying is a richly observed comedy-drama. Johnson’s direction is intelligent and restrained.
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