Wonderfully offbeat film!
Perfectly adorable
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
View MoreSandra Dee assumes the role of Tammy Tyree, uneducated backwoods girl living on a shanty boat on the Mississippi River, formerly played by Debbie Reynolds in 1957's "Tammy and the Bachelor". There's not much connection between the two films aside from our heroine: Tammy's beau has disappeared to agricultural college and her grandpa has been jailed for making corn liquor without a license. Producer Ross Hunter, he of the well-upholstered "women's films" popular in the 1950s, would seem an odd choice for a romantic comedy about a Bible-quotin' young gal without any schoolin'--or an impressive wardrobe--hankerin' to go to college, but at least the production is bright and cheery, like Tammy herself. Dee does well in the lead, while Hunter has her comfortably paired with John Gavin, her crush from "Imitation of Life" (he was too old for her there--and he's probably too old for her here--but they have an easy rapport). Tammy's plain-spoken, unpretentious nature garners her a friend in Beulah Bondi's wealthy dowager, Mrs. Call, which offers some pleasant asides and a satisfying wrap-up in court. Glossy, perky, but also exceptionally thin and sugary...likely to cause bad reactions in viewers not in the mood for a heavy helping of syrup. Dee played Tammy again in 1963's somewhat improved "Tammy and the Doctor." ** from ****
View MoreIt's been four years since the first Tammy film and Sandra Dee has taken over the title role from Debbie Reynolds. Dee is charming and disarming with her country ways and wisdom. Even among the college educated at the college she's decided to take some courses at.Actually Tammy has the first lesson down very well, the realization that there is a lot out there that one does not know. She heads off to college and first meets speech instructor John Gavin. She gets a job as a companion to the elderly Beulah Bondi whose life has been taken over by her niece Julia Meade who is eyeing that big inheritance.The plot here is taken quite a bit from Pollyanna, both the silent version with Mary Pickford and the famous Disney one with Hayley Mills. Dee just spreads a lot of sunshine into everyone's life and makes believers of all except possibly Meade who loses a bundle.Best scenes in the film are with Dee and Bondi whom she invites to go live on her river flatboat for a bit. Bondi did that in her youth and actually enjoys the time away from that mansion that feels like a prison to her. She even gets a little senior citizen romance going with Cecil Kellaway.If you were a fan of the first Tammy film you will not be disappointed with what Sandra Dee did with this film.
View MoreThe Tammy movies are never going to be confused for high art. They were meant to be light hearted fun that you could take your kids to.The sequel continues the same corny story but the big difference is Sandra Dee replacing Debbie Reynolds. I love Sandra Dee and think she made the perfect Gidget bur she is not Debbie Reynolds. She deserves credit for taking the chance on following Reynolds because she knew there would be comparisons. Of course Sandra was head and shoulders better than Debbie Watson.The story has Tammy going to college and just as in the original she is responsible for others rediscovering their love or hooking up with their true mate. Beulah Bondi has the role Mildred Natwick had in the original of the wise old woman. Bondi, like Natwick, was one of the great supporting actresses in Hollywood and lends a touch of class to the movie.As for the rest of the cast, John Gavin is no Leslie Nielsen. Nielsen really was a good straight actor and Gavin is as stiff as a tree in comparison. The rest of the supporting cast is similarly a notch below the original.If you like Sandra Dee, check out Gidget. It's just as much fun but with a better story and cast.
View MoreI can't believe I'm the first person commenting on this priceless comedy!True, it has great sentimental value for me, because it brings me back to Sao Paulo 1962 where I first saw it. The title in Portuguese was "Con Amor no Coracao" (With Love In The Heart). I loved it every time I saw it.SANDRA DEE IS A GENIUS. Her brand of comedy is totally unique, and her artistic HUMILITY most touching. She OWNS every role she plays. How can Hollywood overlook such a LADY!!!!!!!!!! She is one of the true stars we have left. But then, what film would be great enough to fit her?There are of course, many merits in this film other than Ms. Dee. The writing is utterly brilliant, the cinematography lovely. A country bumpkin meets city folks and makes helpless fools of them with her disarming innocence. Once exposed, the phonies mend their ways and acquire some of her virtues.One wonders if Tammy isn't really black.
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