Tammy's Always Dying (2020) - Movie Review

Depictions of the lower class in media, particularly television and cinema, need the right framing to truly work. Too far in one direction, it devolves into tragedy porn meant to appeal to those in moderately-better living conditions to reassure them that, don’t worry, you’re doing better than some people out there. Too far in the other direction, it generates apathy towards the subject, turning what should be a wake-up call for a prospective audience into a reason to continue not caring about such things. This film, the sophomore feature from budding Canadian director and original Pink Power Ranger Amy Jo Johnson deftly avoids the latter, due in part to how readily she skewers the former.

This entire production hinges on the core relationship between the titular Tammy (played by recent college bribery culprit Felicity Huffman) and her daughter Catherine (Anastasia Phillips), which can be most diplomatically described as FUBAR. The levels of self-loathing, self-destructive behaviour and just plain animosity between them makes for exceptionally grim viewing, making for a nice change of pace for this sort of ‘child helps their parent grow up’ yarn. My little dig at Huffman’s legal troubles is pretty much the only bit of snark I have for her, as her performance here is so dour and frighteningly down-to-earth that it’s pretty much impossible not to feel bad for her in some fashion.

Doubly so with Catherine, as the heights of her true hatred towards her mother makes for some… difficult-to-watch moments, but in a good way. With how much this film revolves around depression and suicidal ideation (right up to an ending that almost tips this into Lights Out territory, just without the feeling of a complete theft of trust on the audience’s part [yeah, still not over that one just yet]), the way it handles the material is confronting but as it should be, giving the film a suitably gritty aesthetic that helps carry its tale of lower-class woes. Trailer Park Boys, this ain’t.

Where it earns bonus points is in how it essentially treats its own existence as a production, that being a fly-on-the-wall look at a parental relationship at its breaking point, and contrasts that with the typical treatment of such stories in the real world. Specifically, through the lens of daytime television. As Catherine gets involved with a show that, in their own words, “makes tragedy worth something”, we see how this kind of destitute situation is commoditised and exploited, right down to how much the people attached to the in-universe Gordon Baker Show try to wring even more drama out of what is already a pretty dire scenario. Anything to keep the audience tuned in, right?

It’s highly uncomfortable viewing, but it rewards the audience for every second they stick it out with a lot of genuine insight and even more emotional impact. Huffman and Phillips make for one of the most fascinating mother-daughter pairings I’ve yet covered on here (managing to inch out even the likes of Deneuve/Binoche in The Truth), and considering I pretty much only checked this out because of the director’s name attached to it, I am genuinely impressed with how well everything fit together to make for an abrasive but fulfilling experience of a film.