Since her breakthrough role as the crass but loveable Megan in this summer’s “Bridesmaids,” Melissa McCarthy has already hosted “Saturday Night Live” and won a Primetime Emmy for her role on the popular (but insufferable) CBS comedy “Mike & Molly.” Having already completed a role in “Bridesmaids” producer Judd Apatow’s anticipated “Knocked Up” spinoff “This is Forty,” it should come as no surprise that McCarthy is quickly earning the right to get a project going on her name alone.
Variety reports that McCarthy’s script for a road trip comedy entitled “Tammy” is in talks to be acquired by New Line, who seem to be the home for R-Rated comedy with “Hall Pass” and “Horrible Bosses” already released this year and “A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas” on the way. Following a seemingly hopeless person named Tammy, the story centers on a woman whose directionless life leads her to get out of her hometown, only the catch is her grandmother would like to join her for this journey of self-discovery. We first told you about the project back in September when McCarthy excitedly told The Hollywood Reporter that, “It’s these two women who are not where they thought they’d be, and they kind of band together.”
Since Jon Hamm recently said Kristen Wiig probably won’t return for a “Bridesmaids 2,” there’s a good chance McCarthy could have this little road trip comedy up-and-running in no time if she’s not tied down to do a sequel. McCarthy displayed a lot of comedic talent in “Bridesmaids,” and while that talent is stifled on her middling sitcom “Mike & Molly,” we hope that more projects like “Tammy” get picked up for McCarthy. Let’s not forgot that there’s also talk of her joining the team of producer Judd Apatow and director Paul Feig again for the tentatively titled “Dumb Jock,” and next spring she’ll pair up with Jason Bateman for “ID Theft.”
McCarthy also has a fashion line, a potential CBS comedy, and a production company on her horizon, so we’re hoping to see a lot more from this talented actress. Let’s just hope that potential CBS comedy (which is producing), about a woman experiencing a brutal mid-life crisis, isn’t as crushingly mediocre as “Mike & Molly.”
