Synopsis
A daughter's attempt to care for her ornery, ailing mother.
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Cast
- Felicity HuffmanTammy MacDonald
- Anastasia PhillipsCatherine MacDonald
- Clark JohnsonDoug
- Lauren HollyIlana Wiseman
- Kristian BruunJamie
- Jessica GrecoKelly Seamus
- Aaron AshmoreReggie Seamus
- Oluniké AdeliyiPascal
- Tara NicodemoLinda Black
Recommendations
- 80
Los Angeles Times
Tammy’s Always Dying is a richly observed comedy-drama. Johnson’s direction is intelligent and restrained. - 75
Original-Cin
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. - 67
The Film Stage
The result is bittersweet and poignant in its complex truths, but also saccharinely convenient in its execution. - 60
The Hollywood Reporter
The main reason the film is worth a watch is the strong performances of its two leads. - 60
Film Threat
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. - 58
IndieWire
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. - 50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
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. - 40
Variety
Competently crafted, Tammy is too glib to be poignant and too defeatist to be amusing.
