Iconic actors, a fun and intelligent story, and real life events are just a few of the many elements that scream a comedy box office hit. Written by married couple Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone comes Tammy, the story of a working class woman, played by Melissa McCarthy, who after losing her job, husband and car in just one day, decides to go on a road trip with her grandmother, Pearl (Susan Sarandon). To their surprise, the road trip becomes an experience in which they both realize changes must be made. Melissa McCarthy comments, “One of the things I loved about the character Tammy is that kind of confidence, right or wrong, in her world she believes it… The fun of playing that character was that even she throughout the film realizes that ‘I’m perhaps doing a lot of things poorly’, and you just see her make the shift…”

Tammy is the epitome of what human trial and error looks like. While there’s quite an adventure between the two, Pearl and Tammy reach a point where they see things for what they are. That is, of course, after they encounter a few additional bumps along the road. McCarthy explains exactly what her character is all about. “I think there’s people that love the comfort of their small town and there’s people who feel sucked by it and that kinda was our jumping off place. Like if you’re really stuck in this rut and you’re just stuck in this whole little tiny world of things you don’t like, how hard do you have to get hit to bump you out of your vicious cycle?”

One of the characters who helps Tammy realize the reality of things is Lenore, played by Kathy Bates, a successful lesbian and Pearl’s long time friend. Bates describes her experience on bringing this character to life. She points out how her costar Sandra Oh, who plays Susanne, her life partner in the film, helped resonate a meaningful relationship. “Sandra Oh really, really made our relationship work. I mean, ‘cause when you’re playing a gay character, I mean what’s that? You know, it was all about a relationship of two people who had supported and loved each other for twenty years and had built something out of difficult times.” Melissa McCarthy adds, “Her [Kathy] and Sandra, it just seemed right… It felt like that great couple that you look at and just think ‘what’s that magic’, because they just feel right together.”

Excellent comedic timing is not the only thing that makes this film great; explosions also played its part on the big screen. Kathy’s character had to blow up a few things and ignite some others. “I loved it. I’d like to blow more things up,” jokes Kathy Bates. Meanwhile Susan Sarandon, who plays the alcoholic grandmother who is not shy about having sex, shares her experience on playing her character Pearl. She says that while her character believed Earl (Gary Cole) was attracted to her, she knew when she went back to her trailer that ‘Gary was an excellent actor as there was nothing about her reflection that screamed sexy’. “Here he comes so handsome, so sexy and we’re dancing…and then I go home and I see what I look like in my trailer. I completely believe [sarcastically] that he would be attracted to me, which I guess makes it even funnier.”

Although director Ben Falcone and wife Melissa McCarthy have been writing together since they met back at Groundlings, this film is their first big screen collaboration. “The whole thing was a delight for me. I mean it was great to work with Melissa. We’ve worked together before. We got to spend a lot of time together. And then, you know, when you add in all these great people… It was so fun to work with everybody. At the end of everyday I was honestly disappointed that the day was over and hopeful that they let us keep shooting tomorrow,” shared Falcone.

Nat Faxon, who plays Tammy’s husband Greg, mentioned he’d worked with the couple when they studied together at Groundlings. “There’s something so special about it, I think just being together… Doing something at this level, you know. When you sort of dreamt about it ten to fifteen years ago and now you’re actually doing it with your pals, it’s pretty cool.”

With talented Hollywood stars, an intelligently written script, and producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, Tammy is a top of the list must watch comedy for the summer.

Tammy opens in theaters on July 2^nd.