Tammy's Always Dying
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Tammy's Always Dying'' is a 2019 Canadian
black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
film directed by
Amy Jo Johnson Amy Jo Johnson (born October 6, 1970) is an American and Canadian actress, musician, and filmmaker. As an actress, Johnson is best known for her roles as Kimberly Hart on ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' (1993–1995), Julie Emrick on '' Feli ...
and written by Joanne Sarazen. It stars
Felicity Huffman Felicity Kendall Huffman (born December 9, 1962) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Lynette Scavo in the ABC comedy-drama ''Desperate Housewives'' and her role as Sabrina "Bree" Osbourne, a transgender woman, in the film ''Trans ...
, Anastasia Phillips, Jessica Greco,
Clark Johnson Clark Johnson (born September 10, 1954) is an American-Canadian actor and director who has worked in both television and film. He is best known for his roles as David Jefferson in ''Night Heat'' (1985–1988), Clark Roberts in ''E.N.G.'' (1989†...
,
Lauren Holly Lauren Michael Holly (born October 28, 1963) is an American actress. She has played the roles of Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in the television series ''Picket Fences'', NCIS Director Jenny Shepard in the series '' NCIS'', and Dr. Betty Rogers ...
,
Aaron Ashmore Aaron Richard Ashmore (born October 7, 1979) is a Canadian actor. He is the identical twin brother of actor Shawn Ashmore. He is known for portraying Jimmy Olsen on ''Smallville'' (2006–2011), Steve Jinks on '' Warehouse 13'' (2011–2014), ...
and
Kristian Bruun Charles Kristian Bonnycastle Bruun (born October 25, 1979) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Orphan Black'', ''Murdoch Mysteries'', '' The Recruit'', ''The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story'', and '' The Rookie''. ...
. It had its world premiere at the
2019 Toronto International Film Festival The 44th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 5 to 15 September 2019. The opening gala was the documentary film '' Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band'', directed by Daniel Roher, and the festival closed with a ...
on September 5, 2019. It received generally positive reviews from critics, particularly for Huffman's and Phillips' performances. It was released through
video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...
on May 1, 2020, by
Quiver Distribution Quiver Distribution is an American-Canadian film production and film distribution company founded in 2019 by Berry Meyerowitz and Jeff Sackman. The company, sometimes referred to as an indie film company, is best known for releasing films '' The ...
.


Plot

When Tammy, a self-destructive woman who has a dysfunctional relationship with her daughter Catherine, is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Catherine invites a television producer to document her process of caring for her mother in an attempt to profit from their misfortune. However, she finds her plans complicated by Tammy's persistent refusal to actually die.


Cast

*
Felicity Huffman Felicity Kendall Huffman (born December 9, 1962) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Lynette Scavo in the ABC comedy-drama ''Desperate Housewives'' and her role as Sabrina "Bree" Osbourne, a transgender woman, in the film ''Trans ...
as Tammy MacDonald * Anastasia Phillips as Catherine MacDonald *
Clark Johnson Clark Johnson (born September 10, 1954) is an American-Canadian actor and director who has worked in both television and film. He is best known for his roles as David Jefferson in ''Night Heat'' (1985–1988), Clark Roberts in ''E.N.G.'' (1989†...
as Doug *
Lauren Holly Lauren Michael Holly (born October 28, 1963) is an American actress. She has played the roles of Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in the television series ''Picket Fences'', NCIS Director Jenny Shepard in the series '' NCIS'', and Dr. Betty Rogers ...
as Ilana Wiseman *
Aaron Ashmore Aaron Richard Ashmore (born October 7, 1979) is a Canadian actor. He is the identical twin brother of actor Shawn Ashmore. He is known for portraying Jimmy Olsen on ''Smallville'' (2006–2011), Steve Jinks on '' Warehouse 13'' (2011–2014), ...
as Reggie Seamus *
Kristian Bruun Charles Kristian Bonnycastle Bruun (born October 25, 1979) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Orphan Black'', ''Murdoch Mysteries'', '' The Recruit'', ''The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story'', and '' The Rookie''. ...
as Jamie * Jessica Greco as Kelly Seamus *
Oluniké Adeliyi Oluniké Adeliyi (born January 5, 1977) is a Canadian actress. She appeared in the 2010 horror film ''Saw 3D'' and starred as Leah Kerns in the television series '' Flashpoint''. Early life Adeliyi was born in Brampton, Ontario, of Jamaican-Nig ...
as Pascal * Ali Hassan as Gordon Baker


Production

In December 2018, it was announced
Felicity Huffman Felicity Kendall Huffman (born December 9, 1962) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Lynette Scavo in the ABC comedy-drama ''Desperate Housewives'' and her role as Sabrina "Bree" Osbourne, a transgender woman, in the film ''Trans ...
, Anastasia Phillips,
Clark Johnson Clark Johnson (born September 10, 1954) is an American-Canadian actor and director who has worked in both television and film. He is best known for his roles as David Jefferson in ''Night Heat'' (1985–1988), Clark Roberts in ''E.N.G.'' (1989†...
,
Lauren Holly Lauren Michael Holly (born October 28, 1963) is an American actress. She has played the roles of Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in the television series ''Picket Fences'', NCIS Director Jenny Shepard in the series '' NCIS'', and Dr. Betty Rogers ...
and
Aaron Ashmore Aaron Richard Ashmore (born October 7, 1979) is a Canadian actor. He is the identical twin brother of actor Shawn Ashmore. He is known for portraying Jimmy Olsen on ''Smallville'' (2006–2011), Steve Jinks on '' Warehouse 13'' (2011–2014), ...
had joined the cast of the film, with
Amy Jo Johnson Amy Jo Johnson (born October 6, 1970) is an American and Canadian actress, musician, and filmmaker. As an actress, Johnson is best known for her roles as Kimberly Hart on ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' (1993–1995), Julie Emrick on '' Feli ...
directing from a screenplay by Joanne Sarazen.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
concluded in December 2018 in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
, Ontario.


Release

The film had its world premiere at the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
on September 5, 2019. In March 2020,
Quiver Distribution Quiver Distribution is an American-Canadian film production and film distribution company founded in 2019 by Berry Meyerowitz and Jeff Sackman. The company, sometimes referred to as an indie film company, is best known for releasing films '' The ...
acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film. It was released through
video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...
on May 1, 2020.


Reception

On the review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews. The website's consensus reads, "It occasionally struggles to deal effectively with its weighty themes, but ''Tammy's Always Dying'' is always anchored by Felicity Huffman's finely tuned performance." The film received two
Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...
nominations at the
9th Canadian Screen Awards The 9th Canadian Screen Awards were presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television from 17–20 May 2021 to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2020. The presentations were held as a seri ...
in 2021, for Best Supporting Actress (Huffman) and Best Hair (Renée Chan).


References


External links

* * 2019 films 2019 black comedy films 2010s English-language films Canadian black comedy films English-language Canadian films Films about cancer Films about television Films not released in theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films shot in Hamilton, Ontario Quiver Distribution films 2010s Canadian films Films directed by Amy Jo Johnson English-language black comedy films {{2010s-Canada-film-stub