Com Amor no Coração

The Tammy movies are never going to be confused for high art. They were meant to be light hearted fun that you could take your kids to.

The sequel continues the same corny story but the big difference is Sandra Dee replacing Debbie Reynolds. I love Sandra Dee and think she made the perfect Gidget bur she is not Debbie Reynolds. She deserves credit for taking the chance on following Reynolds because she knew there would be comparisons. Of course Sandra was head and shoulders better than Debbie Watson.

The story has Tammy going to college and just as in the original she is responsible for others rediscovering their love or hooking up with their true mate. Beulah Bondi has the role Mildred Natwick had in the original of the wise old woman. Bondi, like Natwick, was one of the great supporting actresses in Hollywood and lends a touch of class to the movie.

As for the rest of the cast, John Gavin is no Leslie Nielsen. Nielsen really was a good straight actor and Gavin is as stiff as a tree in comparison. The rest of the supporting cast is similarly a notch below the original.

If you like Sandra Dee, check out Gidget. It's just as much fun but with a better story and cast.

In this Tammy movie Sandra Dee takes over in the main role. This time we find Pete off to cow college and Tammy wants to get herself some learnin' as Grandpa is still in jail over the corn liquor. Tammy gets the Ellen B. houseboat towed downstream to be close to the Seminola College and then the calamities begin! This time Tammy falls for a speech professor and befriends an older woman with an overbearing niece. Some of the situations and phrases would never be uttered in today's age. But this is a snapshot in time. Definitely will make you laugh, just don't think too much about it. Worth a rental.

It's been four years since the first Tammy film and Sandra Dee has taken over the title role from Debbie Reynolds. Dee is charming and disarming with her country ways and wisdom. Even among the college educated at the college she's decided to take some courses at.

Actually Tammy has the first lesson down very well, the realization that there is a lot out there that one does not know. She heads off to college and first meets speech instructor John Gavin. She gets a job as a companion to the elderly Beulah Bondi whose life has been taken over by her niece Julia Meade who is eyeing that big inheritance.

The plot here is taken quite a bit from Pollyanna, both the silent version with Mary Pickford and the famous Disney one with Hayley Mills. Dee just spreads a lot of sunshine into everyone's life and makes believers of all except possibly Meade who loses a bundle.

Best scenes in the film are with Dee and Bondi whom she invites to go live on her river flatboat for a bit. Bondi did that in her youth and actually enjoys the time away from that mansion that feels like a prison to her. She even gets a little senior citizen romance going with Cecil Kellaway.

If you were a fan of the first Tammy film you will not be disappointed with what Sandra Dee did with this film.

I can't believe I'm the first person commenting on this priceless comedy!

True, it has great sentimental value for me, because it brings me back to Sao Paulo 1962 where I first saw it. The title in Portuguese was "Con Amor no Coracao" (With Love In The Heart). I loved it every time I saw it.

SANDRA DEE IS A GENIUS. Her brand of comedy is totally unique, and her artistic HUMILITY most touching. She OWNS every role she plays. How can Hollywood overlook such a LADY!!!!!!!!!! She is one of the true stars we have left. But then, what film would be great enough to fit her?

There are of course, many merits in this film other than Ms. Dee. The writing is utterly brilliant, the cinematography lovely. A country bumpkin meets city folks and makes helpless fools of them with her disarming innocence. Once exposed, the phonies mend their ways and acquire some of her virtues.

One wonders if Tammy isn't really black.

Back in 1957, Debbie Reynolds starred as the title character in "Tammy and the Bachelor", a sweet story about a backwoods girl who is a bit like a fish out of water when she comes in contact with citified folks.

This story picks up after the first. Tammy's boyfriend is off at college but inexplicably hasn't contacted her in some time. This is pretty inconsistent with the last film, as he appeared ready to marry her when it ended. Regardless, instead of just sitting back and waiting, Tammy decides she needs some education about the English language, as her backwoods talk sets her apart from everyone. Oddly, instead of going to grade school or high school, she decides on college and is accepted there as a special student.

One of the first persons she meets there is a young instructor. Tom Freeman (John Gavin) is quite taken by her and this handsome guy becomes more and more smitten by Tammy through the course of the film. It's obvious why, as although unschooled and unsophisticated, she is incredibly sweet and abounds with wisdom and charm. And, it's not only Tom who falls for her, but a very cranky old lady (Beulah Bondi) soon succumbs to her charms as well and they become friends AND roommates on Tammy's riverboat. What's next? See the film for yourself!

This is a film that is utterly charming and simply fun to watch. Is it deep entertainment? Nope...but it is quite enjoyable and is a nice sequel even if Debbie Reynolds didn't star in this one (probably because she was a bit old for this role). And, if you, too, like the film, there is another Tammy movie starring Sandra Dee, "Tammy and the Doctor".