Easy to mock, so let's mock it - Debbie Reynolds is a 17 year old cracker who has lived an isolated life and comes to stay with Leslie Nielson, who had crashed in her back yard. He plays a standard 50s heartthrob, brylcreamed and dreamy, channelling Rory/Tab/Troy/George/Rock and all the rest - which is part of this film's appeal today. Walter Brennan does his ol' pappy schtick - this sort of role would usually be played by Arthur O'Connell in 50s/60s teen films - and there are too many scenes of Tammy revealing he's in gaol to the shock of all, although there is a funny moment when people thinks he's dead and Tammy talks about him.
There's some uncomfortable racial politics - Nielsen and his family like to dress up as old Southern types to raise money for their former plantation house, and they have a black maid who of course adores Tammy. A lot of it is dopey, with Tammy charming everyone with her simpleton ways. And there are all these unresolved subplots, such as what happens to Nielsen's father and mother.
Yet there is a solid subplot about the importance of following your dreams - Nielsen is scared to be a farmer, his father scared of engaging with the world, his mother scared of dying. This had surprising depth and makes the movie harder to dismiss. Not impossible, just harder!
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