Melissa McCarthy Pulls Inept Pie Heist in 'Tammy' Teaser Trailer

Is this the dumbest holdup in movie history?

Melissa McCarthy continues to prove she’s one of our national treasures when it comes to comedy in the new teaser trailer for “Tammy,” a road-trip laughfest in which a woman embarks on a journey of self-discovery with her hard-drinking grandmother (Susan Sarandon) after she loses her job and discovers her husband has been unfaithful.

You wouldn’t know that from the first look at the film, though, which simply showcases a single set piece: Tammy’s robbing of a fast food joint called Toppy Jack’s (“Everybody’s Smilin’!” reads the sign).

McCarthy pulls out all the stops in the first 30 seconds, setting up the scenario by busting some slo-mo moves in the parking lot as she emerges from her beat-up vehicle, psyching herself up for the “job” with a paper bag on her head, another over her hand (to conceal her finger, er, gun) and comfortable Crocs on her feet.

This is all set to Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise,” and provides something of an alternative music video to the rather strange 1995 original, which features Michelle Pfeiffer as her “Dangerous Minds” character LuAnne Johnson sitting in a chair and looking oddly turned on as Coolio sings to her.

From there, a Shia LaBeouf-styled, paper-bagged Tammy enters the restaurant, which is empty except for two employees. She proceeds to have some difficulty in dramatically leaping over the counter, after which she demands the employees fill a bag with cash from the register — and pies (“Do you like apple?”), and finally wrapping things up by locking the co-workers in the freezer (but not before throwing them a blanket).

She does all of this in the nicest way possible, of course, which recalls other nice-guy (or -gal) heists like Bill Murray robbing a bank while dressed as a clown in “Quick Change” (1990), Nicolas Cage’s nonchalant robbing of some Huggies (“and whatever cash ya got”) in “Raising Arizona” (1987) and even Michael Douglas calmly ordering breakfast after accidentally opening fire with an Uzi in “Falling Down” (1993).

Anyway, we know Melissa McCarthy will be sharing the screen (and laughs) with Susan Sarandon for a good chunk of the film’s running time, but for now it’s nice to see the funnylady taking center stage and not playing off Sandra Bullock (“The Heat”), Jason Bateman (“Identity Thief”) or Kristen Wiig (“Bridesmaids”). It’s only a matter of time before Hollywood gives her a true stand-alone showcase (something like what “Beverly Hills Cop” did for Eddie Murphy) … which she most certainly could pull off better than the robbery on display.

"Tammy," which was written and directed by McCarthy’s real-life husband (and occasional co-star) Ben Falcone, will hit theaters on July 2.

McCarthy also played a crook in the 2013 hit comedy “Identity Thief”: