Tommy Boy (Film Review)
1995 Paramount Pictures
Directed by: Peter Segal; Written by: Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner
Starring: Chris Farley, David Spade, Bo Derek, and Brian Dennehy (AND Rob Lowe)
MPAA Rating: PG-13; Running Time: 97 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 8/10
After seven years of not so hard work,Thomas R. Callahan III, aka "Tommy Boy," has graduated college and gone back to his small Ohio town to work for his father, at the brake pad company started by his grandfather. Tommy's father is a master brake pad salesman who's grown lonely after the death of Tommy's mom. Now Tommy's dad is remarrying, and Tommy's not only getting a stepmom, but a stepbrother. Everything seems to be coming up Tommy Boy until Tommy's dad has a heart attack at the wedding, throwing the future of Callahan Auto into flux. With the fate of the whole town, which is reliant on the brake pad factory, at stake, well-meaning man-child Tommy volunteers to go out on his dad's sales route, to try to save the town and family business. The Callahan Auto board decides to send the smarmy, but quite knowledgable Richard Hayden out with Tommy to give him support and guidance. Richard, who viewed Tommy's dad as a surrogate father, bristles at having to hold Tommy's hand, and the two initially not only butt heads, but flame out miserably in their sales meetings with prospective clients. Can the Tommy and Richard grow up, bond together, make some brake pad sales, and save the town?
Hey, does this sound like the plot to one of the funniest, most genuinely emotional comedies of the '90s, or what?
On paper, Tommy Boy looks like a dud. Brake pad sales? Saturday Night Live cast members? Bad initial reviews?
On paper, Tommy Boy looks like a dud. Brake pad sales? Saturday Night Live cast members? Bad initial reviews?
However, on screen, Tommy Boy is a bit of a miracle, the best cinematic showcase for funnyman, Chris Farley's talents. As the titular Tommy, Farley indeed fulfills his "fatty fall down" quota. However, he does a hell of a lot more than that, providing a glimpse of what could have been in a career cut tragically short. Farley is sweet and likable, whether he is or isn't yelling and bumbling around, and his dramatic moments, particularly with his cinematic father, Brian Dennehy, are remarkably good. As a rising tide lifts all boats, Farley's SNL co-star, David Spade, might have grown tiresome and drowned in a sea of snark and sarcasm as Richard, but the film's overall kind nature, along with off-the-charts comedic chemistry with Farley, keeps him afloat and sailing.
The supporting cast here also pulls their weight, including the aforementioned Dennehy, Bo Derek as his duplicitous widow, and an uncredited Rob Lowe, who tone-perfect hams it up as Tommy's new brother, who just so happens to be the worst person on Earth. Peter Segal, generally serviceable, directs beyond his weight class, David Newman provides the kind of full-bodied score a 2023 big-budget drama would kill for, let alone a comedy, and Fred Wolf's uncredited rewrites to Bonnie and Terry Turner's already solid script are lovely. However, it's also clear that everything during the making of Tommy Boy just worked. Spade and Farley's improvs, the light filtering through the clouds, a fish jumping through the surface of a lake at the exact right moment. A light shined down during the making of this film about two hapless brake pad salesmen, and against all odds, 28 years later, Tommy Boy stands out as a cinematic exemplar of great '90s comedy.
The supporting cast here also pulls their weight, including the aforementioned Dennehy, Bo Derek as his duplicitous widow, and an uncredited Rob Lowe, who tone-perfect hams it up as Tommy's new brother, who just so happens to be the worst person on Earth. Peter Segal, generally serviceable, directs beyond his weight class, David Newman provides the kind of full-bodied score a 2023 big-budget drama would kill for, let alone a comedy, and Fred Wolf's uncredited rewrites to Bonnie and Terry Turner's already solid script are lovely. However, it's also clear that everything during the making of Tommy Boy just worked. Spade and Farley's improvs, the light filtering through the clouds, a fish jumping through the surface of a lake at the exact right moment. A light shined down during the making of this film about two hapless brake pad salesmen, and against all odds, 28 years later, Tommy Boy stands out as a cinematic exemplar of great '90s comedy.
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