Tommy Boy

This film should go down as a slapstick comedy classic. Farley's untimely death should be lamented, he was a comic god. This movie is unashamedly stupid, but if you'll just relax it's also one of the funniest films you'll ever see.

Ok, it has a paper-thin plot, but it does contain some cinematic firsts: a moose breaking its way out of a classic car; Rob Lowe being electrocuted through his pecker; a fat man in a little coat.

See this film. Twice

I saw this film knowing absolutely nothing about both it and its stars, Chris Farley and David Spade, and I have to say that this film is a comic classic. It is so stupid at times that it can only be hilarious. Farley is brilliant as the bumbling idiot who takes to the road with his dad's right hand man (the equally excellent Spade) to find the funding to save the families 'auto parts' business. Relax, put your brain on auto-pilot and soak up the fun. A great supporting cast features film favourites such as Brian Dennehy (Cocoon), Rob Lowe (Wayne's World) and Bo Derek ("10"). Highly recommended for a good laugh.

Yes, I know, it's not THAT old of a movie, it only dates to 1995. However, so much has happened in our world since then, it just *seems* like it's been around for years.

I think the movie is very good and very funny, and certainly much better than critics gave it credit for (every time I see it in the TV listings it has only one star by it. Why?!). I watch it routinely (it's on TV a lot, especially USA network). Two things I like about it are the pacing, and the deeper story that plays in the background.

First, the pacing: this movie hits the deck running and never stops moving, it just keeps rolling right along, from one nutty event to the next, but it is all carefully intertwined and everything works in symmetry to bring the viewer to the (admittedly schmaltzy) happy ending. Anyway, I like it when a movie maintains a good pace or a rhythm, never letting itself get too bogged down. "Tommy Boy" is one of those.

Second, the deeper story in the background: all the times I've watched this movie, I've never lost sight of the fact that the story didn't just revolve around some big dumb guy who couldn't seem to find his way out of a wet paper bag. No, there was always in the background the sad issue of Tommy Boy's beloved father dying. Plus, another sobering issue, that of how all this will lead to rather dire economic consequences for a business (Callahan Autoparts) that's been around for a long time and has employed lots of people in the town of Sandusky. Those two grim facts of life - death in the family and impending economic consequences - make this movie more compelling watching than one may realize, and I think this movie will hold up well over the years to come just for those reasons.

But enough with the gloom already. This movie is just plain FUNNY, thanks not just to Chris Farley, but to an entire cast that seems to work really well together. I couldn't envision the cast members being changed or replaced in any form. And Chris Farley did such a seamless depiction of this funny guy named Tommy Boy, that I still, in my heart of hearts, just know that there really IS a big dumb funny guy named Tommy Callahan, somewhere in Sandusky, Ohio, who is running an autoparts factory. No, there really IS a Tommy Callahan, believe me... It's kinda' like Pee-Wee Herman: that wasn't really an actor named Paul Reubens playing him, no! - there really IS a Pee-Wee Herman, who is totally in love with his bicycle, and has a dog named Speck...

Funny, but I look at waitresses in restaurants just a little differently now (thanks to that wonderful scene where Tommy Boy explains to Helen why he sucks as a salesman). And any time I'm feeling down, I just remember: "Fat guy in a little coat." "Hey, Prehistoric Forest!" "Holy Schnikees!" "Hey, quit playin' with yer dinghy!" plus many other lines, LOL LOL Those will always cheers me up!

I won't go into great details about this film, basically because there aren't many worth mentioning. It's just a funny little romp with Farley and Spade annoying each other and trying to sell some brake pads in their spare time.

I must however say that one scene almost had me on the sticky floor of the theater because I was laughing so hard. In the scene, the duo are driving down a highway in Spade's recently trashed GTX. An old Carpenters song is playing on the radio and the two are emotionally singing along with it. That alone is funny enough, then the hood of the car pops up and they skid wildly out of control. This produces a hilarious argument culminating in Spade smacking Farley in the head with a 2x4.

The only time I have ever laughed harder in public was during the snowman scene in Dumb and Dumber.

That's really all I have to say about this film. Farley was an adorable slug of a guy. I miss him, even though some of his films were real stinkers.

I'd give it 8 of 10 stars.

So sayeth the Hound.

This is a comedy in which Thomas 'Tommy' Callahan III (Chris Farley) who is a slow-witted, clumsy guy who recently graduated college after attending for seven years. His father, Thomas 'Big Tom' Callahan II (Brian Dennehy), owns an auto parts factory in Ohio. When Tommy arrives back home, he finds he has a position at the factory waiting for him. His dad also introduces Tommy to the new brake pad division of the factory and to Tommy's soon-to-be stepmother, Beverly Barish-Burns (Bo Derek), and her supposed son Paul Barish (Rob Lowe). But when Big Tom dies, the factory threatens to go under unless the new brake pads are to be sold. Therefore, Tommy must go on the road to sell them, along with the assistance of Richard Hayden (David Spade), Big Tom's right-hand man. Beverly and Paul who are con artists and also husband and wife who try to con Tommy and his family out of the company's money. Tommy and Richard travel all over the Midwestern United States trying to sell a half a million brake pads. If they don't sell the half a million brake pads, the company will be sold to Ray Zalinsky (Dan Aykroyd). This movie is full of great laughs and everybody will enjoy it. If Chris Farley was alive today, I bet there would be many more great and funny movies like this one. There are plenty of great passages that I hear everyday from this movie. I have seen it so many times I have lost count. I pretty much know it by heart. It is that great of a movie. Everybody needs to see it.