Saturday Night Live star Chris Farley had his first starring role in this frankly lowbrow comedy, which teamed him with fellow SNL cast member David Spade. Big Tom Callahan (Brian Dennehy) is the street-smart owner of a company that makes auto parts, and one day he'd like his son Tommy Callahan III (Chris Farley) to take over the business. Trouble is, Tommy Boy is a fat, dim-witted slob who took seven years to get a business degree and has no idea how to run a business. His father's sudden death unexpectedly puts Tommy Boy in charge, with his dad's weasely assistant Richard (David Spade) trying to guide him. However, what no one knows is Big Tom's wife, the young and beautiful Beverly (Bo Derek), married him only for his money while holding on to her lover, Paul (Rob Lowe), whose presence she explains by telling people he's her son. Beverly and Paul are waiting for Tommy Boy to run the company into the ground so they can take over, sell it off and earn a quick payoff. However, what Tommy Boy lacks in smarts (and hygiene), he makes up for in determination, and he hits the road with Richard for a long sales trip in a last ditch effort to rescue his father's legacy. Tommy Boy was a major hit that turned Chris Farley into a screen star; sadly, died a little over 2 1/2 years later. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Review
The best of the feature film vehicles for the comedy duo of former Saturday Night Live co-stars Chris Farley and David Spade, this warm-hearted farce is occasionally hilarious in spite of its stars' limited acting ability. There's a long, hallowed tradition of teaming a "playful" large guy with a fussy, skinny cohort that harks back to at least Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy or Bud Abbott and Lou Costello; the device now even encompasses film critics: See Roger Ebert with whomever his partner du jour may be. As performers, Farley and Spade are definitely less facile than many of their legendary predecessors, but their chemistry together is just genuine enough to activate the nascent power of the cliché. In other words, they're genuinely funny together, probably because they're believable (one gets the vibe that Farley truly annoys the heck out of his quicker-witted co-star). The script by the writing team of Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner, creators of hit TV sitcoms, betrays their small-screen roots: Nothing about the story or its production at the hands of director Peter Segal is particularly cinematic. In fact, their picture feels like a feature-length pilot for a situation comedy, albeit a fairly funny one that would probably be a moderate hit as long as the same stars were maintained. Farley and Spade would reunite for the less effective Black Sheep (1996), a virtual remake of this film, and Farley would team with another thin, finicky co-star, Matthew Perry, for Almost Heroes (1998), but neither film was able to re-create the Tommy Boy magic. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
Julie Warner - Michelle; James Blendick - Gilmore; David Calderisi - 'Yes' Executive; Gil Filar - Kid in Bank; Colin Fox - Nelson; Zach Grenier - Reilly; David Hemblen - Archer; Helen Hughes - Boardroom Woman; Gino Marrocco - Cabbie; Sean McCann - Rittenhauer; Marc Strange - Toy CAr Executive; Philip Williams - Danny; J.R. Zimmerman - Boardroom Man; Michael Ewing - Ticket Agent; Ron James - Bank Guard; Robert Weiss - 'No' Manager; William Dunlop - R.T; Marilyn Boyle - Woman with Pen; Reg Dreger - 'No' Manager; Henry Gomez - Airport Cop; David Huband - Gas Attendant; Jack Jessop - Priest; Camilla Scott - Stewardess; Lloyd White - 'No' Manager; Dean Marshall - Frat Boy; Jonathan Wilson - Marty; Brian Kaulback - Bank Guard; Robbie Rox - Restaurant Regular; Sandi Stahlbrand - News Reporter; Bunty Webb - Large Woman
Credit
Michael Ewing - Associate Producer, Pamela Basker - Casting, Barnaby Thompson - Co-producer, Patti Unger - Costume Designer, John Hockridge - First Assistant Director, Peter Segal - Director, William Kerr - Editor, Robert Weiss - Executive Producer, David Newman - Composer (Music Score), Steven Soles - Composer (Music Score), Hank Garfield - Musical Direction/Supervision, G. Marq Roswell - Musical Direction/Supervision, Irene Kent - Makeup, Inge Klaudi - Makeup, Alicia Keywan - Production Designer, Stephen Lineweaver - Production Designer, Victor J. Kemper - Cinematographer, Lorne Michaels - Producer, Dennis Davenport - Set Designer, Gordon Sim - Set Designer, Michael Kavanagh - Special Effects, Bonnie Turner - Screenwriter, Terry Turner - Screenwriter
Tommy Boy is a 1995 roadcomedy film directed by Peter Segal, written by Bonnie and Terry Turner, and starring former Saturday Night Live colleagues Chris Farley and David Spade. The film tells the story of a socially and emotionally immature man (portrayed by Farley) who learns lessons about friendship and self-worth following the sudden death of his industrialist father. The film did well commercially, but received mixed reviews from critics.[2]
After seven years, Thomas R. "Tommy" Callahan III (Chris Farley) barely graduates from Marquette University and returns home to Sandusky, Ohio. His proud father, industrialist and widower Thomas "Big Tom" Callahan, Jr. (Brian Dennehy), gives him an executive job at the family's auto parts plant, Callahan Auto. In addition to the job and a new office, Big Tom reveals another surprise for his son: he plans to marry Beverly Barrish-Burns (Bo Derek), a woman he had met at a fat farm. along with her son Paul (Rob Lowe), who becomes Tommy's new stepbrother. Big Tom unexpectedly dies from a sudden heart attack at the wedding reception. After the funeral, the bank reneges on promises of a loan for a new brake pad division, the key to Big Tom's strategy for the company. Doubting the future of the company without Big Tom, the bank seeks payment of Callahan Auto's debts. In a move that surprises even himself, Tommy suggests a deal: If Tommy offers his number of inherited shares, and house as collateral and if he sells enough orders for brake pads to prove the new division's viability, the bank should grant the loan. The bankers agree, and set Tommy's goal at proven sales of 500,000 brake pads. The bankers remind Tommy that if he fails the bank will use the ownership stake of Tommy's former shares to convince the board of directors to sell the company.
Tommy sets out on a cross-nation sales trip with his father's former assistant, Richard Hayden (David Spade). Richard, a childhood friend and long jealous of Tommy's ability to be lazy and yet be rewarded, agrees to the last-ditch effort to save the company.
Meanwhile, Beverly and Paul are shown kissing romantically. They are not mother and son, but married con artists with criminal records. Their plan to steal from Big Tom has paid off early. Instead of eventually suing for divorce and taking half of Big Tom's estate, Beverly has inherited controlling interest of the company. To turn that into cash, she seeks a sale to self-described "auto parts king" Ray Zalinsky (Dan Aykroyd).
On the road, Tommy's social awkwardness and hyperactivity alienate potential buyers. These failures lead to arguments between Tommy and Richard. Pratfalls between the pair lead to the dilapidation of Richard's classic 1967 Plymouth GTX. But, when Tommy persuades a surly waitress to serve him after the kitchen has closed, he finds his confidence. The pair mend their friendship and make their sales goal.
However, Paul sabotages the company's computers, causing sales posted by sales manager Michelle Brock (Julie Warner) to be lost or rerouted. Customers cancel their orders. The bank, backed by Beverly and Paul, decides to sell Callahan Auto to Zalinsky. On the eve of the sale, Zalinsky does not hide his plans: He only wants the goodwill connected with the Callahan brand name. He will close down the company and lay off its 300 workers. Tommy and Richard travel to Chicago to persuade Zalinsky to drop the deal.
In Chicago, Tommy and Richard are removed from the Zalinsky board room since Tommy has no standing. After briefly wallowing on the curb in self-pity, Michelle arrives with Paul and Beverly's police records. Tommy devises 'a plan:' Dressed as a bogus suicide bomber, he attracts a live television news camera crew and then forces his way back into the board room. In Sandusky, Callahan workers watch the drama on a conveniently placed television. Having gained the attention of Zalinsky and the Callahan board, Tommy reveals his deception; the sticks of dynamite strapped to his chest are just road flares stolen from a construction site. In a final move of pure persuasion, Tommy quotes Zalinsky's own advertising claim to be on the side of the "American working man." As a TV audience watches, Zalinsky signs Tommy's purchase order for "half-a-million" brake pads. Workers in Sandusky cheer. The TV crew, thinking the story dramatically concluded, leaves the scene.
With the cameras gone, Zalinsky says that the purchase order is meaningless, as he will soon own Callahan Auto. However, Michelle shows her police documents, which includes Paul's outstanding warrants for fraud. The group around the table works through the logic together: Since Beverly is still married to Paul, her marriage to Big Tom was bigamy, and therefore never legal. Thus, the shares actually belong to Tommy.
Since Tommy does not want to sell, the deal with Zalinsky is off. And, since Tommy still holds Zalinsky's purchase order, the company is saved. Paul attempts to escape, but is arrested. Zalinsky admits that Tommy outplayed him and invites Beverly to dinner. And, in a happy ending, Tommy is introduced to the employees in Sandusky as the new leader of Callahan Auto.
Tommy Boy opened as the No. 1 movie in the United States on March 31, 1995,[3] eventually falling out of the Top 20 within seven weeks. Total U.S. box office gross was $32,648,673.[3]
The film did well financially, but received mixed reviews from critics upon its initial release. Rotten Tomatoes' index rates the film at 45%.[2]
Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert wrote: ""Tommy Boy" is one of those movies that plays like an explosion down at the screenplay factory. You can almost picture a bewildered office boy, his face smudged with soot, wandering through the ruins and rescuing pages at random. Too bad they didn't mail them to the insurance company instead of filming them."[4] The film is on Ebert's "Most Hated" list.[5]
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