Tommy Boy is a 1995 comedy film starring Saturday Night Live alumni Chris Farley and David Spade. The film tells the story of the title character, a socially and emotionally immature man who learns lessons about friendship, trust and self-worth following the sudden death of his industrialist father. 'Tommy Boy' did well commercially, but was not favored by film critics.
Plot
Marquette University, hard-partying D-student Thomas R. "Tommy Boy" Callahan III (Chris Farley) finally graduates and returns home to Sandusky, Ohio. There, his proud father, industrialist Tom Callahan Jr. (Brian Dennehy), gives him an executive job at the family's auto parts plant.
In addition to a job and an office, Tom Sr. reveals other surprises for his son: Tom Sr. is engaged to a woman he met at a fat farm, Beverly Barish-Burns (Bo Derek), and that Tommy will soon have a stepbrother, Beverly's son Paul (Rob Lowe). But, Tom Sr. suffers a fatal heart attack during the wedding reception. At a board meeting after the funeral, the bank reneges on loans Tom Sr. had negotiated to pay for a new brake pad division, which he thought would be the future of the company.
Fearing the death of his family's company, Tommy comes up with an idea: Give the bank his inheritance as collateral and then go on a cross-nation sales trip with his father's former assistant, Richard Hayden (David Spade). Tommy and Richard, a childhood classmate long envious of Tommy's ability to be lazy and yet be rewarded, hit the road in a last-ditch effort to save the company. They take off in Richard's 1967 Plymouth GTX convertible, which is eventually destroyed during a series of mishaps.
Meanwhile, Paul and Beverly are shown kissing -- they are not son and mother, but a married couple of con artists. Their plan to steal from Tom Sr. has paid off early. Instead of eventually suing for divorce and taking half of Tom Sr.'s estate, Beverly has inherited half the company. She seeks a quick sale to self-described "auto parts king" Ray Zalinsky (Dan Aykroyd).
On the road, Tommy's comical social awkwardness, hyperactivity and inexperience alienate a series of potential buyers. These failures lead to friction between Tommy and Richard, and these tensions go to the point of where the two get into a fist fight on the side of a road in which results in Tommy being knocked out by Richard. At a restaurant afterwards, Tommy uses his innate persuasive powers to convince a surly waitress to serve him after the kitchen closed, and ends up showing his potential. The pair make sales and mend their fraying friendship. The duo soon reach Tommy's sales quota.
However, worried that Tommy's success will undo their takeover scheme, Paul sabotages the company's computers. Sales posted by sales manager Michelle Brock (Julie Warner) are lost or rerouted, causing cancellations and chaos as the signing of the sale to Zalinsky arrives. Tommy and Richard are notified of this as soon as they return home. That night after a drinking binge, the two agree that they should go to Chicago to persuade Zalinsky to not buy out the company, as a meeting between Callahan Auto and Zalinsky officials will occur and result in Callahan Autos being handed over to Zalinsky.
Initially, Tommy and Richard are kicked out of the board room because Tommy has no standing, having given his shares to the bank. As the pair wallow on the curb in self-pity, Michelle arrives with police records that prove that Paul and Beverly are married con artists.
Tommy devises a 'plan:' Taking road flares from nearby construction, Tommy dresses himself as a bogus suicide bomber and forces his way back into the board room. His antics attract a live news TV camera crew which films the scene. In Sandusky, Callahan workers watch the drama unfold via a conveniently placed television.
Tommy reveals his deception, but turns to Zalinsky. In a speech quoting the auto king's own advertising claim of being on the side of "the American working man," pressures him, as a TV audience watches, into signing a purchase order for 'half-a-million' brake pads. Workers in Sandusky cheer. The TV crew, having obtained what they thought was a dramatic conclusion to their story, leave the scene.
Then, Zalinsky says that the purchase order is meaningless because as soon as Beverly signs nearby documents, Zalinsky will own Callahan Auto. However, Michelle shows her police documents. The group around the table works through the logic together: Beverly was married to Paul when she married Tom Sr. Therefore, the marriage was invalid, and thus, Beverly could not inherit control of the company.
So, the shares actually belong to Tommy. Tommy says he doesn't want to sell, so the deal with Zalinsky is off. Tommy still holds Zalinsky's purchase order, meaning that he has saved the company which he now controls.
The film ends with Paul on his way to jail, Beverly on her way to lunch with Zalinsky and Tommy introduced as the new president of Callahan Auto Inc. In a denouement, Tommy returns to his favorite spot - a small sailing dinghy on a lake - where he asks the spirit of his late father for enough wind to blow him to shore for a dinner date with Michelle.
Cast
Reception
Tommy Boy opened as the No. 1 movie in the United States on March 31, 1995,[1] eventually falling out of the Top 20 within seven weeks. Total U.S. box office gross was $32,648,673.[2]
The film did well financially, but received mixed reviews from critics upon its initial release. Rotten Tomatoes' index rates the film at 44%.[3] Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert wrote: "No one is funny in Tommy Boy. There are no memorable lines. None of the characters are interesting except for the enigmatic figure played by Rob Lowe, who seems to have wandered over from Hamlet. "[4] The New York Times' Caryn James said the film was " ... the very poor cousin of a dopey Jim Carrey movie."[5]
The film received positive reviews from the Lawrence Journal-World, the Los Angeles Times, and the Arizona Daily Star.[3] Since its release, some critics have suggested the film is a "cult classic".[6][7]
Soundtrack
Warner Brothers soundtrack release
- "I Love It Loud (Injected Mix)" - written by Gene Simmons & Vincent Cusano, performed by Phunk Junkeez
- Graduation - David Spade
- "Silver Naked Ladies" - Paul Westerberg
- Lalaluukee - David Spade
- "Call On Me" - Primal Scream
- How Do I Look? - David Spade
- "Wait For The Blackout" - written by The Damned (Scabies/Sensible/Gray/Vanian/Billy Karloff), performed by The Goo Goo Dolls
- Bong Resin - David Spade
- "My Hallucination" - Tommy Shaw & Jack Blades
- "Air" - written by Pamela Laws & Nancy Hess, performed by Seven Day Diary
- Fat Guy In Little Coat - Chris Farley
- "Superstar" - written by Leon Russell , Delaney Bramlett, & Bonnie Bramlett, performed by The Carpenters
- Jerk Motel - David Spade
- "Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago" - Soul Coughing
- My Pretty Little Pet - David Spade
- "Come On Eileen" - Dexys Midnight Runners
- It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - R.E.M.
- "Eres Tú" - written by Juan Carlos Calderón, performed by Mocedades
- Housekeeping - David Spade
- "My Lucky Day" - Smoking Popes
- Poop - David Spade
Other songs
- "What'd I Say" - performed by Ray Charles
- "Maniac" - written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky
- "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" - written by Eddie Holland & Norman Whitfield, performed by Louis Price
- "Amazing Grace" - performed by The Pipes and Drums and Military of The King's Own Scottish Borderers
- "Crazy" - written by Willie Nelson, performed by Patsy Cline
- "I'm Sorry" - written by Ronnie Self & Dub Allbritten, performed by Brenda Lee
- "Ooh Wow" - written by Sidney Cooper, performed by Buckwheat Zydeco
- "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" - written by Pat MacDonald, performed by Timbuk 3
- "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" - Cliff Friend & Dave Franklin
References
External links
