Tommy Boy (1995)

Director:

Peter Segal

Writers (WGA):

Bonnie Turner (written by) &
Terry Turner (written by)

Release Date:

31 March 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

If at first you don't succeed, lower your standards.

Plot:

An incompetent, immature, and dimwitted heir to an auto parts factory must save the business to keep it out of the hands of his new, con-artist relatives and big business.

Plot Keywords:

Buddy | Con Artist | Critically Bashed | Obscene Finger Gesture | Lifting Person In Air

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Chris Farley	...	Tommy
David Spade	...	Richard
Brian Dennehy	...	Big Tom
Bo Derek	...	Beverly
Dan Aykroyd	...	Zalinsky
Julie Warner	...	Michelle
Sean McCann	...	Rittenhauer
Zach Grenier	...	Reilly
James Blendick	...	Gilmore
Clinton Turnbull	...	Young Tommy
Ryder Britton	...	Young Richard
Paul Greenberg	...	Skittish Student
Graeme Millington	...	Frat Boy
Michael Cram	...	Frat Boy
Dean Marshall	...	Frat Boy

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sex-related humor, some drug content and nudity.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:12 (uncut) | UK:PG (cut) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

BCE Place, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The bassist in the band that plays at the wedding plays a Fender Precision Bass with a tobacco sunburst finish

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Tommy and Richard stop to pick up the hitchhiker you hear a car horn that trails off as if someone was beeping as they passed by, but there is no car.

Quotes:

Paul: That's it! I'm not gonna take this.
Richard Hayden: Uh, uh! It's not over yet, Lee Harvey.
Michelle: Let's see... warrants outstanding: New Mexico-Mail Fraud. Colorado-Wire Fraud. And coming soon to Ohio, Computer Fraud.
[Paul makes as if to say something, then makes a break for the door]
Thomas 'Tommy' Callahan III: [shouts] Get him!
Ray Zalinsky: Don't let him leave the complex, Marty.
Thomas 'Tommy' Callahan III: [Paul runs into the Zalinsky auto testing center] Hey, you forgot your wife!
Paul: Screw you! Screw all of you!
[trips over the lever that starts the crash test; car drives fast]
Paul: Not good.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Growing Up Farley (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Silver Naked Ladies

Still funny after all these years...

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!