Tommy Boy
Tommy Boy is a 1995 American buddy comedy film directed by Peter Segal, written by Bonnie and Terry Turner, produced by Lorne Michaels, and starring former Saturday Night Live castmates and close friends Chris Farley and David Spade. The first of many films that Segal has filmed with former SNL castmates, it tells the story of a socially and emotionally immature man (Farley) who learns lessons about friendship and self-worth, following the sudden death of his industrialist father.
Not to be confused with Tommy.Shot primarily in Toronto and Los Angeles under the working title "Rocky Road", Tommy Boy received mixed reviews from critics[3] and was a commercial disappointment, grossing $32.7 million on a budget of $20 million. Since its release, however, Tommy Boy has become a cult film and been also successful on home video.[4][5]
Plot[edit]
After seven years at college, friendly but dim-witted Thomas R. "Tommy" Callahan III barely graduates from Marquette University and returns to his hometown of Sandusky, Ohio. His father, widowed industrialist Thomas R. "Big Tom" Callahan Jr., gives him an executive job at the family's auto parts plant, Callahan Auto, and reveals he will marry Beverly Barrish-Burns, whom he had met at a fat farm, with her son Paul effectively becoming Tommy's new stepbrother. However, Big Tom suddenly suffers a fatal heart attack during the wedding reception. After the funeral, doubting the company will survive without Big Tom, the bank reneges on promises of a loan for a new brake pad division, requiring that the company's debts be resolved immediately. Tommy suggests that he will let the bank hold his few inherited shares and house in exchange for the bank giving time to sell 500,000 brake pads to prove the new division's viability; if he succeeds, the bank will underwrite the venture. Tommy then sets out on a cross-country sales trip with Big Tom's sardonic and sycophantic assistant Richard Hayden, a childhood acquaintance who is particularly antagonistic towards Tommy.
Meanwhile, sales manager Michelle Brock, a high school classmate of Tommy's, notices Beverly and Paul kissing romantically; they reveal themselves as married con artists with criminal records. Instead of eventually suing for divorce and taking half of Big Tom's estate, Beverly has inherited a controlling interest in the company. To convert that into cash, she seeks a quick sale to self-described "auto parts king" Ray Zalinsky, owner and operator of rival automotive parts company Zalinsky Auto Parts in Chicago. On the road, Tommy's social anxiety and hyperactivity alienate several potential buyers. The lack of any progress leads to tension between Tommy and Richard, culminating in a fistfight. After witnessing Tommy persuade a surly waitress to serve him at a restaurant after the kitchen has closed, Richard suggests he use his skill at reading people to make sales. The two reconcile and quickly reach their sales goal. However, Paul sabotages the company's computers, causing sales posted by Michelle to be either lost or rerouted. With half of the sales now canceled, the bank (now backed by Beverly and Paul) decides to sell Callahan Auto to Zalinsky. Hoping to persuade Zalinsky to reconsider, Tommy and Richard board a plane to Chicago posing as flight attendants. In Chicago, they briefly meet with Zalinsky, but he tells them he desires the reputation connected with the Callahan brand, planning to shutter the company and lay off its workers.
Tommy and Richard are denied entrance to the Zalinsky board room since Tommy has no standing. As they wallow on the curb in self-pity, Michelle quickly arrives with Paul and Beverly's police records. Tommy devises a plan: dressed as a suicide bomber by using road flares, he attracts the attention of a live television news crew and, along with Michelle and Richard, forces his way back into the board room. Back in Sandusky, Callahan workers watch the drama on television. In a final move of pure persuasion, Tommy quotes Zalinsky's own advertising slogan, claiming he stands for the "American working man." As the television audience watches, Zalinsky signs Tommy's purchase order for 500,000 brake pads. Although Zalinsky nullifies the purchase order as he will soon own Callahan Auto, Michelle shows the police records, which includes Paul's outstanding warrants for fraud. Since Beverly is still married to Paul, her marriage to Big Tom was bigamous and therefore never legal. Thus, all of Big Tom's controlling shares actually belong to Tommy, the rightful heir. Since Tommy does not want to sell the shares, the deal with Zalinsky is off, and since Tommy still holds Zalinsky's purchase order, the company is saved. After Paul attempts escape but is arrested, Zalinsky admits defeat and invites Beverly to dinner. Back in Sandusky, Tommy gives a speech at the plant saying he will take his presidency of Callahan Auto seriously to keep the workers steadily employed. Sailing in his dinghy on a lake, Tommy tells his father's spirit he will continue his legacy at Callahan and says he must go ashore to have dinner with Michelle and her family, having ignited a relationship with her.
Reception[edit]
Critical reception[edit]
Tommy Boy received mixed reviews from critics upon its release. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 39% approval rating, based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though it benefits from the comic charms of its two leads, Tommy Boy too often feels like a familiar sketch stretched thin."[3] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 46 out of 100, based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "Mixed or average reviews".[8] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A− on scale of A to F.[9]
Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, calling it "sweet natured" and a "good belly laugh of a movie".[10] Brian Webster of the Online Film Critics Society also received the film positively, saying that the film would please Farley fans. Dan Marcucci and Nancy Serougi of the Broomfield Enterprise said the film was "Farley at his best",[3] and Scott Weinberg of DVDTalk.com said that it was "pretty damn funny".[11] In the 2015 film I Am Chris Farley, many of his fellow SNL peers praised Farley's performance; Dan Aykroyd stated that the movie showcased Farley's quality and range as an actor, while Jay Mohr noted that audiences were able to see Farley's sensitive and vulnerable side.
Among the negative reviews, Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert only gave the film one star out of four, writing that: "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."[12] The film is on Ebert's "Most Hated" list.[13] Caryn James of The New York Times wrote that the film was "the very poor cousin of a dopey Jim Carrey movie".[14] Owen Gleiberman graded the film a "C" on an A+ to F scale,[15] and Ken Hanke of Mountain Xpress said that it was a "Passably funny star vehicle. Nothing great."[3]
Bo Derek was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress.
Dedication[edit]
Tommy Boy and the 1994 horror film Wes Craven's New Nightmare are dedicated to Gregg Fonseca (1952–1994), who died eight months before the release of Tommy Boy. While Fonseca did not work on either film, he served as production designer on the first two Nightmare on Elm Street films, as well as Coneheads and both Wayne's World films which, like Tommy Boy, were produced by Lorne Michaels.