Tommy Boy

Tommy Boy (1995)

Runtime: 97 minutes

Directed by: Peter Segal

Starring: Chris Farley, David Spade, Bo Derek, Rob Lowe, Julie Warner

From: Paramount

First off, last night I rewatched Judge Dredd. I feel the same about it as I did when I saw it back in 2012; it's average overall. I actually watched this Thanksgiving night. I was happy to see this again; as a lot of people did who are now in their mid 30's, this was a popular and beloved film to watch. Thankfully in 2016 I can still enjoy this despite the ups and downs that this sometimes has. I give my thoughts below: 

Of course I saw this film when I was a teenager in the 90's; my era of Saturday Night Live (along with a lot of other people) is the early to mid 90's, when he was there with Spade, Sandler, Myers, Carvey, Hartman, Nealon, Rock, and the rest. The day that it was announced Farley passed away... it was a big deal. It was during my high school days and there were plenty of my classmates upset over this news. I was too, mind you. I always found this movie amusing and while it definitely is uneven, it still provided enough belly-laughs where I can say I still dig it.

It's cliché but that is OK; Farley is dimwit-who thinks that Herbie Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence, for example-Tommy Callahan who has to save his father's auto parts company from being taken over and everyone working there being laid off... while working with the typical smarmy jerk that David Spade can probably do in his sleep, and meanwhile there's Bo Derek and Rob Lowe looking to rip off the company too. There's plenty of pratfalls and Farley & Spade not getting along due to being polar opposites, but of course things change...

I can look past the unevenness and things being kind of ridiculous often & enjoy this for what it is. Farley and Spade made for a nice odd couple pairing. Besides the laughs there were some nice poignant moments too; Tommy is goofy but he has a heart of gold and it is nice to see someone try to stop the bad corporate decision to buy something but only for the name and screw over the employees of that something. Brian Dennehy does a nice job for the limited screen time he has. I still chuckle at the best bits from the movie... Fat Guy in a Little Coat, Spade being caught pleasuring himself and the subsequent masturbation-related puns, Tommy's sales pitches, Tommy having trouble pumping gas, the one liners, and all the rest. There definitely is some nice physical comedy.

This may be the best thing that Spade and Farley ever did, at least in motion pictures. Farley's movies may not have been the best but I certainly do miss him and the wacky yet lovably characters he played. In a few weeks, he will have been dead for 19 years, which does not even seem possible. What a shame that he wasn't happy even when he played such beloved figures as Matt Foley, the lunch lady, and the prospective Chippendale dancer, that so many of us dug.