Tommy Boy

As it turns out, Chris Farley and David Spade only made three movies together ("Coneheads", "Tommy Boy" and "Black Sheep"), but this was truly the "Citizen Kane" of their pairings. Farley plays Thomas Callahan III, the dimwitted heir to an auto parts company. His father Big Tom (Brian Dennehy) hires mild-mannered Richard Hayden (David Spade) to look after him. Big Tom is getting married to a "ten" (Bo Derek), so everything has to be in order. After Big Tom suddenly dies, Tommy and Richard have to try to sell half a million auto parts to save the company from bankruptcy. From then on, the movie is pretty much an excuse for Chris Farley to do what he does best: make a mess of everything.

When this movie first came out in the theaters, I saw it with my grandfather. He figured out early on that the Bo Derek and Rob Lowe characters were hiding something. But you can completely ignore that and simply luxuriate in Chris Farley's antics. Nothing is safe around his stomach, and hell hath no fury like his happy-go-lucky attitude. The scene where he sets the cars on fire, and later the deer scene, make for a pure laugh riot. Chris Farley and David Spade were truly the John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd of their era. It's a pleasure to always be able to think about "Fat guy in a little coat" time and again.

What can you say about Tommy Boy, well its without a doubt stupid, over the top, and not a film with any real message to make you think about life in general. But its also a very, very funny film and most likely my favorite Chris Farley film (Black Sheep coming a close second).

I should point out that i am English so i haven't seen any Saturday Night Live shows and only know Farley and Spade from their films and Spades stand up comedy. I think that if you want a film to watch that kills an hour and a half and keeps you laughing from start to finish then this is for you.

It does have moments of slushy "i love you" in it but they are very few and far between and the slapstick comedy is well worth the wait. The story line is very basic, Farley must sell his late fathers brake pads to keep his business alive. But its the amount of situations that both Farley and Spade encounter along the way that make the film so funny and watchable.

I can't say enough about this film to really sell it to anyone but it simply is a very, very funny film and ironicly if it has a message to leave the viewer with its how sad the loss of Farley is and how much great comedy was lost once he died.

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Rotten Addict!

I saw this film knowing absolutely nothing about both it and its stars, Chris Farley and David Spade, and I have to say that this film is a comic classic. It is so stupid at times that it can only be hilarious. Farley is brilliant as the bumbling idiot who takes to the road with his dad's right hand man (the equally excellent Spade) to find the funding to save the families 'auto parts' business. Relax, put your brain on auto-pilot and soak up the fun. A great supporting cast features film favourites such as Brian Dennehy (Cocoon), Rob Lowe (Wayne's World) and Bo Derek ("10"). Highly recommended for a good laugh.

This is a comedy in which Thomas 'Tommy' Callahan III (Chris Farley) who is a slow-witted, clumsy guy who recently graduated college after attending for seven years. His father, Thomas 'Big Tom' Callahan II (Brian Dennehy), owns an auto parts factory in Ohio. When Tommy arrives back home, he finds he has a position at the factory waiting for him. His dad also introduces Tommy to the new brake pad division of the factory and to Tommy's soon-to-be stepmother, Beverly Barish-Burns (Bo Derek), and her supposed son Paul Barish (Rob Lowe). But when Big Tom dies, the factory threatens to go under unless the new brake pads are to be sold. Therefore, Tommy must go on the road to sell them, along with the assistance of Richard Hayden (David Spade), Big Tom's right-hand man. Beverly and Paul who are con artists and also husband and wife who try to con Tommy and his family out of the company's money. Tommy and Richard travel all over the Midwestern United States trying to sell a half a million brake pads. If they don't sell the half a million brake pads, the company will be sold to Ray Zalinsky (Dan Aykroyd). This movie is full of great laughs and everybody will enjoy it. If Chris Farley was alive today, I bet there would be many more great and funny movies like this one. There are plenty of great passages that I hear everyday from this movie. I have seen it so many times I have lost count. I pretty much know it by heart. It is that great of a movie. Everybody needs to see it.

I watch this film (or portions of it) every time it comes on television. I don't buy many DVDs, but this is one I will definitely make an exception for eventually. Chris Farley and David Spade's antics have been well documented in the other reviews, but in addition to the comedy, you might also find yourself shedding a bit of a sentimental tear. There is one particular scene that had me going from tears of sentiment to tears of laughter in a matter of seconds (the sing-a-long in the car - you know the one if you've seen the movie). Even Rob Lowe had some very funny moments. Frankly, I don't know how they ever managed to finish this movie, as I wouldn't have been able to keep a straight face had I been one of the actors. I imagine there were a lot of re-takes.

If nothing else, this certainly has to feature the funniest cow-tipping scene ever filmed, though I'd be hard pressed to cite other such scenes. Unlike many of the recent comedies, this one is funny throughout. Highly recommended.