Tommy Boy (1995)

After his auto-parts tycoon father dies, the overweight, underachieving son teams up with a snide accountant to try and save the family business.

Director:

Peter Segal

Writers:

Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner

Stars:

Chris Farley, David Spade, Brian Dennehy

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chris Farley	...	Tommy
David Spade	...	Richard
Brian Dennehy	...	Big Tom
Bo Derek	...	Beverly
Dan Aykroyd	...	Zalinsky
Julie Warner	...	Michelle
Sean McCann	...	Frank Rittenhauer
Zach Grenier	...	Ted Reilly
James Blendick	...	Ron 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

Storyline

Tommy Callahan Jr. is a slow-witted, clumsy guy who recently graduated college after attending for seven years. His father, Big Tom Callahan, 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, and her son Paul. 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, Big Tom's right-hand man. Will Tommy save the company, or will the factory, and the town, go under?

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Plot Keywords:

profanity | on the road | con artist | buddy | bikini | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 March 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Big Time

Filming Locations:

BCE Place, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Gross USA:

$32,700,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Broadway Pictures,Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" was written and performed by the band Timbuk3 who hailed from Madison, Wisconsin, Farley's hometown.

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Goofs

Early in the movie Richard claims to have dropped a 440 6-Pack Magnum engine into his Plymouth GTX. In all later scenes with the hood up or missing, it shows that the car is actually equipped with a standard 440 4 Barrel, as indicated by the "440 Magnum Four Barrel" Air Cleaner. The Magnum and the 6-Pack are two different packages for the 440, impossible to confuse with one another. 440 4 Barrel engines are equipped with a single four barrel carburetor and round air cleaner, where 6-Pack engines are equipped with three two barrel carburetors and a massive oblong air cleaner that covers the entire length of the intake.

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Quotes

Tommy: But the Callahan factory has been in my family for seventy years. You can't just shut it down.
Ray Zalinsky: Son, you got to look at it from my point of view. Callahan's a premium name. That's what I'm buying. I can make the parts in one of my factories, put them in a Callahan box, and sell them in my stores at a premium price. Why keep your factory going when all I want's the god damn box?

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Connections

Featured in Stories from the Side of the Road (2005)

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Soundtracks

Call On Me
By Bobby Gillespie, Andrew Innes, and Robert Young
Performed by Primal Scream
Courtesy of Sire Records/Creation Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

The second hardest I ever laughed at a theater.

I won't go into great details about this film, basically because there aren't many worth mentioning. It's just a funny little romp with Farley and Spade annoying each other and trying to sell some brake pads in their spare time.

I must however say that one scene almost had me on the sticky floor of the theater because I was laughing so hard. In the scene, the duo are driving down a highway in Spade's recently trashed GTX. An old Carpenters song is playing on the radio and the two are emotionally singing along with it. That alone is funny enough, then the hood of the car pops up and they skid wildly out of control. This produces a hilarious argument culminating in Spade smacking Farley in the head with a 2x4.

The only time I have ever laughed harder in public was during the snowman scene in Dumb and Dumber.

That's really all I have to say about this film. Farley was an adorable slug of a guy. I miss him, even though some of his films were real stinkers.

I'd give it 8 of 10 stars.

So sayeth the Hound.