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Tommy Boy
It ain't Merchant Ivory and it's not exactly steeped in realism, but the 1995 comedy Tommy Boy provides non-stop laughs from opening to closing credits thanks to the undeniable chemistry between David Spade and the late great Chris Farley.
Farley plays the title, the under achieving son of an auto manufacturer (Brian Dennehy), who dies on his wedding day to a gold digger (Bo Digger) trying to steal his fortune with help from her partner (Rob Lowe). Tommy learns that the company is in serious trouble and about to be bought out by another company and, in order to save his father's company, is sent on a road trip with a snotty accountant (Spade) to sell enough brake pads to save the company.
I have not seen an actor command a movie comedy like this since Eddie Murphy did in Beverly Hills Cop. Farley is exhausting, but exhausting in a good way, creating a character with Jerry Lewis type physical comedy, Chevy Chase cynicism, and a layer sweetness that makes you like this guy immediately. And a lot of this comes from the relationship that established Tommy and his dad. Farley and Dennehy are so perfect in these scenes that we think the heart of the movie is gone, but another heart does develop.
That other heart is the relationship that develops between Tommy and Richard, Spade's character. Yes, it's a very slow burn, Richard is very nasty to Tommy as the trip commences but we do see Tommy poking holes through Richard's icy exterior as well as unexpected moments of bonding that provide big laughs. LOVE the scene where the song "Superstar" by the Carpenters comes on the radio and they both pretend to be indifferent to it then in the next shot we see them both belting out the lyrics at the top of their lyrics. It would have been nice if the story had concentrated a little more on the relationship between Tommy and Richard than all the over the top stuff that happened on the road, like the destruction of Richard's car and the deer incident. The whole thing came full circle for this reviewer when Richard admitted to being Tommy's friend and admitted Tommy was his only friend. I also love that the through line of the Tommy character always stays at the forefront of everything he does...to save his father's company.
Director Peter Segal does manage to keep a cap on this big budget comedy written by the creators of Third Rock from the Sun, but never reins in the manic Farley, which is OK. Over a decade after making "10", Bo Derek still looks sensational and Rob Lowe is very funny as Paul. We also get a terrific mustache-twirling villain played by Dan Aykroyd, but this is Chris Farley's show and shows why this guy was taken from us much too soon.
It ain't Merchant Ivory and it's not exactly steeped in realism, but the 1995 comedy Tommy Boy provides non-stop laughs from opening to closing credits thanks to the undeniable chemistry between David Spade and the late great Chris Farley.
Farley plays the title, the under achieving son of an auto manufacturer (Brian Dennehy), who dies on his wedding day to a gold digger (Bo Digger) trying to steal his fortune with help from her partner (Rob Lowe). Tommy learns that the company is in serious trouble and about to be bought out by another company and, in order to save his father's company, is sent on a road trip with a snotty accountant (Spade) to sell enough brake pads to save the company.
I have not seen an actor command a movie comedy like this since Eddie Murphy did in Beverly Hills Cop. Farley is exhausting, but exhausting in a good way, creating a character with Jerry Lewis type physical comedy, Chevy Chase cynicism, and a layer sweetness that makes you like this guy immediately. And a lot of this comes from the relationship that established Tommy and his dad. Farley and Dennehy are so perfect in these scenes that we think the heart of the movie is gone, but another heart does develop.
That other heart is the relationship that develops between Tommy and Richard, Spade's character. Yes, it's a very slow burn, Richard is very nasty to Tommy as the trip commences but we do see Tommy poking holes through Richard's icy exterior as well as unexpected moments of bonding that provide big laughs. LOVE the scene where the song "Superstar" by the Carpenters comes on the radio and they both pretend to be indifferent to it then in the next shot we see them both belting out the lyrics at the top of their lyrics. It would have been nice if the story had concentrated a little more on the relationship between Tommy and Richard than all the over the top stuff that happened on the road, like the destruction of Richard's car and the deer incident. The whole thing came full circle for this reviewer when Richard admitted to being Tommy's friend and admitted Tommy was his only friend. I also love that the through line of the Tommy character always stays at the forefront of everything he does...to save his father's company.
Director Peter Segal does manage to keep a cap on this big budget comedy written by the creators of Third Rock from the Sun, but never reins in the manic Farley, which is OK. Over a decade after making "10", Bo Derek still looks sensational and Rob Lowe is very funny as Paul. We also get a terrific mustache-twirling villain played by Dan Aykroyd, but this is Chris Farley's show and shows why this guy was taken from us much too soon.