Tommy Boy (1995)

Directed by: Peter Segal | 97 minutes | comedy | Actors: Chris Farley, David Spade, Brian Dennehy, Bo Derek, Dan Aykroyd, Julie Warner, Sean McCann, Zach Grenier, James Blendick, Rob Lowe, Clinton Turnbull, Ryder Britton, Paul Greenberg, Graeme Millington, Michael Cram, Dean Marshall

“Oh, that’s gonna leave a mark.” you hear the main character in the comedy “Tommy Boy” say over and over again. Poor Tommy Callahan (Chris Farley) falls, bangs, bumps and knocks during the movie. This old-fashioned slapstick humor is best known for the adventures of Laurel and Hardy, better known here as ‘the fat and the thin’. The slapstick has actually had its day in modern comedy, but luckily ‘Tommy Boy’ has even more to offer.

Tommy is on a real mission to save his father’s company and save hundreds of people from the streets. The competitor Zalinsky, played by ‘Blues Brothers’ legend Dan Aykroyd, wants to buy Callahan’s company. Here we immediately encounter the serious undertones of the film: the harsh business world and the painful consequences that the economic decisions of large business owners can have on the ordinary worker. But, if we’re very honest, you can’t notice anything else during the film, because it’s mostly laughter!

The film shoots from the starting blocks and really only slows down for a while at the death of Tommy’s father. Otherwise, it’s a series of hilarious moments set in the journey of Tommy and his partner-in-crime Richard Hayden (David Spade). Farley and Spade’s performances are truly top-notch. Farley knows how to portray the stupid good guy Tommy perfectly down to the smallest details: his walk, his facial expressions and the way he stammers, everything is perfect and automatically puts you in a corny mood. Contrast that with the sarcastic, even cynical character of David Spade and you get a fantastic and hilarious combination that guarantees success. These two gentlemen also starred together in the movies ‘Coneheads’ and ‘Black Sheep’ and are like the Blues Brothers of the 90s comedies.

Despite the fact that ‘Tommy Boy’ is not always positively criticized and it may be necessary to be a bit corny beforehand if you are going to watch this comedy classic, the film is definitely recommended.