Tommy Boy
Tommy Boy | |
---|---|
Directed by | Peter Segal |
Written by | Bonnie Turner Terry Turner |
Produced by | Lorne Michaels |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Victor J. Kemper |
Edited by | William Kerr |
Music by | David Newman |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 97 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $20 million[2] |
Box office | $32.7 million[1] |
Tommy Boy is a 1995 American buddy comedy film directed by Peter Segal, written by Bonnie and Terry Turner, produced by Lorne Michaels, and starring former Saturday Night Live castmates and close friends Chris Farley and David Spade. The first of many films that Segal has filmed with former SNL castmates, it tells the story of a socially and emotionally immature man (Farley) who learns lessons about friendship and self-worth, following the sudden death of his industrialist father.
Shot primarily in Toronto and Los Angeles under the working title "Rocky Road", Tommy Boy received mixed reviews from critics[3] and was a commercial disappointment, grossing $32.7 million on a budget of $20 million. Since its release, however, Tommy Boy has become a cult film and been also successful on home video.[4][5]
Plot
After seven years at college, friendly but dim-witted Thomas R. "Tommy" Callahan III barely graduates from Marquette University and returns to his hometown of Sandusky, Ohio. His father, widowed industrialist Thomas R. "Big Tom" Callahan Jr., gives him an executive job at the family's auto parts plant, Callahan Auto, and reveals he will marry Beverly Barrish-Burns, whom he had met at a fat farm, with her son Paul effectively becoming Tommy's new stepbrother. However, Big Tom suddenly suffers a fatal heart attack during the wedding reception. After the funeral, doubting the company will survive without Big Tom, the bank reneges on promises of a loan for a new brake pad division, requiring that the company's debts be resolved immediately. Tommy suggests that he will let the bank hold his few inherited shares and house in exchange for the bank giving time to sell 500,000 brake pads to prove the new division's viability; if he succeeds, the bank will underwrite the venture. Tommy then sets out on a cross-country sales trip with Big Tom's sardonic and sycophantic assistant Richard Hayden, a childhood acquaintance who is particularly antagonistic towards Tommy.
Meanwhile, sales manager Michelle Brock, a high school classmate of Tommy's, notices Beverly and Paul kissing romantically; they reveal themselves as married
Tommy and Richard are denied entrance to the Zalinsky board room since Tommy has no standing. As they wallow on the curb in
Cast
- Chris Farley as Thomas "Tommy" Callahan III
- Clinton Turnbull as Young Tommy
- David Spade as Richard Hayden
- Ryder Britton as Young Richard
- Bo Derek as Beverly Burns-Barrish, Tommy's stepmother
- Julie Warner as Michelle Brock, a high school classmate of Tommy's who later becomes his love interest
- Dan Aykroyd as Ray Zalinsky
- Brian Dennehy as Thomas "Big Tom" Callahan Jr., Tommy's father
- Sean McCann as Frank Rittenhauer, the Vice President of Callahan Auto
- Zach Grenier as Ted Reilly
- James Blendick as Ron Gilmore, the town banker
- Rob Lowe as Paul Barrish, Tommy's older stepbrother (uncredited)
- William Patterson Dunlop as R.T.
- David Hemblen as Archer
- Maria Vacratsis as Helen
- Colin Fox as Ted Nelson
- Jonathan Wilson as Marty
- Lorri Bagley as Woman in Pool
Release
Home media
Tommy Boy premiered on VHS and LaserDisc on October 10, 1995.[6]
Reception
Box office
Tommy Boy opened on March 31, 1995, and grossed $8 million in its opening weekend, finishing first at the box office. The film had a total box office gross of $32.7 million.[7]
Critical reception
Tommy Boy received mixed reviews from critics upon its release. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 39% approval rating, based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though it benefits from the comic charms of its two leads, Tommy Boy too often feels like a familiar sketch stretched thin."[3] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 46 out of 100, based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "Mixed or average reviews".[8] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A− on scale of A to F.[9]
Kevin Thomas of the
Among the negative reviews,
Bo Derek was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress.
Dedication
Tommy Boy and the 1994 horror film
Soundtrack
- Warner Bros. soundtrack release
- "I Love It Loud (Injected Mix)" – written by Gene Simmons & Vincent Cusano, performed by Phunk Junkeez
- "Graduation" – Chris Farley & David Spade
- "Silver Naked Ladies" – Paul Westerberg
- "Lalaluukee" – Chris Farley & David Spade
- "Call On Me" – Primal Scream
- "How Do I Look?" – Chris Farley & David Spade
- "Wait for the Blackout" – written by The Damned (Scabies/Sensible/Gray/Vanian/Billy Karloff), performed by The Goo Goo Dolls
- "Bong Resin" – David Spade
- "My Hallucination" – Tommy Shaw & Jack Blades
- "Air" – written by Pamela Laws & Nancy Hess, performed by Seven Day Diary
- "Fat Guy In Little Coat" – Chris Farley & David Spade
- "Superstar" – written by Leon Russell, Delaney Bramlett, & Bonnie Bramlett, performed by The Carpenters
- "Jerk Motel" – Chris Farley & David Spade
- "Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago" – Soul Coughing
- "My Pretty Little Pet" – Chris Farley
- "Come On Eileen" – Dexys Midnight Runners
- "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" – R.E.M.
- "Eres Tú" – written by Juan Carlos Calderón, performed by Mocedades
- "Housekeeping" – Chris Farley & David Spade
- "My Lucky Day" – Smoking Popes
- Other songs featured in the film
- "What'd I Say" – written by Ray Charles, performed by Chris Farley and Brian Dennehy
- "Maniac" – written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky
- "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" – written by Eddie Holland & Norman Whitfield, performed by Louis Price
- "Amazing Grace" – performed by The Pipes and Drums and Military of The King's Own Scottish Borderers
- "Crazy" – written by Willie Nelson, performed by Patsy Cline
- "I'm Sorry" – written by Ronnie Self & Dub Allbritten, performed by Brenda Lee
- "Ooh Wow" – written by Sidney Cooper, performed by Buckwheat Zydeco
- "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" – written by Pat MacDonald, performed by Timbuk 3
- "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" – Cliff Friend & Dave Franklin
References
- ^ a b "Tommy Boy (1995)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
- ^ "Tommy Boy (1995)". TheWrap. Archived from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Tommy Boy (1995)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- ^ Ramer, Dan. "Tommy Boy – BD". DVDFile.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
- ^ Busch, Jenna (December 23, 2008). "Tommy Boy Blu-ray Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
- ^ "Tommy Boy (1995)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- ^ "Tommy Boy". Metacritic.
- ^ "TOMMY BOY (1995) A-". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
- ^ Thomas, Kevin (March 31, 1995). "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Tommy Boy' an Enjoyable, Rowdy Romp". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
- ^ Scott Weinberg. "Tommy Boy – Holy Schnike Edition". DVD Talk.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (March 31, 1995). "Tommy Boy". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (August 11, 2005). "Ebert's Most Hated". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
- ^ James, Caryn (31 March 1995). "FILM REVIEW; How Stupid Is Tommy? Maximally". The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (April 21, 1995). "TOMMY BOY". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 10, 2018.