#106: Tommy Boy

Release Date: March 31st, 1995

Format: Streaming (Paramount+)

Written by: Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner

Directed by: Peter Segal

3 Stars

I was in 8th grade when Chris Farley died. I remember this because I was in some class where the teacher had assigned a project to research a known celebrity and tell the class about them, to practice our public speaking. I chose Chris Farley. My speech was scheduled to be on a Friday, and he died the day before.

At the time I knew him from SNL reruns on Comedy Central and a few hit-and-miss feature comedies (Beverly Hills Ninja, Black Sheep), but mainly from Tommy Boy. It was one of my favorite comedies and Farley’s talent and charisma in the movie is undeniable. And it’s sad that it’s his high point in film, artistically.   

Watching it today, it’s much smaller than I remembered it. It’s formulaic. There are jokes that don’t land, but most do. 

The movie is at its best when it’s not thrusting our two protagonists through the plot, hitting predictable road trip comedy tropes. It’s more fun watching Farley and Spade play around with each other in the small moments: sing-alongs to REM and The Carpenters and “Eres Tú,” fat guy in a little coat, housekeeping.

Like John Candy in Uncle Buck, I think the legacy of Chris Farley and Tommy Boy is one of sadness and loss. Also like Candy, I could imagine that Farley would have aged wonderfully into better and deeper roles. There are moments in Tommy Boy where you can see him tap into some pathos. I think he had several more gears in him as an actor, but we’ll never know because of his death from addiction. 

He’s able to lift Tommy Boy above its formulaic, modest SNL-movie ambitions, but he could have done so much more.