I believe that comedy, like many things, has different eras that rise and fall with popularity. I'm not sure if this is a function of our changing view of the world as we age, or if it is in fact the case that there is a certain time for certain types of comedy. In the 1990s, gross out, slap-stick comedies reigned supreme. Actors like Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, and Jim Carrey made movies that centered around an idiot protagonist had a heavy focus on physical comedy. My childhood is filled with fond memories of films like Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Today those films simply don't hold up. The gags for the most part now seem hacky and sophomoric. This might be because as I've aged my taste in comedy has matured, but on the other hand it could also be that comedy itself has evolved, now favoring styles of comedy that were once considered “alternative.” Now when Adam Sandler (or anyone involved in a Happy Madison production, it seems) releases a “comedy” that replicates this style of comedy that was popular in the 90s, the film is immediately written off (usually rightly so) as a waste of time. Evidence of this trend can be seen in Sandler's recent sweep of the Razzie Awards for his film Jack and Jill. While Tommy Boy is objectively a better movie than Jack and Jill, it does have many of the same pitfalls that garnered Mr. Sandler so many of his “awards.”
The film centers around the character of Tommy Callahan (Chris Farley), the son of an auto parts manufacturer who has finally just scraped up enough of a GPA to graduate from college. Upon graduation, Tommy returns to his hometown of Sandusky, Ohio to work for his father, Big Tom (Brian Dennehy) in the family business. Big Tom also happens to be getting married to a new beautiful woman named Beverly (Bo Derek), but during a rousing performance at the wedding reception, Big Tom dies of a heart attack, creating an uncertain future for the future of Callahan Auto Parts. In order to keep the business from being bought by the competition, Tommy decides he will go on the big sales trip his father was planning before he passed. What follows is a road trip movie with Tommy and his co-worker Richard (fellow SNL alum David Spade), who is along on the trip because he actually knows about the merchandise being sold. As the two of them travel across the midwest, there are a variety of situations that are played for comedic results. Some of them work, others don't. The highlight being a trick Tommy uses to get out a speeding ticket by pretending his car is filled with bees. One of the running gags of the movie that falls flat is having Richard's prized car fall apart as the road trip continues, eventually leaving the two of them riding in a car that resembles the jalopy from “The Beverly Hillbillies.” Meanwhile Beverly and her son scheme to get the company sold so that they will make a fortune on their holdings in the company.
The film is in essence a collection of cinema cliches that somehow congeal into a semi-cohesive plot. There's the idiot son who returns home, an unexpected stepmother, the company gets in trouble, it's up to the idiot son to save the day, unexpected stepmother turns out to be the villain, road movie/buddy picture. The film does make some attempts to create memorable lines and catchphrases, and some of them, though I'm not sure how or why, worked out to be quoted for years to come. The most obvious being “Holy Schnikes!” and the inexplicably immortal “Fat guy in a little coat.”
While this film did have it's moments, overall it was predictable and unfunny.
Rating: 3/10 - Immoral
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