Tommy Boy

Has genuine life in it. It's an energetic comedy that consistently looks for and finds unexpected ways to be funny. [31 Mar 1995, p.C8]

A gentler adjunct to the dumb-buddy craze that's mostly inoffensive, save for a gratuitous bong-smoking scene. [31 Mar 1995, p.4D]

Chris Farley is fine at physical gags, David Spade is snappy with wise cracks and Brian Dennehy is a good actor who has the best part in the movie-because he gets to die halfway through it. Tommy Boy, an attempt at populist comedy, has some laughs. But it doesn't really have any ideas, meaning or real feeling. This movie has a heart of plastic. It doesn't beat; it squeaks. [31 Mar 1995, p.C2]

Chris Farley's first star turn is loaded with fat jokes, excrement gags and other banality, but also offers more goofy charm than most of its recent brethren -- which is to say, not much.

Some of it is funny -- particularly the physical comedy. Most of it is not.

Farley is the physical pratfaller, a clumsy oaf with the brawn of a bison and a brain to match; Spade the slimline sidekick with a long line in snide. It's some indication of the wit involved that Farley is reduced to cracking fat jokes at his own expense.

The movie is an assembly of clichés and obligatory scenes from dozens of other movies, all are better. It has only one original idea, and that's a bad one: The inspiration of making the hero's sidekick into, simultaneously, his buddy, his critic and his rival.

An absolute classic. My wife and I quote it weekly. Farley and Spade have never been funnier.

Chris Farley is a treat to watch and so is this movie. I once watched this as an extra credit assignment in a business class. I can't even remember the class, just watching and writing the book report :) This film is a good memory and the message about the Rust Belt still rings true.

Saturday Night Live was such a fertile breeding ground for this type of pop-friendly, quotable, digestible comedy in the mid 1990s. The very best amongst these could even give the old heartstrings a tug; no mean feat for a sub-genre that usually leaps from loud noises to broken furniture and back again. Tommy Boy is one such marvel. There's nothing overtly groundbreaking or creative about the script - the boss's doofus kid inherits a family business, embarks upon a road trip, develops a close friendship and (eventually) finds his way - but, through Chris Farley's irresistible strength of personality, its value far outweighs the sum of its parts. Which, again, is a common trait among this era's SNL graduating class. Adam Sandler's breakthrough films walk the right side of idiocy due to the star's unique force of will. Wayne's World would be weak sauce, at best, without Mike Myers and Dana Carvey's side-splitting delivery. This adventure is entirely a Farley playground, with just a few spicy, sarcastic segments set aside for his second-billed counterpart, David Spade. The two do have chemistry, which makes for good feelings when they finally work past their differences and unite against the common enemy, but Spade's acidic stylings are smartly limited to occasional counter-punches (or, sometimes, a well-swung 2x4). Farley just has so much energy, I'm not sure there’s room for a partner of more equal footing. He dominates with jolly physicality, reels us in with heart-on-sleeve self-deprecation, even stings us with a few touches of tender sensitivity. By the end of the road trip, we've been through hell together and watched him grow up. Tommy and company might not brave new horizons, but they still hold a special place in my heart. All the memorable bits still bring big laughs, an endless string of fondly-remembered phrases for those of us who lived through the film's first years, but it also handles enough emotional resonance to keep everything tethered to the turf. A fine night's entertainment.

Very funny movie. A screw up that wants to make it to the top. He is also very clumsy and just can't seem to do anything right or the way he practices it.

Tommy Boy is the archetypical buddy-comedy/roadtrip film. Chris Farley and David Spade are at their absolute best and they give career-defining performances. The midwest is wonderfully represented and poked fun at, and the movie has a lot of laughs that hold up today! It's got everything you could hope for in a comedy!