Tommy Boy

It's hard to believe that Chris Farley would be dead in two years after making Tommy Boy. This may very well be his comedy triumph and Farley gets some great support from David Spade and good carefully selected ensemble.

Meet Tommy Callaghan, Jr. who is a decent hearted well intentioned klutz of a human being. But he's skated through life up to now because his dad is the biggest employer in the town with Callaghan's Auto Parts..

Brian Dennehy is Tom, Sr. and he's one of those employers who feels a responsibility to his workers. He hasn't relocated south of the border or to China to pay less than minimum wage. Dennehy and no pun intended is a larger than life figure who sadly really hasn't taken his kid in hand.

Dennehy also in his middle age has taken a nice trophy wife in Bo Derek with her son Rob Lowe. Wouldn't you know it on the wedding day Dennehy dies and if Callaghan Auto Parts doesn't get some leadership it will fold. And with a new stepmom in the picture, let's just say that Derek and Lowe have a different agenda.

This is Farley's moment to finally grow up and Spade kind of takes him in hand. But he needs a lot of tutoring.

There are a lot of great comedy moments. Two of my favorite are Farley and Spade on the road with some road kill that doesn't prove to be quite so dead. The other is Farley and Lowe getting acquainted as new stepbrothers and Farley introducing him to cow tipping, a favorite past time.

Lowe shows some great comic talent and I wonder why he didn't take any billing for the part. Kudos also go to Julie Warner playing the girl next door that Farley likes and to Dan Aykroyd as the business rival of Dennehy who wants to acquire the company. Aykroyd is a great believer in image management.

Tommy Boy is a great comedy of the 90s and Chris Farley is really spot on in this film.