I’ll admit it, Tommy Boy was probably one of my favorite movies to watch while growing up. My brother and I wore out the VHS we had in our family living room. Yet, every time I think about the film as an adult, I oddly think of Roger Ebert’s brutal takedown in his one-star review.
No hate on Ebert; he’s the GOAT. But he’s also a moron. Tommy Boy is a great film.
Maybe it’s tinged a bit by the tragic passing of Farley a couple of years after its release. Or maybe it’s just because it was something I watched with family and friends so often growing up. Or maybe there’s just something oddly worth reminiscing on that comes from the heart of what the film is about.
A sign of a film being more than an ironic cult classic, but something the filmmakers and comedians behind it can be proud of even today.
Remembering 'Tommy Boy' (1995)
Directed by Peter Segal and written by Bonnie and Terry Turner, Tommy Boy was never really meant to be anything more than general-fare entertainment fodder for two up-and-coming, but not quite established, SNL stars.
Set in the heartland of America, the film follows an unlikely duo who both work for an auto parts company based in Sandusky, Ohio. It also begins with Chris Farley’s character graduating from an Animal House-esque college experience after seven years, and serves as a pseudo-sequel of sorts to the college party films of the 70s and 80s.
The film is really about unlikely friendships, accepting responsibilities, and living up to the lofty goals we hold for ourselves (or are held over us). It’s also a film about brotherhood, even if some of the characters don’t want it to be.
'Tommy Boy'
Credit: Paramount
“Brother’s Don’t Shake Hands….”
The one quote from Tommy Boy that I honestly still think about maybe once a week comes from Chris Farley’s Tommy character himself when he is first introduced to his future stepbrother Paul, played by Rob Lowe—who will eventually become the film’s main villain.
Greeting Paul for the first time, as a human Teddy Bear come to life, Farley’s Tommy greets him and heartily rejects a formal handshake, instead imploring a more loving embrace with the iconic quote:
"Brothers don't shake hands... Brothers gotta hug."
For anyone growing up with brothers or siblings, or even just having close family, can attest, it can be odd knowing when to be formal and distant and when to be loving and close, and this throwaway gag in the film actually does a great job of demonstrating how the lines we often put up can so easily, if not awkwardly, be crossed.
Lessons From 'Tommy Boy'
It’s moments like these in the film that Tommy Boy is at its best, and despite the silly premises and sometimes forced gags that Ebert and many other critics of the time were correct in pointing out, the film has a legacy built not just from VHS and cable TV rewatches, but from these surprisingly heartfelt moments sprinkled in.
A sign of great writing, filmmaking, and comedy.
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