Tommy Boy (1995)
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A socially immature man must team up with a sardonic assistant to save his father's auto parts company from financial ruin.
The story
After graduating from Marquette University, Thomas R. "Tommy" Callahan III returns to his hometown of Sandusky, Ohio, to find the industrial sector largely shut down. His father, a widowed industrialist, appoints him to an executive job at the family's auto parts plant, Callahan Auto, just before suffering a fatal heart attack. With the company facing immediate debt and a lack of bank loans, Tommy proposes a high-stakes sales trip to prove the viability of a new brake pad division. He is forced to team up with Richard Hayden, a resentful and sycophantic assistant who feels he earned his position more than Tommy did.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Following the death of his father, Tommy Callahan III must save Callahan Auto from bankruptcy. He embarks on a cross-country sales trip with Richard Hayden, a bitter assistant. While on the road, Tommy's social anxiety causes friction with potential buyers, leading to a fistfight with Richard. They eventually reconcile when Richard realizes Tommy's unique ability to read people. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Tommy's new stepmother, Beverly, and her husband Paul are con artists seeking to sell the company to Ray Zalinsky. After Paul sabotages some sales, the bank moves to sell the company to Zalinsky. Tommy and Richard pose as flight attendants to reach Chicago, where they learn Zalinsky plans to shutter the company and ruin the town. Tommy devises a plan to use a fake suicide bomber disguise to get back into the boardroom. He successfully persuades Zalinsky to sign a purchase order by quoting the mogul's own slogan. It is later revealed that Beverly's marriage to Big Tom was bigamous, meaning the shares belong to her son, Paul. When Tommy refuses to sell, the deal falls through. Paul is arrested for fraud, and Tommy accepts the presidency of Callahan Auto, vowing to keep the workers employed while beginning a relationship with Michelle Brock.
- First release year
- 1995
- Runtime (minutes)
- 97
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Peter Segal
- Writers
- Bonnie Turner · writer; Terry Turner · writer
- Cast and characters
- Chris Farley · Thomas R. “Tommy” Callahan III; David Spade · Richard Hayden; Bo Derek · Beverly Burns-Barrish; Brian Dennehy · Thomas R. "Big Tom" Callahan Jr.; Julie Warner · Michelle Brock; Dan Aykroyd · Ray Zalinsky; Rob Lowe · Paul Barrish; Sean McCann · Frank Rittenhauer
- Genres
- buddy comedy; road movie
- Themes
- friendship; self-worth; legacy; overcoming social anxiety
- Tone and mood
- comedy; sweet-natured; funny
- Premise and plot tags
- buddy comedy; road movie; father-son relationship; corporate comedy
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising the lead performances while others criticized the screenplay. It was a cult success on home video.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 41% · review count: 49; Metacritic · score: 46 · scale: 100 · review count: 20
- Awards and nominations
- Razzie Award · Worst Supporting Actress · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The film was shot under the working title 'Rocky Road'.; The film is dedicated to Gregg Fonseca, who died in 1994.; A sequel was pitched in 2023 but rejected by David Spade.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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