`Tommy Boy' is a laugh

Milwaukee Journal, The, Apr 7, 1995

It took him seven years to do it, but Tommy Callahan (Chris Farley) finally has graduated from college, and now that he is out he has absolutely no idea what he is going to do for a living.

Luckily for him, his proud father (Brian Dennehy) owns an auto parts factory and has a job for "Tommy Boy" all set up for when he returns. He also has another surprise. One week after his son's arrival, the elder Callahan plans to marry a beautiful, much younger woman (Bo Derek), who also has a son. Tommy could not be happier. He has a new job, a new mother, a new brother (Rob Lowe) and even a new girlfriend.

Unfortunately, his father collapses and dies at the wedding, leaving everything to his son and new wife. Now Tommy has a million problems. His father has left him an auto parts factory that is losing a lot of money, and he cannot get another loan from the bank.

Desperate to keep the factory afloat, Tommy agrees to go on a road trip with his father's right-hand man (David Spade) to try to seal orders for 500,000 parts. Here the adventure begins.

Spade and Farley team up in this hilarious comedy to bring lots of laughter to the audience. Granted, the plot lacks any kind of depth but the lines and dialogue make up for any of the plot's flaws. Spade and Farley bring a humor to the big screen that they seem to fail to do on the TV screen in "Saturday Night Live."

Basically, the story is quite predictable: You can tell what is going to happen after the first half-hour of the film. What one cannot predict are the funny things that happen to the two main characters in their attempt to save the company. For this reason, the film is extremely hilarious, although too drawn-out at times.

All in all, "Tommy Boy" is a terrific movie for anyone who is in the mood to see a good comedy and does not mind the fact that the story might drag occasionally.