Though he is considered by many to be one of the premiere funnymen of his generation,the film career ofSNLlegendChris Farleywas sadly short-lived. Sure, Farley popped up in memorably demented cameos in comedy vehicles headlined by hisSaturday Night Livepals: he was especially memorable as a misanthropic bus driver in his palAdam Sandler’s breakout film,Billy Madison,and the same is true of Farley’s work as a depraved, nose-less bartender in theNorm MacDonald-starring,Bob Saget-directedDirty Work.
All that said, Farley’s stint as a leading man was brief and, ultimately, somewhat scattered. There is a slow, gradual depreciation in terms of quality in the Farley star vehicles of the ’90s; from the spirited, albeit sophomoric buffoonery ofBlack Sheepto the dire, laugh-free dead zone of the soggyAlmost Heroes, the latter of which was inexplicably directed byBest in Showcomedy geniusChristopher Guest. Farley, as we all know, met a tragic and untimely end, his death rendered all the more senseless by the fact that so many people seemed to truly love him. As for Farley’s film career, it felt like the man was just getting started: it’s well-known at this point thatFarley was the original choice to playShrek, everyone’s favorite grumpy, green ogre; he was even consideringa dramatic turn as disgraced comicFatty Arbucklein the years before his passing.
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‘Tommy Boy’ Established Chris Farley as a Movie Star
Knowing all this makes it that much easier to appreciateTommy Boy, Farley’s raucous, pure-hearted comedy classic that cemented him as a movie star and a serious commercial draw. To date,Tommy Boyremains Farley’s only perfect comedy vehicle, mostly because it leans hard on the clownish iconography that made him a star during his Second City tenure: the movie showcases Farley’s overwhelmingly physical energy, his shamelessness, his effortlessness with pratfalls, and above all else, the sense of sweetness that made the Wisconsin native so much more than aJohn Belushiclone. Yet, there isanotherreason thatTommy Boyhas endured nearly 30 years after its theatrical release: it is the only film that Chris Farley ever gave us that had something to say about who he was as a human being.
Of course, it didn’t start out that way.SNLplayers in the 90s often came to the show with one goal: to achieve enough success that they were given their own Hollywood movie (hey, it worked forEddie Murphy).Lorne Michaels, oddball visionary that he is, had the brilliant idea that the brotherly bickering that Farley andSNLcastmateDavid Spadebecame famous for during rehearsals and read-throughs was enough to build a comedy feature around.Saturday Night LivewriterFred Wolf, who would go on to writeJoe DirtandGrown-Ups, was brought in to do an uncredited polish on a script penned by fellowSNLscribesBonnieandTerry Turner.
Tommy Boywas originally called “Rocky Road,” then “Billy The Third: A Midwestern,” though the filmmakers had to alter that last title due to its similarity to Adam Sandler’sBilly Madison, which was released the same year. Farley’s first star vehicle was then rushed into principal photography, with then-novice directorPeter Segal(who would later go on to direct the likes ofThe Nutty Professor II: The Klumpsand50 First Dates) at the helm. The rest, as they say, is history.
What Is ‘Tommy Boy’ About?
Like Farley himself, the hero ofTommy Boy, Tommy Callahan III, is a fun-loving, self-destructive, rugby-playing party animal who can’t enter a room without turning it inside out. He makes the people around him laugh convulsively, even if it was too often at his own expense.TommyBoy is also steeped in the All-American Midwestern milieu that Farley grew up in, with its folksy longtime inhabitants, unbothered country roads, and humble greasy spoon diners. Farley’s affinity for messing with David Spade also found its way into the shoot: the famous “fat-guy-in-a-little-coat” bit was one thatFarley used to practice on writers during his time atSNL, and the duo’s tendency to snipe at each other in a (mostly) good-natured fashion ended up informing the prickly interpersonal dynamic that exists between Farley’s well-meaning, inept doofus and Spade’s snide, sarcastic second banana character, Richard Hayden.
Unsurprisingly,Tommy Boy’smost revealing autobiographical flourish is rooted in what could easily be construed as the most personal element of this particular story. We refer, of course, to the deep, unwavering familial love and unabashed adoration that sweet Tommy has for his successful businessman father, “Big Tom" Callahan, who is played in a gruff, loving, larger-than-life performance by veteran actorBrian Dennehy.
How ‘Tommy Boy’ Mirrors Chris Farley’s Personal Life
Anyone who knows anything about Chris Farley knows that he worshipped his father – who, come to think of it, was also named Tom. Tom Farley Sr. (Chris is survived by his three brothers, John, Kevin, and Tom Jr.) was the president of an oil company, much in the same manner that “Big Tom” Callahan runs a family auto parts business. Farley and his father were incredibly close,with family members claiming that the older Farley had a considerable “influence” over his son. It is a curious thing, to build a goofy slapstick comedy around something as specific and affecting as the bond between a father and a son – which makes it all the more devastating when Big Tom suddenly passes away mid-movie, his loss haunting the otherwise bright edges of the story like a ghost (the real Tom Farley outlived his famous son, passing away in 1999).
While Farley’s later vehicles suffer from a less personal touch and an overabundance of vulgar humor (the not-unfunnyBlack Sheepreprises the Farley/Spade dynamic to slightly diminishing returns, while the mostly bafflingBeverly Hills Ninjashoehorns Farley’s bull-in-a-China-shop persona into a mostly inert Hollywood action-comedy),Tommy Boyremains, in its own way, entirely pure. Farley mostly felt comfortable expressing himself by making other people laugh, butTommy Boyis much more than Chris Farley’s funniest movie. It’s the closest thing we ever got to a personal statement from the late comedy trailblazer.
