A few nights ago, I rewatched the very under appreciated Tommy Boy. I just have to say, I really miss Chris Farley. A funny man who died way too soon and unfortunately didn’t leave many movies behind for us to watch. I’ll confess that I never watched a lot of Saturday Night Live, but I did see some of his performances on there. My most favorite one would have to be Matt Foley, or van down by the river guy. For real, how is that not the best one? Okay, some might say Chippendales, but I prefer him actually speaking. I want to focus more on his movies. He has a good filmography; I’m a fan of Beverly Hills Ninja and Black Sheep, but let’s face it, Tommy Boy is just lighting in a bottle.
I’m not just saying that because it’s funny either. Scratch that, it’s hilarious. In my opinion, that movie is Chris Farley in his prime and his best performance. Every time I watch it, I have to face the fact that I’ll never see Chris Farley be in a movie again. That makes me very, very sad and I don’t think anyone can bring the comedy the same way Chris Farley did. He was always the big, fat guy, but he embraced that part of himself and turned it into comedy gold. Much like Jim Carrey, he was an expert in slapstick comedy and it was his size and body language that made it work. Heck, that’s why pretty much all of his performances made us laugh, because he didn’t care that he was fat. In fact, he was pretty mobile for his size, which separated him from other comedians.
Chris Farley was a unique kind of comedic actor, but I admire him because he was never ashamed of how he looked. He made his large size work for him and blended it with the slapstick that made him a comedic powerhouse. This is just one of the many reasons why he was excellent in Tommy Boy. Almost everyone in the movie made fun of him for being fat. Plus, he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he never lashed out at anyone. Okay, except for maybe Richard, but to be fair, he was being a jerk. The point is, he was the funniest guy in the room and wanted to live life to the fullest. The problem with that is that he also didn’t realize what responsibility was.
Tommy Callahan’s hero’s journey was about a young man born from privilege and frivolous responsibility learning how to become an adult. In the end, he carried on his deceased father’s legacy and saved hundreds of his workers from losing their jobs. The best part about his character development was that he never lost the best aspects of his personality. Heck, he never even lost any weight. But you know what? He didn’t have to. He started out as basically Chris Farley and ended the film as basically Chris Farley, but more successful. The important thing about his character was that he had a big heart and wanted the best for everyone.
It’s rare that comedies get a protagonist like that, but Tommy Boy’s brilliance doesn’t stop there. What I love most about it is actually the problem I have with many comedies today. When I watch Tommy Boy, I don’t hear too many swear words or even offensive jokes. I’ll just say first hand, I am a fan of black comedy. Offensive jokes don’t bother me, because come on, these are movies and (most of them) know which lines to cross. Their goal is to never offend anyone. On the contrary, the goal is to be an equal opportunity offender. If you watch shows like South Park or Family Guy, you’ll understand.
I’ll get more on that later, but I bring this up because Tommy Boy didn’t need any of that type of humor to be funny. You can say that Chris Farley carried much of the weight, but that’s because he did funny things. When I say funny things, I mean silly things and said the silliest things ever. From accidentally tearing off Richard’s car door or burning a toy car, Tommy was just a klutz who had to do everyday things. It was hilarious because he couldn’t really handle doing those things and watching him screw up was the funniest thing ever.
That’s the difference between Tommy Boy and many comedy movies that are shown today. For example, any movie starring Seth Rogen involves a lot of profanity and jokes about sex. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a funny guy and his movies are hilarious, but those jokes can get old. What I love about Tommy Boy is that there was no need for throwing around f-bombs or sex jokes. The characters were just regular people doing normal things. It’s how they went about doing those things that made us laugh.
Tommy Boy was a comedy of the 90’s, so I get things change in time. Comedy movies have evolved in a way that’s both good and bad, but we should look back at the kind of comedy Tommy Boy is. It’s a reminder that movies don’t need excessive profanity to be funny. Let’s take a minute and talk about the comedies of today. I mentioned Seth Rogen earlier and in my opinion, he’s pretty hit or miss. I don’t dislike the guy, but I’m not a huge fan of his either.
Recently, I’ve been enjoying the stuff he’s been producing more than starring in. The best example is The Boys. I just have to say, the humor on that show is about as over-the-top as humor can possibly get. It’s not for everyone, but for someone like me, it’s right up my alley. Yeah, I like dark humor, but I like it mostly because it’s different. It makes fun of the superhero genre in the darkest way possible, but I have to say, bringing Seth Rogen on board was a good move. He gets dark humor, and makes it work in The Boys. Since he’s an executive producer on the show, he has a say on what jokes we hear. It works and it’s funny, but The Boys is also proof that he’s capable of not telling the same jokes over and over again.
Unfortunately, his work on The Boys is nothing like Tommy Boy. Tommy Boy didn’t have to be over-the-top or extremely vulgar. It was funny because Chris Farley is just a uniquely funny guy. He doesn’t need to swear or joke about sex or other cultures, he just had to do things. Even David Spade’s Richard, who was basically the polar opposite of Chris Farley’s Tommy, was just being sarcastic all the time and that worked for him. Rob Lowe was the bad guy and he was just a dolt who kept getting himself hurt and that made us laugh. Heck, Dan Aykroyd just had to talk and that was funny. These characters were normal people who did normal things and had to deal with normal problems.
Tommy Boy was funny because there was nothing too crazy going on. These characters were relatable and dealt with normal problems. If a movie can make us laugh just by having their characters trying to do regular things, then that’s really something. That’s why Tommy Boy is different from other comedies and that’s why it’s one of the best. It’s a quality that modern comedies unfortunately lack.
Thank you Chris Farley for giving us this comedic masterpiece.
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