Tommy Boy: 4K UHD Review
Just in time for its’ 30th anniversary, Paramount delivers Peter Segal’s Tommy Boy on 4K UHD for the first time. SNL castmates Chris Farley and David Spade go from bit parts in other big screen comedies to co-leads in the first (and best) of two feature films they would headline together. While not a box office hit, Tommy Boy would go on to become a cult hit, with home video and cable giving the film a wider fanbase. The chemistry between Farley and Spade was undeniable and the film also featured a supporting cast that included Rob Lowe, Bo Derek, Brian Dennehy and Dan Aykroyd. Tommy Boy was clearly inspired by Planes, Trains and Automobiles and lacks much of that film’s originality and heart. However, Farley and Spade are still able to bring the laughs, which is what’s most important in a buddy comedy.
Tommy Callahan III (Farley) is not the brightest bulb in the shed. After seven years in college, he finally (barely) graduated. Tom returns home and is hit with two surprises. The first is that his father, Thomas R. “Big Tom” Callahan Jr. (Dennehy) has given his son a job with an office at the auto parts factory. The second is that Big Tom is getting married to Beverly (Derek) and she has a son named Paul (Lowe), who is also Tommy’s age. The younger Callahan is excited about getting a new family. Unfortunately, the joy doesn’t last long, because Big Tom suffers a fatal heart attack at the wedding reception. To make matters worse, Beverly and Paul are actually con-artists, and their plan was to bleed the Callahan fortune dry. Big Tom’s death would just make their riches come quicker.
Tommy and the Callahan Auto Parts board are unaware of Beverly and Paul’s con, but that isn’t the only issue. With Big Tom’s passing, the bank won’t give the company the money needed for the new brake pad expansion, which means the company may have to be sold to competitor, Ray Zalinsky (Aykroyd). With the threat of losing the company his father built, Tommy puts up his home and other assets, giving him time to sell 500,000 brake pads. This would prove the company’s viability to the bank.
While Tommy has no experience in sales, he nominates his former schoolmate and his father’s right-hand man, Richard (Spade) to travel cross-country with him to sell the brake pads to Callahan clients. While it does take Tommy awhile to get the hang of selling, there are plenty of things that go wrong on the trip, many of them involve the beating Richard’s car takes. When Tommy does begin to make some major sales, Paul tries to figure out ways to sabotage the orders. After all, he can’t have Tommy save the company.
Tommy Boy is definitely a comedy classic for its era. Would I call it one of the greatest comedies out there? Definitely not! However, the film always reminds me of the comedic genius that Farley possessed. He really seemed to do whatever it would take to make an audience laugh. It’s really sad that he passed away at such a young age. He had such a likable on-screen presence as well. The new 2160p presentation with Dolby Vision gives us the best physical media presentation to date. With this being a road-trip movie, set in the fall, we get plenty of location shots. The brown/red autumn leaves look fantastic in a few daytime shots. The metallic blue of Richard’s classic car really pops on screen. Skin tones and facial features look detailed and natural, especially in close ups. As for audio, the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 has been ported over from the previous Blu-ray and that is fine. This is not the type of film that needs Dolby Atmos. The bonus features were also ported over. This release is really all about the visual presentation of the Tommy Boy 4K upgrade. The biggest thing here in my opinion is that we finally had the correct aspect ratio, which is something the 1080p Blu-ray lacked.
Bonus Features:
- Commentary by director Peter Segal
- Featurettes:
- Storyboard Comparisons
- Deleted and Extended Scenes
- Alternate Takes
- Gag Reel
- Photo Gallery
- TV Spots
- Theatrical Trailer
By: Marc Ferman