Tommy Boy – Holy Schnike Edition (Paramount Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: B- Film: B+
Why do
only the good (actors) die young? Now on
Blu-ray is Tommy Boy: Holy Schnike Edition;
by far Chris Farley’s best film effort.
After his remarkable run on Saturday
Night Live, with his astonishing presence and unforgettable character
creations Chris Farley ventured out into the film world. Chris Farley at first made memorable
appearances in films like Coneheads,
Wayne’s World 1 & 2 as well as Billy Madison; starring side-by-side with
fellow SNL alums like Jane Curtin, Dan Aykroyd, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, and
Adam Sandler.
After a
promising start with a number of film cameos, Farley received his first feature
film with Tommy Boy the story of a
fumbling, over weight, under achieving, college grad (only took seven years)
who looks to take up shop at daddy’s auto-parts factory. The film also stars Farley’s SNL buddy David Spade as Tommy’s dad’s
wise cracking, short tempered, right hand man who has been assigned to watch
over Tommy as he becomes acclimated to the family business. After Big Tom [Tommy’s dad] dies on his
wedding day of a massive heart attack; Tommy looks to step up to the plate as
his stepmother (Bo Derek) and her “son”/husband (Rob Lowe) look to sell the
company out from under him. Oddly
enough, Rob Lowe is uncredited in this film.
The film is a mix of hilarious one-liners and slapstick comedy between
Farley and Spade as they journey across the country to save Tommy’s (Farley)
family business from the brink of ruin.
For all intents and purposes Tommy
Boy is a ‘road trip’ film that puts the unlikely pair in unimaginable and
extreme situations that brings them closer together the further they go.
Sure the
film is dumb. Sure it has toilet
humor. Sure there are parts of the story
that make no sense. The truth of the
matter is that Tommy Boy is a
ridiculously immature film, but has a ton of heart and a great comic pairing
(even Dan Aykroyd makes an appearance).
Spade and Farley play extremely well of each other, anticipating each
others’ every move. Farley mostly played
the bumbling idiot on SNL and
nothing has changed here; but if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. But make sure you check your break pads.
The film
contains a 1.85 X 1 image in a 1080p AVC MPEG-4 presentation that is not
perfect, but is the best the film has ever looked on home video. The Blu-ray has solid blacks and a nice
clarity, but the image’s colors are underwhelming and dull as well as there
being a degree of grain/debris at times throughout the film. The sound is a 5.1 Dolby True HD track that
gets the job done, but is far from impressive as it projects mainly from the
front. The film is by no means an action
spectacular, but there is enough energy that the speakers should have had a
better range. The dialogue is crystal
clear throughout, but the side and back speakers are only used sparingly for
music and some action sequences with little directionality.
The
extras include all the same bonus material that was on the Holy Schnike DVD release of Tommy
Boy, but sadly there is no High Definition picture/sound upgrade for those
features here; only being presented in 480i/p.
The extras are all adequate, though nothing fantastic as they include a
‘blah’ Peter Segal commentary, several behind the scenes featurettes, story
board comparisons, a photo gallery, and 19 TV Spots. The two special features that stand out are
the 26 deleted/extended scenes and the hilarious (but short) gag reel that
truly highlights the genius of the Spade, Farley comedic team. There are many, many extras to sift through
and it only makes it all the more sad that Chris Farley is no longer around to
add his charm and input to the extras on a film that made him immortal.
Chris
Farley may be remembered as the ‘fat guy in a little coat,’ but maybe he was
just too big for this world that loved his off brand of comedy.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
