58 Fun Facts About Tommy Boy

Which studio released Tommy Boy in theaters in 1995?

Paramount Pictures released Tommy Boy in 1995; the studio's later sequel pitch went nowhere because Farley's co-star felt a follow-up without him could never work.

On what date did Tommy Boy open in US theaters?

Tommy Boy opened on Friday, March 31, 1995 and topped the box office that weekend, though its real fame came later on home video.

Who directed Tommy Boy?

Peter Segal directed Tommy Boy as his second feature and went on to make Anger Management, 50 First Dates and Get Smart.

Who produced Tommy Boy?

Lorne Michaels produced Tommy Boy as a feature vehicle for two of his Saturday Night Live cast members, the same year he produced the SNL spin-off Stuart Saves His Family.

The credited screenwriters, Bonnie and Terry Turner, went on to create which pair of sitcoms?

Bonnie and Terry Turner, husband-and-wife SNL writers, went on to create 3rd Rock from the Sun in 1996 and That '70s Show in 1998.

Tommy returns home after college to which Ohio city?

Tommy comes home to Sandusky, Ohio, on Lake Erie, though the film never shot there; production was based in Ontario.

Tommy's hometown is a real place whose tourism is led by which amusement park?

Cedar Point, the Lake Erie amusement park famous for its roller coasters, is the town's main draw; locals told the director it and Tommy Boy were the two things that put them on the map.

Callahan Auto's survival hinges on a new division making what product?

Callahan Auto's new brake-pad division is the company's lifeline; when Big Tom dies the bank balks at its loan, and Tommy hits the road to sell the pads himself.

How many units of the new product must Tommy sell to prove the division is viable?

Tommy has to sell 500,000 units, half a million, putting up his inherited shares and the family house as collateral to buy the time to do it.

What classic car does Richard drive on the sales trip, and gradually watch fall apart?

Richard's car is a 1967 Plymouth GTX convertible; several were used during production, and one was handed to the animal trainer so a deer could learn to climb into it.

Who plays Ray Zalinsky, the self-described 'auto parts king'?

Dan Aykroyd plays Ray Zalinsky, one of his better-received roles in a rough 1990s stretch that included Coneheads and Exit to Eden.

Zalinsky Auto Parts, the rival that wants to swallow Callahan Auto, is based in which city?

Zalinsky's headquarters are in Chicago, where Tommy and Richard fly for a last-ditch meeting after talking their way onto a plane.

Zalinsky's TV commercial slogan says he makes car parts for whom?

Zalinsky's ads promise car parts 'for the American working man, because that's who I am'; Tommy throws the line back at him on live television to force the purchase order.

Who plays Big Tom Callahan, Tommy's larger-than-life father?

Brian Dennehy plays Big Tom Callahan; the burly stage and screen veteran went on to win a Tony for Death of a Salesman in 1999.

Who plays Beverly, the scheming new stepmother who is really a con artist?

Bo Derek plays Beverly Barish; the role brought her a Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actress, the film's only awards attention of note.

The actors playing Big Tom and Beverly had earlier both appeared in which Blake Edwards film?

In 10, the future Big Tom tended bar in the Mexican resort scenes while the future Beverly became a star running down the beach in cornrows.

Beverly's Worst Supporting Actress Razzie nomination lost to which star, for Four Rooms?

Madonna took the 1995 Razzie for Worst Supporting Actress for Four Rooms, the anthology film with segments by Tarantino, Rodriguez, Rockwell and Anders.

Which actress plays Michelle Brock, Tommy's old classmate and eventual love interest?

Julie Warner plays Michelle Brock, the childhood classmate who comes to work at Callahan Auto and sees through Beverly and Paul's scheme.

The actress who plays Michelle had her breakout opposite Michael J. Fox in which 1991 film?

Doc Hollywood (1991) cast her as Lou, the small-town ambulance driver who wins over Michael J. Fox's doctor; she followed it with Mr. Saturday Night opposite Billy Crystal.

Which actor plays Paul, Beverly's supposed son, without ever receiving an onscreen credit?

Rob Lowe plays Paul without a screen credit, a favor to his friend Farley; the two had become close around Saturday Night Live, and Lowe also turns up in Wayne's World.

According to the director, why did the actor playing Paul go uncredited?

The director speculated the actor may have thought the movie would tank and wanted distance from it.

Under what working title was Tommy Boy shot?

Tommy Boy was shot under the working title Rocky Road; the director and an uncredited SNL writer tossed most of the original script and started filming with a partial draft.

When first announced in March 1994, Farley's pay-or-play deal was for a script with what title?

The script was announced as Billy the Third: A Midwestern, by Bonnie and Terry Turner; it was heavily reworked into a road movie before shooting.

Although set in Ohio, where was the film primarily shot?

Tommy Boy was shot in and around Toronto, which doubled for Ohio; the director returned there to shoot My Spy more than two decades later.

What was Tommy Boy's total US box office gross?

Tommy Boy grossed $32.7 million in the United States; its 1996 follow-up Black Sheep landed at almost exactly the same figure.

Roughly how much did Tommy Boy earn on its opening weekend, enough to finish first?

Tommy Boy took in about $8 million over its opening weekend, enough for first place, but its reputation grew years later on home video.

How many stars out of four did Roger Ebert give the film?

Ebert gave Tommy Boy one star out of four, likening it to 'an explosion down at the screenplay factory,' and it later appeared on his list of most hated films.

What grade did opening-weekend audiences give the film in CinemaScore polling?

Critics were far cooler: it holds a Rotten Tomatoes consensus that it 'feels like a familiar sketch stretched thin'.

The 2005 two-disc DVD was branded as which edition, after one of Tommy's exclamations?

The 2005 two-disc Holy Schnike Edition DVD takes its name from Tommy's favorite exclamation and added a commentary, deleted scenes and featurettes.

Tommy Boy was its director's second feature; what was his first?

The director's first feature was Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994), where producer David Zucker taught him to test comedies in front of real audiences before locking a cut.

Which SNL writer did an uncredited rewrite of Tommy Boy and then scripted the follow-up Black Sheep?

Fred Wolf, then an SNL writer, did the uncredited Tommy Boy rewrite with the director and went on to write Black Sheep, Dirty Work and Joe Dirt.

The 1996 follow-up Black Sheep reunited the two leads under which director?

Penelope Spheeris, who had directed Wayne's World, made Black Sheep in 1996; its producer later called the film an act of desperation to recapture Tommy Boy's formula.

Tommy barely graduates after seven years from the same university his actor attended; which one?

Farley really did graduate from Marquette in 1986, with a degree in communications and theatre, and the film gives Tommy the same Milwaukee alma mater.

Which sport did Farley play in college, feeding the athleticism behind his physical comedy?

Farley played rugby in college, a sport that suited his bulk and speed; the director treated him like an athlete on set, ordering push-ups or laps when he got too amped up.

Where did the 'fat guy in a little coat' bit originate?

Farley only ever said the line at SNL; the sing-song version was an off-camera goof caught by the editor and then reshot.

Who noticed Farley singing 'fat guy in a little coat' off-camera and pushed for a reshoot?

Editor Bill Kerr spotted the off-camera sing-song in the dailies and pushed to reshoot it; Tommy Boy was his first feature as editor, and he later cut Superbad, Bridesmaids and Trainwreck.

When Farley asked Spade whether the tweed jacket made him look fat, what reply went into the film?

The reply 'No, your face does' went straight into the film; the director was so hungry for material that he asked the pair on the spot whether they had any more.

The hit-a-deer sequence was pitched to the director over lunch based on what?

The deer scene grew out of a real 911 call about a 'dead' deer that woke up inside someone's car; the director initially feared audiences would find it mean.

When the rusted screen-used car turned up as a barn find at auction, which cast member bought it?

David Spade bought the rusted original car when it surfaced at auction; the director had spotted it first but passed it to his star, who kept it as a conversation piece.

Who composed the orchestral score, reportedly in just three weeks?

David Newman wrote the orchestral score; the studio had budgeted only for a small band and approved a full orchestra after test screenings.

Which studio head reacted to the first screening with 'That's not the movie I bought', tears in her eyes?

Sherry Lansing, then the studio's chairman, was moved to tears at the first screening; the heart she had not expected came from the father-son story added when the original script was thrown out.

With shooting overlapping an SNL season, how many days a week could the director use his stars?

The stars were available only three days a week: they shot Monday to Wednesday, flew to New York for the show, and came back on Sunday.

Told to sign his 'John Hancock', Tommy replies that it's whose Hancock?

Tommy answers that it's Herbie Hancock, a blank look at the jazz pianist's name; the line sits alongside 'Brothers gotta hug' among the film's most quoted moments.

Big Tom tells Tommy he met his bride-to-be where?

Big Tom says he met Beverly at a fat farm, a weight-loss retreat, which sets up the con artists' scheme to marry into Callahan Auto.

Richard sees Tommy's sales gift after Tommy talks a waitress into serving what before the kitchen opens?

Tommy charms the waitress into turning on the fryer for chicken wings, and Richard realizes that people-reading knack is the sales gift they need.

How do Tommy and Richard get aboard a plane to confront Zalinsky?

Spade's own SNL flight-attendant character was famous for a dismissive 'buh-bye'.

Michelle's brother, who digs up the con artists' records, has what job?

Michelle's brother is a police detective who pulls the records showing Beverly and Paul are con artists; she calls him after seeing them kiss at the airport.

Why is Beverly's marriage to Big Tom ultimately ruled invalid?

That means Big Tom's controlling shares pass to Tommy, who refuses to sell, and the Zalinsky deal collapses.

Zach Grenier, later Edward Norton's boss in Fight Club, plays which Callahan Auto associate?

Zach Grenier plays Ted Reilly, one of the Callahan Auto executives; Canadian actor Sean McCann plays the vice president, Frank Rittenhauer.

What MPAA rating did Tommy Boy receive?

Tommy Boy was rated PG-13 for its language and crude humor, keeping the teen audience that made it a video favorite.

What was Tommy Boy's production budget?

Tommy Boy cost about $20 million to make, a modest sum that its domestic gross covered with room to spare.

Which label released the Tommy Boy soundtrack album?

Warner Bros. Records put out the soundtrack in 1995; alongside the songs it includes dialogue tracks such as 'Fat Guy in Little Coat'.

Which band covers The Damned's 'Wait for the Blackout' on the Tommy Boy soundtrack?

The Goo Goo Dolls cover 'Wait for the Blackout' on the soundtrack, alongside The Carpenters' 'Superstar,' the song Tommy and Richard belt out in the car.

Which Ray Charles song do Tommy and Big Tom perform together in the film?

Big Tom and Tommy belt out Ray Charles's 'What'd I Say' at the wedding celebration, moments before Big Tom's fatal collapse.

Which Spanish-language song by Mocedades appears on the Tommy Boy soundtrack?

Mocedades' 'Eres Tú,' the Spanish group's 1973 Eurovision entry, plays in the film and appears on the soundtrack album.

What does Tommy strap on, along with Richard's wristwatch, to pose as a suicide bomber at Zalinsky's?

Tommy straps road flares to his chest with Richard's watch as a fake timer, a stunt that draws a live TV news crew and gets him back into the boardroom.

Which Los Angeles Times critic called Tommy Boy a 'sweet natured' 'good belly laugh of a movie'?

Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times praised it as a 'sweet natured' 'good belly laugh of a movie'; Caryn James of the New York Times called it the very poor cousin of a dopey Jim Carrey movie.

On which two formats did Tommy Boy premiere for home viewing on October 10, 1995?

Tommy Boy reached home viewers on VHS and LaserDisc on October 10, 1995, and it was on tape that the film grew into a cult favorite.