Tommy Boy (Holy Schnike Edition)

Party animal Tommy Callahan (Chris Farley) is definitely a few cans short of a six-pack. But after seven years, Tommy's finally earned his diploma - and a cushy job at Callahan Auto Parts. Returning home, Tommy gets some more great news: his dad (Brian Dennehy) is marrying a real "10" (Bo Derek), and Tommy will get the stepbrother (Rob Lowe) he always wanted. Awesome! But as fast as you can say "Who killed the keg?", the family business starts tanking. Now Tommy's got to hit the road with his dad's right-hand man, a smug number-cruncher (David Spade). And what these two don't know about salesmanship could fill a book - and a riotously funny movie!

Before his death, comedian Chris Farley made a pair of surprisingly successful comedies that teamed him with Saturday Night Live colleague David Spade. Their relationship in each film was pretty much the same, but then so was Abbott and Costello's or Laurel and Hardy's (not that Farley and Spade are in their league). In Tommy Boy, Farley plays the ne'er-do-well son of a successful auto parts manufacturer (Brian Dennehy). When Dad drops dead just after marrying a young new wife, it's up to Tommy (aided by sarcastic bean-counter Spade) to rescue the company by taking over for his father. Black Sheep features a slightly different plot: This time, Spade is hired by Farley's brother (Tim Matheson), a candidate for governor, to keep Farley (an accident-prone buffoon) out of sight until after the election. Farley has a likable quality that is exploited by continuous slapstick centered on his clumsiness, both physically and socially. --Marshall Fine