Why So Blu?

Tommy Boy (30th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray Steelbook Review)

Comedy films are in short supply in 2025.  The genre has always been a great comfort to me as a movie fanatic.  This is easily the most populated genre in my collection.  The genre is also the one that has many movie memories attached to it for me.  One such film that holds memories for me is Tommy Boy. When Tommy Boy was first teased to come to 4K, I got super excited.  Then nothing for a long time.  Then boom – The real announcement came in.  I was ecstatic.  I went right back to the newly 9-year-old me that bought Tommy Boy on tape with his birthday money.  So how does Tommy Boy hold up 30 years from its initial release? No guarantee on the steelbook, but I’m gonna take Tommy’s word for it that it holds up!

Film

Tommy (Chris Farley) is a career slacker.  After taking 7 years to piddle his way through college, he arrives home in Sandusky, Ohio. His father, Big Tom (Brian Dennehy) runs Calahan Auto Parts and keeps the town running.  He gives Tommy a job and an office.  Tommy has very little in the way of life skills, however.  His brain cells are also dwindled by weed consumption, day drinking and too many hits playing rugby at school.

Richard (David Spade) a “frenemy” of Tommy works for Big Tom and is asked to mentor Tommy.  Much to Richard’s agony, he obliges.  Big Tom is like Richard’s father figure, so he will do anything to stay in his good graces.  Big Tom also surprises Tommy with Beverly (Bo Derek), his future stepmother.  Beverly comes with the baggage of Paul (Rob Lowe), her snarky son.  We also meet Michelle (Julie Warner) a high school friend of Tommy’s who works for Calahan. She may also have a little crush on the hyperactive Tommy.

At the big wedding, Big Tom is a ball of nerves and so excited.  Once the nuptials happen, Big Tom and Tommy have a musical moment getting down to a Ray Charles classic.  One spin too many gives Big Tom a massive and fatal heart attack, sending Tommy and the business into a tailspin.  Desperate to prove himself, Tommy offers his inheritance and home to the business. He also volunteers to go on his father’s annual sales trip.  This year was a big deal because Calahan is making new brake pads, and the sales can keep the business strong for years to come.

Richard becomes Tommy’s wingman, and the journey begins in Richard’s Plymouth Satellite.  The trip is rocky.  Tommy can’t sell worth a damn, and Richard can’t help but to pick on Tommy for everything from his hyperactivity to his weight. Tommy also exhibits a massive streak of bad luck that usually has its consequences going to Richard’s classic car.  There is a mishap that destroys a door.  Another incident involves a not-so-dead dear.

As Richard and Tommy are on their road trip, we learn Paul and Beverly are con artists who wanted to bleed Big Tom dry with a nasty divorce scam.  His death only aided their trickery. Worse still, they aren’t mother and son but married themselves.   Their devious plans begin to unravel Calahan Auto Parts while their de-facto chief is out on the road.

After a particularly nasty incident that causes more car damage, Richard beats Tommy up.  After the fight, Tommy becomes somehow more convincing and charismatic about his salesman act. He begins to sell away, but not before some of Paul’s plans begin to make mistakes happen back at the parts factory. There’s also a little issue with a man called Ray Zalinsky (Dan Aykroyd), a powerful auto parts store owner who greedily wants Calahan Auto Parts for the name and plans to shutter the local factory.

Writing all of that out makes it seem like there’s a whole lot going on in Tommy Boy. There is plenty, but more often these story beats flow so smoothly that you just go along for the ride.  Chris Farley gives a very charismatic and sweet performance.  Even in his hyperactive moments there is nothing annoying or unlikeable about him.  David Spade takes on the role of Richard with the right amount of smarm and sarcasm.  You really do believe he has issues with Tommy having what he never did.  The supporting cast is also wonderful, especially Julie Warner who not only looks lovely here but has so much charisma and believability as she puts all her care into her hopefulness with Tommy.

Laughs are in abundance in Tommy Boy. Yes, 30 years on some of the jokes aren’t as funny as they once were.  The fat jokes wear thin in ways they didn’t before.  As a fat guy, I never felt the jokes sting as much as they did this time around.  I thought to myself that those would not fly these days.  There are other moments that could be considered questionable too, but I thought to myself that this was 30 years ago.  So, take those jokes with a grain of salt and just remember there was a time we could laugh at those kinds of things.  It’s ok to be sensitive now and still remember that the past was different with those sensitivities.

Other laughs are a mile a minute.  The back and forth between Spade and Farley is excellent, with barbs going back and forth.  Farley’s physical presence remains legendary.  Chris Farley only made a handful of films in his lifetime, and they all display his physicality.  Despite his weight, he was agile and somehow still fit as a fiddle. His physical comedy is still wonderful to this day. When it comes to Bo Derek and Rob Lowe it’s a perfect match – Two chic and vapid seeming actors filling those types of roles.  They may be great offscreen, but they really do embody the roles like they are real-life villains.

Tommy Boy did not go down so smoothly theatrically in 1995.  It made about $10 million more than its budget and reviews weren’t kind.  The home video response however was gigantic.  Each time the film got a new format; it has sold well too. The Holy Schnikes DVD was a big step up from VHS, and an identically formatted Blu-ray did the same business. Now, after 30 years, 4K is the way to see Tommy Boy. The legacy of Chris Farley as a great physical comedian with some surprising depth when given a good scene is present here. There is no denying Tommy Boy it’s icon status. This may not be pure cinema, but it will always be a whole lot of fun!

Video

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 2160p

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

HDR: Dolby Vision

Layers: BD-66

Clarity/Detail: Tommy Boy gets the 4K treatment with a Dolby Vision pass that also features the correct aspect ratio for the first time since DVD! The film has always had an autumnal look, and the colors have that same feel here. Textures and detail are sharper than ever, but nothing is tack sharp here.  Detail is solid and a much-needed upgrade from the now antique Blu-ray.

Depth: Depth is now more solid than before with focus and movement looking far superior to previous transfers. There are a few soft moments during some transitions, or the occasional landscape shot but overall, the film has been done proper justice depth-wise.

Black Levels: Black levels are wonderful! In one scene, Tommy sits on a loading dock in a black suit and the suit is a standout in how deep the blacks go without getting lost.  They pop! It’s a nice rendering and other moments featuring black clothing or darker scenes have that same complimentary look.

Color Reproduction: Colors are muted and flat – The look is intentional, as the film takes place in the mid-west and the season appears to be the fall no matter where the actors are travelling.  Browns, greens, and greys are most prevalent.  The flat palette may be intentional, but the transfer does a great job of rendering those flatter colors beautifully.

Flesh Tones: Flesh tones look natural with none of that overcooked nonsense going on.

Noise/Artifacts: Grain is tight, does not swarm and is undistracting.

Audio

Audio Format(s): English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

Dynamics: Ported from the 2008 Blu-ray, the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix for Tommy Boy remains serviceable overall.  The film is not one that has a ton of moments ripe for immersion and surround activity is minimal too.  Music benefits from the surround spacing and LFE is reserved for a select few sound effects and soundtrack cues.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: A couple of crash tests, a few punches and some soundtrack cuts hit the subwoofer with some light force.

Surround Sound Presentation: Surround speakers are utilized much like a receiver in 6-channel stereo here. The biggest beneficiary of these channels is the score by David Newman that borrows liberally from Howard Shore’s Mrs. Doubtfire score. I’ve hoped all these years that that was a coincidence.

Dialogue: Dialogue is prioritized front and center and is the best sounding part of Tommy Boy’s 5.1 mix.

Extras

Extras for Tommy Boy are also repurposed from the past.  I’d have loved to see something new here, especially something tributing Mr. Chris Farley, but fans can’t make those choices, and the legacy bonuses are no slouches. There are also 3 editions coming to 4K! The standard edition uses the poster art that adorns previous releases, and there are 2 steelbooks: a bright yellow one available everywhere physical media is sold, and a Walmart exclusive as well!

Bonus Features:

• Commentary by director Peter Segal
• Featurettes:
  • Tommy Boy: Behind the Laughter
  • Stories from the Side of the Road
  • Just the Two of Us
  • Growing Up Farley
• Storyboard Comparisons
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• Alternate Takes
• Gag Reel
• Photo Gallery
• TV Spots
• Theatrical Trailer

Summary

As 9-year-old me would say – This is a super funny movie and I’m glad I have it. You will be too if you pick up this 4K release! The technical merits are a great upgrade from the 2008 Blu-ray which is included here with all the bonuses, and the nostalgia may make you feel all warm and fuzzy.  Watching Chris Farley fumble, fall and create laughter just being his hyper self is a true treat, and is a great reminder of how sorely missed his comedic artistry is now.  This release comes highly recommended by me, no matter which version you pick!

Order Tommy Boy Standard 4K Edition HERE

Order Tommy Boy Steelbook Edition HERE