Sandusky connection and rewatching a silly favorite

Equal parts funny, endearing and just plain sophomoric, Tommy Boy was an icon of the over-the-top performance comedy genre that was popular among 12-year-olds like myself. Released in 1995, this silly movie was a staple of my childhood, right alongside "hits" Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison. I probably saw each movie at least 20 times between the ages of 12 and 20, but I've watched them a cumulative zero times between the ages of 20 and 42. Until this week. I was spurred from the smile I found when I read a recent edition of my Sandusky Register. In what was front-page news, Shores and Islands Ohio announced Sandusky would be hosting a multi-day Tommy Boy Fest in early August. The news answered the long-standing question, as Rob Lowe's character, Paul, asked in the movie: "Is there anything to do in this place besides eat?" Yes, there certainly is! I remember being amused as a kid when watching Tommy Boy, as Sandusky was a place I was familiar with. As with most kids who grew up in Michigan, we made a nearly annual trek to Sandusky to be thrilled at Cedar Point. It was fun watching a movie set in a place I'd been to. Seeing that I am now the publisher of the local newspaper in Sandusky, my wife and I sat down to re-watch the Chris Farley classic through a different lens. Here are few observations: • It's so cool that Sandusky is featured. I noticed and loved Register newspaper boxes and shots from downtown. Although the movie was not filmed here, they nailed (although exaggerated) what the industrial sector of Midwestern cities like Sandusky can look like, as well as the rural life that is not far from the city's limits. I also recognized that a scene where the families of Callahan Auto Parts gathered at an amusement park was a likely nod to Cedar Point. Obviously, the movie is not a spitting image of this city, but little mentions of Sandusky were fun to see. • One thing that made me laugh — when Tommy returns to Callahan to begin his career as his father's successor following college, there is a series of portraits of Callahan family business leaders. This was very similar to the row of photos of Sandusky Register publishers that stood in the main suite of our downtown building up until just before the time I got here. Also, the scenes from the production lines at Callahan looked like they very well could have been filmed at the Register's old press and production areas (they were not). • Of course, we also noticed how different the world looked like 30 years ago. Hairstyles, clothing, speech patterns — a movie that I once thought would be a timeless favorite certainly felt a bit dusty, like it was straight out of 1995. Thirty years from now will be 2055 — I wonder what people will say about our modern world? • The jokes that my friends and I at one point repeated frequently ("Brothers don't shake hands. Brothers gotta hug!), were still funny, yet they seemed more low-brow and low-wit than I'd remembered. I guess that's what aging does to a person. I wouldn't have felt super comfortable watching this in front of my 11-year-old daughter. Still, the low-hanging-fruit style of humor is part of what makes this movie endearing and I was amazed at how many iconic (at least to me) lines this movie delivered. • Farley's exaggerated slapstick and ad-lib style was impressive to watch, especially in the light that he is no longer with us. It's definitely a throwback to an era of comedy that is somewhat bygone. This type of movie, and over-the-top actor, is smack-dab in a lane with Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler's 1990s work. The also deceased Brian Dennehy (who played Farley's father) was perfect for his character, and it was interesting to see fellow big-name actors like Lowe, David Spade, Bo Derek and Dan Aykroyd. In all, I felt a little bit of pride that this zany movie was set in Sandusky, and was glad I carved out a few hours for some laughs this week. Holy Schnikes, was I ever simultaneously brought back both to a place in time and a place of my present. Jeremy Speer is the publisher of The Courier, Findlay, the Sandusky Register, The Advertiser-Tribune, the Norwalk Reflector and Review Times, Fostoria. He can be reached at jeremyspeer@thecourier.com.