Callahan Auto Parts in Sandusky does not exist, never has, and the movie "Tommy Boy" was not filmed there, either. But is that going to stop Sandusky from hosting a Tommy Boy Festival?
In Sandusky, they don't take no for an answer. Tommy Boy Fest is on, August 7-9.
The Northwest Ohio city was the setting, though not the location, for the 1995 film starring Chris Farley as Tom "Tommy Boy" Callahan III, trying to save his father's auto parts company with the help of snide sidekick David Spade.
Jason Werling, Sandusky's recreation superintendent, said the city has been trying to hold a celebration of the film for years. A 25th anniversary festival was scheduled, then scuttled due to COVID. Now, they’ve planned three days of events, including a classic car show.
“Peter Segal, who directed ‘Tommy Boy’… acquired one of the original vehicles from the movie,” he said. “It wasn't in that great of shape over the years, but now it's restored. It's a beautiful vehicle: a 1967 Plymouth Belvedere II GTX convertible. He’s being gracious enough to bring it out here to Sandusky.”
The film will run on a giant screen at Jackson Street Pier, and Segal will participate in Q&A sessions after some screenings.
The vehicle will be part of a classic car show that’s slated to include some movie-related cars, such as the Blues Brothers’ Bluesmobile. Other events include a concert by the Menus, a “Tommy Want Wingy Throwdown,” character look-alike contests and even a “sights not seen in the movie” scavenger hunt. Werling said they plan to have some fun with the fact that “Tommy Boy” was only set in Sandusky, but shot in Toronto and Los Angeles.
“If you watch the film as many times as I probably have… you notice some of the Canadian accents that come across,” he said. “They did pretty well with capturing what Sandusky was like in the movie, other than there's an international airport at the beginning.”
Werling has spotted a Cedar Point mug in the film, as well as copies of the Sandusky Register and Norwalk Reflector newspapers.
"The big thing that people notice is that the police car in the movie looks exactly like the mid-'90s police cars of Sandusky," he said.
Tommy Boy Fest also coincides with Small City Taphouse’s annual CLAG Brewing festival, with both events happening simultaneously Downtown.
