Now, it’s 2001. That mutual fund has grown to nearly $500, 000, thanks to the stock-market boom (the movie was obviously filmed before recent financial events). Only two of the ’’tomcats, ’’ as they call themselves, are still single: Michael (Jerry O’Connell) and Kyle (Jake Busey). They both like having sex with as many women as possible, and neither plans to get married anytime soon. (The characters aren’t exactly fleshed out; that’s honestly 100% of the detail we’re given. Oh, Kyle is very rich as well.)
Michael goes to Vegas, where he runs up a $50, 000 debt within seconds. The owner of the club, played by Bill Maher (who is as unfunny in fiction as he is on his horrible Politically Incorrect show), threatens to kill Michael if he doesn’t repay the debt within a month.
So Michael, scheming to trick Kyle into marriage, seeks out Natalie (Shannon Elizabeth), the only girl Kyle has ever had a twinge of feeling for.
That’s the entire plot, but in a movie like this you don’t need more. This is simple, immature fun. Nothing revolutionary, no great gags, but still a good laugh. The jokes come rapid-fire -- you’ve barely stopped laughing at one when the next one hits you. Not all of them work, but there are so many that, by the law of averages, some are going to strike you as hilarious.
The most frustrating thing is that the movie is a big tease. Despite trailers that make Tomcats look like a sex-fest, there’s actually no nudity. Heck, they’ve already got an R-rating because they say the F-word about 600 times in the first five minutes. They could at least throw in some topless nudity. It’s not as if guys will go see Tomcats in search of subtextual links to Proust’s A la recherche du temps perdu. Give the punters what they want!
The movie rests on O’Connell’s shoulders, and he carries it well. He is naturally funny, although it’s tough to get it out of your head that this is Vern from Stand By Me up there on screen masturbating. (On a tangent, who would have thought in 1986 that, come 2001, Vern would have the most stable career?)
Bottom Line:
If you’re looking for a few cheap laughs, and want to turn off your brain for 90 minutes, then Tomcats is just the ticket.