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I Am Chris Farley
On December 18, 1997, Hollywood lost one of its brightest lights and his way-too brief but amazing career is the focus of a 2015 documentary called I Am Chris Farley, a performer who had such an impact on everyone who knew him that some might be in denial that he's gone.
Farley was an exhausting hurricane of comic insanity that defied logic and physics and managed to draw everyone in his orbit like a moths to a flame. His flame had been ignited since his childhood, vividly recalled by his mother and three brothers in the opening scenes of this film (his baby brother Kevin is also a comic and a dead ringer for the late star). The joy with which his family spoke about his outrageous childhood was so infectious. There actually seemed to be a sense of them talking about Chris in the present tense, as if he were still with us.
This feeling wasn't restricted to Chris' family either. As the documentary moves into interviewing people Chris worked with, we get the same feeling, that Chris is still alive. There was such an exuberance as actors shared their experiences about working with the man and every specific incident they talked about, they remember it vividly, like it happened yesterday. Mike Meyers still remembers trying not to lose it when Chris did his famous Chippendales sketch with Patrick Swayze. The recollections of David Spade and Christina Applegate regarding the introduction of Chris' classic Matt Foley Motivational Speaker character were so much fun because we get to see the audio as they were describing what they were feeling. Their memories perfectly matched what we were watching. We were also privileged with clips of Chris doing the character at Second City, where the character originated and where he blew everyone off the stage. We even got to meet the real Matt Foley
There were a couple of things revealed that surprised me, most notably that Chris did little or no writing of the sketches on SNL. Mike Meyers reveals that Chris would find out what other cast members were writing and beg to be in it, no matter what it was about. Meyers also shared about a weekly ritual on tape night for SNL that he found richly embarrassing, but fell for it every time.
In addition to Spade, Applegate, and Meyers, commentary is also provided by Dan Aykroyd (who starred with Chris in Coneheads), Bo Derek (his co-star in Tommy Boy), Molly Shannon, Lorne Michaels, Jon Lovitz, Jay Mohr, Will Sasso, Tom Arnold, Bob Saget, Pat Finn, and, of course, Adam Sandler. Most everyone involved here agreed that the real essence of Chris Farley was in that segment of "The Chris Farley Show" where he interviews Sir Paul McCartney. This was the real Chris and the Chris we'll miss most of all. RIP, Chris.
On December 18, 1997, Hollywood lost one of its brightest lights and his way-too brief but amazing career is the focus of a 2015 documentary called I Am Chris Farley, a performer who had such an impact on everyone who knew him that some might be in denial that he's gone.
Farley was an exhausting hurricane of comic insanity that defied logic and physics and managed to draw everyone in his orbit like a moths to a flame. His flame had been ignited since his childhood, vividly recalled by his mother and three brothers in the opening scenes of this film (his baby brother Kevin is also a comic and a dead ringer for the late star). The joy with which his family spoke about his outrageous childhood was so infectious. There actually seemed to be a sense of them talking about Chris in the present tense, as if he were still with us.
This feeling wasn't restricted to Chris' family either. As the documentary moves into interviewing people Chris worked with, we get the same feeling, that Chris is still alive. There was such an exuberance as actors shared their experiences about working with the man and every specific incident they talked about, they remember it vividly, like it happened yesterday. Mike Meyers still remembers trying not to lose it when Chris did his famous Chippendales sketch with Patrick Swayze. The recollections of David Spade and Christina Applegate regarding the introduction of Chris' classic Matt Foley Motivational Speaker character were so much fun because we get to see the audio as they were describing what they were feeling. Their memories perfectly matched what we were watching. We were also privileged with clips of Chris doing the character at Second City, where the character originated and where he blew everyone off the stage. We even got to meet the real Matt Foley
There were a couple of things revealed that surprised me, most notably that Chris did little or no writing of the sketches on SNL. Mike Meyers reveals that Chris would find out what other cast members were writing and beg to be in it, no matter what it was about. Meyers also shared about a weekly ritual on tape night for SNL that he found richly embarrassing, but fell for it every time.
In addition to Spade, Applegate, and Meyers, commentary is also provided by Dan Aykroyd (who starred with Chris in Coneheads), Bo Derek (his co-star in Tommy Boy), Molly Shannon, Lorne Michaels, Jon Lovitz, Jay Mohr, Will Sasso, Tom Arnold, Bob Saget, Pat Finn, and, of course, Adam Sandler. Most everyone involved here agreed that the real essence of Chris Farley was in that segment of "The Chris Farley Show" where he interviews Sir Paul McCartney. This was the real Chris and the Chris we'll miss most of all. RIP, Chris.