Chris Farley was a comedic legend that died too soon. He was a burley comedian that, strangely enough, followed a similar trajectory to the great John Beluschi. They were both massive stars that came out of the notorious improv club Second City and then burst onto the TV scene with Saturday Night Live only to see their lives taken too soon as a result of either drugs or alcohol. Director duo Derik Murray and Brent Hodge’s (A Brony Tale, I Am Evel Knievel) new documentary, I Am Chris Farley, attempts to bring us the definitive biographical story of the famed funnyman.
Built around stories from his brothers, namely Kevin Farley, I Am Chris Farley starts off by painting a picture of who Chris was as a child and continues onward until his death. The commentary is broken up or played over with home video footage or skits and films Chris appeared in. There are a ton of great stories told throughout that will make you love the man even more, which is why the inclusion of interviews with Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, David Spade, hometown friends and more is so crucial to the film. Without some of his closest co-stars, in addition to the family, we could never get a complete picture of what he was like on and off the stage, being the funny and loving man that he was.
I could get into the specifics of what I enjoyed, like how “Motivational Speaker” (which is still hilarious) became a hit and who the character is named after or what Chris Farley used to do to Mike Myers in the bathroom of SNL, but part of the joy of this doc is listening to the stories straight from the horse’s mouth. I will say that finding out that the plot of Tommy Boy was basically Chris’s life as a young adult was probably one of the greatest things and hearing his brother Kevin Farley retell the story makes it all better, his impersonation is perfect.
While most of the film conveys things that many people seemed to already know, it also showcases footage from his pre-SNL years, which is fascinating, and offers up stories about his personal life including how charitable and self-deprecating he was. In fact, Chris was, what you would call, a very good catholic who always wanted to give back and help others. He would go to children’s hospitals regularly to help cheer them up during his down time. As for the self-deprecating aspect, this was something that made him a little shy and bashful and you could see it often in the characters he played, especially in his Paul McCartney interview.
Unfortunately, the film barely scratches the surface with regards to his problems that ultimately led to his death. Yes, they discuss that he had a drinking problem and that after midnight he would become a dark person, but there was maybe one story, if any, that touched on it. Details make a story serious and while Mike Meyers expressed his concerns on camera, and you could visibly see how distraught he was about it, outside of him, it was mostly people saying yes, he had issues and how upset they were to see him pass. It’s this glossing over the tragedy that prevents this documentary from being anything more than an E! True Hollywood Story special. A lot of this seemed connected to the self-deprecating factor and the fact that he wasn’t confident in himself, but there wasn’t a concern there more than it being something he channeled into his comedy.
With stories told mostly through his brothers and onscreen co-stars and friends, I Am Chris Farley is a relatively glossy portrait of a man best known for living in a van down by the river. It’s heartwarming, entertaining, thanks to classic clips and a couple of good stories, and sad, but it’s also light on the drama which prevents it from leaving a heavy mark regarding why his loss was so big for comedy. This is the main difference between a film like I Am Chris Farley and a powerhouse doc like Amy, two docs about people who were stars in their field that died way too young.
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