httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1PUhcqBg98
One of the troupe’s top performers of the last 30 years, Chris Farley, is the niche of a brand new documentary, “I’m Chris Farley,” which premieres at 9 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10, on Spike TV. Farley, who died in the age of 33 in 1997 from a drug overdose, was a Midwesterner through and through.
The movie fills out Farley’s Wisconsin breeding, mostly through stories told by his three pals.
The stories of his high school shenanigans are classic class clown items – t is a particularly graphic story of a stunt Farley played during a typing course – but they also begin to frame the issues that will follow him later.
His college pals tell similar stories, notably his rugby teammates, but Farley’s propensity to use and abuse booze add a sad undertone to the hijinks since we understand the story will not have a happy ending.
Just as illuminating are the narratives about Farley’s relationship with his father, who owned an oil and asphalt company in Madison.
Lovers of Farley will most likely enjoy the anecdotes in the comedian’s time at Second City and on “Saturday Night Live.” Contemporaries like David Spade, Adam Sandler, Mike Myers and Bob Odenkirk tell the stories of how Farley was marked for acclaim early on by Second City’s celebrated teacher, Del Close, and after that by “SNL” impresario Lorne Michaels.
It Is just as fun to find out that the character’s name came from one of Farley’s childhood buddies, who’s now a priest.
Farley’s movie career was painfully short, simply because substance abuse stopped his life before it might go too far.
“I’m Chris Farley” might not provide a complete picture of a life that ended with lots of unfilled assurance, but it does a nice job of reminding people what made its issue particular to begin with.