Lay Off Me, I’m Starving
-Charles T. Reeder-
The story of comedian Chris Farley is an exciting yet tragic tale of an eccentric, overweight Catholic boy from Wisconsin whose career in comedy propels him into an irrecoverable and deadly dependence on alcohol and narcotics. In fact, his story is strikingly similar to that of his idol, John Belushi, who also died at the age of thirty-three; as did Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, however, did not perform sketch comedy and overdose on heroin. In his personal life, Chris worshipped John Belushi. He once said that he “dreamed of being John Belushi. That’s why I went the Second City, Saturday Night Live route. I wanted to follow him.” In the end, he went pretty much the same way his idol did, only 16 years later. Chris also once said, “I have a tendency toward the pleasures of the flesh. It’s a battle for me, as far as weight and things like that.” He had been in rehab at least a dozen times, and was scheduled to go again when he died. In his later years it became more apparent that his sketches and television appearances were being fueled by a little more than pure enthusiasm. Yet, as the following videos prove, Chris never failed to make an impression on his audience…
The element of “slap-stick” comedy is very prevalent in Farley’s work. At some point in a sketch or scene Chris would hurl himself at stage props, or nothing at all, and roll about on the floor. “Chris would do anything for a laugh,” said his mother once. He saw that his body was a catalyst for humor so he used it un-restrictively. Chris saw himself as being in a fix, he hated being the fat guy that people laugh at, he hated when people laughed at his dad for being overweight, but it was that thing that brought him the most laughs. He had the old anything for a laugh mentality, which can have its sad side; someone who will really do anything for a laugh. He had that constant need for attention and acceptance and it had a very harsh effect on his psyche and self-image. Friend and fellow comedian David Spade said some time ago that “Chris would do whatever it took, no matter how demeaning, to please his audience.” His first SNL sketch was the infamous Chippendales parody in which he danced alongside celebrity guest Patrick Swayze in a mock audition. There is a basic neediness in most comics. There is a love relationship with the audience. When a comedian is on stage and performing well and they’re giving back to him, there is this odd warmth he gets from this group of strangers, which shows us most comedians have very low self-esteems just by the nature of their jobs. Farley was addicted to this acceptance and warmth from the crowd.
Chippendales Sketch
Unfortunately, Chris never managed to overcome is role as “fat guy in a small suit” and remained the object of the audience’s amusement, rather than his jokes. Watching him perform, it may not seem like you are laughing at him, but you probably are. His comedy is not based on challenging stereotypes or poking fun at politics or mundane discomforts like airplane food. Farley always played belittling and undignified characters like an anal-retentive obese woman, a pathetic motivational speaker, or an angry school bus driver. His comedy was nothing you had to thing about; it wasn’t topical. Subconsciously the audience enjoyed Chris because he made them feel better about themselves by being the failure; the goof that everyone unknowingly compared themselves to. On his multi-segment SNL sketch called the Chris Farley Show, he plays a timid, antsy young interviewer who is extremely harsh on himself whenever he makes a mistake. In many respects this character represents Farley the best. If one were to look at it without the knowledge that it is supposed to be funny, they would have no trouble picking out Farley’s insecurities. Chris was truly “right at home” in this role, whether the writers intended that or not. The audience is indeed laughing at him, but there is also an empathetic element he brings along with his character’s pitifulness. This empathetic quality is the final ingredient in Farley’s comic genius. “Chris had this manic energy that was completely grounded in reality. It couldn’t have been any bigger yet it was still one-hundred percent believable”, said friend and actor Andy Dick. In short, Farley was incredibly good at making fun of himself and the audience ate it up. He did a sketch on a Tom Arnold Special in the 90’s in which he attempted to pick up women at the mall. Needless to say he made a complete fool of himself but managed to entertain, if not frighten, the people he encountered. Chris did not particularly like being self-mocking “failure”, but he convinced himself that was the only way to win the crowd so unfortunately for him it was his go-to persona when entertaining.
It may now be easier to see that Farley’s untimely death was not the only real tragedy in his life. Friends and family confirm that in his personal life he had very little self-respect. He was aware that he was successful due to his own self-mockery. He also felt like he needed to be constantly “up”; not just awake but up, as in frantic and hysterical. Along with his career, his drug and alcohol use were on the rise when he moved to Chicago. Drug use behind the scenes was not encouraged but it was prevalent and his lifestyle allowed for it. He found that using improved his performance. It helped him reach that level of “up” that made the difference when performing at the levels he did. “I think he felt like he had to be on, and that drinking and drugs helped him to be on. I remember visiting him on the set of SNL and that’s when I noticed his level of drinking and drug use had escalated to the point where I dropped out in the middle of the night and went back to my hotel room… …I just remember thinking’ oh wow thanks kind of hardcore.’” When Chris drank, he didn’t just drink, he turned the glass upside down and it would pour down his face.
Tanner Colby, co-author of the Chris Farley Show, when reflecting on the death of Farley said, “Chris had this wonderfully innocent personality that made him so popular and made him such a great performer but also rendered him incapable of dealing with the very serious problems that he had.” Chris was a genuinely nice guy who was unfortunately faced with the problem of continuing a successful comedy career which preyed on his deepest insecurities. But, no matter how he entertained, whether it be through the universality of slap-stick comedy or through self-mockery or even by just being plain funny and radiant, Chris Farley never failed to make the crowd on set and at home laugh. So maybe in the end it actually is fair to compare Chris to Jesus Christ; each martyrs for their respective cause. saturday-night-live-the-chris-farley-show-with-scorcese
Fortunately, his comedy lives on in American culture and set incredibly high standards for his followers that only a select few can match. Farley’s tormented antics, apart from all other comedians, consistently reached audiences at a visceral level. Now he comes unbidden from the shadows, perhaps from some metaphysical plane, and still provokes astonishment and delight. Loftier art forms lack that kind of telepathic power.
reedertheman 