Review of I Am Chris Farley (2015) by Andrew J — 07 Sep 2015

Full disclosure: I never found Chris Farley particularly funny. This documentary traces Farley's life from Madison, Wisconsin to SNL and Hollywood stardom. There are recollections from friends, which mostly read as "you had to be there" kinds of stories.

The bulk of the film centers on his time at SNL, however the fact that he did not write his own material, leads most of the anecdotes to be about his behind the scenes antics, not about the process of doing live theater.

His career (and life) was so short that there isn't an incredibly large source of material to draw upon, other than his friends and family talking about his need to be loved, and his desire to make everyone laugh- not groundbreaking information.

They touch upon his drinking, but only hint at a larger abuse of drugs, so it isn't as though this is a 'warts and all' exploration. His story is sad, as all tragically cut short lives are, however one feels like you are getting only a sterilized version of his story.