(Credits: Far Out / Chevy Chase)
Marina Zenovich – ‘I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not’
Chevy Chase is a polarising figure who has made some of the funniest movies of all time while also making a great deal of people miserable.
What his legacy looks like is a hotly contested question, and it’s one that the documentary I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not examines in earnest.
One of the most interesting trends to emerge during the arms race between streaming services is the acquisition of biographical documentaries about the lives of celebrities. Although some of these non-fiction films made for HBO Max, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Apple TV are more thoughtful than others, they all face the same issue when it comes to access: it’s impossible to get a well-rounded portrayal of someone’s life without interviewing either them or their family and estate, and few would sign on to a project that would present its subject in a not-so-flattering light.
The vast majority of celebrity-centric documentaries exist as public service efforts that brush over controversies and present a sympathetic sob story. To divert from this unspoken rule can be disastrous, as OJ Made in America director Ezra Edelman had his film about Prince cancelled by Netflix after the late artist’s estate objected to his exploration of the singer’s addiction issues and allegations of abuse. This would suggest that any documentary about Chevy Chase, whose controversies are plentiful, would be just as intellectually cowardly, but surprisingly, I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not is legitimately probing.
Director Marina Zenovich had profiled figures like Robin Williams and Richard Pryor in the past, but this project offered her the rare chance to interview the subject, who isn’t technically retired yet, but he’s been out of public view after his notorious firing from Community. Zenovich puts together an impressive archive of Chase’s material, but her greatest skill is getting the stubborn comedy legend to open up. Chase may speak tall tales about his times on Saturday Night Live and Caddyshack, but the filmmaker is more than willing to call out his half-truths.
The reputation Chase had for being aggressive and often mean isn’t one that I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not intends to rebuke, but one that it offers an explanation for. Although the older subject reflecting on his past only makes passing acknowledgements of his darker moments, the film does not shy away from exploring the physical abuse that he received from his parents, and how a debilitating drug addiction caused him to act erratically during the height of his career.
(Credits: Sony Pictures Television)
Chase is seen as someone who is on the defensive and never entirely willing to trust the hand that feeds him, which may explain why he left SNL at its peak, and how his behaviour on-set dwindled the number of filmmakers willing to work with him.
The film isn’t the first to delve into the origins of SNL, but it does explain why Chase was a defiant spirit within the sketch show, even in an era that spawned other comedy legends like Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. He was willing to do ridiculous physical gags, risk offending people, and make fools of anyone who took themselves too seriously.
What’s fascinating is that Zenovich is able to compare and contrast the significant differences between his personal and professional demeanour, allowing the caring family man who took a career dive to care for his children to feel entirely distinct from the energetic host who bullied a live sketch-comedy show writer to tears.
The presence of the older protagonist is as illuminating as it is sad. Although there are instances in which he is clearly skipping over painful memories (such as his first divorce), there are others where he genuinely appears to have repressed any trauma. While he’s obviously been made to feel particularly ignorant because he’s an ageing man who has refused to adapt to the times, Chase has a few moments of touching interactions with fans and admirers that suggest he has learned to be slightly kinder. That being said, he is also fiercely in control of his own narrative and seems to enjoy taking shots at the nature of the documentary’s construction for the sake of keeping everyone on edge.
The only aspects of I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not is ironically the assessment of his most famous work, which is what a more standard documentary would dedicate a majority of its time to. While there are a few moments that collect the best scenes from Fletch and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the film doesn’t show any interest in being a highlight reel.
The most glaring omission is the almost complete disregard for his experiences with Community, as Zenovich was not able to convince any of his co-stars or collaborators to contribute any interviews. Although it does suggest a slightly more complex situation than what transpired in public, which has legitimacy due to showrunner Dan Harmon’s equally complex legacy, there’s clearly something about Chase’s behaviour that was left uninterrogated.
I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not isn’t made exclusively to be catnip for the actor’s fans, as it is certainly a warts-and-all portrayal, and for those who have never understood what made him such an influential force in the world of comedy, the film succeeds in putting his career into context.
Even though Zenovich’s intentions may have purely been to ask some unanswered questions, the project comes at an interesting time in which comedy has increasingly felt like a battleground. In an era where comedians with power use their platform to be genuinely malicious, I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not makes the case that its misunderstood subject deserves to be reassessed, and not just for sympathy pats.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source faroutmagazine.co.uk ’
