Growing up, there was no actor that I loved more than Chris Farley. I watched Tommy Boy and Black Sheep more times than I can count, and I was probably the only person who loved Beverly Hills Ninja when it came out, seeing it twice in the theater. Even today, I can watch any movie with Chris Farley at any time and still laugh out loud. And while some of Farley's movies don't hold up as well as others (the aforementioned Beverly Hills Ninja is downright embarrassing at times), it's still always a treat to watch Farley's performances over again. I Am Chris Farley was made for hardcore Farley fans like myself. It's a movie made by those closest to Farley for people who grew up with, or were influenced by, the comedy legend.
From the opening scenes, it's fairly obvious that I Am Chris Farley is a biased film. As the film is executive produced by Kevin Farley, this shouldn't come as much of a surprise. With this in mind, I Am Chris Farley is best viewed as a tribute film to Farley rather than a fully detailed, definitive documentary. Almost everybody interviewed pretty much concedes that they think Farley was one of the funniest, sweetest people who ever lived. If I remember correctly, Mike Myers is the only person who even brings up having an argument/fight with Farley at any time (although fights between Farley and David Spade are brought up by other people). There is nothing inherently wrong with presenting Farley in such a positive light, but it also seemingly makes the one sidedness of the whole thing quite transparent at times. Farley's alcoholism is discussed several times, although explicit discussion of his use of hard drugs is skimmed over almost entirely. This fact is obvious and distracting at times, but it is also understandable given how upset friends like Adam Sandler, Bob Saget, and Tom Arnold appear when talking about the darker aspects of Farley's life towards the end. Sandler, Saget, and Arnold give incredibly insightful and powerful interviews. Out of everyone, these are three that seem the most vulnerable on screen. This is especially true of Arnold who comes across as the most introspective, sympathetic, and relateable out of anyone interviewed in the whole film. It's a bit surprising that there isn't more focus on David Spade given how close they were, but between his interview segments and the multiple clips from Tommy Boy and Black Sheep, the bond between Farley and Spade is still strongly represented in the film.
I Am Chris Farley is very, very clip heavy. There are a great number of clips from Farley's most famous SNL sketches, his appearances on David Letterman's show, and video footage of him performing at Second City. While this might be annoying in other documentaries, it's never particularly bothersome here. Almost all the clips show Farley at his best, demonstrating what a unique and interesting talent he was. There are nitpicks that I could make about how Almost Heroes and Dirty Work clips are missing, or how there is slightly too much of this or that, though ultimately it doesn't matter as the final credits roll. I could have watched a four-hour documentary on Farley and still been glued to the screen. I Am Chris Farley is a 94-minute tribute that does what it sets out to do, and does it extremely well. While not perfect, this is the best movie about Farley that fans are likely to ever get. 8.5/10
From the opening scenes, it's fairly obvious that I Am Chris Farley is a biased film. As the film is executive produced by Kevin Farley, this shouldn't come as much of a surprise. With this in mind, I Am Chris Farley is best viewed as a tribute film to Farley rather than a fully detailed, definitive documentary. Almost everybody interviewed pretty much concedes that they think Farley was one of the funniest, sweetest people who ever lived. If I remember correctly, Mike Myers is the only person who even brings up having an argument/fight with Farley at any time (although fights between Farley and David Spade are brought up by other people). There is nothing inherently wrong with presenting Farley in such a positive light, but it also seemingly makes the one sidedness of the whole thing quite transparent at times. Farley's alcoholism is discussed several times, although explicit discussion of his use of hard drugs is skimmed over almost entirely. This fact is obvious and distracting at times, but it is also understandable given how upset friends like Adam Sandler, Bob Saget, and Tom Arnold appear when talking about the darker aspects of Farley's life towards the end. Sandler, Saget, and Arnold give incredibly insightful and powerful interviews. Out of everyone, these are three that seem the most vulnerable on screen. This is especially true of Arnold who comes across as the most introspective, sympathetic, and relateable out of anyone interviewed in the whole film. It's a bit surprising that there isn't more focus on David Spade given how close they were, but between his interview segments and the multiple clips from Tommy Boy and Black Sheep, the bond between Farley and Spade is still strongly represented in the film.
I Am Chris Farley is very, very clip heavy. There are a great number of clips from Farley's most famous SNL sketches, his appearances on David Letterman's show, and video footage of him performing at Second City. While this might be annoying in other documentaries, it's never particularly bothersome here. Almost all the clips show Farley at his best, demonstrating what a unique and interesting talent he was. There are nitpicks that I could make about how Almost Heroes and Dirty Work clips are missing, or how there is slightly too much of this or that, though ultimately it doesn't matter as the final credits roll. I could have watched a four-hour documentary on Farley and still been glued to the screen. I Am Chris Farley is a 94-minute tribute that does what it sets out to do, and does it extremely well. While not perfect, this is the best movie about Farley that fans are likely to ever get. 8.5/10