Oracle,
I'm not sure if you realize this but this past December was the 10th
Anniversary of Chris Farley's death.
Before I go any further I'd like to clarify that I don't think Farley
is in John Candy's league. I still count the first time I saw Uncle
Buck as one of the most memorable events of my life. I celebrate the
man's entire catalogue. Yet I digress. Back to Farley. I was 14 when
Tommy Boy came out and was completely blown away. Meanwhile, I
maintain that Black Sheep is one of the great-underrated comedies and
it gets better with every viewing. Although in terms of being
underrated it is a distant second to Dirty Work (Norm MacDonald at the
height of his powers). But that's a whole other issue. Still I'm not
blind. Beverly Hills Ninja was a disaster. Yet this bomb can't take away
from Farley's dance off with Patrick Swayze, his brilliant use of the
word awesome in those celebrity interviews and of
course his epic performance as Christian Laettner in this somewhat
frightening lost classic
In closing my question is as follows – how does ROOMOFZEN feel about
Farley?
- Weeks, New Hampshire
Ah, hello Weeks (it is strange for me to address you simply by your last name rather than by your full name, but we don't like to give away identities for security reasons. The Oracle was very pleased to receive your e-mail. Essentially, what is happening is that an oracle is receiving an e-mail from another oracle, but I digress......
Your question is a good one, and I'm glad to have the opportunity to answer it in this open forum. I got the idea to do the John Candy tribute post when I was listening to WEEI and they brought up the story of the 1989 super bowl when, with his team trailing with less than five minutes left on the clock, Joe Montana said in the huddle "hey, isn't that John Candy in the stands?". Much like you, I hold John Candy in high regard, and it only took one mention of the man for me to spring into action finding the best way I could to honor him through this new medium. After I finished, I thought to myself that I should find out what time of the year Chris Farley died, and make a similar tribute to him around that time. It was only then that I learned that Farley had passed in December, the very month in which I had passed him up for the John Candy tribute. I was slightly embarrassed as this seemed like such a rookie mistake for someone who is such a fan of these two artists, and I planned to simply wait until next December to post a Farley tribute. However, perhaps this response can serve as one.
The fact that my mind went to Farley immediately after posting about John Candy should give you some insight into the way that Roomofzen views him. We love him, and celebrate much of his work in the same way that we celebrate Candy's. As a kid, I can't even count the amount of times that I watched Farley's movies (particularly Tommy Boy and Black Sheep). I think that your assessments of his movies are right on. Tommy Boy is a classic that can be appreciated by all generations. I can't say the same for Black Sheep and Dirty Work because as much as I love them and remember them as some of the best and most undervalued comedies of their time, I think that some of the generations that came before us may have some trouble relating to these films. For example, the first time I saw this clip, I was cracking up hysterically. However, I just don't know if older people would be in touch with this type of comedy:
So, in discussing film accomplishments, I have to give the edge to Candy. When I look back on my youth, I think that I will remember Farley's movies having a greater impact on me. However, I really think that Candy just had a knack for making movies that will hold up better against time. However, where Farley's true genius comes through is in his sketch comedy work. Candy can't hold a candle to him in this department. I would put Farley in the all time elite class of sketch comic personalities. He was amazing. In fact, I really think this might be the reason why Candy made better movies. When I watch a Chris Farley movie, I'm watching it so that I can laugh at Chris Farley. When I watch Uncle Buck, the Great Outdoors, Summer Rental, Who's Harry Crumb, Canadian Bacon, Cool Runnings, or any other of Candy's movies, I am watching them for the movie. As a kid, I even watched Beverly Hills Ninja many times. Sure, it's a shitty movie, but Farley is hilarious as always. Just take a look at this opening scene and tell me that it's not funny:
Of course it's funny. Everything the man did was funny. I would put him above every sketch comic actor out there except Mike Meyers (I put the two of them on equal ground). That Christian Laettner bit is hilarious, because I can't even remember how many times as a kid I would be playing basketball by myself, set up a game winning scenario in my head, miss the shot and run after it and be like "but he gets the rebound, and there's really like three more seconds left"...it's classic.
His SNL stuff is incredible. In particular, that interview with McCartney (see above) is one of my favorite TV moments of all time. It's hard to find videos of it out there (copyright stuff I assume). But, we've got a few things here. First, let's check out one of the episodes of Bill Swerski's Superfans, one of the best Farley series, in which they preview a Bears playoff game with the New York Giants:
I could watch this stuff all day. I wish they had the Michael Jordan one, but I can't find it. If anybody has it, send it in and we'll put it up here.
The Chippendale bit with Swayze is probably Farley's most well-known SNL piece. The only video that I can find is this one, which is low quality, but still incredible (there is some weird commercial before and after):
In my opinion, Farley helps take Swayze to new heights in this piece. I really believe that it's Swayze's best work. I know what you're thinking....better than Red Dawn? Well, let's take a look:
I'm going to say yes...better than Red Dawn.
Finally, let's have a look at Matt Foley, the motivational speaker:
There's so much great stuff. The bottom line for all of our readers is, if you don't have the SNL best of Chris Farley DVD, then you really need to get it. Chris Farley truly was one of the greatest comic personalities ever to live. In discussing he and John Candy, I'd prefer not to think of one as being superior to the other. Much in the same way we discuss Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and Magic Johnson. To say that one is better than the rest only serves to take away from other greats.
And, if you don't think that Chris Farley has inspired the youth out there, then I ask you to take a look at this:
Looks like his constitutional rights were violated to me. Anyways, thank you for the e-mail Weeks. Please keep in contact with Roomofzen. I have a few things I would like your thoughts on. First, I have really taken a liking to horseradish sauce lately as a condiment. Eggs, sandwiches, dip, anything really. It's great. I'd love to know your thoughts. Second, what did you think of Rocky Balboa. I thought it was amazing, but that's a story for another post. We appreciate your question, and encourage all of our readers out there to please e-mail the oracle with anything that you'd like to ask or tell us.
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