Insulting the director making a documentary about you may not be the most diplomatic option. On the other hand, Chevy Chase has never been known for diplomacy.
The comedian sharply criticized director Marina Zenovich I'm Chevy Chase and you're notwhich will air Thursday on CNN. During their first meeting, he warns her that understanding him will not be easy. She asks him why.
“You're not smart enough, how's that?” he answers.
The fact that this exchange sparked a film says a lot about Zenovich, as well as Chase, a gifted physical comedian who starred in classic comedies of the 1970s and '80s such as Fletch, Three amigos, Caddyshack and National Lampoon Vacation franchise.
“He’s one of those people that everyone thinks they know,” Zenovich said. “He has a reputation that precedes him and something to achieve. So trying to achieve that was a big challenge.”
Difficult person
I'm Chevy Chase and you're not follows Chase's life and career, from his dark childhood to dawn Saturday Night Live and then Hollywood, ending with his sordid time on the show Community. There are perspectives offered by Dan Aykroyd, Beverly D'Angelo, Goldie Hawn, Lorne Michaels, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Short, his wife Janie Chase, three daughters and brother Ned.
What emerges is a portrait of an abrasive and often abrasive comedian who has a deep fan base but who can irritate some people with his downright inelegance. “I’m complex, I’m deep, and I’m easily hurt,” he told the director.
The documentary features footage of his work in film and television, as well as home movies, cuddling a cat, playing the piano, playing chess, reading fan mail, including a birthday card from Bill Clinton, and visiting a flower shop.
The film received the approval of a harsh critic: Chase himself. “It's like a massage. I think of it this way: I like massage. Sometimes it hurts, but the massage is so wonderful,” the comedian told The Associated Press.
Inspired by a difficult childhood
“Chase” is just the latest portrait of two-time Emmy Award winner Zenovich, whose previous documentary subjects include Roman Polanski, Richard Pryor, Robin Williams and Lance Armstrong.
“I make films about these complex people,” she said. “I’m just fascinated by people and how they behave, and Chevy just seems to fit with my creativity.”
Zenovich points to Chase's early years to explain how he became what he became. As a child, Chase was locked in a basement for several days, punched in the face, and locked in a closet as punishment from his stepfather and mother.
“I think the whole key to Chevy is his childhood. I hate to use the word trauma, but I think he’s traumatized,” she said. “Humor is his way of dealing with it.”
Chase has been known to feud with many comedians, including Community co-star Joel McHale, SNL fellow cast member John Belushi and Bill Murray, who replaced him in SNL. He left Community after reports he used racial slurs and insulted co-star Donald Glover. He also feuded with show creator Dan Harmon, who was kicked out for a time.
“The old Chevy could make you laugh by humiliating you, and there was sort of a wink there, so you got the joke,” writer and actor Alan Zweibel says in the film. “Now it just looks mean.”
The film claims that Chase's darkness was exacerbated by his drug use. “In his mind, he doesn't think of himself as evil,” said Zenovich, who interviewed Chase twice and then followed him for several days.
“What was really interesting about Chevy is that he really wants to try to figure himself out. He wanted to go there, but something is stopping him,” she said. “He gets to a certain point and then something stops him.”
“Just Hollywood stuff”
Chase, now 82, says he knows there is a long list of people who find him despicable, but insists he doesn't care.
“It’s just Hollywood stuff,” he says. “It never really bothered me.”
The film chronicles his short-lived television talk show and its eye-opening first and only season. Saturday Night Live. He admits he's leaving SNL was a mistake, and it shows how hurt he was not to be invited on stage when the show celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this year.
The documentary also shows him basking in the applause of fans as he attended a recent screening of the film. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacationand also shows that his three daughters are insightful, funny and sweet.
“I think the one thing he really did was he was able to overcome generational trauma,” Zenovich said. “I use that word again. But this is quite a feat, right?
