'I am Chris Farley': Kevin Farley says documentary is an accurate portrayal
Kevin Farley, in Vancouver for the screening of 'I am Chris Farley' at the Rio Theatre, says it portrays the real genius of his brother.
Hardworking, ambitious, and possessing an innate ability ability to make people laugh — that's how Kevin Farley would like his older brother Chris Farley to be remembered.
"The misconception is that he was a partier," said Kevin Farley of the late Saturday Night Live star and movie actor.
"Really, he was very focused and when it came to the work, he never wanted to put up anything, whether it was stage work or a movie, that was subpar."
Kevin Farley, who is also an actor and comedian, spoke to On the Coast host Stephen Quinn ahead of the screening of I am Chris Farley at the Rio Theatre Saturday and Tuesday.
Kevin Farley served as an executive producer on this documentary about his brother's life, and took questions from the audience on Saturday evening.
Ambitious and a perfectionist
Kevin Farley said that Chris was determined to succeed from a young age — even in games of checkers among the four Farley brothers became stiff competitions when he was involved.
"Once he knew he was good at something he was pretty competitive about it," he said.
Kevin Farley said that once Chris realized he had an innate ability to make people laugh, he "wanted to go all the way."
Chris Farley did make it to comedy stardom — becoming a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and starring alongside friend, and Saturday Night Live (SNL) co-star, David Spade in Tommy Boy and Black Sheep, both of which were box office successes and have since gained a cult following.
He became noted for his physical brand of comedy — literally falling off tables and chairs — and self-deprecating sense of humour.
Yet the documentary I am Chris Farley depicts a comedian who, not matter how funny he was, constantly questioned his own abilities.
Kevin Farley said Chris was really a "perfectionist", who wanted to make sure that whatever performance he was a part of, was a success.
"But sometimes it's a bad play, sometimes it's a bad show, sometimes it's a bad movie, and most people would just shrug their shoulders and go, 'this is a bad one so we'll move on to the next one.' But he never liked that, he never liked that attitude."
He recalled how Chris worked hard to improve the script for Black Sheep.
"It wasn't really funny enough, and everybody knew it but they didn't know what to do," Kevin Farley said.
"Well he'd take that thing home every single night and he'd rewrite it, or he would try to work with the guys on the set and say, 'How can we make this better?'"
Kevin Farley said that while the week-to-week routine of SNL kept Chris focused on the next project, it was the success and reviews of his movies that he especially took personally.
"It was daunting for him. He just didn't want to put in that much amount of work and then not have it turn out, because he knew he'd put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into an 18-hour day.
Death and legacy
Outside of his stardom Chris Farley battled a severe drug addiction.
He was found dead on Dec. 18, 1997, suffering from an overdose of cocaine and morphine, with advanced atherosclerosis as a contributing factor. He was only 33.
Kevin Farley said he got involved with I am Chris Farley because he wanted to ensure that the movie focused on his brother's life and comedy, and not how he died.
"A lot has been printed about the salaciousness of how he died, and I look back and go, 'Why did you have to die like that buddy?' But he did unfortunately...It's like Jim Morrison, or whoever, when somebody dies who's famous, the death becomes more famous," he said.
"I was like, 'That's not going to happen with Chris. I'm going to do something to remind everyone that he was a genius in that he was an absolutely fantastic person to watch on stage or in film."
To hear the full interview click on the audio labelled: Kevin Farley talks about his brother's legacy in biopic I am Chris Farley
