I Am Chris Farley, a documentary profile from Brent Hodge (A Brony Tale) and Derik Murray (I Am Evil Knievel), takes the course less complicated to explore a complicated artist. It’s well-mannered, highly respectful and occasionally dutiful — much like the subject at hand — but only rarely does this documentary tackle the hard truths at hand or properly address the demons inside the tortured soul.
Quick-edited and with a perpetuating habit of rehashing archive footage, this exploration of the lost soon-to-be superstar recognizes the talent and celebrates the legacy at every turn, but those who already knew his greatness won’t get too much beyond fond memories, and those unfamiliar of Farley’s legacy won’t gain a full, proper understanding of his character. In short, this is a mostly celebratory examination, and despite some nice access to figures close to the subject and an intimate reveal now-and-then, it’s not particularly enlightening or inviting. It's not fluff, certainly, but it’s definitely a light study on a comedian who was anything but that.
Much like Tom Farley and Tanner Colby’s oral biography The Chris Farley Show, I Am Chris Farley invites candid conversations with Farley’s friends and family to detail his magnetism. Celebrity colleagues; including Lorne Michaels, Bo Derek, Adam Sandler, David Spade, Bob Saget, Bob Odenkirk, Molly Shannon, Christina Applegate, Jay Mohr, Mike Myers, Dan Aykroyd, Tom Arnold and Jon Lovitz, to name a few; college rugby partners Ike Reilly, Pat Finn, Eugene Graham III and Father Matt Foley (yes, the name inspiration for Farley’s famous Motivational Speaker bit) and siblings Kevin, Tom, Barbara and John dictate the majority of the conversation. They all echo similar statements, touch upon his innocent soul, self-depreciation, whole-hearted commitment to comedy and his craft, his constant need for love and affection and his enormous appetite for every pleasure in life, including those leading to his downfall, but never do they explore anything fans didn't know already about the comedian they, too, adore.
The recounting is often bittersweet, but Hodge and Murray are much too swift in capturing sound bites from their interviewees — scarcely letting them express their emotions beyond a handful of sentences at a time. It gets the facts down pat, but important details often feel left out, as though knowing more about their troubled centerpiece would shake the mood of their ardent piece. Again, it’s an abridged account on a modern comic legend taken far too soon. Nice and heartfelt, but providing shallow commentary from friends and family sitting around recounting great (and a handful of not-so-special) moments with a man they collectively loved deeply and ignoring and/or internalizing most of the uglier times.
Of course all the talking heads extenuate on Farley’s heart and soul, but for as much as they chatter on about his appeal, charisma and natural talent, they pale to simply seeing Farley’s performing his magic — provided in clips from him either on the screen in Tommy Boy, on the Second City stage or on the stage-and-screen during his Saturday Night Live tenure. Plus, knowing Chris’ brother gave a far more vivid analysis with the same people on tap often undercuts the goodwill the feature puts together. It’s clear there’s a more thoughtful and retrospective evaluation left mostly unexplored here in favor of good timing. The reasoning is understandable, but it doesn’t mean the impact is any less dampened as a result. Minus a few resistances, most of the people look as though they want to talk more about the performer they lost, wish to figure out what they possibly could’ve done back then or yearn to see where things went wrong even with the camera in front of them. The directors never afford them this opportunity, though.
Were one blind to Farley’s magnificent impact on pop culture/modern comedy, or if one simply wants to recount fond memories of the title’s namesake, I Am Chris Farley is not a terrible introduction to the icon by any means. For those desiring something with more meat and weight into the puppy-dog of a man who loved his friends, beer, laughter and affection, but couldn’t find these feelings for himself, though, it’s more than a little lightweight. One of the comedian’s brothers remarks on how people only saw “the iceberg” of the potential inside his sibling, and that’s very likely true. But it also appears we see just the tip of this great, lost entertainer in this film.