Chevy Chase: Never Meet Your Heroes
- Fred
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
CNN is promoting the hell of the new Documentary: I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not.
Why does CNN care so much? I'm sorry, I didn't print the whole title: CNN Presents-I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not.
Now I'm just your average entertainment fan, but for a generation I've heard that Chevy Chase is nothing but a Grade-A Jerk. That's not my opinion, that's everyone's opinion. Who is taking up for Chase promoting the documentary? His third wife.
Why do I care? Listen, at some point, if no one likes you, why make the documentary? Chevy Chase was a shooting star.
For all his acclaim, people forget that he was only on Saturday Night Live for a year and a half, a year and a half out of 50. He was beloved for being one of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players, but do you remember a funny skit or monologue he performed when he was a guest host? Last time he was funny on SNL? 1976.
Chevy Chase left SNL to be a movie star and he did star in a few beloved movies, but he burned bridges everywhere he went. Last time he was funny as the star of a movie? 1989.
Chase's career was in the crapper when Community called. Instead of being grateful for a possible career resurrection, he "left" Community when everyone hated him. That was over a decade ago.
Remember the infamous Friar's Roast? According to AI: "The 2002 The N.Y. Friars Club Roast of Chevy Chase is infamous for being unusually mean-spirited and widely considered an awkward experience for the comedian. Unlike typical roasts that feature friends, most of the participants were younger, B-list comedians who had never worked with Chase, leading to genuinely harsh and personal jokes that made the actor visibly uncomfortable."
Besides his wife, the list of people who have taken up for him publicly is remarkably short. Former co-star Beverly D'Angelo and the late Douglas Kenney.
Editor's Note: Kenney has been dead since 1980.
Why pile on in the first minutes of the New Year? Not sure why Chevy Chase is relevant in 2026.
Like, at all. Unless the documentary has some big revelation, why do it?
Is Chase secretly a nice guy? No.
Is Chase secretly a criminal? Also no. Big difference between a jerk and a criminal.
Chase is a egotistical maniac in Hollywood? That line is also a mile long.
I mean, they didn't let him do a skit in SNL 50.
There is no "Grandpa Griswold" movie. (Yes, I know about the Old Navy commercial.)
The Community team killed off the Pierce character so he wouldn't be in Season 6, let alone the Community Movie.
Notice no voice reads for Chase at Rick and Morty or Krapopolis.
Why make a documentary that no one asked for?
USA Today: Chevy Chase Documentary is a "Hard Watch."
Hollywood Reporter: Chase Documentary asks "Intriguing Questions"....Which it Doesn't Answer.
Rolling Stone: How to Watch the Chevy Chase Documentary
If the documentary came out today, obviously it had to be screened for critics, right?
There's two at the Tomatometer. The Hollywood Reporter review (from above) and Richard Roeper's. Roeper gave the documentary itself a good review, but here's his money shot: "Chevy Chase never fully figured out a way to enjoy his great success without making so many others in his circle miserable."
Who gets in the last word? Kevin Smith
Editor's Note II: Smith's article was TLDR? Let's just say he wasn't a fan of Chevy's... after having met him. Except for this---