‘Anything For a Laugh’ Will Make You Fall in Love with Chris Farley All Over Again

There’s an old saying that the Saturday Night Live cast you grew up watching will always be your favorite. This makes perfect sense. The rose-colored hue of nostalgia is a formidable adversary. I was introduced to SNL in the early ’90s, so my sense of humor was influenced by a true coterie of comedy luminaries that included Phil Hartman, Chris Rock, Dana Carvey, Adam Sandler, Jack Handey, Robert Smigel, Jim Downey, Conan O’Brien, and, of course, the inimitable Chris Farley.

The legend of Chris Farley has taken on almost apocryphal status. Like a real-life Bill Brasky, there’s no shortage of mind-boggling anecdotes about the late SNL icon. From 2015’s I Am Chris Farley to James Andrew Miller’s comprehensive oral history about the late-night institution to the SNL in the ’90s retrospective, the tragically short career of Chris Farley has been discussed across numerous platforms. But even someone who’s devoured every morsel of available SNL-related content will thoroughly enjoy A&E’s Chris Farley: Anything for a Laugh.

Premiering on Memorial Day, this intimate documentary is an engaging celebration of the life and career of a true comedy virtuoso. Featuring rare videos and interviews with family and friends, the 85-minute documentary explores Farley’s upbringing, his time at iO and Second City, his movie career, and his time on SNL. The film is littered with amusing anecdotes from those who knew the comedian best. From his old college pal Pat Finn sharing what it was like to attend Marquette with Chris to the Farley brothers — Kevin, Tom, and John — fondly reminiscing about their brother, the film toggles between emotional extremes, engendering both laughs and tears.

The narrative is shaped by a variety of interviews from people who knew Chris from the Chicago improv scene (Brian Stack, Joel Murray, Holly Wortell), Saturday Night Live (John Goodman, Al Franken, Kevin Nealon, David Spade, Dan Aykroyd, Bob Odenkirk), and showbiz (Tom Arnold, Peter Segal). The end result is a touching eulogy that’s perhaps best summarized, surprisingly, by Gary Busey.

“Life is a lesson and Chris Farley gave a good lesson in his life about what to do and what not to do.”

There are many takeaways from Anything for a Laugh but none are more obvious than the fact that Chris Farley was a true generational talent. His versatility and inexhaustible verve are on full display as this trip down memory lane shows snippets from classic sketches like “Chippendales,” Matt Foley, “Gap Girls,” “Herlihy Boy,” “The Chris Farley Show,” and Bennett Brauer. There are also a few interesting pop culture revelations, like Tommy Boy director Peter Segal revealing this fun tidbit about how the Chris Farley/David Spade dynamic inspired another classic movie duo.

“I spoke to Rossio and Elliott, who wrote Shrek, and they said they patterned Shrek and the Donkey after Spade and Farley from Tommy Boy.”

Rewatching classic Chris Farley sketches and hearing his friends and family speak so glowingly about him put a smile on my face. Anything for a Laugh isn’t just a warm look back at the career of a true Saturday Night Live legend; it’s a soothing reminder of how comedy has the innate ability to help people connect with one another.

Chris Farley: Anything for a Laugh is now streaming on A&E.com.

Where to stream Biography: Comedy Icons