The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts

By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Viking

Comedian and Saturday Night Live star Chris Farley died of a drug overdose in 1997, just as his idol John Belushi did in 1982.

The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts

* Nonfiction. By Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby. Viking, $26.95. Grade: A

Book in a nutshell: Friends and family talk frankly about Chris Farley's comedic brilliance, his big heart, his dark torments and his final days in this new oral history, compiled by Farley's older brother Tom and Colby, former head writer of the National Lampoon Radio Hour and co-author of a book on Farley's hero, John Belushi (Belushi: A Biography).

Ninety percent of the book is simply quotes from Farley's friends, telling a story and filling in a portrait of a troubled genius. There's plenty of ugly detail about his eventual fall and death, but much more candid, funny remembrances of how he worked his way up from his hometown of Madison, Wis., to his dream - to be on Saturday Night Live in New York City in an attempt to please his demanding father.

On the way, it becomes a career trap, as Farley is stereotyped as the funny fat guy. Farley's brothers are articulate in sketching out Chris' life, and everything is laid bare, including Farley's insecurity that led to alcohol and finally a fatal free fall through heroin and crack cocaine.

Watching Farley achieve everything he ever wanted in life and then gradually throw it away despite sincere attempts at rehab is heartbreaking. Friends desperately tried to help but found every attempt to be ultimately useless.

As brother Kevin notes, "For Chris . . . every relapse meant going all the way."

Best tidbit: The lowdown on how Farley and David Spade made the brilliant Tommy Boy but were then contractually forced to do the career-derailing, excruciating Black Sheep - a failed attempt to re-create chemistry with a nonexistent script and a director who just didn't get it.

Pros: Everyone came to the table and spoke freely for this project - Chris Rock, Tim Meadows, Lorne Michaels, SNL writers, Farley's girlfriend, family members. Best pal Spade is especially brutal on himself.

Cons: Very few. Sometimes the imagery is too brutal, especially Farley's lonely death, where he implores the call girl he hired "don't leave me" as he overdoses. She responds by stealing his watch and walking out the door as he lay dying on the floor.

Final word: When a tragedy like Farley's death happens, people ask, "Why didn't someone do something?" This shows that sometimes doing everything isn't enough.

Mark Brown