re: Bob Odenkirk on why he always hated Chris Farley's "Chippendale" sketch

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It also would've worked if you had Rock/Spade/Sandler/Norm next to Swayze as well. Would any of those guys have hit rock bottom because of that?

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That’s a good point. I think not as hilarious as Farley, but any imperfect body dancing next to Swayze would have been funny.

I think a lot has to do because we never got to see the talent in drama his friends knew he had. It would be like Phillip Seymour Hoffman dying before his drama roles. We would remember him as dusty from twister or the goofy dude from along came Polly. Its really not a big deal. Just his friends reflecting and mourning.

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It also would've worked if you had Rock/Spade/Sandler/Norm next to Swayze as well. Would any of those guys have hit rock bottom because of that?

That’s a good point. I think not as hilarious as Farley, but any imperfect body dancing next to Swayze would have been funny.

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Correct, I don't think either of those guys would've made it as funny as Farley or have turned it into the classic it is now, but it still would have been funny.
I still disagree with Odenkirk though, it's not like this was the only fatman/funny character Farley ever played, and I don't see how anybody could say he was relegated to only fatman/funny characters after this. That's mostly what he played because he was fricking great at it. He played to his strengths, it worked, kudos to him for that

I think what a lot of people are missing is the opinion of Farley's FANS vs opinions of his FRIENDS. They got a ringside seat to Farley's decline, while we only have bits and pieces at BEST.

There's nothing wrong with expressing empathy for a lost friend. While not the best analogy, you might say, "I wish my friend had never served because then he might not have been exposed to something that gave him cancer" and someone else might say, "It's great that he served because he got to defend his country."

One person is speaking from the lost memory of their friend, while another is speaking from the mental concept of a soldier who served their country. It's not "wrong" to feel either way - it's just two different perspectives of the individual based on proximity.

If someone asks your opinion on something, should you be dishonest of how you feel just because you think the general populace will disagree?

Farley is a tragic figure and there's nothing wrong with thinking that. There are lots of comedians and entertainers that we lost that could have helped make the world a brighter place for just a bit longer, and there's nothing wrong with mourning them.

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It's because of Farley's uncanny agility and athleticism that let him pull off physical comedy that no one with that body type should be able to pull off.

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Yeah and he could sell it like nobody else.

Sandler or Spade would have been funny but neither had the ability to put on a performance like Farley.

The skit was just about juxtaposition and, in comparison to Patrick Swazye at that time, almost everyone would look silly trying to out-dance him.

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Farley’s schtick from day one was hilarious big fat guy, physical comedy, etc.

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Yep. He was doing the Matt Foley sketch at Second City before he was at SNL. Many of his Second City sketches relied on his weight as a comedic prop.

It is obviously different for guys like Spade, Sandler, and Odenkirk who watched Farley's devolution "behind the scenes." Even though Farley's drug use was very publicly visible, anyone who has watched a friend's self-control wither away knows that it always leads to reflection about the path that led to it and how we could have intervened. I suppose for them, it's easy to put some blame on the Chippendales sketch even though if it hadn't happened, it would have just been another "fat guy funny" sketch that would've set him on the same path.

Chris just wanted to make people laugh. We can debate what that meant regarding his self-esteem but I guarantee Chris felt some joy with how the Chippendales sketch went over because it made people absolutely lose it.

Jcorye1 I always thought you were a good, genuine dude. Sorry you had that experience in high school. I always thought very highly of you.