I've always thought Chevy Chase was a class A dick. Even in the National Lampoon movies or Caddyshack, where his character is relatively innocuous, he always seems to have a mean streak a mile wide and doesn't shy away from sharing it. Toxic masculinity? Or maybe...he was just a dick.
I was caught up in the Thriller hype, but it quickly died away for me (I believe I've mentioned before that I taped over the Thriller cassette - tape over the holes! - with Scorpions). I was at work when we all heard he'd died, and then when I watched "Finding Neverland," it was like...well, now I am definitely not a fan.
The art vs. artist thing is always difficult. You can be both a great artist...and a dick. People can be many things, all at the same time.
"People can be many things, all at the same time." That is the perfect way to sum it up. As for Chase... I don't if it was toxic masculinity or if he was just toxic in general. A good palette cleanser is the John Candy documentary "I Like Me" in which Bill Murray in the opening says "good luck finding anyone to say something bad about him." And they can't.
You would hear stories about him in the 80s, but it wasn't until the 90s that I started to hear more people speak out about him. I started the documentary, but decided not to finish it.
Toward the end of the documentary is when they really tried to humanize him. Both he and his wife claim that due to a health related issue he had, Chase has lost much of his memory from those days and claims not to remember any of his bad behavior. When confronted about things he said or did his general response is essentially "I don't remember that' and "I wouldn't have said that" -- it's as if because he forgot about the event (or at least claims to), then we should, too. I do think it's sad that he wasn't included in the SNL50 special -- it's a bit like having a Cosby show reunion without Bill Cosby. If I were in charge I'm not sure I would have done anything differently, except maybe the could have had him in a non-speaking part or something. I don't know, I'm sure the whole thing was very conflicted. There's a long running debate over whether or not we can separate artists from their art and never have found the right choice.
Putting aside the separation of art and artist. With the SNL 50th, I can see why they didn't invite him. Despite what he can't remember, he seems to be too much of a disruptive influence.
I've always thought Chevy Chase was a class A dick. Even in the National Lampoon movies or Caddyshack, where his character is relatively innocuous, he always seems to have a mean streak a mile wide and doesn't shy away from sharing it. Toxic masculinity? Or maybe...he was just a dick.
I was caught up in the Thriller hype, but it quickly died away for me (I believe I've mentioned before that I taped over the Thriller cassette - tape over the holes! - with Scorpions). I was at work when we all heard he'd died, and then when I watched "Finding Neverland," it was like...well, now I am definitely not a fan.
The art vs. artist thing is always difficult. You can be both a great artist...and a dick. People can be many things, all at the same time.
Excellent as always, Rob!
"People can be many things, all at the same time." That is the perfect way to sum it up. As for Chase... I don't if it was toxic masculinity or if he was just toxic in general. A good palette cleanser is the John Candy documentary "I Like Me" in which Bill Murray in the opening says "good luck finding anyone to say something bad about him." And they can't.
You would hear stories about him in the 80s, but it wasn't until the 90s that I started to hear more people speak out about him. I started the documentary, but decided not to finish it.
Toward the end of the documentary is when they really tried to humanize him. Both he and his wife claim that due to a health related issue he had, Chase has lost much of his memory from those days and claims not to remember any of his bad behavior. When confronted about things he said or did his general response is essentially "I don't remember that' and "I wouldn't have said that" -- it's as if because he forgot about the event (or at least claims to), then we should, too. I do think it's sad that he wasn't included in the SNL50 special -- it's a bit like having a Cosby show reunion without Bill Cosby. If I were in charge I'm not sure I would have done anything differently, except maybe the could have had him in a non-speaking part or something. I don't know, I'm sure the whole thing was very conflicted. There's a long running debate over whether or not we can separate artists from their art and never have found the right choice.
Putting aside the separation of art and artist. With the SNL 50th, I can see why they didn't invite him. Despite what he can't remember, he seems to be too much of a disruptive influence.