A new documentary aiming to rehabilitate the image of comedy legend Chevy Chase has instead laid bare the shocking behaviour that transformed him from a beloved star into a Hollywood outcast. The film, 'I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not', airs on CNN on January 1 at 8pm EST and will stream on HBO Max from January 31. It traces his rise through classics like Caddyshack and the National Lampoon films, only to show how his talent was eclipsed by a notorious reputation for being difficult, offensive, and combative.
A Career Overshadowed by Conflict
Now 82, Chase found fame as an original cast member of Saturday Night Live (SNL) in 1975, becoming the first anchor of Weekend Update and winning two Emmys in 1976. However, the documentary reveals that even during this early success, he was alienating colleagues. The film includes candid and often combative interviews with Chase himself, alongside accounts from former colleagues and family members, including his third wife Jayni and all three of his daughters.
His return to television in the mid-2000s on the sitcom Community proved that age had not mellowed him. Directors recount extraordinary measures taken to manage his presence on set. Scenes involving Chase were shot first so he could be ushered off, and the cast and crew would cheer when he left. In later seasons, writers deliberately confined his character to a wheelchair to limit his interactions with the cast.
Explosive Incidents and a Painful Legacy
The documentary does not shy away from Chase's most troubling episodes. It revisits his 1985 return to host SNL, where he clashed with Terry Sweeney, the show's first openly gay cast member. During the height of the AIDS crisis, Chase suggested a sketch about Sweeney having AIDS and being weighed. When confronted in the film, Chase becomes belligerent, denying any anger over having to apologise and accusing Sweeney of lying.
His departure from Community was triggered by a confrontation with black co-star Yvette Nicole Brown. Director Jay Chandrasekhar recounts that Chase made a remark that led Brown to storm off, demanding an apology. Chase refused, allegedly referencing a past relationship with Richard Pryor. The incident leaked to the press, causing Chase to have a meltdown on set, yelling, "My career is ruined!" He never returned.
The acrimony was so deep that Community creator Dan Harmon led a chant of "f*** Chevy" at the wrap party, prompting a bitter, expletive-filled voicemail from Chase that is played in the film.
Personal Demons and a Family's Perspective
The film explores the roots of his behaviour, which his family frames as a coping mechanism for childhood abuse. Chase describes a physically abusive stepfather and a mother he labels an "out of control woman." It also details his rampant cocaine addiction in the 1970s and 80s and later alcoholism, which he admits led to drinking on set.
This substance abuse contributed to a major health crisis in 2021, when he suffered heart failure and was placed in an eight-day coma. His daughter Caley said he "basically came back from the dead," though his memory was permanently affected.
Despite moments of reflection—such as admitting it "hurt" to be excluded from SNL's 50th-anniversary special—Chase often remains defiant. He insults the documentary's director, double Emmy-winner Marina Zenovich, calling her a "b**ch" and telling her she's "not bright enough" to figure him out. The portrait that emerges is of a brilliant but deeply flawed man whose legacy is irrevocably tarnished by his own actions.
