He was a human tornado. A manic, sweating, red-faced force of nature that shouldn't have been able to move as fast as he did.
Seriously. Think about it.
Chris Farley didn't just walk onto a stage; he invaded it. He crashed through coffee tables, screamed until his neck veins looked like they were ready to pop, and somehow, amidst all that chaos, made you feel like he was your best friend. Even now, decades after he left us at the tragically young age of 33, looking for the best of Chris Farley isn't just a trip down memory lane. It’s a masterclass in what happens when a performer gives 110% of their soul to a bit.
Most people remember the "van down by the river" line. It's iconic. But the real magic of Farley wasn't just the catchphrases—it was the weird, vulnerable, and often improvised moments that caught his own castmates off guard.
The SNL Years: More Than Just a "Fat Guy in a Little Coat"
If you were watching Saturday Night Live in the early 90s, you knew you were witnessing something special. Farley joined the cast in 1990 alongside guys like Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. They were the "Bad Boys of SNL," a group of young, hungry comics who didn't care about being polished. They wanted to make each other laugh.
Matt Foley: The Legend of the Van
The character of Matt Foley, the disheveled motivational speaker, wasn't actually born in New York. It started at Second City in Chicago. Bob Odenkirk (yes, Better Call Saul Bob Odenkirk) actually wrote the original sketch. When Farley brought it to SNL, he added the physical layers—the hitching of the pants, the glasses sliding down the nose, and the literal destruction of the set.
Watch that first sketch with David Spade and Christina Applegate again. Spade is barely holding it together. He’s covering his face with his hand because Farley is doing things he didn't do in rehearsal. That was the Farley way. He wanted to "break" you.
🔗 Read more: The Reality of Sex Movies From Africa: Censorship, Nollywood, and the Digital Underground
The Chippendales Audition
This one is controversial nowadays. Some folks find it mean-spirited toward Farley’s weight. But if you watch it closely, the joke isn't just "look at the big guy dancing." The joke is that Farley is actually a phenomenal dancer.
He’s keeping up with Patrick Swayze. He’s graceful. He’s committed. He’s doing hair flips and pelvic thrusts with a level of confidence that most of us will never achieve in our lives. It’s that juxtaposition of his size and his extreme athleticism that made him a "manic cannonball," as the New Yorker once called him.
The Chris Farley Show
Honestly, this might be his most underrated work. It’s the opposite of the screaming Matt Foley. Here, Farley plays a version of himself: a shy, stuttering, terrified interviewer.
- "Remember when you were in the Beatles?"
- "Yes."
- "That was awesome!"
It’s painful. It’s cringey. It’s also incredibly sweet. It tapped into the real Chris Farley—the guy who was reportedly quite shy and insecure when the cameras weren't rolling. The interview with Paul McCartney remains a highlight of the best of Chris Farley era because it felt so human.
Moving to the Big Screen: The Spade and Farley Magic
When Farley left SNL in 1995, he took his "big brother/little brother" dynamic with David Spade to Hollywood.
Tommy Boy is the gold standard here. Critics at the time mostly hated it. Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert gave it "two thumbs down," but the fans? We knew better. It’s a movie about a bumbling heir trying to save his dad’s brake-pad company, but it’s really about the chemistry between two best friends.
💡 You might also like: Alfonso Cuarón: Why the Harry Potter 3 Director Changed the Wizarding World Forever
The scene where they're singing "Endless Love" in the car? Pure improv. The "fat guy in a little coat" bit? That was something Farley used to do to Spade in their shared SNL office just to annoy him.
Black Sheep followed in 1996, and while it felt like a bit of a Tommy Boy retread, it still gave us the "Kill Whitey" scene and Farley tumbling down a mountain for what felt like five minutes. He did his own stunts. He threw his body around because he knew that’s what the audience wanted.
The Roles We Almost Saw (The Shrek Mystery)
One of the biggest "what-ifs" in comedy history is the fact that Chris Farley was the original voice of Shrek.
He had recorded nearly 80% to 90% of the dialogue before he passed away. In 2015, a small snippet of his voice work leaked online, and it’s heartbreaking. His Shrek wasn't the grumpy, Scottish ogre Mike Myers eventually created. Farley’s Shrek was a misunderstood teen-like ogre who just wanted to be liked. It was vulnerable. It was soft.
It makes you wonder if he would have transitioned into more dramatic roles as he got older. He had that "clown crying on the inside" energy that usually leads to an Oscar-winning turn later in life.
Why He Still Matters in 2026
We live in a world of highly polished, edited, and "safe" comedy. Everything is a TikTok bit or a carefully curated stand-up special.
📖 Related: Why the Cast of Hold Your Breath 2024 Makes This Dust Bowl Horror Actually Work
Farley was the opposite of that. He was raw. He was messy. He was physically dangerous to himself and the furniture around him.
His influence is everywhere. You see it in the high-energy absurdity of I Think You Should Leave or the awkward-bravery of Eric Andre. But nobody has ever quite replicated that specific mix of Wisconsin charm and chaotic energy.
Best of Chris Farley: A Quick Cheat Sheet
- SNL - Matt Foley (The first one): Pure, unadulterated energy.
- Tommy Boy: The quintessential buddy comedy.
- SNL - Japanese Game Show: A masterclass in "bewildered American" humor.
- Beverly Hills Ninja: It’s silly, it’s dumb, and it’s Farley at his most athletic.
- SNL - The Chris Farley Show (Paul McCartney): For when you want to see his sweet side.
What to do next
If you want to really understand his impact, don't just watch the clips. Watch the documentary I Am Chris Farley. It features interviews with his brothers and guys like Bob Odenkirk and Adam Sandler. It gives you the context of the man behind the sweat.
Once you’ve done that, go back and watch the Bill Swerski’s Superfans sketches. Pay attention to how Farley handles the heart attack bit. It’s a subtle bit of physical acting that most people overlook because they’re too busy laughing at the "Da Bears" accent.
Farley wasn't just a funny guy. He was a force. And forces like that don't come around twice.