Friday, January 17, 1997
FILM:
Farley satisfied with success but hopes to expand into different
movie genresBy Trinh Bui
Daily Bruin Contributor
After five seasons of being just another player on "Saturday
Night Live," Chris Farley has gone on to do what fellow cast-mates
Dana Carvey and Mike Meyers couldn’t  make it in the
movies.
Farley has already starred in two hit films, "Black Sheep" and
"Tommy Boy," and hopes to continue his success with, "Beverly Hills
Ninja."
In the movie, Farley plays Haru, the legendary Great White Ninja
Master. Farley’s character must help costar Nicollette Sheridan
foil her boyfriend’s plan of counterfeiting millions of Japanese
Yen. Besides delivering his lines, Farley also performed most of
the martial arts stunts in the movie, which meant getting hurt.
"I had some bumps and bruises, and I went through a wall at one
point and missed the breakaway wall and hit a wooden pylon which
kind of woke me up. It hurt a lot," Farley says.
On "Beverly Hills Ninja" Farley had more creative involvement in
the film than just being an actor and a stuntman. He often offered
suggestions and ideas to director Denis Dugan ("Happy Gilmore"),
who appreciated the advice and encouraged Farley to contribute.
"He was there when we were working on the script. He’s obviously
in on it when you’re in the set and post production. Soon as I
could, I showed him the movie, and he gave me notes, and I
accommodated him," Dugan says.
Besides being a backseat director, Farley is a physical comedian
specializing in a loud, cartoon-violence comic style, perfecting
his act in the late ’80s at the Second City comedy club in Chicago.
Raised in a family with what he describes as a funny dad and two
equally humorous brothers, Farley had the opportunity to develop
his comic skills with gags and pranks like snapping his brothers’
suspenders and throwing banana peels at their feet. Farley also
studied the techniques of other great comedians like Bill Murray,
Dan Akroyd and especially John Belushi.
"Belushi is a huge hero of mine. I loved him so much. I remember
when I was in high school, I tried to tape my eyebrows up before I
went to sleep so I’d be able to move my eyebrows the way he did,"
Farley says. "It didn’t quite work, but I watched them like I was
doing homework."
After honing his routine at home, director Del Close brought
Farley to Second City. Farley performed twice there and finally got
a break with "Saturday Night Live." On SNL, Farley created his
trademark loud, macho characters like Matt Foley, the motivational
speaker, and the Bears fan. The stint on SNL helped Farley improve
his improvisational skills and off-camera antics.
"I just know that SNL is a wonderful training ground for comics.
It is like a grad school. I went to Second City which is a
wonderful training ground as well. You just have to learn for the
mere sake of survival and instinct. Live television has an element
where you have to produce or you are left behind," Farley says.
With SNL and small parts in "Wayne’s World" and "Coneheads"
under his belt, Farley followed in the footsteps of past cast
members into the film industry. At first, Farley had difficulties
switching from live television to movies. Farley was drained by
shooting schedules and down times during filming. Fortunately,
Farley adapted to working on film and starred in "Tommy Boy" with
fellow SNL costar David Spade. Farley followed up with "Black
Sheep" in 1996. His two movies combined to gross a respectable $65
million, showing Hollywood he has staying power. With "Ninja,"
Farley has now done three comedies that involve him being a
good-hearted but inept hero.
Although Farley has enjoyed the success of these roles, he is
ready to try something new. Trying to break this typecasting,
Farley just wrapped up a film with Matthew Perry titled "Edwards
& Hunt" which calls for less running into things and more edgy
dialogue. But despite his attempt to break away from his typical
roles, he cherishes his typical fans.
"My fans are the guys that can chug a pitcher of beer in under
10 seconds and yell real loud and do beer bongs," boasts
Farley.
Yet beyond enjoying his fans, Farley wants to enjoy his work.
And with his interest in trying out new film genres, he is ready to
leave the old Farley physical comedy behind.
"I have explored the fatty fall down in three films now. I am
very grateful that people enjoy them but I would like to explore a
little bit more."
TriStar Pictures
Haru (Chris Farley, left) and Gobei (Robin Shou) fight
side-by-side in "Beverly Hills Ninja."
"My fans are the guys that can chug a pitcher of beer in under
10 seconds …"
Chris Farley
Actor