What Keith's Watching: I Am Chris Farley (2015)

It's the sad truth that when someone passes suddenly, it's usually the method of their passing that people remember most. Especially in the public eye. That's the case, I feel, for even the greatest performers - John Belushi, Robin Williams, Chris Farley. And that's what I truly appreciated about I Am Chris Farley. The documentary focused more on his life and his contribution to art and comedy, than his tragic death.

The documentary starts with his childhood as told by his brothers and childhood friends. We walk through his interactions in school and college. The foundation is built for who he will become and how he started in Second City. And we eventually see his start into Saturday Night Live, told by his fellow cast memembers who were obviously his close friends, too.

The overwhelming themee we see in the stories told is that not only did Chris have big style in comedy, but he had a big heart. He cared about hte people he worked with, he cared about the overall product he was working on and he cared about bringing joy and laughter to everyone. Sure, this sounds cliche, but watching people talk about Chris, you know this is a hundred percent true.

The story that stood out most to me was a story one of his friends told about Chris early on. Chris told him he wanted to become so famous that he could show up at hospitals to cheer up children. Come on! How many people say that?

Today, the answer is probably no one. Most people want fame to see their name in lights, to make money, to just have fame. Period. I'm almost positive that no Kardashian said, "I want to be so famous, I can make a sick child forget he's sick for even a minute." I doubt even the people that are famous and regularly visit sick children - Chris Evans or Chris Pratt - had that thought early on. It's a sentiment so pure, it puts the rest of us to shame.

The documentary doesn't end with the details of Chris's passing, but it does acknowledge it. It ackowledges the impact it had on his friends and the industry. The film leaves the viewer with a bittersweet feeling. Chris Farley's death was tragic, but we were all pretty lucky that a person like Chris Farley shared himself with the world.