Chevy Chase & Dan Aykroyd

[Martha]

why isn't this a chevy chase & dan aykroyd thread so i can thoroughly puke my insides out?

Done! Puke away. (I had no idea, by the way, that Dan's last name was spelled so oddly. Is he an alien? Don't say it.)

[ben d banana]

hey, i just ate.

[filmfan]

THIS is Chevy Chase these days.

The Reliable Source

By Richard Leiby
Thursday, December 16, 2004; Page C03

It's the F-Time Show With Chevy Chase

Even certified Hollywood liberals were reeling after Chevy Chase's potty-mouthed Bush-bashing Tuesday night at the Kennedy Center, where the actor hosted an awards ceremony staged by People for the American Way.

For most of the evening, Chase was his usual comedic self, delivering lines like "This just in -- resignations in the upper echelon of the Bush administration. The Bush sisters have resigned and are being replaced by Paris and Nicky Hilton. Back for more news later."


After actors Alec Baldwin and Susan Sarandon delivered speeches accepting their Defender of Democracy awards, Chase took the stage a final time and unleashed a rant against President Bush that stunned the crowd. He deployed the four-letter word that got Vice President Cheney in hot water, using it as a noun. Chase called the prez a "dumb [expletive]." He also used it as an adjective, assuring the audience, "I'm no [expletive] clown either. . . . This guy started a jihad."

Chase also said: "This guy in office is an uneducated, real lying schmuck . . . and we still couldn't beat him with a bore like Kerry."

People for the American Way distanced itself yesterday from the actor's rant. "Chevy Chase's improvised remarks caught everyone off guard, and were inappropriate and offensive," Ralph Neas, the liberal advocacy group's president, said in a statement. "It was not what I would have said, and certainly not the language People for the American Way would ever use in discussing any president of the United States."

Founder Norman Lear agreed, telling us: "I thought it was utterly untoward, obviously unexpected and unscripted and all that stuff. And, uh -- it was Chevy Chase. He'll live with it, I won't."

Sen. Tom Daschle, the former minority leader, looked taken aback when he went on directly after Chase. His opening line: "I've had to follow a lot of speakers, but -- "

The movie star didn't return for a curtain call or to savor dessert at the reception after the event. We were told he hurt his back and needed to call it a night by 9. Chase's PR rep told us yesterday she was unable to reach him.

[flyonthewall2983]

I was reading a post on the AV Club blog about the (for the most part) tasteless Comedy Central roasts, and it gave brief mention to Chevy's roast. I found these two links in the comments.

The aforementioned EW article.

Chevy roasted by Stephen Colbert.

[Stagger Lee]

I usually find Colbert's irony tedious and boring, but he's really on fire in that clip. Awesome.

[Cold Bishop]

I usually find Colbert's irony tedious and boring, but he's really on fire in that clip. Awesome.

Wag of the finger to you.

[SheriffAmbrose]

''Under the Rainbow,'' a terrible movie about the attempted assassination of FDR and the making of ''The Wizard of Oz.''

Wow, that sounds...interesting. Has anyone seen it?

[Polybius]

It's about on the same order as 1941. Make what you will of that.

[Joe Buck]

I haven't seen Under The Rainbow since I was, like, 5. I'd be curious to see it again. Don't remember too much. I was on a steady diet of that and Bugsy Malone for a while there.

[Antoine Doinel]

Not sure if anyone else saw it, but Chevy Chase was a news segment special guest on a recent SNL (Seth Rogen was the host). It was a long and sadly, mostly unfunny cameo where he went through the summarized the various presidential candidates.

[Joe Buck]

I saw it. He looked so damn old. And no, I didn't even crack a smile.

Isn't there some way he can make another Fletch film? An older Fletch would be okay. He could still do his detective work, although his Laker aspirations would have to go. 10 perfectly good Fletch novels to choose from. Hell, I'd even get excited by Spies Like Us II. This time Austin Milbarge and Emmitt Fishume go to the middle east. Wait, is this Spies Like Us or Ishtar II? Either one would make me happy. How Ishtar isn't on DVD is beyond me. Chuck Grodin rules.

[flyonthewall2983]

Isn't there some way he can make another Fletch film? An older Fletch would be okay. He could still do his detective work, although his Laker aspirations would have to go. 10 perfectly good Fletch novels to choose from.

I was thinking the same thing when I saw the first one on cable recently. Chevy's profile has been lifted a little bit with his role on Community, but it's doubtful if he could totally get in the good graces of Hollywood again. Maybe if it was done for television, it would have a better chance.

[flyonthewall2983]

Fletch is on Netflix Instant now, and having watched it again, I'm not really sure if it's earned the reputation it has as a classic. Chase is great, but there's not a whole lot else to write home about.

[domino harvey]

Madness, Fletch is one of the few "classic" comedies that holds up to people quoting it all the time. It's definitely my favorite of Chase's films

[flyonthewall2983]

Maybe a 2nd viewing is in order then, as I may not have been in the right mood for it. I do think Fletch Lives is better than it's reputation, though.

[domino harvey]

Fletch is one of those comedies that gets better with exposure, lots of uber-droll lines and gags that wear well on repeat viewings. But like any subjective comic work, if you're not feeling its wavelength it may not get any better

[flyonthewall2983]

I guess my issue, however minor it may be, is that I'm less a fan these days of what are purely vehicles to show how funny the leading man (or woman) is, without giving the supporting cast much to do besides deliver the lines and move the plot along (and this has a pretty strong supporting cast). Because that can often lead to bad films, and it may be that Fletch is one of the exceptions to this.

[flyonthewall2983]

Chase is featured in the new documentary Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of The National Lampoon, which looks great.