Product Details

• Actors: Christina Applegate, Ellen Cleghorne, Jeff Daniels, Siobhan Fallon, Jan Hooks
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Lions Gate
• VHS Release Date: July 6, 1999
• Run Time: 68 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1573626163
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #246,959 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The Best of Chris Farley blasts through 68 minutes of the wildly hilarious characters the comic actor created while with Saturday Night Live in the early 1990s. Farley was a comedic gem--not only because he created such bizarre, repulsively funny characters, such as Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker, or Lori Davis, cosmetics infomercial queen, but because he lived completely inside the character, delivering lines with whatever fury, stupidity, hypertension, insecurity, or femininity the situation demanded. Clearly, Farley loved making people laugh and he wasn't afraid to use his big bulk to do it, whether it entailed stripping as a Chippendale's dancer, belly flopping on coffee tables, rolling around on a couch as Tom Arnold, or punching his forehead in dismay on the "Chris Farley Show." What's great about this collection is all of those characters appear; what's disappointing is that some don't linger long enough, while others appear a bit too long. The cafeteria-lady number could've been cut short in lieu of a longer Tom Arnold segment, or Herlihy Boy could've been removed altogether in favor of complete "Chris Farley Show" segments. Still, if you forgot how side-splitting Farley's portrayal of Dom DeLuise or the French-fry-stuffing Gap girl was, this video will happily jog your memory. --Karen Karleski

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I miss this big guy..., June 2, 2000

By 

Kitten With a Whip "kittenwithawhip" (The Hellmouth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saturday Night Live - The Best of Chris Farley [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I've found that most people either totally love Chris Farley or, when you bring him up, make a face and say, "I never really thought he was funny." If you are in the first, and don't own this video yet, RUN don't walk to the shopping cart and buy one. When they ran it the first time on TV, it wasn't long after Farley's death, and I was still sad about it. After the sober opening by Tim Meadows, however, I started laughing pretty much non-stop till it was over. His better-known routines are on here, such as Bennet Brower, Matt Foley, and the Chippendale's dancer, which are all hilarious. But there's also quite a few skits that I never saw, and we watched pretty much every week when he was in the cast. My only complaint is that it isn't longer, and some funny skits, they only show snippets of, like him playing Alan Hale, and the skit with Sandler where Michael Keaton was the host and Sandler plays his cranky grandmother whom he has to watch for 20 minutes. (if you want to see the whole skit, which is one of the funniest things I've ever seen them do, then buy the Best of Adam Sandler as well, because it the whole skit, plus some other great Farley stuff not on this tape is on there). The only noticeable (if you're a Farley fan) omission is a skit called "The Relapse Guy" where he plays a guy who goes to rehab then gets wasted again over and over (it's way funnier than it sounds, trust me). I think they thought it was a little too close to home (though they did leave in the Ditka stuff with him faking a heart attack-that kind of made me wince). Every time I see this, several things happen-- I get sad that he wasn't around long enough to make more movies with Spade, or even by himself, because (this sounds corny) he had so much to give. I also get pi$$ed off at him for not taking better care of himself and dying. I also usually laugh so hard I fall off the couch. No matter how bad of a day I had, I can watch almost any of the skits on here and get cheered up instantly. He was a guy who could just say one line that you would think no-one could say and make it funny, and make you fall down laughing just the way he says it. His costars really had a hard time keeping character, which shows even more in the dress rehersal 'blooper' clips they show. Watch David Spade and Christina Appelgate during the Matt FOley thing- they both have to turn away from the camera to hide their faces because they can't keep a straight face, and when he starts in with the "I bet you're asking yourself 'hey Matt, how do we get back on the right track?' " you can see their shoulders shaking they are laughing so hard. Sandler can't keep a straight face when he's doing the "Lunchlady" song with him, either. Come to think of it, I have no clue how anyone on stage with him could ever keep a straight face. If you were bummed out when he died, get ready to get teary (though you'll already have tears running down your face from laughing) when he sings, "so long, farewell" as Matt Foley at the end, sitting on Phil Hartman's lap (I could watch this without tearing up until Hartman was killed, now I can't see the clip without getting choked up). But even if you do get emotional, keep watching, because after the credits they stick on the one thing I'd been hoping for the whole time-a quick clip of Farley as "Sandman" on "Nat X". What a waste- I hope whereever he is he knows how happy he made people during the short time he was around (and how happy he is still making those of us who thought he was funny).

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can't help laughing..., May 4, 2000

By 

Paul Corazza (Fairfield, IA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saturday Night Live - The Best of Chris Farley [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Over the years, I would see Chris Farley from time to time and find him only mildly amusing. I'm not sure what inspired me to buy this video in the first place...but I'm very glad I did. My wife and I were doubled over on the floor, totally out of control, as we watched some of the bits in this video. These are just priceless sketches from the Saturday Night Live archives.

In case you happen to recall some of his funnier moments on SNL, here's a list of most of the routines that are on this video: "Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker", "Chippendale's Audition", "The Chris Farley Show" (interviews with Jeff Daniels and Paul McCartney), "Bennett Brouwer", "Roseanne and Tom", "El Nino", "Lunch Lady", "Japanese Jeopardy", "Herlihy Boy".

We've watched this video at least 30 times--every time a friend (who hasn't already seen it) comes by for a visit, we offer to play it. It's just one of those videos you've got to have in your collection!

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This video depicts the greatness of Chris Farley!, October 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Saturday Night Live - The Best of Chris Farley [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Chris Farley- another SNL Casualty? I think not! Out of a cast that has seen the untimely deaths of greats such as Gilda Radner and John Belushi, Chris, I think, will be missed more! This video is a great picker-upper if you ever are sad- mostly because you think about how you saw that ONE hilarious skit for the first time, and how absolutely fall-on-the-floor funny it was. 5 enthusiastic stars from me!

"Life would be a lot easier for YOU, if you didn't live in a VAN, by the river!..."- Chris Farley