Bob Odenkirk on Chris Farley's iconic SNL Chippendales sketch: "F*ck that sketch"

Entertainment Weekly

The Better Call Saul star and former Saturday Night Live writer, who worked with Farley at Second City in Chicago, calls the 1990 sketch featuring then-SNL newbie Farley and co-starring Patrick Swayze a "huge bummer" in his upcoming memoir Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama. "The first breakout moment for Chris was the 'Chippendales Audition' sketch on the Patrick Swayze–hosted episode in season 16," writes Odenkirk. "It was a huge bummer to me to see that scene get on the air and get such attention. I know it confirmed Chris's worst instincts about being funny, which was how he proved his worth — that getting laughed at was as good as getting a laugh. Writers I knew and respected defended this sketch because it had a funnyish idea buried in it: the Chippendales judges prefer Swayze's dancing over Chris's but can't put a finger on why. But that idea is not what produced the gales of cackling (and gasps) from the live audience. Chris flopping his overstuffed body around did that. I feel like I can see it on his face in the moment when he rips his shirt off. Shame and laughter are synthesized in the worst way. F*ck that sketch."

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