Chris Farley, the energetic and loud American comedian passed away over two decades ago. But last weekend, Adam Sandler paid a very emotional yet funny tribute to him. Farley and Sandler were very good friends and for many Farley fans, this tribute brought back memories of the late comedian in a unique way. In some ways it felt like Chris had never left us.
There are innumerable stories from people that worked with Farley at “SNL”. Farley was a comedian to the core and his antics and humour brought an incredible amount of joy to the people around him at the “SNL” offices.
Bittersweet Memories
Sandler raised a toast to his late friend with a song that captured Farley’s exuberant spirit amazingly well. It was heartbreaking yet joyous and profound all at once, just like the person he was singing it for. Some people have noted that Adam had also played a version of this very same song on his Netflix special recently. But what lent a very special touch to this particular rendition was that Sandler sangthe song on the stage that he and Chris shared way back in the mid-1990s.
Sandler sang “We’d tell him, ‘Son, you’ll wind up like Belushi and Candy” and added lines like ‘Those guys are my heroes, that’s all fine and dandy’ which created a very emotional atmosphere. (Both Candy and Belushi were renowned comedy stars that also passed away at a very young age.) Another poignant moment was when Sanders sang “If we make enough noise, maybe he’ll hear us,” Emotion was writ large upon his face and the audience went ballistic and cheered at this point.
But the objective of the song wasn’t to create a melancholy mood. Rather Adam was there to remind people of the joy and cheer that Farley had brought to so many of us. He also reminisced that when he first met Chris, the latter had done a slow dance with the cleaning lady and cartwheeled all over the room. There was no doubt that no matter where he was, Farley was a one-person party.
The Special Touch
But that wasn’t all! There was something even more remarkable about the song that Sandler sang. It was light-hearted and full of great memories of his late friend- the medicine that America needs to keep the dysfunction that exists in the nation today, at arm’s length. Adam sang from the bottom of his heart and his fondness for his friend was evident in every word he spoke.
About Simpler Times
Watching the clips of Chris exuding charm and eliciting laughter conjured images of a time when things were simpler and more straightforward. At that time the most notable political issue was the affair that Bill Clinton’s had with an intern. While it was definitely a serious issue, its repercussions weren’t as impacting.
The matter was in stark contrast with what we seein the current day- Russian attacks on our country’s elections, how the white supremacists are being emboldenedand of course President Donald Trump’s war on the truth. Today’s growing issues are far more life-threatening and impacting to America’s vitality compared to Clinton’s indiscretion.
Sandler slowly wound down the song and summed up what Chris means to him with this line- “Give it up for the great Chris Farley”which caused the entire studio audience to cheer loudly. Even more than 20 years after his passing, Chris continues to bring joy to the people he came in contact with as well as vast audeinecs that thoroughly enjoyed his comedy. That is truly a commendable quality for any person to have.