Here’s the thing about Chevy Chase: he’s, uh, not well regarded as a person, generally. Take, for instance, what Stephen Colbert said about (and to) Chase during his 2002 Friar’s Club Roast:
“There may come a day in your darkest hour when you are a shadow of your, albeit paper-thin self. And when that day comes, I hope that you are cheered up by something that Mr. Chase so famously said, “He’s Chevy Chase and you’re not.” If that doesn’t cheer you up, then I don’t know what will.”
It also appears that Chase is holding fast to his reputation because he recently said on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast that Community, the NBC comedy series he starred in before getting fired for a racist tirade, wasn’t funny enough for him. It’s a take that could have easily come from the mouth of his series character, out-of-touch rich guy Pierce Hawthorne.
What we aren’t going to do here is say that Chase isn’t funny as a way to drag him down. He is, he’s just also not a particularly kind person. This social post sums up that dichotomy perfectly:
Now that we have that out of the way, this is what Chase said to Maron on the matter, per Deadline:
“I honestly felt the show wasn’t funny enough for me, ultimately. I felt a little bit constrained,” he said. “Everybody had their bits, and I thought they were all good. It just wasn’t hard-hitting enough for me.”
Asked specifically about his character, Pierce Hawthorne, Chase replied, “I didn’t mind the character. I just felt that it was… I felt happier being alone. I just didn’t want to be surrounded by that table, every day, with those people. It was too much.”
I find this confusing. Community was a sitcom. Why would you think it was going to be “hard-hitting”? Also, Chase’s brand of comedy is extremely physical so within that context, did he want to do more pratfalls? Banana peel slips? It doesn’t make sense!
I get not jiving with co-workers, I get being happier alone, I do! I also get that saying nothing is free, so why say anything about your co-workers if you don’t have anything nice to say? That’s a classic Pierce move if I ever saw one.
Chase’s Community co-star Yvette Nicole Brown, who played Shirley Bennett, weighed in on social media:
If you watched Community, you’d know that calling people, places, things, and abstract thoughts “nice” was basically Shirley’s catchphrase. It seems especially fitting here.
Chase was also asked whether he still spoke to series creator Dan Harmon, and this is what he had to say, per Deadline:
“Asked about his feud with Harmon, Chase said he hasn’t “seen him since” Harmon was dismissed from his role on the show in 2012, ahead of Season 4. “I have no idea if we’re OK,” he continued. “I’ve never been not OK. He’s kind of a pisser.”
I mean, at the end of the day, Chevy Chase is gonna Chevy Chase. It’s kind of comforting that his public persona remains so consistent to this day.
Ultimately, though, the show probably has gotten the last laugh by getting a movie revival at Peacock and gaining cult status. It also probably deserves the last word here on Pierce Hawthorne via the catchy ear work Pierce You’re a B. Play us out Community!
(featured image: NBC Universal)
