The Book Review

Dada’s Boy

Five Takes on One Strip Act

(Photo: Everett Collection)

THE SKETCH: CHIPPENDALES
Patrick Swayze and Chris Farley

(Photo: Sara de Boer/Retna Ltd.)

“Fucking lame, weak bullshit. I can’t believe anyone liked it enough to put it on the show. Fuck that sketch. He never should have done it.”
Bob Odenkirk (friend, SNL writer)

(Photo: Jemal Countess/WireImage)

“There’s no turn there. There’s no comic twist to it. It’s just fucking mean. A more mentally together Chris Farley wouldn’t have done it, but Chris wanted so much to be liked … As funny as that sketch was, and as many accolades as he got for it, it’s one of the things that killed him. It really is. Something happened right then.”
Chris Rock

(Photo: Bobby Bank/WireImage)

“I’d say it’s one of the funniest sketches in the history of the show.”
Robert Smigel (comedian, writer)

(Photo: Michael Schwartz/WireImage)

“I played one of the judges, and my experience was the same as anyone who’s seen it on television. I did everything I could to keep a straight face.”
Kevin Nealon