Obviously, the delivery of this sort introduction is different for someone who has died, especially as sadly and tragically as Farley did, than it is for someone who's still in the prime of their silliness...like Will Farrell, for instance. For some reason, I listened intently and took Tim Meadows seriously this time around. The part of his introduction that stood out the most for me this time was when Tim said that part of the reason why his comedic style was so far-reaching is that, at least sub-consciously, you kinda felt sorry for the guy.
There aren't many people that I know that can look at the image above without at least a chuckle. As absurb as it sounds, I'd like to analyze the above fictitious scenario:
Obviously, a fit guy and a fat guy are auditioning for Chippendale's. They both dance, and it's funny to see the fat guy dance because his fat jiggles all over the place. Everybody laughs at the fat flying; end of story, right? Having laughed until my guts cramped up at this skit probably a dozen times before, I was watching this tape in a new, more sympathetic light, taking Tim Meadows' introductory comments seriously. First of all, I'm sure they actually do have auditions for Chippendale's. It may not be in front of a formal panel of judges, but I'm sure you gotta show them your moves (at the very least) before they pay you the big bucks to become part of the meat market. So, the fact that two guys are competing isn't at all far-fetched, in my opinion.
We see Farley imitate Swayze's moves, and Swayze imitate Farley's, and the contrast in body types is hilariously astounding. That being said, if you look at the actual movements, if you were somehow able to ignore Swayze's fit physique and Farley's seemingly out-of-control lard storm, their actual dance moves wouldn't look that tremendously different. You may not be buying that, but if you are ever able/willing to watch the skit again in a more objective light without dying of laughter, you might agree with me. Regardless of the quality of Farley's moves, anyone who has ever weighed near 300 pounds or has been tackled by someone weighing that much must admit that it takes a lot of effort to get that much mass moving the way Farley moves it. At the very least, Farley has the talent/physical ability for very powerful bursts of energy when called upon.
The most interesting part of the skit for me this time around is the dialog that happens after the dancing is done - and after the fat is done flying. Kevin Nealon, who plays the "head judge", goes on to explain, quite frankly, that Chris Farley is not "lean and muscular" but "fat and flabby", which proves that sometimes stating the obvious adds to the humor. Then Nealon explains that they picked Swayze, of course, and they congratulate each other, Swayze goes off into la-la-ego land, as Nealon continues to explain to Farley why they didn't pick him. As Nealon's dialog fades out, you can hear Nealon start to explain about why they even bothered to have Farley audition: because they thought a larger, more realistically-proportioned man might appeal to their older, heavier lady clients. Now this part of the dialog is barely audible above Swayze's egotistical soliloquy, so I found it profoundly interesting that they even bothered keeping in the skit at all. To me, having a heavier dude might actually appeal to some heavier ladies, so that doesn't seem too incredibly far-fetched, either.
So, getting a guy's hopes up for getting a decent (maybe not decent, but at least renown) job only to have them pull it out from under him with the excuse of "you're too fat" just adds to the sympathy, however unconscious, we feel for the guy.
Swayze adds that he wanted to make sure it was just because of his body that he won, because on moves alone, Farley has him beat. I don't know that there wasn't some honesty propped up behind those rehearsed lines by Swayze. He, of all people, knows how much energy and physical ability it takes to move the way dancers need to move, and for him to witness a very large man do some relatively demanding moves must have impressed him.
Anyway, the skit ends with Swayze's soliloquy stating that he never saw Farley again...all the more reason to wonder what happened to the poor guy who bared his flab for a chance at fame, only to be called "fat and flabby".
Many other skits on the tape (DVD, whatever) employ a similar "you feel so bad you gotta laugh" quality, but may have taken his death to realize that we actually did feel sorry for him. So, when we laugh at someone like Farley, are we laughing because we feel sorry for him, or because we have no choice but to laugh? I think it's a little of both.
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