Chevy Chase is under the spotlight in a new documentary, warts and all — and he’s OK with it
“I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not” follows his life and career, from a dark childhood to the dawn of Saturday Night Live and then Hollywood.
By Mark Kennedy
January 1, 2026 — 11.17am
New York: Insulting the director who is making a documentary about you might not be the most diplomatic of choices. Then again, Chevy Chase has never been very diplomatic.
The comedian gets snarly at the top of filmmaker Marina Zenovich’s I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, which airs in the United States this week on CNN (an Australian release date is yet to be confirmed). During their very first meeting, he warns her it isn’t going to be easy to figure him out. She asks him why.
Chevy Chase attends SNL50: The Homecoming Concert in 2025.Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
“You’re not bright enough, how’s that?” he replies.
That the exchange made the film says a lot about Zenovich and also about Chase, a gifted physical comedian who starred in classic 1970s and ’80s comedies like Fletch, Three Amigos, Caddyshack and the National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise.
“He’s one of those people everybody thinks they know,” says Zenovich. “He has a reputation that precedes him and there’s something underneath that you want to get to. So it was a great challenge to try to get there.”
A complicated man
I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not follows Chase’s life and career, from his dark childhood to the dawn of Saturday Night Live and then Hollywood, ending with his messy time on the TV series, Community. There are perspectives offered from Dan Aykroyd, Beverly D’Angelo, Goldie Hawn, Lorne Michaels, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Short, his wife, Jayni Chase, and three daughters, and brother Ned.
A portrait emerges of a sharp and often cutting comedian who has a deep fan base but can rub some people the wrong way with a blunt inelegance. “I’m complex and I’m deep, and I can be hurt easily,” he tells the filmmaker.
The documentary shows footage of his film and TV work alongside home movies, cuddling a cat, playing a piano, playing chess, reading fan mail — including a birthday card from former president Bill Clinton — and visiting a flower shop.
