Chasing Chevy Chase Podcast

All good things must come to an end — and so, at last, must the chase. Mike White and Chris Stachiw close out the Chasing Chevy Chase Podcast with special guest Rod Lott (Flick Attack, Bookgasm) joining them to tackle the inevitable: I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not, Marina Zenovich's unflinching documentary which is something more unsettling than a hit piece.  Chase himself sits for interviews, off...

The Last Laugh (2019) pairs Chevy Chase with Richard Dreyfuss for a cross-country road trip fueled by regret. Chase plays Al Hart, a sharp-tongued talent manager newly relocated to an assisted living community, who discovers his long-lost first client — the one who got away — is now his tour guide. Buddy Green (Dreyfuss) walked away from a spot on The Ed Sullivan Show fifty years ago and never loo...

The Griswolds hit the Strip in Vegas Vacation (1997), the fourth installment in the beloved National Lampoon series and one that doesn't get nearly enough credit. Mark, Chris, and Mike cash in their chips on this sun-baked comedy that transplants Clark Griswold's particular brand of well-intentioned chaos from the open road to the neon-drenched excess of Las Vegas. Chase is at his most endearingly...

Chevy Chase tries to trade sarcasm for step-dad duty in Man of the House, the 1995 family comedy that pairs him with sitcom royalty and a Tiger Scout troop. Mark, Chris, and Mike dig into Chase’s turn as a well-meaning attorney trying to win over his girlfriend’s skeptical son, played by Jonathan Taylor Thomas at peak mid-’90s fame. Add Farrah Fawcett, George Wendt, and a script credited to Don Ca...

Mike, Mark, and Chris revisit Cops & Robbersons, a mid-’90s Chevy Chase outing that jams suburban family comedy into a would-be cop thriller. Chase plays Andy Robberson, a lackluster father whose life implodes when a volatile detective (Jack Palance) moves in to surveil a killer (Robert Davi). The discussion looks at where the film sits in Chase’s post-Vacation career, Michael Ritchie’s shaky...

Chevy Chase takes an unexpected turn into sci-fi thriller territory with Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992). Directed by John Carpenter and adapted from H.F. Saint’s novel, the film follows Nick Halloway (Chase), who becomes invisible after a freak laboratory accident. As he grapples with the perks and pitfalls of invisibility, he also tries to evade ruthless CIA operative David Jenkins (Sam Neill...

Mike, Mark, and Chris revisit the 2015 Vacation, a remake-sequel that tries to chart a new path while carrying the Griswold name. They examine how the film reframes Rusty as the next-generation family man, what works (and what doesn’t) in its mix of callbacks and updated comedy, and how the movie handles the legacy of the original series. The trio also considers Chevy and Beverly D’Angelo’s brief...

Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, John Candy, and Dan Aykroyd walk into a nightmare—literally—in Nothing But Trouble (1991), Aykroyd’s one and only directorial effort. Chris, Mark, and Mike dig into this gonzo horror-comedy oddity that blends Texas Chain Saw Massacre grime with Looney Tunes energy and a dash of Wall Street satire. Though often written off as one of the worst films of the ’90s, our hosts fi...

Potentially the most popular of all of Chevy Chase's films, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation has become a perennial family favorite despite the Griswolds not actually going on vacation but their extended family visiting them in the suburbs of Chicago during a year where Clark counts too heavily on his Christmas bonus. With a stand-out performance from Randy Quaid returning as Cousin Eddie, th...

Chevy Chase dons the Lakers jersey once more as Mike White (The Projection Booth), Mark Begley (Wake Up Heavy), and Chris Stachiw (The Kulturecast) dig into Fletch Lives (1989). The long-delayed sequel to Fletch swaps the quick-witted investigative journalist’s L.A. backdrop for Southern Gothic eccentricity, televangelists, and KKK satire—sometimes with mixed results. The trio debate whether Grego...

We finally brave the cinematic sand trap that is Caddyshack II (1988), a baffling sequel that ditches the scrappy charm of the original for a mess of slapstick, snooty social satire, and one-liners that land with all the grace of a thrown brick. Mark, Mike, and Chris dig into what went wrong—from Rodney Dangerfield bailing and Jackie Mason stepping in, to Chevy Chase coasting through with a smirk...

This may be it.  We may have reached the nadir of Chevy Chase's filmography with the 2006 film from director Leslie Greif, Funny Money.  Based on a play by Ray Cooney, the film feels incredibly stage-bound and like a pale imitation of better screwball comedies.  Hold on to your sides, they're about to be split! In Funny Money, Chase plays a fake fruit engineer whose boss (Robert Loggia) comes to v...

Mike, Mark, and Chris take a closer look at Funny Farm (1988), Chevy Chase’s turn as a New York sportswriter who relocates to small-town Vermont in search of a simpler life—only to find frustration, isolation, and a town that seems determined to break him.  Directed by George Roy Hill, the film mixes dry satire with broad physical comedy, offering a darker, more cynical take on the rural escape fa...

Mike White (The Projection Booth), Mark Begley (Wake Up Heavy), and Chris Stachiw (The Kulturecast) saddle up for Three Amigos (1986), the offbeat Western comedy directed by John Landis and written by Steve Martin, Lorne Michaels, and Randy Newman. The trio discusses the film’s blend of Hollywood parody and Mexican melodrama, its troubled production history, and the legacy of its three leads—Chevy...

Mike White (The Projection Booth), Mark Begley (Wake Up Heavy), and Chris Stachiw (The Kulturecast) go behind enemy lines to examine Spies Like Us (1985), a Cold War comedy directed by John Landis and starring Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd. The trio unpacks the film’s satirical take on espionage, its place in the Reagan-era political climate, and the chemistry between its two leads. They also dig in...

Pack your bags, grab your beret, and prepare for comedic jet lag as Mike White (The Projection Booth), Mark Begley (Wake Up Heavy), and Chris Stachiw (The Kulturecast) take a rollicking tour through National Lampoon’s European Vacation! The Griswolds/Griswalds are crossing the pond, leaving chaos, hilarity, and questionable driving in their wake. From Stonehenge collisions to Bavarian misadventure...

Surf’s up, Chase fans! In this episode of the Chasing Chevy Chase podcast, Mike White, Chris Stachiw, and Mark Begley take a detour to sunny Southern California with a deep dive into Orange County (2002). Penned by (the other) Mike White and directed by Jake Kadan, the film is packed with  a stacked cast including Colin Hanks, Jack Black, and Catherine O’Hara. The crew discusses the film and its w...

In this episode of Chasing Chevy Chase, hosts Mike White, Mark Begley, and Chris Stachiw dive into Fletch (1985), the comedy that solidified Chevy Chase as a comedy icon. Directed by Michael Ritchie and based on Gregory McDonald’s bestselling novel, this film gave Chase one of his most beloved roles as the wisecracking investigative reporter Irwin M. Fletcher. From the film's sharp dialogue to its...

Directed by William Friedkin and written by Paul Brickman, Deal of the Century (1983) is another disappointing entry in Chevy Chase's filmography. He's playing slick arms dealer Eddie Muntz who lucks his way into the titular "deal of the century" where he's partnered with Catherine DeVoto (Sigourney Weaver). His other partner, Ray Kasternak (Gregory Hines), is a loose canon who has an ill-timed sp...

In this episode of The Chasing Chevy Chase podcast, we take a deep dive into National Lampoon's Vacation, the iconic 1983 road trip comedy. Mark Begley (Wake Up Heavy), Chris Stachiw (The Kulturecast), and Mike White (The Projection Booth) explore Chevy Chase's performance as the well-meaning but hapless Clark Griswold, determined to take his family on the ultimate cross-country adventure to Wally...

You think you've got problems?  Well, Chevy Chase has MODERN PROBLEMS in this 1981 film from Chevy's old friend Tom Shapiro.   As air traffic controller Max Fiedler, Chevy loses his girlfriend (Patti D'Arbanville) while being berated by a self-help guru (Dabney Coleman) in a movie that can't decide if it's science fiction or spiritual horror.  Join Mark Begley (Wake Up Heavy), Chris Stachiw (The K...

We're taking a little break from the chronological Chevy Chase filmography to explore a later film where he makes a memorable appearance, Bob Saget's Dirty Work (1998).  The film is a Norm MacDonald vehicle wherein he and his pal (Artie Lang) open a business to pull pranks.  It's a thin concept and the results are uneven at best. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast...

Surprisingly, not the nadir of Chevy Chase's career but it might be close!  Steve Rash's Under the Rainbow, a fictionalized recounting of the little people actors from The Wizard of Oz taking over a hotel across from the MGM soundstages. Against this event is story of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand's son being hunted by the son of Gavrilo Princip (Robert Donner). Fortunately, the Duke is protected by B...

Chevy's hot streak of 1980 continues with his second pairing with Goldie Hawn.  This time she's an attorney married to Charles Grodin.  Meanwhile, Chevy Chase is her estranged husband who gets set up as a bank robber.  It's a complicated screwball comedy from writer Neil Simon where Chevy spends half the film hiding under beds.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/...

Mark, Chris, and Mike continue their deep dive into the films of Chevy Chase with one of his biggest hits when he played golf enthusiast Ty Webb in Harold Ramis's seminal slobs vs. snobs comedy Caddyshack. A rather odd mix of talents, Chase was in danger of being eclipsed by his fellow actors, especially Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Bill Murray, and a gopher.  Become a supporter of this podcast...