ABOVE AVERAGE

The director has several documentaries behind her that profile controversial celebrities and this one is no exception.

Throughout his career, Chevy Chase has lived with a reputation of being an asshole; it’s not without merit, as he spends this film proving. The filmmakers explore his upbringing and try to find an explanation for his personality, but with the help of his family and people who’ve remained more or less friendly with him over the years, the portrait also becomes more complex.

It’s a wildly entertaining ride through all the highs that built Chase’s career and all the lows that brought him down, including drugs, bad movies and that ill-fated talk show, a perfect storm of poor judgment and overconfidence.

2026-U.S. 97 min. Color-B/W. Directed by Marina Zenovich.

Trivia: Among those interviewed: Martin Short, Goldie Hawn, Kevin Nealon, Ryan Reynolds, Beverly D’Angelo, Dan Aykroyd, Kevin Smith and Lorne Michaels.

Last word: “I’d never done an interview where someone was so rude to me. But I was so worried going into that first interview with him about how I was going to say to him, like, ‘Everyone thinks you’re an asshole.’ I thought if I did, he would throw me out of his house. So the minute he [insulted] me, I had a way in.” (Zenovich, Variety)