I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not

• Directed by Marina Zenovich
• January 1, 2026 (CNN) / January 31, 2026 (HBO Max)

A look at the life and career of Chevy Chase.

I finally got around to I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not. Like so many others I heard it did Chevy Chase no favors. After viewing I must mostly agree on that assessment. It does not improve his image for the general public. On camera and even in some stuff from other sources it displays the abrasive a-hole that he is known as.

This not a hit piece that sets out to assassinate Chase’s character. Right or wrong he has done that long before this and continues doing so here. It aims to explain/understand the individual. When she is talking with the subject he offers no great revelations or insights. Documentarian Marina Zenovich does get him to provide entertainment though in scenes of him interacting with others where he is shown at this stage of his life as a rascal who is still clueless on why his behavior is seen as it is by others. Insights tend to come from others.

He comes off as arrogant and blunt. Conversely it doesn’t appear he lacks empathy. He may be a jerk to adults, but he appears to be great with kids. Goldie Hawn speaks glowingly of his ability with her children and his daughters come off as genuinely loving of their father. His wife Jayni, when interviewed, is unbothered by him.

What You’re Not also does is show people that genuinely like him despite his personality. It makes him come off as that individual you tell others when introducing “He’s a good guy, but you just have to get used to him.” The likes of Dan Aykroyd, Beverly D’Angelo, Goldie Hawn, Lorne Michaels (perhaps coming off as diplomatic), Martin Short, and Kevin Nealon keep it kind. Kevin Smith is polite but less than kind while Jay Chandrasekhar who worked with him on Community has a look that is more negative when talking of Chase than his words imply.

It’s a portrait of a difficult and complex individual who clearly could’ve been at greater heights if he just kept his mind on his career, but I must agree with the one supposition presented that he just didn’t care. His career wasn’t an all-consuming passion. He is much more interested in his personal than professional life though issues of work do bother him to this day.

Chase for his part understands his place in popular culture but is also baffled by why there are people that don’t like him. He doesn’t see any harm in what he has done. After 80 something years there is no moment of reflection from him. It’s weird. 

For a new man known as being a complete jerk he has good things to say about his first wife, with whom he was only married to for nine months, and his wife of many years Jayni who seems to know just how to take him. Those filmed moments capture a noticeable physical change in Chase. Perhaps sorrowful on an unsuccessful marriage to a woman he truly loved and gratitude to have married Jayni which is true love and marriage that lasted. Maybe some of that is connected to memories of a less than ideal childhood.

His time on the series Community gets some focus. He’s baffled by why it all came to an end. He also conveys being upset how they wrote his character more and more racist over time with a justified anger over the time he brought his family to set and got an “F-you” when walking into a room. Totally uncalled for and a moment that seems confirmed beyond Chase. I don’t care how much you don’t like somebody. At least give them some dignity in front of their own kin.

His drug issues are mentioned but it borders on being glossed over. His bouts with depression and even his heart a heart condition which caused him to be placed in an induced coma get more time. The induced coma may explain some of his memory gaps according to those there.

I was today years old when I learned that Chase and his wife travel from November to December giving screenings of Christmas Vacation (perhaps the greatest Christmas comedy ever) followed by a Q&A. This is when he really comes alive as an individual basking in the applause and fandom worship. Never is he more animated or happier here.

I found I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not very entertaining. It expanded my understanding of the man largely through the views of others. Interesting look at an entertainer.