There have been many ads and commercials in the past that have either been banned, removed, or just complained about for justifiable reasons, but the controversial battle over the new DirecTV commercial is an affair I do not understand.
The commercial places David Spade in a scene with Chris Farley from the movie “Tommy Boy.” Spade is sitting on the couch while Chris Farley, who died in 1997 of heart failure due to an overdose, performs his famous “Fat Guy in a Little Coat” routine. The scene is exactly the same, except there is new footage of Spade spliced in to promote DirecTV.
In the ad, Spade says, “Great, I’m here with tons of fun, when I could be at home with my DirecTV ... But no, I’m stuck with either cable or that (pointing to Farley). It never gets old.”
Suddenly, people are freaking out. Many say the ad is “distasteful.” An article about the ad in TVSquad.com claims that the image is “too soon.” Are these people serious? Farley died 12 years ago. Michael Jackson had died 12 minutes ago when they started discussing a movie documentary about him, yet this is causing controversy? I think 12 years definitely falls out of the whole “too soon” spectrum.
Spade himself was good friends with Farley and was shocked about the allegations that the commercial is offensive. Spade told PEOPLE that, “these commercials are cool. They’re well done. They’re clever. And that they would include Tommy Boy in that company, I thought was very flattering.”
Most importantly, Farley’s family supported the commercial. “It shows him doing what he loved to do most, making people laugh,” his brother Kevin Farley told PEOPLE. “He would have loved the spot.”
There are sensitivities that never go away when someone dies, which anybody can appreciate. I feel that if family members supported the decision to use this scene, people should stay out of their business. I personally feel that the ad was funny, and could even be seen as homage to the late comedian; I think this is how Spade saw the opportunity.
Most people who are offended by the commercial don’t even understand the context. Some are complaining about the line, “Great, I’m here with tons of fun…” claiming that it makes fun of Farley’s weight. This would certainly be a valid point, and I would understand why everybody is freaking out; however, this exact line is from the movie, “Tommy Boy.” The commercial features “Richard Hayden” insulting “Tommy Callahan III” (Spade and Farley’s characters in the movie, respectively), not David Spade insulting Chris Farley. The ad should be seen as a respectful remembrance of Farley’s comedy, not a personal attack on him.
I mostly feel bad for Spade in this situation. The poor guy had no idea that people would react this way. A statement from his publicist reads, “When DIRECTV came to me and the Farley family with this idea about ‘Tommy Boy,’ we talked and thought it would be a cool way to remind people just how funny Chris was. It is a clever homage to my friend and a movie that we loved doing.”
The bottom line is, before somebody cries “controversy,” he or she should do some research. The family is okay with it, there is nothing insulting about what Spade says, and the man died 12 years ago. A claim that this commercial is distasteful or offensive doesn’t even deserve thought.
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