robin2099

Serious question. Both along with Bill Murray made up probably the three biggest names in comedy in the 80's. Murray(mostly) was still doing entertaining comedy into the 90's not so much with the other two.

Chase: I would say he stopped being funny around 1985. Fletch and Spies Like US(also with Aykroyd) were pretty entertaining with Fletch being a great role for Chase and his second most iconic. Three Amigos was entertaining too but you can make a strong point that he was the weakest of the three. In 88 he did Caddyshack 2(also with Aykroyd) which sucked hard. He also did Funny Farm which I have a soft spot for. Chevy had Christmas Vacation in 89 but Fletch Lives was godawful and by 91 his career was officially dead with Nothing But Trouble(Aykroyd again).

Aykroyd: Hit it huge with The Blues Brothers in 1980. Trading Places in 83 was pretty decent but that was more because of Murphy than Aykroyd. Ghostbusters was obviously huge in 84 and Spies Like US came in 85. Dragnet in 87 wasn't really good at all outside of Tom Hanks. 88 Gave us The Great Outdoors which was fun but was more of a John Candy vehicle. My Stepmother is an Alien was terrible. Ghostbusters 2 wasn't as well received and his last three comedies were Nothing But Trouble, Coneheads and Exit to Eden. Yikes.

Based on this, I honestly think they stopped being funny at the exact same time and that can be blamed on Caddyshack 2. Take away Christmas Vacation and GB2 and they really didn't do much worthwhile post Caddyshack 2.

Michael Corvin

I agree that their careers took a nosedive about the same time but, Chase was brilliant in the first couple of seasons of Community. The only recent thing of Aykroyd's that would be memorable was the 2009 Ghostbusters video game.

dex14

I don't find Akroyd anywhere near as funny as Chase.

Josh-da-man

I think you answered your own question with "Cadyshack 2."

Josh-da-man

But, upon further reflection, I think that what happened -- and that it coincided with Caddyshack 2 is mostly coincidence -- is that the old 70s school of "Not ready from primetime" comedy fell out of favor around the end of the 80s.

Bill Murray (and Steve Martin) were able to redefine themselves; Aykroyd and Chase couldn't and were stuck in an outdated kind of slapstick. The focus of broad comedy shifted over to the next group of "not ready for primetime" players like Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, and Chris Farley.

And now, Sandler and Myers are in the same place Chase and Aykroyd were during their rise.

Draven

Knowing now what an asshole he was on Community taints my appreciation of him. Now I think he was just acting like himself and that's a lot less fun.

I got to meet Akroyd a number of years ago when he was a guest on our talk show - sure he talked about aliens and his skull vodka at length, but he seemed like a nice guy who was appreciative of the time we were giving him. I can't imagine Chase being like that.

But I agree they tanked at about the same time and it's because they never stopped shooting for the roles that made them stars, even when they should have switched to something else.

OldBoy

i think Aykroyd is still there. not as funny as before, but things like Grosse Pointe Blank and later have been better than Chase, who hasn't been funny since the 80's, save for possibly Community, which i did enjoy him in. he's really fallen completely off the radar...

Troy Stiffler

I don't know.

But I picture either of those guys surfing around the internet to see what people say about them, and getting very sad when they read a title like that.

I saw Christmas Vacation a few weeks ago. Loved the comedic timing and fast pace. It never lingers on one joke too long. They haven't really made any comedies like that lately. The best comedy right now is on TV and Netflix.

It sucks when you have to drudge through a comedy, waiting for funny parts.

DaveNinja

Chevy Chase stopped being funny when he made Funny Farm.
Aykroyd was never leading man level of funny. He was a great number 2, though, until Nothing But Trouble.

Decker

Actually, that was the last time I thought he was funny. I kind of loved that movie.

You're right about Aykroyd. Never leading-man funny, but good as a second banana throughout the Eighties.. He's fantastic in Trading Places, but Murphy (and, for other reasons Jamie Lee Curtis) gets all the attention.

mcnabb

Chevy Chase is one of those comedians I cringe at these days when he does interviews because he is so unfunny it's sad to watch. The last time he did a halfway decent movie was the mid 80's (Fletch) and never recovered. In saying that, Caddyshack, Vacation and Fletch are some of my favorite comedies of all-time.

Mabuse

Thread title is brutal. I'll have to think about this all day.

TomOpus

Aykroyd was funny on SNL. Movies, not so much. He just happened to be in some funny movies.

Chase was funny in both SNL and movies.

PhantomStranger

It's funny this was brought up as the Tonight Show reruns recently aired a joint appearance by the duo promoting Spies Like Us. Siskel & Ebert trashed the movie sitting right next to them on the couch.

It is strange how both men stopped being funny around the same time in the late 1980s. I always got the impression they had made enough money from their early successes and gotten lazy.

GoldenJCJ

I think Chase has the edge over Aykroyd. The last truly funny movie Chase was in was Christmas Vacation in '89. Aykroyd at least had Tommy Boy in the mid 90s and although he never had quite the success of Murray, Aykroyd at least tried to reinvent himself with serious roles a couple of times throughout his career.

When it comes down to it I'd still like to sit down and have a beer with Aykroyd. Chase, not so much.

TheMovieman

No doubt, just bring your tin-foiled hat and buy a copy of Ancient Aliens, something tells me he loves that series.

Count Dooku

In the early 1990s, Chase was still trying to succeed (and failing hard) as a comedic/romantic movie lead, and in 1993 he launched his late night talk show on FOX. He was working very hard at staying in the public eye and keeping his career as an A-list star going.

All I ever need to know or say about Chevy Chase is that 1986, he and Steve Martin were great friends who made Three Amigos with "new guy" Martin Short. Now, Martin and Short are longtime best friends, and Chase might as well be dead to them both.

GoldenJCJ

I'd be ok with that. I wouldn't mind hearing some of his alien/ghost stories. He seems like he's passionate about the subject without passing over to the completely loony side like many of those conspiracy theorists end up.

TheMovieman

Quite true. Plus he'd be far better company than Chase who just seems like a miserable human being.

GoldenJCJ

Chase seems like a perfect example of "it's best to never meet your heroes." I loved him in his 80s movies but I've heard so many bad stories about him that I'm sure if I ever met him it would ruin all those great movies for me.

Abob Teff

Fixed.

Ky-Fi

I always thought that Three Amigos could have been a classic if it had been John Candy instead of Chase. Chase was definitely the weak link in that one, IMO.

mrhan

Yeah, the only movie I really liked him in is Trading Places.

Hazel Motes

They're both still funny, they're just older and most leading roles have dried up. It's natural. I thought Chevy was really good in Community and in smaller film roles like Hot Tub Time Machine and even the Vacation reboot. It's been a little longer for Aykroyd, but the last time he was in a good movie, was also the last time he was really good in a movie. Grosse Point Blank was his last good movie, its no coincidence that its also the last time he played a memorable character. That was 20 years ago, and just about every film he's been in since then has been crap. When presented with good material I think both guys can still deliver.

Numanoid

I've never thought Aykroyd was funny, going back to SNL. Chevy may be a dick, but he's also a funny. Aykroyd is a good to great actor, but he is never "the funny one", even in his comedies. I think Chase still has a good comedy in him. Hopefully he can turn his reputation around, the way Shatner did as he got old.