Summary

• Despite behind-the-scenes drama, Black Sheep is a nostalgic comedy gem in Chris Farley's career, pitting SNL talent in a 90s time capsule.
• David Spade and Farley's second and last film together, Black Sheep, may have faced challenges, but their chemistry shines in this rollicking flick.
• Spade's rocky relationship with the director led to creative clashes, but the duo's dedication to making the film work paid off in Farley's legacy.

The David Spade and Chris Farley 1996 comedy Black Sheep had some behind-the-scenes drama that nearly stopped production. Black Sheep is one of SNL creator Lorne Michaels in the producing chair, Black Sheep is a time capsule of 1990s comedy.

This is the second and last film David Spade and Chris Farley ever made together and, despite a 28% on Rotten Tomatoes, it's a rollicking, laugh-filled movie with some expected great performances from the two best friend leads. Having worked together on Saturday Night Live as well as Tommy Boy the year before, Spade and Farley had become a popular pairing, with Farley's over-the-top physical comedy playing well against Spade's dry, straight-man routine. If things had gone Spade's way, however, fans may never have gotten this final collaboration.

David Spade Thought "Somebody Should Have Pulled The Plug" On Black Sheep

Black Sheep has its defenders, but Tommy Boy is generally agreed upon to be the much better David Spade and Chris Farley film, with many outright decrying Black Sheep. Spade agrees with this opinion, though when he first read the script, he thought it could be a hit. In his autobiography, Almost Interesting, Spade writes about the film (via Uproxx),

"That night I read it [the script] and realized it wasn’t perfect but there was a funny movie in there. I thought we could work with Fred [Wolf], pepper in our extra jokes, and everything would work out fine."

Despite having some trepidations, Spade could see that with his and Farley's help, there might be something worthwhile there. However, beyond the script not quite being up to snuff, there were a few other problems Black Sheep had to face before it could get moving. Farley had signed a two-picture deal with Paramount before Tommy Boy, whereas Spade had not. Farley did this in an attempt to rehabilitate his image with the studios after going to rehab. This meant Spade was free to negotiate a new salary while Farley was stuck with his pre-Tommy Boy pay.

These roiling issues were exacerbated by the very contentious relationship between Spade and Black Sheep's director, Penelope Spheeris. In Almost Interesting, Spade writes,

"Trouble started right away. Penelope told us right off the bat that she didn’t love Tommy Boy and that she knew how to make Chris and me funny. That’s where someone should have pulled the plug. Then she ripped forty pages out of our script and said she would fix them with her writer. Fred and he had a few bad meetings and he was essentially kicked off the project from then on. She was making so much more money than us, she outranked us and that was hard for Chris and me to deal with. I wish [Tommy Boy director] Pete Segal would have done it but he was tied up. We all had it down and could have really made that thing a crusher. My gut told me Mike and Dana had made all the comedy decisions on Wayne’s World but for some reason they were giving the credit to Penelope. I didn’t get it."

It's not a great start to have the director and lead actor fundamentally disagree about one another's talent levels and who was in charge. This wasn't a small argument; Spade and Spheeris clearly had very different ideas about what Black Sheep should be, and the film suffered for it.

There Was No Love Lost Between Spade & Black Sheep Director Penelope Spheeris

Unfortunately, the problems between Spade and Spheeris were never resolved and they were both still angry with one another after filming wrapped. Spheeris said in The Chris Farley Show, a 2008 history of Chris Farley,

"My problem with Black Sheep was that then and to this day I find Chris Farley absolutely, brilliantly, hilariously funny. I don’t think I’ve ever smiled at anything David Spade’s ever done. Chris was lovable and positive, and David was so bitter and negative. You take your pick. I still have a recording of a message David left on my answering machine. He said, 'You’ve spent this whole movie trying to cut my comedy balls off.'"

There is still enmity between the pair, but it seems both have moved on anyway, living their own lives. What they can agree on, however, is their love for Chris Farley. The other actor in this story notably had nothing to say. He promised the studio he would make two films, and that's what he did. He was a professional.

Like everyone who knew him, Spheeris found Farley brilliant, funny, and a delight to be around. Spade's friendship with Farley needs no explanation. Even with the problems on set and with Black Sheep itself, both director and actor are probably glad they had that one last chance to work with Farley, captured on film forever.

Black Sheep is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video.