Chevy Chase review: Mic failure and Mike failure

An evening with the screen star falls flat thanks to clumsy compere Mike Read
Stage dive: Chevy Chase appearance marred by interviewer Mike Read
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Bruce Dessau15 January 2018

Comedian Chevy Chase has had an illustrious career in films and television. This weekend’s visit to London for an onstage retrospective probably won’t rank as one of his most memorable outings. Not in the intended sense, anyway.

The 74-year-old star of the Fletch and Vacation movies was being interviewed by DJ Mike Read. After a clips montage they appeared, Chase in casual T-shirt and jacket, Read in overpoweringly blue suit. There were initial sound difficulties but when hand microphones were brought on things hardly improved.

It was not Chase’s fault. His memory was not always sharp, but even his blank looks were delivered with exquisite timing. The problem was Read, who made Alan Partridge seem perceptive. I doubt if Chase flew in to be asked about tennis or what football team he supported.

At one point Read channelled David Brent, producing an acoustic guitar to accompany Chase on an old song. One of the biggest laughs was when Read asked the Monty Python fan what his favourite catchphrase was. A heckler yelled: “Mike Read you’re a twat.”

There were the occasional anecdotal gems, such as an image of Chase, Martin Short and Steve Martin in sombreros playing Scrabble on the Three Amigos set. And it was intriguing to learn that he turned down the lead in Forrest Gump. Maybe he wished he had turned down this gig too. Nothing wrong with Chevy. The issue was mic failure and Mike failure.

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