Matt Foley

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Matt Foley portrayed by Chris Farley.

Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker was a character created by comedian Bob Odenkirk and performed by Chris Farley on the American sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live (although he had performed the character in other comedy groups before being a cast member on Saturday Night Live). Essentially, Foley was the very antithesis of a good motivational speaker — abrasive, clumsy, and down on his luck — and this is where most would agree the humor arose. Farley named the character after one of his college rugby teammates of the same name (who is currently a Roman Catholic priest in Chicago and pastor of St. Agnes of Bohemia in Chicago's Little Village). The character was moderately popular, but not so much as to be carried over to a feature film. Although Farley's death in 1997 made it impossible, a film version with David Spade in a supporting role was planned in the last months of Farley's life.

Almost all of the eight Saturday Night Live sketches Foley appeared in found him being brought into a specific situation to speak to people about life and getting past problems. He yelled, disparaged, gave a clearly negative message, was out of shape, and usually livid. Foley's trademark (in addition to his exaggerated gestures), that he would often scream out in the middle of his tirades, warned that the current situation would result in being, like Foley, "... 35 years old, thrice divorced and living in a van down by the river!" When the objects of his lectures claimed any kind of accomplishment he would respond with a drippingly sarcastic "Well, la-dee-freakin'-da!" Farley's comedic energy was the driving force behind the character and the humor. The sketch would often include Foley falling (or jumping) onto a piece of furniture, destroying it, or injuring himself in the process. At the end, he would usually be quickly herded out of his speaking location, where the people left behind would huddle together and comment on him, usually bemused or fearful. Though his speeches always backfired, the end results would usually be successful, in that the recipients did not want to be associated with Foley.

1 List of SNL episodes featuring Matt Foley
2 Quotes
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] List of SNL episodes featuring Matt Foley

[edit] Quotes

Matt Foley (repeated line): I live in a VAN down by the river!

Matt Foley: Viva de Nueva York, ¡es Sábado Noche! (Translation: Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!)

Matt Foley: I don't know? Well, that and a nickel'll get you a hot cup of JACK SQUAT!

Matt Foley (on a bike): All right, all right, all right, I'll pedal! Let's all pedal everybody, make Evan happy! Here we go, pedaling away! All right everybody, you're on the road! Look over to the right. It's your first wife, Linda! High tail it out of there because you owe her three years' child support! Keep pedaling. All right, let's pull into Seven-Eleven and buy a microwave burrito! Okay, we're back on the road, there's your son's dorm! Let's sneak in, steal his student loan check, cash it, and head out lookin' for Asian hookers! Cause if there's one thing Matt likes, it's Hong Kong fuey, ha-ha! Ohhhh yeah!

Matt Foley: Dad, I'd wish you could shut your big YAPPER!

Matt Foley: Once, there was a boy who liked to throw things. He started out throwing eggs. Then, he threw the big game. Then, he threw back a shot of whiskey. Then he threw up. Then he got thrown out of the house, and then he moved into a van down by the river! Dad, lights!

Son #1 (David Spade): Matt, we were just havin' some fun.
Matt Foley: So you had fun. How do you think the eggs felt? Hey, let's find out! I'll be you, and you be the eggs. Huh, how does that sound? (picks up Son #1) Hey look at this! I'm gonna throw some eggs around! Look at me go! (Falls backwards on table)

Jay Mohr's character: Señor Foley, where'd you study Spanish, Taco Bell?

Matt Foley: Muy cómico. Dios freakin' mío!

Matt Foley: (to the Spanish Dad) Dad, kindly shut your damn flanhole!

Matt:"'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the van. You'r ol' buddy Matt fell asleep on the can. The children were nestled two times zones away. With his first wife and her husband in sunny L.A.. Matt woke up and realized with a chill and a quiver. That he was livin' in a van down by the river!"