Matt Foley - History

History

Foley appears in eight Saturday Night Live sketches. Each sketch typically starts with Foley brought into a specific situation by someone to speak to a group. In addition to his dishevelled, overweight, and unstylish appearance, he shouts, frequently loses his temper, disparages and insults his audience, wallows in cynicism and self-pity, and unintentionally gives a negative motivational message. Foley's trademark line is warning his audience that, like him, they could end up being "...35 years old, eating a steady diet of government cheese, thrice divorced, and living in a van down by the river!" In most sketches, whenever a member of his audience responds with some statement of accomplishment, Foley responds with mockery or belligerence: "Well, la-dee-frickin-da!", "Whoop-deefrickin-doo!", "Dad, I wish you should shut your big yapper!" or a similarly insulting remark. The sketches usually feature Farley's famous physical comedy, including the perpetually overcaffeinated Foley gesturing wildly, leaping around and falling onto a piece of furniture, destroying it - and sometimes injuring himself - in the process. In the character's SNL debut, David Spade and Christina Applegate, who were playing teens supposedly in need of Foley's help, had to stifle their own laughter. Spade, in particular, spent most of the sketch with his hand covering his face.

At the end of each sketch, he is usually rushed out of his speaking location, where the people left behind huddle together and comment on him, usually bemused and frightened. Though his speeches always backfire in their intended message, the end results are usually successful, in that the recipients want to do all they can not to be associated with Foley again. One departure sketch had George Foreman considering the fact he was too old and weak to continue boxing, and happening to walk by the river, where he comes across Foley's van. Foley does not go into his usual tirades, instead ordering Foreman to do all sorts of chores for him, such as grilling hamburgers, claiming the work is "for dexterity"! When Foreman determines Foley is using him, he punches Foley, causing Foreman to realize he can still fight and ultimately going on to win the world championship. Foreman then recites this tale to Tim Meadows, who wonders aloud why he is cooking burgers for Foreman, only to be barked at, "You know why! For dexterity!"

Farley portrayed the Matt Foley character at the 1994 Rose Bowl banquet. He delivered a comedic "motivational speech" to the Wisconsin Badgers football team, who were to face the UCLA Bruins that year. (Farley was a Madison, Wisconsin native.) Wisconsin went on to defeat UCLA in the Rose Bowl, 21-16.