Controversial comedy legend Chevy Chase is back in the spotlight with I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not, a revealing new documentary that revisits the highs—and the very public lows—of his career. Known for his sharp humor and sometimes difficult personality, Chase opens up like never before, shedding light on the childhood trauma that shaped him.

Now streaming on CNN, the film explores Chase’s turbulent upbringing. He describes his mother as “a bag of cats, certainly on the schizoid spectrum,” while his stepfather was “humorless.” His stepbrother recalls, “My father had a flash anger, and he could lash out with a single blow… He did not tolerate anything he perceived as insolence. Chevy was insolent.” Reflecting on his mother, Chase says:

"This was an out-of-control woman who I look back on, and I say I feel sorry for her. She had her own issues — bad ones. But she was physically abusive to me."

The documentary not only revisits the controversies that have dogged Chase for decades but also offers a rare glimpse into the personal struggles behind the laughs, making it a poignant, unflinching look at one of comedy’s most complex figures.