At 82 years old, Chevy Chase is laying it all out there in his new documentary

Chase’s career has been marked by well-publicized feuds with fellow comedians

Confronting the director making a documentary about you with a dismissive insult might not be the most diplomatic approach, but then again, Chevy Chase has never been known for his diplomacy.

The comedian’s notoriously prickly persona is immediately evident in filmmaker Marina Zenovich’s new documentary, "I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not," airing Thursday on CNN.

During their initial encounter, Chase warned Zenovich that understanding him would be difficult. When asked why, he retorted: "You’re not bright enough, how’s that?"

This revealing exchange, included in the film, speaks volumes about both Zenovich’s candid approach and Chase himself – a gifted physical comedian celebrated for classic 1970s and ’80s comedies such as "Fletch," "Three Amigos," "Caddyshack," and the National Lampoon’s "Vacation" franchise. "He’s one of those people everybody thinks they know," Zenovich observes. "He has a reputation that precedes him and there’s something underneath that you want to get to. So it was a great challenge to try to get there."

"I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not" traces Chase’s life and career, from a challenging childhood through the genesis of "Saturday Night Live" and his Hollywood ascent, concluding with his tumultuous period on the TV series "Community." The film features insights from a host of figures including Dan Aykroyd, Beverly D’Angelo, Goldie Hawn, Lorne Michaels, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Short, his wife Jayni Chase and their three daughters, and his brother Ned.

Chase’s career has been marked by well-publicized feuds with fellow comedians (Invision)

A complex portrait emerges: a sharp, often cutting comedian with a devoted fanbase, yet one capable of alienating others with his blunt inelegance. "I’m complex and I’m deep and I can be hurt easily," Chase tells the filmmaker. The documentary interweaves footage of his film and television work with intimate home movies, showing him cuddling a cat, playing piano, engaging in chess, reading fan mail – including a birthday card from Bill Clinton – and even visiting a flower shop. Remarkably, the film has earned the approval of its toughest critic: Chase himself. "It’s just like a massage. I think of it that way: I love the massage. Sometimes it hurts, but the massage is so lovely," the comedian told The Associated Press.

Chase is the latest subject for two-time Emmy-winner Zenovich, whose previous documentaries have explored the lives of complicated figures such as Roman Polanski, Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, and Lance Armstrong.

"I make films about these complicated men," she explains. "I’m just fascinated by humans and their behavior and Chevy just seems to fit in my oeuvre."

Zenovich posits that Chase’s early years are crucial to understanding his adult personality. As a boy, Chase endured being locked in a basement for days, struck across the face, and confined to a closet as punishment by his stepfather and mother. "I think the whole key to Chevy is his childhood. I hate to use the word trauma, but I think he’s traumatized," she states. "Humor is his way of dealing with it."

Chase’s career has been marked by well-publicised feuds with fellow comedians, including "Community" co-star Joel McHale, "SNL" castmate John Belushi, and Bill Murray, who replaced him on "SNL." He departed "Community" amid reports of using a racist slur and directing insults at co-star Donald Glover, having also clashed with the show’s creator, Dan Harmon. Writer and actor Alan Zweibel observes in the film: "The old Chevy could make you laugh putting you down and there was a little bit of a wink there, so you were in on the joke. Now it just comes off as mean."

The documentary suggests that Chase’s darker tendencies were exacerbated by drug use. "In his mind he doesn’t think he’s mean," says Zenovich, who interviewed Chase twice and spent several days observing him. "What was really interesting about Chevy is that he really wants to try to figure himself out. He wanted to go there, but then something stops him," she adds. "He goes to a certain point, and then something stops him."

Now 82, Chase acknowledges the long list of people who might find him contemptible but insists he remains unfazed. "It’s just Hollywood stuff," he says. "It never really bothered me." The film delves into his short-lived TV talk show and his impactful, yet singular, season on "Saturday Night Live." He admits that leaving "SNL" was a mistake, and the documentary highlights his visible hurt at not being invited onstage for the show’s 50th-anniversary celebration earlier this year.

However, the film also captures moments of warmth, showing Chase basking in fan applause at a recent screening of "National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation," and revealing his three daughters to be insightful, funny, and sweet. "I think the one thing he really did was he was able to break that generational trauma," Zenovich concludes. "There I go again, using the word. But that’s quite a feat, right?"