Looking for some nightmare fuel? Chevy Chase has just what the doctor ordered, posting a video to Instagram that might as well be called National Lampoon’s Disturbing A.I. Vacation.
The unsettling phantasm begins with a sassy, Vacation-era Chevy Chase grinning into the “camera,” a hand resting on his saucy hip. Young Chase turns around, morphing into present-day Chase holding out a plate of food. For some reason, his fruit and cheese offerings are missing several bites.
The journey into the uncanny valley continues with creepy young versions of Beverly D’Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron transforming into even creepier versions of their current, older selves. I expressed an audible “Uh-oh” when Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie appeared, morphing into the bearded conspiracy-theory-spewing crackpot he is today. Even A.I. knows something is up with Quaid — his older self drops an initial smile and scowls at viewers as if he knows we’re in on it too, whatever “it” is.
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I’m unsure what to make of A.I.’s interpretation of the late Imogene Coca, which morphs the older actress into a similarly older actress. I guess that’s better than an A.I. version of what the dead comedian looks like now.
It’s not hard to imagine why Chase posted the video, apparently created by Barron, who made her “older” self pretty young! The creation stars his favorite version of his favorite guy, Chevy Chase. But not everyone is a fan, including Chase’s movie wife, D’Angelo.
“Hey btw. Please don’t confuse this post with any support from my end of AI imaging!” D’Angelo posted in the comments. “I dont look like this now anyway, it’s just a fiction lol.”
Several of Chase’s followers on Instagram are also horrified by the video, offering comments like:
- “Chevy, I hate this.”
- “Not the AI (broken heart emoji) stop it, peepaw”
- “The AI no one asked for.”
- “Is it me or all this AI is looking more creepy?”
- “This is just horrible!”
Even more horrible is that the video might give Chase ideas about staying Forever Young. “I look pretty good for 74,” he bragged to the Washington Post back in 2018. “I don’t know why I couldn’t do a Chevy Chase picture, but it just doesn’t happen.”
Now that he’s several years older, the challenge of getting cast in a comedy is even more difficult. But if no one else wants to make a Chevy Chase picture, A.I. could give him the tools to make a ghoulish one himself.
