Tag Archives: Fred Armisen

2010/01/12 · 12:42 am

In Defense Of: Jimmy Fallon

I was planning to write this post a couple weeks ago, before the tornado of Leno-Conan-Local Affiliates-gate threw the entire late night landscape into a tumult (and what of George Lopez?), but this takes on even greater significance now.  At this very moment, with the future of NBC’s late night schedule hanging in the balance, possibly the future of television as we know it, possibly the future of the world, someone has to step up and say it:

Jimmy Fallon has been doing a pretty okay job.

And it would be a shame if NBC’s disregard for their local affiliates followed by their overwhelming compassion for their local affiliates affected Fallon’s momentum.

Now Fallon has gone on record as saying he doesn’t mind if he’s shifted back a half hour, since most of his viewers watch the show on DVR or online, and I believe him.  He seems to so genuinely enjoy hosting the show that he probably would do it at 1am or 3am or 3pm (of course, it’ll still be taped in the late afternoon so it’s not like it’ll make any real difference for his schedule).  But if Jimmy won’t say it, I will.  We’ve asserted many times here that Jimmy got off to a rough start.  That’s well documented and it’s no secret.  And while he’s still a work in progress behind the interview desk, he’s excelling in just about every other area.  And, well, that should be acknowledged.

Keep Reading: Examples! Charades! Joy Behar! Drag! Sweaters! Arli$$

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2010/01/11 · 2:52 am

Charles Barkley Hosts the Best ‘SNL’ of the Decade! No Foolin’!

Alright, that headline is an obvious and deliberately misleading statement, you got me.  However, even more than being technically correct, this weekend’s show actually earned the distinction.  I previously stated my disbelief over the choice of Barkley, NBA Hall of Famer, current commentator and compulsive gambler, as the first SNL host of the decade.  It not only seemed completely out of left field, but even if Barkley was relevant among SNL‘s core demographic, you’d think they would have still chosen someone hipper, funnier and actually from a performing background for the first show.  At least save Sir Charles for 2010 week 2.

But I was wrong.  What I failed to realize is that Barkley was likely to succeed precisely because of his limitations.  It’s the extreme version of Christopher Walken or John Malkvovich, where the fact that it’s the host in a specific role is more of the joke than the sketch itself.  And with Barkley being a good sport ex-athlete instead of an eccentric actor, the writing staff was able to even more successfully use Barkley’s personality and performing constraints to his advantage.  It’s like the Jets plotting a game plan whereby Mark Sanchez has to just manage the game, hand off the ball for the majority of the snaps and avoid turnovers (bet you didn’t see that sports analogy coming.  Well, some of us care about football 3 weeks out of the year.  Mostly for the nachos).  And this is different from writing for an actor who just isn’t particularly talented when it comes to comedy.  Despite her SNL showing, January Jones is still a better acting talent than Charles Barkley; it’s just that SNL could use Barkley’s weaknesses to its advantage.  With Jones they could only try to minimize the damage by having her look pretty and leave the funny to the cast.

All those platitudes aside, while it was a surprisingly good episode by SNL standards, it wasn’t wall-to-wall successful, and I’d still rather see a host earn the laughs with natural comic ability as opposed to lack of it.  However, Barkley really was impressive, and set the bar high for 2010 (tall guy joke!).

More: Highlights! Racism! Cake! Chopping Broccoli!

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2009/12/21 · 3:56 pm

SNL & James Franco Hit Christmas Break Early: You Can’t Squint Funny

It’s getting harder and harder to write these SNL commentaries; not because I don’t have anything to say, but because I’m afraid that I’m going to sound redundant, as it seems that I have the same reaction almost every week.  Occasionally there’s a funny, or at least a buzzworthy, sketch, or a Digital Short that goes viral, or a host that either succeeds beyond expectations or crashes spectacularly, but for the most part, week in and week out it’s becoming the same show.  Starting to feel like a broken record.

James Franco had a fairly successful debut as host last season (although I can only seem to remember the glossy Gossip Girl send-up “Murray Hill“), but in the period leading up to this weekend’s show (indeed since Franco was announced as the anchor in the Blake Lively-Taylor Lautner-James Franco hosting triumvirate) it seemed there was a feeling that Franco was going to be some sort of SNL savior, that he’s developed into a comedy wunderkind.  Now, his turn on General Hospital may be generating laughs, but it’s not necessarily comedy (in fact, if you listen to Franco, it’s “performance art“).  And the very reason he was hailed for his comedic performance in last year’s Pineapple Express and his subsequent SNL hosting gig was precisely because he was playing against type.  Before that time he was identified more with his previous characters: the quiet cool of James Dean, Freaks & Geeks sensitive bad boy Daniel Desario, and petulant, moody Spider-man friend turned enemy turn friend Harry Osborne.  Franco was so successful in Pineapple Express because it was somewhat unexpected.  However, now it seems that he’s planted himself in the comedy camp, or at least as some sort of genre chameleon or Renaissance Man, moving between comedy, serious drama (Milk), daytime soap operas and Columbia University.  And with this shift, we’re now less surprised with Franco’s comedy aptitude, and then perhaps set the bar a little too high for his second SNL go-around.

Which is not to say he was anywhere near January Jones territory, not even in the same stratosphere.  He was enthusiastic, confident and capable.  But he also spent the majority of the broadcast squinting severely which gave off the impression that either a) he was struggling to see the cue cards without the use of prescription lenses, b) his eyes are particularly sensitive to the bright studio lights, or c) he was really, really high.  His giggly demeanor and off-beat rhythms didn’t help dissuade the viability of option C.  During the monologue if felt like I was looking at French Stewart, not James Franco.  But he clearly felt very at home, and up for anything (including making out with Will Forte).

Keep reading: Greatest Hits, the return of Fart Face and belated thoughts

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2009/11/10 · 8:56 pm

Taylor Swift on ‘SNL’: ‘Kanye West is Not Here.’ No?? Not Even Mike Myers?!

Taylor SwiftTaylor Swift returned to SNL this past weekend, this time as both host and musical guest, after appearing as just the latter on a Neil Patrick Harris hosted episode this past January (in which she also played Annie in the funny and topical Save Broadway sketch).  And, if you can possibly believe it, they only made one reference to the Kanye West incident, just a brief “Kanye West is not here,” at the end of Swift’s monologue (while we’re on the subject of Kanyegate, please, please, take this opportunity to view Justin Bieber’s defense of Swift on the VMAs.  If you’ve watched it before watch it again, and if you haven’t then you have my permission to watch it now and return here after).  To be honest, I was a little disappointed they didn’t mine the controversy.  Sure it would have been obvious, but that’s to be expected.  No Kanye cameo?  No Kanye impression (by Fred Armisen?)?  Not even Bobby Moynihan storming the stage to let Taylor Swift know that her monologue is good but Megan Fox’s was the best of all time (followed by Moynihan dropping the mic, of course)?  At the very least I expected an appearance from Mike Myers, himself the victim of a famed Kanyebomb.  Perhaps they could have all met backstage.

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But no, there were none of these things.  What we were given instead was a fairly decent episode with an average but enthusiastic host.

Jason Sudekis provides the best moment of the season thus far

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2009/10/19 · 1:39 pm

‘SNL’ Trying to Get Viewers Drunk. Can’t Hurt.

Was that an infomercial for Bud Light Golden Wheat or an episode of Saturday Night Live?  It was a little hard to tell at times, as the newest member of the Bud family served as the sponsor of the show, and also brought us “never before seen” SNL moments, aka past cast members and hosts breaking during dress rehearsal (although Will Ferrell as a fashionista cracking up Sean Hayes and Jimmy Fallon is actually available on the Best of Ferrell DVD, so not entirely new to SNL completists).  What would John Belushi have thought of this corporate shilling?  Probably wouldn’t have minded too much, as long as he got to sample the new beverage.  But the sponsorship gave the show a weird vibe that almost overshadowed what turned out to be a (if you can believe it) a decent outing. Continue reading →

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2009/09/10 · 2:47 am

What, Lorne Michaels Worry?

And SNL week continues:

In honor of the release of Beatles Rock Band

This photo is relevant. Beatles Rock Band. Duh!

In yesterday’s Washington Post columnist Tom Shales previews the trepidation that is coming with the soon to arrive 35th season of Saturday Night Live.  He is right on when he asserts that SNL

“…has been up and down in ratings and quality (never falling as low as it has risen high) over the decades…”

It does seem that every year there is the traditional “Saturday Night Dead” headline, but then SNL rises from the ashes and continues to the be preeminent sketch comedy in our popular culture.  Where Shales I think missteps is suggesting that Lorne Michaels is nervous about the upcoming season, since they will no longer have the election to exploit.  Shales writes,

“Still, for Michaels, the good news can barely hide a world of worry. ‘It comes and goes like everything else,’ he says, with his usual nonchalance, of the show’s success.  But this season seems predestined to be worrisome. There’s no election, for one thing.”

To me, that doesn’t sound like someone who is worried.  Shales, himself, seems to indicate this, noting Lorne’s signature “nonchalance.”  No, despite the fact that the cast and writers can no longer mine the cultural and political zeitgeist that was the 2008 electoral drama, I don’t think Lorne Michaels is worried.  SNL goes through this cycle every four years; it has sourced material from nine presidential elections and it’s always managed to survive, even if it sorta treads water for three seasons until the next round of primaries.  But the truth is Saturday Night Live is now an institution, a fabric of our culture and just as permanent a television fixture as 60 Minutes.  The cast will change, and so will the targets and the comedic sensibilities, but as long as there is TV (or semblance of it.  Hello Hulu.), there will be SNL.

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Shales also attributes concerns over the news season to Tina Fey’s commitments to 30 Rock and in effect her inability to reprise her defining (and campaign derailing) Sarah Palin impression.  Well, despite the fact that Tina Fey is the nexus of 30 Rock, and that appearing on SNL last season exhausted her, and the added responsibility of being a mother, her show shoots at Silvercup Studios in Queens, and I think if Lorne asks really nicely she can manage an appearance or two.  But you know what?  Sarah Palin was so 2008.  If SNL wants to repeat a fraction of its success of last year it needs to stay relevant.  And to do that it needs to forget last season, no matter how acclaimed it was.  Because if they try to imitate 2008 it’ll be just that, an imitation, a poor, disappointing copy of the original.

However, that being said, here is my favorite politically themed sketch from S34:

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