Tag Archives: Jason Sudeikis

‘SNL’ & Emma Stone: The Next Generation

First, let’s just get it out of the way and say that Emma Stone, whether or not she had (Easy) A material, was excellent in her first, of hopefully many, SNL hosting gig.  Running the gamut from an uninterested sweepstakes winner to Lindsay Lohan to a Ke$ha-like pop-tart to a French hipster to a fixated teen to a hoochie spokesmodel, Stone was pretty flawless.  What was written for or around her wasn’t always top-notch, but she was, and we think her debut was even more impressive than that of her BFF Taylor Swift last season, even if that one might have elicited a bigger buzz.  Many have compared Stone to Lohan (as happened in the episode itself, and on this blog); let’s hope that she continues on the path of Lohan’s early career, which includes hosting this show many times, BUT then let’s pray that Stone goes left where Lohan turned right, eventually veering totally off the tracks.  However, despite her charms, it wasn’t Stone that left us with the greatest impression.

Read on: SNL the new class? Plus, what sketch did they rip off this week???

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‘SNL’: Plain Jane

Not that Jane Lynch was sub-par in her first (of hopefully many) outing as host of SNL,  quite the contrary, but it’s that, once again, the material failed to live up to the vast talents of the host.  It’s confusing, bewildering and frustrating that they keep wasting their resources.  Perhaps, as we felt with the Zach Galifianakis show last season, the writing staff is actually less motivated by a talented host; they rely on the host to elevate the material, so what they deliver is second-rate.  It’s just a theory, and probably misguided and misinformed, but you also can’t ignore the body of evidence, because, while this week’s show was better than last week, it wasn’t a great improvement.  We saw plenty of Jane Lynch (and plenty of wigs), but nothing truly memorable.

Read on: Gilly on Glee? Is that all you got? Also: who did SNL rip-off this week?

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‘SNL’ Shake-Ups & Sensationalism: Slate & Sudeikis

It’s hard to believe that a year has passed by since we waved goodbye to Michaela Watkins (we hardly knew ye) and Casey Wilson (probably for the best) and welcomed with skeptical arms the rookies Jenny Slate and Nasim Pedrad.  And it’s sad to report that a year later we’re already saying goodbye to the former of that dynamic young duo.  And once again, the changes are sure to raise eyebrows.  However, this time around, we don’t have a good theory as to what precipitated the moves.

With Will Forte’s departure two weeks ago the whispers began to circulate and the dominoes began to fall.  Except, they really didn’t fall so much as erect themselves next to already firmly planted playing pieces, with Taran Killam (best known from Scrubs), Paul Brittain and Vanessa Bayer from the iO Chicago, and Jay Pharoah, a comedian and talented impressionist, joining the cast, while veterans Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, Kenan Thompson – rumored to possibly be following Forte out the door – remain (as of press time) at their posts.  So it came as a bit of a shock when word got out yesterday that the show had released a cast member, but not one of its established male veterans with s burgeoning film careers (or even Kristen Wiig, who may have already over-stayed her welcome a season or two), but, instead, Slate, who had only put in a season’s worth of work.

Now, if you recall last year’s history lesson on women & SNL, you’ll recall that going into the season with four women (Slate, Pedrad, Wiig & Abby Elliott most recently) was on the high side.  In fact, going a whole season with four veteran female cast members is just about as good as it’s ever been on the show.  So, with the addition of Bayer, it’s not surprising that SNL & head honcho Lorne Michaels decided to cut loose a lady.  It was a numbers game.  That we understand.  But then why add one in the first place?

Read on: The curious case of Jenny Slate. Also, Jason Sudeikis is the new Ben Affleck.

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Filed under Analysis, Flashback!, Saturday Night Live, Yvonne Hudson

Not Very Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Random, Belated, Emmy Thoughts

The Emmy’s were handed out three nights ago, and in the internet world that’s about the equivalent of a fortnight, and everyone who can say it better than me has already said it better than me.  But, just to put it on the permanent record, and to get us ready for the impending fall TV season, we thought we’d follow-up with a few humble thoughts of our own, in concise bullet-point form:

  • Loved the opening bit, even if it was somewhat of a rehash of 6-Bee‘s glee club rendition of “We’re Not Going to Take It,” a performance that we still giddily cue up on our screen on a regular basis (as well as an audio version on our iPod).  But with Tina Fey, Jon Hamm, Joel McHale, Jorge Garcia AND Tim Gunn it was like the Ocean’s 11 all-star version of the original Late Night piece, and it truly demanded some freak out control.  Our worlds colliding, but in an amazing way.
  • Speaking of Jon Hamm, now that his comedic genius has finally been exposed to a wide audience (30 Rock is still critically adored but commercially ignored, his appearances in viral videos only legitimately reach a small segment of the online viewing public, and even two turns hosting SNL don’t necessarily make you a household name these days), can we start having him be funny full-time?  He’s so gifted, and so natural, it honestly feels like a waste forcing him to be so stoic and dour and cold on Mad Men (and we know we sound like a broken record on this, but we’re going to keep bring it up until it happens.  Or until Mad Men becomes a farcical satire.  Maybe in season 5).  Sure, he’s magnetic, sexy and mysterious on the AMC drama, but it’s when he’s allowed to do comedy that he truly lights up.  But after being seen dancing like an idiot on HDTVs all across the country maybe someone will give him a chance to headline a comedy.  Perhaps something in the Apatowian genre.  I think that’s a hit.

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Filed under Analysis, Century 21 Reality, Dillon Panthers, Freak Out Control, Intersection of the venn diagram of things that I love, LOST, Must See TV, Participation Award, Saturday Night Live, Top Scallop

In Memoriam: Will Forte (Sort Of)

Well, it’s the end of a weird, absurdist, hit-and-miss era, as Will Forte and SNL announced their amicable separation today, after 8 years of professional bliss and uneven comedy.

As for Will and this blog, it’s no secret that our relationship has not been so smooth.  We’ve often voiced our objection to some of the more outrageous, off the wall sketches that seemed to spring forth from the Forte womb, most often found in the 12:50am dead zone, or sometimes only in dress rehearsal (see: skeevy stalker Hamilton, the bizarre Falconer, and the lyrical stylings of Jackie Snad and Clancy Bachlerat, which literally consist of just random words thrown together in random orders).  In many cases we’d rather see Jason Sudeikis elevate a simple premise or a lame idea to something spectacular, rather than a Forte sketch that was just too far out there.

But, to his credit, Forte willingly flew too close to the sun.  Sure, he got burned a time or two (certainly in our eyes), but we have to respect his ambition.  And beyond the odd sketches and one-note “Weekend Update” characters, we have to begrudgingly admit that his MacGruber was often brilliant, and even more impressive, it never got old.  And while Forte’s George W Bush never managed to escape the shadow of the definitive Will Ferrell version, he really never had a shot, but he still soldiered on and made it work in its own way.  We can certainly salute him for that.

So, Will Forte, we’re going to miss you challenging us.  The show is going to be a little more dull without you (if that’s even possible.  Riiiiight???). We didn’t always like what you did, but we (usually) respected it.

In honor of Forte’s departure we’re going to leave you with what we consider his grand opus, a sketch from another planet; strange, baffling, completely dead in the water and with the impression that it was made on a dare, but, yet, oddly compelling.  Will Forte, for better or worse, this is your legacy:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

(on another note, can you believe it’s already been a whole year since that whole uproar over the firing of Michaela Watkins and subsequent hiring of Jenny Slate and Nasim Pedrad?  Time sure flies when you’re occasionally offered sharp and/or funny sketch comedy).

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Filed under Bad Humor, Good Humor, In Memoriam, Saturday Night Live

More Jumped The Snark Nostalgia: Best ‘SNL’ of the 00s

With the Saturday Night Live retrospective In the 2000s: Time and Again airing last Thursday, we thought it would be a great time to revisit our list of the best SNL sketches of the 00s from earlier in the year.  If you saw the show, you might recognize some of our selections.

(Belated) Top 10 SNL of the Decade

And here’s a clip that didn’t make the broadcast, a behind the scenes look at the Sarah Palin rap.  I will never, ever, get tired of seeing Jason Sukeikis as Todd Palin.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

And, for kicks, here’s one of our favorite sketches of the new decade.  Been meaning to work this one in for a while, and this seems like a good excuse.

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For the record my dad loves Burn Notice.

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Filed under Good Humor, Is That Still On?, Saturday Night Live

‘SNL’: Say Fey Kid

(Title allusion here)

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you probably know that Tina Fey has a new movie out.  Between her appearances on Oprah, Live!, and Late Night (leaving behind a wake of Jamie Foxx-Oprah rumors and charades losses), she’s been pounding the pavement drumming up excitement for Date Night.  The last stop on the promotional tour was coming home to host SNL.  However, in a way, it has  seemed like her talk show visits have also been to build enthusiasm for her return to studio 8H.  The means were also the end.  And with tween phenomenon Justin Bieber rounding out the card as musical guest, this SNL, the first in a month,  was shaping up to be a special instance of a white-hot host meets a white-hot musical act.

Did the show live up to expectations?  I’d have to say no, especially after getting off to a slow start with a census-centered cold opening that probably wouldn’t have been funny three weeks ago when it was still relevant.  And there weren’t any real knock out, “holy water cooler” sketches later in the show.  But there was a sense of excitement with Fey and Bieber in the house, and what may have lacking in humor was made up for with a bit of electricity.

More: Who’s more evil, Sarah Palin or the Devil?

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No ‘SNL’? No Problem? Jason Sudeikis Is Our Jam-a-Lam

I mistakenly thought that Tina Fey was hosting SNL this past weekend (so much so that I nearly flipped out on my DVR for failing to record the show).  But I must have jumped the gun, as the show doesn’t return with host Fey and musical guest Justin Bieber until April 10 (and now that I can use the tag “Justin Bieber” my page views are sure to skyrocket.  Thanks, SNL!), or maybe they re-ran the Fey-Carrie Underwood episode from February 2008.  Either way, there was no new show this week.

But don’t fear, we’ll fill that vacuum.  Instead of another edition of “What Up With That?”,we have Jumped the Snark hero Jason Sudeikis on Jimmy Fallon (an interview from earlier this month that, we admit, slipped through our cracks).  Sudeikis’ alcohol drenched description of his hectic work schedule explains his relative absence from the recent Jude Law-helmed SNL, a deficiency that we noted here.  Somehow everything this man says in hilarious.  New sketch idea: Jason Sudeikis reads the classifieds.  Could totally work.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Part 2 after the jump. Plus: The return of Floyd!

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Filed under Good Humor, Mancrush, Saturday Night Live, Talkies

Pandering to the Masses

Since the top two searches leading visitors to this blog are “Jason Sudeikis dancing” and “Jason Sudeikis What Up With That” I thought that today we’d just give the audience what they want.  And even though I’ve been vocal about my dislike for this sketch, Sudeikis’ moves are the saving grace and definitely worth the time.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Now if they could just deep six the rest of the sketch (except for Galifiankis.  He’s pretty incredible in this one).

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Filed under Count Bleh, Good Humor, Saturday Night Live, Virulent

Jude Law is One of Our Finest Actors, and a Look Back on the Last Three Weeks in ‘SNL’

Jude Law maybe one our finest actors.  But that doesn’t mean he’s funny.

However, I won’t pin this past weekend’s thoroughly average installment on Law.  He made Sean Penn good on his word, and proved to be an extremely talented thespian, seamlessly transitioning from Shakespearean actor to Russian ballet dancer to Spanish serial killer to Jude Law to American lawyer.  If the reminders that Law recently appeared on Broadway as Hamlet weren’t evidence enough, the way Law breezily donned new accents showed that he’s indeed meant for the stage.  However, acting talent alone doesn’t result a funny show, and outside of a couple bright spots, this one sorta just sat there without much life.

Read on: The perfect host formula, killing time, and Smash Mouth!

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