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).
Filed under Count Bleh, Good Humor, Saturday Night Live, Virulent
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!
Filed under Analysis, Saturday Night Live
Talking up the good work that Jimmy Fallon and the Late Night crew have been doing is nothing new on this blog. In fact, we’ve been complimenting their efforts as far back as last Fall. But with the show celebrating its one year anniversary last week, and with the program demonstrating as much creativity and spontaneity as any show in late night today (effectively filling the absurdity vacuum left by Conan), we thought it fitting to highlight some recent clips to show how Jimmy continues to impress (and then one more to illustrate how in other respects he continues to disappoint).
Late Night has particularly excelled in slickly produced, exceptionally accurate television parodies, first with the Hills spoof 7th Floor West and then with The Real Housewives of Late Night. The show has continued this hot streak by taking on the height of the pop culture phenomena, Lost, with their new recurring series, Late. Below is the 2nd episode, as the castaways (brought together by an elevator crash and now stranded on a creepy abandoned office floor) struggle to make sense of their new and mysterious surroundings.
Vodpod videos no longer available.More Fallon goodness: California Dreams, Lazy Sunday & Blood!
Filed under Freak Out Control, Good Humor, LOST, Saturday Night Live, Saved by the Bell, Talkies
By now you’ve all seen this Funny or Die sketch (because it was uploaded almost a week ago, which this day in age classifies it as old) that brings together the all time team of SNL presidential imitators. It’s great, right? Totally awesome (especially Chevy, doing what Chevy does best).
Vodpod videos no longer available.However, what concerns me is what this video, and videos of its ilk, means to SNL. Why I am so concerned about a show that has basically been skating by since 1993, if not earlier, and has never really faced any real competition, I don’t know (and no, MADtv doesn’t count). But the more I see the Funny or Die videos featuring both SNL and non-SNL talent I wonder how long the show will be able to compete (especially now that Funny or Die has its own show on HBO, although the one episode I saw was rather underwhelming). And this Presidential Reunion, directed by Hollywood heavyweight Ron Howard, really caused me pause.
Filed under Analysis, Good Humor, Saturday Night Live, Virulent
PUNS!!!
In yesterday’s SNL appetizer post I surmised that last night’s show had a 50% chance of being funny. However, immediately after making this less than bold proclamation I realized that I should have at least given the odds at 51%, and more accurately probably around 75%. With SNL returning after a week off, having proven they perform best with a little rest, and under the capable reigns of Jon Hamm, the odds were certainly in their favor.
And had I thought it through yesterday and gone with the 75% estimation I would have been right, as about 3/4 of the show was (surprisingly or unsurprisingly, I’ll let you decide) solid. From the moment Hamm stepped out onto the stage for his monologue you knew you were in good hands (sorta like the way I feel during the opening credits of any Quentin Tarantino movie). Obviously the easy thing to do here would be to compare Hamm’s hosting performance to that of his Mad Men co-star, Ms. January Jones. Of course, that’s entirely unfair, because Jones was clearly over-matched and out of her element, and Hamm has already demonstrated his hosting prowess. There’s really no reason to compare a Picasso to a Bazooka Joe comic. We already know which is going to come out on top (well, I guess in that scenario it depends on the criterion, if we’re talking about which is the superior work of art or which serves as a better gum wrapper. But I digress). However, we’ll indulge that comparison briefly, because, like Jones’, Hamm’s monologue employed some Mad Men parody, and to far better results than the “Mad Mennies” bit in Jones’ monologue. As Hamm’s big break has been his role as the mysterious, stoic Don Draper, he showed some clips from his earlier “roles,” but in each of these Hamm maintains the personality of the debonair Draper. The first clip, a Saved by the Bell parody titled “Late for Class,” was the best (if only for the spot-on opening credits. Oh, the early 90s!), but the second, Hamm on QVC giving Kristen Wiig the same tough love treatment that Don gives Betty Draper, and the last, Hamm as Draper doing Def Comedy Jam, were nearly as good. By the time Hamm said “stick around, we’ll be right back,” he didn’t need to. We were sold.
Filed under Analysis, Good Humor, Saturday Night Live, Saved by the Bell
I wasn’t able to post to Nostalgia Corner last Friday because my day was just NUTS (okay, so my mom was visiting and I spent my scant free time writing about The Office clip show)! So here’s a belated but still relevant edition.
As we all know (and have probably watched) by now Conan O’Brien closed out his tenure as host of the Tonight Show last Friday with guests Will Ferrell, Neil Young and Tom Hanks. Vulture already noted that Hanks, a frequent late night visitor and guest on Conan’s second Tonight Show, also holds the distinction of appearing on David Letterman’s last show as host of Late Night. But I would like to focus less on Hanks’ propensity for appearing on sign-offs, but rather on his relationship with Conan O’Brien. Conan often still seems like the young guy, the gawky, redheaded kid, but the truth his he’s being holding court in late night for 17 years, and he’s actually known Hanks for over 20 years, as O’Brien was a writer on SNL in the late 80s when Hanks was the go-to host (hosting five times in five years, on pace at the time to shatter all hosting records). They even discussed this on the show last Friday, with Hanks revealing that he called Conan and his fellow writers Bob Odenkirk and Robert Smigel the “boiler-room boys.” And the two sketches that Hanks is probably most associated with – “Mr. Short-Term Memory” & the “Girl Watchers” – were written by O’Brien, and Conan even appears in Hanks’ most memorable monologue “The Five Timer’s Club” (although Conan identifies himself as “Sean”). But, for today, we’re going to highlight Hanks’ monologue from his third hosting stint in October of 1988, a bit that includes Conan’s first appearance on SNL (in denim vest!). The ties that bind:
It’s true, Tom Hanks is the nicest guy in Hollywood. Maybe in any wood. And possibly the funniest. Chris Rock once said that if Hanks had “grown up with less education, he’d be the greatest comedian who ever lived,” and I believe it. I think it’s high that time Hanks attached himself to a straight-up comedy and showed these kids how it’s done (Bosom Buddies: The Movie???).
Bonus viewing: Conan lauding Hanks on Inside the Actor’s Studio.
Bonus social networking: follow Hanx on Twitter.
Filed under Buffy & Hildegarde, Nostalgia Corner, Saturday Night Live, Talkies
Well, at least they’re consistent. These days every good SNL episode (see: last week’s Charles Barkley affair) is almost always immediately followed by an underwhelming effort. Despite the buzz they drummed up last week, and the return of Sigourney Weaver (coming back after 23+ years, the longest such stretch between hosting gigs in SNL history), they once again did not disappoint when it comes to disappointing.
Sometimes it’s lazy writing. Sometimes it’s bad writing. Sometimes it’s just bad ideas. This episode had all three.
With all the attention paid last week to the drama in late night television (including on this blog), it was only natural that they would use the fiasco as fodder. Indeed, it was encouraging at first to see Darrell Hammond return to play Jay Leno on a Larry King Live cold open. But where the sketch succeeded in mocking King’s senility and misappropriation of social networking tools, it kind of failed in effectively mocking the late night situation. There was the big chinned, high voice Leno impression we’ve seen everywhere (although, big points on the denim on denim outfit), and Bill Hader turned in a weird, detached, dour Conan O’Brien. I understood that they were showing that O’Brien is the powerless victim in this situation, but they didn’t seem to get a handle on his personality (if he wasn’t going to be the crazy Conan we know, he should have been the sharp, assertive pugilist of his mission statement). It was especially discouraging because Conan honed his chops as a writer on SNL (see: the Lady Watchers). He’s part of the family, so you’d think they could have done him justice. The best impression was probably Jason Sudeikis’ David Letterman, who appeared via satellite. Except, that it was the wrong David Letterman persona for this situation. It was basically Norm MacDonald’s beloved (by us) hyena laughed, self-indulgent, pencil throwing Letterman impression (he of “you got any gum???). And although Sudeikis did it well, throughout the late night debacle we’ve seen the other Letterman, the outraged, seething, vitriolic Dave. Obviously, it’s not as broad of an impression, but it could have worked if they tried. Instead, they took the easy way out. And, come to think of it, Fred Armisen’s Larry King also owes a lot to Norm MacDonald’s own King impression (but I guess this is perhaps a topic for another post; how, after being on the air for 35 years, it’s impossible for previous versions of celebrity impressions on SNL to not to color the imitations of the same personas by new cast members). So, really, this sketch was just a testament to the unheralded work of Norm MacDonald. Although, that all being said, it was definitely one of the strongest opens this season.
Vodpod videos no longer available.Keep reading: More Jaypocalypse jokes, Alien Vs. Laser Cats, and the worst sketch of the decade!
Filed under Analysis, Bad Humor, Good Humor, Saturday Night Live
It was an up and down decade for Saturday Night Live, but then again it’s been an up and down 34 years for Saturday Night Live. The show started gangbusters in 2000, taking advantage of the 2000 election and perhaps becoming more relevant than it had at any point during the previous decade (media and communication majors and political scientists will be analyzing SNL‘s Gore-Bush debates for years to come, studying how the show interpreted the real events and how the sketches then in turn affected the election). Then the show kind of treaded water until the 2004 election when it once again made the best of the political fodder, although with the relatively benign John Kerry as a central character the political satire was not as entertaining or as incisive as 2000. But With a mostly new cast then the beginning of the decade the show returned to prominence in 2008, most notably mining the comedy goldmine that was the renegade Sarah Palin. However, although SNL’s strongest seasons were during the election years, the best sketches were scattered throughout the aughts, with a fair share of political material, but also crazy characters, inventive monologues, traditional bits and the now ubiquitous Digital Shorts. Here, in a particular but not necessarily meaningful order is a very subjective list of the top ten (and then some) Saturday Night Live sketches of the decade that was.*
1. Carpool
I wasn’t blogging when this Alec Baldwin episode aired in early 2006, but if I was I would have no doubt touted it as the best show in years, and I would have been in good company. It stood out as the most buzzworthy episode since the 2004 election, and its success was due in large part to Baldwin, who excelled in sketches like a new “The Tony Bennet Show,” “Platinum Lounge” (with Steve Martin) and a Valtrex commercial parody. But the stand out sketch, for us, was “Carpool,” a duet with Kristen Wiig. Sharing a ride to work seemed like a good idea, until each person continuously and unwittingly brings up a painful wound from the other’s past. Simply, any sketch that can truly sell the line “Bobby McFerrin raped my grandmother,” deserves placement on a “best of” list. It’s the best sketch in what might have been the best episode of the decade, and perhaps the premier episode among Baldwin’s 14 turns as host (I guess because this sketch includes a brief cameo from a Celine Dion tune it’s prohibited from being posted on Hulu. Luckily, some random Russian site saved the day and has no such qualms about hosting a video that includes unlicensed music from the French-Canadian ice queen).
Vodpod videos no longer available.Filed under Lists, Saturday Night Live
I wasn’t going to write anything about the statement heard ’round the world because a) I posted a late night-related article yeserday and b) I figured I’d leave decoding Conan O’Brien’s missive and surmising his potential options to the real experts. But after spending most of the afternoon on Twitter reading snap judgments and their linked to in-depth analysis, I decided to put finger to keyboard.
As we all know by now, Conan fired off a carefully worded, thoughtful, fuck you to NBC. But while it was certainly surprising to read things like “It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule” (this actually seemed a little bit of a low blow. While NBC might have bungled all of this, it’s not fair to criticize the shows and talent who are working hard to do their best from 8-10pm (mostly just the Thursday night comedies and recently Chuck)), but what struck me the most was how Conan spoke about Johnny Carson, and his longtime ambition to host The Tonight Show. And this is where it shows how Conan might have been mistaken for quite sometime, and that perhaps this was bound to go off the rails at some point.
Conan (can I call you Conan?) writes that “Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me.” And much like David Letterman, Conan respected and revered both Carson and the show, which really were one and the same. The Tonight Show might have had a handful of hosts during its run, but really it’s still synonymous with Johnny Carson, and it turns out while The Jay Leno Show just premiered last fall, it’s really been on for the last 18 years. The Tonight Show is the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno was and is the Jay Leno Show, and The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien is, well, Conan. Had Letterman taken over The Tonight Show like Carson wanted, as Letterman was groomed to do, then perhaps the same Carson spirit might have transferred to Dave and then to Conan. But, really, the show that Conan wanted to lead into the next decade has already been gone for two. If he takes a step back and thinks about it now, to follow in Carson’s footsteps might have been to not so literally follow in his footsteps. Maybe it would be more Carson-like to create his own legacy, not try to extend or recreate an existing one.
So what now?
Filed under Analysis, Talkies, Who's the Boss?
Jumped The Snark 