SNL Review- Halle Berry/Britney Spears
Well this is my ultimate dedication to you people- I wrote this review longhand all last night since I don’t have a working computer- and then I went and typed it up at an Internet café. So if this review is not up to par- then I apologise.
Sports Report-
Leafs: They played greatin a grueling 1-0 win over Montreal. Getting your first win is the first step on the road to a Stanley Cup trophy. Belfour was terrific last night. If the team could stop taking stupid penalties and get their offence kicking- we could be in for a good season.
Canucks: What happened guys? They’re in a bit of a slump having dropped a game to Columbus and tying Minnesota. They should have won both games. The Western Conference gives teams no room to screw around. At least they took out Darian Hatcher.
The 2003 Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils: Losing to the fricking Lightning? They did show a lot of heart by scoring with 2 second lefts to tie Toronto. Hopefully the Devils will get back on track. I mean- THE LIGHTNING?
Tribute-
Stu Hart: Stu was one of those guys who you thought would live forever. The man was a true wrestling legend who has contributed to the business like few ever have or will. Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and the British Bulldog were some of the legends who trained in at the Dungeon. At least Stu is now at peace and can be with Helen, Dean and Owen. He will be missed though. Thank you for everything Stu.
Mailbag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tim bob writes-
Hey Bob put me in the mailbag or else I will spread the word that you will mail out tapes of SNL episodes upon request!!
Do it or I take your stuffed bunny hostage.
Okay Mr. Bob- put my Bugs Bunny stuffed animal down- you are officially in the mailbag. Congratulations.
Sara Goldenberg writes-
[Your SNL Review] It's (almost) the only one worth reading on the website.......do you
think
Lorne is playing up to the young & urban crowd with Justin as host,
plus
those two new Mad TV'esque featured players? I'm watching since the
beginning, but my stomach is turning and churning, even as I type
this...
Thank you for the kind words Sara. There are other good reviewers out there though- and they actually have working computers. I didn’t mind Justin Timberlake last week- They did a lot of funny stuff. SNL has always kind catered more to the younger crowd and I don’t mind it. As long as it’s funny. And you can knock Finesse but don’t hate on Kenan. He was in Good Burger!
Dirty Centaur writes-
If you ever get the chance, catch an episode of Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO Late Night. The show currently isn't on, but will be back early next year. Maybe you do watch the show, but you mentioned how you hate Ann Coulter which reminded me of Real Time which is where I've seen her talk the most.
It isn't Dennis Miller Live, but it is still a great show and better than any of those cable news shows. It has quite an SNL connection, too.
Ann Coulter (who you hate), Dennis Miller, Micheal Moore, Alec Baldwin, DL Hughley, Larry Miller, Tim Robbins and Arianna Huffington are some of the regular panelists. SNLers this past summer: Dana Carvey, Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo, Then your Politicians: Gray Davis, Tom McClintock, John Edwards (drop out)and Wesley Clark to name a few.
http://www.safesearching.com/billmaher/pri...anscripts.shtml Scroll down to the bottom of each show for 'New Rules'.
Thoughts on Kelly Ripa and Andy Roddick as SNL hosts? Hoepfully that Will Ferrell cameo wasn't because he couldn't host this Nov.
I don’t get HBO where I live so I won’t be able to check out Bill Maher’s show. Bill Maher actually has Coulter on his show? That’s a trainwreck waiting to happen. I like Miller, hate Moore, hate Alec, like DL, like Larry, love Tim Robbins and dislike Arianna. The show sounds like it does have an eclectic group though- when I’m at home I will try and check it out.
I like Kelly Ripa. I’ve only seen her on Live with Regis and Kelly and she has a lot of energy and chemistry with Regis. Regis is one of my heroes and I always felt bad for him being stuck with Kathie Lee Gifford. I’m glad he’s found someone who he can work with and not want to punch in the face. Andy Roddick will probably suck like they always do.
Leonard Smith writes-
"Justin Timberlake
Thoughts- I was hoping SNL would change the train sign every week so I could make it a running gag or something. I mean staring at a train line that goes through Connecticut is just flat out boring and uninteresting- especially when they book really crappy musical guests. That being said- Justin Timberlake was not crappy. I found the live versions of his songs to be better then the versions I hear on MuchMusic and even though he is trying to clone like Michael Jackson circa 1982- he's doing a damn good job of it. The energetic beats make his songs a blast to listen to. ***1/2"
I read your review for Justin Timberlake's episode of SNL and I'm here to tell you that Justin Timberlake, his hosting ability and music sucks 100%. And Justin Timberlake was EXTREMELY crappy. The energetic beats DO NOT make his songs a blast to listen to at all. Justin's three performances didn't also help a great deal either. He is junk just like you.
The beauty of music is that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. You happen to think Justin sucks big time while I happen to enjoy listening to his music. I happen to like listening to fun energetic songs and that’s what Timberlake’s songs are. They’re not deep and won’t change the way you think but I still enjoy them. I’m glad they gave him three performances- they should give every musician I like three performances.
Chad Ruffner writes-
Hi Bob,
I was wondering If you think Norm
MacDonald's New Comedy on Fox, "A Minute With Stan
Hooper", has any chance of surviving a Full Season.
Judging from just the previews alone, I don't even
think It will even make It to Mid-Season. I hope I'm
wrong, though.
Later,
Chad
Norm’s show DESERVES to last past midseason. Norm is a smart guy and this sitcom is a throwback to the sitcoms of yore. Instead of building it around himself and funny one liners- the show is more of an ensemble with everyone getting their piece of the pie. Norm is just the centerpiece who Fox is marketing as the star. FOX gave it a terrific timeslot with a great lead in so they obviously are behind the show a great deal. If it can retain a fair amount of 70’s Show’s audience- it should have a long and happy shelflife. The constant ads airing during the playoffs can’t hurt.
Comma writes-
What's up Bob:
After reading your reviews, I can't agree more with your speculation on how Jeff will take over from Darrell with the impressions. Personally, it's already started. However, what's your take overall between the two SNL players? In rephrasing that, wouldn't you say that Jeff would never compare to "old-school" Darrell, or do you think that Jeff's better now than Darrell's ever been when it came to impressions? Just curious.
Later,
Comma
P.S. Sucks about the news on Stu Hart (assuming you already know). While it was bound to happen anyday, it's still surprising since it's official.
Yea- Darrell has got to leave sometime and I think it’s smart that SNL is getting Jeff ready to take over. I think Darrell is better then Jeff was at their points in SNL history but Jeff is only going to get better once he gets more airtime. If Jeff gets a lot of airtime and can get a big name impression (like a high ranking politician) he think he could one day equal or surpass Darrell. I just hope Jeff knows when it’s time to leave- something Darrell doesn’t.
Wanna be in the mailbag???? Email me at
[email protected]
Just a note before we begin 1) Writing longhand sucks. 2) I’m actually rooting for the Yankees to win the World Series. How bout that?
Cold Opening
Cast- Maya Rudolph, Chris Parnell, Finesse Mitchell
Thoughts- Well you know they were going to get to Kobe soon. I must say I did find it humorous reading about Pamela Mackey’s office being harassed. Maya was actually funny here and I enjoyed Mitchell’s performance. Parnell was his usual low key self. I also enjoyed Maya’s enthusiastic LFNYISN. We need to see more of that. ***1/4
Monologue
Cast- Halle Berry, Britney Spears, Lorne Michaels, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey
Thoughts- Interesting that this is Tina’s second monologue of the season. Are we just supposed to assume that Tina walks around wearing her Update suit all the time? I was pleasantly surprised that SNL didn’t go for the tired cliché of cast hits on hot chick host. That said, if you’re going to do a skit revolving around two women kissing- have them kiss. Because if you don’t- you’re just wasting everyone’s time. Jimmy’s interplay with Lorne was alright and I thought Tina was pretty funny here. Good to see her working for that $4 million. Even though the monologue did have some funny moments- at the end of the day they based it around a kiss and didn’t deliver. It reminded me of the Tom Green monologue but without the social commentary on our society. **
Gaystrogen
Cast- Parnell, Fred Armisen
Thoughts- While it was no Homicil- this was pretty funny. Fred does look kind of gay (sorry Fred- but it’s true) so he played a very good gay man. Solid funny stuff here. ***
Don Zimmer Sports Spectacular
Cast- Berry, Horatio Sanz, Darrell Hammond, Jeff Richards, Will Forte
Thoughts- Okay. So Pedro taking Zimmer down is the biggest news story of the week and is constantly replayed over and over again. And THIS is the best SNL could come up with? I mean cripes all Friday- you have Seth Meyers (super baseball fan extraordinaire) and again- this crap is the best they could come up with? Richards’ Pete Rose wasn’t too impressive and Hammond’s Costas wasn’t given enough time to develop. And Horatio’s Don Zimmer was just horribly unfunny, inaccurate and insulting. Leave it to Will Forte to blow me away by being hilarious in his small role. Hammond and Richards did adequate impressions. *1/4
Versace
Cast- Berry, Rudolph, Sanz
Thoughts- Man- when the heck are they going to give up on this pile of trash disguised as a recurring character? I don’t remember there being one good Versace and they’ve done, well, a lot of them. Halle’s Naomi Campbell was flat out bad. And the trick or treat thing was done better in the Coneheads. Horatio’s Elton John saved this from DUDsville with his funny Spongebob Costume. ½*
Tele-a-link
Cast- Rudolph, Richards, Meyers, Rachel Dratch
Thoughts- I guess I haven’t seen this ad that it was spoofing but this did nothing for me. Not even Seth could draw a lot of laughs from me. I did enjoy the Game Boy Kid though. ¾*
Quick Ones
Cast- Berry, Amy Poehler, Forte, Meyers
Thoughts- This was a bit too short but I did find it to be a bit funny while it lasted. Amy and Will’s sexual experiences were very funny and I always get a joy out of seeing them play ‘Beat the Censor’ like they did at the end. Still this was way too short. **1/4
It’s Stahkisha’s Birthday
Cast- Berry, Rudolph, Poehler, Parnell, Kenan Thompson, Mitchell
Thoughts- 3 shows in and two racial remarks directed at Kenan. Miss All That yet? If Mitchell can get a skit based on a subpar Weekend Update commentary then where is a skit devoted to Seth’s # of commentaries or Kenan’s Bill Cosby impression. Also- Finesse just did the whole skit for us two weeks ago so I knew everything that was coming and thus didn’t laugh as much as I should have/could have. It seems like SNL is pretty high on Finesse Mitchell for some reason but if all he can do is clap his hands and talk about how his name is Stahkisha then he might as well go the way of the Dodo Bird and Jerry Minor. This was all right but it could’ve been so much better had they not done the same thing two weeks ago. **
National Enquirer
Cast- Berry, Poehler, Parnell
Thoughts- Well the train of mediocrity is over. SNL seems to enjoy spoofing the Home Delivery of the NY Times ads as they did the same thing during last years WU. This was very funny with a lot of good lines and jabs at Mickey Rourke. The last line by Berry kind of killed the good buzz that the skit was building up. It’s a shame too since the skit was in the in the 4 star range. ***1/2
Britney Spears
Thoughts- I got some guff for saying I liked Justin Timberlake last week and I’ll probably get more when I say I enjoy Britney’s new song as it’s very fast paced and she brings the energy. The fact that Britney Spears is incredibly hot will always help the star ratings. ***
Weekend Update
Cast- George Wendt, Fey, Fallon, Sanz, Armisen
Thoughts- The Boston Red Sox played the Yankees in a thrilling 7 game series with classic moments and heart attack inducing games. Seth Meyers, who always rocks the body that rocks what was one lame party but now is not lame because of Seth’s rockness, is a major Boston Red Sox fan who has done three commentaries about them in the past- all of them really funny.
SO WHY THE HECK DO YOU HAVE HORATO SANZ DO A COMMENTARY INSTEAD?
It just boggles my mind seeing that fat hack on Weekend Update week after week in various unfunny personas while Seth sits on the sidelines unable to bring the funny. I was a big Norm Peterson fan (who isn’t) but George Wendt just looks awful now and wasn’t really funny either. Horatio portraying a mentally retarded Super Fan doesn’t really work since all of the Super Fans are mentally retarded to begin with. So chalk up a big ‘not funny’ when it comes to the Super Fans.
Fred Armisen’s portrayal of an Indian comic was very funny. Fred makeum laugh. There’s always a risk in doing bits where the main character is supposed to be unfunny since a lot of times the crowd will just not get it and it’s all very awkward. The jokes were good and solid, I liked Fred but the Super Fans crap brought it down a whole lot. ***
Joey Lawrence
Cast- Berry, Meyers, Poehler, Dratch, Rudolph, Armisen, Mitchell, Thompson
Thoughts- I found it funny that Seth did a Joey Lawrence impression the same night that on Classic SNL they did a Blossom parody with Mike Myers as Joey Lawrence. I thought this skit might be headed towards the DUDpile but the band (I forgot the name) really grew on me and I found them to be really funny by the end. Seth’s Lawrence also cracked me up. I especially enjoyed the ‘I’m not Dutch’ song. ***
Tom Brokaw
Cast- Berry, Parnell
Thoughts- This skit reminded me of the extremely funny Gerald Ford skit from 1996 with Dana Carvey as Tom Brokaw. While Parnell’s Brokaw is not the strongest I’ve heard- he’s still very funny at it. There’s something about watching Tom Brokaw get pissed off that makes me laugh. He still is better then Rather and Jennings though. ***
Britney Spears
Thoughts- I love you Britney and would love to do stuff to you that I learned from watching the free porn that I get but playing a dull slow song at 12:45 am does nothing but put me to sleep. What’s the point of even playing songs like that? Nobody is going to take you seriously as a singer anyway so please don’t fool yourself. Stick to stuff like your first song and not this crap. I must thank you for not using a stool though. Oh and by the way- they still haven’t changed the train sign in the background. *1/2
Ashford-n-Simon
Cast- Berry, Rudolph, Thompson, Mitchell
Thoughts- A skit featuring Maya Rudolph airing after 12:30 and it sucks dick? GET OUT! Message to SNL: Next time you do a skit about a washed up group- make sure people know who they are. DUD
Crazy Speed Reader
Cast- Berry, Forte
Thoughts- Will Forte really impressed me this whole episode. He’s just really great at playing really creepy odd fellows. Did he speed screw Halle Berry before she consented? I loved how Halle never really questioned his speed reading skills and Forte’s line about “Poor Jesus” was great. They should make the last skit something with Forte playing a different type of weirdo every week. That would rule. This was pretty funny and was great considering it was the last skit. ***1/4
The Bottom Line- Avg. skit was **.2 making this the first thumbs down of the season and the first thumbs down since Jennifer Garner/Beck. There was just way too much crap on this episode and there were no really awesome skits. Everything was either pretty funny or just absolutely sucked. I didn’t really expect much going in and hopefully they will rebound in November. My hand is about to fall off so I will bid adieu.
Thumbs Down