Ebert and Roeper's Worst movies of

[Guest The Winter Of My Discontent]

Maya Rudolph is the best person on the show now. By far. Tina Fey and Fallon just laugh at their own bad jokes, and expect it to work on two different levels. Will Farrell saved the SNL sinking ship in the years prior, but barring a miracle, this show will get cancelled in the next few years. And yes, it will be because of people like Jimmy Fallon, Horatio Sanz, and Tina Fey who have strayed from the original concept of improv...which is to not break character and to do ANYTHING possible to make the scene work. For them, if the joke or skit sucks, they break character to laugh or jokingly denounce it. They're pissing on the grave of Belushi. Chevy outta bitch slap them.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

*Is apparently the only person who doesn't hate Ebert*

I still like him. Nobody writes better reviews, even if his opinions have been a little off for awhile.

[godthedog 0]

for the record, pauline kael wrote better reviews. nobody could spin webs of rich, convincing criticism as effortlessly and as intricately as she. she was a little nuts, but god could she ever write a spell over me.

 

<faraway sigh>

[syxx2001 0]

White Chicks was better than Soul Plane, so, HE'S WRONG.

[Mole 0]

Atleast you saw Mean Girls again. I recently just downloaded the movie and I forgot how funny it is. There are just little parts in it that crack me up.

 

Damian (driving away in the car, to Cady): I want my pink shirt back!

I've seen Mean Girls 4 times now. Plus I saw most of it on a bootleg a few weeks ago.

 

One problem with seeing it 4 times is the stuff I didn't like (The African fantasy scenes, Lindsay's speech with her dad) I REALLY don't like. Plus you start to notice a lot of plot holes.

 

But I still love it and think Tina did a wonderful job. I would've loved to have seen what Mean Girls would've been like had Tina been giving carte blache with the screenplay.

What are some of the plot holes?

[bob_barron 0]

The whole Africa thing-

 

Why was Cady taking two math classes? Why would she take advanced calculus and a lesser match class with the juniors.

 

Why was Aaron Samuels at the spring fling? He wasn't president of the senior class or anything.

 

The whole school riot- the school seems to just be the junior class even though there are other grades in the school as evidenced by the end of the movie.

 

I could think of some more but I haven't seen the movie in a while. Oh and Cady got a D on her math test and has to tell her parents she's failing.

 

A D is not failing. I know from experience.

[bob_barron 0]

Maya Rudolph is the best person on the show now. By far.

 

Absolutely not. Maya brings absolutely nothing to the show. Her recurring characters are terrible (Scott Joplin, Second Time Around, Versace, Subway Fred), episodes where she is the focus of the show tend to suffer and she has almost no good impressions. She has 0 redeeming qualities and could be easily replaceable.

 

Tina Fey and Fallon just laugh at their own bad jokes

 

Tina rarely laughs on Update. Jimmy only cracks up when involved in skits with Horatio. For the most part on WU they don't crack up. They smile sometimes but so did Norm- and that made the jokes funnier.

 

Will Farrell saved the SNL sinking ship in the years prior, but barring a miracle, this show will get cancelled in the next few years.

 

Again- that's complete ignorance. SNL is still getting acclaim from the critics (the Emmy) and ratings are still strong. SNL is still a very profitable show for NBC and they have nothing to fill in its place. Cancelling it would be an incredibly stupid move and would never happen unless Lorne decided to leave. And even if he did leave Tina or Jim Downey or someone could easily fill his place. SNL isn't going anywhere.

 

And yes, it will be because of people like Jimmy Fallon, Horatio Sanz, and Tina Fey who have strayed from the original concept of improv

 

Jimmy Fallon has no improv experience.

 

SNL isn't improv. When Tina and Horatio do improv they do stick to the rules of long form improv and don't break character. On SNL Tina is reading the news- she occasionally interacts with the crowd. That's part of the job as WU anchor.

 

laugh or jokingly denounce it.

 

People on SNL have been laughing and denouncing jokes since the 70s. It's nothing new.

 

They're pissing on the grave of Belushi. Chevy outta bitch slap them.

 

Belushi's probably rolling over in his grave due to his sexist attitudes towards female writers.

 

Chevy showed up on SNL a few years ago so he's probably fine with the current lineup. Even though everyone hates him.

[Skywarp! 0]

"Eternal Sunshine" is good because it's one of those movies where you debate what the lesson was when it is over. An open-ended movie can be incredible when done right.

 

I find that the Onion's reviews of movies and music say everything that needs to be said in a half-page of words. They truly have a mastery of the language.

[Ravenbomb 0]

*Is apparently the only person who doesn't hate Ebert*

I still like him. Nobody writes better reviews, even if his opinions have been a little off for awhile.

Yeah. I read his review of North once in a while, it's always good for a laugh.

[Guest The Winter Of My Discontent]

[

And yes, it will be because of people like Jimmy Fallon, Horatio Sanz, and Tina Fey who have strayed from the original concept of improv

 

Jimmy Fallon has no improv experience.

 

SNL isn't improv. When Tina and Horatio do improv they do stick to the rules of long form improv and don't break character. On SNL Tina is reading the news- she occasionally interacts with the crowd. That's part of the job as WU anchor.

 

We're going to disagree on everything,. but this needs to brought up:

 

SNL was based upon improv. Thats what made it so charming. Its where true stars were developed. Guys like Bill Murray, Akroyd, belushi, Chase, and Radner who could add extra elements to their characters and skits that weren't in the script to make it more fun and challenging for themselves. All of their great movies of the 70's, 80's, and even up to Murray's Lost in Translation used the actors improv abilities to create magical scenes that a simple script could not do jusice to. These things that are done on a whim are far superior to these extensively mapped out skits which seem funny in the writer's room yet bomb out no stage.

 

And really, I could give a FUCk what the Emmy's say about SNL, its fucking horrible. Its laughable in the worst possible sense.

 

And spare your snide "insider" comments about Belushi and Chase. Really, who cares. Whoa, all these young bucks hate Chevy Chase. So? Everyone is still biting his Weekend Update bit which he popularized. If they felt so strongly about him, why rip off his bit? Anyone with half of a brain knows that those two (Chase and Belushi) are responsible for SNL's popularity, and they layed the grassroots for its immense popularity. While the show was given a brief resurgence in the 90's with Hartman, Nealon, Sandler, and Farley - it still has not even come close to touching the work of the Not Ready for Primetime Players.

 

Just because you wait in line like a total creep to shake these folk's hands, it lacks any true personal integrity to consider any of the modern stars anywhere close to the league of the late 70's roster. And that roster was one which was based around improv, something that is sorely lacking and THUS leading to its stagnant and largely boring showing of the past 10 years...Farrell excluded.

[AndrewTS 0]

I could think of some more but I haven't seen the movie in a while. Oh and Cady got a D on her math test and has to tell her parents she's failing.

 

A D is not failing. I know from experience.

 

To any parent worth his/her salt, it's failing. Plus in college it basically means you've failed the course if you get below a C.

 

Farrell excluded.

 

Thankfully these two words kept me from completely agreeing with a Banky post. Maybe it's just personal preference, but while I agree he's had some shining moments, by and large Farrell has always been really annoying to me and when he goes completely over the top I've never found him funny. *shrug*

 

These things that are done on a whim are far superior to these extensively mapped out skits which seem funny in the writer's room yet bomb out no stage.

 

That's why skits done only a handful of times in the early days are still remembered today, but MANGO STILL ISN'T NOR WAS IT EVER FUNNY!!

 

Although SNL sometimes is pretty decent when they have the right guest host, although naturally their stuff is scripted like everyone else. The circa Orange-County Jack Black episode (which seemed to actually spawn an Aqua Teens ep with the "new Birthday song") and the Rock ones stick out to me.

 

Also, it's a shame Lost in Translation didn't get the acclaim it deserved, but Murray whizzed away the cred from that by doing Garfield.

 

I don't think it's the non-improv nature of current SNL killing it; it's the lack of talent on the part of both writing and performance.

[bob_barron 0]

In terms of Will Ferrell going over the top- I always found it to be hit or miss. Get on the Bag and Get off the Shed are two classics that I love while I always found Angry Boss to be hideously overrated. Oh my God- he's stabbing Parnell with a trident 44 times- laugh riot....or not.

 

About the D-

 

They base two scenes around the fact that Cady is failing match despite the fact that she got a D on the freaking test and she was getting As up until her recent slide. They never explain when she starts bombing tests on purpose to get Aaron's attention.

 

Another plot hole is Regina's intelligence. She's supposed to be a clever manipulative bitch but then midway through she becomes incredibly stupid and I don't understand why it took her so long to figure out that the Galteen bars were bad for her.

[bob_barron 0]

SNL was based upon improv. Thats what made it so charming. Its where true stars were developed.

 

SNL was inspired by Monty Python and most of the original stars were from National Lampoon. Everything on the show is scripted down to a tee. That's the way it always has been and the way it always will be. The cast members do have improv experience but it's always been 100% scripted.

 

Regarding the current cast: Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz are all improvists. The rest are standups.

 

Everything is scripted Banky.

 

.

And spare your snide "insider" comments about Belushi and Chase. Really, who cares. Whoa, all these young bucks hate Chevy Chase. So? Everyone is still biting his Weekend Update bit which he popularized. If they felt so strongly about him, why rip off his bit? Anyone with half of a brain knows that those two (Chase and Belushi) are responsible for SNL's popularity, and they layed the grassroots for its immense popularity.

 

I'd say Aykroyd and Belushi are more responsible for the popularity of the 70s then Chase was. Chevy lasted one season and then left. With Aykroyd and Belushi at the centre the show really took off and became the sensation it was today.

 

While the show was given a brief resurgence in the 90's with Hartman, Nealon, Sandler, and Farley

 

You're forgetting Dana Carvey and Mike Myers. I'd say the show's resurgence took off in thelate 80s and lasted till around 93-94. Once Phil and Dana left the show went to shit with Norm being the only bright spot.

 

it still has not even come close to touching the work of the Not Ready for Primetime Players.

 

I've seen a bunch of the 70s work. A lot if it is a bit dated for me but I do enjoy a lot of the skits. I wish Classic SNL would stop focusing on the 1997 episodes and go back to showing stuff from the 70s.

 

Just because you wait in line like a total creep to shake these folk's hands, it lacks any true personal integrity to consider any of the modern stars anywhere close to the league of the late 70's roster.

 

I never said that. I've been watching SNL regularly since 1995 so that's the cast I have to go with. Based on the 70s stuff I've seen I'm a huge Aykroyd fan. I've seen a good bit of th Carvey era and really enjoyed it.

 

And that roster was one which was based around improv, something that is sorely lacking and THUS leading to its stagnant and largely boring showing of the past 10 years...Farrell excluded.

 

Again- SNL has Horatio Sanz one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and it has Amy Poehler also of the UCB. Tina and Seth were both big in Chicago improv and the writing staff also includes people from the Chicago improv scene.

[Guest The Winter Of My Discontent]

SNL was based upon improv. Thats what made it so charming. Its where true stars were developed.

 

SNL was inspired by Monty Python and most of the original stars were from National Lampoon. Everything on the show is scripted down to a tee. That's the way it always has been and the way it always will be. The cast members do have improv experience but it's always been 100% scripted.

 

Regarding the current cast: Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz are all improvists. The rest are standups.

 

Everything is scripted Banky.

 

Sure, everything is scripted. The script is a basic foundation, and in many cases, people would add their own interpretation and instinctively add something to it. Thats improv. Its what spices things up for them. I don't know why you are having trouble with this concept. read any interviews Murray, Akroyd, or Chase do. They'll say that is what they enjoyed msot about SNL, and is something they still utalize today. Hell, Caddyshack was a legendary movie for that reason. Murray and Chase moulded their characters in their own way, which was not part of the original script.

 

And please don't ever downplay Chevy Chase's significance in the SNL landscape. Its foolish and ignorant. Sure his career has bombed, but he was THE star of the show in the first year and a half. Like I said earlier, who else's bit has been a staple in the show for the past 30 odd years? Chevy's. Who was the first major break out star into Hollywood? Chevy. Chevy starred and wrote SNL for the first year and second, which some consider the best of the series.

 

When Horatio Sanz, Rachel Dratch, or Amy Poehler come anywhere close to the importance of Chevy in the history of the show, OR have the breakout success of him - gove me a call. If Tina Fey is the comedic genius one proclaims her to be, put her bastardized version of Chevy's Weekend Update to bed and create something else.

[Guest wrestlingbs]

I didn't know Horatio Sanz was a founding member of the UCB.

 

As for improv, I thought Lorne HATED it. One of the reasons Kaufman was given the boot.

[bob_barron 0]

I didn't know Horatio Sanz was a founding member of the UCB.

 

As for improv, I thought Lorne HATED it. One of the reasons Kaufman was given the boot.

I know Lorne hates mimes- I don't know about improv. He does hate it when people ruin skits with improv (ie Damon Wayans in 86)

 

I know he doesn't mind when people crack up.

 

Kaufman didn't get the boot under Lorne. Kaufman got the boot under Dick Ebersol. The plan was for them to run the poll and to have Andy get banned and then do a bunch of skits and stuff where Andy tried to get unbanned. Ebersol ended up double crossing him and since he was banned he wasn't allowed back

[smh810 0]

WOW! Lots to comment on here. I'm sure what Barron means by improv is deviating from the script not interpreting it. As far as Weekend Update goes the bit was actually created by Lorne Michaels himself as he used it for his Canadian sketch show (the name of it escapes me) prior to SNL and was going to be the anchor in 1975 before giving the spot to Chevy. While I don't deny that Chase was the first breakout star of SNL, he is not an icon of the show since he only stayed for a year and a half. (by the way my six icons of SNL are Belushi, Aykroyd, Murphy, Carvey, Hartman, Ferrell)

 

As far as I'm concerned the current state of the show is pretty good. Whether you like Tina Fey or not you cant deny the shows success since 1999 and they've handled the Will Ferrell departure much better than I thought they would. (although as Barron points out he didn't too much in his last year but he had to be there cause of W.) Theres only a couple of weak links on the cast (Maya, and perhaps Finesse Mitchell although I'm not ready to give up on him yet) and with Seth Meyers, Will Forte and Fred Armisen about to be handed the ball next season, the state of the show is very healthy.

[bob_barron 0]

Sure, everything is scripted. The script is a basic foundation, and in many cases, people would add their own interpretation and instinctively add something to it. Thats improv. Its what spices things up for them. I don't know why you are having trouble with this concept. read any interviews Murray, Akroyd, or Chase do. They'll say that is what they enjoyed msot about SNL, and is something they still utalize today. Hell, Caddyshack was a legendary movie for that reason. Murray and Chase moulded their characters in their own way, which was not part of the original script.

 

And please don't ever downplay Chevy Chase's significance in the SNL landscape. Its foolish and ignorant. Sure his career has bombed, but he was THE star of the show in the first year and a half. Like I said earlier, who else's bit has been a staple in the show for the past 30 odd years? Chevy's. Who was the first major break out star into Hollywood? Chevy. Chevy starred and wrote SNL for the first year and second, which some consider the best of the series.

 

When Horatio Sanz, Rachel Dratch, or Amy Poehler come anywhere close to the importance of Chevy in the history of the show, OR have the breakout success of him - gove me a call. If Tina Fey is the comedic genius one proclaims her to be, put her bastardized version of Chevy's Weekend Update to bed and create something else.

I understand what you are saying Banky-

 

But what you're talking about still happens today. People mold their characters into their own thing regardless of what's written.

 

Look at Seth and Dave Clinger. Or any of Amy's characters. I've seen skits where they do deviate from the cue cards a bit in dress and it's funny. Everyone molds their characters into something.

 

You act like I don't like Chevy Chase- but the fact remains he was only on the show for one season. Weekend Update wasn't even his idea- many people claim that it was Lorne's idea for the show and Chevy was just the person he picked as an anchor. Belushi broke out in Hollywood before Chevy. Chevy's first movie didn't come out till 1978 and by then Belushi had a huge hit with Animal House. It would take Caddyshack and Vacation for Chase to officially become a star. Chevy was the first big SNL star and has he puts it 'That's cause I said my name every week.'

 

Generally the third and fourth season are considered SNL's zenith of the 1970s. That's when they became an instutition and when Murray, Aykroyd and Belushi were hitting on all cylinders and Steve Martin was there all the time.

 

The funny thing: I don't even like Horatio or Rachel! Even though Horatio is an okay role player he brings down so many skits with his unprofessionalism. Rachel was the weak link of the ladies until Maya came along.

 

Amy doesn't really have any star potential- I see her being like Nora Dunn and just having bit parts in everything.

 

Tina's version of WU isn't like Chevy's at all. Chevy's was just joke after joke while Tina and Jimmy were able to effectively blend political jokes with wacky zany out there bits and humour. Chevy never did anything like that. Just because Tina and Jimmy told jokes in a news setting doesn't mean they were ripping off Chevy.

 

And Tina has done a lot more then just WU. She's written many of SNL's classic skits and wrote her own movie which was a critical and commercial success.

[Guest The Winter Of My Discontent]

And Tina has done a lot more then just WU. She's written many of SNL's classic skits and wrote her own movie which was a critical and commercial success.

I know. I understand what she's done for the show, thats why I am simply saying that maybe she should end Weekend Update (something that has been suffering since Nealon left - MacDonald was okay) and create something new. She has the ability to change things up.

[Ravenbomb 0]

is Kenan Thompson still on SNL?

[bob_barron 0]

is Kenan Thompson still on SNL?

As of now- yes. He seemed unsure that he would be back though. As of now nothing official has been made about the 04-05 season.

 

Banky-

 

I love Weekend Update- I would hate it if it ended. It's still the centrepiece of the show, still has a huge fanbase and I believe is the highest rated segment on the show.

 

I'm very interested to see what they do to Weekend Update this season. A lot of people think Tina may just do it herself but I'd like to see her co-anchor it with someone, then leave the show and go back to writing and let the co-anchor do it himself. Seth and Tina is my dream lineup.

[Star Ocean 3 0]

*writes two sentences dissing Tina Fey on Weekend Update*

 

*gets a 5 paragraph essay in response on why she's funny*

[Ravenbomb 0]

are they still showing new episodes, or repeats from this season at least?

[smh810 0]

are they still showing new episodes, or repeats from this season at least?

 

yes they are, if you want to check it out this week they're re-running the surprisingly good Jessica Simpson/Nick Lachey show with G-Unit as the Musical Guest.

[Ravenbomb 0]

can't, I'm going out of town early Sunday morning