SNL Review

[bob_barron 0]

SNL Review- Robert DeNiro/Destiny’s Child

 

There won’t be a retro review of Lucy Liu/Jay-Z due to time constraints. I’ll try to put it in the next review along with one of Charlie Sheen/Nelly Furtado.

 

SNL Moment #13:

 

13. U2 rocks 8H

 

U2’s first appearance on SNL was much anticipated since they were making a comeback with their album ATYLCB, which was getting rave reviews. Everyone expected them to kick ass (which they did with Beautiful Day) but when they returned again to sing Elevation- no one guessed what would be in store.

 

THE MOMENT:

 

Bono immediately alters the lyrics to reflect that he is on Saturday Night Live and that the show is indeed live as he starts singing Elevation. Nothing much is happening so far, just your usual awesome U2 performance. Bono starts singing ‘Love lift me up out of these blues’ and he jumps off the stage. This is where the fun begins.

He has some fun playing with the camera and then decides to stroll around 8H some more. He sees a table and jumps up on it as he soaks in the cheers of the crowd. The crowd is clapping along and going crazy at this point. The lighting is not very good so the focus is on the rest of the band as they desperately try to keep track of Bono. He continues to play with the camera and cracks a big smile. He continues to walk around 8H as everyone is standing. No one dares to sit down for Bono’s awesomeness as he starts singing some of Instant Karma to pay tribute to John Lennon. Bono goes over to Val Kilmer as everyone is rocking and he says “Come on baby, light my fire.” Bono continues to rock on a bit more and as the song ends the audience rises to applaud having just witnessed one of the greatest musical performances in SNL’s history.

 

Sports Report-

 

Saints- Wow. They’ve won two games in a row and are 7th in the NFC for a playoff spot! They don’t have an easy last two games (Falcons, Panthers) but they have shown a ton of heart in their performances in the past two games. Even though I want Haslett fired I’m hoping against hope they can turn it around.

 

Nets- I live in Toronto for much of the year and thus have to put up with reading about Vince Carter and how he’s a whiny, injury-prone little bitch who I wish nothing but ill-will on. So imagine my shock and surprise when I found out he was traded to my favourite team. I hate the deal. While I am very happy that Kidney Boy is finally gone, I don’t agree with decimating the Nets front court. Eric Williams was starting to come into his own and was becoming a solid role player on the team. And I love Aaron Williams. I think he’s one of the most underrated players in the league and everytime he was on the court he did a lot to help the Nets win ballgames. Call me crazy but I wouldn’t have traded AW for Carter straight up. The fact that they gave up some draft picks also pisses me off. I hate Vince Carter so much and I don’t like that he’s on my team. The fact that the Nets were willing to take on his big contract but traded K-Mart also really pisses me off. If Carter comes with something to prove and Kidd gets motivated then this could work but I’m not optimistic.

 

Mailbag!!!!!!-

 

Nothing in the mail this week.

 

Wanna be in the mailbag???? Email me at [email protected]

 

I attended the dress rehearsal this week- thanks to Louis and Jamie Klein for scoring me tix. They truly rock.

 

Cold Opening

Cast- Robert DeNiro, Darrell Hammond, Fred Armisen, Horatio Sanz, Will Forte, Seth Meyers, Rachel Dratch, Chris Parnell, Finesse Mitchell, Rob Riggle

Thoughts- I’ll admit that some of the names were really funny and it was hard not to laugh but they did the exact same thing two years ago! I mean seriously. If your ears didn’t perk up when they mentioned Dirty Dan the Garbage Man then you seriously have no soul. I’m always a sucker for poop and fart jokes and it was funny hearing DeNiro deliver it again but come on- you can’t think of something else for like one of the most respected actors ever? Godsend, Analyse That, The Fan, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Showtime, Fifteen Minutes, City by the Sea and that movie with Dakota Fanning not withstanding of course. **1/4

 

Monologue

Cast- Kermit the Frog, DeNiro

Thoughts- Wow. Way to cocktease me SNL. I expected they would do another Will Forte bit and they would sing songs and people would be called a douche bag and the world would be a happy place. I know I would surely be in the Christmas spirit. This monologue reminded me of the Kate Winslet monologue. She was doing all the tap dancing and I kept waiting for the punchline or the joke or for something to happen but…nothing. He just kept singing with the bleeping frog. Seeing Robert DeNiro sing with a frog is nice if we’re watching the Muppets Christmas Special or something- but not on Saturday Night Live. I again would like to point out that if you have Robert DeNiro hosting- you should be able to come with a better monologue idea. DUD

 

Woomba

Cast- Tina Fey, Dratch, Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler

Thoughts- I guess Tina thought: Hey- I haven’t mentioned the female vagina enough during my tenure at SNL- maybe I should do a commercial parody about it. This was funny but went on a bit too long. Did we need to see the Woomba chase Maya Rudolph through the woods? Probably not. Tina in a towel was nice but it didn’t save the skit or anything. Still- this was a funny commercial parody. ***

 

Pranksters

Cast- DeNiro, Meyers, Sanz, Kenan Thompson

Thoughts- Wow. Who dragged this one out of the mothballs? I LOVED the original Pranksters and it was one of those skits that made me think: Wow- Seth Meyers really is the coolest man ever. I don’t really know why they decided to do another Pranksters, especially since this one had the exact same premise but I shouldn’t complain too much since this was really funny. From DeNiro chainsawing him with the blood squirting up to him saying he would prank Seth for a month- how can you not love that? I also loved the side conversations between Seth and Ted (‘Because it’s inappropriate!’) and the interplay between DeNiro and Seth was cute. DeNiro is no Walken. Okay, comparing DeNiro as a host and comparing Walken as a host is like comparing Eli Manning to Peyton Manning, but the point still stands. Walken being Walken is part of what made Pranksters such a classic and without him there was definitely something missing. It still was very good though. ***1/2

 

Fun at a Wedding

Cast- DeNiro, Meyers, Rudolph, Poehler, Parnell. Dratch, Mitchell

Thoughts- This was a very hit and miss skit. Seth was funny as the gay guy and I thought the flashback was really funny. The ending with Maya was really weird though and it seemed really out of place. Her entering killed any momentum that this skit was hoping to build since it was a needless swerve. Plus- was he just like really okay with his sexuality or was he gay and marrying Maya for no reason? I need answers people! **1/4

 

The Prince Show

Cast- DeNiro, Armisen, Rudolph, Thompson, Mitchell

Thoughts- Okay seriously. The Grammys were in February. No one remembers or cares that Beyonce sang at the Grammys with Prince. I understand that they did this because Destiny’s Child was on but seriously- enough with the Prince show. Also- enough with Kenan as Star Jones. It’s funny seeing him in drag but since every other late show makes fun of her (I’m looking at you Jimmy Kimmel), SNL doesn’t need to drag Kenan out for the impression every couple weeks. DeNiro was actually funny here. I liked his interplay with Prince and how he had no problem making snowmobile noises on the snowmobile. Still, the Prince Show is a skit I’ve never gotten into and this was another lame effort. **1/4

 

TV Funhouse

Thoughts- This was a lot better then Smigel’s previous efforts even though I wonder how well it played to all those wacky blue states. This was another nice and offensive Smigel cartoon. From all the gay jokes about Moby to calling the lower half of the US Dumbfuckistan and I loved the kids getting The Best of Franken Factor and Margaret Cho merchandise. It started to drag a bit to the end but it was nice to see Smigel come back and deliver something really funny. ***1/2

 

Trump Christmas Special

Cast- Hammond, Meyers

Thoughts- This was just like the Trump Halloween special from Jude Law in the fact that I liked it for the same reason and didn’t like it for the same reason in that it dragged a bit towards the end. Trump’s Chanukah promo was really funny and I like how he says ‘1’ before they start taping. If they do this again (which you know they will) I would leave out the part where Trump talks about what he’s going to do when he leaves the shoot since it’s never funny and always kills some of the goodness of the skit. ***

 

Destiny’s Child

Thoughts- I have no idea why Beyonce would go back to Destiny’s Child since she’s so far above the other two ladies. In fact it looked like she was disinterested and didn’t really want to be there. I would like thank to her for being nice enough to show cleavage and to jump around a few times for my amusement. The song was okay but I’ve never really been a big fan of Destiny’s Child. **

 

Weekend Update

Cast- Fey, Poehler, Meyers, Dratch, Riggle

Thoughts- Well Tina and Amy managed to kill all of the goodwill from last week. This was another uninspired and lackadaisical performance from the two ladies. Tina had some good jokes but as usual had way too many clunkers and Amy was her usual terrible self. While it was great seeing Seth at Update, the Scheinwald Studios bit was kind of lame and he didn’t get to do anything. Rachel always looks funny as Abe Scheinwald though. I’m really happy they finally gave Rob Riggle a chance to do something and he was awesome as Leviticus. It was awesome seeing him pray to Satan and for Tina and Amy. I know I knock her all the time but Amy’s facials during Riggle’s prayer were hilarious and truly made Leviticus work. So kudos to Amy for finally doing something right. This was the usual story of WU. Amy and Tina sucked but had a commentary to save them. **1/2

 

Undercover in the Mob

Cast- DeNiro, Sanz, Meyers, Armisen, Forte, Riggle, Thompson

Thoughts- This was a clever premise and Horatio was funny as the faux Mafioso with the fuhgetaboutit and talking about his childhood with Vinny Testaverde and Rocky Balboa. I was really feeling this skit and actually liking Horatio but when DeNiro started spoofing Goodfellas I quickly lost interest. It’s pretty sad that they have Robert DeNiro, who has a great and very diverse film career and they always come up with such lame ways to spoof and mention his movies- pretty sad. This had a great first half but unfortunately couldn’t keep it up. ***1/4

 

Destiny’s Child

Thoughts- The usual boring slow song that crappy musical acts do but luckily Pulp Fiction was on so I was able to flip to that instead. I do have to say that Beyonce’s face when she was trying to sing was probably the funniest thing on the show. *

 

The Cat Lady

Cast- DeNiro

Thoughts- Who would have ever thought that Robert DeNiro dressed in drag playing a crazy catlady would be really unfunny and stupid? Well probably….everyone. DUD

 

Bear City

Thoughts- This was amusing. I laughed at the bears in the Orthodox Jew getup which makes this better then most mini-movies that SNL do. I love hearing Fred Willard’s voice. They should get him to host. **

 

Christmas Song

Cast- The Muppets, Sanz

Thoughts- I’m not giving this my usual Christmas song rating since the Muppets just could not replace the other three. It was kind of sad that Horatio is the only one still kicking around and hasn’t taken the hint that it’s probably time for to go now. I never really liked Kermit the Frog and he sucked here. The other Muppets were pretty funny even though I wish we could’ve seen the old guys to criticize it. ***

 

The Bottom Line- The avg. skit was ** making this a thumbs down show. DeNiro again sucked as host and I will never understand why SNL decided to bring him back. Last time he had some good material to work with that he had last time. He also had a poor musical guest and a weaker Weekend Update to work with as well. The episode was very uninspired with a lot of dumb ideas for skits and the skits that did work were just retreads of old favourites. Hopefully 2005 will bring funny SNLs and less hosts who suck.

 

Thumbs Down

[JasonX 0]

Regarding Weekend Update, the best way to revive it would be to kick Tina off the segment and replace her with either Rob Riggle or break down and bring Matt Walsh or one of the other guys from Upright Citizen's Brigade on to work with Amy.

[starvenger 0]

TV Funhouse

I went from going "WTF?" to laughing my head off. Instant classic.

 

Trump Christmas Special

Cast- Hammond, Meyers

Thoughts- This was just like the Trump Halloween special from Jude Law in the fact that I liked it for the same reason and didn’t like it for the same reason in that it dragged a bit towards the end. Trump’s Chanukah promo was really funny and I like how he says ‘1’ before they start taping. If they do this again (which you know they will) I would leave out the part where Trump talks about what he’s going to do when he leaves the shoot since it’s never funny and always kills some of the goodness of the skit. ***

The only thing I really don't like about this skit is that I don't think Trump can ad lib that well.

 

Undercover in the Mob

Now that they've found something that works for Horatio, they'll overdo this to death. Still, it was over the top enough to make me enjoy it, so I won't complain. Yet.

 

Christmas Song

Cast- The Muppets, Sanz

Thoughts- I’m not giving this my usual Christmas song rating since the Muppets just could not replace the other three. It was kind of sad that Horatio is the only one still kicking around and hasn’t taken the hint that it’s probably time for to go now. I never really liked Kermit the Frog and he sucked here. The other Muppets were pretty funny even though I wish we could’ve seen the old guys to criticize it. ***

The Frog was holding down Animal...

[UZI Suicide 0]

De Niro just sucks on SNL. He's so uncomfortable and stiff looking. And he stares at the cue cards like he never saw the script beforehand.

[bob_barron 0]

Regarding Weekend Update, the best way to revive it would be to kick Tina off the segment and replace her with either Rob Riggle or break down and bring Matt Walsh or one of the other guys from Upright Citizen's Brigade on to work with Amy.

 

Amy's the one who needs to be kicked to the curb more then Tina. Riggle wouldn't work- his sidekick Rob Huebel would be much better. I don't see Walsh working on Update either. A lot of people for whatever reason just don't find him to be that funny. I don't know if the UCB style would work in a news format.

 

De Niro just sucks on SNL. He's so uncomfortable and stiff looking. And he stares at the cue cards like he never saw the script beforehand.

 

I have a feeling NBC made them pick DeNiro since he was a big ratings draw last time.

[JasonX 0]

Regarding Weekend Update, the best way to revive it would be to kick Tina off the segment and replace her with either Rob Riggle or break down and bring Matt Walsh or one of the other guys from Upright Citizen's Brigade on to work with Amy.

 

Amy's the one who needs to be kicked to the curb more then Tina. Riggle wouldn't work- his sidekick Rob Huebel would be much better. I don't see Walsh working on Update either. A lot of people for whatever reason just don't find him to be that funny. I don't know if the UCB style would work in a news format.

I disagree. Tina has proven this season so far that Jimmy Fallon's suckiness covered up her suckiness. At this point, they should cut their loses with Tina altogether and focus on Amy and finding someone tailor-made to work good with her. And I don't mean Seth Meyers or Will Forte, who are both so generically whitebread that I'm shocked they are still employeed.

 

As for Walsh, he's pretty good when he plays it straight.

[TheBigSwigg 0]

Uh-oh, someone insulted Meyers and Forte in the same post.

 

Boy is Barron gonna be pissed.

[bob_barron 0]

I disagree. Tina has proven this season so far that Jimmy Fallon's suckiness covered up her suckiness.

 

I disagree. Both Jimmy and Tina did a great job at the desk and they had awesome chemistry that made their bits together funny.

 

focus on Amy

 

Amy is the cancer. Her delivery is awful and it kills many of her jokes before we get the punchline. She just mugs for the camera to try to compensate for her awfulness.

 

I don't mean Seth Meyers or Will Forte, who are both so generically whitebread that I'm shocked they are still employeed.

 

To say Will Forte is whitebred makes me question how much you watch the show. Forte does a lot of out there and bizarre stuff. Last year it seemed that every show would have a bizarre Forte skit. I wouldn't call the Falconer, Gunther and Salszar, Tim Calhoun or a lot of other stuff he does 'whitebread'.

[JasonX 0]

To say Will Forte is whitebred makes me question how much you watch the show. Forte does a lot of out there and bizarre stuff. Last year it seemed that every show would have a bizarre Forte skit. I wouldn't call the Falconer, Gunther and Salszar, Tim Calhoun or a lot of other stuff he does 'whitebread'.

.

I've yet to be sold on Will Forte (who I will admit is the lesser of two sucky SNL cast members when grouped with Meyers).

 

His George W Bush impression is horrific and his characters are just so vanilla in terms of forgettableness. The only skit he's done that I can look back on and remember positively is the Rainbow Connection sketch with Justin Timberlake.

[smh810 0]

've yet to be sold on Will Forte (who I will admit is the lesser of two sucky SNL cast members when grouped with Meyers).

 

His George W Bush impression is horrific and his characters are just so vanilla in terms of forgettableness. The only skit he's done that I can look back on and remember positively is the Rainbow Connection sketch with Justin Timberlake.

 

When I read that reply its pretty apparent to me that you only watch SNL when they have a big name or stunt host and dont follow the show on a regular basis. Theres nothing wrong with that so let me fill you on some things. If you want to see a horrific impression of W. I refer you to Darrell Hammonds "attempt" at Bush last November or to a lesser extent, Chris Parnell's Bush impression in the 02-03 season. Forte is no Will Ferrell and there will never be a Bush impression that is as good as his was. However, Forte is more than passable in the role and does a good job. Also, In his 2 + seasons in the show Forte has established himself as a force in sketches and on Weekend Update. Aside from the Kermit sketch you mentioned, Tim Calhoun was a massive hit among SNL fans as was to a lesser degree The Falconer. His one time sketches such as the Speed Reader and the almost too hot for TV Benny Hill Jesus also earned him praise from fans as well. He has also had several memorable Update segments such as The Will Forte Sex Tape (a parody of Paris Hilton's) and a hysterical Black History Month commentary. I just wanted to fill you in on this since you dont really follow the show.

[The Mandarin 0]

Man, why did he have to diss on Moby.