bob_barron 0 Report post Posted February 6, 2009 SNL Review- John Malkovich/TI Cold Opening Cast- Amy Poehler, Darrell Hammond Thoughts- Hey, Amy Poehler’s back! That was a long couple of episodes. That said, I always enjoy Amy’s Hillary and the skits are usually pretty well written, so double plus. The mocking of Obama was great, and I enjoyed the Chappaqua reference as well. A fun way to kick off the show. ***1/4 Monologue Cast- John Malkovich Thoughts- I can’t believe John Malkovich has hosted the show three times. He’s got to be the least likely three-time SNL host in history. I guess SNL wanted to get their “Lol, John Malkovich is creepy” skit out of the way. This was decent, but was too predictable, and I think Walken is better at creepy. This also ran a bit too long, as Malkovich reading a Christmas story can only be entertaining for so long. ** Gas Right Cast- Fred Armisen, Kristen Wiig Thoughts- Really? Breathe Right Strips? What is this, 1995? It always makes me a little sad when SNL has to go to a fart joke to get laughs, I’d like to think the writers are slightly above that. DUD Hot Girl Cast- Malkovich, Wiig, Andy Samberg, Kenan Thompson, Will Forte, Casey Wilson Thoughts- How can you do a skit about a hot girl at work and not have Casey play the hot girl? That’s just insulting, especially since I really don’t think Kristen is all that hot. For the record SNL, we also would’ve accepted Abby Elliot as the hot girl. Kenan was great here, but the rest was pretty eh. Kenan’s facial expressions were great, and almost made up for everything else. Almost. ** Barack Obama Cast- Armisen Thoughts- At least Fred’s voice is really good, though I still don’t think he should be Obama. This was different, if nothing else, and I have to say that it turned out alright, especially Obama’s nod at the end. **3/4 La Rivista Delle Televisione con Vinny Vedecci Cast- Malkovich, Hader, Armisen, Forte, Thompson, Samberg, Moynihan Thoughts- These skits are fine, but I always get the feeling that SNL does these when they have absolutely no ideas, since they practically write themselves. Malkovich’s a good actor, and I’d rather him act in skits rather than play himself as Hader gets to show off his Italian accent. This was the same as all the other ones. **3/4 SNL Digital Short Cast- Kristen Wiig Thoughts- The Digital Shorts have fallen faster and harder than Mork and Mindy after Season One. DUD Christmas Presents Cast- Malkovich, Hader, Samberg, Armisen, Wilson Thoughts- I hope that when they got the calculators, they did 1+1 and then hit equal as many times as they could. That was the shit. As was multiplying 999999 by 999999. I like that they only got one calculator for the both of them. This wasn’t awful or anything, but I can’t really say I got into it. **1/4 TI “Whatever You Like” Cast- Wait, there’s a T-Pain and a TI? They’re not the same person? How are white people like me supposed to figure out? My rap ignorance aside, this is actually a really catchy and addictive song. So, kudos to TI for being better than T-Pain. ***1/4 Weekend Update Cast- Seth Meyers, Poehler, Thompson, Armisen Thoughts- I don’t know, Amy coming back for two shows kind of bugged me. I mean, she had her nice sendoff at the Jon Hamm show and had her baby and is about to start a new sitcom, there really was no reason for her to be here. The Plaxico Burress commentary was hilarious, especially the line about safeties. I usually dislike Fred on Update, but his Boy George commentary was awesome. Andy as the 9-year old was funny, but I felt it wore thin. I’m always up for a Glengarry Glen Ross reference. It was nice to see a good long Update and I really enjoyed the jokes for the most part, as there were only a few clunkers. **** The Lost Works of Judy Blume Cast- Malkovich, Wiig, Wilson, Abby Elliot, Michaela Watkins, Thoughts- Awesome! Judy Blume was one of my favourite authors growing up, and Superfudge is my second favourite book of all time. In case you were wondering, number one is Going Solo. I remember reading Then Again Maybe I Won’t, and wondering what the hell was going on. Of course, any skit that references Casey’s rack can’t be bad. While I was disappointed that the premise was a little lame, this was actually pretty funny, and I liked Kenan’s song. *** SNL Digital Short Cast- Justin Timberlake, Molly Simms, Jamie Lynn Sigler, Jorma Taccone, Samberg Thoughts- Weird how SNL decided to wait until this late in the show to bust this one out, especially after I made a joke about how awful the Digital Shorts were getting. I have a feeling they had to air it this late because of the content, as I can’t believe they got away with saying jizz on TV. This was great, as Timberlake’s SNL hot streak continues and it was nice to see them do a Digital Short that was genuinely funny. Hopefully this will be the shot in the arm they needed, so we don’t have to sit through digital shorts like the one that aired earlier. ****1/4 T-Pain Thoughts- For a second song, this was really good, even though it sounded a little like Ludacris’ Get Back. Kudos to T-Pain for making me a fan, and for helping this show continue its Drew Barrymore 2004-esque run. *** Jacuzzi Cast- Malkovich, Wiig, Watkins Thoughts- John Malkovich playing himself again? Come on. This ended the show’s 2004 Barrymore-esque run, though the hot tub was a dealbreaker line was kind of funny. I always liked that Dangerous Liasons came out in 1988 and then Valmont came out in 1989. Sucks to be the Valmont people. *1/2 The Bottom Line- Avg. skit was **.43 making this a thumbs in the middle show. The first half was awful, as the show was unable to garner any momentum and they seemed to focus on one-joke skits that didn’t go anywhere. It really picked up once we heard some TI, and it made a decent run, though it was too little too late. Thumbs in the Middle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob_barron 0 Report post Posted February 6, 2009 SNL Review- Hugh Laurie/Kanye West Cold Opening Cast- Darrell Hammond, Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Bobby Moynihan, Casey Wilson Thoughts- Interesting, I would’ve gone with Armisen as the Illinois governor, since I feel they look somewhat similar. I thought the bleeping was pretty funny and I liked the line about him being a disgrace to any other state. Seriously, how was this guy elected twice? And I’m always a fan of Hader’s Byrd. This was pretty funny and I’m sure they’re thankful for the governor for giving them that cold. ***1/4 Monologue Cast- Hugh Laurie Thoughts- Hugh Laurie’s red flannel jacket…what the? It always blows my mind that they make him speak in an American accent on House, when his character is a pretentious pompous prick. It’d be perfect for an English accent. The present joke was hilariously mean and I like that they let Laurie go out there and ramble and sing 3-second Christmas songs, as that was a funny gag. ***1/2 Bronx Beat Cast- Maya Rudolph, Laurie, Amy Poehler, Thoughts- Really? Amy’s last show, and she has to grace us with a Bronx Beat? It was probably her worst recurring character, even worse than Caitlin. At least Caitlin was funny once. I also am robbed of the prestige of having seen the last Bronx Beat ever, having been in the audience for the Brian Williams/Feist show, which was Maya Rudolph’s last show. I also liked the reference to the short-lived WWE tag team Head Cheese. Even going out, Bronx Beat was still terrible. DUD Christmas with the Kranks Cast- Laurie, Sudeikis, Forte, Wiig, Wilson Thoughts- It’s SNL tradition to always do one dysfunctional Christmas skit it seems. Laurie’s such an awesome dick and Sudeikis was good at showing his rage. I was hoping the skit would offer more than it did, as it seemed to be fine stuck in its one-joke go nowhere premise and the ending didn’t work for me. Laurie screaming damnit was really funny though. **1/4 Wedding Toast Cast- Laurie, Sudeikis, Fred Armisen, Wiig Andy Samberg Michaela Watkins, Abby Elliot, Moynihan Thoughts- Fred’s toast was hilarious and I loved his hair, while Wiig was just the usual wacky unfunny Kristen. Moynihan was random and Forte’s toast was just hilariously wrong. Laurie was awesome though and always seems to add something to every skit. Jason was fine as the straight man. ***1/2 Kanye West Thoughts- Kind of weird how Kanye West released another album, and I’ll be honest, I don’t remember hearing much of anything about it. This certainly didn’t get the airplay of Stronger or Gold Digger. Even though Kanye’s voice sounded really bad, I still enjoyed this song, though I didn’t like it as much as some of his other work. *** Weekend Update Cast- Poehler, Seth Meyers, Armisen Thoughts- I actually agreed with the blind organisation that got outraged about this skit. I don’t have a problem with mocking blind people, or mocking anybody, but they mocked the guy for no reason. Now would be a good time to mock Paterson after the whole New York Senate debacle with Caroline Kennedy that his office bungled, but he had done nothing when this aired. This was just mean spirited for the sake of being mean spirited, and I’d like to think SNL is above that. They mocked the guy for being a blind doofus, when there was no basis to do so. I don’t know, I just don’t get who Paterson pissed off to deserve this treatment. We got a Really!!?! While I never loved Amy Poehler on Update, Really!?! fast became one of my favourite Update bits, it never ceases to make me piss myself laughing, with the Michael Vick bit being the highlight. We’ll miss you Really!?! The jokes were pretty good, with Seth’s Michael Jackson joke being the ultimate highlight, and Seth having other good jokes throughout the update. Amy had some solid ones, but nothing stood out on her last Update, which was pretty fitting for her entire Update tenure. I didn’t think she needed to do a farewell speech given they already wrote her off in the Jon Hamm show, but then again I didn’t think she needed a two episode mini comeback to begin with. I still love Jimmy announcing he was leaving SNL on Update, and then awkwardly appearing in the Backpack Shack skit right after. The Backpack Shack featuring the late Robert Stack. The joke side was really good this week, but the Paterson commentary left a really bad taste in my mouth so I can’t go ****+ for Update this week. ***1/2 Lamps Cast- Laurie, Armisen, Samberg, Wiig, Watkins Thoughts- I’m always a fan of SNL skits with random senseless violence. I loved Andy yelling “This is what’s happening. Shannon!” Forte as the Cockney grandfather clock getting shot was just so awesome, but I was hoping the skit would have a better ending then them just saying they can’t feel love and mentioning Lamps going to Broadway in Iraq. Come on that’s the best ending you can think of? You can’t have them brutally killing the owners or something? *** Cat Card Cast- Laurie, Wiig Thoughts- Hey! Wiig playing a creepy woman and it’s actually funny. Her acting like a cat woman kind of sounded like the Target lady. This was definitely a late show gem, as there were too many great lines to count, and I loved all of Wiig’s cat puns. Just a great little skit to help bookend the show with good performances from both sides. **** SNL Digital Short Cast- Laurie, Armisen, Sudeikis, Forte, Kenan Thompson, Moynihan, Elliot, Watkins, Thoughts- I don’t get why these SNL Digital Shorts are being put so late in the show. Is it the Lonely Island’s way of telling Lorne that they suck or Lorne’s subtle way of telling them that they haven’t been very good lately? This was another blah one that just didn’t go anywhere. It didn’t even have to be a digital short, this could’ve been done live. *1/2 Kanye West Thoughts- Wait, why was Elroy Jetson in the background? Can anyone explain this? Did that make any sense? Why not put daughter Judy….or Jane, his wife. This was really good, especially for the second song. He really brought the passion for this one, even though the background video was ridiculous and overshadowed it at times. ***1/4 The Bottom Line- The avg. skit was **.8 making this a thumbs up show and the second best show of the year. It’s impossible to have a bad show with Hugh Laurie, as the guy is just so funny. He should be one of those guys that SNL always tries to get every season. Aside from the first two skits, there really was nothing to complain about and I loved Cat Card being that post-12:30 hidden gem. Nice to see SNL get back on track after two “eh” shows, I guess Dr. House was the right diagnosis. Thumbs Up Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mik 0 Report post Posted February 6, 2009 Maybe it's because I live in NY but David Patterson is my favorite recurring weekend update character right now. The impression is incredible and dead-on and it's genius. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob_barron 0 Report post Posted February 6, 2009 I was listening to Seth on the BS Report and he said what makes it funny to him is that it's not accurate at all and is just SNL doing their own spin on it. I thought the skit the last time they did it was much funnier Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mik 0 Report post Posted February 6, 2009 Well, the things he says are not at all accurate. I've never heard Patterson rip NJ or anything like that. The way Fred plays the character is dead on, though. Sticking the tongue out a little bit, shaking a little bit, squinting. It cracks me up to no end. Amazingly, we were all talking about the first skit at work last Friday afternoon. That night, I went to a Syracuse Crunch hockey game (AHL) and who was there to drop out the first puck but David Patterson? I asked the people I was with if he would stick around to watch the game before sadly realizing that no, he is not sticking around to watch anything ever. Next night on SNL - sure enough another Patterson skit. Hopefully they don't beat it into the ground but hopefully they can find a way to do it a few more times since our budget in NY is so fucked. Soda tax, iTunes tax, all kinds of laughable new taxes. It's obvious Patterson has no interest in being re-elected so strike while the iron is hot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob_barron 0 Report post Posted February 6, 2009 In Paterson's defence, as you pointed out, he was handed an awful budget situation, and there's really not much he can do but play the bad guy. The Caroline Kennedy mess was just salt in the wounds I think the worst thing is cancelling the Empire State Games. That one is terrible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MDH257 0 Report post Posted February 7, 2009 This was just mean spirited for the sake of being mean spirited, and I’d like to think SNL is above that. They mocked the guy for being a blind doofus, when there was no basis to do so. I don’t know, I just don’t get who Paterson pissed off to deserve this treatment. Pot, Kettle, ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fairtoflair7 0 Report post Posted February 7, 2009 I thought the Patterson stuff was hilarious and like others have said , dead on. Also, is it me or skits that focus around Kristen Wiig not funny? I thinks she's really talented but just a lot of her characters are really annoying. NPH show was great. I think these past 2 episodes have been pretty lackluster. I still don't know what the hell the Steve Martin banjo skit was all about. The show was pretty poor overall I thought and I know he plays the banjo pretty well but was that serious or a joke and what was that doing on SNL then? I don't think anyone was laughing. Real confusing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob_barron 0 Report post Posted February 7, 2009 The banjo thing wasn't supposed to be a skit. Steve Martin released a banjo album recently, so he was playing a song to plug the album. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
