I think that I am the last fan of Saturday Night Live. Anytime I ask someone if they have seen the show over the weekend, I invariably get the same response: no. Of course I was a huge fan back in the Mike Myers-Phil Hartman-Tim Meadows-Kevin Nealon-Farley-Spade-Sandler days of the late 80s and early 90s. I have never felt one way or another about Will Ferrell (he is definitely funny but I don’t think he is some comedic genius like others do) and I have had some favorites over the years such as Bill Hader (criminally underrated, his Stefon character has taken on a life of its own), Kristin Wiig, Amy Poehler, Darrell Hammond, Chris Elliott, Dennis Miller, Chris Rock and Andy Samberg, the driving force behind the skit that got me back into the show back in 2005, the Digital Short. Since the news came out this week that Jason Sudeikis, Kristin Wiig and Andy Samberg (three heavy hitters) will be leaving the show following the season, I hope that the cast can continue on what has been a pretty good run the past 5 years. There has been a great variety of guest hosts and, not that I pay much attention to this, musical guests as well, with one in particular who has used the show to transform his career.
Justin Timberlake may now be more known as a comedic actor than a pop singer. His guest appearances as a host and on the Digital Shorts have been nothing short of brilliant. The ‘D--- in a Box’, ‘Mother Lover’ and ‘3-Way’ trifecta of rap songs is better than just about anything out there in hip hop now. Except for this and this. By the way, Party Rock Anthem has over 400 million Youtube views.
JT has completely reinvented his career (not that it was ever in trouble to begin with) thanks to SNL opening up doors to other acting opportunities, as well as his appearances on Fallon's History of Rap mash ups. Clearly, he has always been talented, and maybe SNL just took him a level higher.
So with that, here is a rundown of the April 7th show, which started off with Sudeikis as Mitt Romney, which in my opinion has run its course, or maybe this just isn’t Sudeikis’ strong suit. Not sure who the writers will get to portray Romney come election time since he is leaving the show.
As usual, the Republicans are the butt of the joke (maybe for good reason) and this particular skit features Mitt going across the Midwest campaigning, while saying that he is a fan of everything, everywhere. Not particularly funny or interesting. Your host for tonight’s festivities is Sophia Vergara, from the instant classic sitcom ‘Modern Family’. The monologue usually is just a formality and this follows suit. I get it, she is very attractive (and was just named the world’s most desirable woman), has that Spanish accent (that you either love or hate), and has her breasts featured pretty prominently in anything she does. Hey, if you have assets, use them. Good for her.
Next on the list is an advertisement ‘Just Friends Booty Shorts’, which on one pair says ‘Just’ and the other pair says ‘Friends’. They are of course designed to ensure that people do not think that you are the person you are shopping with are a gay couple. Samberg and Sudeikis play the couple, and it’s pretty funny, especially at the end when they take it a step further with the ‘Not’ and ‘Gay’ tank tops.
Next up is Bein’ Quirky with Zooey Deschanel. Zooey is absolutely nailed by Abby Elliott, daughter of former cast member Chris, and I even like Zooey. She hangs out with Michael Cera, again played very well by Taran Killam. Wiig comes in as Drew Barrymore, and there is no doubt that she is the star of the show, because after that, she sketch focuses on Wiig. I am just waiting for Sofia’s cameo, and here it comes with her portraying Fran Drescher, and for a loud mouth like Sofia, this is a perfect celeb impression. Andy Samberg pops ups as former ‘Blossom’ star Miam Bialik. This is clearly the best part of the skit for me.
Another commercial for something called Almost Pizza, where Hader and Wiig are making Almost Pizza, made by Pfizer. Wiig is encouraging Hader and their daughter to eat the pizza but he is skeptical that it is not actually pizza, until the situation escalates and Hader gets angry. He hits the slice of pizza out of his daughter’s hand and it breaks like fine china. Very funny, actually.
News broadcast, with Sofia, Sudeikis and Fred Armisen. I just don’t get Armisen. He does a good impression of Obama, but not much else in my opinion. I am fast forwarding through this one. He plays an idiot newscaster who can’t turn to the camera. No thanks.
After the commercial we come back to Sofia teaching a sex education class. Oh no, another Gilly sketch. This is the one character that Wiig does that I am not a fan of . I guess I am just not sure why it’s supposed to be funny. Wiig is awesome but I can’t laugh just because it’s her. And Bobby Moynihan is only funny in one role, as Snooki from ‘Jersey Shore’. It is very weird, that some sketches are so funny and others just aren’t at all. There is no middle ground. The musical guest is some band called One Direction. They look like a bunch of Beiber clones. I am sure that you can bet where I am going with this. I will take a pass on this musical guest.
And with that, we are halfway through the show. Time for weekend update with Seth Myers. I like Myers well enough, and seeing as it’s an election year, 75% of the jokes are political, which he does well. Drunk Uncle, played by Moynihan, could go either way. Unfortunately, it does not turn out all that well. Again, I am just not a fan of Moynihan, so this might have played well, I just would not know for sure. Weekend Update is usually pretty good. I was always a fan of Dennis Miller and Kevin Nealon as the hosts of WU. And of course, Norm McDonald was classic as well, until he was unceremoniously fired.
Anytime The Manuel Ortiz Show is presented (a Telemundo show hosted by Manuel Ortiz, played by Armisen), it is usually both the worst and best moment of the show. The content usually stinks, but for some reason, when Manuel introduces a new guest, which is usually every 30 seconds, they play this up tempo Spanish song and everyone gets up and dances. Always makes me crack up for some reason. And Hader has been more fantastic than usual on this week’s edition.
I have seen this one before. Little Poundcake is a doll for little girls that regularly administers the HPV antiviruses to protect the girls from HPV. Very funny, and I have to wonder just how far away we are as a society from this becoming reality. I mean, New York City schools are trying to ban references to dinosaurs as to avoid offending creationist. Schools in England are encouraging children not to have a best friend so that they will not have to experience a falling out or heartbreak. Kids are being babied these days and for all the wrong reasons.
Howard Stern as an America’s Got Talent judge? I stopped listening to Howard like 12 years ago, so good for him. Next is a spoof on a Bravo show with some guy named Andy Cohen. I don’t know who that is and have no desire to find out. Although Samberg as a gay prostitute/bartender/wannabe Hollister model is funny. But not funny? Keenan Thompson. The 'What's up with that' sketch is just terrible, but its the go-to for Keenan. He has to be funny at something, just not sure they have found it yet. Yes, Good Burger was great (for 10-year olds) but I am not sure why he is on the show....never mind, I do know why he is one the show. On a side note, not only do we get to see Sophia in every sketch, but also pretty much every product that she endorses has run commercials during the broadcast. I mean, her boobs definitely don’t sell the products, right? Another ‘performance’ by One Direction. I am officially afraid for the music scene in America.
Next to last sketch, and it’s time to call it a wrap. Sofia and ‘Penelope Cruz’ are filming a Pantene commercial. I don’t know who is playing Penelope but she is pretty funny. Ah, this one is ok, not the best effort but certainly not the worst, as they prominently display Sophia's assests. They wrap up the show with a spoof on The Hunger Games, with Vergara playing, literally, a field reporter who is interviewing the contestants while the games are in progress. If you are familiar with The Hunger Games, this is pretty funny. She is just playing herself and being loud and obnoxious the whole time. They still kill Rue, though.
All in all, an up and down effort this week. Sofia, Samberg, ‘Penelope Cruz’, Sudeikis and Wiig were solid, the musical guest was terrible, and the commercial for ‘Just Friends Booty Shorts’ was the best moment of the night. Until next week…
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