Lawrence Will Play the SNL Card

One thing I never understood is why more movie stars don't take advantage of the SNL venue to drum up more support for their films.  It's a long-running institution, which allows actors to show off their goods and versatility.  But, then, for those who are more limited in range and/or nervous, live-action comedy and improv might just be too tall of an order.  And, as we've witnessed time and again, if the writing isn't up to snuff, it doesn't matter who you are, the prospects of landing in a turkey episode are pretty high.  I got truly excited when I heard Jennifer Lawrence will be hosting the show in a couple weeks.  As Winter's Bone and Silver Linings Playbook has shown us, she can play more than one type, and with The Hunger Games, she has the presence to lead a large enterprise.  Did you know that she will actually be one of the few actresses to throw her hat into the late night variety show ring once nominations are announced, but before ballots are turned in?  Yes, it's an obscure bit of information that you're hearing about because of the questionable use of my free time.

Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, and Reese Witherspoon hosted years before they took a more serious position on getting an Oscar.  Even Kim Basinger used her then 30 Rock-familiar husband to cohost way before L.A. Confidential ever existed.  Some basked in the glow of a recent Oscar win: Angelica Huston (Prizzi's Honor), and Geena Davis (The Accidental Tourist).  Others celebrated post-season just having had gotten nominated: Maureen Stapleton (Interiors), Ellen Page (Juno), and Gabourey Sidibe (Precious).  Some finally went on some time after their Oscar win, like Halle Berry, when she headlined Gothika, as well as Helen Mirren (Arthur), Marisa Tomei (Only You), and Sally Field (Mrs. Doubtfire).

You've had ladies with films that opened early in the year who later joined the awards circuit conversation: Shelley Duvall (3 Women, for one of her two stints), Jill Clayburgh (An Unmarried Woman, in her second appearance), Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct), and Renée Zellweger (Bridget Jones's Diary).  You've had women with summer releases who hosted in the Fall just as awards season was getting ready: Lily Tomlin (Nashville, her second of there times), Sigourney Weaver (Aliens, in her first of two times), Andie MacDowell (sex, lies and videotape), Linda Hamilton (Terminator 2), Nia Vardalos  (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), and Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids).

Some of the actresses took the SNL stage in the Fall after a recent release for a little post-opening push: Jodie Foster (Taxi Driver), Ellen Burstyn (Resurrection), Kathleen Turner (Romancing the Stone in her first of two appearances), Joan Allen (Pleasantville), Kate Hudson (Almost Famous), and Annette Bening (Running with Scissors).  A few films had their actresses host the show a week or a few before they opened late in the year: Bernadette Peters (Pennies From Heaven), Melanie Griffith (Working Girl), Helen Hunt (As Good As It Gets, her second time), and Kate Winslet (Finding Neverland, having had Eternal Sunshine earlier in the year).

You had some ladies host a week or two before the ceremony, way after nomination ballots were sent out and possibly already turned in: Sissy Spacek (Carrie), Miranda Richardson (up for Damage, she was riding high off The Crying Game and had Enchanted April also out earlier the previous year), Julianne Moore (Boogie Nights), Queen Latifah (Chicago, in her first of two), Salma Hayek (Frida), and Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby).

Anne Hathaway has the distinction of being the most Oscar-ish type actress to host three stints tied to an awards bid each time.  Hathaway's first time was after Rachel Getting Married just opened.  She ended up getting nominated, but her second try with Love and Other Drugs wasn't as successful.  As the opening monologue indicated for her third trip to the SNL stage a few weeks ago, it was all about Les Misérables.  Gwyneth Paltrow tried to drum up support for awards-bid Country Strong most recently, but her second hosting gig was about Shallow Hal's box-office.

As you can tell, if you're familiar with the outcome of each actress in regards to the movie they're pushing, Oscar and SNL don't always mix, even when it comes to just nominations.  But, to do it in the thick of the season, takes some chutzpah, no?  Demonstrating a willingness to fall flat on your face during a 90-minute live televised appearance isn't a cake-walk.  The only women to host after nominations were announced, but probably before most ballots were turned in were Glenn Close (Dangerous Liaisons, in her first of two appearances) and Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love).  Paltrow hosted three days before the nominations were announced, but already tabulated.  Close hosted right after.  Of course, like with Lawrence, these were all tied to platform release strategies for their movies.  Hunt, Paltrow, and Swank are the only ones to come out winners.  We know Hathaway will.  Will Lawrence?  Will Chastain have time to take off from appearing on stage as The Heiress to throw her hat into the SNL ring?  We'll have to wait and see.  But, for now, I can't wait to see Lawrence kill it.

poll by twiigs.com

Read More

RIP Saturday Night Live Live

I've discontinued watching Saturday Night Live live these days.  Sad but true, I don't have a recorder of any kind.  I've also stopped blogging regularly on the new episodes.  While there is some worthwhile content every now and again, it just isn't worth staying up (or home) for.  What has been an on-again-off-again staple over the decades for me is now fading to black.  I still may catch clips off the NBC website (I imagine there will be a weening off period, as I'm never good with going cold turkey) as I did this morning while exercising.  They usually post all but one or two skits and I never paid close enough attention to discern their methodology behind what makes it on the site and what doesn't. 

From what I saw of last night's episode, the multi-talented Jamie Foxx (whom I've never been too crazy about) was game for putting on a great show.  In his opening monologue, he told a lot of jokes (mostly about race) and then sang while playing the piano.  You can tell he was probably full of ideas and contributed to the content, because he was in practically every skit, including the prerecorded sketch AND a special correspondent spot on Weekend Update (as a Hostess Ding Dong--props to the costumer).  The non-live portion of the show was the best, which had Foxx playing Tyler Perry as Alex Cross AND Madea in one body (in another costuming stroke of genius, which looked like a higher-budget version of Horazio Sanz as Elton John/Rosie O'Donnell singing "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," back in the day).  Kate McKinnon was nowhere to be seen, so I only can assume that she was too under the weather to perform.  Nasim Pedrad only made one bit.  Bill Hader and Fred Armisen completely broke character multiple times while playing valets, due to perhaps some off-camera antics.  The writing wasn't anything special and it was actually funnier to watch them try to maintain composure, which is great in the moment, but, in retrospect, doesn't really speak to the quality of the show.  Dermot Mulroney made a cameo appearance during a game show segment poking fun at the name similarities between himself and Dylan McDermott (did I get the spelling right, LOL?), while three black contestants (a record for SNL?) try to guess which one is which. 

In one segment called "Maine Justice," white residents with money affected by Hurricane Katrina have relocated or spend half their time in the most Northeastern state.  The courtroom skit has Jason Sudeikis as a New Englander judge with a Southern accent and Foxx as his bailiff.  At one point, their characters share an uproarious laugh and Sudeikis leans over to Foxx and randomly kisses his arm.  Did you catch that?  Not a big deal, of course, but just so inexplicably random.  Haven't seen anything on the internet yet. 

There was a bit involving Vanessa Bayer and Cecily Strong (who gets an abnormal amount of airtime as one of the new kids on the block) playing former prostitutes pushing Swarvoski crystals.  Their characters are pretty braindead and possess no self-respect, but are easily distracted by big, sparkly cut-rate diamonds.  While they were mildly amusing, sometimes I wonder if the SNL writing staff views their audience the same way.

Read More

SNL Review: Bruno Mars

This week, Bruno Mars played host and musical guest and probably pleased a great deal of his fans.  He sang "Locked Out of Heaven" and "Young Wild Girls" for his songs.  In his opening monologue, naturally, he also sang, and performed a gospel number about feeling nervous about assuming both duties.  The show is great about allowing various entertainers and celebrities to stretch their wings in comedy.  Personally, however, I wish they would stick closer to comedians and comic-abled actors, as the writers have difficulty as it is catering to people who are naturally funny.  But, it could have been worse.  Overall, I'd say it was average to above-average.

The Cold Open naturally lampooned the recent second presidential debate between President Obama (Jay Pharaoh) and Mitt Romney (Jason Sudeikis) earlier this week, while highlighting new company member Aidy Bryant (who disappeared last week only to scream out the intro last night) as moderator Candy Crowley.  The skit was pretty much a condensed version of the 90-minute debate.  Pharaoh, with his hair frosted grey, stepped up his game, just as the President did, as he said, "This isn't Colorado anymore, this is sea level."  They fielded questions from Long Island residents in the Town Hall-style debate, which included Kate McKinnon with her crazy eyes and teeth (she unfortunately took a backseat for most of the rest of the episode); Bobby Moynihan, who, after being asked why he wants to kick both of their asses, responds, "I don't know, I'm undecided"; and a reference to Tagg Romney (Taran Killam hilarious in his one second of "Let me at him").  Crowley tried to keep order while the two grown men conducted themselves like little boys, while betraying an affinity towards the President.  Tom Hanks (he has hosted many times in the past and has Cloud Atlas opening next weekend), who remained the length of the episode until curtain, surprise-cameoed, with a blond wig and two pairs of glasses, struggling to ask his question before he just spurts out, "Libya."

In a skit allowing for Mars to do some singing impressions, there was the Pandora bit where "technicians" are in charge of certain playlists.  When the power goes out, chaos ensues and they require intern Devin (Mars) to step in and fill in the vocals, which includes an wide array (Green Day, Aerosmith, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Louis Armstrong).  However, his multiple Michael Jackson vocal renditions were pretty sick and had to have brought the house down.

Weekend Update with Seth Meyers was solid, focusing on making hay out of the previous few days of politics.  He had his "Do's and Don'ts"--advice for the presidential candidates for the next debate.  Bill Hader returned as Stefon and lost his shit like never before.  I'm neither yay or nay at this point.  He's pretty innocuous.  I'm not sure if they'll ever retire him, but, so far, I'm not annoyed, yet.

In a prerecorded bit called Sad Mouse, SNL is surreptitiously trying to get back into the digital short business without Andy Samberg, while pretending they're not.  Killam returned as Brad Pitt lampooning his recent nonsensical Chanel commercial in four different spots including pushes for Taco Bell tacos and dog condoms.  There was the return of the Merryville robot brothers with Mars as an addition, as well as the hilarious inclusion of Hanks for the button.  I never got Underground Records; sometimes, I want to shoot it, but I mostly ignore it.  It keeps coming back from the dead like Ass Dan.  I had forgotten Nasim Pedrad was a castmember, until it aired towards the end.

SNL may have been trying to get something started with Haters starring Sunny Taylor Tompkins (Cecily Strong).  It's a Jerry Springer-type talk-show and had Moynihan and Mars doing drag.  It wasn't my favorite, but they pulled the cord pretty quick.  I'm not sure is Strong was strong here.  There was also a wilderness lodge skit.  It was mostly a cheesy sketch where Mars mysteriously looks into the camera with an eye-patch.  The only funny moment involved Hader playing a Christopher Lloyd-type who declares, "I was repeatedly beefed in the A by a Yeti," only to be shortly thereafter ass-raped again out in the snow by his beloved.

Was this one for the books?  Not really.  Could I have done without it?  Yes.  Do I curse having watched it?  I wouldn't say so.  But, if you curious, I'd watch the Cold Open, as well as the Pandora skit for Mars' vocal impressions (the latter of which was not available at the time of post).

Read More

SNL Review: Christina Applegate #2

Did you catch last night's episode of SNL?  It was pretty good.  Christina Applegate hosted for the second time with musical guest Passion Pit (they sang "Take a Walk" and "Carried Away").  Best in show four ways into the new season.  That isn't saying much, but considering we've gone from (IMO) sucky to decent in one gradual arch suggests that the series is starting to warm up for the holidays.  I'm not going to hold my breath, though.  I had certain expectations from Christina Applegate.  She's a Hollywood veteran, whose done reasonably well in both TV and film.  The industry loves her and is willing to allow her to headline multiple shows until one sticks.  She hasn't reclaimed her former glory from her breakout role as the ditzy (but shrewd) peroxide-blonde Kelly Bundy on Married ... With Children.  She and her original TV parents have done quite well for themselves since.  Ed O'Neill has come close to matching his success with the beloved Modern Family, and Katey Sagal isn't doing too bad with Sons of Anarchy.  Applegate got two seasons out of her follow-up sit-com Jesse, as well as the well-regarded recent Samantha Who?  She's currently in her second season of Up All Night costarring SNL alum Maya Rudolph and the dastardly Will Arnett.  We'll have to see if third time is the charm for a third season.  Applegate showed real comic prowess as one of Rachel's sisters in a reoccurring role Friends.  She is also a comic secret weapon of sorts in such films as Hall Pass and, of course, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.  The woman is talented at comedy, so I was looking forward to her blowing Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Daniel Craig out of the water.  And she did.

The Cold Open lampooned the VP debate between Joseph Biden (Jason Sudeikis) and Paul Ryan (Taran Killam).  Killam took on Ryan for the first time (?) and was solid, as Sudeikis has me in stitches.  I loved Applegate's Opening Monologue which turned into a song about how wonderful this time of year is, right before the holidays descend upon us one after the other.  Weekend Update was much improved.  Nasim Pedrad nailed Arianna Huffington yet again, but I just can't get into the performer.  I actually liked Jean K. Jean.  And Seth Meyer was great.  A commercial satired a Gillette Masters of Style commercial featuring Adrien Brody and Denzel Washington by throwing in Jerry Sandusky into a mix of celebrities on the go.  It was so wrong, but, I'd be lying if I said I didn't laugh.  Another function made fun of Taken, with a bunch of superhero icons fighting bad guys to retrieve their daughters, including Applegate, dressed as The Bride from Kill Bill (her best line: "You'll recognize me.  I'm dressed like a taxi.")

Applegate hosted Tech Talk, which dealt with a bunch of nerdy, privileged Americans complaining about quirks of the new iPhone 5.  Events take a surprising turn when the host reveals a trio of Chinese factory workers to answer the complaints.  Three SNL actors do "Asian-face," but considering the humor is on their side the whole time, the table-turning was pretty smart.  Applegate plays a mousy librarian in Halloween Bash.  I wasn't that into partly because Jay Pharoah's Principal Frye was a retread of a character I can't quite place my finger on.  I've seen it before, variations on it like MadTV, and things closer to home which will come to me eventually.  One of Applegate's biggest gets was playing a Fosse-trained dance instructor.  While I was apprehensive at her vocality being SO similar to Kristen Wiig's Mindy Elise Grayson, but, ultimately, she owned her choreographer with her own twist.  There was also a cute bit with Odysseus coming across the sirens, who start singing pop song from the last twenty years.  The biggest surprise for me, however, was, for the first time ever, I actually liked the revisited skit The Californians.  The closeups, voices, premise, THE DIRECTIONS, etc, I dug it all.  Applegate's valley girl who is involved in wedding drama got the best line, "It was just lunch, don't go bananas."  Fred Armisen also had a good line: "Get on the Ventura until you can't take it anymore."  Not sure why it took so long to appeal to me, but the latest skit slayed me.  It was the best of good night.

Read More

SNL Review: Daniel Craig

After two episodes, SNL finally delivered an episode one might refer to as "above average," even with the ample references to James Bond, as Daniel Craig was host.  Musical guest Muse got down with their new songs "Madness" and "Panic Station."  The Cold Open was a cute lampoon of the first presidential debates earlier this week.  Using real footage for cutaways, Jason Sudeikis delivers a hilarious stare as Obama (Jay Pharoah) speaks. Frankly, Sudeikis has never been better as Romney. While he talks, there's a voice-over narration from Obama. Moderator Jim Lehrer (Chris Parnell cameos) interrupts Obama's high-elevation-induced slumber with "Governor Romney has just said he killed Osama Bin Laden, would you care to respond?"  Conservatives are going to hate it, because it goes light on a lethargic Obama.

In the Opening Monologue, an amiable Daniel Craig holds an In Memoriam ("or all the people I have killed") for all of the onscreen deaths he has been responsible for.  The Weekend Update with Seth Meyers was better than usual, with lines like,"Well, you have to hand it to Mitt Romney, because President Obama sure did," and a Pretty in Pink reference to Michelle Obama, "You went in thinking you were with Blane, but then you go home with Ducky."  Big Bird was special guest commenter, as well as Cecilia Gimenez, the Spanish painter who raised controversy by modifying a fresco of Jesus.  McKinnon did a swell job and it's clear that she is one of the major players to rise from the new crop of talent.  Meyers also offered a new segment called Winners/Losers. 

Cecily Strong did Rachel Maddow (after the recently departed Abby Elliott) in an MSNBC special with guests Chris Matthews (Sudeikis), SC Kupp (McKinnon), and Al Sharpton (Kenan Thompson).  Sudeikis and McKinnon were the best here. Strong just made me miss Elliott, whose Maddow was one of her best characters.  It reminds me when they tried to wedge Nasim Pedrad into Hoda Kotb, after Michaela Watkins mastered the morning show host during her first and only season.  There was a repeat of the satire on independent voters from a few weeks ago.  

There was a commercial for the DVD set that is a satire of Bond women who didn't make the cut, including Annie Hall and Molly Ringwald (played by Vanessa Bayer), Jodie Foster and Ellen Degeneres (a quite shrewd Kate McKinnon), and Penny Marshall (Fred Armisen).  In another pretaped piece, McKinnon played Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo.  Like, McKinnon and Strong, Aidy Bryant also got more airtime. She was in a skit with Craig as Carl, who is dating Regine (Fred Armisen channeling Edith Head); as a couple, they act very inappropriately much to their friend's chagrin.  In BBC's A Sorry Lot We Are, Craig plays Danny, who can't seem to catch a break.  In a construction site skit, Craig plays an Italian-American knucklehead who just can't seem to master the art of heckling.  In an Alien-like skit, Bobby Moynihan plays Kirby, who misses his "little kitty cat," Fuzz Aldrin, in what's sure to be a repeat skit (I'm calling it). He fondly details his many forms of cuteness like sliding across the floor "like a little Tom Cruise cat in Frisky Business."

All in all, this SNL was in reasonable form (I'm trying to be less critical, if you noticed).  Next week offers the promising Christina Applegate.  Two weeks from now, Bruno Mars will take on hosting duties.  See you then!

Read More

SNL Review: Joseph Gordon-Levitt #2

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, recent star of the latest Batman movie and Quicksilver remake, hosted SNL for the second time to push his well-reviewed science-fiction film Looper starring Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt opening next weekend. Truth be told, the kid kind of annoys me, but there is no denying how talented he is and what a appreciation he has for old Hollywood. He's quite nuanced in his references and is a ball of positive energy. Mumford & Sons performed "I Will Wait" and "Below My Feet." I missed the cold open and most of the opening monologue, the latter ending in a homage to Magic Mike. I caught up later on "Live with Kelly and Michael," with Nasim Pedrad and Jay Pharoah. I would have preferred to have seen Kate McKinnon in the Kelly role. They had guest Robert Pattinson (Bill Hader).

The highlight of the show was a clever commercial lampooning undecided independent voters six weeks before the election. In another, Vanessa Bayer pushes g.o.b. tampons, "made for a woman, by Republicans." Another set of advertisements made fun of Dos Equis' Most Interesting Man in the World, with his douche-bag son (Gordon-Levitt) selling Tres Equis. They were cute, until Jason Sudeikis unnecessarily barged in to appear as the father. In the Hypnotist skit, Taran Killam plays a volunteer pretending to be be under a spell when he humps on Kenan Thompson in front of the audience wearing only shoes and his tighty-whities loosely holding up all of his giblets. Hader played a Private Detective who provided his client with cartoon doodles as evidence of his wife's affair. They did that skit where a bunch of suits get together in a bar and tell awkward stories and pretend they're par-for-course (Mumford & Sons serenaded the proceedings as a Beatles cover band). Pharoah and Thompson play rappers with their own show (how original) The Finer Things.  Gordon-Levitt does drag as a teenager who puts on a performance with music provided by her parents for an unsuspecting potential suitor visiting their home.  Burt & Blair Powers are a disrespected real estate couple with defaced ads all around the city.  The middle-eastern couple who speak under hushed voices when discussing their famous Muslim friends showed up on Weekend Update. Pharoah appeared as CNN newscaster Stephen A. Smith. As well, we saw the saucy McKinnon as Anne Romney (who humorously pronounces Beyonce as "Bay-yon-say").

As a whole, not great, nor good, just there.  However, they certainly didn't allow any skit to overstay its welcome, which is something worth mentioning.  I hope Daniel Craig can get this season going next week, but the writing and new cast suggests he is going to have to bring more than just himself and ability to act and read lines.  Sorry for being such a bitch.  

Read More

SNL Review: Seth MacFarlane

Last night was the opening show for SNL's 38th (!) season. Seth MacFarlane hosted. The Irish-Canadian cutie was best known as the creator and multiple voices behind TV's The Family Guy, but has received recent notoriety for directing and title voice-work for the hit summer comedy-drama Ted, which has broken all kinds of records (just goes to show that once in a blue moon, the perfect storm of mainstream talent and originality can find a home in Hollywood). Not surprisingly, MacFarlane was pretty solid as captain of last night's ship. He performed a bunch of his characters in a schizophrenically entertaining opening monologue, which turned into an impressive song halfway through. There was also Puppet Class where he played a puppeteer instructor. It didn't fair as well, but Bill Hader, as a dead-pan shell-shocked veteran in fatigues managed to provide some risque laughs. Towards the end, MacFarlane ends up in sketch with Nasim Pedrad (who, with the recent departure of Kristen Wiig and the abrupt exit of Abby Elliott, now, sadly, has the most SNL years behind her out of all the female members), where they try on different voices and she occasionally gets distractingly awkward.

Bringing the Bitchy

Speaking of awkward, the series presented a clumsy changing-of-the-guard during the cold open when Fred Armisen introduced Jay Pharoah as the new voice of President Barack Obama. Does Lorne Michaels know something we don't about Election Day? Seems a bit presumptuous to recast a role that may expire in six weeks. I won't hide that I'd vote for Obama over Mitt Romney, but, in such a close race, I wouldn't count my chickens before they hatched either (remember 2004?). Besides, it appeared Jason Sudeikis was still hanging around (after he was misreported to be leaving at the end of last season along with Wiig and Andy Samberg) to only do a Mitt Romney impersonation--perhaps in a two month extension? If they were going to do the Armisen/Pharoah switch (which seemed inevitable), it would have been poetic, shrewd, and quite brilliant, to have done so the very first episode post-Election sketch, if Obama were to have won. New term = New impersonator. Duh. Simple. Instead, it was just clunky and rude. Pharoah, who is mad-talented, especially with impression-work, whipped out a short Obama riff early on during one of his first SNL skits (if not his first appearance) two years ago while shooting off a flurry of different characters. It was disrespectful to Armisen, who, at the time, "owned" that character. I would never had described Armisen's rendition as bad; passable, at the worst. To have another actor do the character, even briefly, was just in poor taste. So, I shouldn't be surprised the hand-off wasn't going to be handled that professionally.  Oddly, Pharoah's take seemed toned down from his first aired attempt (But, then, so was Obama at the recent DNC).

Frank Ocean, who has made news for recently becoming one of hip-hop's first openly gay artists performed two songs.

I don't recall the episode, as a whole, being particularly bad, but the writing was pretty average. They have two new female castmembers. Along with the pretty fresh (and little used) Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Cecily Strong joined the show (Tim Robinson was also added as a featured player, and received more airtime than Bryant). Bryant, who may be the first heavy-set woman to join the cast (if you'll note, all of the overweight castmembers thus far have been male, I believe), had a thankless walk-on and Strong had featured character Mimi Morales on Weekend Update.  She played a 17-year-old opinionated Latina character who spouted off political thoughts, while getting molested by her silent boyfriend (a shifty-eyed Pharoah). It was marginally tolerable, which is more than I can say for their take on Ryan Lochte, Honey Boo Boo Child and Mama. Naturally, Hader did a bit with Clint Eastwood and "the chair," along with other politically-themed jokes. A skit called Wooden Spoons never made it to air on the West Coast. (Or, maybe it did; I went to bed before curtain). In Rodger Brush, we got some border-line uncomfortably bad gay jokes. MacFarlane played a drill sergeant with a stutter. Kenan Thompson offered a horrible interpretation of Steve Harvey (which probably could have been saved by Pharoah). Because I'm out of touch, I had no idea what was going on when a youtube sensation and athletic shoe store collide in Lids.

The episode could have been worse.  I'd give it a C- only because of moments from MacFarlane, Hader, and some political jabs which didn't entirely sink.  But, as a season opener, it paled in comparison to Alec Baldwin last year.  With Hader being the only old pro to rely on, and Pharoah, Taran Killam, and Bayer because varying degrees of dependability, I'm not sure I can invest too much confidence in this new cast.  No wonder Wiig got such a send-off at the end of last year.  Her departure was a lament on varying levels.  

I know.  God, I sound like a bitch.

Read More

SNL Review: Mick Jagger

Rolling Stones legend Mick Jagger closed out the 2011-2012 season tonight bittersweetly.  While he was ready to go all out, the writers failed to capitalize on his presence and the comedy wasn't there in full force.  As the musical guest, however, Jagger had it going on in an electric performance of "The Last Time" with Arcade Fire.  Jagger shook his geriatric hips like no other for "19th Nervous Breakdown," but there was something kind of off between him and his backup band The Foo Fighters.  Perhaps that explains why half-way, they gave up on seeing the song through and switched over to "It's Only Rock 'N Roll."  For an unusual third act, Jeff Beck backed him up as he sang an original blues number about politics called "Tea Party" and actually "goes there" with the Mitt Romney high-school hair-cutting hazing incident.

As it's Kristen Wiig's last episode, we get one last jaunt in PBS' The Lawrence Welk Show Cold Open.  Jon Hamm cameod as an Italian who romances Shirley, Nancy, Toni, and steers clear of Dooneese (Wiig).  It was pretty stale, but there was a humorous bit involving Wiig and a stone statue waterfall with the water coming out of its penis.  Host Mick Jagger confidently delivers an Opening Monologue detailing various questions he has been asked over the years.

Host Lyle Rounds' Secret Word makes a final bow with perpetual special guest Mindy Elise Grayson (Wiig).  The voice-over announces: "The secret word is canal."  Grayson proceeds: "This hurts like hellfire ... do this to get the part ... oh, wait, sorry, there was a smudge covering the "c," it's canal, not anal."  When the voice-over announces, "The secret word is jelly," you might think Grayson will actually do her part: "Jammm ... "  Her partner responds: "Uh, jam? ... "  Grayson: "I don't know, is it Jelly?"  She then references one of her old roles, quoting one the reviews: "The New York Post said the only way it could become a hit is if you put an "s" in front of the "h."

Life insurance representatives at a conference in Holiday Inn watch really bad impersonations of Mick Jagger during Karaokeing while some women comment on their authenticity and the actual Jagger plays a shy agent sitting there in disbelief.  In SNL Digital Short Lazy Sunday 2, Andy Samberg and special cameo Chris Parnell rap about seeing Sister Act the musical.  MSNBC Politics Nation - Wall Street had Al Sharpton (Kenan Thompson) discussing the state of the economy and featured an appearance from New York mayor Michael Bloomberg (Fred Armisen).  Weekend Update with Seth Meyers got another visit from City Correspondent Stefon (Bill Hader).  At this point, the whole point of this bit is to see how many times Hader will break while reading his ludicrous lines describing the fake nightlife in the underbelly of New York City.  So You Think You Can Dance at an Outdoor Music Festival has Hader as host David Matthews with Carlos Santana, Jewel, and Stephen Tyler.

Soap.net The Californians is back for another round.  This is where the gang dresses up in bronzer and blond wigs, saying things in surfer accents like, "Whaduhyadoinhere?" and giving specific directions using major LA roadways, before staring in a mirror.  Steve Martin cameod.  I know that many find this skit funny.  I just don't.  And, I'm pretty certain I never will.  So, let's just agree to disagree, shall we?

I really loved the way they ended the season with a graduation skit featuring Wiig.  All of the cast wear black cap and gowns.  Jagger begins with a short speech and then starts dancing with Wiig to "She's a Rainbow" and hands her off to the rest of the cast who all share a moment with her.  Departing Jason Sudeikis and Andy Samberg were the last until Lorne Michaels came on stage.  The cast then goes into a rendition of "Ruby Tuesday," joined also by SNL vets Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, and, surprisingly, Chris Kattan (and just as curiously, Jay Pharoah was absent).  I cried, I'm not going to lie, especially when her and Bill Hader danced.  The chemistry they had was amazing.  Such a talented woman.  I look forward to the many great things she has in store in the future.

Read More

SNL Review: Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell must have been getting over a cold, because he sounded congested as host of this week’s SNL.  No matter, the consummate professional brought his A-game for his duties and helped deliver an episode that was “not bad” to “pretty solid,” and quite possibly could have been the best episode of the season.  Musical guest Usher performed “Scream” and “Climax.” 

In the cold open, President Barack Obama (Fred Armisen) visits a petulant Joe Biden (Jason Sudeikis) sulking in his room upstairs, because he got no credit for coming out on marriage equality first.  Biden also has imaginary friend George W. Bush (Ferrell) hiding in his closet. 

In the opening monologue, as it’s Mother’s Day today, Ferrell brings his mom up on stage.  She looks just like a feminine version of him, pretty adorable.  He delivers an unscripted speech in her honor, that just wouldn’t have been funny had it been anybody else. 

The Mother’s Day portion of the monologue in its entirety:

“Mom, the words I am saying now … are my words … from my brain place … to my mouth hole.  Mom, I have love.  I love, I love the way you be … you be a big old mommy.  Wait, hold on.  You went into a hospital building, right?  A long time ago.  And, strange men pulled me out of your lady parts, wait.  That was bad.  That was bad, that’s bad.  God, why is this so hard?  Is it the piano?  It’s the piano, isn’t it?  The piano player is awful, I’m sorry Mom.  He’s terrible.  You know what?  I’m just gonna, I’m just gonna think about all the things you did for me, Mom-person.  You made milk for me … like the lady on the cover of Time magazine.  Mom, what I’m trying to say is I want to celebrate you.  Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to say.  I wanna, I want to cover you in Super Glue and roll you in flowers?  That’s, that’s not bad.  Right?  Okay, I got it, wait, wait, this is perfect.  If you, if you were attacked by a dozen Ninjas, wearing crotchless panties, I would fight them.  I would fight them hard.  There, I did it.  The perfect Mother’s Day speech.”  He ends it on a touching note and kisses her.  I loved it.

Pretaped Cold Commercialwhere Ferrell’s outrageous sneeze (imagine Ferrell yelling “How” really loud) keeps interrupting Wiig while she tries to do the advertisement.  Their chemistry is pretty fantastic.  I didn’t like it first, but damn, did it grow on me quickly.

At Wilson High School’s first LGBT prom Anna Gasteyer guest cameos with Ferrell for the return of Bobbie and Marty Culp. 

ESPN Classic airs the Lady’s Long Drive Championship 1994 (ESPN Golf) with hosts Pete Twinkle (Sudeikis) and Greg Stink (guest cameo Will Forte).  Twinkle provides coverage of the event while sticking in plugs for Stay Free maxi pads, and Stink continually misunderstands his questions.  Forte is pretty brilliant as the dopey sportscaster who can’t catch a break.  Ferrell plays an onsite news reporter Randy covering the OJ Simpson chase (Sudeikis keeps reminding us it’s 1994), although he never seems to be ready when the camera’s on him.  Talking to a potential date over the phone, “I’ll tell you exactly how big: four inches.  Around? … oh, I’d probably say like a McDonald’s straw … what’s that? … oh, it’s a forest down there.”

Tampon euphemisms:

“When you have your monthly booboo, put one of these near your hoo hoo”; “it’s the downstairs’ patch for your baby hatch”; “I see London, I see China, I see one very happy vagina”; “where uterine lining looks like the elevator from The Shining.”

For the SNL Digital Short: 100^th Digital Short, Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone celebrate their greatest hits while singing about sucking their own dick tonight.  Cameos galore: Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake, Natalie Portman, Michael Bolton, Jon Hamm, Usher, Ferrell, Lorne Michaels.  Pretty clever and Ferrell got the best line: “I do endorse this song.  My name is Will Ferrell and I’m sucking my own dong.”  Hamm, adorned in an awful long greasy black wig and wearing suspenders without a shirt while playing the saxophone, I swear I’m finding sexier the more comedy he does.  It suits him quite well.

For Weekend Update, Meyers actually gets a couple of good jokes this week.  There were some real zingers.  On Limbaugh’s uproar to Obama’s coming out for marriage equality, “He wants it to mean something, if he gets traditionally married for the fifth time.”  He also conducts another edition of Really? Criticizing the latest Time magazine cover with a mother nursing her four-year-old (or so) son, asking “Are You Mom Enough?”  “It’s a good cover, but if you wanted a great cover, you would have photo-shopped out the chair.”  (as a result, the kid looks he’s hanging from his mother’s breath by his mouth)  There was my favorite “Get in the Cage” with Nicolas Cage (Samberg) and this week’s guest Liam Neeson.  Cage has names for all three of his testicles, two of which descended into his stomach while he watched the Taken trailer.  [5/15 NOTE: I noticed that there was a link to Bobby Moynihan playing The Hulk as a special reporter, but I don't remember this airing while I watched the West Coast feed.  Considering Meyers' mention of The Avengers "shattering box office records," I don't believe it could have been from the previous episode.  When Eli Manning hosted the week before, The Avengers had only been out less than 48 hours and the numbers weren't quite official yet.  Stange.  Perhaps, it got cut for time.]

C-SPAN hosts the 2012 Funkytown Debate with moderator Michael “Monkey Sweat” James (Taran Killam) singing while interviewing various politicians set to music.  I can’t get over Kate McKinnon’s crazy eyes.  Usher cameos. 

Broadway Sizzlewith Darius and Cara has the little used (this week) Bill Hader and Wiig as some low-rent musical theatre producers.  Because of the choreography, Kenan Thompson kept having to switch where he looked at his cue cards, causing him to lose his train of thought for a brief second.  He covers pretty well, but almost breaks to Wiig’s amusement.  However, it’s Ferrell that takes the stage and steals the show as John Timberly Crisp who keeps messing up his audition.  He first sings “Damnit Pam” from You Can’t Hold Me Back There Like That.  It’s not until the end of the song that he realizes he sang the wrong part.  “I’m leaving you Tom, you can pick up your own boots …”  “Wait, wait a minute.  Don’t applaud.  This is a woman’s song.  I thought I was yelling at Pam, but I guess I am Pam.”

He makes the same mistake again.  As he slowly turns around from behind, he sings, “I went to the cupboard, we were all out of jazz.  Who had the last of the jazz?  If you finish the jazz, you gotta tell somebody, or at least replace the jazz, with some ma-tazz … Now, let me put my bra back on, before my Dad walks in.”  “Oh, wait a minute, this song is for a woman too.  What gives?  Darnit!  Darnit to heck!  What the durn?  I just goofed again.”  He looks for another song, but can’t find one.  “Darnit, fudge me to durn.”

For Vince & Angela’s 25^th Anniversary Party at the Radisson, weird freaks from other hotel functions keep taking to the stage in the room to offer them congratulations.  The only relative who speaks (Ferrell) explains his new occupation: “You didn’t know I was going to be psychic, but I knew.”  Armisen is dressed like the lead singer from AC/DC.  Forte, by far, steals the show towards the end of the skit, however, as a creep in a blond bob wig with a low, raspy voice who isn’t a fan of our president.  “I’m a distant cousin.  I’m here to celebrate this old dying couple.  For twenty-five years, their great heterosexual love has remained unchanged, steadfast, strong, WHITE, and, come November, America will honor their silver anniversary when it fires a giant silver bullet into the heart of the socialist wolf that howls over this land.  And I am loathe to say his name, so I will say it backwards, Amabo: kcarab Hussein Amabo.  On an unrelated note, for anyone headed to the men’s room: give it five.”  I hesitate to laugh, because there are people like this man who are serious and no laughing matter. But, Forte does such an excellent job sending up the irrationality behind these people and their less dedicated company.  

There’s a repeat of Almost Pizza, where a Stepford mom/wife played by Wiig inexplicably tries to sell her husband and daughter on consuming a product which she conspicuously tries to sidestep isn’t actually edible (even though it appears it is) and more like one of the face-huggers from Alien.  The funniest bit is still when Wiig pretends to eat the pizza.  

In conclusion, I wasn't a fan of Ferrell while he was on the show, figuring him to be humorous every now and then.  Perhaps it's age, but I'm finding his brand of schtick to be hilarious these days.  If you find yourself in the same boat, then the episode is worth checking out.  If the link is still good, you can watch it here.

Click here for photographic magic

2011-2012 Breakdown (so far)


Best SNL episodes this season: Alec Baldwin, Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph, Emma Stone, 


Not Bad: Charles Barkley, Jimmy Fallon


Bad Host Tanks Through Really Good Writing: Lindsay Lohan


One-Skit Wonder: Steve Buscemi (the Miley Cyrus/Whitney Houston satire)


Willing and Able Hosts Fall Prey to Poor Writing: Anna Faris, Eli Manning, Melissa McCarthy, Daniel Radcliffe, Jason Segel, Channing Tatum


Just Plain Bad: Ben Stiller, Charlie Day, Katy Perry, Jonah Hill, Sofia Vergara, Josh Brolin


Haven't Seen: Zooey Deschanel

Read More

SNL Review: Eli Manning

Host Eli Manning was pretty stiff, but quite game and willing to make fun of himself.  He also dressed up in drag, because, ha-ha, big, tough guy in women's clothing equals funny, right?  Wrong.  Blame SNL for lazy writing.  You can't really knock a charming football player because of his lack of comic timing, can you?  I can't.  At least, he tried.  Remember Nancy Kerrigan from years ago?  Yikes.  But, truth be told, it was a pretty underwhelming episode.

Fox & Friends Cold Open brings out their usual band of conservative dolts.  They interview Rupert Murdoch (Fred Armisen).  During his opening monologue, Manning introduces his wife and teammates in the audience and then takes questions from the cast members.  The most humorous skit of the night was the pretaped Amazon Mother's Day-themed commercial pushing the book Fifty Shades of Grey, where an assortment of family members walk in on mom while she's pleasuring herself.  In Motion Capture, some television producers have Tim Tebow (Taran Killam) dressed in a black leotard peppered with white balls perform his signature move in front of a green screen.  They then bring out Eli Manning (as himself) to create his own original bit.  He can’t come up with anything close to iconic; in fact, his attempts are intentional weak.  In Text Message Evidence, there’s a court case where a man’s alibi depends on transcripts of his sexting.  A “Little Brothers” commercial has Manning seeking revenge on the behalf of boys who get picked on by their older bros.  WXPD New York’s Herb Welch is back interviewing Occupy Wall Street members. 

On Weekend Update with Seth Meyers, Kristen Wiig rolls into the news desk as tanning mom Patricia Krentcil, smoking from a recent session.  Best line: “Now, I have the look every woman wants: Wile E. Coyote right after something has blown up in his face.”  Also: “Piece of bread, put it between my thighs: toast.”  The second guest is a surprise appearance from Sacha Baron Cohen as the Supreme General Aladeen plugging The Dictator while pulling out a captive Martin Scorsese, one of the many major cinematic icons he has tortured into endorsing his new movie.    

In the game show “What Is This?”  Abby Elliott as the relationship-minded host, quizzes contestants by showing them pictures and asking them to identify them.  Two teachers get some pretty easy questions, but the third contestant, a guy she has been dating, gets run through the ringers.  She’s pretty pissed off with Ryan and throws out lines like, “I don’t want to be “Kim from bar,” but that’s still my name in your phone.”  Helga Lately is the Swedish version of Chelsea Lately.  Kate McKinnon plays the host with panelists Killam, Wiig, and Kenan Thompson making up Scandinavian words sounding mostly like the Swedish chef muppet.  Fred Armisen plays Scandinavian Handler’s little nugget.  Every now and then they throw out English words.  There is also a Scandinavian version of the Kardashians, as well as a blond wigged Manning as her special guest. 

Illusions club hosts Miss Drag World with Armisen, Bobby Moynihan, and Manning dressed up as women.  In TCM's The Essentials with host Robert Osbourne (Jason Sudekis) revisits Cheech & Chong films which starred Richard Armstrong, their third compadre, played by Manning.  

Rihanna brought out her ho-ass for her “Talk That Talk” song in front of a spider web and a laser light show.  For her second song “Where Have You Been,” she struts across her boudoir with a disco desert landscape in the background.  At one point, after lifting the look and moves from some old Janet Jackson video, they start river-dancing for a few seconds.  There were some kind of audio issues or a problem, if the irritated looks on her face and frustrated giggles meant anything.  



2011-2012 Breakdown (so far)


Best SNL episodes this season: Alec Baldwin, Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph, Emma Stone, 


Not Bad: Charles Barkley, Jimmy Fallon


Bad Host Tanks Through Really Good Writing: Lindsay Lohan


One-Skit Wonder: Steve Buscemi (the Miley Cyrus/Whitney Houston satire)


Willing and Able Hosts Fall Prey to Poor Writing: Eli Manning, Melissa McCarthy, Daniel Radcliffe, Jason Segel, Channing Tatum


Just Plain Bad: Ben Stiller, Anna Faris, Charlie Day, Katy Perry, Jonah Hill, Sofia Vergara, Josh Brolin


Haven't Seen: Zooey Deschanel

Read More

SNL Review: Josh Brolin

It was as if the writers threw in the towel this week on SNL.  "We have only three more episodes this season, guys.  Let's just wing this one and we might try harder in May."  Josh Brolin hosted for his second go around, while not really adding much.  Gotye performed their #1 hit song "Somebody I Used to Know," as well as "Eyes Wide Open."  On one hand, I've never seen Jay Pharoah get so much airtime.  But, the episode got off to a rocky start, showing a little glimmer of hope with a couple of SNL digital shorts, ultimately nose-diving into possibly the worst episode of the season.  This would be Exhibit A for someone making an argument that the show should be taken off the air.

Amusing
The first SNL Digital Short was Laser Cats 7 with an adorable cameo from Steven Spielberg.  In their basement-budget video project, Andy Samberg and Bill Hader battle space villains with their eponymous weapons in order to save the universe.  Nothing new really, except the welcome presence of the legendary director and innocuous references to a list of his films including Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Terminal, Catch Me if You Can, and E.T. (partly in the form of a doll named EAT)

Vanessa Bayer plays a new kid at Woodridge High, where the principal explains to her about how one particular hallway operates.  It's a gimmick where all of the actors move in slo-motion set to "We Got More Bounce (In California).  It was kind of cool.  Taran Killam's work was pretty sick.  So talented, that one.


In Another SNL Digital Short Samberg and Killam play Gotye's #1 fans.  They spoof his "Somebody I Used to Know" music video wearing body paint and acting weird.

Negligible
In the Cold Open, Jason Sudeikis and Samberg play Romney and Santorum and sing a swan song that is two-fold.  They commemorate Santorum bowing out of the Republican presidential campaign, as well as the two actors leaving the show at the end of this season.  They sing "This Campaign Was the Time of My Life" to Green Day's "Time of Your Life."  They revisit refrains of the chorus after each previous front runner from the past year joins them at a bar.  Rick Perry (Hader), Michelle Bachmann (Kristen Wiig), Herman Cain (Kenan Thompson), and Newt Gingrich (Bobby Moynihan) all make appearances.

In his Opening Monologue, Brolin pokes fun at his gotee as "the official spokesman for the 90s." As he's pimping Men in Black 3, he drags out Jay Pharoah to do a Will Smith impression.

A Game of Thrones skit spoofs the series by depicting one of its creators as a thirteen year boy played by Samberg, who is obsessed with boobs and naked women.  Someone already made that joke a year ago about Fast Five being written by a kid with no taste for story.  And it was a lot funnier.

Soap Net presents The Californians with actors wearing blond wigs and referencing several major roadways in LA and local hot spots.  They talk in slurred speech and often break character.  Hader was the worst offender, but, I'm not going to lie, it was kind of funny when it got an extreme closeup mid-break.  "What are you doing here?" was a constant expression of Fred Armisen's character.  The more important question was: what was this skit doing here?

In America's Next Top Empire State of Mind Parody Artist, Samberg hosts as Weird Al Yankovic.  Kesha (Abby Elliott) is one of the judges, as well as Jay-Z (Pharoah), who attempt to find the next singing due that can create the best revision of the latter's hit song.  Strangely, there were more roadway references.  And this was the second time in the episode where they tinker with the lyrics to a popular song for "comic" effect.

This episode's Weekend Update with Seth Meyers showcased a segment Meyers called What Are you Doing? and hosted Garth and Kat, the blond-wigged improvisational duet, who insist that all of their "songs" are prewritten and not created on-the-spot.  They wore lime green Easter-themed vests over creme-colored turtles necks.  That's about as interesting as it got.

Killam returned with one of his many impersonations in Piers Morgan Tonight.  He lampoons the mishandling of the Trayvon Martin case, the Stand Your Ground law, as well as the state of Florida.  There are various other celebrity appearances including Ice-T (Armisen), Kanye West (Pharoah), Kim Kardashian (Nasim Pedrad), and the neutered Wire Dancer from the Super Bowl (Samberg).  I have to admit, Samberg ALMOST put a smile on my face, the operative word being 'almost.'

A skit depicting the Booker T. Washington High School Prom at the Ramada Inn ended things on a very sad, pathetic note.  (It was also the second non-funny high school themed skit)

poll by twiigs.com

2011-2012 Breakdown (so far)


Best SNL episodes this season: Alec Baldwin, Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph, Emma Stone, 


Not Bad: Charles Barkley, Jimmy Fallon


Bad Host Tanks Through Really Good Writing: Lindsay Lohan


One-Skit Wonder: Steve Buscemi (the Miley Cyrus/Whitney Houston satire)


Willing and Able Hosts Fall Prey to Poor Writing: Eli Manning, Melissa McCarthy, Daniel Radcliffe, Jason Segel, Channing Tatum


Just Plain Bad: Ben Stiller, Anna Faris, Charlie Day, Katy Perry, Jonah Hill, Sofia Vergara, Josh Brolin


Haven't Seen: Zooey Deschanel

Read More

SNL Review: Sofia Vergara

Sofia Vergara hosted SNL for the 7th of April (check out my review of Josh Brolin for 4/14) and she didn't do too badly in what was a somewhat innocuously average episode.  She was a consummate professional with the cue cards.  Bitch had her lines DOWN!  (As it should be)  While she was up for poking fun at anything, she didn't show off too much versatility.  She played a lot of bitchy characters and it's a shade that doesn't really suit her well.  She's much better at finding humor in her sweeter side.  And, a couple of times, she did this weird thing with her teeth.  The show also marked the introduction of new cast-member Kate McKinnon, who actually got to appear in THREE skits.  Congratulations to SNL's first openly gay cast member.  I wish you a great run.  Some boy band named One Direction performed their "What Makes You Beautiful" and "One Thing."  There are five of them and they're in a boy band, so it begs the question: which one is gay?  My gaydar is lousy, especially with the new generation where labels don't seem to matter much (which is probably a good thing), so I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark and say the blond.  Did I hear a hint of Sheila E.'s "Glamorous Life" in the first song?  Are we experiencing the boy band phenomenon's third-coming?  NKOTB reached the height of its popularity circa 1988; 'N Synch and the Backstreet Boys (the Christina to the former's Britney?) found their pinnacle around 1999/2000 ... hmmn.  Just like clockwork, huh?  Wow, the music industry really is predictable.
So, let me break it down ...

HI-LARIOUS
In the Opening Monologue, Vergara took the stage in a leather skirt and matching corset and delivered a short, but effective bit poking fun at, naturally, the way she speaks English.  "This accent makes anything sound sexy: gonorrhea ... Rick Santorum ... New Jersey."  She mentioned when she first arrived in this country, she was taken off guard by American hospitality.  "The men offered me drinks and a place to sleep.  This country welcomed me with open hearts and pulled-down pants."  Her adorable son was in the audience and she made light of the fact that the teenager looks too old to be hers.  "He's only five; in South America, they develop quickly."  Her intro was super cute and her tits looked fucking amazing.  Feel free to watch her here.

Funny
Vergara pimped actual products in real commercials between skits for Kmart AND Covergirl AND Pepsi.  (Since I decided to pay attention, other celebrity product placement during the episode: Madonna, Ellen Degeneres and Rachel Bilson.)  So, thankfully, the show appropriately makes an allusion to this rather freak occurrence (or maybe it was a coincidence) with a fake taping for a Pantene Commercial starring Vergara and Penélope Cruz (McKinnon).  They push the shampoo in some "couch work" where they act over-the-top sexy in their hot, tight outfits, under sensuous lighting, while wind blows through their hair.  Vergara gets these super easy words to pronounce in relation to the product; Cruz must sound out unidentifiable, hard-to-pronounce ingredients.  It's an accent joke that works.  McKinnon's impression wasn't particularly accurate, but it didn't need to be for these purposes.  Feel free to watch it here.

Amusing
A cute and harmless prerecorded bit pokes fun at a bromance being mistaken for "a homosexual couple" in Just Friends Booty Shorts.  Jason Sudeikis and Andy Samberg parade around in matching red shorts, one labeled "Just" and other "Friends."  "For the look that screams, 'We're available ... ladies.'"  Some cliche gay references follow.  Later, they wear white tank-tops, one labeled "Not" and the other "Gay."  When Sudeikis (wearing the "Not" version) steps away to take a call, the diminutive Samberg finds himself immediately approached by two big and hungry Leather Bears.  Watch it here.

In Bein' Quirky with Zooey Deschanel (Abby Elliott), Taran Killam is there to provide support with his stinkin' spot-on Michael Cera.  Kristen Wiig rolls in with a pretty sick Drew Barrymore impersonation, begging the question: is there anything the bitch can't do?  Vergara plays Fran Drescher less successfully.  I guess when they asked her what impressions she could do, that's all she could come up with.  Samberg does Mayim Bialik.  And, no, I still can't spell her name without Google.  Watch it here.

A prerecorded commercial Almost Pizza has Wiig as a wife and mother who inexplicably insists that her family eat a new food product that looks like pizza, but acts more like the beast that pops out of everyone's chest in the Alien franchise.  The best part is when Wiig pretends to eat the food in front of her family.  Watch it here.

Lil Poundcake reaired.  She's the doll that delivers HPV shots to her pre-teen owner.  Watch it here.

Thought she was retired, but perhaps Wiig brought her out for one last hurrah, as it has been rumored recently that the countdown has started on her SNL exit.  So, we were treated to a trip down memory lane in Sex Ed with Gilly.  There was a cute prerecorded bit of Gilly in a "flash forward" where she is an old woman on her death bed, as well as a boner joke.  Watch it here.

Skip It
In the Cold Open: Mitt Romney Campaign, the Republican presidential hopeful (Sudeikis) speaks via C-SPAN to various groups trying to pass himself off as "one of the people."  It ties itself together when Sudeikis lands center stage in front of the audience to send off the opening credits.

TV newscasters prerecord a News Team Promo where Fred Armisen's traffic reporter is continually told to turn towards the camera, but can't follow that one simple direction.  It was a one-gimmick-wonder that never lifts off, even the first time.  Vergara plays a bitch, but it doesn't really suit her, as she was too forced, just as she was with Drescher.

Bobby Moynihan did Drunk Uncle on Weekend Update in commemoration of Easter.  Moynihan is always nuanced with that character, but fails to tickle my funny bone.

Naturally, with Vergara being known for her Latina-ness, the show revisits Televisíon Dominicana's The Manuel Ortiz Show, with the title host played by Armisen.  You know the one: he keeps introducing guests that are revealed to be related to each other in a manner which unfolds in a soap-opera-like fashion.  Each time a guest enters or leaves, some fast-paced Spanish-themed music plays and dancing commences with synchronized head-turns.  Bill Hader plays gay, which is always a treat.  His character is straight, but his performance is totally gay.  They manage to work in One Direction, which I couldn't decide was adorable or nauseating.  It was probably the former and I'm just an old curmudgeon annoyed by their youthful energy.  In fact, bet on it.

Killam lampooned Bravo's Watch What Happens Live as a self-absorbed Andy Cohen.  His guests include Desmond Tutu and the Shahs of Sunset, whom I never heard of before until today when watching Bravo with an infirm friend.  It was a valiant effort, but just didn't make it.  I still think it could work if they decide to try it again; they just need to make a few adjustments.  Not sure what.  McKinnon made her debut as Tabatha Coffey, host of Bravo's Tabitha's Takeover.  The impression was great, but she was deserving of funnier material.

They try to make light of the box-office's latest runaway blockbuster, but the 74th Annual Hunger Games falls flat.  They do make fun of Vergara's product placements during the real commercial breaks where her reporter character throws in an advertisement at one point.  It does end well (and fairly quickly) thanks to a hemlock joke.

poll by twiigs.com

2011-2012 Breakdown (so far)


Best SNL episodes this season: Maya Rudolph, Emma Stone, Alec Baldwin


Not Bad: Charles Barkley, Jimmy Fallon


Bad Host Tanks Through Really Good Writing: Lindsay Lohan


One-Skit Wonder: Steve Buscemi (the Miley Cyrus/Whitney Houston satire)


Willing and Able Hosts Fall Prey to Poor Writing: Melissa McCarthy, Jason Segel, Daniel Radcliffe, Channing Tatum


Just Plain Bad: Ben Stiller, Anna Faris, Charlie Day, Katy Perry, Jonah Hill, Sofia Vergara, Josh Brolin


Haven't Seen: Zooey Deschanel

Read More