Sarah Palin on SNL tonight

[The_Second_Stone]

Palin was just fine. She couldn’t do the rap because that would have pissed off her base. Wiig is hilarious. The excitable lady went on too long, but Wiig was great doing it. My favorite is her Aunt doing the movie reviews. Gore actually did quite a bit of comedy when he hosted. But he was no longer a politician.

[bienville]

@The_Second_Stone

Wiig is hilarious.

Aha, so she is from time to time put to good use on the show?
I’d certainly prefer to watch some sketches on my own, but there is no useful way to search videos on the SNL website. Unfortunately, none of the sketches is titled “Hey, bienville, check out this funny Wiig sketch!”.

[Tangent]

@Reloy3

It seemed Brolin didn’t really do that much. A couple of scetches is all, and his opening was weak.

He was in

1. All the MacGruber bits,
2. the excited lady (Wiig) skit,
3. the pregnant bargirl (Pohler) skit,
4. Fart Face,
5. Narc School,
6. and the one about the fall foliage.

I thought he was used MORE than most hosts.

[BMax]

I thought the opening was predictable, (Hi Tina), and mean-spirited (that horrible woman). You can say that Alec Baldwin was mocking democrats as being hysterical, but to me it looked like NBC taking a jab at Palin to her face. Palin’s comment on Steven being her favorite Baldwin was a good jab. Tina Fey’s list of “Anti-American” states could have been funny.

The Weekend Update Rap gave me a smile when the moose came out.

Overall, I thought Palin seemed wooden, overly-conscious of where she was and scared of the whole thing. Had she been more relaxed she could have delivered a better performance, even playing the straight.

And the pregnant bargirl skit was the funniest part of the show.

[friedo]

@bienville

I’d certainly prefer to watch some sketches on my own, but there is no useful way to search videos on the SNL website. Unfortunately, none of the sketches is titled “Hey, bienville, check out this funny Wiig sketch!”.

Your wish is my command. Some good Kristen sketches:

Two A-Holes buy a Christmas tree
Extreme (!!!) Competition
Two A-Holes in a Nativity Scene
Penelope attends traffic school
…and I’m Denise
Two A-Holes at a Crime Scene

[bienville]

@friedo

Your wish is my command. Some good Kristen sketches:

Thanks, friedo! I’ll check them out.

Whether or not I like the sketches, I’ll still consider her talented. There have been examples in the past of cast members who did not shine during their SNL tenure despite being truly funny and talented. SNL doesn’t always make the best use of some of the talent they have in the pool.

[Indistinguishable]

@bienville

I’m disappointed to hear a report that she isn’t funny, and am wondering if other Dopers agree. The reason that I know her name, despite not really watching SNL since she’s been in the cast, is that I think she made just about the only FUNNY contribution to the movie Knocked Up.

She had a very small role in that movie, and the humor she was responsible for was very understated and subtle- and in fact needed to be very understated and subtle- and she hit it out of the park. She gave a stand-out performance in an otherwise lackluster film.

I had never heard of her before. When she first appeared on screen I didn’t recognize her from anything. But she had me laughing my ass off. When her character appeared again, I made a point to get the character’s name so I could find out the actress in the credits- then immediately declare myself a fan. She wasn’t just brilliantly funny, the impressive thing is that she was brilliantly funny in a role that very few performers would have had any idea what to do with! A lot of actors wouldn’t have even realized from the printed page that the character could be funny.

One might credit the director for such a performance, but in this case I think the rest of the movie serves as a counter-example of the director’s keenness of wit. All credit goes to Wiig.

Christ, based on that, I need to see this clip, whatever it is.

[Soggy_Biscuit]

Kristen Wiig has come a long way on SNL. I remember thinking she was one of the weakest members of the cast, she almost always was the “straight man” (or woman, I guess) and never played any characters that weren’t “serious woman”. In the last couple of years she’s really expanded her repertoire and now she is about my favorite person on the show (though Amy Pohler really wowed me with her Sarah Palin rap).

[gonzomax]

SNL is having the biggest rating in the last decade. They are having a big year. So somebody must be watching them.

[Tangent]

@Tangent

He was in

1. All the MacGruber bits,
2. the excited lady (Wiig) skit,
3. the pregnant bargirl (Pohler) skit,
4. Fart Face,
5. Narc School,
6. and the one about the fall foliage.

I thought he was used MORE than most hosts.

Oh, and I forgot

7. The Suze Orman Show

Yep, Brolin was in almost every sketch.
Of course, most of them sucked. The funniest parts of the night were Mark Wahlberg confronting Andy Samberg and Amy Pohler’s “Sarah Palin rap.”

[BigBertha]

@BMax

And the pregnant bargirl skit was the funniest part of the show.

Agreed! Loved the song also. I’d almost forgotten she was pregnant. When is she due?

[jellyblue]

@Tamara+

Agreed! Loved the song also. I’d almost forgotten she was pregnant. When is she due?

Two weeks ago, from the looks of it :D.

[DanBlather]

So do they pay people to write skits like “Fart Face”? 'Cause I could do stuff that bad for free.

[Nutty_Bunny]

@Soggy_Biscuit

Kristen Wiig has come a long way on SNL. I remember thinking she was one of the weakest members of the cast, she almost always was the “straight man” (or woman, I guess) and never played any characters that weren’t “serious woman”. In the last couple of years she’s really expanded her repertoire and now she is about my favorite person on the show (though Amy Pohler really wowed me with her Sarah Palin rap).

I’m a fan of hers. I love the “Two A-holes” sketches and the movie reviews during WU. Does anyone else remember her as Dr. Pat from The Joe Schmo Show?

[stolichnaya]

Man, maybe I was watching a different show. I thought it was incredibly disrespectful in a way that I have maybe never seen with another politician on the show. She had no hand. It was funny as shit, but it was also cruel and portrayed her as fundamentally unserious. I was watching with my face half-covered and I almost felt sorry for her.

[DrDeth]

@Diogenes_the_Cynic

That was cleverly written, but Palin is still a despicable skank.

See, this isn’t nessesary. Sure, she is the least qualified candidate and I don’t like her polices, but afaik shes a decent human being. At least she has show she has a decent sense of humor.

I’d say “Sure, she was pretty funny and she took it well, but it ain’t getting her my vote, no way, no how”.
Have we checked and confirmed that Fey and Palin really weren’t separated at birth?

[Cliffy]

There is little evidence that Sarah Palin is a decent human being, DrDeth. She spends her days whipping up rabid sentiment against the guy who’s going to be president in a few months, and she declaims that those of us who aren’t voting for her aren’t real Americans. She can piss right off.

–Cliffy

[Skald_the_Rhymer]

@RealityChuck

She was OK, but no great shakes (compare her with McCain on Letterman). Fay was funny; Palin had nothing but straight lines. It like they didn’t trust her with comedy.

Horace Walpole, who was far wiser than I, opined that life is a comedy to those who think and a tragedy to those who feel. you may draw your own conclusions.

[Jester]

@stolichnaya

Man, maybe I was watching a different show. I thought it was incredibly disrespectful in a way that I have maybe never seen with another politician on the show. She had no hand. It was funny as shit, but it was also cruel and portrayed her as fundamentally unserious. I was watching with my face half-covered and I almost felt sorry for her.

For the most part, I agree, and I think the fault lies solely with the McCain Campaign for putting her into the situation. Fey and other SNL staffers have made it quite clear, in no uncertain terms, that they detest Palin and the affect they think she has on politics. So it’s not like it’s a surprise that they would lay into her like they did, given the chance. In fact, I’m pretty happy they did, since it shows a determination to stick to their guns and go for the satire.

There was no way Palin could have come out of that looking good, so it’s a little baffling that the campaign would send her in for such an obvious stunt (although obvious stunts seem like they’ve been sort of their M.O. where Palin is concerned).

[DrDeth]

@Jester

For the most part, I agree, and I think the fault lies solely with the McCain Campaign for putting her into the situation. Fey and other SNL staffers have made it quite clear, in no uncertain terms, that they detest Palin and the affect they think she has on politics. So it’s not like it’s a surprise that they would lay into her like they did, given the chance. In fact, I’m pretty happy they did, since it shows a determination to stick to their guns and go for the satire.

There was no way Palin could have come out of that looking good, so it’s a little baffling that the campaign would send her in for such an obvious stunt (although obvious stunts seem like they’ve been sort of their M.O. where Palin is concerned).

There’s some evidence that a willingness to be made fun of helped Dick Nixon, on Laugh-In, where he said: “Sock it to me”. Shows you’re a good sport.