Saturday Night Live 10/10

Cafe Society
1

I didn’t see a thread for this so I figure I’ll start one.

Your take on Saturday’s episode?

For me, I liked the bit during the opening monologue with everyone doing a Drew Barrymore impression. Drew really got into it by overdoing her manerisms with the head shake while talking and the lisp as well.

The skit with the celebrity ghost stories was pretty good. I always like it when they do celebrity impressions well and Justin Long’s cameo as Matthew McCaunaughey was pretty funny. All right all right…

The Italian talk show and the outdoor cooking show were funny as well. I thought they ruined the big joke to the cooking show though by showing the crows hanging from the fishing line during the commercials before the skit.

I like the concept of Gilly, but the execution just doesn’t work any more. Or rather, I don’t think it really did to begin with. It takes too long to set up the joke that Gilly did whatever she did and the whole thing just drags. It’s obvious that she did it, she’s the torublemaker, but Will Forte has to do the bit where he asks all the other kids. Despite that, Bobby Moynihan was pretty funny as the wide eyed goofy kid.

I thought Moynihan was also pretty good as that fat chef with the goofy hair and the flaming shirt in the cooking show sketch (I don’t remember that guy’s name. I’ve seen him in the commercials, but I don’t watch whatever show he’s on). IMO, Moynihan is coming along on the show well, he doesn’t seem quite as stiff or lost as he used to and is looking more and more natural in fron of the camera.

Once again, Fred Armisen’s Obama was awful. I guess he’s not trying any more.

Seth Meyers could give up the anchor chair and I’d be happy. I wish someone paid me his salary to make up gay panic and child molestor jokes every week. You could argue endlessly about who was the best WU host (Dennis Miller, for me) but he’s low on the list. At least he’s better than Charles Rocket, huh?

I’m not sure Regina Spektor is, but she’s an intriguing musician and singer. I did like her first song but I missed the second.

2

A while back somebody opened a thread on the best and worst recurring SNL characters. I would now officially like to change my “worst” vote to Gilley. Just unfunny in every way. I wish they’d give this bit the needle.

The Italian talk show bit was OK by virtue of Drew Barrymore being willing to make fun of herself. But this skit suffers from the same problem as most of the recurring skits in the past few years: It’s always the same. This one is getting old.

The “Cooking al Fresco” bit was actually pretty funny – the kind of silly one-off skit I wish they’d do more of. The fake birds dipping bread in marinara sauce made me laugh out loud.

Not the best Weekend Update ever, but I don’t really mind Seth; and he did have one good line regarding Obama’s Nobel Prize: “The President said he regards the Prize as a ‘call to action.’ Just a reminder, though, the election was kinda that, too.”

Kind of an uneven episode on the whole, I thought.

I like Regina Spektor and enjoyed her performances. Quite a departure from Lady Gaga last week, eh?

3

I cannot believe they thought it was good idea to do another Gilly sketch. I thought the first one was painfully unfunny, let alone the second.

4

I know what you’re both saying on the Gilly and the Italian talk show. They’ve done both several times already, but there’s something about the Italian talk show that I think it really funny. They may have peaked on the one with Bon Jovi where he called them out for not using real Italian.

It seems lazy to me to do the same handful of skits over and over without really changing anything. I realize it can’t be easy putting SNL together every week and they’re certainly not the only one to reuse the same characters over and over again, but they also don’t seem to take that next step and do something new or different with the recurring characters.

5

Good lord, those Barrymores breed true. Not as noticeable in that photo as in the profile shots during the opening monologue, but it’s handy to see her, “The Great Profile,” and her dad together.

ETA: I like the Italian interview skits.

6

I liked the opening bit where Drew’s famous relatives/ancestors all talked with the same mannerisms and crooked mouth that she has. They all did a good job of mimicking her.

7

I don’t know. Maybe I was just in the kind of mood that really appreciates crude humor, but the pool tournament/Tampax sketch had me in tears.

Speaking of pulling strings… :smiley:

8

I forgot about that one. They had a couple of great lines in that skit.

9

The Gilley sketch really dragged and wasn’t that funny. I think everyone did a good job, it’s just the lines and the pacing aren’t good.

10

… Tampax!

11

I someone hadn’t invented DVR Fast Forward already, the existence of the Gilly sketch would have created the need instantly.

12

I thought the Megan Fox season opener was horrid and unfunny (give it a 1 out of 10), the second episode with Ryan Reynolds and Lady GaGa was pretty good (8) and Drew Barrymore’s episode was just a 4. The thing I enjoyed about the Tampax skit was near the end, one of the lady pool players made a half-hearted shot and walked away. But it careened and nearly sank the yellow ball in the side pocket. It would have been pretty miraculous if that went in.

But since I hate people who only complain and don’t come up with better solutions, I challenged myself to spontaneously write a better skit. Can I, a complete comedy amateur, come up with a better premise than seasoned professional writers?

Here is my effort after a minute of thought: Kenan Thompson is introduced as the newest winner of the Tour de France. He plays his “French” character. Other cast members are reporters who ask questions about his win, insinuating he cheated but not coming out and saying he is out of shape. Kenan turns it back on the reporters by asking a series of questions about why he is such an improbable winner. Is it because he’s black? French? chain smoker? has both testicles?

13

That’s actually really good.

14

Zut alors!! [Def Jam beat]