Sorry if there’s already a topic about, but I couldn’t find it. Can’t search SNL, and Christmas turns up buttloads of topics.
Anyway, I was mainly wondering about the framing skits, some character called Gilly or something. I haven’t watched SNL in a year or two, and have to know – is this what passes for funny on the show these days?
I know people have always liked to complain about skits and say they’re unfunny, sometimes even ones I find very funny, but this… I don’t see how anyone could think this garbage should even get on the air once, let alone over and over. Usually even really bad skits can get ONE laugh or chuckle out of me, even if it’s just in pity of the cast trying something that’s not working, but this, not a single twinge of laughter, not even a smile cracked my face. Nothing but jaw dropping stupor in awe of how I’ve now seen the least funny thing ever.
The rest of the show, the classic clips, was mostly great (other than some incredibly dated “Santa’s skipping the red states because Bush won” thingy), and I think they’re replaying it sometime in the next couple days, so maybe check your listings if you like classic SNL, but the classic stuff was mostly so funny that it just made the horror of non-funny in the new skits stand out all the more.
Gilly has never been funny. Ever. I knew when I read in EW that Wiig was going to “host” the Christmas special as Gilly that the framing was going to stink.
Gilly gets discussed a lot in the Saturday Night Live threads here. There’s an almost universal opinion that those skits aren’t funny. We’d like to know if anybody anywhere actually thinks that they are funny.
I saw that last Thursday I didn’t enjoy a bit of it until 1:20 in when they showed the lost finale’ to “It’s A Wonderful Life”. I’d also never seen the “Blue State Santa” claymation & thought it was great (“They hate nice queers, like Moby here!” “Uh, Santa, I’m not gay…”)
Kill me, but I actually thought the Gilly parts had some merit. Not funny, per se, but not the hideous freak show some here claim it to be.
Glad they had the old Steve Martin If I Could Have Anything For Christmas skit.
My favorite one was one where they did the Santa Claus is coming to town animation and made the narrator dude all creepy as though he was going to eat the animals. I think the actual sketch had John Goodman or someone as Santa.
The first time I saw a Gilly sketch, I laughed at Keenan’s reactions to being accused of Gilly’s mischief despite being immobilized by his giant arm casts. I didn’t laugh at Gilly.
The second, third, fourth, etc., times I saw a Gilly sketch, Keenan was still the only funny thing about it, but the joke was old because they keep doing the same damn sketch over and over. And Gilly is still not funny.
It’s weird because I usually like Kristin Wiig (yes, even the Target Lady), but this character is so far beneath her skills that I can’t imagine why she wants to keep going back to it…
Otherwise, though, the Christmas special was mostly pretty good. John Malkovich reading creepily to the kids, the aforementioned “Dick in a Box,” the Pohler/Rudolph/Wiig girl-group “Santa’s My Boyfriend,” the classic “Schweddy Balls,” and so on… all great stuff!
I taped this one night when there was nothing else on. I assumed it was going to be a “best of” collection. When I started watching it, it had some horrendously unfunny classroom sketch to open, then followed with the “Gilly” character coming out on stage. I just clicked it off without bothering to fast-forward to see if anything worthwhile might follow.
Kristen Wiig has tremendous comedic timing abilities, at least in the few things I’ve seen her in. If she wants to destroy her career then she needs to make a full length movie with this moronic character.
There was a Pat movie*. The most one-note of one-note SNL characters. A Gilly movie doesn’t seem that unlikely next to that. It might actually benefit from the comparison.
Gilly is a terrible, terrible character. But my sister does a perfect imitation of her, including the strange “dancing”, and it makes me laugh like a loon. Still doesn’t keep me from wanting them to ditch those sketches. More high forehead/tiny doll hands lady, less Gilly!
My gf and I had the same conversation. I think its an easy time filler. Im not sure why Wiig is given so many characters. She’s a real talent, but half her creations are more annoying than amusing. I cant stand the Target woman character or all the deviations of. I think SNL just doesnt have any strong leads and Wiig is the best they have, so they give her a lot of rope with her own characters. I really think she’s best in a supporting role. Id love to see Hader given half the screen time she gets or Sudiekis.