Cameo-Laden SNL Season Finale Will Traumatise Lorne Michaels
Last night’s Will Ferrell-hosted SNL season closer was a perfect freak-storm of cameos (Tom Hanks, Anne Hathaway, Norm McDonald, Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler) and nostalgia. The play-by-play, post-jump.
Will Ferrell couldn’t host SNL without getting around to Celebrity Jeopardy, though they pulled out two serious stops for this one: Tom Hanks as Tom Hanks, Norm McDonald as Burt Reynolds, and Darrell Hammond as Sean Connery, which is why we’re here. I’m not sure who thought of it, but whoever did, genius: there was nothing more fun on TV this week (sorry, Lost) than watching Tom Hanks try to manoeuvre through plastic dry cleaning wrap.
Ferrell’s opening monologue was essentially one giant “fuck you” to the Tony voting committee and Broadway, who – if they have any brains about them at all – will give themselves national exposure by handing Ferrell a Tony for his solo show on Broadway (and subsequent HBO special). He’s competing against Liza Minnelli. Somewhere, Brian Friel is not laughing. The joke about theatre people’s pompous self-seriousness is (especially in New York) ridiculously funny. And sadly: resonant. Unfortunately, outside of New York, it might not take.
Speaking of the Bush show, the cold open was Ferrell doing Dubya, of course – when’s that going to get old for him? Will it? – and Hammond as Cheney. Again, Ferrell trying to push home the Tony win. Some of the late night ladies at Jezebel didn’t like it; personally, I enjoyed. Anything with the words “face shooting” in it gets a chortle, here, but I’m a cheap date. You?
Clearly the favourite amongst the cast who came close to breaking character a bunch of times. Watch Jason Sudeikis try to handle this without laughing, especially around the five-minute mark. Jokes about speed, Bill Hader getting some strangeness in – something about a green Swatch – Maya Rudolph coming in and making complete, absolute, arbitrary nonsense. It was wonderful.
Finally: the cameo-laden finale. Spoiler: it’s Ferrell doing “Goodnight Saigon.” Kinda fitting. That band has Anne Hathaway, Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss, Amy Poehler, musical guests Green Day, and Paul Rudd in it. Again, this one sits squarely on the shoulders of its stars, not the writing.
Oh yeah: Green Day was the musical guest and played some stuff off their new album, but when’s a band gonna come on SNL and not do that? Remember when SNL musical performances used to be mildly interesting? Green Day should’ve come out dressed as 14 year-olds, played “Basketcase,” broke some shit, and left. Memo to Lorne Michael: think dynamic. Question for Lorne Michaels: Did you burn through your entire Rolodex to pull this one off? Probably. Did it help that you had one of your best and brightest alumni hosted? Naturally. But you can’t pull a glued audience simply based on the potential promise of cameos and only half-decent writing that your ace(s)-in-the-hole can walk circles around. You’re gonna run out of ringers, eventually.
- Next Post: Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse Renewed For A Second Series »
- « Previous Post: Jonathan Lipnicki Is A High School Girl From Nebraska
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
@Maura Johnston: SNL is becoming the SEO of sketch comedy shows. We approve in theory!
between last night's pile o'retreads and the justin timberlake episode's , i'm starting to wonder if next season is going to consist solely of clip shows and 5,492 sketches featuring kristen 'hey, look, i am an awkward funny-faced midwesterner! NO REALLY!' wiig.
Did we see the same sketch? A crashing bore from start to finish -- lame, stupid, pointless. But thanks to guys like you, the bar at SNL keeps getting dropped. Did you notice the audience NOT laughing that much? Maybe that should give you numbskulls a clue...
lrubemp
@eleusiswalks: Yes.
cmd
Every clip has a 15 to 30 second commercial before it? WTF is that about? Unfortunately, I doubt the clips are worth watching the commercials.
Jackish
Ten years ago, it would have been a possibility for Green Day to come out and play something random and then bust shit up. They just aren't the same band anymore.
@Midwesterner in NYC: Hammond did get the last line of the last sketch, and you're right they were making a fuss over him. So it's likely he's not returning in the fall.
Was last night Darrell Hammond's last show? During the goodbyes the cast kept pointing at him, making a big to-do. Has this been announced? Say what you will about him, but he has the longest tenure in the show's history. Seems if it was his last episode he would get a better sendoff, no? Unless he didn't want one, which is possible.
Wherefore art Cheri Oteri?
I watched the Ferrell clip, and I saw less of a "fuck you" than you did, Foster. I think you're the one with your finger up, and you projected it onto him.
Ferrell did a one-man show, not a play. It's not that hard to understand why he's in a different category, one in fact where he actually has a chance to win. Do you think he would have a chance in Hell of even being noticed in a Best Actor category? He was not the biggest name in entertainment to appear on stage this season, by far.
If the idea is that he was slumming, and doing poor Broadway a favor and should be thanked on TV, thanks but it doesn't need those kinds of favors.
Now where are those aspirin...oy, my head...
It's amazing how I can forget how skilled of a comic actor Tom Hanks is. His expert pratfalls in the Jeopardy! sketch put everyone else to shame.
@OopsRecession: sometimes a cliche is that way for a reason. comedy is subjective, so it definitely is cool.
The "national exposure" is gained by nominating Ferrell. He mentioned the Tonys in his monologue, presumably that means he will show up for the ceremonies and be a presenter. He could certainly do business with his show on tour if he wants to go on the road, and a Tony win would boost that business.
The political cold openings have got to stop.
@cmd: Liza's was a limited engagement, at least. Was his?
eleusiswalks
Seemed to be a pretty great SEASON ENDING SKETCH.
But bashing SNL is one of America's great pastimes, so it's cool.
You people are nuts. Last night's episode was lung-numbingly funny. My room full of pals were literally screaming with laughter. And we weren't even that high. It was hilarious from start to finish.
radiogrl1
@dola: And yes this latest and perhaps permanent decline is difficult enough that i'm willing to mix my metaphors.
"Ferrell's opening monologue was essentially one giant "fuck you" to the Tony voting committee and Broadway, who - if they have any brains about them at all - will give themselves national exposure by handing Ferrell a Tony for his solo show on "
Sure would be nice if they give the award to the show that deserves it!
Nobody really watches the Tony's anyway so "national exposure" is sort of bullshit. Besides, both his show and Liza's are closed.
cmd
Goodnight Saigon was totally fitting in that the obviously awkward and grim 'not-entirely-sold-on-it' faces were the perfect end to a lot of painful SNL moments last night.
Sunlight and the internet is the best disinfectant if you want to see what a shell of itself that show couldn't help but become. Anyone can netflix season one and watch not just the most famous sketches that we've all seen, but entire episodes from start to finish. Some level of sketch/commercial/misc. unevenness is inevitable but compare the overall consistency and balls of those years to today. Imagine a time when SNL didn't have to depend on some funny election personalities to remain relevant and funny. Like anything else, there's just too much $ at stake now.
@Maura Johnston: Yeah, I loves me the Poehler girl but was SNL trying to out-cameo 30 Rock? (And to the same ill effect - a sub for interesting writing?) I don't get people raving the past couple weeks over what seemed like a lot of meh-ness to me.
Oh, and I'd heard this was Don Pardo's last episode and tuned in the end for the tribute that never came. Unless that last depressing-ish song was it?
NorthernLite
FYI: "theater people's pompous self-seriousness" totally plays in Kansas.
@Maura Johnston: On the other hand, if it's all clip shows of Maya Rudolph I'd be okay with that.
@Foster Kamer: "an ending that will show up on the internet!"
Why hasn't this show been canceled yet?
It's no longer funny.
@Midwesterner in NYC: Well, considering how haunting that "So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good night" sketch with Phil Hartman and Chris Farley is, I don't blame him for choosing to exit quietly.
@MoeGolden: There's something I admire about that attitude.
@Jackish: That is probably what it takes to get the networks aboard putting their content online. Evil, but practical to their ends.
MoeGolden
@noonecaresowen: I was thinking that too, but it didn't hit me until they made it obvious at the end. He has the longest full-time tenure ever and apparently has done the cold opening more times than anyone else. I would imagine he might make cameos in the future, but this was a way to say goodbye as a full-timer. It's strange, because I've seen him say in interviews that SNL was his only career goal. He never wanted to use it as a stepping stone into sitcoms or movies.
MoeGolden
@ceilingFANBOY: Yeah, I was wholeheartedly meh about their performance.
noonecaresowen
@lacieca01: Me three. There were a lot of ways they could have opened the show, with him as Cheney being one of the weakest. That's what tipped me off. And he seems like the kind of guy who wouldn't want a fuss made over leaving. Wonder what he's going to do now.
noonecaresowen
@radiogrl1: You were high enough. It was dull from start to finish.
pmarble
Anybody who watched the show and didn't think the Wade Blasingame commercial (which was actually a repeat but whatever) wasn't ridiculously funny deserves to have their face eaten off by a dog.
j.blo
@paragrab: *aged
paragrab
@ceilingFANBOY: Ten years ago they were only 27 years old and hadn't put out all that crap after Nimrod yet. Most punks haven't age nearly as well.
paragrab
Very funny Jeopardy sketch sandwiched between 1 1/2 hours of boredom.
The Harry Carey bit made me laugh so hard I cried... I haven't seen anything that funny on SNL in a very, very long time (the Eddie Murphy years?).
GENIUS.
As was the Ricky Martin t-shirt.
ComicDork
Saying SNL is funny anymore. Imaging saying that? Like, you're sitting there thinking about SNL and you decide to write a post about how it isn't funny anymore. Good old days, right? How it used to be, etc. [putthatshitonthelist.blogspot.com]
@pmarble:
I respectfully disagree with you, which is more than you did for me.
radiogrl1
@paragrab: That was my point. They hadn't completely abandoned what they used to be yet. It is unfortunate that most of the bands that didn't change are dead.
Here is the link to the jeopardy skit now that NBC decided to remove the first one.
+ Watch video
when will they learn they can't win
hadees