December 5, 1998 – Vince Vaughn / Lauryn Hill (S24 E8)

NOTE: This review is a re-post. While trying to fix the problems my site was going through over the last day, I accidentally permanently deleted the original posting of this review. My apologies to the people who commented in the comments section of the original review, as those comments are now lost.

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS
oral sex experts testify for Senate committee investigating Bill Clinton

— Hmm, impeachment hearings. 21 years later, some things never change.
— Darrell’s Al D’Amato impression is cracking me up.
— The whole segment with Darrell’s D’Amato is solid.
— A funny lineup of celebrity oral sex experts being brought in to explain to the senate what oral sex is.
— It feels weird seeing someone other than Dana Carvey playing George Michael.
— I like the running bit with Parnell-as-Bob-Barr’s confusion over certain sexual terms.
— The struggling Tracy Morgan, after doing pretty much nothing the last few episodes (I can’t even remember when his last big role was), gets his very first “Live from New York…”!
STARS: ***½

MONOLOGUE
to host’s relief, Alfred Hitchcock (DAH) isn’t upset about Psycho remake

— Boy, Vince Vaughn didn’t even get past one sentence (which he delivered awkwardly, by the way) in this monologue before SNL already had Darrell “interrupt” this as Alfred Hitchcock. Usually, monologues in this era that have a cast member “interrupt” the host let the host speak for a while before the cast member comes out. The fact that SNL didn’t even let Vince go past one mere sentence before bringing out Darrell’s Hitchcock is probably a sign of the “confidence” that SNL has in Vince, considering I recall him being a notably weak host in tonight’s episode.
— As expected, Darrell is doing a good Hitchcock impression.
— Vince is a stiff and bland straight man in this. I remember SNL reviewer Mark Polishuk (an SNL reviewing legend from the late 90s and early 00s) saying in his review of this monologue back when this episode originally aired, “Gee, Hitchcock’s been dead for twenty years but Vince Vaughn looked like the corpse here.”
— Overall, an okay enough monologue. Darrell’s Hitchcock had funny lines throughout, but I dunno, this monologue still felt like it could’ve been a little better. Vince’s blandness didn’t help.
STARS: ***

OOPS! I CRAPPED MY PANTS
Rerun from 9/26/98

DOG SHOW
David Larry (WIF) & Miss Colleen (MOS) prefer canine company

— This soon-to-be-recurring sketch makes its debut.
— Unlike most of the subsequent installments of this sketch, this one opens with a “Coming up next on Animal Planet…” intro. When watching this just now, that intro made me think we were getting a Brian Fellow’s Safari Planet sketch, until I remembered that sketch doesn’t debut until the end of this season. (The character Brian Fellow himself actually debuts in a Weekend Update commentary a few episodes from now.)
— Molly’s wig is blonde in tonight’s Dog Show debut, whereas in subsequent installments of this sketch, Molly wears a dark wig.
— Ha, the dog playing Mr. Bojangles keeps jumping into Will’s drum when it’s supposed to just sit still. After a while, Will ad-libs “Mr. Bojangles… not now”, which gets applause from the audience.
— Mr. Bojangles is absolutely stealing the sketch so far.
— I’m enjoying the bizarre humor of this sketch. I recall SNL writer Adam McKay later saying that he can’t believe that he somehow fooled Lorne into thinking that the absurdist humor in these Dog Show sketches was mainstream enough for these sketches to be placed in such an early spot in the episodes they appear in. Oddball sketches like this typically get buried around the 10-to-1 slot.
— The song Vince is singing to his dog is pretty funny.
STARS: ***

VEGAS PEEPERS
Trent Walker (host) makes a Swinger of Mr. Peepers with a Vegas road trip

— After the particularly awful sketch Mr. Peepers last appeared in during this season’s Kelsey Grammer episode, you can imagine my reaction to seeing him return tonight.
— Not even putting Mr. Peepers in this Swingers parody is adding much new life to this one-note character.
— Hmm, we actually get an interesting scene right now, with Mr. Peepers displaying some nice swing-dancing during the club scene. This scene is also giving me a reminder of the swing revival that was going on at this time in the late 90s.
STARS: **

MARRIED GUYS
spoken-for (host) & (WIF) mislead engaged (JIF) about joys of marriage

— The misleading info that Will and Vince are giving Jimmy on what to expect as a married man is providing a lot of laughs.
— I love Will’s overly specific description of thoughts you WON’T have about wanting to run away from your wife.
— Excellent ending exchange between Vince and Will: “Should we tell him the truth?” “Nobody told me. Screw ‘im.”
— Overall, a very well-written and well-performed sketch, and kinda had the feel of a sketch that would’ve appeared in an earlier SNL era.
STARS: ****½

BREW DUDE
Brew Dude party hat helps college students focus on beer, not books

— Maybe it’s the use of the word “Brew” in the commercial’s title, but I’ve always felt that this commercial seemed like something that Jim Breuer would’ve starred in if he were still on the show. He at least would’ve made a more convincing-looking college student than Will Ferrell, though Will is certainly fun in this.
— I love the random visual of Kattan as an immature William Shakespeare having his fart being lit.
— Nothing much to say about this overall, but was entertaining enough and funny in a silly way.
STARS: ***

LENNON MEMORIAL
ghosts of John Lennon (JIF) & Jerry Garcia (HOS) frustrate wisdom seekers

— Funny in retrospect hearing Vince say “John Lennon: John Legend”, years before a certain singer with the name John Legend would become popular.
— As I pointed out in my review of the Detectives sketch from the end of the Jimmy Smits episode from season 16 (where Smits as a detective kept reversing the verbs in fellow detective Dana Carvey’s sentences to sound wise), this Lennon Memorial sketch has the same premise as that Detectives sketch.
— I like how disillusioned the Lennon fans are gradually becoming by Lennon’s verbal reversal routine.
— This is getting increasingly funnier the more ridiculous Lennon’s verbal reversal routine is becoming. Despite the fact that this premise was already used in the aforementioned Jimmy Smits sketch, they’re making it their own in this sketch.
— Hilarious ending scene at the Jerry Garcia Memorial, with Horatio’s out-of-it Jerry Garcia badly doing Lennon’s verbal reversal routine.
STARS: ***½

EXXON-MOBIL MERGER
gas station employees mull the future in aftermath of Mobil-Exxon merger

— The dopey, misinformed conversation between Will and Vince’s rednecks is entertaining, as are the corrections that Parnell’s deadpan character occasionally gives to Will and Vince’s statements. I especially like Will snarkily suggesting that the merged version of Mobil and Exxon be named “Moron”, and Parnell responding “Except neither Mobil nor Exxon has an ‘r’.”
— Will and Vince have been having good chemistry with each other throughout tonight’s episode, which is no surprise in retrospect, considering the movies they’d later do together.
STARS: ***½

WEEKEND UPDATE
COQ marvels at Republicans’ persistence in pursuing impeachment
tree-chained Cinder Calhoun sings “Christmas Chainsaw Massacre”

— It feels kinda odd nowadays to see old Weekend Update jokes about how desperate REPUBLICANS are to impeach the president.
— Ha, an Update joke about a Chopper 4 crash, which immediately brings to mind a certain Mark McKinney sketch.
— An interesting change of pace for Cinder Calhoun, with her being broadcast live via satellite from outside of 30 Rock.
— I would normally assume that this outdoors footage of Cinder Calhoun is pre-taped, but it feels live, especially since Ana flubbed a line at one point.
— Cinder’s song is pretty catchy and has well-written comedic lyrics, though I’m not finding myself laughing all that much.
— I believe this ends up being the last time Ana ever plays Cinder Calhoun. I liked this character’s first few appearances, but got kinda burned out on her towards the end of her run. Can’t say I’ll miss her much, though Ana always did well in her performance as this character.
STARS: **½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Doo Wop (That Thing)”

PSYCHO
cloying cheer of Norman Bates’ (host) mother (CHO) precipitated murder

— I’m not sure if it was intended to be funny, but I got a laugh from the opening chyron stating “A half hour before Norman Bates kills his mother”.
— Cheri is spot-on as a smothering, annoying mother oblivious to how she constantly embarrasses her son.
— A very funny line with the mother referring to Norman Bates as “Master Bates”.
— Overall, not much else to say, but I found this to be a decent and interesting Psycho parody.
STARS: ***

PIMP CHAT
Bishop Don ‘Mack’ Donald (TRM) & Pimpin’ Kyle (TIM) talk shop

— What’s this? The struggling Tracy Morgan gets his own showcase that can potentially become a recurring sketch? Wow, between getting to say his first “Live from New York…” earlier tonight and now getting to do this sketch, I see SNL really threw Tracy a bone this week.
— I love the very urban nature of the sketch, which feels refreshing and unconventional for this SNL era.
— A pretty good laugh from the sound of a mechanical, monotone, white man’s voice repeatedly saying “Give me the money” as Pimp Chat’s signal to start the “Pimp of the Month” segment.
— I recall hearing that SNL wanted Lauryn Hill to appear in this sketch, but she declined because she felt that the nature of this sketch was insulting to black women.
— Tracy briefly interrupting the show to roll down the window and yell to an unseen woman “Bitch, you got my money?!?” gave me a huge laugh, though at the same time, I’m starting to see what Lauryn Hill meant about this sketch. I’m trying not to let that ruin my enjoyment, though, because I’ve always had a soft spot for this sketch.
— Vince is hilarious in his performance as a white pimp, feeling like a precursor to the character he would later play in the movie Be Cool.
STARS: ****

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Ex-Factor”

DELCO CAT TOYS
Delco Cat Toys salesmen trade macho banter & test quality of new products

— Will and Vince’s great chemistry gets yet another showcase tonight.
— I love the juvenile bro talk that Will and Vince’s businessmen are casually speaking to each other with.
— Will’s imitation of a cat’s mannerisms are freakin’ dead-on and hilarious. He originally did this cat act in his SNL audition, and from what I’ve heard, he also did it on various talk shows prior to this episode.
— Will to Parnell: “It escapes me how we have not kicked your ass yet!”
— Will to Parnell: “Your office banter is weak!” Parnell: “(in a dopey, insulting manner) Yeah… well… that’s what your wife said!”
— Funny how this is the second sketch tonight with Will and Vince ganging up on Parnell and berating him.
— The whole bit with Will and Vince both trying out the scratching post is priceless.
STARS: ****½

GOODNIGHTS

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IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A good episode and, much like the Kelsey Grammer episode earlier this season, was better than I had previously deemed it to be. (Let’s hope the Bill Murray episode from later this season will also follow this pattern, as I used to consider the Kelsey Grammer, Vince Vaughn, and Bill Murray episodes to be season 24’s “Trifecta of Suck”.) There was a nice amount of things I found to be solid and fun in this episode, especially the final two sketches. Vince Vaughn was also a better host than I had remembered. My past memory of him in this episode had him being stiff, bland, uncomfortable-looking, and way too glued to the cue cards all throughout the show. As it turns out, aside from the monologue, I didn’t notice any of those things in his performances during my viewing of this episode just now. I was surprised to find myself laughing at quite a number of his performances, especially in Pimp Chat. And as I said a few times during the review, he displayed great chemistry with Will Ferrell.

MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS

HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Jennifer Love Hewitt)
a moderate step up

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here

TOMORROW
Alec Baldwin hosts the Christmas episode, with special musical guest Luciano Pavarotti with Vanessa Williams