October 10, 2009 – Drew Barrymore / Regina Spektor (S35 E3)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

OBAMA’S NOBEL PRIZE
Nobel Peace Prize awardee Barack Obama (FRA) adds lottery jackpot to haul

— Two President Obama address-to-the-nation cold openings in a row?!? Also, all three of this season’s cold openings so far have featured Fred, by himself (aside from a small walk-on from Kristen in tonight’s cold opening), addressing the nation as someone. Really, SNL?
— A laugh from Kristen’s smile fading in response to Fred-as-Obama’s lighthearted comment about how easily he won the lottery before her on his first try.
— I found this overall opener to be pretty boring, and I feel it’s two steps back in SNL’s portrayal of Obama, after the refreshing take they had of him in the preceding episode.
STARS: **

MONOLOGUE
recordings of host’s thespian ancestors indicate a shared verbal cadence

— I like that we’re shown a photo of a 7-year-old Drew Barrymore from the goodnights of her 1982 episode (the second above screencap for this monologue), and it’s also nice seeing within that photo Tim Kazurinsky, a young Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and the jaw of Gary Kroeger. Seeing this photo takes me back to when I was covering that early 80s era earlier in this SNL project of mine.
— Drew announces that she’s hosted more than any other woman in SNL history.
— Good way to reprise Kristen’s spot-on Drew Barrymore impression from a Prince Show sketch back in Kristen’s first season.
— A fairly fun concept with every movie clip featuring a cast member playing a similarly-voiced thespian ancestor of Drew’s, including Abby getting to do the Drew Barrymore impression that she’s had in her repertoire before SNL. This monologue feels a bit like a variation of the Walken Family Reunion sketch.
STARS: ***

GILLY
Italian foreign-exchange student Gigli (host) & Gilly are kindred spirits

— Where are the glasses that Will’s character wore in previous installments of this sketch?
— Speaking of Will, not counting the Gilly Christmas special from later this season, this is the last time we’ll be seeing him play this character (often cited as one of the very few saving graces of these Gilly sketches). All future installments of this sketch are after Will’s departure, and each have a different teacher.
— Gilly now has a title screen shown at the end of her theme song.
— Continuing the trend of me recently starting to warm up to some Kristen Wiig characters and impressions that I previously hated for the longest time (Kathie Lee Gifford, Target Lady), I’ve actually been finding Gilly less and less annoying with each passing sketch she appears in, believe it or not. I’m still not all that crazy about her, but she’s harmless enough, I guess. The structure of these sketches is still a problem for me, though, because it’s way too redundant.
— I don’t care much for Abby’s mugging at the end of every one her lines. Also, that mugging facial expression she keeps making strangely kinda reminds me of Melanie Hutsell. That makes this another comparison I’ve made between Abby and Melanie’s SNL tenures in my reviews.
— I actually kinda laughed at the twist with Gilly making Drew’s Gigli character explode.
STARS: **½

CELEBRITY GHOST STORIES
Matthew McConaughey (Justin Long) among spooked stars

— I always like Andy’s Billy Bob Thornton impression.
— Very funny Anna Faris impression from Abby. I also love the little detail of her wearing the same dress the real Anna Faris wore in her SNL monologue the preceding season (side-by-side comparison below).

— I shouldn’t be surprised, but man, Drew’s attempt at a Sharon Osbourne impression is AWFUL.
— Justin Long, who Drew was going out with at this time, makes a cameo doing a good-though-cliched Matthew McConaughey impression. That makes this season 3-for-3 in the host bringing along their celebrity boyfriend/girlfriend in a cameo. I wonder if that’s a record.
— Nasim’s brief Charlyne Yi appearance at the end of this sketch is hilarious.
STARS: ***

UNIVERSITY OF WESTFIELD
University Of Westfield Online alums are advised to elide alma mater

— For the first time since the sketch where she notoriously dropped an accidental F-bomb two episodes prior, Jenny finally gets dialogue, though, of course, it’s in a pre-taped commercial. Her only live appearance in tonight’s episode, as a prostitute (*groan*) in Drew’s monologue, had her with no lines, making this the SECOND consecutive episode in which Jenny has no dialogue in any of her live appearances. Like I said in my last episode review, I don’t think that’s a coincidence on SNL’s part.
— Funny concept to this commercial, and it’s being well-executed.
— Jenny’s delivery is actually solid in this, and is providing some of the best parts of this commercial, especially her ending line.
STARS: ***½

LA RIVISTA DELLA TELEVISIONE CON VINNY VEDECCI
Vinny Vedecci hopes host will flash him

— I was about to say it feels odd seeing a female guest in a Vinny Vedecci talk show sketch for once, but then I remembered the very first Vinny Vedecci talk show sketch had a female guest (Julia Louis-Dreyfus).
— Man, these sketches have GOT to stop opening the same way every single time, with the guest saying they don’t speak Italian, leading to an argument between Vinny Vedecci and Fred’s character.
— Ah, we actually get an acknowledgment of the aforementioned tired formula of the beginning of these sketches, as all the regular characters give a guilty look into the camera after Drew says, in regards to the show’s guests not understanding Italian, “I’m sure this has never happened before.”
— Funny angry outburst from Bobby to Drew.
— A pretty good laugh from Vinny Vedecci, after a distraction, continuing his interview with Drew by saying the completely non-sequitur “Speaking of your breasts…”.
— Very funny when Vedecci is slyly trying to get Drew to reprise her famous “dance on top of the desk and flash the host” move she pulled on Letterman.
STARS: ***½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Eet”

WEEKEND UPDATE
James Carville (BIH) criticizes those who criticize Barack Obama

coin-hoarding Scrooge McDuck (ANS) likes the rise in the price of gold

Maya Angelou (KET) reads a poem to dispel false rumors of her death

— Bill’s memorable James Carville impression makes its first regular-episode appearance, though it actually debuted in a Weekend Update Thursday special earlier this season.
— Bill’s performance as Carville is hilarious, and he’s making a lot of funny comments here.
— Interesting idea of having Andy as Scrooge McDuck.
— I love Andy-as-Scrooge-McDuck’s reaction when Seth points out caviar is made out of duck liver.
— Some funny lines from Andy’s Scrooge McDuck.
— After the Scrooge McDuck commentary has ended, I like Seth pointing out in an ad-lib how plastic Scrooge McDuck’s gold coins sound when they land on the desk. I noticed that, too, about the sound.
— Kenan In A Dress alert. (I surprisingly haven’t said that in a long while, despite Kenan not having given up dressing in drag on the show since the last time I used that line.)
— Kenan seems awfully amused during his own commentary. A lot more amused than I am.
STARS: ***

TAMPAX TO THE MAX TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS 1991
Pete Twinkle (JAS) & Greg Stink (WLF) cover 1991 ladies’ billiards match

— The debut of these ESPN Classic sketches with Jason and Will’s Pete Twinkle and Greg Stink characters. We’ll be seeing these sketches A LOT this season.
— Lots of very fun and solid interplay between Jason and Will, especially with the idiocy of Will’s character.
— Jason’s Tampax slogans are getting funnier and funnier as this sketch goes on.
— I got a big laugh from Jason disclosing, regarding what he prefers in a woman, “I like boobs and teeth.”
— Jason: “Tampax – helping you relax when Mother Nature attacks your slacks…(*holds a very long pause while the audience laughs*)…Tampaaaax!”
— Will, regarding how he got this job: “My father works at ESPN, and he pulled some strings.” Jason: “Speaking of pulling some strings, Tampaaaax!” A perfect way to end this sketch.
STARS: ****½

COOKING AL FRESCO WITH FRAN & PHIL
outdoor venue leaves chefs vulnerable to bird attack

— Perfect casting of Bobby as Guy Fieri, and he’s very fun in this sketch.
— Pretty funny elaborate gag with the birds dipping bread into the marinara sauce.
— The constant bird attacks and “Please stand by…” cutaways are getting old.
— Okay, I did get a laugh from the ending bit with Guy Fieri’s falling skeleton. What made that even funnier is the fact that the top half of the skeleton’s skull popped open after landing, which I’m not sure was intentional.
STARS: **

LARRY KING LIVE
panelists discuss where men put their wieners

— I always have a very meh reaction to seeing Fred’s Larry King show up.
— Very lame conceit to this, with professionals constantly using the word “wiener” as a penis euphemism. In hindsight, this is an early example of the unfunny sophomoric humor we’ll unfortunately be seeing quite a bit this season.
— I’m two minutes into this sketch, and none of the wiener stuff has gotten a single laugh from me.
— I finally got a laugh just now, from Jason’s line about how, on the “doing bad stuff with your wiener” scale, Roman Polanski is “a 9, or a European 4”.
— I got a second chuckle just now, from Kristen’s delivery of her line about how she likes comparing herself physically to famous women who have touched wieners.
STARS: *½

BRENDA & SHAUN
venues for performers Brenda (host) & Shaun (FRA) trace downward spiral

— Much like the well-loved Body Fuzion Digital Short from the last episode Drew hosted, we get a Drew Barrymore-starring Digital Short that’s made to look like video from an old, worn-out 1980s VHS tape.
— Fred and Drew’s performer characters showing up at increasingly out-of-place events and annoying people there is pretty funny.
— Funny downward spiral of Fred and Drew’s characters, and how each stage of this downward spiral is being presented in the typical cheery manner that the earlier, lighter-hearted portions of this short were presented in.
— Ha, is the crow that Fred and Drew are eating one of the same crow props from the Cooking Al Fresco sketch from earlier tonight?
— This overall short certainly pales in comparison to Body Fuzion, but it’s absolutely fine on its own.
STARS: ***½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The Calculation”

BOOK READING
Hamilton (WLF) crashes (host)’s reading of memoir about her time with him

— After Drew’s book reading at the beginning of this sketch, I like Jason’s slightly passive-aggressive line about how people don’t usually read the entire book at a book reading.
— Will’s Hamilton character, my favorite part of the wedding/funeral speech sketches from the preceding season, has now gotten spun-off into his own sketch.
— Every moment of Hamilton’s dialogue in this sketch is funny.
— Drew: “There are so many things you would have to change, I don’t know where to start.” Hamilton: “Start towards the end.”
— I’m liking all the inexplicable comments about Hamilton’s “good” looks.
— Hamilton: “In the words of the black singer, Usher…”
— Funny turn with Hamilton wooing Drew by singing “In This Club” in his very non-melodic trademark voice.
STARS: ****

GOODNIGHTS

---

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A fairly forgettable episode, but was nowhere near as bad as I had remembered. This episode had more merits than I had recalled, and some of the stuff I hated back when this episode originally aired came off a little better tonight (particularly the Digital Short). That Larry King Live sketch is still fucking terrible, though.

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

RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Tampax To The Max Tournament Of Champions 1991
Book Reading
University of Westfield
La Rivista Della Televisione con Vinny Vedecci
Brenda & Shaun
Celebrity Ghost Stories
Monologue
Weekend Update
Gilly
Cooking Al Fresco with Fran & Phil
Obama’s Nobel Prize
Larry King Live

HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Ryan Reynolds)
a step down

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here

TOMORROW
Gerard Butler