Tag: Ben Affleck

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May 18, 2013 – Ben Affleck / Kanye West (S38 E21)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

POLITICS NATION WITH AL SHARPTON
Al Sharpton (KET) explores the IRS targeting scandal

— The usual decent laughs from Kenan-as-Al-Sharpton’s constant mispronunciations.
— Funny bit with the Senator McConnell/Matthew McConaughey confusion.
— I love Kenan’s delivery of “They ain’t gonna Wesley Snipes me!”
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
host rephrases his Oscar acceptance speech nod to Jennifer Garner [real]

— Good bit with Ben Affleck mentioning how excited he is to have become a Five-Timer after seeing the big induction that Justin Timberlake was recently given into the Five-Timers Club, only for Ben’s induction to turn out to be an unceremonious one involving Bobby.
— Bobby doing his usual solid work. I especially like him being forced to make up a Five-Timers Club song after he assumed Ben would say no to his offer to sing one.
— Boy, this comical fake tension between Ben and Jennifer Garner in regards to their marriage has aged poorly, for obvious reasons.
STARS: **½


HBO FIRST LOOK
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (FRA) spites host with anti-Argo film

— A worrying beginning to this sketch, with it being yet ANOTHER translator bit, but thankfully, this sketch goes a completely different route after that beginning.
— An absolutely hilarious title of Fred-as-Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad’s Argo retaliation film: “Bengo F#*@ Yourself”.
— Very funny how Fred’s Mahmoud always quietly precedes each of his lines with “Pahk the cah in Havahd Yahd” in order to keep up the Boston accent he’s doing.
— I love the meta reference with one of the lines Fred’s Mahmoud says in a Boston accent being a random “You ah!”, ala SNL’s Boston Teens characters.
— Funny ironic twist with Ben himself playing the sound man in this anti-Argo movie.
— As usual whenever he hosts, Ben has the ability to make his habit of breaking during sketches come off charming instead of annoying.
— Also as usual whenever he hosts, Ben gives us a great display of self-deprecation, this time with his killer line about agreeing to appear in this anti-Argo film because he’s been looking to appear in a movie worse than Gigli.
— Overall, a very solid sketch, and is very welcome and much-needed in this final episode of Fred’s, given how bad he’s generally been these past few seasons. He was great in this sketch.
STARS: ****


XANAX FOR GAY SUMMER WEDDINGS
Xanax combats feelings of inadequacy produced by gay summer weddings

 

— Mixed feelings on this premise, given SNL’s general crutch for relying on gay humor for cheap laughs.
— Some funny lines and visuals during Bill’s testimonial.
— Good bit with Cecily regarding the outlandish, overly generous gifts she once received at a gay wedding.
— Turns out this commercial is actually having a lot of pretty funny moments all throughout. Not bad at all, given my initial worries.
STARS: ***½


DEPRESSION SCENE
during the Great Depression, (BIH) spurns (host)’s offer of honest work

— Our final display during Bill’s cast tenure of his great knack for perfectly playing old-timey roles. And I love how the voice he’s using in this particular sketch is very different from the ones we’ve heard him use in other sketches set around this time period.
— A funny and cute touch with Kate’s character imitating Bill’s gestures during his spiel.
— Good reveal of Kate’s seemingly-child character actually being a 40-year-old hooker with a gravelly voice.
— Very funny bit at the end.
STARS: ****


GAY CAMP
(host)’s summer camp is going to fail to turn gay teens straight

— Another gay-themed segment tonight, just mere minutes after that Xanax commercial???
— At least Ben’s fun as always here as the camp leader.
— I like Vanessa’s smiley-but-uncomfortable delivery of “Um, church. I’m always at church.”
— Funny cutaway to Jay.
— Overall, despite the above-mentioned high points, I didn’t care for this sketch as a whole. Definitely the lesser of the two gay-themed segments that have aired in this episode so far.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Black Skinhead”


WEEKEND UPDATE
incredulous SEM & AMP say “Really!?!” to the IRS & groups it scrutinizes

SEM stops Stefon from wedding Anderson Cooper [real] a la The Graduate

recurring Weekend Update guests welcome SEM & Stefon back to the studio

— The final Weekend Update with Seth as a solo anchor.
— A sudden appearance from Amy Poehler, showing up to do another “Really!?!” segment.
— I think this ends up being the final “Really!?!” segment on SNL. I don’t recall Seth doing it the following season (his final season) with his new co-anchor, Cecily.
— Further proving that “Really!?!” is past its expiration date, a lot of Seth and Amy’s quips in tonight’s edition feel tepid, though there are still a few okay lines, and we also get a bit of the usual fun interplay between Seth and Amy.
— Much like the last time Amy cameod on Update (in the preceding season’s Maya Rudolph episode), they follow the “Really!?!” segment by doing a comedic segue with Seth “making” Amy stick around to tell Update jokes with him. It’s very odd how I had absolutely no memory of Amy being in this episode’s Update. I guess I was wrong when I said earlier that this is the final Update with Seth as a solo anchor. I mean, it’s still the final official Update during the solo Seth years, but the preceding episode’s Update is the final one where Seth doesn’t receive any assistance at all in anchoring Update.
— Hmm, Amy’s jokes tonight are pretty bad, even worse than Seth’s usual mild, bland jokes.
— Given the fact that this is Bill’s final episode, we get particularly WILD cheers from the audience while Seth is in the middle of introducing Stefon’s commentary.
— I love Stefon’s jealous reaction when seeing Amy with Seth.
— As always, great lines during Stefon’s usual routine. I especially love the Phil Jackson bit regarding the password of one of the clubs.
— Ooh, a very different turn in this Stefon commentary, with him suddenly telling off Seth and leaving in a huff without even finishing his Update commentary. The heartbroken audience reaction to that is pretty fascinating, and shows you the heights that Stefon’s popularity with viewers has reached over the years.
— Love the bit with Amy telling a distracted-after-Stefon’s-exit Seth a mock-dramatic “Go to him.”
— Oh, hell yes! Now we get an even more exciting turn with a pre-tape when Seth exits 30 Rock in search of Stefon.
— Great reveal that Stefon is getting married to Anderson Cooper.
— Ohho, I absolutely LOVE the detail of all the wedding guests being characters that were mentioned by Stefon in his previous Upate commentaries. Having all of those characters actually appear in this is absolutely excellent commitment.
— Speaking of excellent commitment, we even get a shot of Ben reprising his role as Stefon’s brother, as a great callback to the often-forgotten sketch that Stefon made his debut in.
— So fun how, when a now-married Stefon and Seth return to the SNL studio, various Update characters and impressions from the cast are standing at the Update set, throwing rice towards Stefon and Seth.
— Overall, wow, wow, WOW. That whole Stefon finale was absolutely INCREDIBLE. Just…what else can you say about it? One of the most epic things SNL has ever done, and this offered such perfect closure for Stefon as a character, as well as the story arc between him and Seth.
— The ending of tonight’s Stefon bit, coupled with the fact that Seth’s former co-anchor (Amy) was there tonight, honestly made it feel like this should’ve been Seth’s final Update. I know this was only intended as a send-off to Stefon/Bill, but it also would’ve given perfect closure to the Seth Meyers era of Update. Too bad I still have another half-season of him at the desk.
STARS: **** (Yes, the whole Stefon bit is the only reason this Update as a whole is getting such a high rating, and no, I’m not giving it an even higher rating than that. All of the non-Stefon portions of this Update were WAY too meh for me to fairly give this Update as a whole anything higher than four stars, and even those four stars are generous.)


GREG’S FUNERAL
poorly-disguised (host) attends his own funeral & rebuts anti-eulogies

— Funny conceit with Ben being in disguise at his own funeral, and trying to talk himself up to the funeral attendees.
— Ben’s delivery in that accent is hilarious-sounding, especially whenever he gets angry.
— Taran, regarding his skepticism over his father really being dead: “When I call his cellphone, he picks up and says ‘Oops!’”
— Another funny cutaway to Jay tonight (which happen to be the only things he gets to do in this episode).
STARS: ***½


HERMÈS HANDBAGS
(host) & vacuous ex-porn stars endorse Hermes Handbags

— One of the only (if not THE only) times this recurring sketch has ever aired before the 10-to-1 slot. On a similar note, contrary to popular belief, Kate’s Last Call sketches don’t always air in the 10-to-1 slot either (e.g. the season 42 Dave Chappelle episode).
— Vanessa: “You’ll feel like you’re spinning on a golden wiener.”
— Cecily: “You’ll feel like you’ve discovered a whole new world like Christopher Cumbus.”
— Cecily: “One time, I thought I banged E.T., but it was just an old Chinese man on a bike.”
— Cecily: “One time, I got banged through a glass ceiling. I changed everything for women. Turns out I’m a feminist. Thanks, Hermans!”
— Vanessa: “One of my eyes doesn’t work. It got sucked out by a butt.”
— Ben: “My pants should say Snickers on ’em. ‘Cuz they’re packed full of nuts and they always satisfy.”
— The whole herpes bit from Ben is hilarious.
— Ben: “Give that little girl what she really wants.” Vanessa and Cecily, intending to say the same answer in unison: “Hermans.” “Your whole hand in.”
— Overall, one of the absolute best installments of this reliable recurring sketch. Absolutely every single thing here clicked for me.
STARS: *****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “New Slaves”


COP FAMILY
at her engagement party, (NAP)’s cop relatives keep emotions in check

— I absolutely love the cop voice Bill’s using.
— Some good laughs from all of the cops’ choked-up actions while having a hard time simultaneously expressing their emotions and maintaining their manliness.
— Taran’s trying-not-to-cry-while-speaking voice is hilarious.
— Good ending with the cops’ tearful, somber group singing of the “Bad Boys” theme song from Cops.
STARS: ***½


IT’S A LOVELY DAY
Ian Rubbish & The Bizzaros perform “It’s A Lovely Day”

Carrie Brownstein, Steve Jones, Kim Gordon, Aimee Mann, J. Mascis, Michael Penn [real] join Ian onstage

— Ah, Fred’s special farewell piece.
— You can tell from the abrupt way this sketch began (hell, it’s so abrupt that Taran is completely missing from the his place onstage at the beginning and doesn’t show up until about 10 seconds into this sketch, presumably due to not being able to get into costume fast enough) that SNL’s trying to squeeze this sketch in before the show runs long. I recall hearing that at dress rehearsal, this Ian Rubbish bit was presented as being a performance on Top Of The Pops, with Ben playing the host of that show, but the whole Top Of The Pops framing seemingly had to be cut from the live version of this sketch for time reasons.
— Jason has been added as a member of Ian Rubbish’s band, after not being part of that band in the previous Ian Rubbish piece from earlier this season. I remember a lot of SNL fans at the time, including myself, took Jason’s inclusion in this sketch as a sign that he’s leaving with Fred and Bill (one SNL fan also jokingly[?] asked, “Wait, so Taran’s leaving, too? After only three seasons?”, since Taran’s onstage with Fred, Bill, and Jason as part of the band). Fred and Bill both confirmed their departures a few days before this episode originally aired, but we knew nothing about whether Jason was leaving or not. He would confirm his departure several months later, after constantly telling people “I’m up in the air” in regards to whether he’s coming back to SNL or not. Before the confirmation of his departure, when SNL fans were speculating if he went out the door with Fred and Bill, a lot of fans were upset that he didn’t get an individual send-off piece in this episode like Bill and Fred separately got.
— A written message can be seen on Fred’s guitar strap, which states “TY LM I ❤ U” (seen in the second above screencap for this sketch), a great sign of appreciation from Fred to Lorne.
— During his opening speech, Fred’s Ian Rubbish poignantly mentions it’s his and his band’s last night here, and Bill’s character then mentions in a very somber and sincere manner that they’re still going to play together. Really nice reality subtext there, given Fred and Bill’s departures. You can tell that, even though those lines were delivered in character, the emotion in Fred and Bill’s delivery was 100% natural.
— A great and very special touch with the “friends” who Ian Rubbish brings up onstage to perform with him and his band. Knowing Fred’s real-life music tastes, I’m sure it means a lot to him having cameos from all these rockers in his final episode.
— A very solid, feel-good song for Fred to go out with. And I’m so glad that he’s had the lead role in TWO strong segments tonight (the HBO First Look sketch and this), as well as some good little moments in the Cop Family sketch. Considering all of the annoying recurring stuff of Fred’s that SNL could’ve bombarded us with in this final episode of his, it’s a relief that Fred instead kept away from the established recurring stuff, as well as any other annoying roles. With his strong showing tonight, and some other good things he’s done within the last handful of episodes, it feels nice to be reminded of how solid Fred can actually be, after how badly these later seasons of his SNL tenure soured me on him. Given how much I actually used to love him as a cast member in the first half of his SNL tenure (he and Will Forte were my top two favorite current cast members for most of the 2000s) before things soured, I’m glad he’s actually going out on a high note with this episode.
— I love how, after the performance has ended, the camera pulls back from this sketch’s set and shows a wider shot of the studio, which they rarely, if ever, do anymore at this point of the show’s run.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

— At one point in the middle of these goodnights, we get a shot of Fred, Bill, and Jason all hugging each other very tightly while fighting back tears (the last above screencap for these goodnights), which is a very poignant shot in retrospect, given how this ends up being the final episode for those three performers, and, as I mentioned earlier, neither SNL nor Jason himself knew for sure at the time if Jason was leaving or not.

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A solid season finale. A lot of good stuff, some special things, and a phenomenal centerpiece with the Stefon’s Farewell segment. Ben Affleck was as strong as he always is as a host. Keeping in an odd tradition this season in which well-loved multiple-time hosts abruptly stop hosting after this season (e.g. Anne Hathaway, Justin Timberlake, Zach Galifianakis), this sadly ends up being Ben Affleck’s final hosting stint.


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
the Stefon’s Farewell portion of Weekend Update
Hermès Handbags
HBO First Look
It’s A Lovely Day
Depression Scene
Greg’s Funeral
Cop Family
Xanax For Gay Summer Weddings
Politics Nation with Al Sharpton
Monologue
the rest of Weekend Update
Gay Camp


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Kristen Wiig)
a big step up


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


HOW THIS OVERALL SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (2011-12)
a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Season 39 begins, with host Tina Fey. We start out with a whopping six(!) new cast members, and a new co-anchor joining Seth Meyers on Weekend Update.

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November 1, 2008 – Ben Affleck / David Cook (S34 E7)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

QVC
John & Cindy McCain [real] sell merchandise on QVC with Sarah Palin (TIF)

— John McCain making a cameo just a few days before the election. This was presumably a last-ditch effort from him to garner up some desperate votes, as the writing was CLEARLY on the wall for him by this late stage of the election.
— Feels a bit odd seeing Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin impression being paired with the real John McCain, but it’s always nice to see Tina’s Palin during these 2008 elections, and McCain is always a fun sport on SNL.
— A funny reveal from a sad McCain that, while Barack Obama purchased airtime on three major networks, he and Tina-as-Palin could only afford QVC.
— A lot of fun laughs from the ’08 election-related products McCain and Tina’s Palin are selling as part of an agreement with QVC.
— An absolutely classic part with Tina’s Palin “goin’ rogue” and secretly advertising “Palin in 2012” shirts to a side camera, then saying she’s not going anywhere after the election (“I’m certainly not goin’ back to Alaska”).
— At the time this originally aired, I assumed this would be the last time we’d ever see Tina’s iconic Palin impression. The impression would end up making a handful of appearances over the years after this election, mostly in Tina Fey-hosted episodes.
STARS: ****½


MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)

— Given the direction of this monologue, the punchline of Ben Affleck announcing his endorsement of John McCain’s presidential campaign is predictable, but still funny enough.
— An overall very short and simple monologue. I’m at least glad this is the FIFTH consecutive episode that has a host-only monologue (again ignoring Oliver Stone’s brief interruption of Josh Brolin’s monologue). This has got to be the longest streak of host-only monologues since all the way back in the 80s. (I’ve heard that SNL would later return to the trend of host-only monologues at some point in season 44, but I personally can’t say for sure, as I’ve been on a hiatus from watching new SNL episodes since a few months into season 44.)
STARS: ***


JAR GLOVE
Rerun from 9/13/08


THE VIEW
Elisabeth Hasselbeck (KRW) & Alec Baldwin (host) argue politics

— SNL’s very first View sketch since the original, Tina Fey-written run of View sketches in the late 90s. Tonight’s installment launches a new run of these sketches.
— I never cared for Fred’s Joy Behar in these View sketches.
— I have mixed feelings on Casey’s Jennifer Aniston impression. On one hand, I can definitely see what she’s going for in the voice, and her impression is giving me mild laughs. On the other hand, the voice is pretty far off, feels too much like a work in progress (Casey stated in an interview the summer prior to this season that she was working on an Aniston impression that she hoped would get on SNL), and, in hindsight, this impression pales badly in comparison to the absolutely spot-on Aniston impression that future cast member Vanessa Bayer would later memorably do.
— Kristen’s political rants as Elisabeth Hasslebeck are making me laugh in this first sketch. However, I recall this going on to become a rather annoying staple of this era’s View sketches, even if it’s accurate to the real Hasselbeck’s political rants.
— Feels interesting seeing an impression of SNL favorite Alec Baldwin. Ben’s impression is pretty spot-on AND funny.
— Ben’s Baldwin, to Kristen’s Hasselbeck: “I can’t figure out if I wanna kiss you…or throw you off a cliff.”
— This sketch is okay, but really pales in comparison to the well-loved run of View sketches from the late 90s. Tonight’s sketch lacks that spark that the late 90s View sketches had.
STARS: ***


COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN
Keith Olbermann’s (host) egoism flavors indignant hyperbole

— Ah, here’s a sketch I’ve always had very fond memories of.
— Right out of the gate, Ben’s Keith Olbermann impression is ALREADY slaying me. His voice and delivery are absolutely hilarious to me. I recall some unimpressed online SNL fans back at this time in 2008 criticizing Ben’s Olbermann impression (“Since when does Keith Olbermann speak in a half-British accent?”, I remember one of those SNL fans asking). While I admit Ben’s impression is certainly not spot-on in terms of nailing Olbermann’s voice, his performance as Olbermann is so damn fun and hilarious that I can EASILY overlook any inaccuracies in the impression, plus he’s at least nailing Olbermann’s general demeanor.
— Funny interview between Ben’s Olbermann and Kenan.
— Ben-as-Olbermann’s intentionally hammy, exaggerated, over-the-top delivery and camera-mugging during the “Worst Person In The World” segment is freakin’ priceless.
— A hilarious and particularly memorable “Special Comment” segment, with Ben’s Olbermann ranting INSANELY in a spitting-mad manner in regards to his building’s no-pets policy. I am practically on the fucking floor laughing at Ben’s execution of this segment.
— Funny touch throughout Ben-as-Olbermann’s no-pets policy rant with him constantly turning from one camera to another, eventually including a ridiculously-placed ceiling camera.
— Quite a long sketch (a sign of this being a Jim Downey-written piece, I take it?), especially for one that mainly consists of just the host speaking to the camera, but I have absolutely NO complaints.
— Overall, great to see this sketch still holds up. This sketch remains a personal favorite of mine. Ben absolutely KILLED IT in this mostly-solo sketch, and he was given lots of very funny material to back him up.
STARS: *****


TARGET
UPS driver (host) wants to get romantically involved with Target Lady

— (*groan*) Another Target Lady sketch.
— At least we get a very funny character from Ben. And the premise of him falling in love with Target Lady is a good and much-needed change of pace for this recurring sketch.
— I admit that, the more these Target Lady sketches appear, the funnier I’m gradually finding the running bit with Target Lady revealing the convoluted usage she intends to get out of the items that she leaves the cash register to get.
— Ben’s message over the P.A. is cracking me up.
— Bobby managed to make the most of his small appearance here (his ONLY appearance all night, by the way).
— Love the bit with Ben scanning Target Lady with the handheld scanner device and then saying “Just what I thought…PRICELESS!”
— Overall, by far the best (and first good) Target Lady sketch I’ve covered so far, thanks to Ben’s great character and performance.
STARS: ***


STATEN ISLAND ZOO
giraffe-themed follow-up to “Sloths!!” is equally zoologically inaccurate

— A somewhat questionable decision to do a follow-up to/variation of the epic Sloths installment of this sketch, which will be hard to top or even equal.
— I’m now a minute into this, and I gotta admit, despite my initial reservations, I’m actually loving the hell out of this Sloths follow-up/variation.
— Ha, we actually get a brief cameo from one of the sloths in the original Sloths sketch, yelling “GIRAFFES, MOTHERF(*bleep*)ER!” into the camera.
— Meh, Jason’s puzzled ending message after the Giraffes video, in which he just says a very taken-aback “I…I…”, pales badly in comparison to Kristen’s ending message from the Sloths version of this sketch.
STARS: ****½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Light On”


WEEKEND UPDATE
John McCain [real] presents his last-ditch campaign strategy options

Patrick & Gunther Kelly explicate voting machine issues with a song

Aunt Linda has negative reactions to new television season’s offerings

— I’m slowly getting used to seeing Seth anchor Update without Amy, but there’s still a bit of an odd feel.
— Among the cheers from the audience when McCain’s commentary is introduced, he receives some loud boos. Showing what a good sport he is, McCain doesn’t let it visibly bother him, and, in response to it, even laughs and mugs hammily in a good-natured manner (screencap below).

— Another fun Update commentary from McCain. I particularly like the part about him pulling “The Sad Grandpa” move.
— Odd coincidence that McCain’s booed-by-the-audience-early-on Update appearance is immediately followed by Seth doing a “Booed At Rally” joke about Sarah Palin.
— Wow, this is the first time we’ve seen Fred and Will’s Patrick & Gunther Kelly characters in years. This also ends up being their final appearance.
— Will’s insanely high-pitched singing in these Kelly Brothers commentaries never fails to get me.
— Although these Kelly Brothers commentaries have always used the same joke, it always works for me, especially when we’ve gotten a long break after their last appearance before this.
— I see SNL is still trying to figure out how to do Update without Seth having a co-anchor, as I’ve been noticing tonight has VERY few jokes in between the guest commentaries. Almost reminiscent of how the Dick Ebersol era’s later years (seasons 9 and 10) would sometimes have Updates (or Saturday Night Newses, rather) that have the anchorperson doing literally only ONE news joke in between each of the guest commentators.
— Speaking of recurring characters we haven’t seen in a while, we now get the return of Aunt Linda. Unfortunately, this is a character I’m NOT happy to see back, nor does this end up being her final appearance. This character only worked for me the first time she appeared.
STARS: ***


NIGHT SCHOOL MUSICAL: SENIOR YEAR EQUIVALENT
middle-aged students sing about adult concerns

— An okay concept for a High School Musical parody.
— During her lyrics in the song right now, I like Casey’s whole bit about what she’s going to smoke.
— Another episode this season in which Darrell makes his ONLY appearance in an awkward, small, non-impression, walk-on role that feels like SNL just threw him into out of desperation, just to give him something to do. As I said in a recent episode review, I’m starting to forget Darrell’s even still in the cast this season.
— Casey’s been standing out in this sketch. It’s nice to see her getting a lot of focus here.
— Funny look of Ben’s character.
— Ben seems to not know most of the lyrics to the song that he and the other performers are singing in unison, as he can be seen only moving his mouth to a few of the words.
STARS: ***


GRADY WILSON’S PUT THE FIRE BACK IN YOUR MARRIAGE TECHNIQUES
Grady Wilson’s (KET) sex DVD

— The debut of Kenan’s Grady Wilson sketches.
— I wonder why they gave Kenan’s character the same name of a character from the 70s sitcom Sanford & Son.
— The mere bluntness of Kenan’s sex demonstration scenes is hilarious, as are the sex moves he demonstrates.
— Very fun sketch, and Kenan is selling the hell out of it.
STARS: ****


MOVIE PITCH
(host)’s queer brother Stefon (BIH) puts homoerotic spin on a movie pitch

— Ladies and gentlemen, we have a major recurring character debut! And, boy, does this particular character eventually gain larger-than-life popularity. One of the biggest recurring characters in the history of SNL.
— It’s frustrating that Bill’s ONLY appearance all night is in a sketch airing so damn late in the show, but, knowing in hindsight that this sketch is basically a huge turning point for Bill, especially in terms of airtime, this will hopefully be the last time I will ever have to complain about how much SNL consistently underutilizes this brilliant performer.
— Being so used to seeing Stefon as a Weekend Update-only character in his subsequent appearances, it certainly feels interesting in hindsight seeing him make his debut not only in a sketch, but an unassuming, late-in-the-show sketch at that.
— Right out of the gate, Stefon is a hilarious character. And I’m loving the contrast his bizarre, raunchy, homoerotic movie pitch has to Ben’s family-friendly, cliched movie pitch. I’m sure people say Stefon works better as a Weekend Update character, and that’s most likely true, but we’ll see how I’ll feel about that when I reach this character’s stint as an Update correspondent.
— Feels a bit odd in retrospect not seeing the Stefon trademark of Bill breaking in reaction to some of the lines he’s reading cold off the cue cards. Obviously, this was before writer John Mulaney started the tradition of making last-minute changes to some of Stefon’s lines to surprise Bill on the air.
— I love Jason describing Stefon’s movie pitch as “some kind of half-remembered gay nightmare”.
— A funny ending fake freeze-frame on Stefon.
— A surprisingly fairly short sketch, further adding to my point of how unassuming this Stefon debut comes off. Nobody, not even Bill or Mulaney themselves, would’ve ever guessed back at this time in 2008 the heights this character’s popularity would eventually reach. In fact, we don’t even see Stefon make his second appearance until a year-and-a-half later, at a time when his original sketch from tonight’s episode was almost completely forgotten by most SNL fans.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Declaration”


BIERHOFF BROS. HOUSE OF GERMAN COATS
Bierhoff Brothers’ (FRA) & (host) coat for German tourists is overdone

— Ben gives yet another fun performance tonight, as I love the German accent he’s using here.
— I’m getting a bit of a Hans & Franz vibe from Fred and Ben’s characters. In fact, this sketch is almost basically what a Hans & Franz sketch would be like if they advertised coats instead of hosted a bodybuilding show, and didn’t spout off catchphrases every 20 seconds.
— Ben seemed lost on what he was supposed to do while displaying the Sausage Pouch. I think SNL’s crew forgot to give him a sausage for this portion of this sketch. The crew has strangely been making mistakes like this these past few episodes. In the preceding episode, they forgot to give Fred a handheld microphone for the Barack Obama Variety Half Hour sketch.
— The red flag, removable sleeves, and tent features of the German coat are pretty funny.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— The streak of solid episodes continues. Much like in most of the last few episodes before this, there wasn’t a single sketch I didn’t like tonight, and there were a few standout strong segments, one of which is a personal favorite of mine (Countdown With Keith Olbermann). We also got some noteworthy recurring character debuts tonight, with Grady Wilson and (especially) Stefon. Ben Affleck, despite some sloppiness here and there, continues to be a fantastic recurring host, and had some really strong moments tonight. He even managed to make a Target Lady sketch work for once.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Jon Hamm)
a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Paul Rudd makes his hosting debut, in an episode that would be dubbed SNL’s “gayest episode ever” at the time, due to an unusually big focus on gay/homoerotic humor. (I’ll explain why that episode focuses so much on that type of humor when I review the episode.) We also get two new female additions to the cast.

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October 2, 2004 – Ben Affleck / Nelly (S30 E1)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
first George W. Bush (WLF) vs. John Kerry (SEM) debate covers Iraq policy

— A decent opening spiel from Chris’ Jim Lehrer about the presidential candidates wearing a collar to keep them both from walking to the other’s podium.
— To quote something I said in my review of the Bush Sr./Dukakis presidential debate sketch from the season 14 premiere: “The gag with Bush being on a higher platform than Dukakis as they shake each other’s hand after making their entrance would later be copied in a George W. Bush/John Kerry debate sketch in 2004. The gag didn’t even make sense in that context! It made sense here because Dukakis is much shorter than Bush Sr., whereas neither Kerry nor Bush Jr. are short.” It really irks me that they ripped off that Bush Sr./Dukakis height difference gag in tonight’s debate sketch. I know both debate sketches were written by Jim Downey (or at least, I’m assuming they were), but that doesn’t excuse him recycling his own gag, especially since, as I said in the quote, it makes no sense in this context.
— We get the debut of Will’s whinier version of President Bush, which would go on to be the most remembered aspect of Will’s impression.
— Oof. I am now SEVEN MINUTES into this debate sketch, and I have not been laughing much. Bush’s repeated “We’re workin’ haaarrrrrd” has literally been the ONLY part of this very long debate sketch that resonated with me over the years, and that has not changed so far during my current re-watch. And even that “We’re workin’ haaarrrrrd” aspect of this is relied on way too heavily here, as if that’s the only hook Jim Downey could come up with for spoofing Bush here, besides the short bit with Bush praising Saddam Hussein.
— There are absolutely no “Strategery”-esque legendary moments to be found in this presidential debate sketch. No “I can’t believe I’m losing to this guy”-esque legendary moments”. No “It was my understanding that there would be no math”-esque legendary moments.
— Oh, man, this cold opening is just going on and on. Sure, SNL’s presidential debate sketches are typically very long, but more often than not, they’re consistently funny enough to excuse the length and make the time pass by fast. With a dull, lacking debate sketch like tonight’s, on the other hand, the long time length is fully felt.
— Seth and Will seem to be tripping over some lines throughout this.
— I finally got one other good laugh besides Will-as-Bush’s first “We’re workin’ haaarrrrrd” (before that line got run into the ground), and it’s from Seth-as-Kerry’s “That is not flip-flopping, that is pandering! And America deserves a president that knows the difference!”
— Oh, god, I swear, if Will’s Bush says “Workin’ haaarrrrrd” one more time, I’m going to fucking snap. This sketch has gotten to the point where the “Workin’ haaarrrrrd” stuff has become literally the ONLY material they’re having Will’s Bush do anymore. They took a once-funny line and completely ruined it over the course of a single cold opening.
— 13 minutes. This cold opening is just now concluding, after 13 minutes. 13 fucking minutes, people. Not even the first Bush/Gore debate cold opening was that long, and THAT cold opening had actual funny things to say.
— Overall, my god, what a huge disappointment this debate sketch was. A rare flop at this point in SNL history for such a big presidential debate sketch.
STARS: *½


OPENING MONTAGE
— New montage.

— The SNL logo is still the same from the past 9 seasons, but it’s been slightly modified to have far more spacing between the letters (as seen in the second above screencap for this montage).
— Speaking of the SNL logo, there surprisingly isn’t a number 30 added to it to commemorate the 30th season. I wonder why, considering SNL has added an anniversary number to the SNL logo for every other anniversary season ever since season 15.
— After the very unique, fun, and memorable music video style of the preceding season’s opening montage, SNL has gone back to a more standard style. Despite the standard, generic style of this montage, I actually really like the aesthetic of it, with the dark motif and very “late night” feel.
— Fred Armisen has been promoted from featured player to repertory player.
— When announcing Will Forte’s name, Don Pardo mistakenly says “Will Ferr–”, then suddenly cuts himself off and never corrects himself. Don obviously almost called Will Forte “Will Ferrell” before catching his mistake. This is reminiscent of a moment from an episode in the preceding season, where Don mistakenly announced Chris Parnell as “Chris Kattan”, but at least Don corrected himself during THAT particular goof.
— Rob Riggle has been added to the cast tonight.
— This overall montage feels A LOT shorter than the preceding season’s montage.


MONOLOGUE
Alec Baldwin [real] warns host against stealing his moves

— Right out of the gate, Ben Affleck immediately addresses how unusually soon he’s hosting after his last episode, by saying “You’re not watching a rerun. Yes, I did host just five minutes ago.”
— Oh, is that Alec Baldwin’s voice I’m hearing from off-camera?
— Yep, there he is.
— Some good laughs from Alec’s comparisons between himself and Ben.
— Great delivery from Ben of the line “Those aren’t moves, Alec. They’re just the slow-motion trainwreck I like to call my life.”
— Alec to Ben: “Don’t jerk me around, Gigli!”
— I’m finding Alec to be an absolute RIOT in this monologue.
— Alec: “Mike Myers will suck your soul out, then complain about how bad it tastes.” Haha, goddamn. IIRC, Tina would later disclose the fact that she ended up getting chewed out over the phone by an angry Mike Myers, who called up SNL to complain about that soul-sucking line in this monologue. This whole incident is very reminiscent of the notorious Eddie Murphy/David Spade incident. Unlike that, however, where David’s mean-spirited comment about Eddie is still left intact in reruns, SNL would be forced to remove the Mike Myers slam from reruns of this monologue.
— Just now, Alec brags to Ben that he’s hosted 9 times. Odd, considering it’s actually 11 times Alec has hosted up to this point.
— Alec to Ben: “Don’t get too comfortable. Me and Goodman are constantly circling the building every five minutes.”
— An overall strong monologue, with a great performance from Alec.
— At dress rehearsal, Darrell played Alec instead of Alec showing up as himself. I even recall seeing a publicity photo years ago at NBC.com from this version of the monologue (the photo can probably currently be found at GettyImages), and in the photo, Darrell’s not even wearing a wig or anything to look like Alec! Darrell just has his normal slicked-back gray hair, which looks nothing like how Alec’s hair looks at this time. I wonder if Alec not being able to show up for dress rehearsal was perhaps something that happened on VERY short notice, and so SNL was forced to just throw Darrell out there in Alec’s place at the last minute to read off his lines for this monologue, with SNL not even bothering to put him in costume. If so, I’m morbidly curious to see just how bad this monologue HAD to have been with an out-of-place Darrell delivering Alec’s funny dialogue.
STARS: ****


DR. PORKENHEIMER’S BONER JUICE
Dr. Porkenheimer’s Boner Juice emphatically reverses erectile dysfunction

— Meh, a juvenile concept, and not a particularly funny one.
— A particularly cheap attempt at laughs right now, with the ending shot of a satisfied Rob Riggle “pitching a tent” under the bedsheets. I remember that made me laugh a lot when this originally aired, but I can’t even so much as crack a smile at it today. I may be biased, though, because, after the entirety of this SNL season originally aired and I walked away from it feeling the season was a quiet disaster, I would go on to look at this commercial as an embodiment of the bad and lazy humor that dominated this frustrating season.
— This commercial would go on to be re-aired in a few episodes, and IIRC, the aforementioned ending shot of Rob “pitching a tent” under the bedsheets would be replaced by various new and far tamer alternate endings that changed EVERY time this commercial was re-aired in a new episode. Am I remembering correctly? I recall there being at least two different alternate endings used in future re-airings. I guess I’ll see for myself when I cover the episodes that this commercial is re-aired in.
STARS: *½


DEBBIE DOWNER
Debbie Downer kills the festive mood at (host)’s birthday party

— Oh, god. This sketch has officially become recurring, a decision I strongly disagree with, for reasons I explained at the end of my review of the legendary first Debbie Downer sketch.
— Okay, after not laughing for tonight’s Debbie Downer sketch so far, I do kinda like the part right now with the camera doing several mini-zoom-ins on Debbie Downer as she lists off the name of each of the latest tropical storms.
— After being into this sketch at first, the studio audience is noticeably laughing less and less as this sketch progresses. Man, this sketch is dying. Without the performers’ epic laughing meltdown from the first Debbie Downer installment, this sketch’s formula is exposed for how weak and annoyingly repetitive it is.
— Did they have to repeat the “It’s the number one killer of domestic cats (*meow meooooowwww*)” line from the first Debbie Downer installment?
— Overall, boy, this sketch did absolutely NOTHING for me, aside from the aforementioned tropical storms bit. Why couldn’t SNL have just left a classic one-off sketch alone? This reminds me a lot of how, 10 years earlier, the season premiere of the notorious season 20 made the mistake of doing a second installment of the classic first Buh-Bye sketch, and even placed it in an early spot in the show, expecting it to be another hit, only for it to fall HORRIBLY flat and die a painful death. At least in that case, however, SNL learned from their mistake and didn’t do any more Buh-Bye installments after that. With Debbie Downer, on the other hand, I have god-knows-how-many more installments to put up with after this episode.
— This sketch would later be replaced with the dress rehearsal version in reruns, which is even prefaced with a disclaimer stating, from what I can remember, “The following sketch is from dress rehearsal, simply because it worked better”, which is noteworthy, as I don’t think there have been any other instances in SNL history where a rerun actually pointed out a dress rehearsal substitution for a sketch. The reason for a dress rehearsal substitution of this particular Debbie Downer sketch is because the dress version features a lot of breaking from the performers (though definitely not as much as the famous first Debbie Downer sketch), which the audience, of course, loved. The use of the dress version of this sketch in reruns and it actually being pointed out with a disclaimer is clearly SNL fully admitting how much of a failure the live version of this sketch was. IIRC, the dress version of this sketch shown in reruns is also (rightfully) moved to a much later spot in the show than the live version of the sketch was.
STARS: *½


SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH
Swift Boat Veterans expand their list of John Kerry’s deficiencies

— The unnecessary reliance on a gay marriage reference for a cheap laugh is so sadly typical of this era, and an unfortunate harbinger of how particularly heavy this season will be relying on hacky, gay-stereotype humor.
— This commercial is slowly getting funnier and funnier as it goes along.
— I love the little detail of how Will’s only credential listed on the bottom of the screen is “saw ‘Platoon’”. That makes me wonder if the guys who were shown being interviewed before him also had a funny credential listed on the bottom of the screen, and I just didn’t notice.
— A priceless dry delivery from Will of the word “catsup”.
— Overall, this was a good political piece, but it wasn’t quite as strong or as smart as I had remembered.
STARS: ***½


CAMPAIGN STOP
James Carville (host) wants John Kerry (SEM) to go on the offensive

— The two sketches in tonight’s episode that have Seth playing John Kerry end up being Seth’s ONLY appearances all night, which is surprising, especially knowing in retrospect how hard this season is going to be pushing Seth as the new male star of the show in light of Jimmy Fallon’s departure.
— Oh, no. Maya’s Theresa Heinz-Kerry breaking out into a brief song was just plain unnecessary and unfunny. This is yet ANOTHER unfortunate harbinger of what’s to come this season, as this season is going to be relying particularly hard on Maya singing in sketches, much to my chagrin back when this season originally aired.
— James Carville to John Kerry: “You beat George Bush in a talking contest. That’s like Wilt Chamberlain playing basketball against Stephen Hawking and beat him by ten points. The man can’t talk, John!”
— Ben is fucking fantastic as James Carville. He is slaying me all throughout this sketch. I think I like his impression even more than Bill Hader’s Carville impression from years later, and that’s saying something, as Bill’s Carville is great in its own right.
— I remember it being pointed out by several online SNL fans back when this originally aired that Seth can be seen mouthing Ben’s lines throughout this sketch.
— I know I said in a recent episode review that I’ve gotten burned out on Darrell’s Bill Clinton, but it’s winning me back over here, now that they’ve finally taken him out of the Weekend Update setting he was stuck in during the preceding season.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest & Jaheim [real] perform “My Place”


WEEKEND UPDATE
New Jerseyan Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) on Jim McGreevey resignation

host points out hypocrisy of Matt Damon’s call for integrity in acting

Elton John’s (HOS) songs fail to make amends for his behavior in Taiwan

— A new Weekend Update era has begun, with Amy joining as Tina’s new co-anchor.
— I like the new Update opening title sequence.
— Just-departed cast member Jimmy Fallon does the voice-over in the new Update opening title sequence (probably because Amy previously did the voice-over for the Update opening title sequence during most of the Fallon/Fey era), and him doing this voice-over in the style of “hyper young cool dude” instead of “professional news broadcast voice-over” is SO WRONG for Update. Hell, he even literally shouts an excited “Yaaaay!” at the end of his voice-over here! I kid you not, folks. WTF??? Thankfully, SNL would remove that “Yaaaay!” from the title sequence of all subsequent Fey/Poehler Updates.
— They’re still using the Update set from the Fallon/Fey era, but something about it’s color has definitely changed. It looks…I don’t know, glossier? A different shade of brown? SOMETHING looks different about the coloring of the set, but I can’t put my finger on what exactly it is.
— A terrible opening Bush joke from Tina. As I said in a review from late in the preceding season, Tina’s developed a bad habit lately of using her worst and most desperate joke of the night as her opening joke.
— Amy’s very first Update joke just now wasn’t bad, but she kinda ruined it for me by making an out-of-place cutesy, hammy big smile at the camera immediately after she finished the joke.
— Oh, god, and now, right after what I said above about Amy’s first joke, Amy actually interrupts Tina’s next joke to giddily cheer “That was my first joke!”, which Tina then responds to by joining in on Amy’s giddiness and motioning the audience to actually APPLAUD Amy for doing her first joke. Are you fucking kidding me?!? In all my years of watching SNL, I’ve never seen a new Update anchor basically BEG the audience to freakin’ applaud the fact that they got through their very first Update joke, as if they’re a child. Ugh, this new Fey/Poehler Update team is already starting off very worrisome for me.
— The use of clips of real footage from the presidential debate feels unusual for Update at this point of SNL’s run, but would go on to be a semi-regular aspect of Fey/Poehler Updates. I remember how some online SNL fans back at this time in 2004/2005 complained about SNL trying too hard to be like The Daily Show with their new gimmick of commenting on clips of real news footage. I think SNL fans would later go on to get used to seeing that more often on Update nowadays, with Colin Jost and Michael Che often playing clips of Trump saying stupid shit.
— Nice surprise appearance from James Gandolfini as “a New Jersey resident”. I’m enjoying his performance here.
— I like Tina’s remark after Gandolfini leaves: “That is the scariest man…I have ever been attracted to.”
— Amy seems to be trying way too hard in her delivery of some jokes.
— Just now, Tina has mentioned her former co-anchor Jimmy Fallon in a jokingly unflattering manner, when telling Amy she thinks things are going to work out well between her and Amy as a new Update duo.
— A rarity to see a host do an Update commentary as themselves, or, as Ben’s billed here in a tongue-in-cheek manner, “a Hollywood actor”. Between Gandolfini being billed as “a New Jersey resident” and now Ben being billed as “a Hollywood actor”, are none of the Update guests going to be using a name anymore in this new Update era?
— I liked Ben’s self-deprecating joke about making movies with his girlfriend.
— I’m surprised Ben’s commentary is ALREADY over, after only about one minute. Most of his commentary surprisingly didn’t do much for me.
— Ugh, Horatio’s Elton John.
— Another acknowledgment of Jimmy Fallon’s departure, with Horatio’s Elton John starting his commentary by looking around confusedly and asking “Where’s my Jimmy boy?”
— Blah, these Elton John songs from Horatio are not working for me AT ALL. Just typical self-indulgent hammy Horatio Sanz crap with bad writing.
— Overall, all I can say about this inaugural Update of the Fey/Poehler era is: oof. Normally, if a new Update duo has a rough start, I’d think “Maybe they just need time to grow.” But I’ve already seen all of the Fey/Poehler Updates back when they originally aired, and I recall their Updates drawing A LOT of ire from me in how weak, annoying, frustrating, and unprofessional they were. So, yeah, I don’t think things ever get better for this Update duo, but I’ll see as I go through this era.
STARS: **


ESCALATOR
stalled mall escalator proves disastrous for overly dramatic shoppers

— Good mock-dramatic, over-the-top, disaster-movie-esque performances from the cast in the way their characters are overreacting to a simple broken-down escalator.
— They’re overdoing Ben’s slaps to Rachel WAY too much. It was only funny the first time.
— I love Chris giving up and committing suicide by jumping off the escalator.
— Rachel’s long, exaggerated yell of “NO!” causes Ben to break character by laughing. This has made me realize that we’ve gotten little-to-no instances of breaking from Ben before this point in tonight’s episode compared to his episode from the preceding season, in which he laughed in practically every single sketch.
— Ben’s Spanish conversation with Maya is pretty funny.
— I got a good laugh from Will’s fireman character accidentally falling from the rope holding him.
— An overall solid and fun sketch. Much better than I remember it being in my past viewings.
STARS: ****


WEDDING
obnoxious deejay’s (host) inappropriate tunes derail a wedding reception

— Not too crazy about this cliched “obnoxious DJ at a dignified gathering” concept.
— Rob Riggle’s been stuck in nothing but dull straight roles for the entirety of this first episode of his. An unfortunate harbinger (which is something I’ve been saying A LOT in this review) of things to come for him in what would end up being a short-lived SNL tenure.
— A good laugh from Ben playing the song “Sister Christian” during the priest’s speech.
— Ben to the priest: “Alright, father, stay away from the kiddie tables, alright?”
— Despite my dislike of this cliched premise, Ben’s giving this his all as he always does, and there are a few laughs.
— When Amy and Rob complain about Ben playing “Who Let The Dogs Out” instead of the slow song they wanted to dance to, I like Ben complying by slowing down the tempo of “Who Let The Dogs Out”.
— This sketch is going on too long, and should’ve ended earlier.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Na-Nana-Na”


A NIGHT AT CAMP DAVID
by Alison Jackson- a dramatization of Bush substance abuse at Camp David

— Much like the “Adventures of Harold” short film in the preceding season’s finale, we get a huge change of pace for this SNL era, with another out-of-the-ordinary film that involves no recognizable performers. This particular film is by Alison Jackson, who was hired to be SNL’s regular filmmaker of this season. However, tonight’s film ends up being the ONLY film of hers to ever make it on the air, aside from a pre-taped Weekend Update mini-piece that airs later this season. Most of Jackson’s attempts to get films on the air this season end up not making it past dress rehearsal.
— I really like the unique aesthetic of this, as well as the music, but I have not been enjoying this film itself all that much.
— Overall, I give SNL credit for trying something completely unlike anything they had ever done before, and I liked certain individual aspects of this film, but the film as a whole didn’t really entertain me like it should’ve. I think I can see why Alison Jackson’s attempts to be SNL’s regular filmmaker of this season ended up failing, but I still say SNL should’ve aired a second film of hers, just so we could judge the quality of her as an SNL filmmaker more fairly.
STARS: **


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A weak and disappointing season premiere, immediately showing signs of how troubled this infamous-among-hardcore-SNL-nerds-but-forgotten-among-general-SNL-fans season is going to be. That interminably dull and one-note Bush/Kerry debate cold opening already got the night off on the wrong foot, and the episode as a whole never fully took off, despite some solid bright spots here and there. A very tepid and worrisome debut of a new Weekend Update era also didn’t help. Ben Affleck was a strong host once again, but he’s definitely been given much better episodes before and after this.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (2003-04)
a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Queen Latifah

Posted on

March 13, 2004 – Ben Affleck / N.E.R.D. (S29 E15)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

DONNIE’S WEDDING
Sully & Denise attend Donnie Bartolotti’s same-sex marriage ceremony

— The final Boston Teens sketch during Jimmy’s tenure as a cast member. Interesting seeing these characters starring in a cold opening for a change, which also serves as a nice deviation from the usual political cold openings.
— Great to see Ben Affleck reprising his Donnie Bartolotti character.
— Interesting reveal of Donnie Bartolotti getting married to a man, which was very timely for this period.
— I’m watching the rerun version of this episode, which uses the dress rehearsal version of this cold opening. In this dress version, whenever the camera pans over to Sully and Denise’s reactions to finding out Donnie’s getting married to a man, Jimmy is seen genuinely cracking up for no apparent reason as usual (the fifth above screencap for this sketch), as opposed to the live version of this cold opening, in which Jimmy keeps a straight face.
— Unfortunately, with this being a gay marriage sketch in this SNL era, we have our obligatory instance of SNL presenting a man-on-man kiss as something that’s “shocking” and “hilarious”.
— Speaking of the kiss, I recall how, in the live version of this, Seth’s hand can unintentionally be seen blocking his and Ben’s lips the second time they kiss in this. Perhaps that’s why SNL uses the dress rehearsal version of this cold opening in reruns.
— A good laugh from Sully complaining to Denise that he’s always begged her for the same kind of love that Donnie and his groom have, but “you never let me try it, not even once!”
— Ugh, in typical Horatio Sanz fashion, he botches his scene, pauses awkwardly for a very long time before delivering one particular line, and cracks up at himself when exiting the shot (the last above screencap for this sketch). Jesus Christ. No words can express my annoyance towards this guy by this point of his SNL tenure. Then again, this is the dress rehearsal version I’m watching of this cold opening, so maybe I should cut Horatio a little slack this time, as performers are usually more “loose” at dress rehearsal than in the live show. I don’t remember him botching his scene in the live version of this cold opening.
— I like the callback to the odd names of all of Sully and Donnie’s buddies, which were previously mentioned in the Boston Teens sketch from the Ben Affleck-hosted episode in season 25.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
having missed out on marketing “Bennifer,” host won’t get burned again

— As usual, Ben is showing himself to be a great sport about his personal life.
— A lot of laughs from the variations of the “Bennifer” portmanteau.
— Great little mention of Matt Damon at the end.
— Nice to see that this is a real monologue, with no involvement from the cast or anyone else.
STARS: ****


Z105
Joey Mack is reunited with his character-stealing former partner (host)

— We’re already getting a lot of Jimmy Fallon recurring sketches so far tonight.
— Ben’s doing a great and funny job doing a knock-off of Joey Mack’s various morning crew voices.
— I love Ben denying the similarities his Rajneesh character has to Joey Mack’s Sanji character by telling Joey “Dude, Sanji and Rajneesh are from different villages.”
— Very fun voice showdown between Ben and Joey Mack, and the audience particularly loves when it gets to the point where both guys are doing their voices simultaneously.
— I can excuse Jimmy’s constant breaking here, as I usually enjoy the fun chemistry he and Ben have in sketches.
— Of course, you know I personally loved the Three Stooges reference at the end.
— Overall, easily the best of the Z105 sketches I’ve reviewed so far.
STARS: ****


GIGLI
mentally-challenged (FRA) points out Gigli faults to host during filming

— I like how the audience laughs as soon as it’s revealed at the very beginning that this is the filming of Ben’s notorious movie Gigli.
— It feels kinda wrong to laugh at Fred’s portrayal of a mentally challenged character, but dammit, Fred is so perfect in this, and he is killing in this sketch. The fact that his mentally challenged character is actually the wisest character of the sketch also helps alleviate any troublesome aspects.
— The material in this sketch is fantastic.
— Even the way Chris keeps asking “A-are we goin’ to the Baywatch?” in that mentally challenged voice is strangely amusing. It feels like a huge waste of Chris, though, to use him in a role where he’s mostly only shown from the back and barely says anything.
— Ben is visibly and genuinely very amused during his interactions with Fred’s Frondi, but Ben just has a likable charm that makes it excusable. It also helps that we obviously don’t have to deal with seeing him break on a weekly basis on SNL, unlike Jimmy or Horatio.
— Amy: “Oh my god, Ben Affleck just yelled at that mentally challenged guy!”
STARS: *****


TV FUNHOUSE
by RBS- The Passion Of The Dumpty excerpts & George W. Bush campaign ads

— Hilarious concept for a Passion Of The Christ parody.
— The President Bush election ads that this cartoon keeps occasionally cutting to are funny, but I don’t understand what they have to do with the rest of this cartoon. They feel like too much of a non-sequitur, and are kinda bringing this down for me, as I’d rather this just focus on the Humpty Dumpty portions.
STARS: ***


APPALACHIAN EMERGENCY ROOM
yokels suffer additional unusual ailments

— Amy always kills me with her character in these sketches.
— Finesse’s character wasn’t anything special overall.
— Much like Amy, Chris is another cast member who always kills with his character in these sketches.
— Pretty funny scene involving Ben with a ferret biting his crotch. I’ll just ignore the questionable logic of how Ben’s character was able to fully put on shorts if he was nude when the ferret bit into his crotch.
— I like the little detail of Ben having named his ferret Ferrets Bueller.
— A lot of people seem to hate these sketches. I myself didn’t care much for these sketches back when they originally aired, but I’ve been coming around on them on these re-watches. Some decent amusing silliness in these.
STARS: ***


ONLY BANGKOK
(SEM) is glad “what happens in Thailand, stays in Thailand”

— A very funny “What happens in Thailand” reveal at the end, after the grim situation we see involving Seth and a dead hooker.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “She Wants To Move”


WEEKEND UPDATE
FIM responds in kind to nasty letters written by bill collectors

Diana Ross (MAR) will again try to serve 48 consecutive hours in jail

George W. Bush & John Kerry volleys leave Bill Clinton (DAH) unimpressed

— Tonight’s audience has been so lively that you can even hear them cheer very early on during the opening title sequence of tonight’s Update, which is noteworthy because audiences usually cheer when the Update opening title sequence is about to end.
— Finesse’s overall stand-up commentary was actually good. Much better than the last stand-up commentary he did on Update in this season’s premiere.
— Ugh, another Diana Ross commentary from Maya. Wasn’t the last one she did a few episodes ago annoying enough?
— An overall mercifully short Diana Ross commentary, but still didn’t really make me laugh.
— WTF? A Darrell-as-Bill-Clinton Update commentary for the SECOND EPISODE IN A ROW? I love Darrell’s Clinton as much as the next guy, but this is a bit much, especially since, as far as I know, Clinton wasn’t even in the news around this time.
— Boy, they’re really milking the hell out of Darrell-as-Clinton’s interactions with Tina and Jimmy at the beginning of his commentary tonight. That feels unneeded.
— That’s it? The Clinton commentary is over? It just came and went without me laughing a single time, which is absolutely unheard of for me in regards to Darrell’s Clinton. It was definitely unnecessary and pointless to bring him back this week. And between bringing back both him and Diana Ross so soon, tonight’s Update feels lazy and half-assed, at least in regards to most of the commentaries. Jimmy and Tina’s jokes aren’t too bad tonight, for the most part.
STARS: **½


TOP O’ THE MORNING
Patrick & William remember St. Patrick’s Days past

— Tonight’s Jimmy Fallon Recurring Character Fest continues.
— Not only is this surprisingly the first appearance this recurring sketch is making all season, but it ends up being its final appearance.
— I’ve said this in several past episode reviews, but I always get a kick out of whenever an SNL sketch does flashback sequences in real-time.
— After one of several real-time flashback sequences, Seth says “It’s a good thing we always wear the same sweaters” (referring to how he and Jimmy are wearing the same clothes in the flashbacks that they’re wearing in present day), which genuinely cracks Jimmy up. I’m assuming that line was an ad-lib, and it reminded me a lot of a famous moment in the Gap Girls At Tater Junction sketch from season 19’s Sara Gilbert episode, where David Spade says the memorable line “I can’t believe we’re all wearing the same thing we did four days ago” after a scene transition to four days later. As I mentioned in my review of that sketch, I’ve never seen it confirmed whether that line from Spade was an ad-lib or not, but it probably wasn’t (as much as I’d like to think it was).
— A particularly funny flashback sequence right now, with Finesse and Kenan (the latter making his only appearance of the night) being seen as Jimmy and Seth’s characters.
— Ben busts out laughing HARD at Jimmy’s ad-lib (and this was unquestionably an ad-lib) about Will sounding more Scottish than Irish. It takes Ben a while to get back into character after this.
— Lots of amused ad-libbing between Ben, Jimmy, and Seth, especially after Horatio’s wild brief appearance. I recall hearing from an online SNL fan who went to this episode’s dress rehearsal that the dress version of this sketch featured even more ad-libbing between Ben, Jimmy, and Seth after Horatio’s appearance. You see, in the dress version of this sketch, after Horatio crashed through the breakaway wall, stagehands replaced Horatio with a body double (or a dummy, I forget which) that was noticeably wearing completely different shoes from the ones Horatio was just seen wearing, and Ben, Jimmy, and Seth had a freakin’ FIELD DAY riffing on that with lots of ad-libs while cracking up.
STARS: ***


ONLY BANGKOK
to pay off a gambling debt, host sells new wife (AMP)

— A hilarious eventual reveal of Ben playing himself during this crazy scene of him selling his wife to pay off gambling debts.
— Good reveal of another “What happens in Thailand” tagline, making you realize this is an unrelated second installment of the Only Bangkok ad.
STARS: ****


DONNIE G. AND SIDECAR
cycle cop Donnie G. (host) puts partner Sidecar (FRA) in harm’s way

— Very refreshing and rare to see this type of sketch in this SNL era. I’m loving how this feels like the type of old-timey, black-and-white sketches that appeared frequently in SNL’s late 80s era. I can easily imagine Fred’s role being played by either Jon Lovitz or Dana Carvey.
— After Will experienced a big increase in lead roles the last two episodes before tonight’s, I see that tonight is Fred’s time to shine. Fred’s been having a great night, between the Gigli sketch and this.
— A big laugh from Fred getting knocked out by a huge mailbox.
— The Caracci’s Pizza logo on the apron that Horatio’s wearing is actually from a sketch from the season 18 episode that Tim Robbins hosted.

— Solid ending.
STARS: ****


ONLY BANGKOK
scandal-quashing Thailand spares host & Kelly Ripa [real]

— A great way to conclude this Only Bangkok runner, making certain aspects from the first two unrelated Only Bangkok ads come together in a crazy way.
— A hilarious random walk-on from Kelly Ripa. She’s surprising me by how funny she is here.
— Overall, this insane ad was absolutely priceless.
STARS: ****½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Maybe”


THE FULL MOON KILLER
serial killer’s (host) co-workers have fun with his ill-kept secret

— I’m really enjoying this premise and Ben’s casual attempts to hide the fact that he’s the Full Moon Killer.
— I love the reactions when Ben finds out his co-workers were just pulling his leg and have always been aware that he’s the Full Moon Killer.
— A great “And he was!” ending.
— An overall very well-written and perfectly executed sketch that, much like the Donnie G. And Sidecar sketch, feels like something that easily could’ve appeared in a much earlier SNL era that did this type of sketch more often. Though this sketch also does remind me a little of the Clark Kent sketch from just a few years prior when The Rock first hosted. I love both that sketch and this one.
STARS: ****½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Easily one of the best episodes of this season, and may even be my personal favorite of the season. Lots of strong sketches, one classic in my eyes (Gigli), and not a single weak sketch to be found (not counting a less-than-satisfactory Weekend Update). Despite laughing his way through the episode, Ben Affleck was an excellent host, much like the first time he hosted, and he added a fun, likable, and positive vibe to the episode.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Colin Firth)
a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
(……………………………………..*hesitates for 20 long minutes, because I’m afraid to say who the next host is*……………………………………..*hesitates for 20 more minutes*……………………………………..) Oh, hell, I have to say it. DONALD. TRUMP.

Posted on

February 19, 2000 – Ben Affleck / Fiona Apple (S25 E13)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

NIGHTLINE
Peanuts characters mourn the passing of Charles Schulz

— Feels like we haven’t seen Darrell’s Ted Koppel impression in a long time.
— Good to see another sketch with the cast playing Peanuts characters, after the classic Charlie Brown parody SNL did in the preceding season.
— I love the visual of Horatio’s Pig Pen.
— Franklin: “Back then, it was hard for a brother to get in the funnies. No one wanted to take the time to do the shading.”
— I love Rachel-as-Marcie’s scream while raising her head, after saying Peppermint Patty didn’t reciprocate Marcie’s feelings towards her.
— A pretty good laugh from the off-camera Nightline producer’s voice being represented by the “womp womp womp” voice that the adults in Peanuts always speak in, even if SNL already used that joke in the last Charlie Brown sketch.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
Gwyneth Paltrow [real] comes on-stage & steals spotlight from host

— A nice callback to Gwyneth Paltrow’s monologue from the preceding season, in which Ben Affleck made a cameo from the audience.
— A lot of fun barbs between Ben and Gwyneth, especially the whole bit about winning an Oscar. And like Gwyneth’s last monologue, both her and Ben are proving themselves to be good sports.
STARS: ***½


VICTORIA’S SECRET
Marisa’s boobs ask “what is desire”

— A silly but funny parody of real Victoria’s Secret ads from around this time.
— Good bit with the deep-voiced talking butt (or was that a crotch?) trying to interrupt, only to get cut off by the talking boobs.
STARS: ***½


BAND SHOT
G.E. Smith [real] plays guitar

— G.E. Smith’s back tonight!


MANGO
host pretends to be Matt Damon in order to get close to Mango

— At least this season managed to go through a month (January) without resorting to a Mango sketch, which is a big feat considering how much they’ve been overusing Mango this season.
— Mango: “Ben Who-fleck?!?”
— A good Talented Mr. Ripley turn, with Ben trying to pass himself off as Matt Damon.
— The stripping scene in the dark is pretty funny, as is Ben losing control and assaulting Mango on the floor.
— Overall, one of the better Mango sketches, mostly helped by Ben’s performance, even if his demeanor came off a little more smiley and jokey than his role required.
STARS: ***


DONNIE’S PARTY
Donnie Bartolotti’s (host) attentions toward Denise make Sully jealous

— I remember an old SNL review from 2000 pointing out that Ben seemed to be trying to emulate Adam Sandler in this sketch, right down to the Happy Gilmore-esque jersey he’s wearing. I can see it; he looks eerily Sandler-esque at some points of this sketch.
— After exclaiming the word “Irregahdless!” in a Boston accent, Jimmy cracks himself up.
— I love the parts with Rachel and Ben acting out rewinded scenes, especially the slow-mo scene.
— Now Jimmy has begun cracking up again, this time in response to Ben just saying “Bro” over and over to him, which I can forgive, as I’ve been enjoying Jimmy and Ben’s chemistry throughout this sketch. However, this sketch can be pinpointed as the official point in Jimmy’s SNL tenure where his frequent breaking started becoming noticeable.
— Denise: “Don’t hurt him! He’s got a haht murmuh!”
— Some laughs from Ben’s character and Sully listing off the goofy names of their friends.
— Overall, this has always been my personal favorite of the Boston Teens sketches.
STARS: ****


TV FUNHOUSE
“The All New Adventures of Mr. T” by RBS- Ibsen play is a chance to work

— Robert Smigel must be very busy, as we’re more than halfway through this season and this is only the fourth TV Funhouse of the season, which is a small number compared to the amount of TV Funhouses that appeared in the preceding three seasons.
— Very funny idea of a Mr. T-starring TV Funhouse, in the style of a typical 80s animated series, a style that Smigel is doing a dead-on emulation of.
— Mr. T: “I’m back! And I need work!”
— Some good laughs from Mr. T randomly throwing in out-of-place educational tips throughout this.
— The stiffly-animated corny fight scene is very funny.
— Mr. T: “If you believe in yourself, drink your school, stay in drugs, and don’t do milk, you can get work!”
— Great touch with the Charles Schulz tribute during the TV Funhouse closing credits, which leads into an SNL Band shot of Cheryl Hardwick playing a Peanuts tune on the piano.
STARS: ****


FRETTS FILM FORUM
small-town movie reviewers offer clever quotables

— I’m surprised that this is the first appearance all night for the usually-dominant Will Ferrell.
— Will: “Fantasia is fantas-great.”
— Some good laughs from the critics thinking Stuart Little is a real mouse and assuming he’s the same mouse from Mouse Hunt.
— Great bit with Will’s whole hand demonstration when talking about Richard Gere’s beautiful acting and comic timing.
— The critics’ increasingly bad puns and fawning over questionable movies are funny.
— I like it now getting to the point where the critics each give up after starting to really reach with their puns.
STARS: ***½


FANATIC
obsessive (host) wants Anna Nicole Smith (MOS) to be his mom

 

— A change of pace for this era.
— IIRC, director Paul Thomas Anderson was the one behind this pre-taped sketch.
— This is such a well-done and spot-on parody of the real Fanatic show on MTV, especially the visual look and camera angles.
— Even though it’s a very typical Molly Shannon moment, I howled at the intro shot of Molly’s Anna Nicole Smith, with her randomly yelling “I WILL KICK! YOUR! ASS!”
— Very funny visual of a braces-wearing Ben, especially him screaming on the floor when Jimmy is excitedly jumping on him.
— Funny concept with Ben wanting to get Anna Nicole Smith to adopt him.
— Nice touch at the very end, with Ben missing his elevator after speaking to the camera.
STARS: ****½


WEEKEND UPDATE
George W. Bush (WIF), John McCain (CHP), Alan Keyes (TIM) speechify

— We’re starting off with a LONG string of “George W. Bush is dumb” jokes from Colin.
— And now we go to a press conference with Will’s Bush. A nice change of pace for an Update segment.
— Ah, now we get a press conference with Parnell’s John McCain giving a concession speech, saying racist things about the Vietnamese.
— The whole scene with Tim’s Alan Keyes holding a press conference in an empty room is pretty funny.
— Short Update overall.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Limp”


SPARKS
salesman (host) is embroiled in Zimmermans’ sexy search for a used car

— After a weaker and somewhat off-putting installment of this sketch from the Heather Graham episode, there’s hopefully nowhere for this sketch to go but up.
— Ben’s performance as an Armenian car dealer is very funny, especially the slang he keeps using (e.g. “homesnakes”).
— Good bit with Cheri and Kattan occasionally honking the car horn to censor their expletives during their dirty talk to each other.
— Hilarious visual of Ben revealing his leopard skin speedo with an excessive amount of bushy pubic hair sticking out.
— Overall, not bad, and a definite improvement over the last installment.
STARS: ***


POLICE TRAINING
Sally O’Malley barges in on a police academy exercise training session

— I love Ben’s performance in this, especially the Chicago accent he’s doing.
— Meh, I can certainly do without the return of the Sally O’Malley. I know this character has her defenders, but she simply does not work for me. Sure, SNL changes the scenery in every Sally O’Malley sketch, unlike with Molly’s similar Helen Madden character, but that’s not enough to make Sally O’Malley funny or less one-note to me. To me, these sketches have always epitomized the decline Molly took as a performer in her later seasons.
— The ending fight scene is kinda entertaining, at least.
STARS: **


TRILOCAINE
Trilocaine treats your dandruff & induces horrific hallucinations

— Very funny how the listed-off side effects quickly go from typical minor things to a very unsettling long description of insane hallucinations.
— I like how this has kind of a Deep Thoughts vibe.
STARS: ****


WHO WANTS TO BE GROPED BY AN ELEVEN THOUSAND-AIRE?
(host) paws (CHK)

— A very funny idea for a parody of FOX’s Who Wants To Marry A Multi-Millionaire show from around this time.
— Yet another great characterization from Ben tonight, who’s redneck performance in this is priceless.
— Funny how the prize is getting groped in the back of a rusted-out Maxima.
— Good bit with Ana regarding an alleged TV show she was in called Showering With Bill.
— After one particular thing Ben says towards Kattan, we get an amusing brief close-up of Kattan mouthing what appears to be “What the fuck?”, which the audience catches.
— Odd how this is the second sketch tonight with Ben sexually assaulting Kattan, after the Mango sketch.
— A pretty funny blooper at the end where Will accidentally trips on the floor when walking over to Cheri and Ana.
STARS: ****


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A consistently solid episode, and the best episode in a good while. Minus Sally O’Malley, the show had an endless run of good sketches, some of which stood out as great. Even the Mango sketch managed to be decent. Ben Affleck was a very strong host in this first hosting stint of his, immediately showing the chops to become an eventual five-timer.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Julianna Margulies)
a mild step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Joshua Jackson