Tag: Seth Rogen

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April 12, 2014 – Seth Rogen / Ed Sheeran (S39 E18)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

COACHELLA
at Coachella, Paul Ryan (TAK) & Jeb Bush (BEB) attempt cool conservatism

— Hmm, I wasn’t aware that Beck’s Jeb Bush impression debuted this early in his SNL tenure.
— A decent premise and a fairly fun and out-of-the-ordinary setting for a political cold opening.
— I’m surprised to see this end already. I had remembered this cold opening showcasing more republicans than I saw here. Maybe I was getting parts of this cold opening confused with a very similar cold opening the show would later do in the following season’s Reese Witherspoon episode.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
Zooey Deschanel, James Franco, Taylor Swift [real] interrupt host

— Decent bit with Seth Rogen’s relatives having his trademark laugh.
— Of the three Seth Rogen monologues over the years, this is the second one with a Wu-Tang Clan reference. Seth clearly must be a fan.
— Kinda funny seeing Zooey Deschanel now standing in almost the exact same spot that Noel stood in a minute prior, given the resemblance that Noel and Zooey naturally have to each other (plus the fact that Noel has a Zooey impression in her repertoire, which SNL let her briefly display earlier this season). During the goodnights at the end of this episode, we’ll even see Noel and Zooey standing close together, eerily looking like they could be sisters, and even wearing somewhat-similar outfits (screencap below, with a circle I added pointing out where Noel and Zooey are).

— Wait, that non-speaking, blink-and-miss-it walk-on that Zooey made ends up being her WHOLE cameo??? What was the point of that?
— Another celebrity cameo. I don’t like where this monologue is going.
— Never mind my earlier comment questioning what the point was of Zooey only showing up to make a wordless, five-second cameo, as she’s now come back and has some lines.
— Yep, and here’s yet another pointless, corny cameo. Blah. Feels like I’m watching something from a more recent season. And these cameos in this monologue don’t even have anything to do with the established premise of Seth reading from his journal, which just randomly gets abandoned halfway through this monologue to focus on cameos.
STARS: **


DRUG SAFETY
Shallon reverses D.A.R.E. representative’s (host) say-no-to-drugs spiel

— Predictably, this goes the exact same route as the previous two installments of this sketch. However, the crack subject of tonight’s installment is admittedly more inherently funny than the van and fireplace subjects of the previous two installments, and is making this pretty fun, even if I feel it doesn’t measure up to the first installment, due to the derivative feel.
— I love Bobby’s happy delivery of the line “The hero of our story!” when Seth says he’ll play the drug dealer of this scenario.
STARS: ***


CNN PREGNANCY TEST
drawn-out CNN pregnancy test frustrates potential parents (BEB) & (VAB)

— A pretty funny topical premise of a CNN pregnancy test.
— A good slow burn from Vanessa and Beck throughout this, in regards to all the false alarms from the pregnancy test. Vanessa’s always so good at playing characters who force themselves to smile while slowly getting impatient towards something.
STARS: ***


STEAKHOUSE
(AIB)’s pair of broken arms draw attention at (CES)’s birthday dinner

— I’m currently two-and-a-half minutes into this sketch, and I haven’t enjoyed anything so far. In addition to bad writing, this James Anderson/Kent Sublette-written sketch is featuring some of their absolute worst tendencies as writers: every character speaking in an exaggerated southern accent, the pointless decision to give a character a very specific, standout, dissonant hairstyle (Aidy, who’s character actually blatantly calls attention to her hairstyle at one point, for no good reason), and the random decision to throw in exaggeratedly effeminate gay men (the waiters played by Brooks and John) who have nothing to do with the rest of the sketch.
— Aaaaaaand now, to further prove my point about how this features Anderson and Sublette’s worst writing tropes, the focus of this sketch turns to a very unnecessary and unfunny big ol’ fart gag. Yep, it’s now safe to say this sketch is a bonafide dud.
— Not even the usually-reliable Aidy can do anything to save this in her lead role, especially not her helplessly giggling out of character after the fart sound effect. I’d like to think she’s just giggling because that fart sound effect made her fully come to the realization of what a stupid, stupid sketch she’s stuck in.
STARS: *


MONSTER PALS
(MOB) & (James Franco) undergo surgery to look human

— Great random concept for a Mike O’Brien short.
— The grunt-filled conversation between the two monsters at the bar is hilarious.
— I love the very realistic feel that Taran’s “Can’t just go around grabbing people, man. Gotta watch that” line gave to the end of the bar scene.
— A very funny line from Mike’s monster character when seeing the movie Monsters Inc. playing on a screen in a store window: “They took a lot of liberties on that one.”
— I absolutely love the sequence with Mike’s monster character searching for his friend among real New York citizens on the street, and I like the hint of pathos in this scene (and throughout this short in general, actually). Mike is always so great at adding pathos to his short films.
— Funny ending with Mike’s now-human-looking monster character admitting he chose this mediocre new face of his because it was cheaper.
— Overall, another excellent Mike O’Brien short.
STARS: *****


BLUE RIVER DOG FOOD
inferior kibble makes (host)’s wife (CES) crazy

— I recall not liking this sketch at all back when it originally aired, and I also remember subsequently being baffled to see this sketch go on to be considered pretty much a classic among a number of SNL fans. I’ll go into this sketch with an open mind in my current viewing, so I can hopefully understand what all the hoopla is about.
— Great delivery from Cecily of the line, “Bend over, Pat, they wanna get that ass!”
— A damn good angry outburst from Seth towards Cecily.
— Cecily is selling the hell out of this intense role. Definitely a standout performance from her.
— They’re overdoing the cutesy close-ups of the dog, though I guess that works as a comedic contrast to Cecily’s insane ranting.
— Solid ending.
— Overall, as I hoped, I’ve finally come around on this sketch, even if I still don’t find it to be quite a five-star classic like a number of SNL fans seem to. The rating I’m about to give this sketch is still very impressive, though, especially coming immediately after the five-star-rated Monster Pals short.
STARS: ****½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Sing”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Samsung endorser David Ortiz (KET) acts as spokesman for other brands

Jacob talks about Passover symbolism & slowly warms up to CES

— I know it’s starting to become cliched for me to point out how ridiculously corny both Cecily’s Update delivery AND jokes have been lately, but man, I absolutely HATED her cheesy delivery of the punchline to that Kathleen Sebelius joke. (*sigh*) I just have to keep telling myself, only a few Updates left until the Cecily Strong era of Update is thankfully over…
— Showing how stiff and undeveloped as an anchor Colin is in these early Updates of his, when his Kim Jong Un voting joke is followed by an off-camera Cecily quietly asking Colin, in a comedic ad-lib, “Did you vote for him?”, Colin doesn’t even acknowledge that ad-lib of Cecily’s and instead just continues blandly and stiffly staring at the camera while moving onto the next Update joke. If this was about a year-and-a-half later or beyond and that was Michael Che ad-libbing the “Did you vote for him?” question, Colin would’ve easily played along with that ad-libbed question and gave it an answer.
— The debut of Kenan’s memorable David Ortiz impression.
— A very likable and funny performance from Kenan here, and the ads that his David Ortiz is doing are stupidly hilarious.
— Colin finally shows some personality, where, after the audience has an “Ohhhh!” reaction to his harsh punchline about Katherine Heigl now working at Duane Reade, Colin humorously ad-libs “Probably just researching a role!”, though part of me doesn’t like how that kinda felt like Colin copping out and basically telling Katherine Heigl, “No hard feelings.” I’m probably looking too much into that, though.
— Colin and Cecily have actually been having a few strong jokes tonight among all the clunkers they have. The clunkers still outnumber the strong jokes, though.
— Cecily, at the beginning of her introduction of the next guest commentary: “This Monday marks the first night of Passover. ” Oh, no. I can already tell from that statement of Cecily’s that it means she’s introducing a Jacob commentary, with Jacob doing the same thing he does in EVERY SINGLE COMMENTARY OF HIS.
— At least tonight’s Jacob commentary starts with an interesting interaction between him and Cecily, where Cecily assures him not to worry about Seth Meyers no longer being here, as she and Jacob will get along just fine. But of course, that’s immediately followed by Jacob launching into his same-old same-old routine.
— Cecily’s at least more far more fun and charming than Seth Meyers was at asking Jacob questions throughout Jacob’s commentary.
— An okay moment with Jacob quickly wiping away a tear when Cecily asks him how he feels about Derek Jeter’s upcoming retirement. That’s a good continuation of the minor story arc in these Jacob commentaries, where it’s established that he’s a Derek Jeter and Yankees fan.
— This overall Jacob commentary surprisingly didn’t turn out too bad, as they at least finally did some different things with the formula, and, like I said earlier, Cecily had a much more charming chemistry with him than Seth Meyers did.
STARS: **½


ENGAGEMENT PARTY
(CES) broaches cousin’s (host) gay experience at his engagement party

— I already don’t like the nature of this character that Cecily suddenly barges in playing.
— It’s now a minute-and-a-half later, and not only have I still yet to laugh a single time, but this sketch has gotten really uncomfortable, and not uncomfortable in a funny way. I also really don’t like the cheap attempt at laughs by using a disclosure about a past gay experience as the main “joke” of the sketch, nor do I like how it’s supposed to be “funny” that Seth’s character is ashamed that he sexually experimented with a man once, and we end up getting no resolution to that shame of his. Practically everything about this sketch’s script, premise, and execution is off-putting.
STARS: *


UNDERCOVER SHARPTON
Al Sharpton (KET) clumsily participates in 1983 FBI mob sting operation

— A very funny opening credits sequence, and the concept of Kenan’s Al Sharpton ineptly working in an undercover drug bust is promising.
— After the aforementioned opening credits sequence, the actual sketch itself that follows the credits is letting me down. It’s so boring that, after a while, a lot of it has become white noise to me, despite Kenan’s efforts.
— A poor ending.
STARS: *½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Don’t”


A VERY SMOKY 420
non-pothead (KYM) revels in holiday weed tradition

— I love how this is featuring Kyle’s trademark weirdness being turned up to 11. His weirdness is proudly at its most unleashed and unfiltered here.
— Kyle is an absolute riot here with his made-up 420 holiday traditions and nonsensical songs.
— Given how well I remember this season’s Good Neighbor shorts, I’m kinda surprised that I had no previous memory of Beck’s appearance in this. This is also the third consecutive Good Neighbor short in which Beck either doesn’t appear or only appears in a brief walk-on.
— I got a huge laugh from how Seth’s “Could you…not use my last name?” line is immediately followed by his last name being suddenly removed from the chyron of his full name that’s been displayed onscreen ever since he made his entrance.
STARS: ****


HERMAN & SONS
Herman (host) & Sons (KET) are making their sperm bank into a yogurt shop

— I kinda like the random subversion with the “Sons” part of the “Herman & Sons” company name turning out to be the surname of one of the company owners, Eugene Sons.
— Aidy steals this sketch with her hilarious brief appearance, squealing in excitement while running past the camera with a shopping cart full of sperm samples.
— A juvenile but funny concept of turning a sperm bank into a yogurt shop. Like a lot of juvenile premises this season, this is being executed surprisingly decently.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Kind of a hard episode to figure, but my gut feeling sorta says this was one of the more “meh” episodes of this season. While this featured a strong one-two punch of Monster Pals and Blue River Dog Food airing back-to-back, and also featured a great oddball Kyle Mooney short airing towards the end of the show, this episode also featured two of the worst sketches of this entire season (Steakhouse and Engagement Party) and a very weak Al Sharpton sketch that squandered a promising concept. This episode’s remaining segments not mentioned in my preceding sentence all ranged from just average to mediocre. So yeah, kind of an all-over-the-place episode, one that ultimately left me with an unexcited feel. Possibly adding to my unexcited feel is the fact that it seems like with each passing hosting stint, Seth Rogen is more and more forgettable. He was pretty much a non-entity as a host tonight, as the writers gave him very few chances to stand out, mostly sticking him in generic, dull straight man roles that could’ve been given to any host. Even his monologue was written to have everyone else getting the laughs except him. Why waste a comedian in these types of non-comedic roles, even as polarizing as his comedy usually is?


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Monster Pals
Blue River Dog Food
A Very Smoky 420
CNN Pregnancy Test
Herman & Sons
Drug Safety
Coachella
Weekend Update
Monologue
Undercover Sharpton
Steakhouse / Engagement Party (tie)


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Anna Kendrick)
a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Andrew Garfield

Posted on

April 4, 2009 – Seth Rogen / Phoenix (S34 E19)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

OBAMA’S BUSINESS RULINGS
Barack Obama (FRA) passes judgment on product category winners & losers

— The idea of breaking down which brand of certain products will get a government subsidy and which won’t has some promise, but Fred’s weak and dull Obama impression isn’t the best way to execute it. I guess it’s still better than just having Fred’s Obama deliver a direct-to-camera speech, like he does in most of these presidential address cold openings.
— I’m getting some small chuckles from some of the products given or not given a subsidy, but no big laughs from me.
STARS: **


MONOLOGUE
audience members prefer Paul Blart, Mall Cop & pre-weightloss host

— I got a laugh from Seth Rogen’s meta bit about how the second time you host, SNL gets lazy and has you take questions from the audience.
— Some funny lines making fun of how there were two mall cop movies around this time (Paul Blart and Observe & Report).
— Pretty solid bits with Bill as a pizza deliveryman and Bobby as a heavyset Seth Rogen lookalike.
STARS: ***


THE FAST & THE BI-CURIOUS
rival drivers (host) & (ANS) exude gayness

— Meh, a very dumb premise for a Fast And The Furious parody.
— Overall, nothing about this commercial worked for me. Not the lame homoerotic humor, not Abby’s grossed-out facial reactions, nothing.
STARS: *


SAVE THE FUNNIES
Dick Tracy (JAS) & other funny pages denizens want to save newspapers

 

— A variation of the fantastic Save Broadway sketch from earlier this season, right down to having Jason play the character holding the meeting.
— As someone who was OBSESSED with Archie comics when he was a kid, I love the inclusion of Bill and Abby as Archie and Veronica.
— Judging from Kenan’s look in the background, he looks like he’s playing the same character he played in the Save Broadway sketch. He’s wearing the exact same wig and clothes.
— Bobby has played a cat in both the Save Broadway sketch and this.
— Just like last time in the Broadway sketch, we get a bit with Jason being told “That’s racist”.
— Also similar to last time, immediately after Jason claims he’s not racist, he automatically mistakes Kenan for being from a black comic strip (which I guess is why Kenan is dressed the same way he was in the Save Broadway sketch). I feel like I should be annoyed by this particular gag reprisal, but the fact that this has become a running gag actually tickles me.
— Feels a little odd but interesting seeing Andy’s Cathy in this sketch and not on Weekend Update.
— I’m not familiar with the Far Side comic strip, but the cutaway to Paula Pell made me laugh.
— (*groan*) Here we have yet another display of Fred’s classic Asian stereotype routine.
— What a lousy ending with Fred.
— Overall, very mixed feelings from me. This pales badly in comparison to the classic Save Broadway sketch from earlier this season, but I still got a decent amount of laughs throughout this. If I hadn’t seen the Save Broadway sketch, I probably would’ve had a little more appreciation for this Save The Funnies sketch as its own entity. Still a horrible ending in this sketch, though.
STARS: ***


LA RIVISTA DELLA TELEVISIONE CON VINNY VEDECCI
Vinny Vedecci thinks host is a Bear Man

— Cue the obligatory “Vinny Vedecci starts the interview by speaking to the interviewee in Italian, the confused interviewee explains they don’t speak Italian, leading to Vedecci getting into an argument with Fred’s character”. It’s a shame this otherwise fun recurring sketch always has to open with such a formulaic beginning. However, they did add something a little new to that formulaic beginning tonight, with Fred’s character immediately taking off his glasses when Rogen says a man with glasses was the one who told him the interview would be done in English.
— Funny conceit with Rogen being known as the Bear Man in Italy. And when Vedecci is running down the Italian titles of Rogen’s movies, I like the meta bit with Vedecci saying Superbad’s Italian title is “Bearman And A Very, Very Handsome Gentleman” as we’re shown a photo of Rogen and Bill Hader’s Superbad characters.
— Another funny instance of Bill, as Vedecci, doing an impression of the interviewee.
— Good bit with the bottle of Pellegrino in a bear trap.
STARS: ***½


LIKE A BOSS
insecure bigshot ANS describes his supervisory doings

— When this Digital Short originally aired, I felt it was both below par and too been-there-done-that for Lonely Island standards, and I was then kinda surprised to see the huge popularity it ended up taking on, leading me to deem this short vastly overrated. However, I will go into this short with an open mind in my current viewing, in hopes that I’ll gain a higher opinion of it.
— Good style to this Digital Short’s conceit, and some really funny visuals throughout, such as Andy taking a dump on the desk of the co-worker who rejected him.
— Overall, while I couldn’t find much to say during this, I found this short to be MUCH better than I originally deemed it. I’m glad to have come around on it. However, it’s definitely still not a classic to me. Lonely Island has funnier and more epic music video Digital Shorts than this.
STARS: ****


PHONE VOICES
(ANS), (BIH), (host) employ funny voices when talking on their cellphones

— I love the premise to this. This feels like a simplistic but effective premise that would’ve appeared in an earlier SNL era. Kind of a timeless feel to this type of sketch (ignoring the technology involving the cellphone usage).
— This sketch is a blast with the various phone voices Bill, Andy, and Rogen are using. Bill’s voices are particularly great. Such a fun display of Bill’s knack for doing fantastic cartoonish voices.
— Fred makes yet another bad walk-on at the end of a sketch. For me, he’s hurt the great momentum of this sketch.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Lisztomania”


WEEKEND UPDATE
SEM critiques the gift exchange between Barack Obama & Queen Elizabeth

bargaining Rod Blagojevich (JAS) wants to be an undercover governor

Barack Obama’s visit to Europe has inspired some Jean K. Jean riffs

Angelina Jolie (ABE) outmaneuvers fellow baby-seeker Madonna (KRW)

— Wow, a very strong run-on delivery from Meyers during his Obama Gift Exchange rant. This biting rant feels more like something from the current-era Weekend Updates with Colin Jost and Michael Che, as it doesn’t follow the usual “simple set-up, simple punchline” formula of Meyers’ Update jokes.
— I didn’t remember Jason’s Rod Blagojevich impression lasting THIS long. I thought his final appearance was in January of this season.
— Are Meyers and Jason just trying to amuse themselves with the seemingly ad-libbed bit with Meyers making various guesses on what Jason-as-Blagojevich’s undercover name might be? This feels too “inside joke-y” for my likes, plus the names that Meyers is guessing just aren’t that funny.
— Despite a decent start, this overall Blagojevich commentary did not do it for me.
— I think this is Jean K. Jean’s first Update appearance where he’s sitting next to Meyers instead of Amy Poehler, for obvious reasons.
— The usual with Jean K. Jean, overall. Some laughs, and Kenan’s typical charm carries the bit and makes it fun. I will say, though, that I could really do without those dance breaks in his commentaries.
— This Madonna commentary from Kristen is a good way to work in the usual walk-on from Abby as Angelina Jolie, and to keep those walk-ons of hers from getting too old. I like how Kristen’s Madonna and Abby’s Angelina are in a competition with each other on where they adopt their babies from.
— Great line from Abby’s Angelina about her Russian baby being a baby inside a baby inside a baby.
STARS: ***


CORPORATE MEETING
(host)’s dub of Grease soundtrack onto corporate CD has co-workers fuming

— During the first playing of the “You’re The One That I Want” song, I like the camera constantly cutting back and forth between Rogen’s ashamed face and Fred’s very tense staredown of him.
— Odd structure to this sketch, but the various tense close-ups of everyone are a funny contrast to the upbeat “You’re The One That I Want” song playing. Bill’s tense close-up is particularly funny.
— I like how, after one of the times he’s played a portion of “You’re The One That I Want”, Fred angrily says to Rogen “I mean…Lee!”, then stares him down again for a few seconds before just playing another portion of “You’re The One That I Want”.
— (*sigh*) Yet another episode this season in which Darrell is relegated to making an awkward walk-on in a non-impression role, just to give him something to do. Have I made it clear enough in my recent reviews how sad I find it to watch Darrell in this final season of his?
— The ending with Darrell was so bad. Poor endings to otherwise good sketches seems to be a theme in tonight’s episode.
— In dress rehearsal, Darrell played John Travolta in this sketch (presumably because of the Grease connection with the use of “You’re The One That I Want”) instead of the random character he plays in the live version. Not sure if him as Travolta would’ve made this ending any better. I despise his Travolta impression.
STARS: ***


MILESTONE HIGH
(ANS)’s tutoring fails because dumb (host) is not a jock

— Funny reveal of Rogen not even being on the basketball team, and just being some random idiot who doesn’t even know anything about basketball.
— That’s it? The sketch is already over? Felt like this sketch should’ve more to it after the aforementioned reveal.
STARS: **½


CLANCY T. BACHLERATT AND JACKIE SNAD SING EASTER SONGS ABOUT SPACESHIPS, TODDLERS, MODEL T. CARS & JARS OF BEER
Clancy T. Bachleratt & Jackie Snad do what the title above says

— A follow-up to the fantastic Clancy T. Bachleratt/Jackie Snad sketch from the preceding season.
— I’m surprised to see this is using the same song topics (spaceships, toddlers, Model-T cars, and jars of beer) as the first Bachleratt/Snad sketch. I thought I recall all the follow-ups to the first Bachleratt/Snad sketch (includng a cut-after-dress-rehearsal one from the following season’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt episode, which was put up online as an “Online Exclusive” after the episode’s original airing) having song topics with different oddball combinations.
— I’m still getting a lot of laughs from this, even if this isn’t hitting quite as hard for me as the first installment of this sketch did.
— At least Rogen isn’t laughing his way through this sketch like an idiot, the way Jonah Hill inexplicably did in the first installment of this sketch.
— Like last time, we get fantastic insane facial expressions from Will during his and Kristen’s New National Anthem song at the end.
— I love how, at the end of the final song, Will and Kristen’s over-the-top musical vocalizations continue for a while AFTER the background music has stopped. Their vocalizations during this part sound kinda like old-fashioned native chanting you’d see in a movie or something.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “1901”


MUPPET BUS
Nipsey Russell (KET) stops Muppets in Electric Mayhem bus for hit & run

— Another Seth Rogen-involved Muppets sketch, after the more-charming-than-intentionally-funny one from Rogen’s first episode. I like how tonight’s Muppets sketch has much more of a comedic conceit and an actual point, and I also appreciate how it’s involving much more of the cast than the first one did.
— Funny to see Will dressed in a Kermit costume after the legendary Kermit hand puppet sketch Will did with Justin Timberlake years prior.
— I love the “boom boom, sniff sniff” bit, with Bill-as-Animal having dynamite and a bag of cocaine on him.
— After Andy’s Swedish Chef slaps a freaking-out Kristen-as-Beaker, I got a pretty good laugh from Swedish Chef telling Beaker a stern “Smorgy…….bork!”
— Amusing inclusion of Kenan as Nipsey Russell, and it’s very funny how he suddenly gets shot in the middle of one of his typical poems.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS
musical guest performs “Too Young”

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A good episode. In the past, I had always felt this episode was very forgettable. After reviewing the episode just now, I’ve found that I actually like a lot of the content in it, though I still have that lingering “good but forgettable” feel. Not sure why.


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Phone Voices
Clancy T. Bachleratt and Jackie Snad Sing Easter Songs about Spaceships, Toddlers, Model T. Cars & Jars of Beer
Like A Boss
Muppet Bus
La Rivista Della Televisione con Vinny Vedecci
Monologue
Corporate Meeting
Weekend Update
Save The Funnies
Milestone High
Obama’s Business Rulings
The Fast & The Bi-Curious


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Tracy Morgan)
a mild step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Zac Efron

Posted on

October 6, 2007 – Seth Rogen / Spoon (S33 E2)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

A MESSAGE FROM KEVIN FEDERLINE
Kevin Federline (ANS) tells what he knows about being a good parent

— Good to see a non-political cold opening, even if this is still following the format of typical political openings by involving a person sitting behind a desk, talking straight to the camera (one of the laziest formats for a cold opening, even if SNL has certainly had their share of successes with it).
— Lots of pretty funny lines from Andy’s K-Fed.
— Ooh, that ending bit with Andy’s K-Fed proudly pointing out similarities between himself and Bill Cosby hasn’t aged well, for obvious reasons.
STARS: ***½


OPENING MONTAGE
— A Cartoon By Robert Smigel is credited, but no such cartoon ends up airing tonight. It would’ve been one of Smigel’s last had it aired.


MONOLOGUE
host reads the SNL monologue he wrote when he was 13 years old

— I like the “Party on, Wayne” reference in the dated monologue that Seth Rogen wrote as a 13-year-old.
— Another fun mention in Rogen’s dated monologue, with his prediction of him going on to be made a member of Wu-Tang Clan when he’s in high school.
— A random inclusion of a Steven Seagal impression, but a decent way to display that fun chemistry between Bill and Rogen that was previously seen in the then-recent hit movie Superbad.
STARS: ***


VERITAS ULTRASOUND HD
Veritas Ultrasound HD displays high-quality fetal video for dads-to-be

— A huge laugh from Jason proudly exclaiming “Now THAT’S a penis!” when seeing the high-definition ultrasound of the fetus in Kristen’s stomach.
— A lot of funny straight lines from a deadpan, mildly-annoyed Kristen in reaction to dumb things Jason says.
STARS: ***½


2007 NATIONAL DOUCHEBAG CHAMPIONSHIPS
finalists (BIH), (host), (WLF) offend

— I’m already very interested in this sketch concept.
— Funny mention of Jared Leto and Entourage in connection with douchebags.
— Will’s physical look as a douchebag is fantastic.
— I love Jason’s subtly disapproving facial reactions to certain things the douchebag contestants say. Funnily enough, Jason’s displaying the same great subtle annoyance that Kristen displayed towards him in the Ultrasound HD commercial that preceded this.
— A good use of Amy’s Sharon Osborne.
— Spot-on casting of Fred as Gene Simmons.
— Andy’s ridiculous, obnoxious character is hilarious.
— Heh, Amy seemed unsure of her delivery of the word “doucherty”, and it seemed like she really wanted to laugh after saying it, but she held on and stayed in character.
— Andy’s ferret being named Ferret Bueller is a joke that was used on SNL a few seasons prior to this, in a scene with Ben Affleck in an Appalachian Emergency Room sketch.
STARS: ****


MACGRUBER
MacGruber’s balding-induced self-consciousness derails rescue plan

— Tonight’s MacGruber shorts end up being the final ones with Maya as one of MacGruber’s assistants, as all of the subsequent SNL episodes that contain MacGruber shorts are after Maya has left the cast. Her character in these shorts would be replaced by a new character played by Kristen.
— A decent short overall, but nothing particularly noteworthy in this.
STARS: ***


BIG KIDS
gawky Jeremy (host) & Stacia (KRW) are cute only to parents (BIH) & (AMP)

— Boy, only 20 seconds after Kristen and Rogen’s entrance, and SNL is ALREADY running that “I said we!” line of Kristen’s into the damn ground. It doesn’t help that she says it in an increasingly exaggerated, obnoxious manner over the course of this sketch.
— There goes the very tired routine that a lot of sketches in this era have, where the camera does a pan shot of straight man characters each having a frozen unpleasant look on their face as they’re witnessing something odd the lead comedic character(s) is doing.
— The part with Kristen and Rogen performing the then-contemporary Amy Winehouse song “Rehab” is at least an interesting 2007 time capsule in hindsight.
— Not caring for this sketch so far. I remember finding it hilarious when it originally aired, but it doesn’t hold up well for me after all these years, possibly because it’s basically one of the earliest precursors to the type of badly-written “Kristen Wiig plays an annoying, quirky, ‘Look at me!’ character” sketches that SNL would later do on a regular basis from 2008-2012. I also wonder if this sketch is the work (or co-work) of a certain new writer this season: Kent Sublette, a writer responsible (or co-responsible) for a lot of those aforementioned badly-written “Kristen Wiig plays an annoying, quirky, ‘Look at me!’ character” sketches from 08-12. Sublette plays a big part in the unfortunate turn that Kristen’s SNL trajectory takes around 2008, where she goes from being mostly known for perfectly, charmingly, and hilariously playing lots of subtle, deadpan, low-key roles to being mostly known for playing lots of loud, wacky, obnoxious roles. IIRC, Kristen would later disclose in an interview that she herself doesn’t like some of those obnoxious characters of hers that she’s been given in 2008-2012, and she even had to tell Sublette at one point to stop writing sketches starring a certain character of hers (I think Trina, the wacky wife who always says “Thomas!”).
— Boy, they are relying WAY too heavily on the aforementioned pan shot of frozen unpleasant facial reactions from the straight man characters.
— I finally got one genuine laugh: Will getting ready to jump out the window during one of Kristen and Rogen’s musical showcases, and then, when told they’re on the 15th floor, casually responding “I’m well aware of that.”
STARS: *½


MACGRUBER
MacGruber’s cosmetic work has helped land a young girlfriend (KRW)

— A huge laugh from MacGruber’s bad plastic surgery.
— Funny in hindsight seeing Kristen appearing as a random one-off character in this MacGruber short, given the fact that, as mentioned earlier, Kristen would soon go on to be a permanent part of these MacGruber shorts by replacing Maya’s character.
— Pretty funny how MacGruber is desperately attempting to pass off his two assistants, Maya and Rogen, to his girlfriend as his parents.
— The ending was kinda weak.
STARS: ***½


A MESSAGE FROM FRED THOMPSON
Fred Thompson (DAH) sort of wants to be America’s next president

— I’m not too familiar with Fred Thompson, but I’m liking Darrell’s portrayal of him. This is a more loose, likable performance than we usually see from Darrell in his later seasons.
— Yet another walk-on from Fred’s Sam Waterston impression. They’re spreading the impression kinda thin here. The previous appearances of Fred’s Waterston already got all the laughs out of this impression that SNL is ever going to get.
STARS: ***


MACGRUBER
mirror reveals extent of MacGruber’s botched overseas plastic surgery

— Strange how SNL is airing all three of tonight’s MacGruber shorts so close together and so early in this episode. Usually, SNL spreads MacGruber shorts much farther throughout an episode.
— I don’t know why, but the “Monastery Control Room” sign shown at the beginning of this made me chuckle, even though I don’t even think it was intended to be funny.
— I like the suspense they’re keeping us in by only showing MacGruber from the back throughout this, not letting us see what his face looks like after his horribly-botched plastic surgery.
— And now we finally see what MacGruber’s post-surgery face looks like. Hmm. To be honest, I was expecting that reveal to be funnier, after such a huge build-up. He didn’t look much worse than he did in the last MacGruber short prior to this. They should’ve went more all out in making Will look EXTREMELY ridiculous.
— Tonight’s overall collection of MacGruber shorts was a little too average for MacGruber standards. The shorts were fine, but do not measure up to the typically strong and memorable MacGruber shorts. Unfortunately, I recall the next set of MacGruber shorts, in the Jonah Hill episode later this season, also being kinda below par for MacGruber standards (so much so, that SNL doesn’t even bother airing all three of the MacGruber shorts in that episode, leaving the third short as a special cut-for-time online exclusive), but we’ll see when we arrive at that episode.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The Underdog”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Lou Dobbs (DAH) doesn’t like SNL gigs going to Canadians like host

incredulous SEM & AMP say “Really!?!” to Larry Craig’s indiscretions

Willie Randolph (KET) & Omar Minaya (FRA) can’t explain Mets’ collapse

CHC gives a report on the field of presidential candidates

— Why is Amy’s opening joke of practically every Update always so damn bad? Why would you intentionally open Update with your worst, lamest joke of the night?
— Something about Meyers’ hair looks kinda different tonight.
— A good laugh from Darrell’s Lou Dobbs naming Tom Hanks and, of all people, Jonny Moseley as ideal American hosts that SNL has had in the past.
— Darrell continues the surprisingly solid night he’s been having in this episode, as his Lou Dobbs commentary here is fantastic. He has so many funny disparaging anti-Canadian comments. (Speaking of which, Seth Rogen is one of those celebrities who I always forget is Canadian.) He’s also coming off laid-back, loose, and likable here, much like in his performance as Fred Thompson earlier tonight. Why can’t we see THIS Darrell Hammond much more often in these later seasons of his SNL tenure?
— Amy’s very brief joke about Anita Hill (in which Amy just cornily says “Anita Hill? Anita vacation!”) doesn’t hold up well after all these years, when, like me, you have absolutely no context for what the joke was about. I certainly know about the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings back in 1991, but have no memory of Hill being in the news in 2007.
— “14-year-old Miley Cyrus”. Boy, do those words feel odd to hear nowadays.
— The Larry Craig gay scandal is a good topic for a “Really?!?” segment, and there are some fantastic barbs from Meyers and Amy here. I also like how they’re not taking a homophobic stance here like I was initially worried they would.
— I remember an online SNL fan back at this time in 2007 pointing out that the casting of Fred as Omar Minaya made them realize that Fred could conceivably play Barack Obama, as this was at a time where every SNL fan was wondering who in the cast would play Obama. (Over the summer prior to this season, Kenan was in talks to lose a lot of weight so he could potentially play Obama, but as we know now, that ended up never happening.)
— The comedic conceit of this Willie Randolph/Omar Minaya commentary, with them just stammering and “ummmm”-ing when trying to make a point, is actually working for me, though I can understand why some people wouldn’t care for this. Fred is usually good at pulling this kind of humor off in these years of his SNL tenure (the years before he goes really downhill). In fact, the humor in this commentary feels a bit like a precursor to Fred’s Nicolas Fehn character, who, coincidentally, debuts in the very next episode.
— Not only do we get a surprise Chevy Chase cameo as Update’s “senior political correspondent”, but they’re even having him deliver his commentary from a replica of his old Update set! Seeing Chevy at this set brings back nice memories of when I reviewed seasons 1 and 2 earlier in this SNL project.
— Wow, I love how they’re even having Chevy start his commentary by doing the raunchy phone conversation gag that he typically opened his Updates with.
— Chevy’s actually coming off fairly likable and professional here, which is surprising, given his age and reputation by this point. His joke delivery isn’t all that great here, and it doesn’t help that some of the writing of these jokes is fairly tepid, but I know not to expect Chevy to have the same solid, reliable, snappy delivery that he had way back in 1975 and 1976. His delivery here is still better and more palatable than his mess of a marble-mouthed delivery in both his season 5 hosting stint and in the Weekend Update he did in his season 6 guest appearance.
— Boy, this may be one of the longest Updates ever. I’m surprised the jokes from Amy and Meyers are still going after that super-long Chevy segment. Kinda feels like that Chevy segment was meant to close this Update.
— I wonder if that “super gay” George Takei joke that Amy closed tonight’s Update with can be considered the type of homophobia that I was glad to see her and Meyers refrain from during their “Really?!?” segment earlier tonight.
STARS: ***


AMERICA’S FIRST COLONISTS
(host)’s settlement revolved around marijuana

— A pot-themed History Channel sketch starring Seth Rogen? Oh, I don’t think I’m going to like where this is going……
— Yep, two minutes later, it turns out I’m not caring for this sketch AT ALL. Just a collection of lazy, low-brow, boring stoner humor, placed in an equally-dull colonial setting.
— I do kinda like the stoner voice Will’s using.
— Kenan provides my only real laugh in this sketch, with his very funny brief walk-on.
STARS: *½


ROWLF & THE SWEDISH CHEF
Rowlf (host) & The Swedish Chef (ANS) sing “Beyond The Sea”

— Ah, a change of pace for this SNL era, and I like the use of the home base stage, giving this an old-school SNL feel.
— Not sure what to say about this sketch so far. It’s cute, but not all that funny. Then again, I don’t think it’s intended to be all that funny. I guess it’s basically just Rogen and the SNL cast’s homage to the Muppets that they grew up watching and loving. I can appreciate the charm behind that idea. SNL would later do an actual comedic and, from what I remember, pretty solid Seth Rogen-involved Muppets sketch, when Rogen hosts the following season.
— A fantastic Animal impression from Bill, and I love his insane drum solo.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb”


MAD JOE DIXON
Mad Joe Dixon (host) & Delilah (MAR) reveal personal peccadilloes

— Pretty funny line deliveries from Kristen and Maya during their conversation with each other at the beginning of this sketch.
— Not caring AT ALL for these unfunny, increasingly unsubtle, and poorly-written sexual references and bathroom-humor jokes during Rogen and Maya’s conversation. What the hell IS this?!? Was this sketch submitted by a 13-year-old?
— The reason Rogen’s character gives for why he’s called Mad Joe Dixon was just plain stupid, and not the funny kind of stupid.
STARS: *½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very average and nothing-special episode. Not too bad, but barely anything stood out in this episode, and the quality took a dive in most of the post-Weekend Update half.


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


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (LeBron James)
a step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Jon Bon Jovi