Wow, tonight's SNL is really funny . . . just kidding

The Fey episode was the only one I can remember that had more than one decent sketch - her MILF teacher one with Justin Bieber was hilarious.
She probably wrote all the sketches herself.

 

It's interesting that the Tiny Fey era had been seen as a creative nadir for SNL. Her reputation has sure gotten golden again real fast, considering how the show has gone on from there, and how well 30 Rock has been received.

 

When Fey was on SNL, even as bad as the show was, Update was still great.

We can all see the difference when Meyers as the head writer. She's brilliant. He's dreadful.

 

Read a story a few years back about Bobby Moynihan's audition. The guy he was competing for the spot was expected to get it based on being one of the top improv guys in the country. Unfortunately he shows up for the audition drunk, or high or both and Michaels isn't impressed. Moynihan gets the gig. I really wonder if Farley's death has turned Lorne off when it comes to performers with substance issues.
I don't hear stories about SNL parties like I used to - Maybe the night before David Wells' no-hitter back in the late 90s?
The funny thing is - I almost think you need to BE on drugs in order to laugh at the stuff they're putting out these days.
Another odd thing - noticed the ad for Macgruber - it's opening the weekend before Memorial Day weekend and two weeks after Iron Man 2 and one week after Robin Hood. Oh and it opens against the new Shrek movie. I guess they're counting on the "the movie is sold out, let's just go see something else" crowd. Thought it had a shot at making maybe $30 mil if it came out during Spring Break - Police Academy cleaned up with that strategy.

 

The odd thing is, to crossthread from the wrestling thread (of all places), MacGruber has nothing but positive reviews so far on Rotten Tomatoes. The trailer I saw looked OK, but nothing special.

 

Kenan Thompson said on Stern's show a few months back that after Moynihan auditioned, someone made the remark that he looked identical to the way Artie Lange did when he was on Mad TV.

 

The idea that SNL isn't funny anymore is so overplayed. People have been saying that for 6 or 7 years now. Again, there is some great stuff on there, maybe not as consistent as years past but saying SNL isn't funny is a cop out.

 

Has there been a single sketch this year that we'll be talking about 10 years from now? I seriously doubt it.

 

Someone has to beat it into the heads of the current SNL crop: Weird does NOT equal funny. Weird CAN BE funny. Weird has been funny in the past on its own merit, but in today's atmos where weird is only an Internet click away, weird isn't funny all by itself.

Target Lady? Weird, not funny.
The "I'm Kidding" chick: Weird, NOT FUNNY.
What's Up With That? Weird, not funny (though some here disagree).

Looking back, some of the best SNL characters had both. Church Lady premise was funny by itself for a while, then they had DeVito hitting on her, her dirty dancing, etc. Wayne's World started as two weird cable access guys on in the middle of nowhere. But Myers built on the premise, had Wayne and Garth DOING stuff other than "Hey, look! We're strange!"

I could go on and on.

But most of the current stuff banks on getting laughs because the character's slightly off-kilter. Fine. That works once or twice. Then what? Instead, they keep rolling them out as the same shit. No development. Too many one-notes.

Take it somewhere. DO something with it. Target Lady's store is converted into a Goth shop. Will Forte's creepy stalker boyfriend guy gets his own abusive stalker. "I'm Kidding" chick testifies in a murder trial....

Plenty of comedy to be found if you just take the premise somewhere.

 

They actually cast decent actors and came up with a respectable idea for the plot. I'd be lying if I said I was excited to see it, but I think it has a chance to be successful and that's pretty surprising.

 

absolutely. Python did that best.
Coneheads was a weird premise, but their "normalcy" made it hilarious.

 

This is one of the very few topics in which "How old are YOU!!!!" is a perfectly valid question.

I think the sheep who laugh uproariously at comedy dreck when in the SNL studio do it because they want to believe that what's happening right NOW, in front of their generation's eyes, compares to former greatness. It's like seeing a veteran (20 years together) band in concert and saying "They are playing as well as they ever have!"

Well, in most cases, probably not.

SNL had a decline in the mid-late 1980s before the Carvey/Nealon/Hartman group lifted it back up. You know a show's talent is deep again when Mike Myers, Chris Farley and Adam Sandler were just featured players for a time.

Who among the current group compares to any of those three?