SNL 40 Recap

What I liked on SNL 40

• I enjoyed the Steve Martin opening monologue mainly because Steve Martin is still one of the funniest people on the planet.  The man is effortlessly hilarious and his red carpet line had me in stiches.  The cavalcade of stars that followed was fun as well with Chris Rock scoring a great line about his lack of airtime (also I wish Billy Crystal had more to do during the proceedings).  The only thing missing from the trifecta of great returning hosts (Baldwin, Martin, and Hanks) was an appearance by Christopher Walken.  That was a missed opportunity and one of the show’s returning champions should have been given something more to do than introduce Kanye West.

• Martin Short came out and proved he is the ultimate showman.  It was totally fine that he didn’t do a character because his routine was hilarious and Maya Rudolph does the best Beyoncé.  The musical numbers were great but way to short (only one line from Opera Man?) but it was great to see Joe Pisicopo (Phil Hartman is still the better Sinatra) and Bill Murray stole the entire show with Nick the Lounge Singer.  The Jaws theme has never sounded better.

• I liked the idea of performing updated classic sketches (save the Californians) with a mix of old and new cast members.  That was a novel idea and Celebrity Jeopardy and Wayne’s World were still hilarious.  It’s interesting how these guys can write and perform a decades old sketch and still have it come out fresh and funny as if no time had passed at all.  My special kudos goes to Dan Aykroyd who did the Bassomatic 2150 with the same energy as he did in the 70’s.  That was a great and unexpected callback. 

• The Andy Samberg and Adam Sandler digital short was another highlight of the night because it seemed to be written for both the audience and the viewers at home (more on this later).  It had a self-awareness that was nice on such a bloated and self-congratulating night.  Well played gentlemen and take that Jimmy Fallon. 

• Louis CK gave the best clip introduction of the night by saying something a lot of us have pondered over the years.  Listen to Louis CK SNL!

• The auditions were fascinating and I wished they would put them out on DVD.  You could tell off that bat that John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Dana Carvey, and Phil Hartman would turn into SNL legends.  The failed auditions off Jim Carrey, Stephen Colbert, and Kevin Hart were equally fascinating.  What could have made Lorne Michaels say no to Jim Carrey?  I’d love to see the audition to know why.

• It was fun to see the selection of greatest hits clips, but they felt like the only part of the show that was way too short.  It would have been great if they focused some more time on a selection of classic bits than on let’s say extraneous and strained Robert DeNiro introductions and other musical performances.  That would have been cool and a better tribute to the show. 

• The SNL in memoriam segment hit harder than any Grammy, Oscar, or Emmy one combined.  Who wouldn’t want to see what such greats as John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Phil Hartman, Chris Farley, and Tom Davis would have done throughout the years.  At least they leave a plethora of great work.

• Jon Lovitz got some airtime in some hilarious reaction shots (but it would have been awesome if he played the pathological liar).  Tim Meadows had a great line of “why are you surprised” during the question and answer session and Ellen Cleghorne had some good remarks as well.  Plus Larry David is the ultimate off the cuff riffer (I want to believe it was a riff).  Him and Seinfeld are always…gold Jerry, pure gold Jerry!

• Weekend Update was a pleasant nostalgia trip with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Jane Curtin (who had that great dig at Fox News and sadly the best joke on Weekend Update in months).  The twist of having Emma Stone, Melissa McCarthy, and Ed Norton do old characters was not bad.  It was another great self-aware moment because who among us hasn’t come in on a Monday trying to imitate a great SNL sketch, only to perform it in the most mangled adaptation ever.  I remember singing “Lazy Sunday” to anybody who would listen and then getting punched in the face repeatedly after refusing to “stop ruining the bit”.

• Norm McDonald’s charm has always been that he doesn’t give a fuck and his ultra-casual introduction of Chevy Chase was hilarious (and the added bonus of seeing Garrett Morris didn’t hurt).  Norm McDonald is one of the few cast members who seems like he can make any other cast member laugh at will.  Plus I did enjoy seeing Kevin Nealon do some Mr. Subliminal. 

What I didn’t like on SNL 40

• It was weird of them to omit Cecily Strong from the Weekend Update host montage.  She did it for a full season and wasn’t terrible.  If you’re going to show everybody and Colin Jost, why not include Cecily Strong who is in the cast right now!  Why make such a blunder?

• Eddie Murphy got the greatest introduction and a standing ovation and then said thank you and promptly left.  Did he not want to do anything?  Hell he could have told some jokes or at least introduced a compilation of clips about his era?  This was the biggest disappointment of the show.  Eddie Murphy is arguably the biggest star to come out of SNL and when he finally returns they give him nothing to do.  Simply terrible planning.  It always seems weird when people like Eddie Murphy or Martin Short show up because they represent the non-Lorne Michaels years that people very much enjoyed.  They are the bastard children that SNL hates to admit happened because it distracts from the Lorne Michaels is a genius narrative.  Still, it was nice to see Mr. Fuck You Man on the stage.  Maybe he’ll host soon.

• The biggest omissions to the night were Christopher Guest, Dennis Miller, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.  Dennis Miller was ranked as one of the best Update Hosts and was the first one of note since Jane Curtin.  You can’t talk about Weekend Update without mentioning Dennis Mille who, along with Jon Lovitz, saved the show from certain cancellation.  It would have been great to see him behind the desk with Dana Carvey and Tom Hanks doing their impressions babe.  A missed opportunity for sure.  As for Christopher Guest, you must invite the man who directed Synchronized Swimming (and where was Harry Shearer).  That absence is unforgivable I say!  Julia Louis-Dreyfus was the first female cast member to host the show and is one of their most successful and famous cast members.  Where was she?

• The Californians is the one sketch from the modern era they want to bring back?  It dragged on and on and on with pointless cameos (save Laraine Newman and Betty White) until it was mercifully brought to an end by David Spade.  Wish he got to do more than just a quick one minute bit.

• The audience for SNL was terrible and it was noticeably awful as some sketches and jokes and guest appearances didn’t get the laughs and applause they deserved.  An audience of Hollywood greats and insiders don’t get excited for random celebrity appearances because they deal with these people every day.  When a random guest steps on the stage during a normal taping of SNL the crowd loses their shit because they don’t normally see celebrities in their daily lives.  It changed the dynamic of the show because the cast had to perform to two distinct audiences; a cold insider one who attended to be seen and the normal viewers at home who watch the program every week.  The audience should have been filled out by some old cast members, crew and cast family members, and SNL super fans.  Have a contest and pick 50 or so SNL super fans to attend the taping.  Then the building would be brimming with excitement.  Hollywood insiders and A-list celebrities cannot match the excitement that would have been generated with an audience of super fans.

• Why invite Miley Cyrus on if you don’t want her to perform a Miley Cyrus song?  Why would she perform a Paul Simon song when Paul Simon is backstage?  It makes no sense.  Also enough with the Kanye jokes yeesh.  If anything it reminded us of the long held SNL tradition of running things into the ground.  The musical performances I thought were extraneous and the time could have been better spent on more clips and more Eddie Murphy.  Paul Simon makes sense because he’s been on the show a million times, but Miley Cyrus?  Not as much (even if she did do a fine job on her song).

• They should have had a moment where they brought the original cast (and Bill Murray) out to soak up a well-deserved standing ovation.  To see them on the stage together would have been great.  Hell they should have brought out all the different casts together and arranged them by era.  That would have been cool to see.

• The show was so long, so very long.  I can’t imagine what the 50^th anniversary will be like.

Feel free to comment with your favorite/least favorite moments below!