Tune into Late Night tonight where Fred Armisen will join Jimmy Fallon for some chat and laughs! (Do I sound like an announcer or what?)
Video posted here tomorrow.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Live From New York It's...
Not surprisingly, it's not Jon Bon Jovi & Derek Jeter per Entertainment2U's suggestions!
Instead it's... (drumroll please)
December 12 - Taylor Lautner/Bon Jovi
Decmber 19- James Franco/Muse
Not getting off that teeny-bopper wagon, no Sir! Yes, New Moon's Jacob Black or Taylor Lautner as he's known in real life (bleurgh real life, yay New Moon!) will host December 12. Why? I'm guessing 'cause Robert Pattinson refused.
December 19 will see James Franco host for the second time in as many seasons. He must have made a hell of an impression on them if he's been invited back so soon, don't forget he appeared on What's Up With That? already this season. Did anyone think he was THAT good a host last time around? I mean, I love me a bit of James Franco, and he's a terrific actor, but I didn't think he was so phenomenal that he should merit being invited back so soon.
Pretty excited for Muse though, should be an interesting Christmas show!
What do you think? Excited for these shows? Think Lorne & co. could have selected better hosts? Comment, comment, comment!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
JGL/DMB Review
This week saw an energetic puppy host Saturday Night Live. Oh sorry, I mean this week Joseph Gordon-Levitt of GI Joe & (500) Days of Summer fame host. He certainly wasn't short of energy, enthusiasm & excitement but how did he really fare? Let's check it out.
Cold Open - So, this was a press conference with President Barack Obama & Chinese President Hu Jintao. The first section was a little yawn-worthy as basically Fred Armisen was saying things that Barack Obama would say i.e not funny things. However once Nasim Pedrad began interpreting Hu Jintao (Will Forte), it began to get much funnier. "Will you kiss me? Not as good as the Fox Cold Open from a few weeks ago, but pretty entertaining as far it goes.
7/10
Monologue - Well, best monologue of the season and actually as far as the season goes, we've had some pretty decent monologues. Here, Joseph Gordon-Levitt recreates the classic "Make 'Em Laugh" dance number from Singin' In The Rain. Now, I know some people were like "Boo! It's not as good as Donald O'Connor!" and it wasn't, but what is? But JGL did all of this LIVE and in ONE TAKE. It's a pretty amazing feat & the boy can dance for sure! I know it left me with a big stupid grin and pumped me up for the rest of the show. Only gripe - why was Bobby Moynihan even there? Unnecessary!
9/10
Palin 2012 - What can I say? Loved it! Anything that incorporates the dumbest movie ever with Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck is awesome. Not saying that Sarah Palin as president would cause an apocalypse, but y'know. Also, the clip of Glenn Beck they used was the most Glenn Beck clip ever.
8/10
Secret Word - What, really? You had to go all SNL Season 35 on us again, and have a super lame game show sketch. Okay, it wasn't awful. Kristen Wiig's character did make me laugh, at least initially and I liked what Jenny Slate was doing. JGL's character was kinda creepy, and not in a funny way, just a South American way. The concept was two contestants didn't understand a game where people had to guess a word. Looks even worse when I see it written down.
5/10
Digital Short - Okay, so this was a digital short in the bizarre vein. Kenan plays a guy with a red wig, who Andy thinks is Reba McEntire, despite all the signs pointing to the fact that "Reba" is a man. I literally don't even know how they come up with this stuff. So, it wasn't hilarious but the song was ridiculously catchy and Kenan's facial expressions and Andy's general obliviousness made me laugh. I actually really like the chemistry between Kenan and Andy, so I guess any sketch that highlights that is good, or at least okay.
6.5/10
The Mellow Show- So, we've seen this one done before. Jack Johnson (Andy Samberg hosts a mellow show with other mellow artists such as Dave Matthews (Bill Hader) and Jason Mraz (JGL). First half felt very old, though the "freaky fiddle player" from DMB made me laugh and JGL did a great impression of Jason Mraz. Who really surprised me though was the real Dave Matthews who did a super impression of Ozzy Osbourne and made fun of himself in the process.
7/10
What's Up With That? - This seems to be the star sketch of Season 35. There is something about What's Up With That that is so joyous and hilarious that I can actually overlook the fact that there's not tons of comedy going on. This edition saw Al Gore, Mindy Kaling and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsay Buckingham (Bill Hader) join DeAndre Cole to discuss the issues of the day. Mindy Kaling was left silent but pretty for the sketch, but Al Gore managed to get a line or two and a few bewildered gazes in there. JGL came out as Klaus armed with a keytar and Bobby Moynihan came out as a tap-dancing wrestler. Will Forte also came out and danced with a clown wig on. In short, the whole spectacle makes me super happy and Kenan kills every time.
9/10
Weekend Update - Very short this week, I'm guessing to make room for What's Up With That? Jokes were decent. I enjoyed the one about the pardoned turkey and the kosher soup kitchen. Al Gore dropped by to announce that he's trying a new method of getting people to care about the environment - being crazy. Gore has a pretty decent comedy timing and manages to make me feel guilty for not caring about the environment! Nice job!
7.5/10
Thanksgiving Dinner - Remember when this was on the Hugh Laurie episode and it was about Christmas dinner, and I reviewed it by saying "This seemed to run on a such a flat premise, it had me a little confused." Well, they brought it back! Basically, it's a dysfunctional family sitting down to dinner and being super angry with one another. It's more uncomfortable than funny. The one part I did laugh at was "Lot of traffic on the way here. There must be a concert". Other than that, it fell completely flat. How did it even make it out of dress rehearsal?
4/10
Woman To Woman - Yet another talk show sketch where Fred Armisen played the producer forced to take over for a female-oriented talk show due to the regular host being sick. Thing is, he's basically deaf and in no position to be dispensing advice to women. Okay, so thinking about it, I actually kind of enjoyed it. Fred did a great job as the obnoxious replacement host, and the girls did a good job too, particularly Jenny Slate who was wonderfully endearing as the girl who couldn't achieve an orgasm with her boyfriend. "Go to the flower store, get a bunch of flowers, give them to your husband and you say 'I'm sorry!"
7/10
Say Anything - Another delightfully random sketch to close the show. Here JGL plays the John Cusack character from Say Anything and Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Wiig play his ex's neighbours who are curious as to why he's standing on her front lawn playing Peter Gabriel. It was a nice premise and pretty well-executed. Jason did a great job.
7/10
OVERALL -
Like Taylor Swift, Joseph Gordon-Levitt came to SNL with an uncanny level of enthusiasm which served him well. He didn't get as many starring roles as I would have liked, but he fit in seamlessly with the cast and seemed to get on well with them. He might not have had an enormous capacity for comedy, but the guy is an out-and-out performer, and someone needs to put him in a musical pronto. I'm pretty sure everyone was aware of how badly last week's show sucked and that's why the pulled out all the stops. From getting Al Gore to appear, to having possibly the liveliest sketch ever - it's okay SNL, we forgive you. Just don't let it happen again.
I'm gonna give MVP of the show to Kenan Thompson for anchoring What's Up With That? In a season where SNL is not achieving the levels of greatness it once reached, Kenan along with Jason Sudiekis has been consistently bringing his A-game, and I feel like both of their contributions can sometimes go unnoticed. Rest assured guys, I recognise and appreciate your level of performance and commitment each week.
Overall - 7.5/10
Next week - Repeat of Gerard Butler/Shakira
December 5 - Blake Lively/Rihanna - oi.
Cold Open - So, this was a press conference with President Barack Obama & Chinese President Hu Jintao. The first section was a little yawn-worthy as basically Fred Armisen was saying things that Barack Obama would say i.e not funny things. However once Nasim Pedrad began interpreting Hu Jintao (Will Forte), it began to get much funnier. "Will you kiss me? Not as good as the Fox Cold Open from a few weeks ago, but pretty entertaining as far it goes.
7/10
Monologue - Well, best monologue of the season and actually as far as the season goes, we've had some pretty decent monologues. Here, Joseph Gordon-Levitt recreates the classic "Make 'Em Laugh" dance number from Singin' In The Rain. Now, I know some people were like "Boo! It's not as good as Donald O'Connor!" and it wasn't, but what is? But JGL did all of this LIVE and in ONE TAKE. It's a pretty amazing feat & the boy can dance for sure! I know it left me with a big stupid grin and pumped me up for the rest of the show. Only gripe - why was Bobby Moynihan even there? Unnecessary!
9/10
Palin 2012 - What can I say? Loved it! Anything that incorporates the dumbest movie ever with Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck is awesome. Not saying that Sarah Palin as president would cause an apocalypse, but y'know. Also, the clip of Glenn Beck they used was the most Glenn Beck clip ever.
8/10
Secret Word - What, really? You had to go all SNL Season 35 on us again, and have a super lame game show sketch. Okay, it wasn't awful. Kristen Wiig's character did make me laugh, at least initially and I liked what Jenny Slate was doing. JGL's character was kinda creepy, and not in a funny way, just a South American way. The concept was two contestants didn't understand a game where people had to guess a word. Looks even worse when I see it written down.
5/10
Digital Short - Okay, so this was a digital short in the bizarre vein. Kenan plays a guy with a red wig, who Andy thinks is Reba McEntire, despite all the signs pointing to the fact that "Reba" is a man. I literally don't even know how they come up with this stuff. So, it wasn't hilarious but the song was ridiculously catchy and Kenan's facial expressions and Andy's general obliviousness made me laugh. I actually really like the chemistry between Kenan and Andy, so I guess any sketch that highlights that is good, or at least okay.
6.5/10
The Mellow Show- So, we've seen this one done before. Jack Johnson (Andy Samberg hosts a mellow show with other mellow artists such as Dave Matthews (Bill Hader) and Jason Mraz (JGL). First half felt very old, though the "freaky fiddle player" from DMB made me laugh and JGL did a great impression of Jason Mraz. Who really surprised me though was the real Dave Matthews who did a super impression of Ozzy Osbourne and made fun of himself in the process.
7/10
What's Up With That? - This seems to be the star sketch of Season 35. There is something about What's Up With That that is so joyous and hilarious that I can actually overlook the fact that there's not tons of comedy going on. This edition saw Al Gore, Mindy Kaling and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsay Buckingham (Bill Hader) join DeAndre Cole to discuss the issues of the day. Mindy Kaling was left silent but pretty for the sketch, but Al Gore managed to get a line or two and a few bewildered gazes in there. JGL came out as Klaus armed with a keytar and Bobby Moynihan came out as a tap-dancing wrestler. Will Forte also came out and danced with a clown wig on. In short, the whole spectacle makes me super happy and Kenan kills every time.
9/10
Weekend Update - Very short this week, I'm guessing to make room for What's Up With That? Jokes were decent. I enjoyed the one about the pardoned turkey and the kosher soup kitchen. Al Gore dropped by to announce that he's trying a new method of getting people to care about the environment - being crazy. Gore has a pretty decent comedy timing and manages to make me feel guilty for not caring about the environment! Nice job!
7.5/10
Thanksgiving Dinner - Remember when this was on the Hugh Laurie episode and it was about Christmas dinner, and I reviewed it by saying "This seemed to run on a such a flat premise, it had me a little confused." Well, they brought it back! Basically, it's a dysfunctional family sitting down to dinner and being super angry with one another. It's more uncomfortable than funny. The one part I did laugh at was "Lot of traffic on the way here. There must be a concert". Other than that, it fell completely flat. How did it even make it out of dress rehearsal?
4/10
Woman To Woman - Yet another talk show sketch where Fred Armisen played the producer forced to take over for a female-oriented talk show due to the regular host being sick. Thing is, he's basically deaf and in no position to be dispensing advice to women. Okay, so thinking about it, I actually kind of enjoyed it. Fred did a great job as the obnoxious replacement host, and the girls did a good job too, particularly Jenny Slate who was wonderfully endearing as the girl who couldn't achieve an orgasm with her boyfriend. "Go to the flower store, get a bunch of flowers, give them to your husband and you say 'I'm sorry!"
7/10
Say Anything - Another delightfully random sketch to close the show. Here JGL plays the John Cusack character from Say Anything and Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Wiig play his ex's neighbours who are curious as to why he's standing on her front lawn playing Peter Gabriel. It was a nice premise and pretty well-executed. Jason did a great job.
7/10
OVERALL -
Like Taylor Swift, Joseph Gordon-Levitt came to SNL with an uncanny level of enthusiasm which served him well. He didn't get as many starring roles as I would have liked, but he fit in seamlessly with the cast and seemed to get on well with them. He might not have had an enormous capacity for comedy, but the guy is an out-and-out performer, and someone needs to put him in a musical pronto. I'm pretty sure everyone was aware of how badly last week's show sucked and that's why the pulled out all the stops. From getting Al Gore to appear, to having possibly the liveliest sketch ever - it's okay SNL, we forgive you. Just don't let it happen again.
I'm gonna give MVP of the show to Kenan Thompson for anchoring What's Up With That? In a season where SNL is not achieving the levels of greatness it once reached, Kenan along with Jason Sudiekis has been consistently bringing his A-game, and I feel like both of their contributions can sometimes go unnoticed. Rest assured guys, I recognise and appreciate your level of performance and commitment each week.
Overall - 7.5/10
Next week - Repeat of Gerard Butler/Shakira
December 5 - Blake Lively/Rihanna - oi.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Blake Lively/Rihanna
So, I knew that Entertainment2U Twitter-er was totes lying about the upcoming hosts (the fact that there was no other info whatsoever was a giveaway.)
So, instead of Jake Gyllenhaal, we get ... Blake Lively?
What?!
For those of you who don't even know who Blake Lively is (and I'm assuming a number of you don't) she's from Gossip Girl. Yeah, Gossip Girl. And as a former Gossip Girl fan, let me tell you, she's not even the best person in Gossip Girl. (That would be Leighton Meester).
You might remember that she appeared in a digital short with James Franco last year, where she said the word "penis". Edgy!
I don't know guys. I just don't hold out high hopes for her.
What do you guys think? Comic potential or bomb potential?
So, instead of Jake Gyllenhaal, we get ... Blake Lively?
What?!
For those of you who don't even know who Blake Lively is (and I'm assuming a number of you don't) she's from Gossip Girl. Yeah, Gossip Girl. And as a former Gossip Girl fan, let me tell you, she's not even the best person in Gossip Girl. (That would be Leighton Meester).
You might remember that she appeared in a digital short with James Franco last year, where she said the word "penis". Edgy!
I don't know guys. I just don't hold out high hopes for her.
What do you guys think? Comic potential or bomb potential?
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Cast Photos
Does this picture make you happy? 'Cause I know any event where the SNL cast spruce up and look nice, makes me happy.
They were all pretty busy this week, making appearances at the Museum of Natural History Gala and the Barney's Window Launch.
I've assembled a nice little TinyPic photo album with a bunch of photos of the cast from the event. Enjoy!
http://tinypic.com/a/1g5rn/1
Joseph Gordon-Levitt Talks SNL on Late Night
A dance number a la (500) Days of Summer perhaps? I'm excited!
Seth Meyers Sundays
Check out this NY Times article in which Seth Meyers describes how he spends his Lazy Sundays. Spoiler alert - he's a runner.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/nyregion/22routine.html
Friday, November 20, 2009
SNL- Ten Ways to Fix It
Read this EW article that's filled with pretty good advice for Lorne, Marci & co., on how to improve SNL.
e.g let Seth Meyers be as bitchy/jerky as possible on WU, get capable comedic hosts and not just the new big thing, more surprise guests etc.
http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20321490,00.html
e.g let Seth Meyers be as bitchy/jerky as possible on WU, get capable comedic hosts and not just the new big thing, more surprise guests etc.
http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20321490,00.html
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
January Jones/Black Eyed Peas
Wow, just wow.
I could not have prepared myself for that monstrosity. I wish that I could post a review, but honestly I can't bare to relive that experience. Not only was January Jones possibly the most unsuitable host ever, the writing sucked.
Writers - I really hope that you're aware that this show sucked beyond belief. I'm rooting for you guys - I have an SNL blog for crying out loud!
I know that putting on a show every week is a lot of work, but you guys get paid to do this! This isn't an end-of-year school show! You guys got hired over tons of other writers, because you're allegedly talented and funny, and yet this ball-of-suck was all you managed to produce. And look, I get that January Jones probably wasn't ripe for comedic inspiration, but you guys must have just given up after five minutes.
Kim Kardashian could have been hilarious, instead it was eerily akin to something from The Amanda Show. Not only was the impression horrible, but the material wasn't even funny. We get it - Kim Kardashian has a huge ass. Beyond that, she's not exactly ripe for comic fodder.
Rear Window defies explanation. Beyond a semi-good performance from Jason Sudeikis, it was quite possibly the stupidest thing I've ever seen SNL produce. Yes, even worse than Fartface.
I'm not even going to blame January Jones for the episode. Yes, perhaps she shouldn't have accepted the invitation to host if she knew how limited her comic abilities were, but the writers just didn't even bother beyond "Oh, she looks like Grace Kelly! Let's make her fart!"
Overall score - N/A
(Can't bare to rate it.)
I could not have prepared myself for that monstrosity. I wish that I could post a review, but honestly I can't bare to relive that experience. Not only was January Jones possibly the most unsuitable host ever, the writing sucked.
Writers - I really hope that you're aware that this show sucked beyond belief. I'm rooting for you guys - I have an SNL blog for crying out loud!
I know that putting on a show every week is a lot of work, but you guys get paid to do this! This isn't an end-of-year school show! You guys got hired over tons of other writers, because you're allegedly talented and funny, and yet this ball-of-suck was all you managed to produce. And look, I get that January Jones probably wasn't ripe for comedic inspiration, but you guys must have just given up after five minutes.
Kim Kardashian could have been hilarious, instead it was eerily akin to something from The Amanda Show. Not only was the impression horrible, but the material wasn't even funny. We get it - Kim Kardashian has a huge ass. Beyond that, she's not exactly ripe for comic fodder.
Rear Window defies explanation. Beyond a semi-good performance from Jason Sudeikis, it was quite possibly the stupidest thing I've ever seen SNL produce. Yes, even worse than Fartface.
I'm not even going to blame January Jones for the episode. Yes, perhaps she shouldn't have accepted the invitation to host if she knew how limited her comic abilities were, but the writers just didn't even bother beyond "Oh, she looks like Grace Kelly! Let's make her fart!"
Overall score - N/A
(Can't bare to rate it.)
SNL Hosting Rumours
Okay, so important to note that these are rumours & have not been confirmed by anyone nor reported by any reputable publication, aside from one lone Twitter-er with just over 200 followers, so I can't vouch for how much truth there is to these.
But here it goes -
December 5 - Jake Gyllenhaal/50 Cent
December 12 - Jon Bon Jovi/Bon Jovi
December 19 - Derek Jeter/Jay-Z, Alicia Keys & Mr Hudson
So, I'm hoping JG is true because I think he did a good job last time. Last two, not so much!
Jon Bon Jovi's episode was horrible and the fact is his talents do not lie in sketch comedy.
And Derek Jeter? C'mon. I have no idea why he or Lorne would put us through that on the Christmas episode. Yeah, I know that the Yankees won the world series & I know that Empire State of Mind is his plate music so a Jay-Z/Alicia Keys appearance would be very convenient, but I just hate it as an idea.
What do you think? Do you hope these rumours are true? Do you believe them?
Who would you like to see host?
But here it goes -
December 5 - Jake Gyllenhaal/50 Cent
December 12 - Jon Bon Jovi/Bon Jovi
December 19 - Derek Jeter/Jay-Z, Alicia Keys & Mr Hudson
So, I'm hoping JG is true because I think he did a good job last time. Last two, not so much!
Jon Bon Jovi's episode was horrible and the fact is his talents do not lie in sketch comedy.
And Derek Jeter? C'mon. I have no idea why he or Lorne would put us through that on the Christmas episode. Yeah, I know that the Yankees won the world series & I know that Empire State of Mind is his plate music so a Jay-Z/Alicia Keys appearance would be very convenient, but I just hate it as an idea.
What do you think? Do you hope these rumours are true? Do you believe them?
Who would you like to see host?
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Happy Birthday Lorne Michaels!
Happy 65th Birthday to SNL head honcho Mr. Lorne Michaels!
Have a good 'un sir!
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