This season, NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” while featuring great performances by the talented cast as well as the episode’s host, is once again suffering due to weak writing. Like the previous season, most sketches rely on unsurprising jokes and rehashed plotlines. And while the host does the best he or she can with what the material they are given, the overall quality of the writing can extremely dampen their appearances on the show. However, I will say that when Actor Steve Buscemi hosted this past weekend, the quality of the sketches was made better just by his presence. Buscemi was great in every sketch he was given; due to his comically- uncanny delivery and his good acting. In addition, most of the cast did very well with the material they were given as well; even when one of their reoccurring sketches were presented to the audience. Thus, I can say without hesitation:
The Performances by Steve Buscemi and the Cast Made this Past Week’s Episode of “Saturday Night Live” Intriguing and Very Comedic
The episode started out with a decent amount of laughter. Castmember Fred Armisen reprised his lackluster impression of President Barack Obama for the cold opening; which concerned the leader of our country explaining just how much power he holds in office. Using a chart that was similar-in-design to the “Top Ten” tables used for the “Wayne’s World” sketches, Armisen’s portrayal of President Obama listed all the people that were more powerful than him. It was funny seeing such personalities as Oprah Winfrey and Mark Zuckerberg being described as being in more control than the President of the United States. The material was very good; but unfortunately, it was more-than-evident that Fred Armisen was giving no effort whatsoever to impersonate President Obama. If someone is impersonating the President of The United States on a Comedy Show, there must be some effort to do so. Otherwise, you are just coming off as lazy and not doing your job right. The material was good, but Fred Armisen was failing to give a good performance.
For his monologue, Host Steve Buscemi mentioned that his role on the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire” has enabled him to make the transition from supporting roles in films to portraying a lead character on a weekly show. This was followed by various “Saturday Night Live” castmembers to portray stereotypical supporting characters and inquire Buscemi as to how they can make the changeover as well. The players were very funny as their respected characters; especially Andy Samberg as the jockish guy who would lose his girlfriend to the main hero of the film—and Bobby Moynihan was also very humorous when he played the typical party animal who wants to go to Las Vegas for a bachelor party; though later on in the episode, he would portray a character that wasn't funny at all. Kristen Wiig successfully capped off the segment when she portrayed “the confused lady who loses her friends during a horror movie.” Seeing her run around with a prop knife in a frantic manner was very funny. My only concern with the monologue was that Steve Buscemi didn’t get to do much aside from playing the straightman role. I really wish he got to do more for the piece.
The first sketch of the night following the break was another installment of “The Miley Cyrus Show.” Featured Player Vanessa Bayer reprised her energetic impression of the young singer; who has reportedly been involved in drug use. Bayer was good with her impression as always; but the sketch didn’t seem to go anywhere at all. Buscemi played a hippy that had become acquainted with Bayer’s Miley Cyrus; but unfortunately, he didn’t really get to add much to the sketch. In addition, Former Castmember Maya Rudolph made a surprise appearance as Whitney Houston; who was trying to advice the pop star to stop taking drugs. While Rudolph gave a good impression of Houston, it was disappointing to see Buscemi literally pushed to the side. I would have liked to see him used more for the sketch; but happily, he would be given more to do as the show progressed.
The evening’s digital short was next and it featured Andy Samberg portraying Batman; all the while channeling Christian Bale’s performance as the hero of Gotham City. Samberg’s Batman kept approaching Commissioner Gordon; portrayed by Buscemi while dressed up as Gary Oldman’s portrayal of the character. The joke of the sketch was that Batman kept showing up and then disappearing in the blink of an eye after talking to Buscemi’s Commissioner Gordon. The situations got more awkward as Batman would show up while the administrator was taking a shower or getting a prostate exam. Even though the sketch became predictable, both Samberg and Buscemi gave good performances; and I did laugh at Buscemi’s increasingly perplexed reactions to the hero’s arrivals. The ending of the sketch was a bit abrupt; but all in all, I got a good amount of laughs.
Following the digital short was a clever parody of the news-magazine program “Dateline;” featuring castmember Bill Hader giving a comical performance as Anchor Keith Morrison. Hader’s character was covering the discovery of a murder victim of a criminal that was portrayed by Steve Buscemi. Hader’s Keith Morrison was becoming increasingly-enthralled by the murder; all the while smiling widely to the details of the slaying. In addition, after hearing details of the deed, Hader’s Keith Morrison would react with disturbing fascination in the crime; as he was gasping with fiendish delight. In addition, Kristen Wiig gave a good performance as the murder victim’s wife; whose reaction to the murder caused Hader’s Morrison to respond with extreme fascination and the sight of him eating popcorn while being entertained by her story caused me to laugh honestly. Buscemi was good as the murderer; but I really wish that he got to do more. All in all, the sketch was very funny and all the performances were top-notch. It should also be mentioned that even though the sketch was somewhat predictable, I did enjoy it nonetheless.
The last sketch to take place before "Weekend Update" took place at a high school and was meant to be take on The Penn State Scandal. Steve Buscemi played a coach named Bert that was being suspected of being a pedophile; despite the fact that there was no clear evidence to prove so. Buscemi did a good job playing the straightman of the sketch; and Kenan Thompson and Featured Player Taran Killam were good in their roles as well as the people who were conducting the investigation. Featured Player Jay Pharaoh did a good job playing a student that had partaken in a sting operation that was intended to uncover evidence proving Buscemi’s character as being a pervert. All that Pharaoh’s character was able to expose was a demo tape of the coach’s song about a character that he made-up who has a lot of friends. The skit was creative and the performances were all good. However, I really wish that Buscemi was given more to do than just comment on what personal information was uncovered about his character.
While this sketch was decently executed, "Weekend Update" proved to be a significant disappointment. Seth Meyers’ jokes weren’t funny at all and he seemed to be in a rush to get through the entire segment. Kenan Thompson once again portrayed Herman Cain; this time commenting on his withdrawal from the 2012 Presidential Election. Thompson’s segment wasn’t funny at all and his impression isn’t at all impressive. I really wish that Featured Player Jay Pharaoh would take over the impression; seeing as his portrayals of celebrities are always spot-on. The second commentary featured Bobby Moynihan debuted a new character by the name of “Drunk Uncle”. All Moynihan’s character did was ramble nonsensically about the holidays in an inebriated manner. The bit wasn’t funny at all; and it seemed that its purpose was just to fill time. Overall, a very unsatisfactory edition of Weekend Update where no one was funny; especially Meyers himself.
"Weekend Update" was followed by another reoccurring sketch; this time featuring “Sue,” Kristen Wiig’s character that would get overly-excited when it came to surprising either a co-worker or a friend. Steve Buscemi played an employer who was explaining to his workers that he was going to be giving a surprise promotion to another member of his staff. He didn’t want any of his employees spoiling the surprise; unfortunately Wiig’s character obviously couldn’t keep a hold of herself. She desperately tried to remain silent, but her over-excitement kept bursting. When the employee came in to the meeting room, Wiig’s character, in a desperate attempt to keep quiet, ran out the room; destroying the door in the process. Kristen Wiig once again gave a terrific performance; and the sight of her running through the door as well as riding a tractor while spraying a fire extinguisher towards the end of the sketch was hilarious. My only gripe is that whenever this sketch takes place, it follows the same arrangement. I really wish that the host would as well and act as surprised as Wiig’s character. Let one of the castmembers play the one who organizes the surprise; thus allowing the host to be active. I would have loved to have seen Buscemi act as surprised as Wiig’s character; therefore adding more thrills to the segment. I guess the writers were too lazy to shake up the formula a little bit.
Subsequently, the next segment to take place was a pre-taped commercial-spoof for a relationship seminar hosted by a supposed expert in maintaining relationships played by Featured Player Paul Brittain. The character, referred to as “Sex Ed” Vincent,” originally appeared on October 23, 2010; when Emma Stone hosted for her first time. While I was happy to see Brittain get his first real reoccurring character, it was disappointing to see that the format of the sketch almost followed the same arrangement as its first installment. Nevertheless, Brittain gave a good performance and I also liked Steve Buscemi’s erotic chef character; who was offering ways to improve relationships through preparing meals that were very suggestive. While Buscemi did a good job with his character, I was saddened to see him partaking in the sketch for less than two minutes. And in all honesty, I have to admit that Buscemi was barely utilized to his utmost potential during the show; seeing as he practically played supporting characters in almost every sketch. I really wished that he would get a starring role in a sketch that would allow him to give a hilariously-weird performance.
Luckily, the last segment of the night answered my prayers. In a holiday-themed sketch, Steve Buscemi played a husband sitting in an arm chair and talking about his Christmas tree ornaments in an entertainingly low-key manner. Buscemi’s delivery was great and I liked the silliness of his comments regarding his decorations. In addition, I also liked how he admitted that his first Christmas was in 2008; as he hadn’t heard about it before then. Kristen Wiig was good as Buscemi’s character’s wife and the clueless manner in which she decorated the tree was very funny. The part towards the end of the sketch where she mysteriously lost the tree was amusing as well. This was simply a great sketch and I’m glad that Buscemi finally got to be front-and-center.
As I look back on the episode, I have to say that Steve Buscemi was a very good host; and his performances made the sketches work WAY BETTER than they could have been. Even when he was only given a little to do during a specific segment, his overall performance was great. His fast-paced dialogue and his acting talents meshed well with the cast and he didn’t once lose the audience’s attention. He was able to keep track of his lines and he had good chemistry with the cast. Even though he didn’t get a starring role in every sketch, his performance as host was completely valuable.
And I have to say that most of the cast did great tonight. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig both gave entertaining performances; and they managed to be the best castmembers of the night; as their acting brought about a good amount of laughter and memories. I only wish that the writers would have given them a lot of material that wasn’t predictable or repetitive. In addition, I must also say that I am disappointed with Fred Armisen, who seems to have completely given up any effort to impersonate President Barack Obama, as well as Bobby Moynihan; who’s new "Weekend Update" character “Drunk Uncle” came off as being completely annoying and not-at-all funny. Nevertheless, most of the cast did great and they worked very well with Steve Buscemi.
I will also say that The Black Keys were a great musical guest. Their first song, “Lonely Boy” was very catchy and fun and filled with good Guitarring, good drumming, and very good vocal work. Their second song, “Gold on the Ceiling,” was also very first-rate; though I liked their first song a little more. “Saturday Night Live” had some great musical guests so far this season; and The Black Keys did not disappoint at all.
All in all, a fine episode despite some setbacks. I look forward to watching and live-blogging next week’s episode; as singer Katy Perry will be taking over hosting duties. I’m sure she’ll be an enthusiastic host and it’s going to be exciting to see her involved with sketches. I wonder if her husband Russell Brand will make a cameo appearance at some point during the show.
Well, that’s it. Thank you so much for reading my review. I look forward to posting my next film critique by the end of the weekend. Thank you again and stay tuned for more “Nater-Tainment!”
E-mail me at thatsnatertainment@gmx.com
No comments:
Post a Comment