Saturday, April 13, 2013

A "That's Nater-Tainment!" Special Report: Vince Vaughn Hosts "Saturday Night Live" for his Second Time Tonight!


“Saturday Night Live” is experiencing a significant case of weak writing. With the exception of Justin Timberlake's episode this past March, every show to air in 2013 so far has featured uninteresting sketches, a reliance on juvenile humor in attempt to acquire easy laughs from the audience, and premises that go nowhere. Talented hosts have had their talents being wasted by playing one-dimensional characters that spew out ridiculous lines that aren't funny at all. And the show's cast have been doing whatever they can to improve the quality of the sketches through their performances. However, due to the immensely poor writing, there is not much they can do in order to save the show; other than put on a brave face and make do with the roles they are given. And with only four shows left in the season, one of which airs tonight, I don't expect things to get a lot better.



I have mixed feelings about this week's episode. On one hand, the very funny and engaging Vince Vaughn is taking the stage for his second time. His first time on the long-running variety series was on December 5th, 1998. Back then, I remember Vince Vaughn having good chemistry with the “Saturday Night Live” cast; especially Will Ferrell. Particularly in one sketch, which featured Vaughn and Ferrell as employees at a company that specializes in toys for household cats. I remember Vaughn holding a implement that was equipped with a rubber mouse on a string in front of Ferrell's character, who was repeatedly batting at the latex toy in humorous feline fashion. I also remember, for his monologue, Vaughn played straightman to Castmember Darrell Hammond, who was impressively portraying the late Alfred Hitchcock, and discussing the actor's involvement in the 1998 remake of “Psycho.” Vaughn interacted well with Hammond during the monologue; which went forward in a nice, brisk manner. Vince Vaughn did well when he hosted in 1998, and now he returns to host again after almost fifteen years.



Since he's previously hosted, Vince Vaughn has been in a good number of movies; including 2006's “The Break-Up”, which he starred in with Jennifer Aniston, 2011's “The Dilemma”, which so-starred Kevin James, as well as last year's “The Watch”; which united the actor with Ben Stiller, who starred alongside him in 2004's “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.” However, it was 2003's “Old School” and 2005's “Wedding Crashers” that showcases the actor at his most humorous. In all honesty, who can forget 2003's “Old School”, in which Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, and Vaughn played three friends who, restless with the current state of their lives, try to relive their college days by starting a college fraternity. All three had great chemistry, and Vaughn played his role of “Bernard Beanie Campbell”, an own of a popular electronic store franchise who was also a husband and father, with keen witticism and energy. Vaughn followed his performance in “Old School” with perhaps one of his most successful roles: womanizer “Jeremy Grey” in 2005's “Wedding Crashers.” Co-starring with Vaughn was Owen Wilson; who played Grey's best friend and co-worker “John Beckwith.” Vaughn and Wilson's characters were skilled at attending weddings they weren't invited to getting women to sleep with them; and eventually find themselves in over their heads when the latter's character falls for Rachel McAdams' “Claire Cleary”; the daughter of “United States Secretary of the Treasury William Cleary”; played by Christopher Walken. While Owen Wilson did very well as the film's central protagonist, it was Vince Vaughn who gave the film's funniest performance as “Jeremy Grey”; particularly whenever interacting with Isla Fisher's emotionally unstable “Gloria Cleary”; the younger sister of McAdams' character. Watching Vaughn react as his character in such a perplexed manner Fisher's romantically-intense was hilarious in many scenes; particularly a very humorous sinner table scene featuring all the characters. And, when Vaughn's character realizes that he's in love with Fisher's on-screen persona, the actor is great as he goes on a grainy-yet-honest spiel to the family's priest in a very hilarious scene. Vince Vaughn continuously grabs the audience's attention throughout the film; due to his impeccable comedic timing and genuine charisma. Simply put, Vince Vaughn's performance in “Wedding Crashers” is truly memorable and my absolute favorite of his.


Image of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in "Wedding Crashers" taken from http://www.upcoming-movies.com/new/vince-vaughn-and-owen-wilson-to-headline-interns/

And now, we come to tonight's episode of “Saturday Night Live.” I'm looking forward to seeing Vince Vaughn take the stage once again on NBC's long-running variety program. While I have no doubt that Vaughn will give a memorable performance as the show's host, it is the writing that has me worried. So, in hopes that tonight's show is memorable, I have come up with two ideas:

  1. Keep away from one-not reoccurring characters, This season, we have seen many characters that aren't funny at all and rely on bad catch-phrases and jokes that go on and on. Look at Castmember Bobby Moynihan's reoccurring character “Drunk Uncle”; which was brought out last week on “Weekend Update”. The whole bit just dragged; even though “Game of Thrones” star Peter Dinklage was brought out as a special guest. Look at the somehow-popular reoccurring sketch “The Californians.” The joke of coastal misfits spitting unintelligible directions in an over-the-top Californian accent and repeatedly sporting ridiculous facial expressions and constantly crowding around a mirror isn't funny at all and just drags until the sketch ends. There are other reoccurring character sketches that drag endlessly without any genuine humor that have taken place throughout the season, but I'm not going into more detail. If the writers of “Saturday Night Live” come up with intelligent sketches that truly allow Vince Vaughn to give a memorably hilarious performance, then I'm sure it could be a lot of fun.
  1. Bring in a special guest or two that could play a memorable role in a sketch. With Vince Vaughn hosting, there is potential for an unexpected guest or two. For instance, seeing as Vaughn as well as "Saturday Night Live" Castmember Jason Sudeikis have starred alongside Owen Wilson-- (the latter starred with Wilson in 2011's “Hall Pall”)-- it would be great if he made a cameo at some point tonight. Seeing all three together in a sketch would be a lot of fun and is sure to be very funny. In addition, it would be great if Will Ferrell would make an appearance as well; leading to probably the most star-studded segment to be featured on SNL this season since Justin Timberlake's monologue from this past March. In other words, I just want a truly memorable and fun show that doesn't let Vince Vaughn's talents go to waste.
So there you go. Hopefully tonight's show is a good one and helps improve the quality of this season of “Saturday Night Live.” And beginning at 11:30pm, I will be blogging the show live; commenting on the sketches, the performances, the writing, and anything else that comes to mind during the show. And by Monday night at the latest, I will be posting a review that outlines my opinions in more detail.

So be sure to have your televisions set to NBC by 11:30pm and have my blog on your computers. Be sure to keep refreshing your computer screens so you can see my latest comments during the show show. Feel free to share your own thoughts by clicking the “comment” link underneath any of my posts. Your feedback means a lot and I look forward to seeing your opinions.

Thank you all for following my blog and I'll see you at 11:30pm!
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