(S33E11) I honestly was not worried about Shia LaBeouf delivering a less than stellar performance, as his first stint on Saturday Night Live showed that he works well with the cast and is naturally very goofy. With a funny guy like this, one can only pray that the writers use him as much as possible and work super-hard to give him embarrassingly crazy sketches. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Again. The writing was okay, but it did not do LaBeouf justice. Also, there seemed to be a strange flow to the episode, as the energy of sketches would start dying halfway through and eventually end on a really weird line. Let's hope the writers aren't already losing steam. They still have a season finale!
"Cold Open: Hillary Clinton": I had my back to the TV for the first part of this sketch and the full impact of Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton impression hit me. It's really bad. I mean, wow. I don't think I've ever realized it before, but Poehler sounds absolutely nothing like Clinton. If Kristen Wiig toned down her Suze Orman a bit and cut back on the enthusiasm, she'd probably be closer than Poehler. Anyway, this was a pretty well-done cold open. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't kept nitpicking Poehler's lack of nasality. "Nasality"? Is that the right word? Let's pretend it is.
Monologue: Yes, yes, LaBeouf is the new Indiana Jones sweetheart. Of course, if the writers have any reason to bring out Darrell Hammond's Sean Connery, they will do it. It's not like Hammond does anything anyway if McCain isn't making big news. Seeing Short Round was okay and the melting Nazi was a bit predictable. I mean, not that I'm complaining. I love melty Nazis that sound like Will Forte.
"MacGruber: Silo": LaBeouf's repeated punching in the intro made me laugh uncontrollably. Going by that logic, if something as minor as that made me crack up, I should have been rolling on the floor throughout the episode. Strange. As usual, both LaBeouf and Forte's subtle reactions were hysterical.
"It's a Match": For some reason, this felt unusually un-SNL-y and was a poor choice to kick off the evening. LaBeouf was funny, as was Fred Armisen's Paul Lynde/Charles Nelson Reilly hybrid, but that was about it. Casey Wilson still makes me cringe. I really want to like her, but I can't! I can't.
"Scared Straight": Kenan Thompson is probably the least scary person on the entire cast. I'm just saying. Not that the "deposit" line wasn't creepy.
"MacGruber: Rebel Training Camp": When they pixelate stuff like that with such tiny, tiny pixels, they might as well not blur it out at all. Come on.
"Suze Orman Show": Wiig's Suze Orman is so spectacular! It's gotten to the point where I don't even think of it as an impression anymore, just a character. The writing on these sketches are totally spot-on, as well. This was probably the best sketch of the night. I. Heart. Wiig.
"SNL Digital Short: Best Look In The World": Is it safe to call this the least funny Digital Short in a long, long while? As much as I like to see the pasty legs of SNL guys and Samberg and LaBeouf looking super fly in stetsons and aviators, this was not a particularly good short. The song wasn't even catchy! And illiterate genies aren't as funny as one might expect, apparently. I think the SNL promos that Samberg and LaBeouf did were a thousand times funnier.
"Weekend Update": Pssht. More like "WEAKend Update"! Am I right? Yeah. Vlad and Niko weren't as funny as they could have been and Thompson's "French" comedian was only so-so. Zut alors!
"La Rivista Della Televisione": Thank goodness they didn't bring out the random dancers and costumes that they normally do at the end of this sketch. Keep it simple, guys. For once, I wasn't super-annoyed at this sketch. Instead, I developed a massive craving for spaghetti at 12:30 in the morning. Also, I feel like it is important to point out that Lorne Michaels totally looked like a pimp. Awesome.
"MacGruber": Samberg and LaBeouf are totally gay for each other. It had to be said.
"Girls Trying On Dresses": When in doubt, put the host in drag. This wasn't a particularly funny sketch, but that is to be expected this late in the night. Too bad we didn't get to see the show end with a bang.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-11-2008 @ 12:41PM
Oreo said...
The Hillary Clinton thing was perfect and 100% true.
Reply
5-16-2008 @ 9:04AM
goldie said...
Yeah, 49 percent of the electorate who voted in the primary are racist. Good call.
5-11-2008 @ 12:46PM
Karen said...
Thanks for posting the promos. I'd only seen the 2nd of the 3, which is far from the funniest. The other two cracked me UP. The whole show should have been Samberg and LeBeouf riffing on each other.
I thought the MacGrubers were great, and I kinda liked the game show, mostly because of Armisen's Paul Lynde.
I think you left out the other sketch that started intriguing and fizzled out: Wiig and Poehler in the restaurant, being hit on by 6 guys with weird, fixed grins.
You're right about Casey Wilson, though. I'm sure she's a fine individual, and nice to children and puppies, but she not only brings nothing to the show, she actually detracts from the sketches she's in.
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5-16-2008 @ 9:04AM
goldie said...
That restaurant sketch was one of the best in the episode, weird that the reviewer left it out.
5-11-2008 @ 3:41PM
Thomas said...
I no longer watch the show but I do take a glance at the clips and read these reviews and I just do not understand why this show is on the air, or at least why they don't hire some decent writers. The Daily Show and Colbert do hilarious comedy 4 days a week every week and it's topical as well. SNL produces rubbish every single episode and isn't cancelled, I just do not understand it. That it's on late must be its only saving grace.
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5-11-2008 @ 1:22PM
nate said...
can you post any of the music on this episode by my morning jacket?
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6-03-2008 @ 3:34AM
GregB said...
MMJ seems to have come a long way...the SNL performance was solid. Here are the clips:
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2008/05/my_morning_jack_6.html
5-11-2008 @ 2:30PM
Basketcase456 said...
This episode was probably one of the funnier episodes in a long time. I had something to laugh at in almost every sketch, which is something I have not been able to do in a while. MacGruber and It's a Match were my favorites for the night.
It was very disappointing that Hammond only got in on the monologue. He is still one of the funniest people on the show (why he's still there is another question), but the writers do not use him at all. The need to!
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5-11-2008 @ 3:42PM
kp said...
I kind of feel like this weeks digital short was sort of a rip-off of this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvltzwkUEEA
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5-12-2008 @ 3:30AM
nickmagoo said...
actually, that is MUCH funnier than the snl digital short! that's really funny...perfect timing and editing...
5-11-2008 @ 4:28PM
HD Guy said...
Not to go off base but - Shia LaBeouf in a dress looks remarkably like Laura San Giacomo (without the, uh...extra weight on top). Pay attention to the nose and chin.
It is not my intention to malign Shia or Laura - just pointing out the similarities.
Anyone agree?
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5-11-2008 @ 5:31PM
mayorjimmy said...
What the hell is up with band names nowadays?
"my morning jacket"?????
sounds as retarded as "rascal flats" or "good charlotte"
Reply
5-11-2008 @ 5:51PM
Schiller said...
Where is the MMJ video? And mayorjimmy....your an idiot. If this is the first time you've ever heard of the band, piss off, because MMJ is way beyond the point for a dummy like you to compare their name to someone like the rascal flats or good charlotte. Just stop man.
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5-12-2008 @ 2:54AM
mayorjimmy said...
ha ha ha ha ha ha
*catches breath*
ha ha ha ha ha ha..... yeah, that's a really DEEP name. i'm sure the guys at MENSA are throwing up high-fives knowing only they can understand the intricate depth of MY MORNING JACKET while the rest of us poor fools are just wrapping our heads around Good Charlotte. Oh and next time you step up to defend a retarded band, pick the one that's actually successful (rascal flats), the one that can say "we have had 8 singles at number one" instead of "we're from Kentucky and we were on SNL!!"
thanks for the laugh Lord Douchey Von Douche-a-lot
5-11-2008 @ 6:08PM
Toby O said...
I liked the It's A Match game show sketch very much. It's been a long time since SNL has made me laugh out loud, but this did the trick.
As did the MacGruber bits......
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5-12-2008 @ 8:15AM
Bree Zee said...
A review of the episode and not a word regarding My Morning Jacket? Holy crap, like the host said, they completely kicked arse. Best part of the episode and continuing an unreal run of bands on the show. Well done SNL.
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5-11-2008 @ 8:42PM
Chris W. said...
I find Kenan Thompson's Jean K Jean very fun. It amuses me to hear all these French terms and idioms in a different context. Asterix?! Come on, that's gold!
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5-12-2008 @ 7:55AM
keithnl said...
"...the energy of sketches would start dying halfway through and eventually end on a really weird line..."
You've just described every SNL sketch ever.
Reply
5-12-2008 @ 2:06PM
David said...
What was the deal with all the gay jokes in a single episode? All three MacGrubers, the Match Game skit, that interminable "Scared Straight" bit, Suze Orman, the pope's gift to the cardinal... when Hader and Armisen showed up in Update I thought they were going to do that Jersey Gay Guys routine again. And none of them were particularly funny, either.
On the other hand, "Oh, that's cute," said Oil. Brilliant.
P.S. - I've never heard My Morning Jacket before. Liked the first song -- the country-punk one -- a LOT. Loved the fast interlude in the second one, but the constant falsetto got irritating for me. Still, I want to hear the album, so booking them on SNL did the job.
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5-27-2008 @ 2:21PM
LatinChicadee said...
SNL has gone down hill over the past ten years. I'm 27, when I was in high school they had Sandler, Rock, Spade, etc. When they left, the show took a major turn down Whoopie Cushion Lane but the show was still entertaining. Now, it's pretty much crap 70 % of the time. When Steve Carell hosted recently, it was a breath of fresh air for the show. Shia's frigg'n hilarious and they didn't use his appearance to their advantage. SNL needs to be rescued before it.. "blub"..drowns. Ay, ay ,ay...how about clown or even midget skits..or hey.. midget clown skits..best of both worlds?? They seem to work for our mammoth neighbor Mexico. ;0) No seriously, SNL bring back the gasps and the belly aches pretty please with a cherry on the side! As for this week's uberly talented host..give him my number when they finally drop!
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