With the election only a little over two weeks away Saturday Night Live has become the focal point of political parody. For the most part SNL has done a good job of offering funny send-ups of the debates and candidates. SNL has even moved into prime time with several Thursday night (right after The Office) "Weekend Update" specials. The first one was a hilarious spoof of the vice-presidential Biden/Palin debate, and the second was a not quite as funny parody of the third presidential debate. With all the new excitement surrounding SNL NBC is even using Tina Fey's stint as vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin to promote the October 30 premiere of Fey's (other) show 30 Rock.
Head writer and cast-member Seth Myers recently said in an interview that SNL has an "open door policy" for the candidates to come on the show. This week Sarah Palin took them up on their offer and took part in Saturday's episode starring Josh Brolin. It was a brave move considering the host (Brolin) was promoting W. Not to mention that Tina Fey herself says she will "leave the planet" if Palin actually becomes the vice president. Palin's appearance on the show generated so much buzz prior to the show's late night airing, any surprise was long gone. However, she was not the only cameo of the night. In fact there were three other surprise appearances within the first ten minutes of the show. Unfortunately those were the best ten minutes of what turned out to be a very lackluster episode.
Cold Open: Sarah Palin's Press Conference (Grade A)
In what appeared to be a standard send-up of Palin at a press conference, Tina Fey once again put on the Palin hair, Palin clothes, and Palin (Tina Fey) glasses, and did her best Palin "doggonit" accent. Just when the audience might be thinking that Fey's impression, while still funny, might be getting a bit worn out, the camera cut backstage to show producer Lorne Michaels and the real Sarah Palin watching the show.
Palin questions whether they were accurately depicting one of her press conferences, and wonders why they couldn't have done the 30 Rock sketch that she wrote. "Not enough people know that show," says Michaels just as the real surprise cameo of the night walks up. It's Mark Wahlberg, who has publicly criticized the show's (and Andy Samberg's impression of him) "Mark Wahlberg Talks To Animals" sketch. Perhaps feeling he was taking things too far, by stating on The Jimmy Kimmel Show that he would like to break Samberg's nose, Wahlberg showed that he does a sense of humor by showing up on the SNL set.
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Article comments
1 - CallmeMaddy
Weekend Update/Sarah Palin rap: A+! Good review.
2 - Jet
"the best ten minutes of what turned out to be a very lackluster episode."
That says it all, I stupidly watched it, and couldn't make it past the second "MacGruber" skit before I turned it off.
I used to love SNL from Chevy Chase to Eddie Murphy.
In the last 10 or so years I have never gotten a forced smile out to the unfunny humor, and frankly can't see how the audience stays past the first half hour, and I suspect that the laughter is augmented by pre-recorded sound effects.
But of course that's just my opinion.
3 - Sterfish
I think this episode was hampered by the fact that Weekend Update Thursday aired just a couple of days earlier. With all the extra work they have to do for that show (as well as the popularity of the political sketches), the non-political sketches for SNL proper were probably low-priority.
The "Fartface" skit was one of the unfunniest sketches I've seen on SNL in a loooong time. It was painful because even the audience didn't find it funny.
4 - omega
The "Fartface" and "Fall Foliage" arent funny at all! I was so disappointed.
Anyway, I think "I'm no angel" was the most funniest of the episode.
5 - Jeff
I didn't watch the whole episode but I thought Brolin explaining what a fart face would look like and the eventual reversal of the fart face name-calling made it stupid funny enough to be better than a lot snl passes for entertainment nowadays.
6 - Phillip Winn
Wow, such detail!
7 - Phillip Winn
Like, too much detail.