Commercial Parody: “Sproingo” (Grade C+)
“Sproingo” is a medication that takes the effects of Viagra, Cialis and the like one step further by adding a sound effect so everyone knows exactly when it starts to work. As far as SNL commercial parodies go, this one was decent. I usually consider these to be filler, and I don’t have very high expectations of them. They are pretty much used to kill a little time while they are re-arranging sets and they are often recycled as needed for that purpose. Very few commercial parodies stand out in my mind as being that good. Most just fall into the category of either being somewhat amusing (as this one does) or being stupid.
"The Kissing Family" (Grade B+)
In this sketch Rudd brings his college roommate (Andy Samberg) home for a family dinner. Samberg soon finds out the family is a little more affectionate than most. This was a very funny take on a very relatable situation. Though it was exaggerated for comic effect the awkwardness of having a meal with people you don’t know was spot on. Kristen Wiig and Fred Armisen as the parents, and Bill Hader as the brother, all did a good job of playing it straight. My only complaint is the ending where Samberg joined in by kissing Armisen. The guy kissing guy thing has been done to death on this show. The image no longer has the humor or shock value it once did, and it was a totally predictable way to end the sketch.
"Scared Straight" (Grade B)
This sketch was an exercise in how far they could take double entendre and sexual innuendo. Basically three kids (Rudd, Hader, Samberg) are caught in an act of vandalism and in a effort to curb their life of crime a real criminal (Kenan Thompson) is brought in by a police officer (Sudeikis) to “scare them straight.” Thompson proceeds to insinuate all the stuff that might happen to them in prison – like “the only book he'll be writing is Journey to the Center of Your Esophagus.” All the innuendo was fairly clever and Thompson physically shaking his point into them was funny.
SNL Digital Short: “Everyone’s a Critic” (Grade: B)
"Everyone's A Critic" was a well thought out exercise in absurdity. The film seems to be about Andy Samberg and Paul Rudd deciding to paint nude portraits of each other. The painting scenes are filled with homo-eroticism which, while not exactly a new theme for the show, worked well enough for this short. Samberg likes Rudd's painting of him so much he convinces Rudd to sell it at an auction. When the bidders see the painting they are so horrified they begin gouging out their eyes and committing suicide in every way imaginable. One guy puts his head in an oven, a lady uses a machete on her neck, and another lady beats another guest with a chair. There is even a spoof of Indiana Jones with Jones (Bill Hader) telling Marion (Kristin Wiig) to hide her eyes. It all turns about to really be a movie, but when Samberg and Rudd go on interview to promote the movie the interviewer (Casey Wilson) becomes so horrified at the painting she has the same reaction. All in all it was pretty funny, well played, and most importantly one of the better written digital shorts in a while.
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