FYI

I purposely neglected to mention Kristen Wiig's impressions because I plan on posting about my favorite SNL impressions at some point in the near future. Stay tuned!

Ode to Kristen Wiig

Kristen Wiig. She writes, acts and is effing hilarious.
Being an avid watcher of SNL, I  loved her from her start on the show. And this summer when Bridesmaids premired; icing on the cake.

Her characters are so original but still so weird. She is not afraid of how gross or ugly she'll have to look. I admire this about her. Most actresses refuse to wear certain things or look a certain way on sets but Kristen has defied this to the nth degree. In my opinion, she brought back the demand of original characters on the show. The only person in recent years who have done this as amazingly as her is Molly Shannon, Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, Jimmy Fallon and Cheri Oteri. Bill Hader also does amazing original characters since he can do crazy voices and faces but Kristen still has him beat if you ask me. Some of her original characters are Judy Grimes, the unsure travel reporter, Target Lady, Triangle Sally, Dooneese, the ugly sister on The Lawrence Welk Show and Aunt Linda. All of these are outrageously clever. 

My favorite has to be the Target Lady. She is the overly enthusiastic Target employee who talks like she adds R's into every word. I don't know why but that is the funniest part for me. And I like to talk like that at home until my mom pees her pants from laughing. If you haven't seen any of the Turrget Lady skits you are definitely missing out. Here is a clip so you don't have an excuse.This features Justin Timberlake as her friend Peg.

Recently she co-wrote Bridesmaids (which I hope you saw) which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Screenplay. They didn't stand a chance against Woody Allen and the other film nerd movies but it was cool to see that comedies aren't forgotten about when it comes to award season. 


Also, her success on SNL has brought more female comedians to the forefront and helping what Tina Fey started. Kristen once said: 

"There's definitely a difference with men and women in comedy. If you wrote a list of the last 20 comedies in the past four years, a lot of them are based on a male character. That's just kind of way that it is. There are some movies that break the mold, but for the most part women in comedies play that lesser role. I think that's changing, and I think that's great thing. There are so many funny women out there."

If you are still not conviced, I urge you to watch this clip of Kristen doing her character, Judy Grimes. I don't want to explain too much of it because it is too great.  This shit takes talent.

Ardy, Jorm and Kiv: The Lonely Island

Although digital shorts on Saturday Night Live are nothing new, The Lonely Island boys, Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer, have reintroduced this comedic medium. Even though the boys were hired by Lorne Michaels in 2005, The Lonely Island had already been a well-established entity of the internet video world.
The boys met in middle school in Berkeley, California and followed each other into college at Berkely and NYU. While in school, they started to make videos and posted them online (before the YouTube craze). They dabbled in music videos, webisodes, and even long-form videos. My favorite is their first long-form video called, "White Power". No, it's not a racist video. Okay, maybe a little. But it is a video about how the guys experience the addictive effects of teeth whitener. In this video, there is a music video entitled, "Ka-Blamo!". I spent my sophomore year of high school trying to watch every video they had ever made. If you liked "White Power" then you'll like "The 'Bu" which is the Lonely Island's response to "The O.C" or "Regarding Ardy" which involves Andy/Ardy breaking his pinkie finger while Jorm and Kiv plan to cut off someone else's so he can get a pinkie transplant. Yes.
The dudes, as they sometimes call themselves, joined SNL in 2005 per request by Jimmy Fallon, since they co-wrote the MTV Movie Awards for that year. Fallon recommended the guys to Lorne Michaels and were signed soon after.
You're probably wondering why you haven't heard of Jorma Taccone or Akiva Schaffer. This is because they were hired as writers of SNL rather than featured players. Akiva is also known for directing the digital shorts. Jorma officially quit SNL in 2010, but still plays a part in the creation of such comedic shorts.
The dudes started making digital shorts but went unnoticed for the most part. However, when they aired "Lazy Sunday", all hell broke loose. The internet went bat-shit crazy. These short, funny videos were essentially made for the internet. As they became more popular, the frequency of Andy and The Lonely Island's digital shorts increased and led to more success. Due to their success, they were allowed the freedom to make basically whatever they wanted to, as long as it was funny. In the video below, Andy sings a horribly, raunchy song about his real-life brother-in-law, Roy.


In 2009, the boys' life-long dream came true: they released a comedy album. They entitled it, "Incredibad" and it featured songs and raps that are effing hilarious. This album includes collaborations with T-Pain, Justin Timberlake, Norah Jones, Jack Black, E-40 and Julian Casablancas of The Strokes. Also, it should be noted that I bought it the day it came out. Dedication.
They recently released another album, "Turtleneck and Chain" in May of 2011. This album has collabs with Nicki Minaj, Santigold, Beck, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake and Akon. Insanity. Many of the songs on their albums have either once been videos or have been made into videos after the fact.

Their sense of humor might not be for everyone because it is extremely immature. Andy, Jorma and Akiva are fully aware of this fact but do what they love so who can complain about that I guess, right?

Last thing: Hot Rod. If you haven't seen it, rent it. Watch the commentary by The Lonely Island. Hilarious.

Unpopular Opinion: I Hate Adam Sandler

Yes, it is true. Not a fan. I am somewhat of a comedy elitist in some ways. Normally I would give him some leeway since he had a good run on SNL (1990-1995) but not this time. In my opinion, he has taken advantage of his comedian posse and has little talent of his own. Yes, I know that was harsh, but hey, when was the last time you saw a trailer for an Adam Sandler movie and said, "Wow that looks hilarious!"? If you answered with a movie and/or year that was after 2005, I might have to question the taste of my readership.

Although I am not a fan of Adam Sandler and his creations, I must admit that I don't hate his semi-serious films or his comedies circa 1995-1998. For instance, The Wedding Singer is a 90's classic. It is funny and cute at the same time. Also, another great thing about it; not co-written by Sandler. It had lacked everything that a typical Adam Sandler movie normally has.

• Actors talking in normal voices
• David Spade, Chris Farley(RIP) and Rob Schneider were no where to be seen (not anything against them but they are normally in his movies of which I do not like)
• Sandler as a burnt-out regular Joe
• Somewhat realistic storyline
• Mature

Now it seems that the movies he is dishing out are a mix of immaturity, young/hot female counterpart, crazy premise and an SNL friend cameo. This was funny when it was a new thing but by now it has gotten old.
Example: Billy Madison
Extremely immature, small romantic aspect, veryyy unrealistic plotline and Norm MacDonald.
I enjoy this movie because it is outrageous enough to work without trying too hard. But honestly, after Happy Gilmore (1996), the Adam Sandler written works went downhill.

The transformation from a young new face on Saturday Night Live to a predictable 'funny'man is astonishing. Such humor of his works on SNL because it is done in moderation and not in your face for the whole hour and a half. For instance, The Opera Man. Funny for the amount of time it was allotted but after awhile, not so much.
For a young guy, he has made quite the transformation.
Below is a trailer for his newest movie which I am sad to hear that Andy Samberg (Current SNL cast member) got roped into.

Women of SNL (Part 1)

This past year has been an explosion of female comedic talent in movies and television shows. It is not a surprise to me that most of these women got their start on Saturday Night Live. However, women from SNL have been making their mark in America since it started in 1975.

The first cast consisted of 3 (of 7 cast members) women Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner and Laraine Newman. During these times, NBC was a boy's club and the men were not going to be out-shined by the women. 

 In my opinion, Gilda Radner was the best and most successful of these three. She created characters such as "Roseanne Roseannadanna", "Judy Miller", "Baba Wawa", her imitation of Barbara Walters, and Emily Litella, the elderly woman who was notorious for mishearing information. She was on the show from 1975 until 1980 and went on to star in many films. She also won a Primetime Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Variety or Music show. It also didn't hurt that she married Gene Wilder either. This comedic sweetheart struggled with bulimia and was diagnosed with cancer in 1986 and passed away in 1989. To this day she is the inspiration for female comedians everywhere. Tina Fey and Maya Rudolph both idolized Gilda as children and was the reason they decided to become who they are today.

Molly Shannon is another notable cast member whom everyone has heard of. She was a cast member from 1995-2001. Her characters include Sally O'Malley, an infamous impression of Monica Lewinsky-which as a kid, I thought was actually Monica herself who landed a role on the show because of the Clinton sex-scandal, I obviously was not correct. And last but not least, Mary Katherine Gallagher. Perhaps the oddest, most awkward character of hers, Mary Katherine Gallagher was the Catholic school girl who had odd nervous habits and aspirations to be glamorously famous or a "Superstar". This original character spawned a movie based off the sketches. Since, she has made cameos in many television shows and movies. She even wrote a few children's books.

Next is my favorite human being on the planet. Representing nerdy brunettes everywhere is the one and only Tina Fey. She started out at SNL as a writer in 1997 under head-writer Adam McKay. She went on to be the show's first woman head writer in 1999. She eventually became a performing cast member and Weekend Update Anchor with Jimmy Fallon. She was the sole reason that Saturday Night Live made the change from showcasing both male and female cast members. During Tina's time, Ana Gasteyer, Rachel Dratch, Molly Shannon and Cheri Oteri were in their prime. There had not been a group of women on the show that held their own against the men since the first few seasons. The men during this time were also a huge part of the show's success at this time but when Tina joined Weekend Update, the attitude of the show changed significantly. Her quick wit matched with that of the goofiness of Jimmy Fallon. After the show, she created/produced/wrote the still successful, Emmy-winning, 30 Rock.

In 2008, she coined her Sarah Palin impression which was so spot on that even friends of both women couldn't tell the difference. Her impression became an instrumental part of the McCain-Palin parody and was awarded the prestigious, Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Her speech when accepting this award is perhaps my favorite speech she has ever made partly because it encompasses who she is; normal, awkward, feminist, Democrat, professional, sarcastic, and "stone cold bitch". Her self-berating humor is something everyone can relate to and is showcased in her book, Bossypants. 

Stay tuned for Part 2! 

Hellooo

You are currently reading the first of many blog entries revolving around my first TV love, Saturday Night Live. In my opinion, some of the best comedic performances come from the mind and talent of SNL alum. If you are skeptical of this statement, this blog will be sure to change your mind.

-Carrie