Saturday, May 12, 2012
SNL -- MAY 12, 2012 -- WILL FERRELL WITH USHER
WILL FERRELL, one of the breakout stars from SNL, returns tonight as host, with musical guest, USHER:
This was a consistently funny, sometimes surreal, but rarely outrageous, SNL. Even the Weekend Update, which usually hovers between pretty good and uninteresting, was consistently funny; though to be honest I’m not sure what to make of Liam Neeson. The show was kind of top-loaded; it ended with amusing sketches, but no great finishing punch.
Almost every sketch was a mini-classic in its own way.
Here's a re-cap of the show: (See below for video clips!)
Cold open -- Biden and Barack on gay marriage, toy trains, and Biden’s "imaginary" friend, George (Bush, stuck in a closet these four years looking for a blue butterfly – “ ‘Mission Accomplished’ – That’s what I say when a problem isn’t solved, but I don’t want to talk about it any more."). Great OPEN.
Monolog – a Will Ferrell original Mother’s Day message for his mom!
A COLD MEDICINE (AD) -- Hilarious Will Ferrell sneezing. (“Just sneeze like a normal person!”)
LGBT DANCE – Will Ferrell’s classic – tho’ never very funny – old fuddy-duddy teachers talking and singing and playing piano. Nice sounding song with funny lyrics. Even if it’s not terribly funny, it was nice to see them again.
1994 ESPN CLASSIC WOMEN’S LONG DRIVE CHAMPIONSHIP SPONSORED BY MAXIPADS – Funny plugs for maxipads; sidekick who oscillates between honest assessments that deflate the anchor’s hype, and clueless idiocy. Meanwhile a TV on-site reporter is unprepared to report on the OJ driving in the Broncho story.
100TH SNL DIGITAL SHORT – A tribute to the SNL digital short, suckin’ their own dongs & all. (But no laser cats.)
USHER -- Seemed to be having fun! (but was that a little bit of fumbling with the props?) High energy entertaining!
WEEKEND UPDATE – Funny all the way through. Best line – to Time Magazine, on the picture of the older boy standing on a chair breast-feeding -- “You should have photo-shopped out the chair. (Illustration supplied.) In The Cage with Liam Neeson (& Nicholas Cage): Liam seemed less happy to be there than even the real Cage was when he showed up. Most guests seem to be playing along; Liam seemed to be steamed. It was perhaps a great absurdist rendition of an unhappy guest at an imbecilic interview. Cage’s next film: he plays a rogue marble that escaped from hell.
FUNKYTOWN DEBATE -- This surreal debate of candidates for the mayor of Funkytown was played with great restraint, perhaps catching the true spirit of the least useful debates, which still, despite everything, tell us something of the inner nature of the candidates...
BROADWAY SIZZLE -- A local live reality show in which singers come to an open mike. Will Ferrell keeps singing songs that he suddenly realizes, in the middle, should be sung by a girl, not a boy… durn it. An amusing sketch.
USHER – strikes quite a different tone here than in his first number.
HAPPY 25TH ANNIVERSARY -- Strange relatives and stranger strangers grab the mike at a couple’s 25th anniversary party. – (Note: The sketch is OK, but not the most inspired of the night. The show is losing steam. The last ten minutes should be the time for the truly inspired raunchy sketches.)
ALMOST PIZZA (AD) It looks like pizza. But it’s not pizza.
Note: Mick Jagger hosts the season finale.
I enjoyed the show. I'm looking forward to Jagger as host.
SNL - HOME
WILL FERRELL ON IMDB
WILL FERRELL ON WIKIPEDIA
USHER ON WIKIPEDIA
CLICK ON THE ICON FOR ACCESS TO WILL FERRELL'S FILMS:
CLICK ON THE ICON FOR ACCESS TO USHER'S MUSIC:
COLD OPEN - OBAMA VISITS BIDEN
COLD COMMERCIAL
THE 100TH - AN SNL DIGITAL SHORT
FUNKYTOWN DEBATE
WEEKEND UPDATE: REALLY??? - TIME MAGAZINE COVER
FOR ALL SNL CLIPS & FULL EPISODES:
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/
Labels: Saturday Night Live, SNL, Usher, Will Ferrell
