SNL - "Ben Stiller/Foster The People"

Season 37, Episode 3

A surprising good episode for the third one in a row

Cold Open – Mitt Romney Press Conference: Wow now that was surprisingly good. Or maybe it was just all right, which far exceeds my expectations for political cold opens. Either way, I rather enjoyed it, and that’s surprising considering that the focus tonight was the GOP’s most milquetoast candidate. Luckily, the sketch used that characteristics as its hook, and by bouncing it off the GOP base’s ambivalence towards Romney and their infatuation with anyone who isn't running, it actually ended up making some fairly trenchant observations. Adding Christie into the mix could have been too much, but luckily he was just there to over a different yet still funny permutation of the same joke.

Monologue: Starting with a bunch of lame Jewish jokes isn’t the best way to kick-off a monologue, but luckily Stiller rejected that angle, and gave us a weird and surreal trip into Jewish Willy Wonka’s Kosher Food Factory. Sure, it relied on some more Jewish stereotypes, but was so ballsy in its execution – this feels like something that’s usually reserved for the last slot of the night – that it won me over.

Lincoln Financial: Maybe it’s just a night for weirdness? I’m all for that, but unlike the weird monologue before it, this was just a joke that didn’t really match up with the product it was satirizing. (And yes, I get the joke behind “Get to Know Your Future Self”. I just didn’t find it all that funny.)

Fox & Friends: When the show did a “Fox & Friends” sketch back in April, I didn’t find it all that funny, and the same holds true this time around. (Once again, “Brian” got all of the funny lines). I thought the sketch might have been up to something with Hank Williams, Jr. and his media rep – and it technically was the funniest bit in the sketch – but it felt too short, as if it could have been much funnier if they had let Sudeikis run with his impression for a few minutes longer.

Lincoln Financial (Take Two): Same as part one, just even more unmotivated. It gets points for trying to be comedic by being the polar opposite of the first version of this commercial, but in this case the opposite of unfunny is still unfunny.

The Best of Both World With Hugh Jackman: Wow apparently they’re just ripping off April’s Helen Mirren episode, but as long as their ripping off something that worked so well the last time, I can’t really complain. Much like the last iteration, this sketch just piled on the weirdness as the sketch got funnier and funnier. The combination here - Mandy Patinkin, Clint Eastwood, and Daniel Radcliffe – was even better, and the show took much better effect of each star’s association with music/singing. Having Hugh Jackman star as Radcliffe could have been too on the nose, but it gelled nicely with the with the rest of the sketch, especially as it was Jackman’s anger that led to the sketch-ending execution. (Points off, however, for including Nancy Grace. Her inclusion just didn’t real make sense.)

V-Neck Guy Digital Short: Sure, this short is obviously indebted to the "model-off"scene in Zoolander, but it was somewhat funny in its weirdness. Until, that is, the end, when it made the obvious penis-showing joke. Considering the surreal nature of this sketch, I would have expected something better.

Hank Williams Commercial Break: Now this is the kind of weirdness that I was expecting in the “Fox & Friends” sketch. It was weird and nonsensical, and I rather liked it. SNL should really do more weird shit more often.

Shannon: So, umm, what was that? I get that the joke was supposed to be about subverting expectation of the “hot girl” with disgusting behavior, but for starters that joke isn’t very funny, and the sketch took so long to get to the actual joke that the whole thing felt extremely aimless. Without the proper set up, the sketch had no chance of being humorous.

Weekend Update: In addition to Seth Meyer’s usual shtick, we got Nan Washingtom, another mumbling, soft spoken iteration of Kristen Wiig character than you’ve seen many times before. As if to make up for that awkward and overly prolonged bit, we also got Stefon. Yay! Unfortunately, they also had to use this bit to sneak in Stiller as Derek Zoolander, and move that not only feels obvious, but destroys the normal rhythms of the Stefon character. (Though I did like the idea that Stefon would only date Zoolander to make Seth jealous.)

Lincoln Financial (Take Three): Just, ugh. At least they didn’t bother trying to make this one any longer than it should have. They just made the joke and got out.

Under-Underground Records Columbus Day Assblast Festival: Okay, this is totally a rip-off of the Helen Mirren episode, but 2/3 of the rip-offs are still golden. This sketch was noticeably longer, but it also allowed for a more powerful buildup into absurdity.

Bruce Springsteen: Just The Stories: Back when The Ben Stiller Show was still on the air, there was a recurring segment called “Legends of Springsteen”, wherein “average people” would recount their surreal experience with Springsteen, played by Stiller. The power of those sketches was in how weird everything got while also playing up Springsteen’s Americana personality. This SNL sketch, which is obviously indebted to those sketches, could have been funny if it too had gone to heights of absurdity. Unfortunately, it didn’t. (Also, Stiller’s Springsteen impression wasn’t as funny as it used to be.)

Tinyballs: Sure, making steroid jokes when it comes to baseball is old hat, but this sketch committed to the joke enough, with the fake muscles and tits and whatnot, that it ended up working more than it should have. (But a pre-taped segment in the last slot, and a movie spoof at that? That just feels like a misuse of that slot. Either that, or they should have made this spoof even weirder.)

Goodnights: I’m not sure if saying “This is one of the craziest weeks I’ve ever had” is really that big of a compliment, Stiller.

Best Sketch – Under-Underground Records Columbus Day Assblast Festival

Worst Sketch – Bruce Springsteen: Just The Stories

Next Week:  SNL tries to hold up for four weeks in a row when Anna Farris hosts and Drake performs.

Quotes, Etc.:

In case you missed it, Jason Sudeikis appeared on The Daily Show on Thursday. Sure, he was probably just a last minute replacement for someone else, but it’s still fairly charming. Take a look:

So I know I don’t usually comment on the music acts, but Kenny G appearing during the second Foster The People song was..weird. I know it’s possible that he contributed to the album version of that song. In that case, I just have to ask…why?

“What do you guys like? Buttered bread?”

“And not regular angry. We’re talkin’ Mormon angry.”

“And my voice sounds like a black comedian doing a white man’s voice.”

“It’ll be great, fat president, come on.”

“I’m Jewish Willy Wonka.” “So you’re Gene Wilder?” “Yeah, basically.”

“Yeah, just Batman and bananas.”

“Hey, don’t give a baby a gun. President Barack Hitler will just take it away!”

“TWO SIDES!”

“And I’m Hugh Jackman, a pretty big guy!”

“The doctor turned my kangaroo pouch into a didgeridoo.”

“Magic, music and meta? Why that’s…THREE SIDES!”

“Because there’s nothing people on Wall Street hate more than not being able to get to Brooklyn.”

“It’s a great way to tell everyone in the neighborhood ‘We can’t have children’.”

“How’s your back?” “So, Stefon…”

“The first 100 people through the door will get a human fire extinguisher.” “Because it’s on my cue card, and only because it’s on my cue card, what’s  human fire extinguisher?”

“We’ve all accidently praised Rudolph Hitler on television.”

“I will also need a portion of jam, as well.”

“Yeah, I think something bad is about to happen.”

“Or just have group sex with the Kia Gerbils! Damn.”