Monday, November 29, 2010

Introduction

If you are looking for a laugh-till-it-hurts blog, you've come to right spot. I have composed this blog of just a few of my favorite Saturday Night Live skits, and explore what each clip is trying to say or make fun of. I have mixed in some of the newer SNL skits with the older, classic skits that have made SNL one of the best, and longest running, television shows.

A Night at the Roxbury

This is one of my all time favorite Saturday Night Live skits. The cast includes Will Ferrell, Jim Carey, and Chris Kattan, who all went on to be famous and leading actors in comedy. This skit was eventually turned into a movie, A Night at the Roxbury, that makes me cry laughing every time I watch it. I do wish that Jim Carey would have been in the movie but he, unfortunately, was not. Many of us, who have been to clubs, have seen people there that are just like these three characters. They are overly aggressive on the dance floor and wear questionable clothing. They have an over confident attitude and are generally just creepy. Saturday Night Live saw how easy it would be to make fun of this type of person, and they certainly capitalized. In some way I find these guys to be damper on the club by generally annoying everyone, but I also feel that these characters could be beneficial. When girls are bothered by this type of guy, it could lead to a two pronged effect. The first could be that girls generally give up on the night and are put off by the irritating characters. The second could lead to pretty much every other guy looking a whole lot better than those idiots.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Bill Swerski's Super Fans

In this classic Saturday Night Live skit, we see the stereotypical Chicago sports fan. These fans are obsessed with the Bears, Bulls, Polish sausage, and, of course, legendary Coach Ditka. With the casting of Mike Myers, Chris Farley, and special guest Michael Jordan, this skit was instantly a hit. The Super Fans make some of the wildest and most unreasonable predictions, notably that the Bears would defeat the Bills 31 to -7, which is clearly impossible. I find this hilarious because this is supposed to be a real broadcast, and they obviously have put no thought into their predictions at all. They also claim that Michael Jordan should play countries by himself in the upcoming Olympics. Another outrageous comment by the Super Fans, but in strange way I agree with them. I would find it very entertaining to see Michael Jordan play countries by himself and I think he could beat some countries as a one man team. In all, these Chicago crazed fans in their Ditka-esque outfits are a hilarious group with way too much confidence in their hometown teams. I wish more fans were this crazy about their teams, because not even heart attacks slow down Bill Swerski’s Super Fans.

Broadview Security

I feel that it is fair to say that most people have seen the Brinks Home Security commercial. Most of us, including myself, don’t recognize some of the small details in their commercial that seem a little unrealistic. Saturday Night Live hit the nail on the head with this commercial spoof, and I also have a few issues with the Brinks commercial. In the Brinks commercial, the burglar is not armed and is easily scared by the noise that the alarm makes. In real life, the burglar would be a little more creative at that point, being how far into the robbery he is. Saturday Night Live highlights the fact that the woman is alone in an enormous house and is always under the threat of home invasion. They use break-ins by her grandfather, rabbi, and two small boys dressed as a man to emphasize how unrealistic the Brinks commercial is. I loved that part because it is obviously not true and completely blown out of proportion. That is, in essence, what makes Saturday Night Live a great television show. By taking something that seems normal, and pointing out its flaws in a laugh-till-you-cry manner that not many shows can do.

Weekend Update: Four Loko

With the recent banning of Four Loko in the state of New York, Saturday Night Live thought it would take the opportunity to get in a few shots at the controversial beverage. Most likely, many of us have seen the effects that a can, sometimes two or more, of Four Loko has on people. The combination of alcohol and caffeine usually accelerates the rate of alcohol consumption to the point that the body cannot keep up. The alcohol is not a strong part of the taste, so many keep drinking without realizing how much alcohol they have had. I have heard it called a “blackout in a can.” Despite the obvious health and hazard risks connected to Four Loko, I don’t feel that it should be banned. The people that are going to down a Four Loko will probably drink any other alcoholic beverage to excess anyway. The clip is downright hilarious in the way that they reference drinking and driving, the serving size of a Four Loko, and the new products they are about to come out with. The creators of Four Loko say that they use only legal products, and the made up products by Saturday Night Live do as well. But they contain outrageous items like fiber glass and horse tranquilizer.

Mom's on Facebook

It’s happened to the best of us. Many of our mothers eventually found Facebook. My mother has and every now and then I’ll get a call about a questionable post. It usually results in me taking off the post in question. Many mothers will justify joining Facebook to reconnect with their friends from college and high school, but don’t think for one second that they aren’t planning on lurking your page to see what you’re up to. Regardless, Saturday Night Live did an excellent job of taking a growing problem and creating an outrageous product to combat it. My favorite part of the clip is where they show the pictures of the kid with the girl, smoking the giant bong, and posing naked. When they alter those pictures with the doll, saxophone, and shirt that says “MOMS ROCK” I could not stop laughing. They picked the most random objects to photo shop into those pictures, and I feel my mom would think that I’m some kind of odd ball for taking those pictures. But, if this product were real, I’m not sure how many people would actually buy it anyway. Though, I do think it would be hilarious just to see what it comes up with to show your mom.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Celebrity Jeopardy

In this classic Will Ferrell Saturday Night Live clip, Ferrell plays Alex Trebek, host of the famous television game show Jeopardy. Not only is Ferrell's Trebek impression right on point and funny, but the Burt Reynolds and Sean Connery impersonations are also hilarious. Obviously, the show and these real life actors are the targets in this skit, but why? Is Saturday Night Live trying to say that celebrities are dumb? I feel that they are. If we really were to put famous actors on Jeopardy, most would fail miserably. The producers would certainly have to dumb down the show or make it a specific topic, like music or movie trivia. But, isn't Saturday Night Live also taking shots at Jeopardy in general? The categories like condiments, sharp things, and movies that start with the word "Jaws" all imply that the show asks the most random and pointless questions. This is one of my favorite skits mostly because of the way they portray Burt Reynolds, and the constantly heckling of Alex Trebek by Sean Connery. The way he rags on Alex Trebek's mother is absolutely hilarious, and is something we would never see on the real Jeopardy. French Stewart is not very funny at all, but in a way that highlights the jokes of Sean Connery and stupidity of Burt Reynolds.