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SNL News: Jenny Slate Swears Herself In, Darrell Hammond May Be Out

BuzzSugar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:30:40 -0700

New cast member Jenny Slate went from virtual unknown to Internet phenomenon on her first-ever episode of Saturday Night Live over the weekend. She dropped a now infamous "F-Bomb" during a biker-chick sketch that had her saying "freaking" about 50 times - you can barely blame her, it's a pretty easy slip, especially for someone new to live TV. Blogs immediately jumped to Slate's defense, but apparently the alarm was unnecessary. She's not getting fired, there won't be a fine since it was after 10 p.m., and Lorne Michaels supposedly isn't upset. Plus, I'd be willing to bet Miss Slate won't be making that mistake again.

In other SNL news, the show's longest running cast member's name - Darrell Hammond - was missing from the opening credits Saturday night. As recently as last week a rep for the show said he would be back in some capacity, but despite his appearance on Thursday's Weekend Update, he wasn't in any of the skits on Saturday. He's been on the show for 14 seasons and accounts for some of the cornerstone imitations - Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and my personal favorite, Sean Connery. Between the loss of Hammond and no more Tina Fey as Sarah Palin or Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton, there's a bit of a gaping hole in SNL's political satire.

So, what did you think of the season opener? There are some exciting hosts coming our way, but the premiere was a bit lackluster for me. Do you think Jenny Slate should face any sort of punishment for her slip up, or is it all much ado about nothing?

In case you missed it, check out the Jenny Slate clip below (language NSFW, obviously) when you read more.

Which SNL Host Are You Most Excited About?

BuzzSugar — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 12:00:06 -0700

Love her or hate her, Megan Fox is unavoidable these days, and we'll see her yet again tonight hosting the season premiere of Saturday Night Live. Most of you aren't that psyched to see her flex her comedic muscles, but the great thing about SNL is that there's always a new host just around the corner. Ryan Reynolds, Drew Barrymore, and Gerard Butler will follow Fox this season, so tell me - which of these hosts are you most excited about?

Meet the New Female Faces on SNL!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:30:03 -0700

There are going to be some funny new mugs when Saturday Night Live premieres later this month: comedians Nasim Pedrad and Jenny Slate. The two women will be welcome additions, since this will be the first full season without Amy Poehler. Relatively unknown, Pedrad had a role on ER, and Slate has been on Important Things With Demetri Martin.

Last year's new girls were Abby Elliott and Michaela Watkins, who held their own among heavyweights like Kristin Wiig and Bill Hader, thanks in part to killer Angelina Jolie and Hoda Kotb impressions, respectively.

I can't wait to see what this fresh blood will bring in - the show comes back Sept. 26 with Megan Fox hosting.

Fun or Fail: Movies Based on SNL Sketches

BuzzSugar — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:47:24 -0700

It was just a vague little idea before, but now it appears that there very well may be a MacGruber movie on its way to the big screen. The Saturday Night Live sketch spoofing MacGyver works OK in small doses, but I have to wonder how they're going to stretch it into a full-length feature film. In the past they've been able to take a few sketches from SNL and shape them into movies, with mixed results. I thought I'd put it to a vote - which of these SNL sketches-turned-movies do you think are pretty fun? And which are epic fails?

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More SNL Alums Join Sandler's "Grown-Up" Comedy

BuzzSugar — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:30:08 -0700

Adam Sandler's next movie is titled Grown Ups and follows a bunch of high school friends who reunite 30 years after graduation, but it also appears to be serving as a real-life reunion for a whole team of former Saturday Night Live performers. A few comedic actors were cast a while back, including Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider, and today there's talk of more coming on board. Tim Meadows is joining the cast, which now also features Maya Rudolph, Norm Macdonald, Colin Quinn and actor/SNL writer Tim Herlihy.

This should be interesting, to say the least. Some of these folks have been responsible for a few of your favorite SNL sketches, though I wonder if there are any other SNL veterans who could round out the cast even more. Steve Martin, Darrell Hammond, Amy Poehler, Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, Sheri Oteri?

Monday Pick-Me-Up: Dwayne Johnson's SNL Showtune

BuzzSugar — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 05:30:33 -0700

In case you missed it, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson beautifully (and I mean, beautifully) hosted Saturday Night Live over the weekend for his third time. I thought he did a great job - from his Barack Obama impression ("The Rock Obama") to his role as a bitter Hawaiian restaurant performer, I have to admit, I really enjoyed his time on the show.

Hands down, though, my favorite part of the episode (which, to be honest, I rewound and watched at least three more times on TV) was Johnson's musical number during his monologue. It's his way of proving that Hollywood hasn't made him fancy or soft - he's still tough! Tough enough for a skimpy sequined vest over a bare chest. That's what I'm talkin' about.

In case you need a pick-me-up on the first-Monday-after-daylight-savings-time, you can check out the video of Johnson's opening segment if you read more.

MadTV Ends While SNL Gets Two New Ladies

BuzzSugar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:30:22 -0800

Good news and sorta sad news. I'll start with the sorta sad: Fox has canceled it's long-running sketch comedy program MadTV, which didn't exactly shock too many people. The folks at Best Week Ever even joked they thought it got canceled four years ago. Snark aside, I still think this holdover from the '90s deserves a (brief) moment of silence.

The good news is that sketch comedy is still thriving over at NBC after a particularly fruitful political season that had many viewers heading back to Saturday Night Live for some comic relief. Now SNL is looking to keep the show on everyone's radar with the addition of two new female cast members: Abby Elliott and Michaela Watkins (pictured).

Elliott is the daughter of comedian Chris Elliott who is a former SNL cast member himself (apparently this is the first multigenerational casting in the show's history). And from the video clips I've seen of her, Elliott is very funny - particularly when doing impersonations. Michaela Watkins has appeared on TV shows including The New Adventures of Old Christine and both ladies have paid their dues on the live sketch comedy circuit. They'll both debut this week!

Are you sad about MadTV? Check out videos of the new SNL ladies and let me know if you think there is potential there to maybe fill the void left by Tina and Amy. To watch for yourself, read more.

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Will You Keep Watching SNL After the Election?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:30:16 -0800

Politicians have always been excellent fodder for comedy and this election season has been very entertaining on SNL (due in large part to Tina Fey's spot-on impressions of Sarah Palin). The SNL Presidential Bash even garnered record ratings on Monday night.

But now that the election is over, will this all still be as funny? Do you think you'll lose interest in the show, or did the election-inspired skits revive your faith in general?

Photo courtesy of NBC

Do You Like SNL's Political Sketches Better Than the Other Sketches?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:38:16 -0700

In the latest episode of SNL, Tina Fey's Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton were the highlight of the show for me by far. For the rest of the episode, I waited for more great political stuff, but only got some way-too-long sketch about pizza that put me to sleep. It made me wonder if the only thing the show has going for it nowadays is the political content. What do you think?

Hot Rod: More Like Lukewarm Rod

BuzzSugar — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 13:01:11 -0700

After meeting the funny, friendly Andy Samberg and his buddies ("The Dudes") I wanted very much to give Hot Rod a great review. But I just can't do it. Luckily, Samberg himself said once in a separate interview that he knows the movie will get bad reviews. So... woo hoo! I can write this guilt-free.

The premise of Hot Rod is pretty funny, really. Rod Kimble (Samberg) gets no respect from his surly stepfather Frank (Ian McShane). So when he learns that Frank will die unless he gets an expensive heart transplant, Rod vows to raise the money to get Frank a new heart so he can then kick his ass and prove that he's a man. Rod and his buddies cook up a plan for a fundraising event in which Rod will jump his motorbike over a bunch of buses. Montages set to '80s music ensue. That's just the plot, though, so to see what I thought of the movie, read more

Despite not having written the movie, the entire thing has the look and feel of one of Samberg and Friends' "SNL" shorts that goes on for way, way too long. It was originally written as a vehicle for Will Ferrell, and indeed it seems just like a Will Ferrell movie... without Will Ferrell. I think Will Ferrell can sell through a lot of poor scripts just on his fully committed, blithely innocent charm. Andy Samberg... not so much. It's funny that Samberg's buddy and Hot Rod director Akiva Schaffer claims to have tweaked the script to make it more appropriate to Samberg's humor because they didn't want it to be "like Samberg doing a Will Ferrell impression." Because that's exactly what it seems to be.

I enjoyed the allusions to 80s movies - all the synth music, the homages to Rad and Footloose, the wacky low-budget tone. And I love anything Isla Fisher does, though as the generic "girl" part in the movie she's insultingly underused. The focus isn't on her at all, but on these dudes and their gimmicky antics. The most entertaining and relaxed scenes are those that include "Arrested Development"'s Will Arnett whose breezy ability to play the ultimate douchebag comes in handy once again.

Andy Samberg has a great comedic mind for writing "SNL" shorts ("Dick in a Box" was hilarious, for example), but he isn't commanding enough to be the lead in a feature film. In fact, he doesn't seem particularly comfortable playing the lead in a feature film. Next time someone writes a Will Ferrell film, I hope they can get Will Ferrell to be in it.

Photos courtesy of Paramount