Why SNL isn’t funny

By JN
Posted May 21, 2004

Saturday Night Live is a television comedy institution: it will begin its thirtieth season this coming fall. Producer Lorne Michaels reputedly said he gave the show its title so network executives could remember when it was on.

Of all our senses, perhaps the most important is the sense of humour. Most people go through identifiable stages in developing this sense. The SNL stage seems often to coincide with being allowed to stay up late, and with discovering the joys of a well-rolled joint. The latter is very important to SNL, as the show depends on its audience being too stoned to find the TV remote and change the channel. Former viewers are always surprised to learn that the show is still on.

The “good old days when it was funny” refers to one of two periods: A) the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players, or B) whenever you started watching the show until the cast changed and you stopped.

The sad truth is this: SNL was never a funny show. Oh, there were certainly funny parts, but overall the sketches were under-written and under-rehearsed, bits went on too long, and everyone involved congratulated themselves for doing “cutting edge” or “alternative” comedy — which seems to mean comedy that isn’t funny. The talent creating the show always had a better time than the audience watching it. The sketches work better when you’re told them at work on Monday than they do live. Considering that SNL steals all its talent from the top improv-comedy groups, the show should be much better than it is.

The cast members seem to be auditioning for movie roles, rather than performing their sketches. How many have made it? John Belushi and Chris Farley are dead, and so’s Chevy Chase — oh, sorry, that’s just his career. Dan Aykroyd’s had a respectable career. Mike Myers went on to prove he actually had talent — a verdict that may be reversed on appeal if he makes another Austin Powers movie. Adam Sandler went on to prove that you don’t need any talent to be a star.

Let’s look at the tote board of SNL movies:

Here are a few specific things wrong with the show:

Opening monologue. Remember when the guest host would stand on a bare stage and deliver an actual monologue? When was the last time that happened? If some unmusical twit doesn’t insist on singing to showcase her “versatility”, the regular cast members come on as characters from her sit-com or her real life (which are very nearly the same thing).

TV talk-show sketches. These are probably easy to do: a camera, a couple of chairs, a small cast, no special requirements. They constitute the majority of the show’s content. Recurring characters, recurring sets, recurring bits, catchphrases . . . You can build an entire sketch without having to create anything new or original at all.

Celebrity impersonations. These don’t make any satirical comment on the celebrity being parodied, they just present it. Are we supposed to admire the mere fact of the impersonation, like at a drag show? Joe Piscopo apparently rejected sketches for his Frank Sinatra impression on the grounds that “Frank wouldn’t do that.” What? At most, the “Celebrity Jeopardy” sketch pointed out the fact that most celebrities are actually pretty stupid . . . like we didn’t already know that.

Recurring characters. They don’t ring any changes on the premise, they just present it again. If we laugh, it’s a laugh of recognition. We know Matt Foley lives in a van down by the river and will crash through the table. We expect Mary Catherine Gallagher is going to sniff her armpits and crash into the chairs. We know Mango will dance and the guest-star will fall in love with him. This isn’t clever writing, it’s lazy writing.

Weekend Update. Still the highlight of the show, it hasn’t really been funny since Dennis Miller left. (Come to think of it, neither has Dennis Miller.) This past season, with Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon anchoring, has been the best in years. What they really need to do is hire Jon Stewart.

Annoying performers. Granted, this is very much a matter of taste. I could never stand Gilda Radner (except in The Rutles) . . . but then, I’m not a gay man. Gary Kroeger and Chris Elliott can’t do anything without looking conceited. Fametracker pointed out that Molly Shannon “only does one character with several different wigs, and that that character invariably involves a lot of yelling and kicking.” The shamelessly untalented Chris Kattan looked so smug all the time, I just wanted to punch him in the face. Amy Poehler is the girl in your amateur improv troupe who’ll take her shirt off onstage.

Interesting note: At least as far back as 1984’s presidential contest between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale, the candidate SNL has depicted as the winner has in fact gone on to win the election. They haven’t yet declared who will be the next president . . .