SNL CAST HAS BECOME AN UNFUNNY AND UNKIND CLIQUE
“SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, because of the absolute worst team of writers ever assembled, and shticky productions where the ensemble cast members behave more like a hateful high school clique than an acting troupe, has become an asylum which is now being run by the politically moronic inmates and their like-minded friends who find all of the elements inherent to this sub-mediocrity to be hilariously funny. ” [Dr. Raymond Totondi – Skylight Institute for Advanced Study, Switzerland.]
How appropriate that Tina Fey, wrote a movie called MEAN GIRLS. She is one of them, and if Sarah Palin had never been a VP candidate, Tina would be doing Mrs. Butterworth commercials.
There is no nuance to the humor of SNL – no subtlety. It all comes off as really bad and childish play acting you would see in a Hal Roach comedy when some Little Rascals – far more talented that these – put on a show in their ramshackle clubhouse. At least with a child you can be amused simply by the fact that a child is attempting to amuse you. The basic elements for comedy are instantaneous, but they don’t last. Even funny kids go from being funny kids to insufferable pains in the ass within an hour or so.
What might otherwise amuse you is to simply sit and watch and wonder about how these terrible writers and actors get high-paying jobs working on a famous American program. Of course I know the answer, but that’s a 500 page book that I promise to write one day when America is a better and cleaner and less shticky place.
Each SNL episode since mid 2016 has been nothing but a bunch of unfunny filler served up only to take up the space not occupied by desperate people who dress up like Donald Trump and/or every political figure surrounding him. That’s all you get – a corner bar martini made with bathtub gin.
Makeup and wigs and vocal impersonations stun the eye, but the ear hears nothing as far as FUNNY or curious is concerned. There is no way a British audience could ever make it through one episode of this absolute shit wipe of a show. In fact, I would guess that most Brits would find my analysis of the show, which you are reading now, to be far funnier than the show itself.
“The folks at Lorne’s (Michaels) show go through all of this elaborate pre-production but they forgot something. They forgot to make it funny above and beyond the costumes and the staging. The comedy writing is the opposite of comedy. It’s inside humor played up by self-serving and marginally talented children. Children are automatically funny, but not when they are actually adults reciting from really bad scripts that come from the incapable hands of especially untalented writers.” [Princess Lee Radziwill]
The Princess is 100% correct. SNL is a bunch of stuff that can only be giggled about by those cunts who live within the clique. Of course one can giggle at the costume of someone made up to look exactly like a political figure, but the funniness therein is short-lived because the writing — the STUFF that makes all the makeup and costuming and staging come to life – isn’t there.
“Sadly, the poor writing doesn’t matter because the pre-paid and hopped-up audience is already laughing, and for a a few minutes they feel as though they have been brought into the clique. For a brief Camelot moment, the Red State flyovers who were lucky to score the tickets when they paid for their once-in-a-lifetime trip to New York City, are lulled into a temporary Blue State frame of mind. They get a “contact high,” but when they leave the NBC studios, they are still the same rubes Alec Baldwin believes them to be. They were just used to earn him another berth next week and a few more bucks.” [Damien LeGallienne]
Other luminaries chimed in to dismiss SNL and Alec Baldwin as washed up old dish rags.
“Don’t kid yourself about Alec Baldwin’s motivations when it comes to guesting on SNL and doing his Donald Trump thing. Yeah, maybe he likes to do this and he wants to be part of the political resistance – or whatever they call it – but when push comes to shove, his manager and his agents are in the offices of NBC loading up the tab. You didn’t think he was doing this for fun or for altruistic purposes, did you? Anyone who knows Alec will tell you that he doesn’t do anything unless it’s for a fucking buck.” [Hillary Clinton]
Other Hollywood names – the more intelligent and glamorous ones – seem to echo the same basic idea.
“This is where the true nature of the proverbial ‘clique’ come into play. Psychologically speaking, if you were to map out something that would be readily apparent to someone not trained in any science of the mind or brain, it would be equivalent to an exclusive or privileged clique of poorly trained art lovers – who drag a famous artist to a scenic spot and provide him with everything but the paint.
“That’s what has happened to SNL. If paint were comedy, SNL forgets to bring it. Instead, they prop up a clique of sub-mediocre comics before a camera, dress up the sets, make up the actors to look authentic, and then forget to write something funny. It’s frighteningly apparent and it makes me cringe.
“Think about a child who gets a laugh from mom or dad when he dresses up as a clown. It’s funny for an hour or so, and if happens to be captured on video, it will be dragged up once every ten years and shown at the child’s graduation, or wedding, or funeral. At the time the child is getting a laugh, he is living like a pet dog who gets a small treat for sitting, or rolling over, or playing dead, but then the mirth ends. How long does a dog live? I would guess that on average a dog will live ten or so years. The performing human, however, regardless of training or positive reinforcement, usually drags on for nearly eighty years. That’s hard time, honey.” [Joan Collins – OBE]
Great post, thanks
“Radzawill” <---No, it is Radziwill.
This is pretty accurate, especially when you mentioned everything since mid-2016 has been filler. There are maybe 1 or 2 cast members that may have talent but the writing is such a sham now, it’s almost embarrassing. Did the writers move on?
But then you reference Tina Fey, who actually was a talented SNL writer and cast member who was a regular in the mid 2000s, long before 2016. She was so good as Sarah Palin that she was more Sarah than Sarah was herself. When people remember her impression of Sarah more than the woman she is emulating, that’s pretty indicative of her genius. Colonel Angus was brilliant sketch too. I don’t consider myself a follower or fan of Tina Fey (more just a watcher of SNL over the years), but her talent is pretty evident. And she’s pretty down to earth. After all her success, she hasn’t been changed much by her interaction with hollywood.. By contrast, I could never stand Kate McKinnon’s Hillary impression…got old so fast that I was hoping that Trump would win the election if for no other reason than to not have to see her open the show with another bad Hillary impersonation.
Coqsucher – The Damien Zone agrees with your opinions regarding Tina Fey. We meant only to point out the fact that Sarah Palin’s existence benefited Tina Fey’s career enormously.
Damien LeGallienne
Editor
Great view! I agree. I have watched since 75. I sadly quit a few weeks ago. I have to put one of my favorites to bed..go night night..now..go night night.
They insulted your precious Trump. So you made an article about how much they suck. Okee dokee
No — wrong — TRUMP is all they do. That is the issue. These are people who make millions and would step over you in the gutter. They don’t care if you laugh. You’re not in the club.
Whaaaat?! I respect your opinion but some of what you say is inaccurate. Snl cast members only receive 1200$ an episode.. Alec Baldwin does trump Bc he’s good at it & he hates him lol. I think he’s great but I agree sometimes it’s a little overplayed.. now melissa McCarthy as spicer is pretty damn funny you gotta admit. Also snl has its highest ratings ever this season.. so why would they stop doing what’s working? Trump needs to quit crying about what happens on snl. He’s got bigger fish to fry. Or Feds to fire, what have you lol ?
Trump is not crying, Alec Baldwin is crying because he’s butt hurt. The show stinks.