Posted by JumpyPants
Saturday Night Live made it's mark for edgy, smart and political comedy. Political humor didn't mean somebody doing a dead-on impersonation of a person who happens to have a career in politics. Political humor meant actually making comedy -- satire, specifically -- out of place where policy and persona met. Belushi's Kissenger and Ackrod's Nixon were a brilliant attack on the men and on their actions. Much of that stuff was co-written by a guy who was really smart about politics: Al Franken.
But for years, and years, and yet more years, political humor on SNL has just been toothless half-swats at the most obvious of personality tics that a political figure exhibits. Dana "Registered Republican" Carvey doing G.H.W.Bush's half-words is a perfect example. So "edgy" it got him invited to the White House to hang with Bush. Will Ferrell's Bush schtick was okay, but, later, after he'd left SNL, he and Adam McKay did this:
which as you can see gets its comedy not just from the fact that Bush is ignorant, but that he is dangerous. Now, Tina Fey does a dead on Sarah Palin. There's more...
It'd be really awesome if the impression also contained some comedy about Palin get prayed over by a psychotic, witch-hunting priest so that they could put the hex on Barack Obama AND on Palin's ex-brother-in-law state trooper. And maybe if they used their special Jesus-magic to reanimate the dismembered remains of Todd Palin's spiritual mentor, Joe Vogler, and the remains would come to life inside their duct-taped tarp and shout "Alaska First!"Or something like that.But no. Fey's great Palin impression is left to basically read a tweaked version of existing interview and/or debate transcripts. And then, last night, she actually had to interact with the real Palin, a woman who has been whipping up violent racist hatred at her rallies. Why? Why does Lorne Michaels feel the need to kiss Palin's ass? Why does Tina Fey even do that shit, especially after saying that if Palin wins, she, Fey, is "leaving earth."Why does Alec Baldwin, a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat who skewered Palin on Bill Maher feel he has to come on and do lame, gummed jokes that only John McGeezer would laugh at? "You're way hotter?" Hey, Alec, way to be a) not funny and b) not edgy and c) cozy up to a racist, ignorant criminal ALL AT THE SAME TIME!Here's the good news: SNL is irrelevant, and all they proved Saturday is that they're really just a defanged shell of a shell of a shell of their once worthwhile self. And by "they", I mean Lorne "I Had The 'I Need To Hang With Famous People No Matter What' Lobotomy" Michaels.Oh, and, by the way, Grandpa Lorne? There are actually a lot of really pretty fucking hilarious black comedians who could do Barack Obama -- and a whole lot else -- instead of Fred Armisen. Take a dose of gingko biloba and you might remember this guy called Chris Rock. He actually started on your show, but he wasn't really allowed to be funny then. Anyway, Chris Rock is actually WAY too funny for you and your show, I know, but you should call him up because he probably knows some guys who are actually African-American and comics and who need the gig. Because, frankly, Old Timer, if we have to watch Armisen play the President for the next 8 years, well, then I'm going to really have to insist you just move up to Wasilla full-time so you can hang with the "hottie."