Will Ferrell was a perfect guest to finish off an excellent season on Saturday Night Live's 34th season. This season was extraordinarily strong, creating multiple catch phrases, jokes, and sketches that became immediate successes in pop culture. This season finale though lived up to the reputation of its season.
Arguabally, Will Ferrell might be the most successful cast member to come off of SNL. I know that other cast members had much success, but he seems to have built the greatest reputation, almost having cult-like followers, and being an absolute sensation that produces so many films, comedy sketches, and television programs. More than any other cast member, he can make you laugh without him putting in too much time or effort into the delivery or the jokes. He is just a natural.
Being that he is a previous cast member, SNL played up a lot of his old sketches on this finale. They had him do a Harry Carey bit on Weekend Update; they played an old commercial sketch with Chris Parnell where Ferrell played Wade Blasingame, an attorney to put down dogs for heinous crimes; they had him act as President Bush with Darryl Hammond as Dick Cheney; and most importantly, they had him play Alex Trebek on Celebrity Jeopardy. Featured in this Celebrity Jeopardy was Kristen Wiig as Kathie Lee Gifford, Tom Hanks as a stupid version of himself, Darryl Hammond as Sean Connery, and a guest appearance by Norm McDonald as Burt Reynolds. It was absolutely hilarious. The new catch phrase: Catch These Men = Catch the Semen.
Ferrell is always classic when he appears on this show, whether it was meant to be that way or not.
Does anyone know if this is Darryl Hammond's last season on the show? It seemed like he was in the show a lot more this episode than he has been all season. This could be his final farewell after his long commitment to the show.
Other great surprises: Amy Poehler came back to join Seth Meyers on Weekend Update. I wonder how her show will go...
Maya Rudolph made a guest appearance during a funeral sketch where people kept rudely interrupting the speakers. She sang a crazy song around the tune of "America the Beautiful" to sing about Sasquatch.
The best surprise must have been the last scene: Will Ferrell, Darryl Hammond, Kenan Thompson, and Bill Hader all sat around a table at a restaurant. Ferrell went on a singing tangent (accompanied by a band) about some random love affair in Vietnam. (Apparently he was on vacation and the whole dramatic song was kind of silly). Cast members and guests played instruments. All cast members were on stage with an instrument. Tom Hanks, Artie Lang, Paul Rudd, Anne Hathaway, Maya Rudolph, Norm McDonald, and Green Day (the musical guest) came on stage to play their instruments as well. With them all on stage pretending to be goofy, it was an end scene to the season that was absolutely phenomenal. Absolutely astounding.
So what will next season bring? Hopefully more Kristen Wiig. Apparently she has signed on to be on Weekend Update with Seth Meyers. I don't know how I feel about this. I think she's a GREAT leading role for their cast. She really is their strongest member. I don't think she HAS to go there and dominate too. It's like when Amy Poehler did it. She was their strongest member, and then she jumped on that set with Tina Fey and then Seth Meyers. She wasn't the best at her delivery, but she got used to it. It didn't seem to be her strong suit. Just save her for other things.
And I think Seth Meyers does a fabulous job by himself. I think they should have a season or two where they just keep one person doing it alone. That's how it used to be for most of their seasons. It might not be a bad idea, but they can't get enough of Wiig.
If you missed the finale, go to SNL's website and watch some of the video clips. They're worth watching. They're hilarious. Check out some digital shorts while you're at it (specifically the newest one, "Motherlover").
So, what did you think of Season 34's finale on SNL?
No comments:
Post a Comment