Saturday Night Live is in a very curious position right now. They have a surplus of talent on stage but are regularly producing perhaps the worst shows since the mid-90s. The show has been consistently poor for the past two or three seasons, even as hysterical new cast members like Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant and Kate McKinnon have continued to join. Still, usually once a show there’s a skit that shines, and every month or so, one that really is worth remembering.
The last episode seems to highlight this dichotomy perfectly. Hosted by Fifty Shades of Grey star Dakota Johnson, last weekend’s SNL was the first after NBC’s primetime 40th Anniversary Celebration. And it was, to put it mildly, terrible. It was just a mess. Johnson wasn’t funny, the gags were short-sighted, and the jokes seems to be leading nowhere.
While this has been a problem for a a few seasons, it seems like it reached a head this weekend. The ‘sending the daughter to the military’ commercial spoof was a particularly commented upon for its inappropriateness.
A lot of people were offended by this bit. But it’s not really offensive. What it is, however, is simply not funny. Though Taran Killam gives a terrific sad-dad performance, the payoff seems to be missing. He’s proud of his daughter for joining ISIS, and that’s a Nissan spoof, I think? Or, ISIS?
I don’t get it. I don’t get the outrage, but even more, I don’t get the joke.
But then comes a digital short like Say What You Wanna Say, riffing on the Sara Bareilles “Brave,” and you can’t help think: oh yeah, this is why I still tivo this show. This is really funny.
There are talented men and women at SNL-some like Leslie Jones, we haven’t even gotten to scratch the surface of-who are being underserved by the material they’re given. That problem is only intensified by the occasional home-run like Say What You Wanna Say.
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