By Rachel Rippetoe |
“SNL 40”, ironically airing live from New York on a Sunday night, was a farce of nostalgia. The special gave snippets of screen time to anyone who was ever anyone in studio 8H at New York’s Rockefeller Center.
Having grown up with “Saturday Night Live”, I instantly succumbed to the nostalgia. I pulled out my tissue box less than ten minutes into the show when Paul Simon and Paul Mccartney sang, “I’ve Just Seen a Face.”
There was no lack of star power or material in the three-hour comedy tribute.
Bradley Cooper joined the league of men who have made out with Betty White on the SNL stage. Jerry Seinfeld took questions from the audience. Bill Murray sang passionately about the sharks from “Jaws”.
Also, (as per usual) Kanye West crucified and resurrected himself in a heated rap performance. I didn’t mind. I like my SNL with a little bit of sacrilegious excellence.
The special blended new and upcoming talent with comedic veterans seamlessly. Young talent paid homage to the old in ways that called for laughs, goosebumps and even a tear here and there.
My favorite example of this was Melissa McCarthy’s take on Chris Farley’s famous Matt Foley impression.
Chris Rock said later on in the show, “There will never be another Eddie Murphy.” I feel the same about Chris Farley.
No one embodies comedy as a full force being the way that Farley did, but if anyone comes close, it’s McCarthy. Her spirit and energy mimics Farley’s in the best way possible. There was not a finer comedian worthy of paying tribute to the late and great actor: “Let the boy walk your dog!”
Some scoffed at Miley Cyrus sharing the stage with other “Saturday Night Live” greats. Admittedly, I scoffed at first. However, Cyrus’s vocal range and inflection was in sync with Paul Simon’s classic “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.”
I have only one complaint with the show. Although I enjoyed the compilations of moments and skits from past shows-the audition clips were exceptional - I felt that the special relied too heavily on them.
Yes, the point was to look back on all the good times of SNL, but NBC had an entire studio filled with celebrities and comedic legends that weren’t used to their full extent.
I didn’t want to see a clip of Will Ferrell and Rachel Dratch’s hilarious hot tub skit when they were right there in the audience. I wanted to see that skit on stage. I wanted to see them give it new life.
Chris Rock gave a beautiful speech about the influence Eddie Murphy has had on comedy and SNL’s success only for him to have about a minute and a half on stage. He didn’t even crack a joke! What’s up with that?
But despite it’s shortcomings, “SNL 40” reminded me why I stayed up late on countless Saturday nights to watch these actors do what they do best.
I owe a lot to this 40-year stretch of collaborative comedic effort.
It never struck me that, as a woman, I could write and be funny until I watched Tina Fey on Weekend Update.
Watching Fey, Amy Poehler and Jane Curtin give the fake news together one last time made me really consider how fortunate I am to have these women as role models.
Ultimately, the point of the special was to show that SNL is family. Lorne Michaels and his team of comedic acrobats are there to tickle your funny bone and tuck you in bed on Saturday night after a tough week.
As Paul Simon closed the show with “Still Crazy”, I felt nice, warm and tucked in (on a Sunday Night).
Rachel Rippetoe is a reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at rippetoe18@up.edu
