S41.E21: Fred Armisen / Courtney Barnett

[vb68]

Mike Ryan's (last? Eh, he says that every few years) scorecard.  

[ABitOFluff]

I thought it was a really fun episode, and I giggled at most of the sketches. I'm also a fan of Fred's characters, and I liked his previous One Man Show sketch, so I actually found the monologue pretty funny, mainly for "Love From New York, I Did Saturday's Right".

I just realized how much I miss Jason Sudeikis. I was cracking up at the guacamole shoe.

The High School Theater, especially Vanessa and Kenan's reactions, are still funny to me. I guess there will never be a shortage of subjects to mock as long as Tumblr is around.

The Harkin Brothers was a nice way to close out the season. I guess it's become a regular thing to gather everyone together for a final song, and this was actualy kind of a nice summer song.

[JZL]

My DVR ate about a third of the show, including WU.  Unfortunately it did not eat Fred's monologue but at least the Bunting sketched survived.   That was the hardest I laughed all year-- shades of the Black Knight scene in Holy Grail.  I wasn't sure how much of the audience would get the Dead Poets' Society reference; that came out in the late 80's IIRC. 

I'm not sure WTF the Fayetteville deal was at the end.  My DVR only caught the middle of that.  (FWIW I live in MO about two hours from there so I'm curious-- was it basically just a re-hash of the Ferrell/Saigon finale of a few yrs ago?)

No departure announcements yet?

Edited May 22, 2016 by JZL

[vb68]

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Who co-wrote this with Colin?

One of the writers, Mikey Day.

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 I wasn't sure how much of the audience would get the Dead Poets' Society reference; that came out in the late 80's IIRC. 

I think most people would get it.  It recreated that final scene in the movie perfectly.  It even had little details right, like the pages being torn out of the textbooks.

 

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No departure announcements yet?

None that I've heard.  I'm pretty sure Kenan would have gotten a big send off like Wiig.

Edited May 22, 2016 by vb68

[absnow54]

10 minutes ago, JZL said:

I wasn't sure how much of the audience would get the Dead Poets' Society reference; that came out in the late 80's IIRC. 

I feel like the "Captain, My Captain" scene is iconic enough whether you've seen the film or not.

[Peace 47]

I missed Mr. Bunting last night, just watched it, and laughed so hard that I literally cried.  That was the perfect amount of build for that payoff.

Definitely not the point of the sketch, but I also laughed when Jay said "We made hats" as he tentatively put the hat on his head.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Peace 47

[Primetimer]

If you liked him as a cast member, you'll like the job he does hosting as well.

View the full article

[JZL]

Took a gander at the SNL site for what I missed.  The Fayetteville song was just filler.

WU continues to ROCK.  The Maya Rudolph bit went on a little too long but other than that it was great-- esp. with the last bit featuring previously-cut jokes.  

After suffering all those years with Seth Myers' schmarmy delivery of underwritten tripe, it is soooooo good to see WU back where it belongs.

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, absnow54 said:

I feel like the "Captain, My Captain" scene is iconic enough whether you've seen the film or not.

It is.  And not to be morbid, it got some fresh legs two years ago when Robin Williams died.

Heck, even if a person doesn't recognize the scene, I think the bit would stand on its own.

[AdorkableSars]

3 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I thought this was a great ep. Of course the highlight is Farewell Mr Bunting. It's a sin that some websites are spoiling the surprise because that's a big part of the joy. This was just amazing, and it was directed and acted perfectly. Who co-wrote this with Colin?.

Mikey Day co-wrote it with Colin! 

Edited because I didn't see that vb68 had already kindly answered your question!

 

I love reading through this thread after an episode, because it reminds me of little moments that I loved from the show. Many of them were in the "Farewell, Mr. Bunting" sketch. Pete's head being chopped off just kind of overshadowed them all. Jason Sudeikis eating the guacamole off of the shoe definitely tops that list as well!

Edited May 22, 2016 by AdorkableSars
Someone had already answered the question I answered.

[Brn2bwild]

I get that the Cold Open was supposed to be funny, or something, but again it rankled me how willing SNL was to buy into dangerous stereotypes.  Clinton is nothing more than just another cold-blooded woman seeking power -- never mind that for months, she's done tons of small, personal events compared to Bernie's impersonal speeches to a crowd, something that you would never do if you actually disliked people.

Oh, and the Wyoming delegate situation shows the system is totally rigged... except that those rules were laid out long before Hillary or Bernie entered the race, and pre-date Debbie Wasserman-Shultz.  Hillary was more a victim of the rules than Bernie, in that they gave caucuses a disproportionate say, despite being low-turnout and undemocratic in nature.

I will miss Larry David's Bernie, though.  Better than the real one.

[cpcathy]

I really enjoyed this one. The opening was just delightful. Hubby and I have been watching Curb Your Enthusiasm for the first time and I've really gotten an appreciation for Larry David. Loved the dance, loved Larry's ballet twirl.

I've mentioned before, but I like Fred and I knew I would like this episode. Bonus points for Sudeikis, Maya and Andy! I love when my favorite cast members show up. Of course, we couldn't have gotten Hader and Seth Myers, that would have pissed off the current cast. Just love them all.

[possibilities]

Funniest decapitation ever.

If I were Kenan, I would not stake my career on the Maya/Martin show. If he's leaving, I think we would have seen more of a send-off.

I fast forwarded Regine after the first few minutes, so I missed the guac. Overall, I found most of this episode tiresome.

[Fex]

4 hours ago, ABitOFluff said:

I thought it was a really fun episode, and I giggled at most of the sketches. I'm also a fan of Fred's characters, and I liked his previous One Man Show sketch, so I actually found the monologue pretty funny, mainly for "Love From New York, I Did Saturday's Right".

I just realized how much I miss Jason Sudeikis. I was cracking up at the guacamole shoe.

The High School Theater, especially Vanessa and Kenan's reactions, are still funny to me. I guess there will never be a shortage of subjects to mock as long as Tumblr is around.

The Harkin Brothers was a nice way to close out the season. I guess it's become a regular thing to gather everyone together for a final song, and this was actualy kind of a nice summer song.

I had no idea I missed Jason Sudeikis until that sketch! But I guess I really really do. Guac shoe was amazing.

I loved the cold open. The dancing was weird and nice, and I liked that they got most/all (?) of the cast to say "Live from New York..." But my favourite part was Hillary telling Bernie he'd have an important role in her administration... as the Senator from Vermont. For whatever reason, that made me laugh out loud!

[CofCinci]

I wonder which celebrity bailed on the finale?

[peeayebee]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

Funniest decapitation ever.

Truer words were never spoken.

Honestly, I'm in awe of this sketch. It deserves an award.

[AriAu]

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Oh yeah, super surprised there wasn't a Wiig sighting.  And no Hader in the house.

It was a real trade off-I kind wanted a Californian sketch which needed those 2, but was dreading any reappearance of Kit and Kath.

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Add me to the minority that disliked the Goodbye Mr. Bunting sketch.  It seemed too Monty Python/cheap gag for me.

Wait, I am confused...And that is a bad thing? It was totally a Python sketch, with a great set up.

This was a total Fred Armisen episode-I expect to find the show's regular writers tied up in a close3t, since it appears he totally took over everything other than the cold open. The monologue was obviously, all him, the not over the top gay thing in Lewis Ampersand Clark was classic Fred, he told Samberg to do whatever he wanted in the digital short (hysterical by the way), Regine is Regine (loved Sudeikis eating the guac off the shoe) and then the Bunting sketch was totally his humor. He took a deep breath and then put the drama kids on. There was no place for most of the cast (were Leslie and Jay there at all), it was just Fred being Fred...and I am not really a fan, but they really just went for it.

[fastiller]

On 5/22/2016 at 8:10 AM, Fabricationary said:

Add me to the minority that disliked the Goodbye Mr. Bunting sketch.  It seemed too Monty Python/cheap gag for me.

 

1 hour ago, AriAu said:

Wait, I am confused...And that is a bad thing? It was totally a Python sketch, with a great set up.

 

I'm with @AriAu. To me -- to quote Samberg/Cage -- comparison to Python is high praise indeed.

[BoogieBurns]

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It looks like a promo for his new movie (not going to see it, can't be bothered to remember the title), 

Full title is Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. 

[Ottis]

19 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Truer words were never spoken.

Honestly, I'm in awe of this sketch. It deserves an award.

I do not get the love for this skit at all. By structure alone, you knew a single surprise twist was the end point. They played the scene straight for so long, it was the only option left. The question was, would the surprise be funny? And it wasn't, for me. It utilized something already in the room, no new thought or approach, just an accident. Another version of an ACME anvil falling on the road runner. Nothing clever about that. Then again, I don't care for "recked" threads, either.

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Wait, I am confused...And that is a bad thing? It was totally a Python sketch, with a great set up.

Not at all. Python would either have had a cascading fail (i.e. Black Knight losing limb after limb and continuing, or Mr. Creosote barfing endlessly), or they would have a singular fail followed by everyone else acting completely normal after it happened. The humor is in the exaggeration, or in the lack of reaction. The SNL skit lacked any of that.

Humor is very YMMV, I know. 

[peeayebee]

To me, the climax was completely unexpected. The humor came from the juxtaposition of a sentimental, serious story with a grotesque, surprise decapitation. Plus the exaggeration of all the blood splatter just made it funnier and funnier.

[JZL]

Yes, and I started howling again after the head went out the window and got lawn-mowered.  Great tag. 

Anyone see that one coming?

Edited May 24, 2016 by JZL

[Brn2bwild]

9 hours ago, Ottis said:

I do not get the love for this skit at all. By structure alone, you knew a single surprise twist was the end point. They played the scene straight for so long, it was the only option left. The question was, would the surprise be funny? And it wasn't, for me. It utilized something already in the room, no new thought or approach, just an accident. Another version of an ACME anvil falling on the road runner. Nothing clever about that. Then again, I don't care for "recked" threads, either.

Not at all. Python would either have had a cascading fail (i.e. Black Knight losing limb after limb and continuing, or Mr. Creosote barfing endlessly), or they would have a singular fail followed by everyone else acting completely normal after it happened. The humor is in the exaggeration, or in the lack of reaction. The SNL skit lacked any of that.

Humor is very YMMV, I know. 

I thought it was funny, but not nearly as funny as the "scarily accurate" movie promos like "The Day Beyonce Turned Black" or "God Is a Boob Man."  Those are funny (and scary) in a way that this sketch wasn't, and could never be, because they really capture a way of thinking in our society, exaggerated though it may be in the promos.

[Fabricationary]

13 hours ago, Ottis said:

I do not get the love for this skit at all.

Thank you.  It wasn't intelligent humor at all - just a cheap gag.  

[Phishbulb]

On 5/22/2016 at 10:40 AM, absnow54 said:

I'm sad that Bill Hader didn't show up, but I guess he doesn't have any summer movies/shows to promote (although I guess he's in the Angry Birds movie too.)

Actually besides being in "Angry Birds", Bill is in "Popstar" too and he also does a voice in "Finding Dory". It seems like this entire last week he was in LA though, because he was on Ellen Degeneres one day and then the James Corden show the next. And he was just on Conan last night. Maybe he didn't feel like making the trip to NY to do a cameo if he knew he was going to be doing all that other press. 

If he had been there, I expect they probably would have done a "Californians" sketch (and maybe the kissing family too, although they probably would have needed Wiig there too as the wife for that to work as well). 

[BatmanBeatles]

Cut for time:

[peeayebee]

Wow. That was bad. Plus they were all reading the cue cards so openly, it was like the sketch was just written and they didn't have time to learn it.

[helenamonster]

Finally caught up on the show, though I did pass the afterparty on my way home Saturday night...er, Sunday morning.

I liked the Cold Open, mostly for Hillary/Bernie, but also all the cast getting to say "Live from New York" together. And, despite the fact that she wasn't in the episode that much, I think it's pretty obvious that Kate is the undisputed star of the show at this point. I'm biased because she's my favorite cast member right now (and possibly ever? watch your back, Tina), but the moment where they all said "LFNY" with her in the middle (and with the likely chance of having the presidential impression for at least the next four years) really cemented that for me.

I liked the idea of the monologue, but it went on for far too long.

Nice of the show to let Andy come back to do a new digital short to promote his movie (which actually looks pretty decent, I'm gonna try to see it in theaters). I thought the bit was great, but I think the show is being a lot more obvious about how it's more of a cross-promotional vehicle now than anything else nowadays. Or maybe it's been that obvious for a while and I'm just now noticing it. Well, when the extra "commercials masquerading as sketches" start next year I'm a little nervous about the whole thing turning into a 90-minute advertisement for shit I don't care about.

I agree that Jason and Vanessa were the highlights of the Regine sketch. For me, Jason eating the guac off the shoe was the funniest bit of the night (yes, over fucking Mr. Bunting...I'll get to that in a second). Also, Vanessa never breaks so that was entertaining and a welcome change for someone who I've called "dead behind the eyes" on more than one occasion. Idk, it's just nice to see that she has a personality, I was getting worried there for a bit.

Ok, Mr. Bunting...I am also in the minority that doesn't get what the big deal is with this sketch. As someone else said, the self-serious tone of the sketch just made it obvious that it was all leading up to one singular "crazy and unexpected" thing. Also, I think part of my problem is I called Pete's head getting chopped off about a second before it happened, so any surprise there might have been was totally extinguished for me. Idk, I just really don't get what the big deal is.

Student Theater Showcase is one of my favorite recurring sketches in a long time. In theory, it should get tired, but I guess they really don't run out of things to make fun of about pretentious white teenagers on Tumblr. Kenan and Vanessa's reactions are also always great.

I didn't like the final sketch. Yeah, I'm usually fine with a sentimental ending for the season finales, but this was just boring for me.

[Princess Sparkle]

17 hours ago, BatmanBeatles said:

Cut for time:

 

I can see why they cut this.  I almost wonder if there was some inside joke about this though, because both Cecily and Fred seemed like they were about to laugh multiple times during the sketch, but nothing about it was particularly funny.  

And now I'm going to have to see Popstar (I was going to anyway, but this might move up the timeline) because I haven't been able to get "Finest Girl" out of my head since Saturday.  

[Irlandesa]

21 hours ago, helenamonster said:

Ok, Mr. Bunting...I am also in the minority that doesn't get what the big deal is with this sketch. As someone else said, the self-serious tone of the sketch just made it obvious that it was all leading up to one singular "crazy and unexpected" thing. Also, I think part of my problem is I called Pete's head getting chopped off about a second before it happened, so any surprise there might have been was totally extinguished for me. Idk, I just really don't get what the big deal is.

Almost all of this describes me too except the reaction.  I tried to speculate where it was going but knew there would be some twist.  And right before the beheading, I guessed what was going to happen.

But I still laughed.  The fact that I could tell where it was going and I still laughed made me appreciate it even more.

On 5/24/2016 at 2:30 AM, Fabricationary said:

Thank you.  It wasn't intelligent humor at all - just a cheap gag.  

What is "intelligent" comedy?  Clever wordplay? Comedy that holds up a mirror to society?  Where does that leave physical comedy?

There are some comedy rhythms that are familiar because they've been around a long time.  There's usually a reason they persevere.  Yet, when working with them, they do have to be executed perfectly to work. I think Mr. Bunting is intelligent because it was executed perfectly. Perfect build up, perfect timing on the reveal and perfect way to end it.  It had to be to land with the number of people who loved it.

I absolutely respect those who didn't find it funny.  Comedy is subjective and there are a lot things people find funny that I don't. I just don't agree that it was a cheap gag.  A gag?  Maybe.  But pretty well crafted, IMO.

[Brattinella]

Intelligent Comedy = British Comedy

[Fabricationary]

Intelligent comedy doesn't use shock and awe as a punchline.

[peeayebee]

I'd agree with you if Pete had stood up on the desk, had his head cut off, and that was the punchline, the end. But after that, it kept building and building, get worse with everyone being sprayed with blood, the head being thrown and bouncing all over the place. The juxtaposition of this gross bloodiness with the seriousness of the preceding scene is classic comedy. Plus, the serious part of the sketch also had some quiet comedy in it, like the stuff about poems that they were reading from the book and the paper hat that Jay put on.

[absnow54]

I would definitely classify the Mr Bunting sketch as low brow humor, but that didn't make it any less funny to me. Yes, low brow humor generally relies on shock and awe and punchlines that are on the grotesque side, but that doesn't mean they can't be done well. I thought the pacing for the Mr Bunting sketch worked well. Based on the tone you knew that something ridiculous was going to happen, it was just a matter of when, and the suspense peaked at the right time for me. But as someone stated before. Humor is subjective, and not everyone is going to laugh at every joke.

[AdorkableSars]

5 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I'd agree with you if Pete had stood up on the desk, had his head cut off, and that was the punchline, the end. But after that, it kept building and building, get worse with everyone being sprayed with blood, the head being thrown and bouncing all over the place. The juxtaposition of this gross bloodiness with the seriousness of the preceding scene is classic comedy. Plus, the serious part of the sketch also had some quiet comedy in it, like the stuff about poems that they were reading from the book and the paper hat that Jay put on.

Yes to all of this. For me, it was funny even before the decapitation, with the stuff about poems that they were reading, and how the castmembers in it were playing their characters was great to me. How well it parodied "Dead Poet's Society" was amusing to me. It just switched humor gears after the decapitation. 

[fastiller]

1 hour ago, AdorkableSars said:

Yes to all of this. For me, it was funny even before the decapitation, with the stuff about poems that they were reading, and how the castmembers in it were playing their characters was great to me. How well it parodied "Dead Poet's Society" was amusing to me. It just switched humor gears after the decapitation. 

Yep.  It was as if Jost & the other writer (forgive me for forgetting the name) were sitting around thinking about the Dead Poets scene and came up with the "imagine if..." scenario.  Though I'd say that the gears shifted at the decapitation, not after it [/nitpicking!!!]

[JZL]

23 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

What is "intelligent" comedy?  Clever wordplay? Comedy that holds up a mirror to society?  Where does that leave physical comedy?

 

Or scatological humor.  George Carlin is regarded as one of the funniest comics ever and some of his best bits were about cuss words and farts.  "If two people are in and elevator and one of them farts, they both know who did it," is comedic genius on about four levels.  It's a scatological/taboo fart joke in an uncomfortably tense situation that's relate-able, it's pristine in its economy and no word is wasted, and lastly, it even has a dash of epistemology and logic for good measure. 

One of the reasons Python's Ministry of Silly Walks sketch is so funny, so much more than a dumb sight gag, is that it's done in this completely pompous and highbrow context.

And we have some of that with the Mr. Bunting sketch with the cloistered uppity prep-school stuffy-schoolmaster setting they borrowed from Dead Poets' Society. 

In a way it's Silly Walks meets The Black Knight.

Edited May 27, 2016 by JZL

[Traveller519]

My jaw just about hit the floor when I saw that Vanessa was breaking. I didn't know that was possible. She's almost Ferrell-esque in her ability to always be in character (and not in an over the top way).

Goodbye Mr Bunting got me with the payoff. There was lots of little satirical jabs at DPS throughout, but that capper right up to Fred walking out was great.

I loved the last skit of the night. Even if it wasn't comic (the attempted one liners about the set up didn't land) seeing everyone up there smiling was worth it. It was the payoff for the cast.

[VCRTracking]

Colin Jost on how that bloody good 'Dead Poets Society' sketch on 'SNL' came to be

[peeayebee]

Thanks. I shouldn't be surprised that they came up with it so quickly. Mikey brings up Dead Poets Society, and Colin says one student stands up and gets his head chopped off. Comic minds amaze me.

I had to watch it again. It still holds up. I still admire this and laughed my ass off.

[vb68]

Oh my.  Watching Taran play the violin and sing in the "Hot Hot Summertime" final (goodbye for the summer) sketch is very poignant now.  Jay was in the background having a ball, but it's Taran front and center that's really getting me.  I wonder if he had any idea that would be his final sketch.

They are really going have a hard time replacing him and his energy and enthusiasm.  I'll also miss his little victory hop in the background of the goodbyes.

 

Salut Taran