The moment we have all been waiting for
has finally arrived: it’s the Saturday
Night Live 40th Anniversary Special! I have been waiting for
this since it was announced over the summer. The last new episode was hosted by
first-time host J.K. Simmons and musical guest D’Angelo. I thought this episode
was great and Simmons did a good job hosting and I would love to see him come
back and host again. Some highlights from the last episode include:
-Several
jokes about the SuperBowl and football in general.
-The
return of former cast member Fred Armisen in the monologue.
-A
new music video about what teachers do on snow days and jokes about the “snow-pocalypse”.
-The
return of “The One-Dimensional Female Character from a Male-Driven Comedy” and
Jebidiah Atkinson.
-The
return of former cast member Jason Sudeikis in a Mike O’Brien short film.
This special is definitely one I’ll never
forget. It was so cool to be able to watch TV history with this amazing
three-and-a-half-hour long special. So many legends on one show, how could
anyone not be excited? Here’s my review of this incredible night.
Sketch
Rundown:
Jimmy
Fallon and Justin Timberlake Cold Open:
When the special started, I had a good
feeling that Jimmy and Justin would open the show. I loved how it was done in
the style of “History of Rap” from Late
Night with Jimmy Fallon. I thought the appearances of Rachel Dratch as
Debbie Downer and Molly Shannon as Mary Katherine Gallagher were great and were
a great addition to the already hilarious cold open. I loved the lines after
Debbie Downer said by Fallon and Timberlake, respectively, “NBC doesn’t care about
ratings! They really don’t.” This was a hilarious cold open and a great way to
open the show and a great tribute to forty years of SNL.
Hosts
Monologue:
I thought this was a funny monologue and
thought Steve Martin was a good choice to give the opening monologue. I loved
the Jon Lovitz bit where Martin said that he had died and then cut to Lovitz in
the audience. I loved how Martin mispronounced Louis C.K. and Zach Galifianakis.
I loved the appearances from Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin, Melissa McCarthy, Chris
Rock, Peyton Manning, Billy Crystal, Paul Simon, and Paul McCartney (even
though McCartney himself has never hosted the show). However, I wish they
picked someone else other than Miley Cyrus to make an appearance during the
monologue (she was also very close to having a wardrobe malfunction with the
outfit she was wearing). I loved the interaction between Chris Rock and Steve
Martin when Rock first came out, “Chris, I actually forgot you were a cast
member. So did the writers.” I also loved how Martin closed the monologue by
saying, “What better way to honor forty years of live television than with
these pre-recorded clips!”
The
Best of SNL:
I loved that they had videos like this
shown throughout the special. I thought this video was a great way to pay
tribute to forty years of SNL. I
loved getting to see clips of both old and new sketches together. I also liked
how they began this video with clips from the first cold open. I also thought
this video had the perfect ending of a clip from the “Former Porn Stars” Moët
& Chandon sketch with Cecily’s character saying, “I’ll drink to that!” This
was a great montage of old and new sketches paying tribute to forty years of
comedy.
Bass-O-Matic:
I was surprised that they brought back
this sketch but I also thought it was cool they brought this sketch back. I
loved that Dan and Laraine were able to reprise their roles from the original
sketch. I thought it was a little funny how the blender wasn’t working at the
end of the sketch. This sketch was just as funny and gross as it was back in
the seventies.
Celebrity
Jeopardy:
I had a good feeling they would bring this
sketch back and I’m so glad they did! I think I liked this instalment of
“Celebrity Jeopardy” more than the
other ones. The sketch was funny and a great way to bring both current and
former cast members together. I thought it was great that Kate and Taran were
included in this sketch with their impressions of Justin Bieber and Christoph
Waltz, respectively. I loved seeing Darrell Hammond reprise his Sean Connery
impression and loved the categories “Who Reads” and “Let it Snow” with “Whore
Ads” and “Le Tits Now”. Classic Connery! I loved how Norm Macdonald came back
to reprise his Burt Reynolds impression and his whole “Who is Andre the Giant?”
bit. Even though a little uncomfortable, Kenan as Bill Cosby was pretty funny
in the “Potent Potables” category. I thought it was going to be Kristen
reprising her Kathie Lee Gifford impression but that would have been too easy. I
loved this sketch and I’m so glad they brought it back for the Fortieth
Anniversary.
Auditions:
I thought this was a great video to show
during the special. I loved how Pete Davidson and Leslie Jones, the two newest
cast members of SNL, introduced the
segment. This was a great way to show clips of the auditions of both current
and former cast members. I loved that it showed that a lot of current and
former cast members auditioned with their now iconic characters and
impressions. I also liked how they included clips of auditions of people who
didn’t get the gig at SNL, such as
Jim Carrey and Kevin Hart. Showing those clips reminds people that some big
names in comedy have auditioned for the show when they were first starting out.
This segment was also great because it showed how young people looked when they
first auditioned for the show. I loved this segment and thought it was a great
one to show for the special.
New
York:
Having Robert De Niro introduce this
segment was an interesting choice but nevertheless a good choice. I loved what
he said before the segment, “SNL and
NYC: that’s the way I like my Saturday nights, that’s the way I like my city.” I
loved this video and thought it was a great way to show how much New York City
has evolved since the start of the show in 1975. This video was a great way to
pay tribute to one of the greatest cities in the world.
Paul
McCartney “Maybe I’m Amazed” Performance:
I thought this was a good performance and
I was pretty surprised McCartney chose to perform this song. I also thought it
was funny that Keith Richards from The Rolling Stones introduced this
performance.
Politics:
I loved this segment, especially since a
lot of my favorite sketches are the political sketches. Jack Nicholson was
great introducing this segment. I loved how the video ended with a Jay Pharoah
as President Obama mic drop from the season 38 episode hosted by Bruno Mars.
This was a great way to pay tribute to all of the great political sketches and
impressions.
The
Californians/Buh-Bye:
At first, I didn’t think they would bring
this sketch back. I loved how they included Laraine Newman, Kerry Washington,
Taylor Swift, Bradley Cooper, and Betty White in this sketch. I also thought it
was funny how Betty White didn’t use a Californian accent. The chemistry
between Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, and Fred Armisen is something I’ve missed
since they’ve left the show. I also loved Vanessa’s character so much in this
particular incarnation of “The Californians”. I especially loved how her fainting
caused Fred to break during the sketch. I actually liked Taylor Swift’s
character and how she was crazy, funny, and hilarious facial expressions. The
little make out session between Bradley Cooper and Betty White was weird but
funny, just like the sketch. I loved how at the end of the sketch they included
the “Total Bastard Airlines” sketch. It was great they brought back David Spade
and they brought Cecily Strong in place of Helen Hunt. I thought having Cecily
play this character was a perfect choice. I loved Cecily’s last line to Bradley
Cooper, “Quit callin’ me!” To be honest, this was probably my favorite of “The
Californians” sketches.
Weekend
Update with Jane Curtin, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler:
Ever since I started watching Saturday Night Live, I instantly fell in
love with Weekend Update. I would
stay up to watch Amy and Seth, then Seth by himself, then Seth and Cecily, then
Colin and Cecily, and now Colin and Michael. To see Tina and Amy with Jane
Curtin, the first woman to anchor Update,
was absolutely incredible. It was so cool to see Jane at the desk again since
it was probably her first appearance on the show since the season five finale
back in 1980. The different jokes about SNL
were great and the chemistry between Tina, Amy, and Jane was incredible. I
loved seeing different celebrities come out as their favorite Update characters. Emma Stone was great
as Gilda Radner’s iconic character, Roseanne Roseannadanna. Edward Norton was
funny with his impression of Bill Hader’s popular character, Stefon. I thought
it was great that Bill came out alongside Norton and Seth coming out after
Hader. I absolutely loved Melissa McCarthy as Chris Farley’s well-known
character, Matt Foley. Jane looked absolutely terrified when Melissa came up at
her during the bit. It was funny to see the return of the “Update Door” and the
return of Landshark. It turns out that Bobby Moynihan was in the Landshark
costume this time around. I loved it when Melissa crashed through the desk with
Amy saying “Oh no, it’s the only desk we have! Sorry Jost and Che!” It would’ve
been fun to see Cecily join in with them but I understand if she didn’t want to
do it and focus on the sketches that she was in that night or if it was because
of time constraints. I have to say it would’ve been fun to see the four
well-known female anchors of Weekend
Update together. Out of all the Weekend
Updates I’ve seen since first watching SNL,
this had to be my absolute favorite.
Weekend
Update Retrospective:
I thought this was a great tribute to the
anchors and characters of the show’s longest running sketch but there was one
thing that bugged me while watching this: the anchors that were not included in
the video. The anchors that were not included in the opening montage were:
-Bill
Murray (Although there were a few clips of him at the desk that were included
in the video. There also may not have been video or audio of him introducing
himself on Update when he was an
anchor.)
-Gail
Matthius (Anchored 6 episodes during season 6 with Charles Rocket. There may
not have been video or audio of her introducing herself when she was an
anchor.)
-Mary
Gross (Anchored 6 episodes during her time on SNL with Brian Doyle-Murray. There may not have been video or audio
of her introducing herself when she was an anchor.)
-Christine
Ebersole (Same case as Mary Gross)
-Christopher
Guest (Anchor during season 10)
-Horatio
Sanz (Filled in for two episodes while Tina was on maternity leave. Anchored
with Amy.)
-Cecily
Strong (Co-anchor with Seth during first half of season 39 and anchored with
Colin during the second half of season 39. Only footage of her shown at the Weekend Update desk was as her popular
character “The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at a Party”
from season 38)
Out
of all of these anchors being left out, the one that upset me the most was
Cecily being left out. In the video, it went from Seth to Colin and Michael. I
mean, Cecily came between Seth and Colin. She should have been acknowledged for
her one season at the desk and the incredible job she did as an anchor. None of
her jokes were shown, not even the infamous drunken Scottish fish joke! There
was a little sliver of her shown at the desk during the introduction segment to
Weekend Update but it was more of a
“blink and you’ll miss it” moment. To me and to everyone else who was live
tweeting the event, it almost seemed like they wanted to pretend Cecily’s year
on Update never even happened. There’s
my rant for this post. Other than that, I really liked the video.
Chevy
Chase Tribute:
I thought it was an interesting
combination of Kevin Nealon, Norm Macdonald, Seth Meyers and Colin Quinn giving
the tribute to Chevy Chase. I loved how Seth was laughing when Norm started
improvising his introduction to Chevy. I loved how they brought back the “news
for the hard of hearing” when Chase was speaking. Even though I’m not a huge
fan of Chevy Chase, I thought this was a good tribute.
Musical
Acts:
Hands down, this had to be my favorite
part of the night. Martin Short was hilarious, as always, and Maya was great as
Beyoncé. I loved the bit with the fan and how Martin Short was reacting to the
fan. I thought it was funny how Garth and Kat were sitting in the audience
while they did their bit. The song by Martin and Maya about a lot of the musical
sketches and characters was great. I loved seeing “The Culps” again (aka Will
Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer) and their medley of Top 40 hits was hilarious. I
loved the line “Lots of A-list middle fingers being shot at us right now.” I
was surprised they brought back Joe Piscopo’s Frank Sinatra impression but it
was still great. I loved Maya’s quote after the impression, “My friend Kanye
say I’m better.” I also loved how they brought back Dana Carvey’s “Choppin’
Broccoli” character, Opera Man, and “What’s up with That?” I was surprised that
they used Sasheer in place of Vanessa but I figured it was because Vanessa
already had some screen time in “The Californians”. In addition, I wish Cecily’s
microphone was also closer to her face so she could at least be heard. I loved
that Steve Martin was able to reprise King Tut and Bill Murray was able to
reprise Nick Ocean. The “Love Theme from Jaws”
was hilarious. Jim Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as “The Blues Brothers” was great
and I loved how everyone from this segment joined them on stage. Overall, I
thought this was a great tribute to forty years of musical sketches and
characters.
Eddie
Murphy Tribute:
I thought this part of the show was a
little underwhelming. This moment had been built up for about a month or so and
the result wasn’t what anybody was probably expecting. It was exciting to see
Eddie Murphy on the SNL stage for the
first time in over thirty years but I wish there was a little more than him
saying that it was great to be back. I also thought the camera flub near the
end was planned. I thought Chris Rock’s intro was more entertaining. Overall, I
wasn’t too impressed with Eddie Murphy’s return to SNL.
Sports:
Even though I’m not a huge sports fan, SNL has had some great sports sketches
over the years. The video was a great way to show the best of sports sketches
and athletes that have hosted the show over the years. I loved how they brought
back the ESPN Classics sketch to be performed after the video. Overall, this was
a great way to pay tribute to forty years of sports sketches on the show.
Miley
Cyrus “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” Performance:
I haven’t been a fan of Miley since her Hannah Montana days but I surprisingly
liked this performance. I was also surprised she didn’t perform one of her
songs. I also loved how Fred played the tambourine on this song. I was
surprised that I actually enjoyed this performance.
Audience
Q and A:
I really enjoyed this segment though I
thought the Brian Williams joke at the beginning was too soon. I loved the Tim
Meadows bit with the Rolling Stone
article where they ranked all the cast members from worst to best. I loved Tim’s
line “Let me just read who’s dead last and do we have a camera ready to cut to
Robert Downey, Jr.?” I loved how Jerry Seinfeld called Sarah Palin “Tina”
although I hated her political plug, even if it was a joke. I thought this
segment was a clever way to announce that Dakota Johnson was the next host after
the special and I was surprised to see her there. I also liked the Ellen
Cleghorne bit. I loved what Jerry said to former writer Bob Odenkirk about not
having a tribute to the writers of SNL,
“We were gonna do a whole segment honoring the writers but we decided to cut it
and give four minutes to Randy Quaid to just say whatever.” I really enjoyed
this segment and it was one I didn’t expect to see.
Tracy
Morgan Tribute:
I thought this was a sweet tribute from
Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. I loved how Darrell announced them as “Mr. and Mrs.
Alec Baldwin”. I loved that they showed a clip from “Brian Fellow” followed by
a Tracy Morgan bumper. I know Tracy would have been there if he could. I know
if I were in his position it would’ve killed me to miss this but I have a good
feeling he was watching that night.
Kanye
West Performance:
And now to my absolute least favorite part
of the night. I thought this performance was a complete waste of time and the
best part of this performance was Sia. They seriously could’ve had another
musical guest or even another sketch (or expanded the Weekend Update video, but that’s just my opinion). Anyone who knows
me knows I absolutely cannot stand Kanye West and I wish I could unsee that
performance.
Films:
I thought Louis C.K. was the perfect
choice to introduce this video. He was hilarious from the start and continued
it to the start of the video. I loved the combination of old and new short
films and music videos, especially since there have been so many great ones
over the years. I absolutely loved this segment.
Digital
Short- “That’s When You Break!”:
I loved how Zach Galifianakis had on a wig
that was similar to Sia’s and how he joked that he and Sia had the same
hairdresser when he introduced the video. I also loved how he was like “Wally
next card, please.” I also loved how he introduced Adam Sandler and Andy
Samberg as Andy Sandler and Adam Samberg. I absolutely loved this digital
short. It was hilarious and shows that anything can happen and anyone can break
on live TV. I loved how Chris Parnell and Bill Hader were involved in this
digital short. I thought it was hilarious how there were so many clips of
Horatio Sanz and Jimmy Fallon breaking. I also loved the Lorne section of the
video and thought it was funny. I couldn’t stop laughing during this since one
of my favorite things about SNL is seeing
people breaking.
In
Memoriam:
I thought that this was a beautiful
tribute and I’ve cried every single time I’ve watched this. I loved how they
also included crew members, band members, and writers in addition to cast
members that have passed away as well as Don Pardo. I also loved the Jon Lovitz
bit at the end as well as the tribute to Generalissimo Francisco Franco. Bill
Murray was a great choice for this segment and I thought it was sweet how they
played the goodnights music while showing the tribute video.
Wayne’s
World:
I had a feeling they would bring this
sketch back and I’m so glad they did. I loved the “Top Ten Things About SNL,” especially all the Kanye jokes. I
really loved the Kanye joke about him interrupting Beck’s acceptance speech at
the Grammy’s the previous week. The Lorne impressions were also hilarious.
Overall, this was a very funny sketch and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Paul
Simon “Still Crazy After All These Years” Performance”:
I love the song and loved the performance
but I was really hoping someone would come out in a turkey costume. I also
loved the little tribute to the band from Paul Simon before the performance.
This was a great way to end the show and proves SNL is “still crazy after all these years”.
Goodnights:
I usually don’t cover the goodnights but I
felt like I needed to for this special occasion. I loved seeing everyone up on
the stage and it shows how many people have had their start on this show. I
also loved how Steve Martin brought Lorne up on stage. Seeing everyone on that
stage was a great way to end one of the biggest events in TV history.
Overall, I thought this was an amazing show and I think I speak for all
SNL fans when I say that I wish it
didn’t have to end. This special was a great way to celebrate forty years of
this iconic, New York institution. I can’t thank this show enough for giving me
a reason to laugh, even on some of my roughest days. I can’t wait for the 50th
Anniversary Special in 2025!
This has been my take on the SNL 40th Anniversary Special. I’ll
be back soon with a review of SNL
hosted by Dakota Johnson with musical guest Alabama Shakes. Please spread the
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Thanks for reading!
Lauren
