Crushable » saturday night live

The Hugely Underrated Maya Rudolph Is Finally Returning To Host ‘SNL’

Jenni Maier — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:09:08 +0000

After 5 years away from the show, Maya Rudolph is returning to 30 Rock on February 18th to host Saturday Night Live. As one of my favorite SNL actresses ever, I couldn’t be more excited for her. Despite having some of the funniest recurring characters in the series history, she’s usually forgotten when bigger names like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Kristen Wiig get tossed around.

They might have more name recognition and street cred, but Maya’s impressions of people like Whitney Houston, Donatella Versace and Beyonce usually have me laughing hysterically.

So since I’ve always thought of her as an SNL underdog, I’m happy to see that her career’s starting to really take off. In 2011 she not only starred in the hit movie Bridesmaids, but she also landed the role as the Oprah-like character Eva on Up All Night. While I thought she was underutilized in Bridesmaids, I think she’s using her talents perfectly on Up All Night.

So in honor of her blossoming career and more importantly, finally returning to host SNL, I present a few of my favorite Maya Rudolph SNL moments.

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Questionable Choices: Lana Del Rey’s Bedazzled Tooth Bling

Natalie Zutter — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:48:55 +0000

Lana Del Rey is obviously trying anything to keep the media from dwelling on her disastrous, underprepared debut on Saturday Night Live in January. But why you would court trouble with something like this is beyond us. Lana was photographed in LA last night sporting a bedazzled tooth cap on her right canine for no real reason.

According to Us, Lana likes the mini-bling as an accessory and doesn’t actually have bad teeth; this is her second, after a matte gold one she used to wear. That’s right: She does this as a fashion statement.

A fashion statement for a free performance, no less. She and Ben Kweller (remember him?) are the musicians performing at Amoeba Records in LA this week, following a charity auction. Yeah, none of this makes sense.

Then again, she didn’t bring the cap to SNL, so maybe she figures it’s some sort of good luck charm and will keep her buoyed on the kind of internet hype that made everyone think such a green performer would bring down the house.

Thing is, Ke$ha already beat her to it, back in January:

At least it’s distracted us from Lana’s weird, surgically-enhanced lips, however briefly.

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Did Lana Del Rey Tank On Saturday Night Live?

Meghan Keane — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:24:58 +0000

Last night musical darling/critical lightning rod Lana Del Rey performed on Saturday Night Live. It was only the second time that an artist got a booking in that coveted spot before releasing a single studio album. (The first was Natalie Imbruglia.) Unfortunately for her, it was not her best performance.

Lana is from New York, and her harshest critics might be here. After a successful tour of European clubs and television shows, a performance at The Bowery Ballroom this fall was panned. Lana claimed she had technical difficulties at that show, and the Saturday Night Live stage is known to be a difficult performance venue as well.

	Questionable Choices: Lana Del Rey’s Bedazzled Tooth Bling
	‘Lana Del Rey’s Hunger Games‘ Is A Hilarious Dual Parody
	Video: SNL Sketch Weakly Defends Lana Del Rey
	Lana Del Rey Is Being Punished Because She’s Ambitious
	Video: Lana Del Rey Gets A Do-Over On Letterman

Last night, Lana put forth a minimalist performance, standing in front of her band in a floor length white gown. She looked great, but almost before she began knives were being thrown her way on Twitter.

And it looks like Lana’s nerves got the best of her during her performance of “Video Games.”

For her second set, she played “Blue Jean.”

Things got better in her second performance, but Lana definitely exhibited some awkward performance tics that viewers don’t tolerate in a primetime performance like SNL. And her showing definitely cemented the opinion a lot of critics had that Lana is a manufactured talent sprung from the minds of studio executives. Even actress Juliette Lewis allegedly got in on the trashing, supposedly writing the following tweet (though it’s no longer in her feed):

“Wow watching this ‘singer’ on SNL is like watching a 12 yearold [sic] in their bedroom when theyre pretending to sing and perform #signofourtimes.”

Of course, Lana always looks amazing, and there were plenty of people who enjoyed watching her on the show. But on Twitter, they were severely outweighed by the haters.

The real question is whether the performance will effect sales of her album that’s set to be released January 31st.

On the next page, I’ve included some video of Lana performing at different venues, for those of you who saw her for the first time on Saturday Night Live.

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Norman Rockwell Stefon Is The Only Holiday Card You’ll Ever Need

Liana Maeby — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:34:38 +0000

New York’s hottest greeting card is… this thing right here. It’s got a Norman Rockwell painting, Bill Hader‘s Stefon, and a joke that’s rapidly running out of steam, I’m so sorry, everyone.

But seriously, how awesome is this greeting card that inserts the best part of SNL into a Rockwell painting. It’s like he’s judging your normality or something. The card made its way onto the Internet via the Tumblr of Aaron Meier, who received one of them in the mail. I plan to print it out and pretend I got a card from Stefon, too.

(via The Observer)

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Is Robyn’s Call Your Girlfriend About An Imaginary Affair?

Meghan Keane — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:37:12 +0000

On Saturday night, Swedish pop star Robyn gave a characteristically amazing performance as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. For her performance of “Call Your Girlfriend,” she used basically the same choreography as in her video directed by Max Vitali, but the sheer awesomeness of her moves in a live setting made me watch the video over and over again. And because of this, I spent some time thinking about the lyrics of the song and the thing I could never get around: Why does Robyn need to have this conversation with the guy she’s seeing?

And I finally realized. “Call Your Girlfriend” makes much more sense as a theoretical conversation Robyn’s having with herself.

According to the lyrics, Robyn’s embroiled in the kind of affair that’s not going to go away. It’s time for her man to tell his girlfriend that this thing is for real. Obviously, it’s a great song, and her SNL performance is definitely worth a viewing (or five) if you missed it.

But the more I listened to the lyrics, the more I found myself wondering how an affair would get to this point. Robyn is awfully nice to think of the feelings of her new man’s current girlfriend. I don’t know many home wreckers who are too worried about the relationship they’re ending.

Some of the lyrics talk about their amazing connection, but the chorus is all about breaking the news to this guy’s current chic:

“Call your girlfriend/It’s time you had the talk/Give your reasons/Say it’s not her fault/But you just met somebody new”

But if the affair is really this amazing, why would the man need this advice? Wouldn’t he just end his current relationship and run off with Robyn into the sunset? I mean, I would.

Robyn, however, is giving this guy the perfect play by play of how this convo should go down:

“Tell her not to get upset, second-guessing everything you said and done.”

Because the guy didn’t mean to cheat. He just met Robyn. Except it’s kind of hard to get your head around a situation where this conversation makes sense. Often, cheaters are just as happy going along with two options rather than ending their relationship.

Sometimes cheaters do end their relationship and make an affair last. But if Robyn is exactly this awesome, why does she have to tell the guy it’s time he broke up with his girlfriend? Shouldn’t he have realized that by now?

I think it makes much more sense that this isn’t about a real relationship at all. It’s about Robyn having a crush on a guy, and realizing how crap his current relationship is. If they were to get involved, this is the conversation she would have with him. Because she’s not a home wrecker, but the guy would be better off with her. And he should clearly break up with his girlfriend to get things started.

I think the video proves my point.

In it, Robyn is alone. She’s in a warehouse, displaying some of her amazing dance moves. If the guy she was interested in saw her doing this, he would want her and go after her. But if this song was about a real relationship, wouldn’t there be a hot dude in the video?

There isn’t, because this song is all about Robyn. And it has the same kind of underlying melancholy that Dancing My Own presents right on the surface. She’s pleading with this man. But I don’t think it’s a conversation happening out loud.

Because really, it makes more sense for a woman pondering an affair to think about the other woman’s feelings. Who could continue to feel that sentiment when they’re in the midst of said affair? Even if the woman is Robyn.

Actually, especially if the woman is Robyn. Dude ought to know this lesson without her having to spell it out for him.

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All Of This Week’s SNL Sketch Pitches Were About Katy Perry’s Boobs

Liana Maeby — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:08:51 +0000

First, before we discuss Katy Perry’s boobs, me must direct you on over to Vulture to read Tara Ariano’s brilliant SNL Sketch Predictor. It is exactly what it sounds like it’ll be, and I’ll be damned if some of those exact sketches don’t end up on Saturday’s show. Now that you have read that and come back on over to me (Is that coffee? Gee, thanks!), here’s a quote from Katy herself about the types of sketches we’re likely to see:

“There were a lot of [skit] pitches about my boobs. I was cool about that, but I’m not sure all of it [got] in. So we’ll see.”

Edgy! Scintillating! And rather played out, as Katy already appeared an a breast-themed SNL sketch. She parodied her too-sexy-for-Sesame Street mishap alongside Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler last year. So, here’s hoping they branch out to some sketches about her butt.

(via Huffington Post)

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Check Out Katy Perry’s SNL Promos

Liana Maeby — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:44:53 +0000

Katy Perry‘s got a cute new haircut, an awesome cat-print dress, and an SNL hosting gig. It will be her second appearance on the show, but her first as host (last time she was the musical performer). Katy shot her promos alongside the newly-married Kenan Thompson, and the SNL castmember pulled some “Who’s on First?” business.

So, can Katy act? Will she be able to pull off live hosting duties? There’s nothing in these promos to indicate disaster and she is married to a comedy actor, so we’re holding out hope for a successful Saturday night.

Predictions: more cat-themed stuff and a return of the Katy Perry geek persona. Wardrobe department to the pocket protector aisle!

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Kenan Thompson Married Christina Evangeline At The Aquarium

Liana Maeby — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:56:05 +0000

The fish were bridesmaids and a shark was the man of honor — or at least they could have been at Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson‘s wedding. Kenan married Christina Evangeline at the Georgia Aquarium in his hometown of Atlanta on Friday. And he managed to be back in New York for SNL the next night.

Christina Evangeline is a model who tends toward the sexy, glittery, no-pants end of the spectrum. Although the two have been dating for a while, they’ve only been engaged for a little over a month. However, delaying the engagement would have made them miss that 11-11-11 wedding, which they intentionally choice because it’s the luckiest day of the year.

Kenan’s buddy Nick Cannon was the emcee and DJ of the wedding. And it looks like he definitely said, “You can now kiss the porpoise”:

(via Vulture)

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Video: SNL‘s Stefon’s Back And He Brought Derek Zoolander

Liana Maeby — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:45:05 +0000

Our very favorite SNL character, Stefon, made his triumphant return to Weekend Update on Saturday — and he brought a special guest! Bill Hader‘s Stefon and host Seth Myers were joined by Ben Stiller‘s male model character Derek Zoolander.

Hey Lorne Michaels: when’s the Stefon movie going to happen? We would see it on opening day, even if it were just 90 minutes of a talking head telling us where New York’s hottest human fire extinguishers like to hang out.

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Melissa McCarthy Deserved Better Material For Her SNL Hosting Gig

Jamie Peck — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:55:49 +0000

The writing on the Melissa McCarthy-hosted SNL this past weekend was much like the characters she played: clumsy, sloppy, and kind of offensive.

When I first heard Melissa McCarthy was hosting Saturday Night Live, I got excited. I’ve followed her since Gilmore Girls (shut up) and I know she has a lot of different powers as an actress. Furthermore, I thought it would be nice to see the show deviate from the “conventionally attractive woman is conventionally attractive” formula it often resorts to when an actress hosts. (Note to writers: “Megan Fox is hot” is not a joke. Not even a little bit of one.) Unfortunately, her episode relied mainly on broad physical comedy and the kinds of stereotypes larger actors have been forced to play for quite some time. Or, as VH1′s Mark Graham put it:

Let’s break it down by sketch. First, in the hideous “Lawrence Welk Show” sketch that refuses to die, they had McCarthy chomp on a pumpkin. Then, in lieu of a well-written monologue, they had her and Kristen Wiig pretend to dance, which was funny because duh, fat people can’t dance. If I’d known how much worse it was going to get, though, I would’ve at least savored the chance to see McCarthy looking foxy in that sparkly tunic thing she had on before they poured ranch dressing all over her.

Next, they had McCarthy play an overzealous office worker who likes to sexually harass her male co-worker, the punchline of which seemed to be that she was unattractive. It was funny in the end when Bill Hader‘s character liked her, see, because no one would ever like a fat person in real life!

The “Internet commenters deserve to be punched” sketch went absolutely nowhere, and that’s a shame, because I would very much like to see the people who troll my blog posts skewered in an intelligent way. Then, of course, there was the Hidden Valley Ranch sketch, in which McCarthy drank a bottle of ranch dressing and hated on the skinny girl because hey, fatties be gluttonous! Next, they had her play an old timey Mae West type character who falls down the stairs a lot. And lastly, she got to get hit on by Andy Samberg in a sketch that could have had potential (partly because it was the only one where the joke didn’t revolve around her being fat), but seemed weirdly abbreviated.

It’s a shame that the writers gave her such poor material to work with, because Melissa McCarthy is a great comedic actress. Glimmers of this were evident in the well-timed way she delivered the odd decent line in between slapstick gags. But on the whole, it was an especially cringeworthy episode. In all but one of the sketches, you could not have subbed her out for a thin woman, because her appearance was the entire punchline. Contrast this with the Gabourey Sidibe episode, where the writers actually came up with strange and interesting premises for sketches, and it’s apparent that someone was asleep at the wheel.

In addition to reinforcing negative stereotypes about fat people, this type of writing is just not funny. Great humor is about subverting audience expectations, not fulfilling them. What’s the use of inviting women, the overweight, and minorities into the comedic establishment if they’re just going to be forced to play boring stereotypes? Let’s hope the next thing McCarthy signs onto doesn’t squander her so criminally.

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