I have decided to review each week’s SNL. I haven’t really loved the show since Will Ferrell and company ran it, but it shows promise every once and awhile, mostly with political material. Also, it is the political satire that reaches and appeals to the broadest audience, so I think it’s fair to say it might have the most effect on the election.
This weekend Saturday Night Live opened with a skit showing a recording for a John McCain ad. It features Darrell Hammond as John McCain, Kristen Wiig and Jason Sudeikis as McCain campaign strategists, and a great performance by Bill Hader as the voice over guy for political ads and the man with “the most sarcastic voice in Hollywood.” First of all, that voice was dead on and his body language and general persona made him a great character.
The skit starts out with John McCain talking to the two campaign strategists about why he’s here, to record a new “I’m John McCain and I approve this message.” He explains that he is afraid that the tape spools are getting worn out. The old guy jokes are more there to make fun of McCain for being out of touch and not necessarily for being old, but it seems to me that they get a little cheap sometimes. They were just way funnier at the beginning of the election, but by now McCain has given us enough material that they seem like gimme’s. But hey, I laughed.
The real focal point of this skit is the blatant fallacies and truth manipulations of the McCain ads, like the time he said that Obama wanted to teach sex-ed to kindergartners. They record ads tying Obama to Osama, and then to Charles Barkley, (a man who has talked about a political career of his own).
This skit functions as a commentary, not so much on the state of politics, but more on the state of political ads. Attack ads are really ridiculous and that voice really doubles it, but they are almost always stretches of truth.
Now onto Darrell Hammond’s McCain. I don’t like it. I mean it’s okay and it does capture his soft-spoken side that comes across in interviews, but he’s just okay as this guy. I loved Hammond’s Bill Clinton and Al Gore, but this impression does not seem like it gets deep enough into what makes McCain a smart business move for Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Lorne Michaels to vote for. I think this will evolve over time though, as Hammond is on his fourteenth year at the show and will not let his McCain become as forgettable as George W. Bush after Will Ferrell.
Finally, after this skit aired, reports surfaced over the possibility that senatorial candidate and SNL-alum Al Franken had some involvement in its writing. Turns out, he did. His old friend Lorne Micahels called for input on the attack ads recording and head writer Seth Myers later followed up. Franken claims he didn’t know the talks were for a skit because that would be a gaffe. I don’t see too much wrong on SNL’s side. Lorne Michaels called the person who is probably his closest friend in politics. Franken should realize that he is running for a senatorial seat though, and this is not going to be perceived well. His well established liberal audience probably is fine with it but that kind of thing does not attract the undecideds.
Overall, I liked this week’s skit, but it was no last week’s skit.
