The Weekend Update is the
longest-running sketch in Saturday Night Live’s forty-year history; it has been
there since the very beginning. Throughout this history, the Weekend Update has
been consistently funny, with biting commentary on the issues of the times. The
hosts have been known for their humorous observations about the events of the
week, with various guests that are quite random and funny. The Weekend
Update, has been, in short, hilarious for as long as it has been on air.
Unfortunately, the Weekend
Update seems to have lost all that. Or perhaps it has just forgotten. That the
Weekend Update hosts are still pioneers; that the Weekend Update has barely
begun; that its greatest accomplishments cannot be behind it. That the
Update’s destiny lies above it.
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(Here’s for those of you
who don’t get that semi-obscure reference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WzHXI5HizQ)
(A quick side-note: the
whole idea of quoting a monologue but changing some of its words to serve one’s
own purposes will not be confined to here, but will be seen later on in the
post. So sit on the edge of your seat; this is going to be an adventure!)
Now, in my “About Me” page,
which I’m sure like three of you readers have read, I warned that if the
Weekend Update was particularly forgettable or terrible, I would not blog about
it because honestly, it’s not worth it. And unfortunately, that’s the case right
now. In my last post, I said I would blog about the Weekend Update on January
17. Now, since I wrote that post, two Updates have taken place (perhaps three,
depending on when this gets posted on the line). So I’m playing a bit of
catch-up, discussing two Updates today. Well, neither update, on January 17 and
January 24, was funny. It pains me to say this, because I very much enjoy SNL,
and the Weekend Update has generally been my favorite part of SNL.
Not today.
Each Weekend Update segment
takes about ten minutes, give or take a minute or two, because of the many news
stories to cover and possible guest appearances by off-the-wall characters. So,
two Weekend Updates add up to cover about twenty minutes, right? You’re
following the math here? So in about twenty minutes (21:21 to be exact) the
Weekend Update caused me to chuckle once. Once, just a chuckle. Twenty-one
minutes is about how long a sitcom is without commercials! In the same amount
of time as an entire sitcom, the Weekend Update didn’t even make me laugh! Now,
I know some of you may be thinking “Oh, that author is just stating his
opinion. He just has a different sense of humor, you know? This comedy isn’t
for him!” Well, let me tell you, reader with that opinion, that I have been
watching the Weekend Update for years now, and I have seen the great anchors.
The Weekend Update has consistently been my favorite portion of the entire
show! I very much enjoy that type of humor: the satirical take on the news with
hilarious guests. My favorite SNL character of all time – Jebidiah Atkinson –
came from the Weekend Update. I am a fan of the Update, and I love the humor,
but not this. This isn’t even funny anymore. Most of the jokes and guests were
cringe-inducing, from “Pete Davidson” to Riblet, Michael Che’s “old friend from
high school.” I only chuckled because of the irony of what Michael Che said to
Riblet, who was trying to steal Che’s “jorb.” After Riblet read an unfunny
Update joke, Che said “That was pretty good, but there’s a lot more to this
job.”
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Is there Michael? I feel
like you should give that advice to Colin Jost, and then consider it yourself.
Perhaps the part of their job that these anchors are missing is BEING FUNNY.
Michael Che is doing a decent job; he has personality when he tells his jokes
and has at least something resembling a delivery. Colin Jost, on the other
hand, sounds like he is just reading from a script for the first time. He tries
to be a host who delivers jokes with “dry humor,” but he just fails at that. He
seems to be trying to emulate Seth Meyers instead of being original and unique.
A new anchor is supposed to bring something new to the table (or desk, in this
case) but neither Colin Jost nor Michael Che is doing that. Instead, they are
simply reading unfunny jokes with forgettable delivery that leaves you
thinking: when will they bring back Jebidiah Atkinson? Where is Seth Myers, and
where is Norm Macdonald?
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Now, I am not saying the
Weekend Update is hopeless. I will admit, I did smile at Riblet’s microphone
drop after saying that Michael Che lost his job (if only it was true, and it
was about Colin Jost instead, but one can only dream). There is hope. The Weekend
Update did something new this past week by having an ongoing story with a twist
ending. Riblet interrupted Michael Che’s “jokes” to try and steal his “jorb”
and then left. Later, Che’s “ex-girlfried” came on the show to talk about
finances, and the ex-couple argued until it was revealed that her new boyfriend
was Riblet, who reappeared and dropped another microphone. This didn’t get me
to laugh, but it did show an ounce of creativity. If the Weekend Update can
stop trying to be nice to celebrities and politicians and start to be edgy, if
the Weekend Update can re-introduce creative characters and have decent
delivery of jokes, if the Weekend Update can be creative and introduce
something new to the table, then maybe it can be worthwhile to watch again.
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But until then, we are
stuck with Colin Jost – an attempted Seth Meyers clone – and Michael Che – a
somewhat enthusiastic host given bad material. What the Update needs is a few
good men (and women) to introduce creativity, both in writing and in guest characters.
Then maybe, just maybe, Colin Jost can unenthusiastically deliver decent jokes
and Michael Che might be able to get some laughs out of this uninterested
blogger (and many fans as well). What the Update needs is to be able to
intelligently and hilariously comment on current events and not be afraid to
insult people in power. I’m not saying that all of SNL has lost this ability,
I’m just saying that the Weekend Update has, and it must regain that ability.
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SNL as a whole can still be
a very funny show. The January 24 episode, hosted by Blake Shelton, had some
hilarious moments, both related to current events and to current trends. Blake
Shelton, a country singer, sang with two other SNL cast members (Aidy Bryant
and the always hilarious Kate McKinnon) about the “Wishing Boot.” This song was
hilarious, as it made fun of country music, was self-aware (a country singer
making fun of his own music), and was surprisingly catchy. I have had the song
stuck in my head for a week now, and let me say, it puts me in a good mood to
think that if I’m in a time of trouble the Wishing Boot will appear and solve
all my problems. (It’s ridiculous but hilarious at the same time.) See: a
current trend made fun of in a hilarious satirical way. SNL has not lost that
ability.
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Perhaps even funnier was
the Cold Open of the episode, which is just the first sketch one sees when the
episode starts. A very heated topic today is the “Deflate-Gate” scandal of the
New England Patriots supposedly deflating footballs in the AFC championship
game in order to gain an advantage and go to the Super Bowl. The Cold Open
featured cast members impersonating Coach Bill Belichick, Quarterback Tom
Brady, and Assistant Equipment Co Manager Dougie Spoons. Belichick, portrayed
by Beck Bennett, was shown to be a grumpy ruthless head coach, kind of like the
real Bill Belichick. Tom Brady, portrayed by the hilarious Jebidiah
Atkinson-portraying Taran Killam, was shown to be completely clueless and
stupid, which was quite funny to see. This Tom Brady could make a fun guest on
the Update. And finally, Dougie Spoons, portrayed by Bobby Moynihan (Riblet),
was shown to be the guilty party with aspirations of Tom Brady being the father
of his child. In perhaps the funniest SNL segment since Dr. Evil interrupted a depressed
Sam Smith, Dougie Spoons was interrogated by a reporter about deflating the
footballs, and he went on a monologue ripped straight from Jack Nicholson’s
famous “A Few Good Men” speech. Spoons said “You don’t want the truth because
deep down in places you don’t talk about at Super Bowl parties, you want me on
that ball! You need me on that ball!” Then Spoons screamed that he deflated the
footballs. What made this funny was the fact that SNL commented on current
events with hilarious characters, clever writing, and perfect delivery. The
Weekend Update should take notes, because THAT is how comedy is done.
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Next week I will comment on
the episode of January 31, hosted by JK Simmons, and hopefully I will be able
to talk about the Weekend Update in a positive light. If you have any comments,
questions, disagreements, agreements, or monologues, just type them in the
comments section. Since it will be a week until I discuss that episode, feel
free to let me know what you think I should discuss about the episode in my
next blog. I am always looking for constructive criticism, so if you have
anything to say about my writing style, topic, anger, blog design, or pictures
in the post, please do not hesitate to say it to my face for no credit or put
it in the comments for class credit. And, to conclude in the immortal words of
like every SNL cast member ever: “Live from New York it’s Saturday Night!”
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Sources
(In case you wanted to know for personal gain)
