When I was a teenager, one of the highlights of any weekend for me was staying up late to watch “Saturday Night Live.” (SNL) That was back in the days when I actually could stay awake through the entire show, unlike now, when I have a tendency to fall asleep even before those famous words, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night” are bellowed in the opening segment.
I came to be a fan in the mid to late 1970s, when the original SNL cast exploded onto the pop-culture radar of America. When the heretofore unheard of Not Ready for Prime Time Players, with the likes of comedians Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi and Gilda Radner, to name a few, brought their rough-edged brand of sketch comedy into the mainstream consciousness of America, a brand of sketch comedy and satire rarely seen at the time beyond the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago.
It’s been quite some time since I have made it a priority to stay up and watch this show, which has endured for an unprecedented 34 years. But, lately, I’ve made it a point to not just stay awake until 11:30 p.m. on a Saturday night; I’ve made it a point to make sure I’m alert enough to enjoy it.
With this election year being what it is, SNL, in a stroke of genius, has wooed back the brilliant Tina Fey to do her uncanny portrayal of Sarah Palin alongside her funny buddy Amy Poehler as a dead-on Hillary Clinton and a humorous Katie Couric.
Though they no longer are regulars on SNL, Fey and Poehler, simply by teaming up on several show-opening Palin sketches, have made “Saturday Night Live” once again a show worth losing some shuteye over.
I think the multi-faceted Fey, who grew up in Upper Darby, is a rare comedian who seems to have the Midas touch when it comes to satire. Whatever project she is involved in turns to gold ... she’s like the Rumpelstiltskin
of comedy.
Whether it is her tenure with SNL, writing and appearing in the movie “Mean Girls,” or her current Emmy-winning show “30 Rock,” her genius shines through. But, when she is joined by her uber-talented friend Amy Poehler, the gold becomes even more brilliant.
In their recent movie “Baby Mama,” Fey portrayed a successful executive in want of a baby, with Poehler cast as an unemployed ditz in want of her money who agrees to be hired as her surrogate.
Like any good comedy, bedlam ensues. Simple plot, simple material, but these two women raise the so-so script to a level that would be out of reach in lesser comedic hands.
But what I mostly love about watching the work of these two women is that their genuine friendship plays through on the screen, whether it’s lampooning Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton or portraying two women of contrasting backgrounds in a quirky movie.
They’re sort of transforming into the Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance of the 21st century. After all, entertainment history has shown us that it’s rather rare when a successful comedy duo is composed of women.
Aided by her pairing with Poehler, Fey is proving that not only can smart, funny women do anything smart, funny men can do, but in the process, she has created an awareness that, among other things, has landed her on such exclusive lists as Time magazine’s 100 People Who Shape Our World and People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People edition.
As the viewing public, we can only hope she will continue to work her hilarious magic, especially with Amy Poehler.
Personally, I hope that Fey and Poehler truly understand the comedic trail they are blazing, and stay the course as partners in comedy and, even more important, in friendship.
Both have a comic flair on their own. But, as we’ve seen in their collaborations, especially during those years on “Saturday Night Live,” sometimes a funny thing can happen on the way to a friendship.
Robyn McCloskey’s column appears each week in My Community Trends. She can be reached at crmccloskey@verizon.net.
I came to be a fan in the mid to late 1970s, when the original SNL cast exploded onto the pop-culture radar of America. When the heretofore unheard of Not Ready for Prime Time Players, with the likes of comedians Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi and Gilda Radner, to name a few, brought their rough-edged brand of sketch comedy into the mainstream consciousness of America, a brand of sketch comedy and satire rarely seen at the time beyond the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago.
It’s been quite some time since I have made it a priority to stay up and watch this show, which has endured for an unprecedented 34 years. But, lately, I’ve made it a point to not just stay awake until 11:30 p.m. on a Saturday night; I’ve made it a point to make sure I’m alert enough to enjoy it.
With this election year being what it is, SNL, in a stroke of genius, has wooed back the brilliant Tina Fey to do her uncanny portrayal of Sarah Palin alongside her funny buddy Amy Poehler as a dead-on Hillary Clinton and a humorous Katie Couric.
Though they no longer are regulars on SNL, Fey and Poehler, simply by teaming up on several show-opening Palin sketches, have made “Saturday Night Live” once again a show worth losing some shuteye over.
I think the multi-faceted Fey, who grew up in Upper Darby, is a rare comedian who seems to have the Midas touch when it comes to satire. Whatever project she is involved in turns to gold ... she’s like the Rumpelstiltskin
of comedy.
Whether it is her tenure with SNL, writing and appearing in the movie “Mean Girls,” or her current Emmy-winning show “30 Rock,” her genius shines through. But, when she is joined by her uber-talented friend Amy Poehler, the gold becomes even more brilliant.
In their recent movie “Baby Mama,” Fey portrayed a successful executive in want of a baby, with Poehler cast as an unemployed ditz in want of her money who agrees to be hired as her surrogate.
Like any good comedy, bedlam ensues. Simple plot, simple material, but these two women raise the so-so script to a level that would be out of reach in lesser comedic hands.
But what I mostly love about watching the work of these two women is that their genuine friendship plays through on the screen, whether it’s lampooning Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton or portraying two women of contrasting backgrounds in a quirky movie.
They’re sort of transforming into the Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance of the 21st century. After all, entertainment history has shown us that it’s rather rare when a successful comedy duo is composed of women.
Aided by her pairing with Poehler, Fey is proving that not only can smart, funny women do anything smart, funny men can do, but in the process, she has created an awareness that, among other things, has landed her on such exclusive lists as Time magazine’s 100 People Who Shape Our World and People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People edition.
As the viewing public, we can only hope she will continue to work her hilarious magic, especially with Amy Poehler.
Personally, I hope that Fey and Poehler truly understand the comedic trail they are blazing, and stay the course as partners in comedy and, even more important, in friendship.
Both have a comic flair on their own. But, as we’ve seen in their collaborations, especially during those years on “Saturday Night Live,” sometimes a funny thing can happen on the way to a friendship.
Robyn McCloskey’s column appears each week in My Community Trends. She can be reached at crmccloskey@verizon.net.
Posted by By Robyn McCloskey @ 6:17 PM
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