Charlize Theron / Paul Simon
November 4, 2000
[WEBMASTER'S NOTE: The review below is only a few surviving portions of my complete review. The complete review unfortunately got lost over the years.]
This is my first time doing an SNL review, so bare with me, folks. I've read a lot of SNL reviews in the past and I must say that Mark Polishuk is my favorite reviewer and I love reading his reviews. But don't worry, I won't steal his reviewing techinique (CAST MEMBERS WITH TIME TO WASH LORNE'S CAR, BUSIEST CAST MEMBER, etc.) Writing my own SNL review feels really awkward for me now, but hopefully after a few weeks, I'll get used to it.
MONOLOGUE: Charlize Theron
This was funny, but I think it would've made more sense to put this on later in the show or after a sketch like they did with Tracy's talk with Garth Brooks and Jamie Foxx. The only thing missing would be Tracy calling Lorne a "bitch" but that could get old after a while so I'm not complaining. Anyway, Tracy was right about a lot of stuff in this monologue, like the part about him being in so little sketches in tonight's episode (oh, wait, that's every episode, ain't it?), and there not being enough sisters to host the show. There was only 2 black female hosts, and that was over 10 years. Only 2 black female hosts in 26 years? Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? Tracy was also right about racism and people being treated badly because of their race. But you know, I hate it when the host doesn't do a real monologue, whether it be taking questions from the audience, going backstage, and I especially don't like it when a cast member interrupts the monlogue, because it takes the attention away from the host. All monologues should just be about the host, whether it be stand up, or talking about their recent movies or TV shows, or maybe just something about them. Last year, only 3 out of 20 hosts did real monologues (Jerry Seinfeld, Norm MacDonald, and Joshua Jackson), so I guess it's not a common thing anymore.
Rating: 4/5
WEEKEND UPDATE WITH JIMMY FALLON AND TINA FEY:
Let me start out by saying that I might be in minority in this, but I don't really like the new Weekend Update format. Tina Fey is good, but Jimmy Fallon doesn't fit on WU. He can't be serious, doesn't look like the anchorman type, and messes up too much. I guess it sounds like Colin Quinn, too, but hey, at least I liked him. I wouldn't say take Jimmy off of WU mid-season, but I don't know what to do with him. The part with Rachel Dratch was okay, but a little weird. I didn't like the part with Hugh Fink too much. I hate it when they get a non-castmember as a correspondent (Kevin Brennan) and I won't be smiling if this guy becomes a cast-member next season.
-Rating: 3/5
SKETCH: A Glimpse of our Possible Future with Al Gore:
Another excellent Al Gore impression by Darrell Hammond. It got funnier with the pre-recorded footage with Darrell as Clinton. That reminded me of something similar they did in the cold opening of the Heather Graham episode from last year, where Hammond played both Gore and Clinton. But I noticed some techinical errors in this sketch: 1) The camera took a long time switching from Gore to Clinton when Clinton first walked on set. 2) Whoever that was playing the double for Clinton when he was in the same shot as Darrell as Gore was terrible, because when Gore said "Yes I'm on!" the double threw his beer can away, but when it switched to Clinton, he still had the beer can in his hand. Then after Clinton said "We're out of beer" and walked away, the camera cut back to Gore, and the double for Clinton was still standing in the same place, then he walked away. 3) Also, did anybody notice a camera behind Darrell as Clinton? Anyway, techinical errors aside, I just realized something about Darrell Hammond. In his years on SNL, all he ever really did was Clinton, but he can't do Clinton anymore so this season, all he ever does is Gore. But if Gore doesn't win the election, then that makes Gore and Clinton he can't do anymore, and that means that Darrell will probably leave. I remember in the 92-93 season, all Dana Carvey ever really did was George Bush then after he resigned and Clinton was president, Carvey left mid-season. Darrell will probably do the same if Gore doesn't win. I really hope Gore wins, for Darrell's sake.
-Rating: 5/5
Conclusion: An okay episode. Nothing really outstanding, but it's acceptable. Charlize was good. The best sketches were the three "A Glimpse of our Possible Future" segments. There has yet to be a real outstanding episode this season. I'm sure that'll change when Tom Green hosts. I'm one of the few people here who actually like him. Well, anyway, that's my review, and thanks for reading.