Blog Archives
Happy Monday!
From beginning to end, Adam Sandler gave comedy fans a memorable performance as host of ‘Saturday Night Live.’
‘SNL’ great Adam Sandler hosted his former show for the first time this weekend. There were many, many ways — and by this, I mean characters — the writers and cast could have approached his long-awaited, triumphant return. Surprisingly, there weren’t too many throwbacks to characters from Adam Sandler’s glory days at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. But make no mistake, the return of Opera Man at Weekend Update, for instance, was funny in ways that only the Sandman could deliver.
From singing his opening monologue…
to singing as the iconic Opera Man…
and his emotional acoustic tribute to close the show…
Adam Sandler proved why he’s a still such a fan favorite after all of the years as he combines humor with heart in pointed yet good-natured punchlines.
And while NBC’s timing and rationale for Adam Sandler’s firing (along with Chris Farley and Chris Rock) still makes absolutely no sense, NBC’s timing and rationale for bringing Adam Sandler back to ‘SNL’ — sparked by the success of his Netflix stand-up special titled ‘Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh’ — were pitch-perfect.
Have a Better Week Than Last Week.
Happy Veterans Day
Today is Veterans Day, and it’s not just important but necessary that we honor those who have served and are serving in our armed forces. The good news is we want to honor those who put their lives on the line for us here at home. The slightly awkward part is sometimes determining exactly what the best way to accomplish this recognition?
Is thanking a veteran enough? Most are humble, choosing to step aside from the spotlight of elaborate recognition. What do they prefer, particularly when it occurs serendipitously in a casual setting?
As part of his surprise visit to Saturday Night Live for an appearance on ‘Weekend Update,’ Lt. Com. Dan Crenshaw had a damn good idea.
Plus a few great laughs were had alongside SNL cast member Pete Davidson who righted a wrong from a week ago in classy–and entertaining–fashion.
Never Forget is right.
Happy Veterans Day.
Reenter Sandman
“Old school SNL” means something different to everybody. It depends on how old we are. And yet it also doesn’t matter to some extent.
Funny is funny.
There was a particular era of SNL cast members where this sentiment rings true. Chris Farley, David Spade, and Chris Rock–to name a few–created timeless, classic sketches, as well as a brand of comedy that was and is hilarious to the masses. And a bunch of this generation of SNL alums is still going strong with their brand of comedy in TV, movies and, thankfully, stand-up.
Oh, almost forgot to mention “the Sandman” himself:
Adam Sandler.
Actually, I didn’t forget. This blog post is about the aforementioned SNL generation that was very much defined by Adam Sandler. His triumphant return to the stage of stand-up comedy via Netflix will hopefully inspire a new generation of aspiring comedians to learn from a golden generation.
That would be fresh.
Wednesday Update
Tina Fey is returning to host the season finale of ‘Saturday Night Live.’
No need to bury the lead here. Nor would it be a good idea to bury the creative promo video for the aforementioned comedic writer, actress, and former fake, funny news host (before “fake news” became its own thing not related to comedy).
Like the host herself, the promo seen above is equally informative, entertaining and clever.
On a completely unrelated note, it will be interesting to see what society will be like 20 years down the road. Why this seemingly random observation? While flat-screen tablets and flat digital tabletops exist, when will paper products become flexible touch screens? I ask because the animated promo in the video above is displayed on a horizontal piece of paper by way of a skilled graphics designer. With flexible, roll-up TVs slowly evolving as a consumer product of the future, the natural next step would be other items that roll up…
like a newspaper.
Just look around your house and–like Jim Gaffigan–imagine the initial pitch meeting for these products. Go ahead and laugh out loud. I’ll wait.
Some of our possessions must have been wild to consider and imagine at first. Outside-the-box thinking requires seeing something that would be crazy today, yet normal tomorrow.
Or, in the case of the creative team at ‘Saturday Night Live,’ maybe the secret is thinking animating inside the box rectangle.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 