"First would be the crap about the kids."
Cold Open: Stumblebums Anonymous
4 Stars
A meeting is set to start at the Gerald Ford clinic
Steve Martin enters a room where he meets Kevin Nealon, whose arm is in a sling. He asks if this is the meeting for Stumlebums Anonymous. He trips over a chair on his way to sit down. Then Martin Short walks in, stepping into a trash can and knocking over some stuff. Finally, Chevy Chase comes in and knocks over a bunch of stuff. As he sits down to start the meeting his chair breaks and he screams the sign on into the camera. While this was not cleverly written by any means it was a short and sweet way to start the show. Steve, Martin and Chevy all get big applause as they enter and they all displayed good physical comedy skills.
Chevy Chase, Steve Martin & Martin Short Monologue
4 Stars
Steve Martin enters a room where he meets Kevin Nealon, whose arm is in a sling. He asks if this is the meeting for Stumlebums Anonymous. He trips over a chair on his way to sit down. Then Martin Short walks in, stepping into a trash can and knocking over some stuff. Finally, Chevy Chase comes in and knocks over a bunch of stuff. As he sits down to start the meeting his chair breaks and he screams the sign on into the camera. While this was not cleverly written by any means it was a short and sweet way to start the show. Steve, Martin and Chevy all get big applause as they enter and they all displayed good physical comedy skills.
Chevy Chase, Steve Martin & Martin Short Monologue
4 Stars
Steve sings a song to gain his courage
The Three Amigos walk out on stage to thunderous applause. Martin Short thinks they should start by introducing themselves, Chevy and Steve see no need. Chevy gets a little serious, mentioning his recent stay in the Betty Ford clinic and thanks everyone for their love and support. He says his back is a little sore from the fall he just did. Steve and Marty ask him if he would like a back pill or a drink, eventually holding him down to force feed them to him. Steve takes center stage but quickly gets overcome with emotions and walks off stage. He thinks he's a sham but Marty tries to provide words of encouragement through his Katharine Hepburn imitation. He tells Steve to just be himself which prompts Steve to start a chant and a march.
"I'm me. I'm not you or you or you or you. I'm me and nobody's gonna stop me. Or are they? Could they?"
The cast starts to follow him in his chant of being him and the best him he can be until he meets a Steve Martin impersonator in the audience.
"I don't care if you are me. I'm the me-est me I can be!"
He then walks into Lorne's office who tells him to get back to the show. When he gets back to the stage Chevy and Marty have been playing a game of checkers. All 3 of them got a moment to shine during the monologue even if Steve over shadowed the proceedings.
Couch Cushions
The Three Amigos walk out on stage to thunderous applause. Martin Short thinks they should start by introducing themselves, Chevy and Steve see no need. Chevy gets a little serious, mentioning his recent stay in the Betty Ford clinic and thanks everyone for their love and support. He says his back is a little sore from the fall he just did. Steve and Marty ask him if he would like a back pill or a drink, eventually holding him down to force feed them to him. Steve takes center stage but quickly gets overcome with emotions and walks off stage. He thinks he's a sham but Marty tries to provide words of encouragement through his Katharine Hepburn imitation. He tells Steve to just be himself which prompts Steve to start a chant and a march.
"I'm me. I'm not you or you or you or you. I'm me and nobody's gonna stop me. Or are they? Could they?"
The cast starts to follow him in his chant of being him and the best him he can be until he meets a Steve Martin impersonator in the audience.
"I don't care if you are me. I'm the me-est me I can be!"
He then walks into Lorne's office who tells him to get back to the show. When he gets back to the stage Chevy and Marty have been playing a game of checkers. All 3 of them got a moment to shine during the monologue even if Steve over shadowed the proceedings.
Couch Cushions
3 Stars
Chevy can't find the clicker
Chevy wants to channel surf during the commercials but can't find the remote. His wife tells him to look in the couch cushions. He first finds some change, then some Scrabble letters, a bunch of pens, more pens, a TV Guide with Don Adams on the cover, some old bananas, a Matisse painting, a skeleton of their dog, an old 8-track tape of Paul Williams's Greatest Hits, Paul Williams himself and then finally their maid. He makes the maid change the channels on the TV. It took a while to get to the absurd with Chevy taking his time digging through the cushions but by the time it got there it was really funny, especially when he pulled Paul Williams out of the couch.
The Devil And Ed Grimley
4 Stars
The Devil tries to offer Ed Grimley a deal
Ed Grimley is filled with the Christmas spirit until he reaches in the oven and realizes his Christmas shortcakes are burnt. Things are worse because he once again forgot to wear over mitts. He tries to lift his spirits by playing his triangle when he is visited by the devil. He offers Ed a $50 gift certificate from the department store of his choice for something to be named later. Ed is excited as he could buy a new pencil case for Cousin Lamar but then quickly realizes that the devil is only interested in his immortal soul. Ed declines the offer but the devil says he's going to take his soul anyway but is stymied by Ed's framed picture of Pat Sajak.
"So honest. So sincere. So filled with decency."
"Well tell me about it. It's Pat, no kidding."
Defeated, the devil begins to take his leave but Ed offers to play triangle with him. They do and the sketch fades out. There's a bizarre absurdity to these Ed Grimley sketches that I just love. Ed either gets struck by lightning, hunted by assassins or visited by gremlins or the devil. If I ever do a top 10 favorite SNL recurring characters list he should place highly.
A Holiday Wish
Ed Grimley is filled with the Christmas spirit until he reaches in the oven and realizes his Christmas shortcakes are burnt. Things are worse because he once again forgot to wear over mitts. He tries to lift his spirits by playing his triangle when he is visited by the devil. He offers Ed a $50 gift certificate from the department store of his choice for something to be named later. Ed is excited as he could buy a new pencil case for Cousin Lamar but then quickly realizes that the devil is only interested in his immortal soul. Ed declines the offer but the devil says he's going to take his soul anyway but is stymied by Ed's framed picture of Pat Sajak.
"So honest. So sincere. So filled with decency."
"Well tell me about it. It's Pat, no kidding."
Defeated, the devil begins to take his leave but Ed offers to play triangle with him. They do and the sketch fades out. There's a bizarre absurdity to these Ed Grimley sketches that I just love. Ed either gets struck by lightning, hunted by assassins or visited by gremlins or the devil. If I ever do a top 10 favorite SNL recurring characters list he should place highly.
A Holiday Wish
5 Stars
Steve has a few wishes this holiday season
I'm sure you've seen this one. Steve's one wish for the holidays is for all the children of the world to join hands and sing together in a spirit of holiday and peace. If he had a second wish it would be for 30 million dollars a month to be delivered to him, tax free, in a Swiss bank account. His next wish would be all encompassing power over every living being in the entire universe. He would also like to set aside one month each year for an extended 31 day orgasm to be brought upon slowly by Rosanna Arquette and that model Paulina something, he can't remember the name. Coincidentally, Rosanna just hosted and Paulina Porizkova will be a special guest soon in the season. Then he decides to reorder the wishes because if the world ends tomorrow he won't have anything to show for it. He also remembers that he wants revenge on all his enemies. It's a single person, straight to camera monologue that Steve nails. This sketch has become one of those classics that airs once a year in their holiday special.
Randy Newman
Randy Newman
"Longest Night"
Chevy, Steve and Marty give a Three Amigos salute to introduce Randy Newman who delivers a toe-tapping number. Not much else to say about it, it was fun.
Mastermind
3 Stars
Reagan is only playing dumb for the cameras
Dennis is joined by Chevy Chase this week. In my opinion there have only been 3 Weekend Update anchors. Chevy created it, Dennis reinvented it and Norm perfected it. Everyone else just held the same time slot. What is supposed to be a joining of two eras turns out to be kinda sad and awkward. Chevy’s style just doesn’t mix with Dennis and while he clumsily reads off cue cards, Dennis seems loose, off the cuff and just way cooler. There were many moments where Dennis made faces behind Chevy’s back, aping one of Chase’s go to gags on talk shows, and for the majority of the time the two were on screen together Dennis had a look on his face like he was saying, “can you believe this old dude thinks he can hang with the big boys?”. It didn’t help matters that most of the jokes were weak. The only one I wrote down was about Reagan pronouncing Oliver North a hero which means, for those keeping score, Sirhan Sirhan is now a saint, John Wayne Gacy a national treasure, Charles Manson a demigod and prop comic Gallagher still remains a jerk. Chevy had a running joke about Reagan’s declining poll numbers that got less and less funny every time he went back to it.
Tommy Flanagan shows up to tell us he’s got a new job as White House spokesperson. The Iranian deal wasn’t a deal but rather a present for the Ayatollah’s bicentennial and Reagan didn’t send cash to the Contras but actually contraceptives to the Congo. Tommy is innocent of anything though as he was on vacation at the time with his mistress, Jeanne Kirkpatrick. His wife, Morgan Fairchild was not happy when she found out.
Pat opens her show by teaching us the importance of reading a good book. She always keeps her favorite book, this month’s issue of Vogue, right next to her. Her guest today is Philippines president Corazon Aquino and Pat’s line of questioning is all about the 3,000 pairs of shoes left behind by her predecessor. Corazon wants to talk about political issues eventually going into an impassioned speech but when we pan back to Pat she is reading Vogue. This was better than pretty much any Pat Stevens installment from the previous season probably due to Jan Hooks as Aquino. The writing was also a little sharper and Pat’s character a little more defined. I got one really big laugh when Pat asked about Corazon’s husband.
“My husband was assassinated 3 years ago.”
“Are you dating?”
Church Potluck Luncheon
3 Stars
Reagan is being interviewed but doesn't seem to know the answers to her questions.
"I hope I've answered your questions the best I could, given the very little that I know."
As soon as she leaves her brings in his cabinet to give them a rundown. He pulls down a map outlining the countries they sell arms to and the ones where they launder their money. Some of his cabinet don't understand.
"And you don't need to understand. I'm the president, only I need to understand."
He has to put the dumb guy act back on when he is forced to pose for a picture with a girl scout but quickly gets back to work after she leaves. Phil Hartman is on fire here as Reagan. This is an Emmy worthy performance that I can't see anyone in the current cast pulling off. He is rattling off rapid fire lines without staring at the cue cards. It makes me wonder what has changed in 30 years. If someone like Pete Davidson was in this cast he would stand out like a sore thumb next to these powerhouses.
Weekend Update
"I hope I've answered your questions the best I could, given the very little that I know."
As soon as she leaves her brings in his cabinet to give them a rundown. He pulls down a map outlining the countries they sell arms to and the ones where they launder their money. Some of his cabinet don't understand.
"And you don't need to understand. I'm the president, only I need to understand."
He has to put the dumb guy act back on when he is forced to pose for a picture with a girl scout but quickly gets back to work after she leaves. Phil Hartman is on fire here as Reagan. This is an Emmy worthy performance that I can't see anyone in the current cast pulling off. He is rattling off rapid fire lines without staring at the cue cards. It makes me wonder what has changed in 30 years. If someone like Pete Davidson was in this cast he would stand out like a sore thumb next to these powerhouses.
Weekend Update
"How's that for witty banter between us?"
Dennis is joined by Chevy Chase this week. In my opinion there have only been 3 Weekend Update anchors. Chevy created it, Dennis reinvented it and Norm perfected it. Everyone else just held the same time slot. What is supposed to be a joining of two eras turns out to be kinda sad and awkward. Chevy’s style just doesn’t mix with Dennis and while he clumsily reads off cue cards, Dennis seems loose, off the cuff and just way cooler. There were many moments where Dennis made faces behind Chevy’s back, aping one of Chase’s go to gags on talk shows, and for the majority of the time the two were on screen together Dennis had a look on his face like he was saying, “can you believe this old dude thinks he can hang with the big boys?”. It didn’t help matters that most of the jokes were weak. The only one I wrote down was about Reagan pronouncing Oliver North a hero which means, for those keeping score, Sirhan Sirhan is now a saint, John Wayne Gacy a national treasure, Charles Manson a demigod and prop comic Gallagher still remains a jerk. Chevy had a running joke about Reagan’s declining poll numbers that got less and less funny every time he went back to it.
Tommy Flanagan shows up to tell us he’s got a new job as White House spokesperson. The Iranian deal wasn’t a deal but rather a present for the Ayatollah’s bicentennial and Reagan didn’t send cash to the Contras but actually contraceptives to the Congo. Tommy is innocent of anything though as he was on vacation at the time with his mistress, Jeanne Kirkpatrick. His wife, Morgan Fairchild was not happy when she found out.
The Eggshell Family
1 Star
An indecisive family gets a phone call
Jan, Kevin and Marty talk in circles to each other as the joke of this sketch is that they are a family that doesn’t express themselves. The phone rings and they try to decide if they should answer it or not. They go back and forth for a long time.
“I’ll get it. Well, maybe I shouldn’t. Do you want to get it?”
The call is for dad and Steve Martin comes in but he’s apprehensive to answer it. Here’s the punchline, by the time he gets to the phone the other person has hung up. This was 5 minutes that felt like an eternity as there is just nothing funny about people hemming and hawing and unable to make up their minds.
“I’ll get it. Well, maybe I shouldn’t. Do you want to get it?”
The call is for dad and Steve Martin comes in but he’s apprehensive to answer it. Here’s the punchline, by the time he gets to the phone the other person has hung up. This was 5 minutes that felt like an eternity as there is just nothing funny about people hemming and hawing and unable to make up their minds.
The Pat Stevens Show
3 Stars
Pat welcomes Corazon Aquino to her show but only wants to talk about one thingPat opens her show by teaching us the importance of reading a good book. She always keeps her favorite book, this month’s issue of Vogue, right next to her. Her guest today is Philippines president Corazon Aquino and Pat’s line of questioning is all about the 3,000 pairs of shoes left behind by her predecessor. Corazon wants to talk about political issues eventually going into an impassioned speech but when we pan back to Pat she is reading Vogue. This was better than pretty much any Pat Stevens installment from the previous season probably due to Jan Hooks as Aquino. The writing was also a little sharper and Pat’s character a little more defined. I got one really big laugh when Pat asked about Corazon’s husband.
“My husband was assassinated 3 years ago.”
“Are you dating?”
Church Potluck Luncheon
3 Stars
The Church Lady reigns superior at the church potluck
I’m always grateful when they take a recurring character and put them in a new location. I can only see her host her talk show so many times. It’s fun to see them out in the world. Unfortunately this doesn’t have much we haven’t seen before. Church Lady scorns Victoria for showing up late because her boyfriend’s grandmother was in the hospital, which was the same scene we got in the Rosanna Arquette episode. This is the first appearance of the superior dance which she does in honor of her casserole besting Victoria’s Jello dish. I liked the absurdity of organist, Pearl being in the background at the ready for when Enid needed music. Chevy shows up at the end as Minister Bob to join Church Lady in her superior dance.
I’m always grateful when they take a recurring character and put them in a new location. I can only see her host her talk show so many times. It’s fun to see them out in the world. Unfortunately this doesn’t have much we haven’t seen before. Church Lady scorns Victoria for showing up late because her boyfriend’s grandmother was in the hospital, which was the same scene we got in the Rosanna Arquette episode. This is the first appearance of the superior dance which she does in honor of her casserole besting Victoria’s Jello dish. I liked the absurdity of organist, Pearl being in the background at the ready for when Enid needed music. Chevy shows up at the end as Minister Bob to join Church Lady in her superior dance.
Chevy Chase fakes a sneeze before introducing Randy Newman which is the same gag he's done every time I've seen him host. If you don't get a laugh the first 5 times, try it again. Newman sings "Roll With The Punches" which is a slow song with random lyrics. It sounds like he's making it up on the spot. He rambles about how this is the greatest country and you gotta roll with the punches if you want to live in the red, white and blue. I didn't like this much at all.
Halsey & Roarke, British Customs
Halsey & Roarke, British Customs
3 Stars
Two overly suspicious custom agents never believe passengers
Dana Carvey and special guest Eric Idle, who has never been mentioned in the episode to this point and it took the audience a second to recognize it was him, play two custom agents who are suspicious about everybody's package. They inspect Steve Martin's box of chocolates and put him in the detention center when they notice the false bottom. Steve insists that there is just another row of chocolates underneath but they aren't buying it. Nora is carrying an egg which holds pantyhose and gets detained, Jon has a chess board with chess pieces hidden inside, Marty has no luggage but is wearing a reversible jacket that looks suspicious. They then have to let everyone else go through as the detention center is filled to capacity. Carvey and Idle seem to be having fun working together and doing their British accents, I mean, Idle's just using his real accent, but you get it. This seemed like a waste of Eric Idle to have him come in so late in the show and not do much.
FINAL ANALYSIS
FINAL ANALYSIS
"Not now Granny, I'm busy fornicating."
Average
3.3 Stars
MVP
Dana Carvey
Mastermind, Church Potluck Luncheon, Halsey & Roarke, British Customs
Mastermind, Church Potluck Luncheon, Halsey & Roarke, British Customs
Best Sketch
A Holiday Wish
Worst Sketch
The Eggshell Family
How I Would Have Lorne Michaels-ed It
A really good first half made up for a lackluster back half. Everything after Mastermind was either forgettable or not good. Weekend Update even suffered because of Chase's fumbling. I would have swapped Church Potluck Luncheon and Couch Cushions that way we get the recurring character sketch out of the way early and a little bit of absurdity is saved for the end of the night when the show could have used it. I also would have maybe announced that Eric Idle was in the building before 12:50am.
Host Analysis
You'd think an episode with 3 hosts, let alone 3 comedic hosts, would have somebody lost in the shuffle. All 3 of the amigos got equal time to shine and show off. Chase got to do a pratfall, Steve got to do a monologue and Marty got to do Ed Grimley. They also didn't overshadow the cast like I was expecting. After their showcase sketches at the beginning they just blended in with the ensemble. Chase played well with others too, which is something I've criticized in his other hosting gigs. Dennis Miller didn't seem to want him there but Chase seemed to really admire Dennis and he happily played a thankless role in the Church Lady sketch too.
Final Thoughts
A good but not great episode. It had a great start but then just kind of fizzled out. Weekend Update, The Eggshell Family, Pat Stevens, The Church Lady and British Customs just made the back half grind to a halt. Still, everything before Update worked. It was just so deflating that I felt like I was watching the episode of the season and then it just evolved into a big pile of 'meh'.
Up Next
Everyone's favorite clown Steve Guttenberg hosts. His career has always fascinated me. There was like a 4 year span where it was really good to be Guttenberg and then after that nobody wanted him. It's not like he changed, he kept turning in charming if not very interesting performances but society just all at once decided that we were done with Guttenberg. He always seemed like a nice guy, he's not incredibly funny but I think the show could probably use him well, we'll see.
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