Dear Tina,
I just got around to watching clips from last week’s episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Betty White. The Facebook campaign that aggressively (well, as aggressively as anything is done on Facebook) petitioned Lorne Michaels to book Betty as host was highly publicized and largely responsible for making it happen. It does seem odd that a popular actress of such discernible comedic talent had never been asked to do this before especially when Lindsay Lohan has been bestowed the honor…twice. Betty White’s career began before the United States entered World War II. I mean, come on. Not one to be so petty as to hold a grudge, out came Betty in all her 88 year old glory. She was poised, humble, and, unlike the string of young Hollywood that preceded her this season, her monologue was funny. Hearing her announce with such enthusiasm that “Jay-Z is here” was so sweet, it was like receiving an iTunes gift card for Christmas from your grandma: she doesn’t know what all the fuss is about but she’s just happy to put a smile on your face.
Betty’s hosting duties coincided with the Saturday Night Live Mother’s Day Special that reunited our favorite female cast members from the 90s-00s. Tina — well you know, you were there — Ana Gasteyer, Molly Shannon, Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, and a very unsubtly pregnant Amy Poehler were all there to help Betty celebrate an evening dedicated to our beloved moms. Come to think of it, it would have made more sense to have Boyz II Men as the musical guest, performing “A Song For Mama.” But then we would have had to listen to “A Song For Mama” and the 90s nostalgia would be canceled out by the awfulness.
Bringing these women back turned out to be a double-edged sword. On one hand, this episode was hilarious with regrettable sketch choices few and far between (probably the strongest since the 2008 presidential election, really). However, that’s because the episode was filled with old characters and sketches created by these women and only served as a reminder for how weak the current female cast members on SNL are. With the exception of Kristen Wiig, who is the show’s saving grace when it comes to female talent, the women seen in the opening credits were barely allowed on stage. It was as if for one night Lorne wanted to live in a fantasy world where all his casting missteps of the past two years didn’t exist. Smart move.
Now I don’t mean to be persnickety, but as much as I respect Betty White for her infinite career, I did find in some instance that she caused the timing of the sketches to drag. For instance, when Sally O’Malley (I’m 50!) made an appearance on Weekend Update, the outlandish build that usually occurs in these sketches was stalled in order for Betty to make a handful of jokes about being 90 and liking to sit instead of kick and stretch. By the time they exited the stage, it felt like we hadn’t gotten a full serving of Sally O’Malley who will always outshine anyone that tries to stand in her spotlight, even Ms. White. In the sketch “Bronx Beat”, which did not air during the live broadcast but can be found on Hulu.com or below in this post, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph are back as the apathetic local cable talk show hosts with a propensity towards sass. For the first two and half minutes, the back and forth between these two was right on point, it felt like they had never left. When Betty entered as Amy Poehler’s mom, she was funny in that American audiences love an octogenarian talking about sex, but her timing slowed the other two down and we lost a bit of the energy coming from Amy and Maya’s chemistry.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/147973/saturday-night-live-bronx-beat#s-p2-sr-i1
Over all I take my hat off to you Betty White. You proved to be a great success when handed the reigns for a live comedy show. I think it may have taken someone of your age and experience to prove the idiocy of allowing a stiff like January Jones to host. Sorry, I may never get over that. Below I have also included my favorite Sally O’Malley sketch of all time. Sally O’Malley plus a Sopranos spoof? Be still my heart.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/1504/saturday-night-live-sally-omalley
30 Rock Quote Day:
Jack: Never go with a hippie to a second location.
Dear Tina 