SNL Review: Season 1, Episode 6
I'll be reviewing the sixth episode of SNL's first season. The host is legendary comedienne and actress Lily Tomlin.
Cold Open- Chevy Chase plays then President Gerald Ford. He's clumsy as usual, this time trying to get his advisors to talk to each other by holding two phones together. This one wasn't too bad and was actually funny. I would think Chase's clumsy Ford would get tiresome, but after sitting through endless sketches featuring Alec Baldwin's Trump, I should be used to these goofy political spoofs.
3.5 out of 5 stars
Lily Tomlin Monologue- Tomlin opens up this episode with a monologue about New York and what it's like being a New Yorker. It's a cute and witty bit and the audience seems to be enjoying it as well. I have a feeling Lily Tomlin is going to bring a lot of energy as host and this will be a fun episode.
3.5 out of 5 stars
Beethoven 1- This sketch comes in three parts. I'll give my final score when I get to the third part. The first part has John Belushi as Beethoven. Gilda Radner plays his wife and Lily Tomlin plays the maid. The wife and maid are concerned about the composer and make comments about him not eating his breakfast. Beethoven appears oblivious to what's going on until they leave the room. He then starts playing the Tony Orlando hit "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Oak Tree". I like the twist at the end and Belushi is hilarious as Beethoven.
There's a musical performance by Tomlin and Howard Shore's All-Nurse Band and a repeat of the Triopenin fake ad.
Land Shark- Another Land Shark sketch. This one might be the funniest I've seen. The premise is the same, unsuspecting single women fall victim to the Land Shark. Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi play the detectives. At the end of the sketch, there's a fourth wall break when one of the crew calls for the sketch to be cut short. Lily Tomlin is about to leave the set in frustration when the shark gets her and John Belushi says "I turned down Cuckoo's Nest for this!". This sketch was funny, especially the last part.
4 out of 5 stars
Interracial Couple- An interracial couple played by Garret Morris and Jane Curtin are making out when a bellboy played by Chevy Chase walks in on them to bring the newspaper. He profusely apologizes while continuing to drop the newspapers. I wonder why Chase played so many clumsy characters. Maybe there was a reason behind the scenes or maybe he liked playing those kind of parts. Just something I noticed. This was a short sketch and may not fly today considering interracial couples are normal and not taboo like back in the day. It was okay, not as good as Beethoven or Land Shark.
3 out of 5 stars
I couldn't find a picture of the sketch, so here's a picture from a more recent sketch about an interracial couple.
Edith Ann- Lily Tomlin narrates over footage of her trying to ice skate. Tomlin portrays Edith Ann, a child talking about ice skating and how easy it is, despite the footage showing otherwise. Her kid voice is funny and making herself look shorter adds to the humor. This was a short, but cute sketch. Not the funniest, but still amusing thanks to Tomlin.
3 out of 5 stars
Beethoven II- The second part of the Beethoven sketch. Radner and Tomlin are still concerned about Beethoven and this time when they leave, Belushi's Beethoven begins playing and singing The Temptations' hit "My Girl". This one isn't as funny as Part 1, but I still enjoyed it. As I said for part 1, I'll give the sketch a score when I get to Part 3.
Spud Beer- Fake ad for a fake beer for people that "can't taste the difference". We see patients in a hospital having gone through electroshock therapy cracking a cold one with doctors and nurses. I'm not a fan of a lot of these fake ads, and this one wasn't that great. The only funny part was the deadpan expression on one patient's face as he holds a can of Spud Beer.
2 out of 5 stars
Weekend Update w/ Chevy Chase- Chase once again hosts WU and gives us the latest news. Nothing particularly special about this one. The tie-in for the fake Spud Beer ad was funny. Chase pours the beer on his suit (Get it? Spuds have starch) and as always Garrett Morris knocks it out of the park with News For the Hard of Hearing.
3.5 out of 5 stars
A Letter to Patty Hearst- A sorority member played by Tomlin writes a letter of forgiveness to a former sister, Patty. I honestly don't get this one. There isn't much context given either. It's more endearing than funny. It isn't said exactly what Patty did to invoke a letter of forgiveness. Tomlin plays eccentric and odd characters very well, but I didn't care for this sketch.
UPDATE: Okay, so Patty Hearst is definitely a real person and not someone made up for the sketch like I thought. This is a sketch that hasn't aged well not because of the content, but because younger viewers like myself aren't going to know who Patty Hearst is. Hearst is the granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst who was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Front and committed armed robbery along with other crimes. The sketch makes more sense now and I see why Tomlin's character would write her a letter of forgiveness. I'm still not crazy about the sketch, but I get it now.
1 out of 5 stars
I couldn't find a picture from the sketch, so here's a photo of the real Patty Hearst.
Although it's not featured on Peacock (which is how I'm watching these episodes), there's a repeat of the Show Us Your Guns sketch from the first episode.
Land of Gorch- This LOG short is different from the others. It features Skred, one of the LOG characters performing "I Got You Babe" with Lily Tomlin, who he has a crush on. The performance was nice and there was one funny joke. Out of all the LOG shorts, this one has been my favorite so far.
3 out of 5 stars
I'm pretty sure I've reviewed it once or twice, but there's a repeat of Albert Brooks' "The Impossible Truth" short film. I'm not going to score it since it's a repeat, but I will say that it's a lot funnier than it was the first time I saw it.
Beethoven Part 3- In the last part of the Beethoven sketch, as Radner and Tomlin leave, Belushi as Beethoven puts on sunglasses and sings a Ray Charles song. He imitates the vocal style of Charles and the movements as well. Radner and Tomlin return and act as the background dancers and singers. I really liked these Beethoven sketches. They were the best parts of the episode in my opinion. Belushi is so funny and is great at physical comedy.
5 out of 5 stars
Male Sexual Harassment- Lily Tomlin is a female construction worker teaching a class for the other female construction workers played by Gilda Radner, Laraine Newman, and Jane Curtin. The lesson is about catcalling men. Dan Aykroyd plays the man being harassed. Tomlin gives the women each an opportunity to test their catcalling skills. Curtin is nervous, Newman talks with a deep, exaggerated New York accent, and Radner is the funniest of all. Aykroyd gets offended and upset over being harassed. Radner consoles him and tells him "it's just for class". This sketch probably wouldn't fly today for obvious reasons, but it was pretty ballsy to reverse the roles considering the time this sketch came out. While men might not enjoy the sketch and may feel it's sexist, it shows how catcalling can make people feel. It's sort of a "walk a mile in my shoes" kinda thing. Instead of the usual men whistling and being gross towards a woman, we see women being gross towards a man. I don't see it as encouraging sexual harassment against men, but just showing what it would be like if the roles are reversed. I really liked this sketch for its message and everyone involved was hilarious.
5 out of 5 stars
Speed Commercial- A fake pharmaceutical ad for "Speed". We see a housewife talking about how Speed helps her get things done. She doesn't stop talking and starts behaving erratically, folding paper bags and talking faster. This reminds me of the Heroin AM, e-meth, and all the other fake medicine ads from modern episodes that have a dark twist. One of the better fake ads, thanks to the late Annie Beatts who played the housewife.
2.5 out of 5 stars
50's Dance- Lily Tomlin does a monologue where she's a teenage girl from the 1950's. She gossips to her friend about random students and about her crush Frankie. I never really paid much attention to Lily tomlin, but wow is she gorgeous! She truly is funny and entertaining to watch. I absolutely loved this! I felt like I was watching a low-budget 50's teen flick.
5 out of 5 stars
I couldn't find a picture of the sketch, so here's a badass photo of Lily Tomlin
Final Thought: This was such a great episode! There were lots of good sketches and less fake ads. The repeats of "The Impossible Truth" and Triopenin are starting to get annoying though. Land of Gorch was great and the Speed fake ad managed to get a chuckle out of me.
Next episode's host is Richard Pryor. I'm looking forward to this one.