SNL: S14E02... HOST: MATTHEW BRODERICK... DATE: OCTOBER 15, 1988

or...

Ferris Bueller's Night On

 

As with most of the host of SNL from the time, I'm going to open this review by admitting that I was a huge fan of Matthew Broderick as a child and therefore was excited to see what he would do with this appearance. At first, I started to question if this was just another case where, like with Judge Reinhold, I actually hadn't seen much of Broderick's work but have seen a handful of his films a hundred times during free HBO weekends around that time.  

I assumed this was the case because I must have seen War Games, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Project X whenever I got the chance. Then as soon as the episode was over, my assumption was instantly smashed as I went to IMDB to find that I've seen most of Matthew Broderick's films all the way up until 2005 when my knowledge of film started to get spotty after the medium became less interesting to me after Film School had ruined the magic. 

As I've said in past post, I went to film school for writing after a decade and a half of being self-taught and though I always knew that structure was involved in storytelling, school taught me that the rules are narrower than I thought, especially if you want to be successful. This is when I started to see the dream as a job which killed my enthusiasm for movies in general. 

Five years after finishing school, I actually got my foot in the door and started working in the industry only I wasn't in a writing room because I got trapped in the world of lighting which only killed the dream even more. 

It's now been about three years since I've been on a set and my interest in film is beginning to regrow but I don't think that the magic of the medium will ever return because I know too many tricks of the trade and don't fall for the misdirections that camouflage the final reveal.

This SNL challenge has actually helped with the recovery process because I've been turned off by TV as well, so I get excited by episodes like this that make two solid episodes in a row making an excellent start to a season. 

Well, now that I've gotten my "Me" story out of the way as well as my interest in Matthew Broderick, it's now time to move on and share what I saw as I give you...

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with a parody of The Graduate with Dan Quayle in the Dustin Hoffman role having no direction in life after actually landing the role of Vice President. Nancy Reagan played the Anne Bancroft character who attempts to seduce the young confused VP who pushes away to announce, "Live from New York..."

  2. Matthew Broderick then officially opened the show with a monolog about being nervous to do live TV for the first time before breaking the fourth wall a la Ferris Bueller to break down the techniques that he using in an effort to win over the crowd when it reality he is only acting.

  3. McDonnell-Rand was apparently a fake ad but I couldn't find it anywhere on the internet.

  4. The Five Beatles was a sketch that followed the tale of a writer, Albert Goldman who apparently bad mouthed John Lennon after his death and has to explain that his animosity stems from the fact that he was actually the fifth Beatle. The sketch starts with a press conference where Goldman is confronted then flashes back to the Liverpool days where his trombone playing was so off putting that the rest of the group decided to send him packing.

  5. Cooking With Monkey was a cooking show sketch where Dana Carvey doesn't cook with a monkey as one might expect but instead shares recipes and techniques of how to cook with monkey meat treating it like a standard ingredient that could be found in any store. At one point the fake show cuts away to a segment where Dana visits a restaurant with monkeys on display for the patron to select as if they were picking a lobster.

  6. The Sugarcubes then took to the stage to perform Birthday.

  7. Once again, Dennis Miller gave us the news. This week, A. Whitney Brown dropped in for another Big Picture segment about how politicians never talk about the weather which again proves that A. Whitney was way ahead of his time, talking about environmental issues that eventually evolved into what we know as Global Warming or Climate Change.

  8. We then went to a Nude Beach for a sketch where a group of men do nothing but talk about each other's penises, even when the girls join the sketch, penis is the main topic until it's revealed that this is actually a PSA against being judgmental about size when we are all the same within our hearts.

  9. The Thumper Family was a sit-com of a sketch with a bible-thumping family who overreact to everything as the loudly attempt to cast Satan out of everyone and everything in every situation.

  10. Learning To Feel then returned for another segment where Nora Dunn claims to help audience members with their problems while only giving super simplified answers that the guests take as super enlightened words. Again, this is one of those sketches where I don't know the show being parodied that seems boring because the joke is very subtle and not funny on its own.

  11. Laurie Has A Story was a short film featuring Laurie Metcalf and Catherine O'Hara that takes place at a dinner party. After some casual banter, Catherine convinces Laurie to tell what is set up to be a super funny story only to get interrupted after every other word.

  12. Hollywood Salute was apparently a sketch that paid homage to old fictional Hollywood actor but was another sketch that I couldn't find anywhere on the internet.

  13. The Sugarcubes then returned to the stage to perform Motorcrash.

  14. We then went to an elementary school for a sketch called The Baby And The Fairy. In the sketch, Nealon, Carvey and Hooks all play bullies who attempt to bully Matthew Broderick who is just a baby. Being the Broderick is so you he gives very straight forward answers to their taunts like when they said something to the effect of, "What's the matter, baby? Do you miss your mommy?" He calmly answers, "Well, as a matter of fact, I do." Rather than give up or get frustrated the bullies just continue their taunts until the switch their target to Phil Hartman who steps out of the classroom dress as the tooth-fairy who gets the same treatment and gives the same sort of response.

  15. Finally, Matthew Broderick closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

Though there were a few sketches missing from the night, it was still pretty easy to find these three favorite moments. First, I loved The Baby And The Fairy sketch because both the baby and fairy's straightforward answers to the bully's taunts actually got me to laugh out loud because it reminded me of my little nephew. Next, I really liked the Cooking With Monkey ketch especially after figuring out the twist that there wasn't a monkey chef but that they were actually talking about cooking with monkey meat and this was treated as normal. Finally, I was a fan of the opening The Graduate sketch because the idea of Dan Quayle being lost in life after becoming Vice President was funny enough but Nancy Reagan being the seductress was icing on the cake.

 
 

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