If Fred Armisen plays any black politician, please let it be NY Governor David Paterson! His impression of our "accidental" governor debuted on Weekend Update last night and it absolutely killed. For reference, we've placed a photograph of Paterson above—compare it to the SNL bit below:
He's not only funny—the guy seriously loves zingers.
But Paterson wasn't done there. After nearly breaking Seth Meyers during Update for the second week in a row, Armisen had a little fun with longtime castmate Amy Poehler. At the end of Update, Poehler paused to say her final goodbye to the show, almost getting a little choked up in the moment, when the governor stumbled in front of the lens while phoning for "circus tickets" (what Poehler had just revealed is code she uses to her weed dealer). The sketch at that point had now taken on an almost Mr. Magoo level of absurdity.
It all seemed a fitting farewell for Poehler, who along with Tina Fey, brought a certain grounding to the show throughout the past decade, while simultaneously relishing in sillyness and the utterly ridiculous. Video of her goodbye along with last night's digital short, Armisen again as a cookie-crazed office worker, after the jump...
Poehler's final SNL brought a cameo from Maya Rudolph to revive the duo's middle-aged ladies in heat as hosts of local talk show Bronx Beat. But where's the video love, NBC? Speaking of which, we know that NBC never seems to release video of the musical performances, but Kanye West from last night would have been a good exception. Kanye performed in front of an intense video screen (complete with a cameo from Elroy Jetson) that felt like the sort of thing you'll catch on Comedy Central in ten years ad wonder if 2008 was actually a lot stranger than you remember. He also used a voicebox that someone described as "singing to a 56k mp3 backup band."
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I'll be honest, I thought it was funny, but nothing amazing. It "okay, we get it, he's BLIND!" Can I not just make fun of someone for their disability?
Godspeed, Agent Colby. May flights of cyborgs sing thee to thy next gig.
MrTrainsmeadow
I didn't think the skit "killed" and can only hope that there is some way to cut SNL from this year's budget. I don't agree with the idea that the Gov. is or was unprepared for office. The skit was offensive and embarrassing. I look forward to reading what NBC, its affiliates, and the braniacs in Lorne Michaels' office have to say.
And for what it's worth: I assume now we know what SNL will do with a President Obama. Without some gift of Palin-Bush-Clinton scandal-clad slapstick, there really isn't much there there, is there?
Iphie
Jen,
Paterson may totally joke about being blind, but he doesn't joke that it makes him inept, bumbling or incompetent. When he jokes about it, it is often to put others at ease (if you've ever heard him speak about it, he says that humor was an early coping mechanism -- a mechanism designed, I assume, to cope with the kind of jacka$$es that wrote the skit.) And if you're still wondering about what he thinks about the skit, he, like I, found it juvenile.
There is only one way that people could have an unemployment rate that’s six times the national average — it’s attitude,” he said. “And I’m afraid that the kind of third-grade depiction of individuals and the way they look and the way they move add to that negative environment.”
7train
#15 me too.
Nick S
whoa! Toby von Meistersinger posted a negative comment! how shocking!
I like offensive comedy as much as anyone - but I found the cheap jokes about him being blind a bit grating and unnecessary.
Not that great of an SNL. They have had some great episodes this year though.
blablanyc
Can Armisen do Bloomberg? He would need to perform Bloomberg on his knees a la Tim Conway's Dwarf character. That would be hilarious.
drewo
I found the Kanye West performance (the 1st song) at least listenable. I've never really followed his music, but he seems to be at least trying to push it in a new direction - he's no Prince but he's trying. I also liked the backdrop effects that were used during his performance - a break from the usual bland SNL stage setup for the musical guests.
blablanyc
This is a classic. The nasally voice is more Bloomberg than Paterson.
"What do you have against New Jersey?"
"A southern border."
Iphie
The real Paterson is much, much funnier, and doesn't rely on his blindness for gags. Armisen didn't sound like him any more than Armisen sounded like Obama, and while I've heard Paterson make jokes about himself, the press, lobbyists and other politicians, I have never heard him make jokes about NJ -- which are beyond easy, they're just trite.
With very little exception, the entire bit was a running gag about being blind and cliches about NJ. SNL is sinking once more into complete and utter irrelevancy.
Jen Chung
That Paterson impression was so wrong yet so right! I wonder what Paterson thinks.
Toby von Meistersinger
The sad thing is that the real Patterson is actually funnier.
wcoastpark
A friend of mine who works for Broadway Video says they have a terrible time with the licensing for music acts. If they release video of the musical performance or use any other songs they have to pay hefty royalty fees. Evidently at this time they can't make the money back in advertising, so they just don't release the clips.
tingo
That was pretty damn funny. LOL when he was walking around in front of the camera.
But I have to say, I actually like Paterson. He's made some very good decisions since being thrown into the job, he's pretty human, and he's got a sense of humor. Maybe because he was never a typical alpha-career politician to begin with.
SeasTooFarToReach
You can watch the Kanye West train wreck performance at Stereogum:
The parts I found funny were his "accidental" walk-in with the camera saying that he grilled NJ and the bit about the circus tickets as Amy Poehler was making her serious goodbyes, because it was completely unexpected at that point.
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