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Borat and Hugh Laurie bring the Monty Python to SNL
Labels: Jointblog
October 28th's Saturday Night Live actually was funny. Really!
Lorne Michaels kicked it off explaining that -- due to severe budget cuts at NBC -- the first 5 minutes of SNL was sold off as a promotional commercial. To whom? None other than Borat -- with his cultural learnings to make benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
Schwing!
He made so many nonsensical crude sexual references in his thick Kazakh accent -- on live American TV. Perhaps this is how lowbrow humor can get by network censors and the FCC.
Of course, this nicely times with the release of the new Borat movie which Entertainment Weekly calls "the funniest movie...ever?"
This combo of #1 movie opening and SNL appearance has made "Borat" today's #2 most searched term on Technorati.
Borat is actually English comic Sacha Baron Cohen (if you want to read what may be the funniest Wikipedia entry of delusion, click here). Fellow Brit Hugh Laurie (TV's "House") was the actual host. Combined, I felt I was watching a modern-day version of Monty Python at times.
That -- plus musical guest Beck performing along with puppets made to look like the band as well as using a dinner table as percussion instruments!
And show bumper still photos of Laurie in top hat and a (probably) dead parrot on his shoulder. As it should be.
Among the laughing highlights:
* Hugh Laurie calling the audience "sweetcheeks" during the monologue.
* Laurie investigating suspected ghosts, complete with night-vision camera effects, "heat-sensing" lens and an ghastly "sound" played over and over.
* A timely political animated "Funhouse" which actually mauled Republican scare tactics.
* Laurie, while acting as the Queen's advance man prepping her visiting hotel room arrangements, accidently dropping his prop glasses and quickly recovering, saying "don't worry, they're only an affectation" (and being so pleased with himself that he almost broke character).
* And, probably the most Pythonesque: the very old-school Dracula vs. Frankenstein sketch, where the dumb mob goes enmass between Dracula's and Frankenstein's houses (led by "House" star Laurie) looking for Frankenstein -- until Frankenstein's arm falls off.
Hugh Laurie also did a seeringly witty protest song in which the chorus of "all we have to do is..." was always followed with garble. As blogger Egalitarian Bookworm wrote,It was REALLY REALLY subtle and literate for Saturday Night Live... and whilst perhaps intended merely as a parody of protest songs, I felt it to be a commentary on the horrible state of current events and the seeming futility of doing anything about it.
Agreed.
As an endcap to the evening, during the cast close, the inappropriate Borat kneeled down to give a crotch kiss to Laurie during the last closing credits...
Cut to commercial! Quick!
If you're interested in the ending on YouTube (while it stays posted), click here.
For more, click here.
posted by Unknown @ Monday, October 30, 2006,
3 Comments:
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At 6:09 PM,
said...
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http://video.nbc.com/player.html?dlid=40719
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At 6:09 PM,
said...
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Check out the video
http://video.nbc.com/player.html?dlid=40719 -
At 2:16 AM,
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