Amy Adams/Vampire Weekend (03.08.2008)

The following blog post is a companion piece to the newest episode of the We Heart Hader Podcast. Give us a listen, won't you?

3AM Phone Call (Dramatization)

Hillary Clinton (Poehler) presents an approved "unfair and deceptive" campaign ad depicting an outraged, panicked and out-of-his-depth Barack Obama (Armisen) calling her at home from the Oval Office asking for her experirnced advice on how to deal with Iran building nuclear weapons and how to fix the heat in the white house. She follows this up by urging democrats (or even republicans for all she cares) to call the DNC and tell them "wait...we've changed our minds"

• So, this was obviously a spoof of the famous "3AM Phone Call" ad that Hillarys' campaign was running at this time. 

• The main twist being that it's not Hillary receiving the call about some international crisis in the oval office that Americas' being dragged in to.

• If nothing else, this was at least a different format for an SNL cold open (what it it being basically a pretaped slideshow that is intro'd and outtro'd by Amy) and I was impressed by how much they extrapolated out of such a simple premise 

• Armisens' Obama may have been at its weakest here (he is still working out the kinks after all) but that may actually work in this sketchs' favor as it plays into the idea that if Hillary were to run this  devious of an attack ad against Obama she would want to make him look as bad as possible by portraying him as either as sniveling or as goofy as possible.

• The part where Amys' Hillary straight up tells Fred's Obama to call his secretary of state (who turns out to he Al Sharpton here) is eerie considering that in real life Hillary would become Obamas' secretary of state and actually get paid to advise him on such matters...and years later we would find out that our president being on their phone ar 3AM isn't necessarily a good thing...but that's a story for another time.

• Anyway, decent cold open. B-

Monologue

Amy Adams brings Kristen Wiig on stage to sing a duet of "What Is This Feeling" over their slight resemblance to each other.

• OK, I'm guessing Amy's line about how everyone here has been "treating her like a princess" was some kind of "Enchanted" reference? Was she plugging that this week?

• I'm kinda torn on this monologue because while I liked the sheer pissy and antagonistic energy Amy and Kristen bought to it (right from Amy's line about Kristen "graciously" stepping down for roles in the show she was up for all the way up to the two of them slapping and punching each other near the end), I just don't see that strong a facial resemblance between them.

• I mean, sure...they could PASS for sisters, just not identical twin sisters which this monologue assumes they both are. 

• Plus, I'm not a huge theater kid or Broadway fan (hell, I had to use Google to figure out that the song they were singing was just straight up lifted from Wicked because it was cut out of this episode's Peacock edit) so a lot of SNL musical monologues don't do a whole lot for me. 

• This monologue was probably concieved just to allow Amy to show off her musical theater chops, but again...at least Amy & Kristen had the ability to actually sell it and put it over. C+

Mirror Image

An ABC Family sitcom where identical twin sisters Hailey (Adams) and Hagley (Wiig) Winters long running childhood plan to both pretend to be the same person in order to only have to do half of their school work fails to trick on their newest teacher Mr. Heffernan (Hader) as Hagley has gained much more weight and become more crass and slovenly than Hailey by the time they both reached high school.

• I did like the use of writer Paula Pell as the announcer with the line "You're watching ABC Family; because sometimes regular ABC can be just a little too in-your-face."

• It is a little bothersome that they would do two segments in a row based on Kristen and Amy's slight facial resemblance to one another (even though the monologue was obviously thrown together on Friday morning) but I at least like how this somewhat subverts what one's expectations would be for based on the monologue they would've just seen before this.

• Somehow, Kristen's voice and line delivery were the funniest thing about this. It probably helps that this is a character archetype that we didn't end up seeing that often from her. I did get a little sick of the running gag with Amy constantly winking into the camera and Kristen constantly farting while attempting to wink into the camera.

• Bill did solid straight man work in this. I especially liked his lines where he just straight up figured out their plan, got them to reveal that it has never worked and that they just end up changing schools every day and said he thought Kristen's character may be functionally illiterate based on her odd mispronounciation of the term "Renaissance painting".

• Also, why the hell was Andy in this with no lines as a glorified extra? Did he have lines in this that were cut at dress? B-

Couples Therapy

Brian (Forte) and Bagdana (Poehler) receive marriage counseling from Dr. Helen Winston (Adams). Brian wants to discuss communication and intimacy issues but Bagdana only cares about getting her documents signed by Brian and Dr. Winstin to prove her marriage is legitimate and that she is now a U.S. citizen who will never have to go back to her village.

• Immediately, this sketch reminds me of the "poison therapy" sketch from the previous seasons' Drew Barrymore/Lily Allen episode. This one does have the same quiet comedy feel to it that one but doesn't quite have the same sense of sheer derangement. Still, this had its moments.

• Even when Forte plays the straightman roles, there's a tiny absurd spark of a delusional caught up in his own little world there. His story of how he and Poehers' character met was funny.

• Amy Adams truly felt like the straightway here with various chipper psycho babble lines reading way too much into Poehers' talk of "documents".

• Possibly my favorite Poehler moment in this was her whole McDonald's rant during the "role play" segment or her line to Forte "you sign form, I give one more sex" (because she already gave the sex as proof her marriage is real, you see). B-

Digital Short: Hero Song

A wealthy looking Bruce Wayne-alike (Samberg) sings of his despair and frustration over the growing crime rate in his city. As he dons his super vigilanter costume and takes to the streets to stop a mugging, the mugger (Sudeikis) stops his singing by savagely beating him just long enough for his almost victim (Adams) to run away with her own purse still in her possession.

• Another deep cut underrated Digital Short from this era. 

• I don't quite remember the song having a hip hop type beat or having such a "OneRepublic meets Tears For Fears" type sound to it but I did like Andy's line "I can't take another murder" as he reacts in frustration to a newspaper with a headline about 50 more murders.

• I also liked how all the melodrama of the song was just a build up to the sheer bluntness of Andy's vigilante superhero having the shit just thoroughly beaten out of him by Jasons' mugger who repeatedly punches him then bashes a mailbox over his head and whacks' him upside the head with a 2x4. B+

Fierce: The Hot Mess Makeover Show

Recent "Project Runway" winner Christian Siriano (Poehler) has his own reality makeover show where he just goes through people's wardrobes and labels their clothes as "tranny", "fierce", "hot mess" or some even stranger combination of the three. Also making guest appearances just to spout their own catchphrase are other "Project Runway" judges/hosts Tim Gunn (Hader) and Heidi Klum (Adams)

• Well, I've never watched a single episode of Project Runway in my life...but I remember it being omnipresent enough in pop culture from roughly 2005-2008 that I at least knew who Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum were through a mix of parodies like this one and the occasional real clips of them I'd pick up from commercials or wherever.

• Sadly, the only reason I even know the name Christian Siriano was from Amys' portrayal of him (and I was a bit surprised to later learn he was a "him" to begin with) because he seemed to branch out way more into the actual world of fashion than the world of reality television.

• That being said, Amy Adams as Heidi Klum was very cute and Bill Haders as Tim Gunn was a fun part of this that I wish they could've given us more of. Poehlers' performance was endearing and accessible in a way only she could pull off and I liked how Casey played the sheer befuddlement and quiet frustration of her role. 

• ...and that's all I'm able to really say in 2026 about a sketch that throws around the term "tranny" as fast and loose as this one did in 2008. C-

Vampire Weekend Performs "A-Punk" and "M79"

• Aside from knowing their first song from the opening sequence of "Step Brothers", I wasn't too familiar with this band. They're a bit more twee and poppy than I was expecting, but they still pretty much fall into line with the basic indie rock trends of this time.

Weekend Update w/Seth & Amy

Tim Calhoun (Forte) makes his dark horse bid for the presidential primaries

French Def Jam comedian Jean K. Jean (Thompson) makes his Update debut

• Amy's Best Jokes: Skydiving Crash, Bush Accepting Donations, 

• Seths's Best Jokes: German Soldiers Fat, Bar Owner In Atlanta, Hells' Angels Murder Plot

• Hey, always nice to see Fortes' Tim Calhoun. Unfortunately, this may have been his weakest appearance. Nothing really stood out here aside from him referring to himself as a "grade school educated crystal meth enthusiast who literally cannot wait to push the button."

• Unfortunately, nothing much stands out about Kenan's Jean K. Jean other than this being his first appearance. I don't know, I guess I never got into this character because most of the Euro-centric references in Kenan's Jokes were lost on me.

• Sadly, this was a pretty weak Update for both Jokes and commentaries. C-

Traffic School

Penelope (Wiig) irritates fellow traffic school attendees (Hader, Thompson, Wilson) and thier proctor (Adams) with her constant interruptions and one upsmanship.

• I've never really been that big on this character at all and this followed the exact same formula as her previous three appearances, so...lather, rinse, repeat. I don't have much else to say about it.

• I did like Bill & Kristen's brief back & forth about their insurance rates going up and I liked the way Amy imitated Penelope, but that's about it. C+

Dr. Uncle Jimmy's Smokehouse And Outpatient Surgical Facility

Dr. Uncle Jimmy (Forte) advertises his own authentic, down home, deep south barbecue restaurant just off of Route 13 in Jasper, Arkansas where he and his staff also perform medical procedures. Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo (Adams) provides a reluctant unwitting endorsement.

• This was a geat "patented bizarre Will Forte sketch" that I've alwats fondly remembered as one of my favorites. Glad to see it still holds up.

• This sketch was packed with so many odd writerly details that there's almost too many to list individually. I did like Wills' statement that he "spent nearly three semesters at a once accredited medical college in the Caribbean learning what were THEN considered modern medical procedures" 

• I also liked as the "most hernia repairs in 24 hours" line as well as his trying to pass off a quote from a police report as a glowing review.

• Even though this was a Forte showcase, Hader almost stole this with his one line in his real customer testimonial: "I mean, sure, you could find better barbecue or a safer Surgical experience..." followed by a long pause.

• Amy Adams unsurprisingly does a solid Ellen Pompeo and I liked Jason as a random patient's line to Andy as his surgeon "hey, I hope those aren't my ribs" followed by Forte presenting and mixing up the nearly identical. blood and barbecue sauce bags on the IV. B+

Roger Clemens Presents

Raging and 'roided out Red Sox relief pitcher Roger Clemens (Sudeikis) presents a short three act play he wrote about the dangers of congress taking steroids OUT of baseball. In it, the team manager (Hader) is dismayed to learn his star player Matt Mulgrew (Adams) and second basemen Salazar (Poehler) have gotten off the juice and become so scrawny & weak (just like those "stats geeks no one likes) that they can't even hit home runs to save a dying boy in the hospital (Samberg).

• Yeah, 2005-2008 really would've been peak times for steroids in baseball to be a major news story thanks to congressional investigations and testimony. As Jason references in this sketch, Roger Clemens was the subject of an FBI & IRS perjury probe...so that's probably what inspired that sketch.

• This is also one I remember being pretty damn funny when it aired. Sudeikis as Clemens was a great anchor tying this sketch together and also the big laugh getter from me with his big fake muscles, out-of-nowhere aggressiveness and especially his very last line in this sketch simply being "I AM MAD ALL THE TIME!!!"

• Bill did more solid straight work as Skip, the team manager trying to convince his star player to take steroids. Amy Adams did a good job as the star player. She didn't oversell it or go too broad. I had heard this may have been cut from Elliot Pages' dress rehearsal the previous week. I say that version worked in this sketchs favor.

• Andy's performance seemed a tad grating but I did like Fortes' stilted reading of his lines. Poehlers' character, I'm not so sure about but it was only one line. Apparently, that was John Lutzs' voice offscreen telling Roger to "calm down." I wonder if he actually wrote this, too? B+

The Tookie Styles Show

Late 70s/Early 80s local NY Cable Access personality Tookie Styles (Thompson) advertises a DVD of his show's "best" moments with guests such as Egyptian defense minister Ahmad Badawi (Armisen), Isreals' head of Mossad Yitzhak Hofi (Hader) and Ulster unionist/sworn enemy of the IRA Elizabeth Kent. He tries to teach them his signature "Zookie Styles" dance just before gunshots ring out.

• Um, what exactly WAS this? Was this based on a real local access TV incident or what?

• I mean...I didn't hate it, but it was one of the most senseless bizarre SNL sketches I've ever seen. 

• This sketch was like a fever dream that defies any description.

• Kenan, Bill and Fred all performed their parts exactly the way you would expect them to. Jason and Andy were two bodyguards/secret service members who appeared after the gunshots

• At least Amy Adams seemed to be the only one having even a modicum of fun with her part. I have absolutely nothing left to say on this sketch. D+

Celebrations

Four sad, desperate attention seeking middle aged ladies (Adams, Poehler, Wilson, Wiig) enter a bar and immediately try in vain to impress the bartender (Hader), a married patron (Sudeikis) and his two buddies (Forte, Thompson) with an old dance routine from their 8th grade talent show that they suddenly "remembered" and haven't rehearsed since.

• This was a unique, lower key female focused sketch of this era that didn't feel too mean. It almost qualifies as "slice of life", but not quite. Great showcase for Casey Wilson and Amy Poehler, though. 

• I got a kick out of her and the others trying to do the same moves at the constantly changing speeds and tempos of each song (from Rhiannas' "Umbrella" to R.E.M.s' "It's The End Of The World As We Know It" to Peaches' & Herbs' "Reunited" to even Jasons' classic Nokia ringtone).

• I also got a kick out of the lines about Adams' big hair and her suddenly admitting to living in her car.

• Bill was mostly the straightman here again, but he was a great unimpressed bartender. I especially liked how he rushed to hand them all their purses once they hinted that they were leaving. B-

Ranking Season 33 From Best To Worst

1. Lebron James/Kanye West (09.29.2007)
2. Seth Rogen/Spoon (10.06.2007)
3. Tina Fey/Carrie Underwood (02.23.2008)
4. Amy Adams/Vampire Weekend (03.08.2008)
5. Brian Williams/Feist (11.03.2007)
6. Elliot Page/Wilco (03.01.2008)
7. Jon Bon Jovi/Foo Fighters (10.13.2007)

Overall Thoughts

• Well, this was certainly a major step up from the previous weeks episode (as low of a bar as that is to clear). 

• Still, it wasn't quite the solid episode I remembered it to be. The first half wasn't very strong, the recurrers bought this down a bit but they took some interesting chances post update that were worth sticking around for.

• Amy Adams was a strong host when she was actually used, though. The other Amy (Poehler) obviously had a great night as well as did Kristen and Bill. 

• Andy and Fred kind of had light nights. It seemed like Kenan and Will were also going to but they started making gains in airtime in the back half.

Closing Thoughts

• Well, since it's summer now, you'll probably only be getting a few more blog entries from me before things with modern day SNL pick up again in the fall.

• My next blog post will be a review of the Jonah Hill/Mariah Carey SNL Season 33 episode which Deej and I will review on an upcoming episode of We Heart Hader (no plans to combine this with any other SNL episodes yet but you never know). 

• Before that episode comes out, we're gonna start covering season 2 of Documentary Now with "The Bunker". That podcast will have a small bit of Documentary Now related bonus content attached to it in that we'll also be reviewing a Doc Now short Fred and Bill did for called "David Letterman: Beginnings" for Lettermans' Mark Twain Prize ceremony in the fall of 2017.

• Yes, that may be well after season 2 but with CBS having just killed off The Late Show (a late night TV franchise that Letterman himself started in 1993 and Stephen Colbert helmed the past 11 years until it ended) I figured right now would be a more appropriate time to review this particular piece of media I came across on YouTube recently.

• Anyway, have a great summer and see you soon!

Elliot Page/Wilco (03.01.2008)

The following blog post is a companion piece to the newest episode of the We Heart Hader Podcast. Give us a listen, won't you?

MSNBC Democratic Candidates Debate

Moderators Brian Williams (Forte) and Tim Russert (Hammond) ruthlessly grill and interrogate Sen. Hillary Clinton (Poehler) on foreign policy question with the help of "Law & Orders'" Vincent D'Onofrio (Himself) while blatantly giving answers to her opponent Sen. Barack Obama (Armisen). 

Following the sketch, the real Hillary Clinton gives an editorial response to mostly praise the sketch and Amy's impression, but states it is not an endorsement of either candidate.

• I liked Fortes' dead on sounding Brian Williams (which he apparently stumbled ass backwards into at one point) and Hammonds' Tim Russert is one of his more fun impressions, so this sketch at least has that going for it. Although, I have to ask...why does Darrell appear to have eye makeup on in this sketch?

• Fred appeared to be still tweaking his Obama impression, focusing more on his speech cadences rather than capturing his actual tone of voice making him sound unintentionally goofier and way more cartoonish. At least he's more visually convincing as Obama than vocally. Thankfully, he doesn't have enough lines in the sketch for this to be a real issue.

• Vincent D'Onofrio showing up to basically play his character from Law & Order: Criminal Intent was a nice touch.

• I did get a kick out of Amy as Hillarys' whole speech about how she is the only candidate who is annoyingly pushy and irritating enough to nag the big energy lobbyists into submission.

• I believe Amy's lines about the hostile tone towards her and receiving the tougher questions may have been a more-or-less direct quote from the real Hillary Clinton during the actual debate this was a parody of. 

• In fact, the real Hillary may have been referencing the previous weeks' debate cold open because I now vaguely remember hearing an actual quote from her along the lines of "maybe we should go back to SNL and ask Obama if he wants another pillow?"

• Speaking of the real Hillary, her cameo wasn't up to much and was borderline forgettable, but she came across fairly well for another career politician making their debut appearance on this show just to up their "cool/hip" factor.

• She was a great sport in response to Amy's impression of her which doesn't mean much here but was especially nice to see because by the next time Hillary was running a major political campaign, that WOULD become a major issue (but not necessarily for the coolness or hipness of appearing on this shoe because that would quickly go out the window.

• Anyway, in most of the ways that matter, this was a noticeable improvement from the previous week's debate sketch. B+

Monologue 

Oscar winning "Juno" Screenwriter Diablo Cody (Samberg) shows up wanting to know why Elliot isn't delivering the monologue she wrote for him.

• OK, I totally get wanting to poke fun at Diablo Cody for being an annoyingly quirky screen writer who tries way too hard to be seen as hip...but having Andy in drag portray her comes across way different today (and even then made it seem a lot more unnecessary harsh than it was intended to be).

• I did get a kick out of Andy's forced "blog" puns...and yes, in case you were wondering...I do have the ability to relate to someone using the word "blog" a bit too much in everyday conversation. C-

The Dakota Fanning Show

Dakota Fanning (Poehler) asks impossible geopolitical questions to random kids on the street, further belittles her band leader Reggie Hudson (Thompson) and interviews Miley Cyrus (Page)

• This may have been the weakest of the three of these sketches (mainly due to the premise of an insufferably high cultured and well read Sheldon Cooper-like Dakota Fanning hosting a talk show with fellow kid actors as guests wearing a bit thin by this point) but this still had it's moments.

• I got a kick out of Dakota revealing her writers to be Casey as a Spanish playwright, Fred as a Japanese poet and Sudeikis as Bruce Villanch.

• Kenan as the beleaguered band leader was a consistent highlight of this from his reaction to the KidSpeak segment (which was mostly decent but Amy's line about Charlie Rose being her celebrity crush aged like milk for in about three different ways) to his reaction to Dakota not calling him to collaborate with him on her "Wanda Rwanda" album (the cover reveal and album description were very funny...although I do have to wonder if the "Tom Waits B-sides" line was an intentional reference to Scarlett Johanssons' attempt at music as a side gig from around this time?)

• ...and of course, Kenan's "fiddle with your car breaks" line was his high point.

• Elliot Page as Disney/Hannah Montana era Miley Cyrus came off as incredibly awkward and was the biggest thing dragging this sketch down. Obviously, he's no Vanessa Bayer. He approached a vague Southern accent without sounding like her. He just seemed to be emulating a kid-like energy while copying Mileys' style from the time as well as SNLs' wardrobe department would allow without really looking like her.

• The bit with the two of them playing with a Hannah Montana doll and an Anastasia Somoza doll (yes, that's the real name of the real person with cereal palsy Dakota Fanning actually played in "Hurricane Mary") comes off as especially cringey today when you consider the fact that Amy had inadvertently deeply offended the real Somozas as well as some of the actors involved in the film. To Amy's credit, she did reach out to the family and make amends by donating to and becoming involved with their charity. I would encourage you to read more about this story here.

• If you're watching the Peacock edit of this episode, you may notice that the sketch just cuts off there. It does have an actual ending in the live version where Elliot as Miley sings the Hannah Montana theme while Amy as Dakota backs her up on the hurdy gurdy. It's not much of an ending, but it's still a better out than...what preceded it. C+

TV Funhouse: The Obama Files

When Rev. Jesse Jackson (Hammond V/O) and Rev. Al Sharpton (Robert Smigel V/O) offer to help Sen. Obama (Hasani Isa V/O) on his campaign, he sends them on wild goose chases to non-existent foreign lands to distance himself from them. He even asks Sharpton to wear an "honorary" shock collar to his next speech. When they catch on and try to drop in on his next speech dressed as podiums, they end up falling through a trap door and landing in the same "community van" as fellow liabilities Chuck Norris and Bill Clinton (Smigel V/O)

• Here it is, folks. The last regular TV Funhouse segment before NBC cuts them entirely due to the high cost of animation. 

• It would be a bit of a bittersweet moment if it weren't for fact that we do get one true final TV Funhouse three years later that is part live action, but for right now...this is just an "Irish goodbye" for Robert Smigels' flagship contribution to post-bad boy era SNL until he can come back for one last big hurrah because sadly...this would be an odd and forgettable note for these to go out on.

• The main thing dragging this one down was that it felt much longer than it needed to be. Plus, we get a vocal impression of Obama that is so much better than Freds' that it makes one wonder why SNL didn't at least invite Hasani Isa to audition to join the cast?

• Right off the bat, we get Barack telling Michelle to "distract the media" when Jesse Jackson approaches...and she suddenly starts vomiting on the floor? I don't think this was based on any specific real life incident so I'm just going to assume that Smigel threw this in here just because he felt he needed to throw in a cheap gross out gag to make the audience laugh and keep them engaged for a long, slightly dry piece of political humor.

• I did get a kick out of Barack having an aide shoot a tranquilizer dart at Brian Williams neck as Sharpton approached. Hell, I'd even go as far as to say Smigels' Sharpton impression was a highlight of this (especially when he kept inadvertently shocking himself when arriving for Baracks' speech and when he wore a lion costumes simply because "lions are cool").

• The ending was all right if not a bit odd. I get Clinton being in the van, but why Chuck Norris? Isn't he a republican? I'm pretty sure he was actually campaigning for Mike Huckabee at this time. The two reverends selling this story to Marlon & Shawn Wayans for them to make a movie called "Podiums" was a nice semi-absurdist touch to this.

• Perhaps the funniest part of this was Smigels anecdote about Lorne asking Hillary to stay an extra 20 minutes after the cold open just to watch this cartoon and being thankful that Amy came in to partially distract her from the joke about Bill that she was polite enough to laugh at (along with the rest of this) that Lorne confessed to having completely forgotten about. C+

College For Excellence

A decent establishment that happens to be located above a Korean bank promises to teach you all the most professional sounding generic office terms relating to files, meetings and phone calls. Their spokesman (Armisen) is self aware of their chintziness and defensive enough about it to ask viewers not to share this commercial online for cheap laughs.

• This almost seems like a carbon copy of a semi viral sketch Armisen did a few years earlier called "Rafael Alonzos' I.T.F. Technical Computer Institute" (yes, that's from the infamous Paris Hilton episode). 

• It actually seemed like there were a lot of different sketches and bits on a few comedy shows around this time (and online of course) that poked fun at cheap, local commercials or just used that type of aesthetic for laughs (Tim & Eric seem to be the biggest perpetrators of this that come to mind right now). 

• Maybe the self awareness Fred's character employs in this sketch is a meta gag, meant to be a subtle nod that this was a trend in comedy that had already peaked?

• Anyway, I did like this for the purposely stilted bad acting moments such as Andy walking in and out of the background during Fred's moments, Kenan ducking into frame during Elliots' lines and Kristen silently mouthing Kenan's lines when she's supposed to be in the shot with him.

• I also got a kick out if Kenan handing his files to Kristen accidentally when he was supposed to be handing them to Elliot (which he only realizes he was supposed to do when he hears Elliot has a line and Kristen doesn't).

• Speaking of Elliot, you may get strong Jane Wickline vibes from some of his performances throughout the episode (mainly here and possibly in the final sketch). Of course, this is a sentence that can only make sense if you're watching this episode in 2026 and not 2008. C+

The Other Bolelyn Girls

The trailer for a new film where Anne (Page) and Mary (Wilson) Bolelyn compete with Eunice Bolelyn (Wiig) and two others (Forte, Thompson) for the affections of King Henry VII (Sudeikis) 

• Yes, "The Other Bolelyn Girl" was a new film coming out at this time. Elliot is playing the role that Natalie Portman had. Casey Wilson is playing the Scarlett Johansson role and Jason is in the role that went to Eric Bana.

• It doesn't speak so well of this sketches' intentions that the only real genuinely funny moment is the "sistaaaaaa" back and forth between Elliot and Casey...which is immediately followed by Kristen entering the scene with a unibrow and buck teeth, affecting a double chin in order to achieve one of the most "lol generic comedically ugly woman" looks ever with her the second of her only two lines being about how she just had sex with a horse.

• I suppose Forte in a dress affecting a coy, coquettish cockney accent telling us he just passed out on a pile of fish was good for a cheap laugh as was Kenan in his dress, not bothering to disguise himself as a woman beyond that (not even a wig) at the head of a line of other older men doing the same.

• Beyond that, I just wished this rather forgettable sketch had more of a focused or point to it. C-

Digital Short: Nightmare (The Mirror)

In a scene shot in the style of a modern horror film, Elliot keeps waking up from the same nightmare where the same wounded zombie-like creature (Samberg) always appears in her mirror

• This was probably the first ever "cinematic" digital shorts and probably the second big "meme" one after "Dear Sister".

• This was an early, more mature subtler version of this style of digital short where Andy plays a character who just shows up repeatedly in different places (and a very minimalist version of this trope at that since this seems to take place entirely in the same bedroom/bathroom).

• It's pretty rare that a Lonely Island Digital short doesn't go for big hard laughs, but this was still pretty early in The Lonely Islands' run on SNL which means they weren't completely gassed out on these yet and felt they had plenty of room to he experimental and try out new ideas. Plus, Andy and Elliot have the chemistry to pull this off (so do Kristen and Jason with their whole Dracula/Debbie Leiberstein interlude). B+

Wilco Performs "Hate It Here" And "Walken"

• This band is definitely one of this seasons stronger and more unique musical guest choices. 

• They were a semi established band at this time, but I still dig their sound more than most of the musical guests in SNL episodes I have reviewed recently.

Weekend Update w/Seth & Amy

Rudy Guiliani (Himself) cites his SNL hosting stint from 1997 (where he appeared in drag in a single sketch) as the reason he had to drop out of the presidential race

Nicolas Fehn (Armisen) returns to fumfer his way through another appearance

• Seth's Best Jokes: Obama Photos, Hussein/Methuselah, Oscar Winners

• Amy's Best Jokes: Beef Shortage/Hot Pockets, CU Boulder study, German napping

• Aw, fuckin' christ, this guy. Guiliani? I know he had a history at the show and he just dropped out of the race himself, but...COME ON.

• The SNL nerd in me wants to appreciate him pointing out how he once hosted and wore a dress but the parts of me that know everything else Rudy Guiliani has done since then is screaming "yeah, this guy can go straight to hell."

• The return of Nicolas Fehn. Not nearly worth hating as much as another fucking Guiliani cameo but that doesn't make this worth bringing back. 

• Even back then I immediately noticed how this was basically a carbon copy of the first one.

• Maybe it's because he followed Guiliani but I may have liked this a little more than the first one. I will admit to having chuckled at Fred's comments "who asked?" and "I saw Demitri".

• Seth and Amy were really the saving grace of this Update. Even the more "mid" jokes they told, they still looked like they were having fun telling them. C-

Shopping With Virginiaca

Virginiaca Hastings (Thompson) and her step-daughter (Page) go shopping for impossibly toght booty shirts shorts...at Baby Gap, ignoring the repeated warnings of the stores lone employee (Samberg)

• Oh God, not this again.

• I've always thought this character was basically the worst of Kenan...and on top of that, Elliot Page of all people is the absolute LAST person on Earth who should ever be playing "street" or doing a "blaccent" in anything.

• Not even Andy as the put upon store clerk could add anything worth while to this but about the only part of this I did like was his sudden "aaaaaaaaand I quit" at the end. D-

Peter Pan: Hooks' Revenge

A frustrated Captain Hook (Hader) wonders aloud why his crew of adult male pirates with loaded guns (Armisen, Forte, Thompson, Sudeikis) don't simply shoot Peter Pan (Page) and his crew of lost boys carrying only wooden swords whenever they fly on to their ship to steal their treasure.

• OK, as annoyingly on brand as this might be for me to say, this was the best and only genuinely funny sketch of the night.

• I got my biggest laughs from this and, of course, Bill did an excellent job of anchoring this. I liked how he played Captain Hook in much the same "put upon regular guy" manner he played Frankenstein in the previous season's Hugh Laurie episode.

• The one thing that does bug me is that it's the same basic joke as the 300 sketch from Peyton Mannings episode (and those "West Side Story" & "Evita" sketches with Norm MacDonald from season 22) but the writers definitely added much more to it than that.

• Specifically, what they added to this was that Captain Hooks' crew just gets too into Peter Pans and his lost boys' song & dance routine to actually shoot him (and when Haders' hook gives Armisens' Redbeard clear directions on exactly where to shoot Peter Pan he only waits until Pan has flown out of frame to fire one single flare at the spot he was just in which was a fun goofy visual gag).

• My biggest laugh likely came from Haders' Hook asking everyone to grade themselves and being exasperated at Armisens' Redbeard giving himself a B+. Forte had some great lines as Smee, too. 

• I liked how enthusiastically dialed in Elliot was (contrasted with how enthusiastically detached Jason was) and how they both really threw themselves into their performances. 

• I also liked how it then got to the point where the rest of the pirates joined in the song and dance once Amy floated in as Tinkerbell at which point Capt. Hook just threw Tink on the ground and stopped her to death.

• I also liked the semi-interactive this got with the audience when Peter Pan instructed us to clap to bring Tinkerbell back to life to which Hook responds by bailing on the whole scene once this plays out.

• Another thing that tickles me about this sketch from a hair and makeup stand point is how much Bill resembled "Weird Al" Yankovic on the cover of his then semi-recent "Straight Outta Lynwood" album (especially since I was just getting into my Weird Al phase at the time myself).

• Anyway, a sketch like this in an episode like this is a great reminded of why I signed up to cohost a podcast about Bill Hader (and his era of SNL in general, really) a year and a half ago. B+

Marty Goes Gay

As Marty (Page) excitedly raves about her experience at a Melissa Etheridge concert in great detail, her live-in boyfriend (Samberg) must help her come to terms with the fact that she may be a lesbian.

• Well, it's nice to see this era of SNL attempt a decent Marilyn Suzanne Miller-esque slice of life piece with fewer hard laugh lines and it's nice to see how well this delicate subject matter regarding real life speculation of the host's sexuality was handled at the time. It was an in-depth, detailed character study that didn't go for cheap gay jokes at any point.

• I'm not sure how well this holds up today, though...not just because Elliot has since come out as a trans man (years after coming out as a lesbian which was still years after this sketch aired) but because Sambergs' character talks about "going gay" if Pages' character turns out to be a real lesbian so they can still live together.

• I'm pretty sure a lot of people would argue that sexuality or sexual preference isn't that much of a choice or a switch you can flip on or off and anyone who says otherwise is coming from a place of ignorance or just being demeaning.

• Anyway, much like the monologue, this is mostly put over by Andy and Elliots chemistry no matter how it plays today. C+

Ranking Season 33 From Best To Worst

1. Lebron James/Kanye West (09.29.2007)
2. Seth Rogen/Spoon (10.06.2007)
3. Tina Fey/Carrie Underwood (02.23.2008)
4. Brian Williams/Feist (11.03.2007)
5. Elliot Page/Wilco (03.01.2008)
6. Jon Bon Jovi/Foo Fighters (10.13.2007)

Overall Thoughts

• Upon rewatching this episode nearly two decades later, it wasn't quite as bad as I remembered it to be...but it is just as strange. Elliot wasn't quite the weak link of this episode as I had remembered, but something still felt more than a little...off.

• I don't think it's as much the writing as much as it is a combination of two specific elements. One being certain things about this episode from 2008 not having aged very well by 2026 (which I won't get into here since that's enough of a tired old complaint from me in these reviews by this point).

• The other element being that this was the second episode in a run of four in a row (which at this time SNL had not done since the back half of their first season in early 1976 and this cast would do again to kick off the following season). This would be due to Lorne Michaels wanting to get in as much election coverage as possible and make up for lost time coming back from the WGA strike as possible. 

• Normally, SNL doesn't do more than three episodes back-to-back-to-back like this (except for when they would do this again in 2016 to kick off a big fall election season and in the fall of 2020 when both that election and the height of the Covid 19 pandemic would necessitate a record breaking SIX episodes in a row).

• It's natural for an eagle eyed SNL viewer such as myself to notice a palpable burnout on the show at some point of a typical run of three episodes in a row (usually on the second or third) but when you start to notice this during the second of four or even the first of three...something may seriously be wrong backstage.

• This isn't to say Elliot didn't gel well with the cast either. He had chemistry with Andy and Amy especially. Still, something seemed...different and slightly off. This ended up being an episode that was more uneven than outright bad, at least.

• As far as cast usage goes, Amy, Andy and Fred had great nights. Kenan, Will and Jason were used decently. Kristen seemed to have an unusually light night and Bill was completely shut out of all but one sketch which still makes me wonder why we covered this entire episode on our podcast.

Closing Thoughts

• By the time this blog has been published, the current seasons of both SNL US and SNL UK will be done and both shows will be taking the entire summer off. Still, I hope you will have enjoyed reading my reviews of the last two episodes of each show's most recent seasons hosted by Matt Damon and Will Ferrell in the US and Hannah Waddingham and Ncuti Gatwa in the UK.

• As for me, you can expect Deej & I to begin covering Documentary Now Season 2 on the pod as well as moving further along with SNL season 33 over the summer. I'll have a few more blogs out during the summer reviewing those specific SNL episodes as well. I'll of course continue to review the upcoming new seasons of both SNLs when they return in the fall. See you soon!