Date Posted:22:12:25 10/22/06 Sun Author: Jim Bevan Subject: Commemmorating 3 years of writing for SNY with a review In reply to:
Patrick
's message, "REVIEWS: John C. Reilly 10/21/06" on 11:04:08 10/22/06 Sun
Yup, this week marks my third year of sending sketches in to SNY, and I've got to say it has been incredible. I had a lot of fun collaborating with other humorous people, working to better my writing style and sense of comedy, and got to laugh at hundreds of hilarious sketches.
Now, when I first came here, I was not at the level I am now. I submitted piddling sketches with disjointed or few jokes, timing was off, I even wrote some (shudder) celebrity parody pieces. But that's in the past: I'm very thankful to all the help I've received from the other writers here (you all know who you are, and I really mean it, thank you). They helped me improve my writing style, seek out different comedic angles, basically, to become a funnier writer. And I am so happy that I've been able to use the skills I've learned to share my ideas on this site and make people laugh.
Well, enough of the sappy stuff. Let's go to the review!
In the Dressing Room: I wanted to do a backstage banter sketch, plus get in some slams at Forte's portrayal of George W. Bush. I'm sorry, but the quality of Bush sketches has gone downhill rapidly ever since Forte started playing him.
Monologue: This was inspired by the appearance of some SNY cast members on a fund-raising program for autism education. I wanted to have John promote a charity, and the weirdest one I could think of was origami injuries. The idea to cast Will Ferrell as a victim of an origami accident came after Prateek mentioned he'd be appearing on the show - I just thought he'd have the skill to pull it off the best. Hopefully others liked this piece: it made fun of autistic kids, mocked Greenpeace, and turned an ancient Japanese artform into something life threatening. A winning combination, in my opinion.
The Midnight Rider: This reminds me of that one Seinfeld episode where the guy goes into a trance every time he hears "Desperado." I've never heard the song before, but the Midnight Rider was a humorous character. It was a simple premise, but his petty arguments with the police over the song and ignoring the issue with the diamond. His interrupting the announcer at the end so he could hear the song. Not bad.
Ned and the Doctor: Ned is back, and he's still struggling. Wow, you just aren't giving this guy a break Jason. All of the doctors had hilarious quirks, though the one with a machete in his head was the best in my opinion. That is just such a funny thing to visualize. Let me ask you, if Ned's disease progresses, will we soon see him on his deathbed in "Ned and the Priest"?
The Umpire's Decision: Completely bizarre and incredibly enjoyable. The team and player names were great, the commentator had some killer lines ("this is a game you can tell your kids about during your court appointed visit"). I thought the banter between the umpire and his conscience was the best part, though, and I really loved the red underwear/communism bit. Great twist at the end when you found out his conscience was actually a team manager; I thought it would have been another Vodka-aid induced hallucination. Regardless, this was great.
Fatherly Advice: This was inspired after reading a bunch of Far Side cartoons that featured deformed or mutated people. That set up the ending scenario with the characters having freakish appearances, and I came up with an explanation being that it was because of a gypsy curse. Then I decided that the father should warn his son about never insulting a gypsy, and from there to work backwards about giving his son all sorts of insane advice.
The Janitor: Loved it, what can I say. Brian's freaking out was priceless, and learning that the janitor was an actual homicidal maniac at the end was great. Even better was how the employees just took their upcoming murders so nonchalantly; it's just so freaking funny.
Different Strokes: This was sort of funny, but it didn't really appeal to me that much. I guess if I could have seen how the people looked as a result of their strokes it would have been a litle more humorous, but it was still okay.
Fed Ex: Not a bad first sketch for a new writer. The premise was great, but the dialogue could have been a little tighter, and there were a few spelling and grammar errors that kind of distracted me. That, and the ending seemed to lack some punch. But still, it was good. Hope to see some more sketches from you soon, Mark.
Well, there's the sketch breakdown. I'll try to get a Weekend Update review done tomorrow. Have a good night, and again, thanks for helping me out these past three years.
