The Remote Island

"Saturday Night Live": Tina Fey Rocks as Sarah Palin, But Amy Poehler Rules the Night

Posted by Ben Kallen

 



As expected, Tina Fey returned to her old stomping grounds at Saturday Night Live this weekend to take on the role of look-alike Sarah Palin. But while her take on the VP candidate's Fargo-style accent and assertive know-nothingness was spot-on hilarious, somehow Liz Lemon's nerdy hotness didn't quite match the glamour of a former beauty queen. On the other hand, Amy Poehler proved once again what a pro she is at conveying Hillary Clinton's intelligence and fierce ambition -- and the two of them together may have turned into the current era's best comedy team. (Watch the video above to see what we're talking about.)

As for the rest of SNL's season premiere? Eh. It may have been too much to ask that the world's greatest swimmer be good at sketch comedy too, and Michael Phelps mumbled and stumbled his way through his line readings like, well, the proverbial fish out of water. (He seemed like a good sport, though, and we'll happily leave him to his future life of cornflakes endorsements and sleeping with groupies.)

What did we like? "Weekend Update," the fake "Fav 5" ad (what the heck's with that ad, anyway?), and the funny-weird digital short about a future "Space Olympics." We didn't much care for "Quiz Bowl" (another game show parody?), the boring "Locker Room," "The Michael Phelps Diet" (sorry, Michael) or, especially, the return of the "ugly kids" sketch (how long are they going to run that one into the ground?). So we'll give 'em 5 points out of 10 -- which, for SNL as opposed to the Olympics, isn't bad at all.

Click through for more video highlights:

The "Jar Glove" ad:



The "T-Mobile Fav 5" ad:



Digital Short:  "Space Olympics":



Previously:
Will Tina Fey Play You-Know-Who?
Two More Republican-Ticket TV Tie-Ins


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About Ben Kallen

Ben Kallen is an entertainment, health and humor writer who's been lectured to by Sidney Poitier, argued with by Lea Thompson and smiled at by Jennifer Connelly. He's the coauthor of The No S Diet and author of The Year in Weird, along with hundreds of magazine articles. He lives near the beach in Los Angeles, just like the gang from Three's Company.

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    Lindy Parker has worked as a ghostwriter, editor, dance instructor and a purveyor of dreams, one beer at a time. She loves Charles Dickens and Gabriel Garcia Marquez and also, straight-to-video releases with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. It's possible she reads more teen fiction than she should. She hails from Los Angeles, her hometown and soul mate, but she lives in Brooklyn, the fling she'll never forget.

    Olivia Purnell left Ohio for sunny Los Angeles; then found that she couldn’t ignore New York City’s call, and brought herself to Brooklyn where she has worked with GenArt, BlackBook, the School of American Ballet, and finished an M.A. in Creative Writing from N.Y.U. She loves one-liners with sting and hates the stench of the subway in the summer. That said, she can’t get enough of either.

    Jake Kalish is a freelance journalist and humorist whose work has appeared in Details, Maxim, Stuff, New York Press, Spin, Blender, Men's Fitness, Poets and Writers, and Playboy, among other publications. He is also the author of Santa vs. Satan: The Official Compendium of Imaginary Fights.

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    Ben Kallen is an entertainment, health and humor writer who's been lectured to by Sidney Poitier, argued with by Lea Thompson and smiled at by Jennifer Connelly. He's the coauthor of The No S Diet and author of The Year in Weird, along with hundreds of magazine articles. He lives near the beach in Los Angeles, just like the gang from Three's Company.

    Nicole Ankowski has lived in Ohio, Oakland, and on the high plains of South Dakota, but is now proud to call Brooklyn home. She wrote for alternative weekly papers in the first two states, and tried to learn Lakota in the last. (The vowels can be tricky.) She just earned her MFA in Creative Writing and has been published in Beeswax literary journal. She is unable to resist good writing or bad TV.

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