Top Stories: Will Actors Strike? SAG’s Crowded House ‘Twilight’ Sequel Switch NBC Exec Bloodbath Paramount Drops Producers DreamWorks Funding Woes Big Media Stiffs WGA Lousy IATSE/AMPTP Deal? The Real ‘Mad Men’            Top Stories: Will Actors Strike? SAG’s Crowded House ‘Twilight’ Sequel Switch NBC Exec Bloodbath Paramount Drops Producers DreamWorks Funding Woes Big Media Stiffs WGA Lousy IATSE/AMPTP Deal? The Real ‘Mad Men’            Top Stories: Will Actors Strike? SAG’s Crowded House ‘Twilight’ Sequel Switch NBC Exec Bloodbath Paramount Drops Producers DreamWorks Funding Woes Big Media Stiffs WGA Lousy IATSE/AMPTP Deal? The Real ‘Mad Men’            Top Stories: Will Actors Strike? SAG’s Crowded House ‘Twilight’ Sequel Switch NBC Exec Bloodbath Paramount Drops Producers DreamWorks Funding Woes Big Media Stiffs WGA Lousy IATSE/AMPTP Deal? The Real ‘Mad Men’            Top Stories: Will Actors Strike? SAG’s Crowded House ‘Twilight’ Sequel Switch NBC Exec Bloodbath Paramount Drops Producers DreamWorks Funding Woes Big Media Stiffs WGA Lousy IATSE/AMPTP Deal? The Real ‘Mad Men’            Top Stories: Will Actors Strike? SAG’s Crowded House ‘Twilight’ Sequel Switch NBC Exec Bloodbath Paramount Drops Producers DreamWorks Funding Woes Big Media Stiffs WGA Lousy IATSE/AMPTP Deal? The Real ‘Mad Men’           

Tonight's SNL Skit Mocked McCain... (But Al Franken Should Stick To Campaigning)

Video below. Politico says comedian turned U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken helped head writer Seth Meyers brainstorm tonight's SNL opening sketch mocking John McCain. Ugh, it was lame. Not funny at all. In fact, the whole show stank.

« CAA Put DreamWorks With Reliance: Hollywood Agency To Pocket Millions   Dolly's Show Must Go On -- And It Did: But Is This Just An Ongoing Publicity Stunt? »

47 Comments »

  1. Al Franken: Still funny and heading for Washington.

    One of the best little youtubes you can ever watch is Al Franken drawing the United States state by state, by hand, from memory on a white board in front of a group.

    Best trick ever.
    I link it for you but I’m lazy.

    Comment by ReelBusy — September 20, 2008 @ 9:30 pm

  2. Just saw the skit. Hope Al’s not writing his own campaign commercials, ’cause that was incredibly lame.

    Comment by A.M. — September 20, 2008 @ 10:02 pm

  3. it’s on huffingtonpost.com–and while ok doesn’t compare to last weeks.

    Comment by CJ — September 20, 2008 @ 11:10 pm

  4. I just saw the skit linked on HuffPo and I thought it was pretty clever and funny actually. It may be closer to the truth as far as what McCain signs off on as “approved messages” as sold to him by his staff. He accuses Obama of “win at any cost” campaigning yet he runs all these untrue sensationail spots and then pull them when the fact checkerS call BS but long enough to fool a few more voters. He seems pretty desperate lately.

    Comment by Transpo — September 20, 2008 @ 11:12 pm

  5. It was great. The youtoooobers will keep it alive. My opinion is people need to see this, or at least they will want to see this.

    Comment by Julie Evans — September 20, 2008 @ 11:15 pm

  6. Yeah, wasn’t that funny. Both sides do it. Last week they picked on Palin. This week McCain. Hmm. Where’s the Obama-Biden skits?

    Comment by Dan Zee — September 20, 2008 @ 11:27 pm

  7. Worst opening in SNL’s history.

    Comment by Can'tBelieveWhatIJustSaw — September 20, 2008 @ 11:36 pm

  8. is there no one who can tell lorne michaels that his show is unfunny and maybe he should move on? He has the same disease Paul mcartney and bob Dylan have in that no one has the ability to tell these guys it’s over. No matter what rolling stone says.

    Comment by Anonymous — September 21, 2008 @ 12:20 am

  9. Where’s the Obama-Biden skits? Comment by Dan Zee

    Hello Dan, 4 months ago is calling.
    Get with the times.
    Remember last season and the pillow comment that made it into the real debates after SNL’s sketch?
    They did Obama last season.

    Comment by ReelBusy — September 21, 2008 @ 12:56 am

  10. SNL is over.

    It’s been bad and so far this year, all they have to show for it is 2 minutes from Tina Fey/Sarah Palin.

    There’s more wit here:

    http://practicalconservative.wordpress.com/

    Comment by Practical Conservative — September 21, 2008 @ 1:15 am

  11. Wasn’t the worst SNL opening ever (anyone who’s been watching the last few years can vouch for this.)

    But it wasn’t worth a blog post either. Just another forgettable sketch.

    Should be noted though: Franken only came up with the concept. If you want to blame someone, blame Seth Meyers who actually wrote it and head writer of the last few terrible seasons.

    Comment by 40yearoldstitzer — September 21, 2008 @ 1:42 am

  12. I know! Let’s blame the whole SNL staff for not putting up a fuss on just how lame their stuff has become. Or are they all out looking for other jobs and just don’t care anymore? Amazing the show is still on the air.

    Comment by Amelia — September 21, 2008 @ 2:00 am

  13. that was funny!

    Comment by dv — September 21, 2008 @ 2:11 am

  14. Man it was AWFUL. I really can’t understand how they can write these skits, go through the run-through to see what works and what doesn’t, and still think ones like this one are funny. (The Cougar one was even worse. I couldn’t even understand what they were saying.) Hammond as McCain wasn’t funny. Kristin Wiig looked at the prompter the whole time. Why was even Franco the host? I can’t imagine how the show’s gonna be when Amy Poehler leaves.

    Comment by MrBurns — September 21, 2008 @ 2:18 am

  15. Without Tina Fey and Amy Poehler there would be no more SNL.

    Comment by Thierry Attard — September 21, 2008 @ 3:40 am

  16. I think that Franken did the best job tonight. This season of SNL sucks, and this sketch isn’t the greatest, but I laughed and it was better than most of the shit tonight.

    Comment by Lars — September 21, 2008 @ 4:21 am

  17. Worst opening ever?

    Was I the only person laughing?

    Any problems were with Darrel Hammond’s delivery… that guy’s as bad as Bruce Willis character in The Sixth Sense… you’re dead buddy… stop hanging around 30 Rock.

    Comment by Mary Janes — September 21, 2008 @ 5:09 am

  18. The females on SNL just appear to have more talent these days. Unfortunately they are booking out of the show…

    Comment by JS — September 21, 2008 @ 6:27 am

  19. Wow, I just don’t get the hate. I laughed out loud. The universal healthcare riff was funny, the snarky voice guy, what do you want?

    Comment by MDOC — September 21, 2008 @ 6:31 am

  20. Al Franken must be listening to too much radio. Rush Limbaugh was airing commercial parodies almost identical to the ones on SNL 4 years ago, except with a more conservative slant of course. They were also much funnier.

    The music, the voice and the ridiculous “connections” seem to be lifted straight out of the EIB comedy archives.

    In his new political career many critics have advised him to “stick to comedy”. After watching this I would advise him to stick to politics.

    Comment by Tom Crook — September 21, 2008 @ 6:34 am

  21. This was clever satire. It perfectly lampooned just how low the McCain ads have stooped.

    If only the rest of the show was as good as this skit. The OJ Simpson trial skit was funny but Weekend Update wasn’t as good as last week.

    Comment by nyguy — September 21, 2008 @ 7:38 am

  22. I agree the opening sketch wasn’t classic, but ok. However, Franco in the Cougars’ sketch as an addled Pete Wentz was spot-on hysterical. The Pineapple Express/James Bond parody was too obvious, although Franco was a good sport about it. But buried within was a real gem sketch — the NY Times reporters gathered in a meeting, trying to prepare to covertly go to Alaska to investigate Palin. A brilliant dig at elitist Time reporters too full of themselves to be objective about any subject. And the Kings of Leon rocked. Now, excuse me while I go back to Hell and prepare a comfy breakfast nook for Chevy Chase.

    Comment by Michael O'Donoghue's Ghost — September 21, 2008 @ 8:18 am

  23. As SNL, like Stewart and Colbert, will contain the three most viral, highly-circulated ads of this campaign season aimed at young voters, so the Republican supporters, think tanks, and McCain strategists have to make a MAJOR effort to discredit them. That’s why I expect that the first 5-10 Nikki Finke posts on SNL will be discrediting posts actually written by these Karl Rove proteges. Either that, or the hater comments are written by the rightwing nutjobs who have discovered Nikki through the Drudge Report.

    Nikki, are you ignorant of this, or are you a Rethuglican yourself?

    I thought that opening was really funny, except Hammond’s impression could be better.

    So it’s fair to say that people’s positive/negative reactions to SNL sketches will be politically partisan for the next 6 weeks, no matter how funny or unfunny they may be.

    Comment by LiberalArugulaEater — September 21, 2008 @ 8:29 am

  24. I thought it was very funny. It would be nice if McCain actually saw the real ads before they air but I don’t believe he does. They are just too inaccurate for a reasonable person to approve.

    Comment by hrtlandmom — September 21, 2008 @ 8:43 am

  25. Ugh. I was hoping it would be good, but it was about as funny as those Seinfeld/Gates Microsoft commercials. In fact, the entire show was woefully dull.

    Comment by savvydude — September 21, 2008 @ 8:45 am

  26. While alot of SNL is mediorce in quality, I actually laughed at that skit. Boy, are they going after the right harder than ever! Ive never seen more hostility between the so called liberals and conservatives than in today’s climate! There’s alot riding on this election as this country has never been more divided!
    As an independent I really think the republican party has turned into a outright CULT! It’s like Pods have fallen from outerspace and taken them over!

    Comment by entertainmenttodayandbeyond — September 21, 2008 @ 9:08 am

  27. I thought it was okay, not great. Clever premise, but Hammond’s delivery slowed the momentum. To be fair though…John McCain isn’t the easiest guy to impersonate when it come to getting laughs. There isn’t a whole lot to work with, and Hammond is known for being spot-on with his mannerisms and voice inflection, so it’s probably frustrating for him too.

    It’s funny…back in the early days of SNL, I remember Chevy Chase used to impersonate Gerald Ford and didn’t even try to look and sound like him, but it was still funny. Dan Aykroyd used to do Jimmy Carter…with a moustache. Hammond is usually great, but he’s got his work cut out for him this season.

    Comment by A-Dub — September 21, 2008 @ 9:41 am

  28. The skit fell flat. As does Franken.

    Comment by david — September 21, 2008 @ 10:05 am

  29. Franken’s skit was pretty lame. McCain is … uh … old! ha ha. And … uh … bad. ooh, a zinger!

    Comment by ladude — September 21, 2008 @ 10:51 am

  30. It was very funny and the whole show was good, particularly the sketch with Fred Armisen as Penny Marshall in “The Looker”. The show stunk five years ago but it’s back to being very funny, even for bitter Hillary supporters who hate anything that appears to favor Obama.

    Comment by Tom — September 21, 2008 @ 10:59 am

  31. You didn’t think it was funny? I thought it was pretty good… I actually laughed out loud.

    Comment by Daily Actor — September 21, 2008 @ 11:45 am

  32. kings of leon blew the roof off. wow.

    Comment by telltale — September 21, 2008 @ 2:53 pm

  33. Nikki’s right the opening sketch was lame! Whoever wrote last week’s hilarious Sarah Palin opener should have written last night’s opener! Maybe Lorne Micheals needs to reevaluate his writers maybe some of them need to be let go and some new blood added. Don’t blame the actors for the lousy script blame the writers!

    Comment by Cindy — September 21, 2008 @ 2:54 pm

  34. Al Franken. Sweet Jesus, this neverwas has more lives than Dracula. Unfunny, unpleasant and he just keeps right on rolling along, blithely unaware that he is the epitome of the D-Lister who just won’t pack it in. This nonentity in the US Senate? Please.

    Comment by SurferDoc — September 21, 2008 @ 3:41 pm

  35. For the love of God, someone please cancel SNL!!

    The very definition of “sad sack” or “loser” is to be home on a Saturday evening, sitting in front of the TV switched to NBC at 11:30 pm.

    Comment by Kara — September 21, 2008 @ 7:56 pm

  36. I love when Liberal entertainers get down and dirty and try to destroy the opposition with ridiculous or lewd crude crap labeled as entertainment or comedy. Someday these morons will figure this crap only gets the opposition more excited and enthused about going out and defeating them. I can hardly wait for the Oliver Stone movie “W”. From what I have read from some that have seen it or parts of it this film may not get the GOP base into the theaters but will surely get the GOP base out this November 4th filling out their voters ballots.

    Comment by jdls08 — September 21, 2008 @ 11:22 pm

  37. Hey, “Practical Conservative”, I checked out the link and that is some VERY funny stuff, VERY funny.

    Comment by Kevin the Announcer — September 22, 2008 @ 1:42 am

  38. If it wasn’t for outside money Al Franken would not have the money for his own campaign commercials in Minnesota.
    His Senate race ads are horrid..He has to put ads on explaining why he doesn’t pay taxes or why he throws chairs and yells obscene remarks to people he does’t agree with. I didn’t see the SNL show Franken supposedly helped write but I am sure if it is like his ads in MN his home for the last two years it would be lame. He seems like an angry man who is filled with hate. SNL should do a skit on the real Al Franken
    talking to someone who disagrees with him. (chairs included)

    Comment by Jane — September 22, 2008 @ 2:13 am

  39. Comment and premise, two items incorrect.
    1. Franken did NOT write, suggest, nor participate in the creation of this skit according to his office.

    2. SNL was NOT “attacking the future president”, they were simply poking fun at a tired old man, who’s looking to poink another trophy before he curls up his toes and crokes.

    Comment by rnkiii — September 22, 2008 @ 5:42 am

  40. The cold opening was blah, but I thought the rest of the show was fine.

    Comment by a spouse — September 22, 2008 @ 6:42 am

  41. Humorous and pulled a few chuckles out of me, but not the gut buster that last week’s was. (Palin is just better comedy fodder, I guess.)

    A solid premise, that McCain’s ads use, at best, spurious logic and cherry-picked/out-of-context facts to make their point. I think that the writing itself could have been tighter.

    Comment by Rich D — September 22, 2008 @ 8:25 am

  42. Well this comeback to haunt Al Franken in his senate bid in Minnasota. But viewers were outrage at an incest skit involving Palin’s husband. Word is thier political skits have fallen flat.

    Comment by chuck — September 22, 2008 @ 1:22 pm

  43. Last week’s poke at Sarah Palin was hillarious, I still laugh everytime I think of the line “I can see Russia from my house”. I looked forward to seeing what SNL would do with McCain. This skit wasn’t funny to me. I think this one was more mean spirited. I’m not sure where that line is between funny and mean, but I think it was crossed and for me that just brought the entertainment value down. If I wanted a commentary on the truthfullness of the ads that are running (and I live in a battleground state so I see them all the time), I’d turn on any news channel. During SNL, I want to be entertained.

    Comment by Anonymous — September 22, 2008 @ 5:13 pm

  44. Below are the most up to date Minnesota polls. Franken should stick to working on the job he wants and not the job he had!

    Coleman (R) Franken (D) Barkley (I) Spread

    RCP Average 09/10 - 09/21 — 44.8 41.5 10.0 Coleman +3.3
    Quinnipiac/WSJ/WP 09/14 - 09/21 1301 LV 49 42 — Coleman +7
    Rasmussen 09/18 - 09/18 500 LV 48 47 3 Coleman +1
    Star Tribune 09/10 - 09/12 1106 LV 41 37 13 Coleman +4
    SurveyUSA 09/10 - 09/11 734 LV 41 40 14 Coleman +1

    Comment by realworldperson — September 23, 2008 @ 8:19 am

  45. Again, just one LITTLE error in the polls you include….
    These are all TELEPHONE polls… and are NOT including the growing segment of individuals going ‘off the hook’ and using cell phones only. These also tend to be younger (read NEW) voters who have been shown to be more in the Obama/Franken camp.

    Comment by Rnkiii — September 23, 2008 @ 5:50 pm

  46. Thanks Nikki for calling it as you see it. The sketch was not funny and perpetuated an old canard. According to a May 2000 article in the Boston Globe, Senator McCain cannot type because of his war injuries. I know you liberals might not want to hear it again, but this man endured intense physical torture for five years and the effect of that torture means he cannot use a keyboard.

    The comments here just underscore what Penn Jillette said in one of his recent Crackle.com essays; that Democrats are hateful and patronizing. “Anyone who supports a Republican is stupid.” And talk about a media bias. The old network of Huntley & Brinkley has become the opposite of Fox. When will we see a sketch of Obama with his smug look, flip-flopping about his pastor and his church. Smugly supporting a terrorist who said he wanted to destroy the Capitol while denying he was a terrorist.

    Get ready Democrats. McCain will win big in the Electoral College. When voters mark their secret ballots, they’ll vote differently from what they told the pollsters. Not because they’re bigots, but because they didn’t want to tell the pollster they were choosing a white man over a black man. Not because they’re racist, but because they are in reality choosing on the basis of actual merit, not the fervent wet dreams of out-pf-touch liberals.

    I’m sure the tin-foil hat brigade will be out telling their constituency the election was stolen, regardless of the evidence.

    Not a Karl Rove protégé, because the waiting list was too long.

    Comment by Diogenes — September 24, 2008 @ 3:06 am

  47. Liberals calling the 08 election stolen will sound real cliche.

    Comment by chuck — September 24, 2008 @ 12:21 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Leave a comment

XHTML ( You can use these tags): <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong> .