Well hey! Welcome back. Here we are for our SECOND Top 5 Tuesday topic. This week we decided to broaden our scope a little bit and talk about TV. Sara and I have been following SNL quite a bit as of lately, and while it's not the best cast ever, it's certainly passable.
Anyways, our SNL watching got us thinking. What are the TOP 5 SNL CHARACTERS, in each of our humble opinions. Mind you, neither of these lists will have anything Kristen Wiig has ever done. She's not funny. I really don't get it. Also, I've personally decided to keep it down to characters who don't have a movie, leaving out some more obvious choices.
#5. Mr. Robinson - Eddie Murphy
Remember WAYYY back when, when Eddie Murphy could be really funny? Yeah, I vaguely have that recollection too, despite only having seen his SNL work on DVD. Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood was a perfect Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood parody, set in the slums, with Eddie Murphy as the perfect ghetto alternative to Mr. Rogers.
All The Mr. Rogers Neighborhood catchphrases and touches were there (taking off his jacket, changing his shoes, etc.). But instead of teaching about sharing, caring, and being a friend; we learned about the price of Puerto Rican babies on the black market, or what a "scumbucket" is, and how to spell it. (Note: it's his landlord. Affectionately known is "Mr. Landlord" in the most fantastic Mr. Rogers tribute ever.)
#4. Tim Calhoun - Will Forte
I always felt that Will Forte was really underutilized on SNL. His characters always seemed to be too weird for SNL, and for film, for that matter. But he did have a couple of hits. MacGruber, of course is the one everyone looks to, but I always preferred The Falconer, or even more, Tim Calhoun.
Tim Calhoun, always came off as a soft-spoken political candidate. The kind of guy who you expect to be a town selectman. However, Will Forte's delivery is what made it. Speaking extremely quietly and slowly, while reading his exact speech from notecards (pausing to look at the camera and give an almost Clinton-esque thumbs up motion, while reading his cues on the cards).
Honestly, it's just a string of semi-political one liners that Forte found a clever way to string together. But it lucked out by being amazing because of his delivery. "I propose starting a cow college so they can learn to talk….I think we should start with 'Moo' so they can gain some self-confidence…"
#3 - B-Boy Dancer - Jason Sudekis
I'm not going to lie, there's no depth to this character at all. But whenever he comes out during "What's Up With That?" I can't help but to laugh my ass off. The goofy smile that Sudekis has during this is amazing, as are the Adidas tracksuit and 80's dancing.
#2. Debbie Downer - Rachel Dratch
Always a favorite of mine, Debbie Downer's (obvious) saying a pessimistic downside of every situation almost never gets old. The best part, like many SNL sketches, is the fact that the majority of the actors can't keep it together during the sketches.
The obvious shticky "wah-wah" trumpet makes the sketch that much better. When Debbie discusses the plight of Feline Leukemia, and its effect on the feline population, that stare she gives in the camera is just unbeatable. Maybe it's just growing up loving the straight look into the camera and the almost obvious "you should laugh here", mixed with the awkwardness of the entire situation just did it in for me.
#1. Matt Foley - Chris Farley
It's a goddamn shame that Chris Farley died. Sure, the strong majority of his movies were crap, but he was great on SNL, especially as motivational speaker Matt Foley. His hyped up rants to (supposedly) drug addled and disobedient teens is still as funny today as they were in the early 90's.
We all had these kind of people come to our High Schools and tell us about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, but the way Chris Farley personified it, along with the ever present shout of "I LIVE IN A VAN…DOWN BY THE RIVER!" (or to the Spanish speaking family he talks to: "YO VIVO EN EL COCHE….DOWN BY THE RIO!", possibly my most quoted SNL line of all time.) Anyways, Chris Farley kills it. Few people could take a prat fall as well as he could, going through a table in every sketch, and few people had the charisma and balls to do an entire sketch like this, just going over the top every single time, but still making it real. Needless to say, Matt Foley was his masterwork as a performer, and in my opinion, the best SNL character.
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