Thursday, October 29, 2009 » An apology: I think the spring 2009 FNL and the real SNL ruined me. Well, it at least ruined this review.
Last semester I loved Friday Night Live. I cried laughter into my roommate�s shoulder through nearly every skit. I retold the Ralph Nader 2032 presidency quip over and over again until I grew tired of it � well, until my friends grew tired of it.
I watch Saturday Night Live because of the wit. Why is Tina Fey�s Sarah Palin so funny? It�s because I know enough about Palin to grasp why I�m laughing at her.
The fall 2009 Friday Night Live lacked wit. It had plenty of stupid humor and you�d-only-understand-this-if-you-go-to-IWU humor, which is still funny, but it lacked any prior knowledge like you would for SNL. For most of you, I�m sure that�s not much of a problem; but for us nerds who find satisfaction in �getting� jokes, I�m not the only one disappointed.
All this is to say that I came in with preconceived notions. I expected this FNL to be as funny as last semester�s, and I expected it to be wittier than it was. Put those two prejudices aside and I�d say well done.
Oh, except for each scene�s abrupt ending. And except for the acts that seemed to drag on and on and on and on.
And except for that opening number. (If only my high school show choir choreographer was there to see the lack of rhythm. But I guess I should expect such novice dance skills from a group of Wesleyans.)
Though, something about the show reminded me of the Tonight Show with Conan O�Brian. Perhaps it was the wonderful in-house band or Shawn Clark�s (sr) motorcycle trip across America, strikingly similar to Conan�s run across America. Conan, another fan of stupid humor, makes his audience laugh just by being his own ridiculous self.
One FNL star that managed to match Conan�s ridiculousness was Titus Johnson (sr). Whatever that guy did made me laugh. Sometimes in acts he wasn�t the star of � like the 80s workout skit, featuring exercises used to score an IWU boy � I watched Johnson in order to laugh. Not that that particular skit wasn�t funny on its own, but watching Johnson in his cutoff jean shorts (�jorts�) and wiggly-legged exercise routines put me over the edge. But anything performed by a guy with a Chester Molester mustache makes me laugh.
My favorite skit was one that featured Johnson: the Pringles �Once-You-Pop-the-Fun-Don�t-Stop� finale. The scene: two guys open a can of Pringles chips and an eerie voiceover warns of a never ending dance break. That is, never ending until � you guessed it � Kanye West shows up to interrupt the fun: �I�ma have to stop you.�
As for the Battle of the Bands winner �News from Verona,� I was definitely entertained. For one, I loved the attempt at audience interaction. Verona: �Sing along!� IWU: �Nope!� Verona: �Clap with us!� IWU: �We�ll try! [Insert offbeat claps.]� Secondly, that crazy keyboardist kept running around stage. Hilarity.
Overall, the cast of FNL did a good job of implementing those tireless jokes their audience expected: the trials of freshman year, that one annoying CM major, the 3:1 ratio and swine flu. If you went to FNL expecting SNL, you were probably disappointed. But if you were able to set any prejudgments aside, you would have seen how entertaining the show really was.