The Lonely Island is getting crowded/I heart Natalie
You wouldn’t know it from the length of my previous post, but the Oscar telecast was not the TV viewing highlight of my weekend. That honor rightfully belongs to Natalie Portman’s rap, the latest SNL digital short brought to you by The Lonely Island guys (Andy Samberg and pals). Apparently the lovely Ms. Portman helped write the lyrics (I’m thinking she was the one who came up with “I bust in dudes’ mouths like gushers”). As if I didn’t heart her enough.*
With the popularity of these shorts, first with the incessantly blogged-about Chronic(les) of Narnia rap, and continuing on with the young Chuck Norris video and others, the Lonely Island guys have suddenly made Saturday Night Live relevant again. Well, relevant in the sense that some of it is actually funny and people like me actually look forward to it. Some would argue that SNL never really lost its wit and bite, but those are probably the same people that watched Will & Grace for 8 years and allowed shows like Arrested Development to die on the vine. In any case, with Andy, Amy Poehler, Bill Heder, Fred Armisen, and a batch of new young writers, here’s hoping SNL will continue on its upward trend.
* Side Portman-related note. I just watched Beautiful Girls again over the weekend, and reaffirmed my opinion that you can draw an arc linking Natalie Portman’s Marty character in that movie to her Sam in Garden State. Watch it and try not to be smitten by a precocious 13 year-old.
** Bonus picture, because when else do I get to post this?
Atticus Finch said,
March 8, 2006 at 9:17 am
First of all there is no way that you can’t love Natalie Portman after Garden State.
Secondly, her rap was so absurdly awesome it makes me metaphorically pee my pants every time I watch it.
The coup de grâce for Natalie is that her next movie, V for Vendetta, looks so flippin’ fantastic that I can hardly wait to go and see it.
Miketastic said,
March 8, 2006 at 9:38 am
Yes, Ms. Portman has a pretty impressive career trajectory – starting from Leon (The Professional) to V for Vendetta, and a couple of interesting projects currently in the works: Paris, je t’aime; and Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. She has taken a wide variety of roles, there’s no denying that. Just as impressively, she has managed to transcend her Padme/Queen Amidala role in the Star Wars franchise – a role which could’ve been pretty stifling for many actresses’ careers.
By the way, who are you, Atticus Finch? Just curious how you came across this corner of blogdom.
Atticus Finch said,
March 8, 2006 at 11:12 am
Oh, well I’m just a random guy who stumbled across your blog using the “Next Blog” link in my dashboard. I get bored easily, so that link was made just for me.
As for Natalie Portman, she is one of my favorite actresses and the entire episode of SNL this weekend was top-notch. I think with Matt Dillon hosting [and musical guest Arctic Monkeys!] SNL might be swinging itself around. The Lonely Island shorts are helping get the internet buzz. Hopefully it can keep interest in the show before it goes under… We’ll see.
Miketastic said,
March 8, 2006 at 11:24 am
Cool, thanks for the comments, I’m just starting to get this blog rolling, so we’ll see where it goes. I’ll have to use that next link button more often.
Re: SNL – for the last couple of years, the Amy Poehler/Tina Fey Weekend Update was the only part of the show that delivered any laughs, and even that was hit-or-miss. I especially can’t stand the political satire openings, I really think they need to move away from that. Like you, I found this past SNL to be pretty funny throughout, so it gives me hope.
I forgot to mention in the main post how ironic it is that the filmed portions are breathing new life to Saturday Night Live.
Atticus Finch said,
March 8, 2006 at 6:44 pm
Yeah, the political satire is getting rather old. I mean it was funnier back in the day when they did Perot, Gore, and Clinton together. But the constant bombardment of Bush/Cheney jokes has gotten old in any genre [especially late night]. And I’m a republican but don’t hold that against me.
The best joke of the night, in my book, was in weekend update and the Sasha Cohen parody. “And the other was assaulted… peanut.”
It is ironic that the spotlight is on SNL for their pre-fabricated skits but so far that’s where the money has been. The Lonely Island guys are bringing what’s funny NOW to the table, and it’s great that they are taking it and running with it. I just hope they don’t wear it out.