SNL Spoofs the Big Three Bailout Hearing
By Heather Sunday Nov 23, 2008 3:00pm
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From Saturday Night Live Nov. 22, 2008. The SNL crew takes their best shot at the auto executives. Funny stuff but it's a shame this might be as close as we get to seeing an actual hearing on NBC.
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I'm surprised they couldn't do a better job. But fun. Just not a good a "roast" as they deserve.
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want a bailout of the Big 3.
To which I say, let's have Bailout #2, and #3...and so on.
To a "Bailout" Loan to these auto giants.
If they do not comply to the guide lines set forth.
They will be sold off and the monies from said sale will go to the taxpayers. period.
if you can suspend understanding the real consequences...
There's so much gold in satrizing the big 3, but this is pretty lame, even by SNL's low standards. Armisen's over the top Barney Frank impression doesn't help, either.
Essentially, the joke was, 'This guy is gay! Get it?' That's low, even by Saturday Night Live standards. And that's on top of an impression so terrible that without the name at the bottom of the screen I would have been entirely lost.
It was pretty low, even by bottom feeding SNL standards. It's almost a Blue Collar TV impression just making fun of Frank because he's gay. Armisen's impressions aren't particularly good. Sometimes I think the audience laughs because they feel sorry for the performers. They should be throwing things at the stage.
Really-- you could condone doing things like that to some guy on television who's only trying to make people laugh about the absurdity of it all..?
Reserve your projectile flying objects for the actual principals involved here, is my advice.
I guess that's why his character said he wanted Detroit to build a gayer car. Barney Frank is also white. He should want a real white guy car too, I guess. Like a Mustang. And he's Jewish, so he might want to mention that he doesn't want to buy a German car. He's middle-aged. A middle-aged guy might want them to build more Buicks, you know? So maybe Barney Franks could have said he wanted a gayer non-German car that's like a cross between a Buick and a Mustang and a Mini. Oh ha ha! That's so funny. I love stereotypes.
they are not thoughtful or insightful or truly comedic at SNL anymore. now they are trying too hard to use the political arena to save their show.
it's not working.
Let's face it though-- the comedy writes itself when it comes to things like this. Stewart's and Colbert's writers have it far easier by not needing to try and turn their comedy into long skits and sketches, which is SNL's stock in trade.
Tina Fey was successful because she strictly stuck to imitating Palin and didn't amplify her frailties.
Pales in comparison to the unintentionally hilarious Sarah Palin turkey slaughter show!
..when it comes to laser-like comedy/commentary about events in the news, the cream of the crop can often be found in the comments sections at Crooks and Liars, imo.
Lorne Michaels has a potential gold mine of talent here.
I thought is was pretty good . They couldn't go too far given the gravity of the situation . It was unfortunate that they were not bolder about the UAW 's part in this matter (barely mebtioned unions) . No bailouts for the the big 3 .
...everybody knows we are in this mess due to pesky workers trying to make ends meet. The gall... I tell you of some people in this country expecting not to have to work until the day they die!
John Bird and John Fortune, from about a year ago.
But the mechanics of the big money world applies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2XQ2m2uBPI
laugh because I actually saw a Ford Fiesta (!!--not the newer Festiva I think they meant) yesterday here in SoCal. A real "blast from the past," complete with blown muffler.
Pretty weak this time, they could have done so much better. As for the Big 3, let them burn. Then they can start over and do it right.
Edginess is absolutely crucial in sketch comedy - Monty Python was so absurd they almost didn't get on the air. Mr Show with Bob and David tanked after a few under appreciated seasons on HBO, and The Whitest Kids U Know is soon to follow.
SNL is just conforming to the laws of supply and demand. America doesn't want acerbic or absurd humor anymore. They want gay jokes. That seems to be edgy enough for the general population, so they run with it for fear of risking their credibility.
SNL is conforming to an unoffensive standard of mediocrity, and its weaksauce zombie-reincarnation of itself is making me ashamed to have EVER been a fan.
Rewind that shit to the 70's and let me see John Belushi act like a samurai in totally unwarranted situations. That shit was great. Even through the early 90's, the cast was pretty solid and the writing was still relatively bold.
Now SNL is a neutered, censored mockery of itself, and Tina Fey is apparently the new star comedy genius of the cast. Nothing against the woman, she's far better than average, but she isn't an amazing comic.
Scientology Church:
http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Man_Wielding_2...
I guess I'm not surprised, but public opinion is lagging behind reality on a lot of the facts. The big three (Ford in particular) have made huge strides in product quality. Ford is now tied with the best of the Japanese car makers. Toyota didn't get much press for some massive recalls (including engine replacement programs) that they had to do.
The current problems in the auto industry are caused by the poor market conditions. In general the big three are not poorly managed. The banking industry was so greedy that they were leveraged 40:1 (borrowed $40 per $1 that they owned) and invested it in poor quality loans. Yet our government is handing them bales of cash. US auto sales have dropped 30+% for all manufactures.
Fuel economy is driven by customer demand. As soon as the gasoline prices went up, the market moved to more fuel efficient cars. If we want high fuel efficiency cars, then we better be ready to pay for them (gas tax).
The auto industry is asking for a loan that they intend to pay back with interest. If they (or anyone else) could get credit on the free market at a reasonable interest rate, the big three wouldn't need the government.
Back in the 70's and 80's, SNL would at least wait until the last 1/2 hour to unleash often painful comedy-dramas to fit 3 more breaks into before credits would roll.
Throwing fruits and vegetables at a stage that an audience had waited months to see would only offend the fruits and vegetables that are already up there.
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