Posts Tagged SNL
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March 17, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
Bob Odenkirk: Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama
Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama Bob Odenkirk Penguin Random House I love Bob Odenkirk. Have done since before I knew his name. He just kept popping up on things. That same face in everything. A mild smirk. A guy who had some sadness, some trauma etched onto him and laced all through his comedy. A guy […]Archive
March 7, 2022 by Simon Sweetman
The Visceral Thrill of Eddie Murphy’s Early Stand-Up
Beverly Hills Cop was one of the first video tapes we rented as a family. My mum checked with the guy at the counter to make sure it was okay for us all to watch and his suggestion was that the first few minutes contained a few swears so maybe fast-forward that… After dinner that […]Archive
September 15, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
R.I.P. Norm Macdonald
Norm Macdonald had died. He was 61. He was diagnosed with cancer nearly a decade ago. He kept it quiet – telling only a few close friends. He wanted privacy. He wanted the comedy to continue when and as it did. He wanted that untainted. Norm Macdonald was a comedy genius, a comedian’s comedian – […]Archive
March 2, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: Friends Just Can’t Be Found
Here’s the key thing about Bridge Over Troubled Water: when Paul Simon wrote it – he had just two verses. He took it to Art Garfunkel and asked what he thought. Artie told him to go away and write a third verse – told him he had half a good song but it needed finishing. […]Archive
December 13, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Ana Gasteyer: sugar & booze
Ana Gasteyer sugar & booze Henry’s Girl, Inc. The multi-talented Ana Gasteyer was one of SNL’s star-players across the late 1990s. Often music was a focus too, either with her original characters (Bobbie Mohan-Culp the opera-singing high school teacher) and in her brilliant impressions (Barbra Streisand and the best Celine Dion ever).Archive
December 12, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Jenny Slate: Little Weirds
Little Weirds Jenny Slate Little, Brown and Company Jenny Slate’s had a busy year of recalibration – a Netflix special of so-so comedy mixed with her charming kookiness and some deep-cut home videos to soften the blow of mistimed punchlines. And now this book of “essays” – and the accompanying promotional book-tour. A few bit-part […]Archive
March 26, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Box Brown: Is This Guy For Real? – The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman
Is This Guy For Real?: The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman Box Brown First Second A graphic novel about Andy Kaufman written and drawn by the guy that paid tribute to Andre The Giant using the same form – I’m in!Archive
November 8, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
Brigsby Bear: Film
Brigsby Bear Director: Dave McCary 3311 Productions/Sony Pictures Classics Brigsby Bear is one of the best films I’ve seen in years. Let’s start right there, like this. Because I don’t want to spoil the magic of the film – instead I want to talk about what it meant to me, how it made me feel, […]Archive
January 5, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
Movies of My Life # 14: The Blues Brothers
I have had the double-pack DVD of The Blues Brothers and Blues Brothers 2000 on my shelf for quite a few years. I didn’t need Blues Brothers 2000 but it was cheaper to buy the double-pack than just the original movie… The Blues Brothers had a profound influence on me. It is possibly the movie […]Archive
April 27, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
Steve Martin & Edie Brickell: So Familiar
Steve Martin & Edie Brickell So Familiar Rounder Here is the second collaborative album from Martin and Brickell, accurately named since the pair work so well together and here particularly it feels seamless – in fact Martin is essentially the sideman, could have gone unnamed; why then is it Steve Martin and Edie Brickell not […]Archive
January 9, 2016 by Simon Sweetman