JAMES FRANCO WAS REALLY REALLY HIGH
12.21.09
James Franco hosted this weekend’s “Saturday Night Live,” and if he didn’t smoke a whole bunch of pot immediately before giving his monologue, I will eat this entire bag of Funyuns and wash it down with a two-liter of grape soda. Dude, grape soda. So freakin’ delicious. How come nobody ever drinks this?
Anyway, if Franco did get high before the show, other hosts should give it a shot too, because his monologue (below) was one of the first entertaining SNL monologues in ages, and the quality continued throughout the show. Perhaps it relied a little too heavily on established skits (What Up With That, Mark Wahlberg Talks to Christmas Animals, Kristen Wiig as the freak sister on the Lawrence Welk show, Bill Hader as Vincent Price), but there was some genuinely bizarre hilarity, including the gay tongue kissing from the overly affectionate family and the Tizzle Wizzle digital short (video below). All in all, it was a very good episode, especially if you watched it drunk. Which I did.
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SLN has one of the most talented cast ever, and at the same time, the worst writers ever. This episode, like all of them the last 3 years, was an unfunny train wreck. The Lonely Isle guys make a funny Digital Short every 4th or 5th attempt, but its still MadTV quality junk. They just go for shock (tounge kiss sketch for example), but it is just boring and unfunny.
Since Franco doesn’t get high anymore we can only assume he was trying to be LOUDER & LESS SERIOUS than he usually is. In fact, he was SO LOUD that he sounded hoarse all thru-out the show! IMO, SNL would be alot funnier if it didn’t SHOCK (ex: the kissing family! Ugh!)& was just FUNNY!
Franco is hard NOT to love tho! Handsome guy!
i disagree. franco was midly funny in a cringe worthy type way. the whole high thing might explain his recent career choices. AND believe it or not taylor swift monologue was funny.
Those awful awful “What’s Up With That?” skits run soooooo long. I mean, we get the premise. Thanks for the reminder. It’s a host who interrupts everything on his show with his own singing. But can we get some time for something else that might be funny?
I don’t know if you can necessarily blame the writers exclusively. The fact that the What’s Up With That sketch, and the Latin Talk Show sketch aired back to back is the producer’s fault. Clearly they like these sketches because they’re time fillers. But its the producer and the head writers job to say “oops, we’re telling the same joke twice”. And its also their job to fire a terrible writing staff.
SNL is hit or miss. The two skits of music interrupting talk show was kind of lame. Franco was great. Some really good moments, but too far and few between. maybe the writers need to start following franco’s lead?
I’m drinking Sprite, with it’s crisp delicious and clean taste.
I really liked all the repeat sketches. And the retarded frat boys was funny too.
The monologue was so-so but the Tizzle Wizzle skit was actually pretty funny.
I honestly think the problem with SNL is that the writers downright refuse to create main characters for the host. They’re always the second- or third-tier character in a skit that already had a lame presime or main character.
Who else thinks that the Jim Carrey episode from 1996 main have been the peak performance in this shows history and by any host other than Steve Martin or Alec Baldwin? In that episode, they allowed Carrey to run the show and he did an amazing job, taking such mediocre written characters as The Lifeguard and turning into gold. This was a possibility with Franco. And the writers, once again, failed to make it work.
Yes, Franco was high as fuck. But he was a good high as fuck. He was so high he tounged Will Forte. He was so high he allowed Fred Armisen the Child Rapist (his true name) to mock going down on him. He was so high that he would have done whatever they asked him to do probably. “Hey James, put on this Spider-Man outfit and act like you’re Tobey Maguire.” “Hahaha. OK man,” he’d respond, his eyes tightly swinted as he giggled.
So, the thesis of this post is simply, SNL writers, start doing your job and writing funny material and stop worrying about creating stupid characters no one cares about. I mean, when you’re most popular (so you think) character is Gilly, then you’re pretty much fucked. There HAS to be someone out there capable of writing funny skits based around the host. Is it that hard? Christ!!!!
OK, rant finished. Thanks for your time.
Enrico, not they also drink orange soda (pronounced “ernge” soda) according to my book of stereotypes.
The Dooneese sketch at the beginning was almost word for word the same thing they did with Will Ferrell before. Now they’re just recycling sketches for different hosts.
This episode sucked. I mean he was coked out of his gourd and shamelessly mugging so hard Jim Carrey would be mortified. Also the writing, what the hell? They followed What’s Up with That, a skit about a black talk show with a running musical interruption gag, with that Latin talk show sketch with a running dance interruption gag. Its seriously like shitty joke mad libs over there relevant of nothing. At least distance these lame skits within the hour and a half air time.
I refuse to watch SNL until they clean house in the writing staff. Because I’m pretty sure the talent is there, especially Bill Hader who is on his way to becoming one of the most underrated cast members of all time – right there with Ana Gasteyer and Chris Parnell.
Stop the Kristen Wiig overkill + better writers = success.
Oh, and promote Jorma Taccone to the cast.
Plus the episode had Muse. Muse makes everything better.
When do they begin casting for the Tizzle Wizzle show?
That headline is on par with other such breaking news such as:
Today is Monday.
Water is Wet.
Fire can burn things.
Grape soda is all that black people drink. Or so my book of stereotypes tells me.
Thanks, Richmond. Post updated.
You know what’s a funny word? Monologue. Mono-logue. Mono log. Like, a log with mono. It would be really tired and shit. It would sleep like…a…log! DUDE!
Kissing Family is online on hulu
http://www.hulu.com/watch/116553/saturday-night-live-kissing-family#s-p3-sr-i1
I was mildly drunk, and didn’t make it through the monologue.
But yes, he was incredibly high. Even by his own standards.
Maybe I should try watching it drunk. Sober it wasn’t all that funny to me.