Photo: Courtesy of nbc.com
SNL‘s 40th anniversary special kicked off in a star-studded event down memory lane with new and original cast members alike reprising their roles in a historic reunion. We laughed, we cried, and sometimes we were left wondering what was even going on. But the coming together of 40 years of cast members and memorable skits to last a lifetime was a beautiful and hilarious tribute to the show that has done so much for comedy over the years.
The show kicked off with an opening musical number featuring none other than Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake (with appearances by Rachel Dratch’s Debbie Downer and Molly Shannon’s Mary Katherine Gallagher), singing their way through a roster of the show’s best characters, skits and one-liners. You can watch the opening below.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ojx_5n0VXZU[/youtube]
Steve Martin came out delivering the opening monologue, starting out by saying, “Tonight is like an enormous high school reunion…A high school that is almost all white,” poking fun at the show itself. He was then joined onstage by a random gathering of celebrity walk-ons, such as Miley Cyrus, Peyton Manning, Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin, Paul Simon and Chris Rock in typical SNL fashion.
The night continued on with revivals of classic sketches, such as Dan Akyroyd’s “Bass-o-Matic,” and “Celebrity Jeopardy,” with Will Ferrell reprising his role as Alex Trebek. It also featured montages featuring sketches from cast members who were lost too soon, stars like John Belushi, Chris Farley and Gilda Radner. At times, it made you just want to flat out cry because their genius left us too soon.
“Celebrity Jeopardy” was one of the highlights of the night, with Darrell Hammond’s Sean Connery requesting categories (I’ll take Whore Ads for $200), Kate McKinnon playing Justin Bieber perfectly, and Norm MacDonald showing up with his big hat as Burt Reynolds/Turd Ferguson. SNL also managed to make fun of Bill Cosby and his ongoing sexual assault allegations, in true SNL fashion. You can watch the skit below.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImaYMoTi2g8[/youtube]
“Weekend Update” featuring original cast member Jane Curtin with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler was another gem of the night, highlighting why we all fell in love with SNL in the first place. Not only were all three flawless and hilarious, but it also reminded us how SNL became a platform for women in comedy. It helped pave the way for women like Fey and Poehler to have booming careers, thanks to their start on SNL.
A tribute to all the musical sketches that have appeared on SNL was also another major highlight. Led by Martin Short and Maya Rudolph as Beyonce (genius), we got to see some of our favorites, from Kristen Wiig and Fred Armisen’s batty Kat and Garth, to Steve Martin as King Tut, Joe Piscopo as Sinatra, and of course, Adam Sandler as Opera Man. You can also watch the skit below.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25gLcBgduHk[/youtube]
All in all, the SNL 40th anniversary special was one for the books. Though it has undoubtedly changed over the years, it still remains one of the most groundbreaking and influential shows around today. That it has even lasted 40 years is the true testament to how it has managed to keep its edge all of these years. And hopefully it will be around another 10 years, continuing its formula of making fun of the world around us.
-by: Jackie Hart
