SNL’s Obligatory Obama Nobel Peace Prize Sketch
by Alexander MarlowThere has been a rumor floating around that Fred Armisen is intentionally, perhaps at the behest of the NBC powers-that-be, making his Obama impersonation as inaccurate and unfunny as possible. With that in mind, consider this phoned-in sketch exhibit number 47 in “The People vs. Saturday Night Live.” (NOTE: The only thing that makes the Big Hollywood editorial staff reluctant to investigate further is that the rest of the show isn’t much funnier.)
Also:
-Why doesn’t SNL ever direct Armisen to look back and forth at two teleprompters like Obama does every time he gives an address? Seems pretty obvious, no?
-Of course, “It looks like the CNN fact-checkers will be busy again this week.”
-Once again, SNL takes a shot at Obama’s economic team, but no barbs are thrown at Obama himself.
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101 Comments
With all the great material out there SNL is a major FAIL on parodying Obama. I think they really don't want to.
I'm guessing they took a lot of heat for last weeks performance?
Freddy Freddy Freddy, I could do a better Obama act, and I'm a white redneck. This what passes for comedy now adays? They must be doing it on purpose. If not, then they are no talent hacks. Either way I hope that NBC one day decides to eat my ass!! Just eat it!!!!! I am sick of NBC. Take a spoonful of my ass, and mix it with the unfunny.
ew.
Don't worry, they can use a little sugar on daddy's ass.
the blogosphere is absolutely AWASH with great material and this is what they come up with?
L.A.M.E.
Hey Chris,
I loved your comment. If you ask the management of NBC in a non-offensive, politically correct manner, I am sure they will eat it.
A long time ago, I thought this show was funny. Saturday Night Live: Obama propoganda (barely) cloaked in satire.
WoW!!!!! You call that funny?????
Who wrote that skit……Al Gore?
The staff and executives must all be back on Coke to even put that on the air.
It's like he's not even trying anymore. He doesn't even remotely…. Speak! … Like! … Obama!…… (wait for it)…. Anymore! Come on, I can even type in Obama's punctuated spit-out-the words style of speaking… why can't a professional imitate it?
CNN's fact checkers may have a problem though…. The SNL skit says Obama hasn't been George Bush for 9 months, but by my count, it's a lot longer than that. Wish I could tell you for sure how long, but that would require actually seeing a birth certificate.
This reminds me of the Van Jones story, ACORN, etc, in a weird way. There's all these jokes about Obama that are obvious… and are EASY to find online, on youtube, etc. However, all the professional comedians are avoiding them like the plague, which makes their excuses that they just can't think of any Obama jokes seem um… stupid. It is just like the whole MSM thing to me, just with comedy.
Oh, for the not-so-distant days of Phil Hartman's Bill Clinton, back when a President could laugh at himself.
I nodded off before the skit came on, so I had to watch this morning. I am glad I got the good nights sleep. As has been said, with all the things Obama is doing there is a wealth of material to make fun of. Very disappointing.
I almost thought for a minute that it actually was Obama speaking. Not because of the quality or accuracy of Armisen's attempt at an impression, hardly. But because it seemed so much like Obama's actual acceptance speech. Both were equally clumsy, insincere and unconvincing.
It was lame…..but the fact that they did it at all speaks of change. (heh, I said change) The MSM will go bonkers about it, but it seems to me that slowly, lamely, but surely the comedy guys are taking baby steps to full on Bushing him and I have hope (heh, I said hope) that when it happens….it will happen BIG!!
Good God was that awful!
You made me laugh out loud. Now my wife thinks I'm an idiot. Thanks.
I am not a fan of SNL but it seems to me that them poking fun at Obama during the election was even "worse" than this sketch. Armisen didn't even SOUND like Obama in this sketch while in previous ones he has gotten the speech pattern down to an art. Epic Fail SNL, EPIC EPIC FAIL!
What a missed opportunity. SNL had to know that many eyes would be on that opening skit, and it would be shared widely around the Internet Sunday Morning … and THAT'S what they come up with? Basically an unfunny acceptance speech in which he gets the audience of mindless drones to applaud wildly when he says he got it for not being George W. Bush … and then a jab at Hillary?
And what's with Armisen deciding that he can't try to talk like Obama? I'm guessing to talk "Chicago black" would be racist, and is thus verboten. What a sad, unfunny show SNL has become. I supported Bush, but could still laugh at the parodies of "W" and Cheney. Why can't liberals do the same?
I haven't watched SNL in years, and won't be going back any time soon.
Its ok to be funny,
really
They were over-compensating for the last time. During the weekend update they took quite a few shots at Rush Limbaugh though.
Armisen has never really perfected the Obama speak, and that's why everytime they attempt to make fun of him it comes up weak like last night.
Though I still blame the pathetic writers for not having any balls to come up with better material in going after The One.
Why are people still watching this show? It hasn't been funny since Hartman, Farley, Sandler, Rock, Carvey, Meyers, Hooks et al left the show. I remember when Hartman/Hooks did Billary in a domestic dispute. Now THAT was funny. Since this show became a shill for the Democraps I haven't watched it (starting '96 or '97). Worthless rubbish!
This guy is the worst Presidential Impersonator in SNL history.
Are the SNL writers cowards? How could the possibly ignore the endless supply of material the "anointment one" provides daily?
It's really pathetic.
Oh yeah, I could do a funnier impression: "Look!….. uh, er….uh, uh, uh healthcare uh reform is uh, er, uh,uh,uh look it's uh change, yeah. Uh. Uhhhhh, er and uh it uh it's part of um…uh..my portfolio. (*cut the last word short and either lower or raise the tone*). How's that?
I thought it was strange. The skit last week was at least grounded in making fun of its subject, Obama. This week they regressed to form and tried to squeeze humor out of how lucky Obama would be by winning both the Nobel Peace Prize and the lottery. Winning the lottery is pure luck though. I had heard other jokes (e.g. Obama winning Miss America) which were much funnier because they demonstrated how ridiculous it would be to win awards without truly earning them – winning the lottery doesn’t even fit this template. Total political punt on their behalf. Also, the gratuitous “I won it because I’m not Bush” comment (with requisite responsive applause) wasn’t funny because the fact is he did, in part, win the award for that reason.
It’d be interesting to know why Armisen has decided to stop imitating Obama’s speech pattern, especially since he was doing it in the past and had received praise for nailing it pretty well. Would love to see him, or someone at SNL, get asked about this.
Seth Myers doesn't have the writing talent to write for any flyover high school comedy skit. The root of the show's problems lie with Mr. Myers, IMO. Armisen is also one of SNL's weaker actors in years. Gosh darn it though, he does look like the Big O.
How is this show still on the air?
I wonder if Obama will donate his Nobel Peace Prize winnings to ACORN. Or maybe, the black panthers or SEIU. They would really appreciate it.
Lame, of course, how DARE anyone do anything REALLY on mark and insulting to Obama – he is off limits unlike any other President of any Party THIS one is special and is NOT to be mocked directly- EVER
I think it's pretty easy to prove they're dumbing it down, intentionally or by accident. Just go back and watch some of Armisen's early portrayals of Obama during the campaign. Much more authentic, much more funny. Put them side by side and there's no question that something funky is going on.
The SNL sketch was beneath contempt so instead I will comment on the commercial for the new "Whip IT" movie by Drew Barrymore since I saw that and the trailer was actually more memorable than the sketch. Whip IT is about a young girl disobeying parents and joining a roiller derby league. She lives in the suburbs and escapes to the liberal Mecca of Austin and has an indie rocker boyfirend. It starts off with every liberal cliche but takes them organically as events rather than meaningful life choices. In the end the girl finds she is being selfish. It turns the liberal mantra on its head and begins to show families and parental values as important too. I recommend the movie it was failry apolitical and a lot of fun.
This sketch on SNL……Not so Much!
And remember Chevy Chase made an entire career out of Gerald Ford …
They don't really want to, Maria. That would be mockiing their own god.
it ain't hard to nodd off to this crap!
There hasn't been "art" on SNL since they fired Norm MacDonald FOR BEING FUNNY !
This show should have been canned 15 years ago! It's gotten progressively worse every year. Like NBC itself. I hope the whole damned network implodes taking ABC and CBS right along with it.
I ain't laughen'…I'm not even smilen' a bit.
I find absolutely nothing funny or amusing about this…this, creature and his truck load of commie minions occupying our WH.
2010/2012 can’t come fast enough for me.
If we, (I mean the American people), lose out to these usurpers again, it will be our own fault.
Who or what will save us from them in the end?
Maybe Mr. Smith or Mr. Wesson or Mr. Colt has the answer.
Not Over.
When a comedy show gets one of its skits fact-checked by CNN, I'd say the heat is definitely on.
President Obama, is that you?
i didn't laugh once when i saw it. well done snl. just as dear leader expects from his minions.
I hear you.
Even the funny jokes, the non-SNL ones, only amuse me for a few seconds. Then, I almost feel guilty for laughing, considering this rat b*st*rd is in the White House.
These terrible, terrible people must be rooted out. They're not trying to do good and doing evil. They're intent on doing evil, with full knowledge.
What did you REALLY expect, anyway? One can't even call Osama what he is lest one's post be deleted…
I hear you.
Even the funny jokes about Obama, the non-SNL ones, only amuse me for a few seconds. Then, I almost feel guilty for laughing, considering this rat b*st*rd is in the White House.
These terrible, terrible people must be rooted out. They're not trying to do good and doing evil. They're intent on doing evil, with full knowledge.
In their defense, they do have to book guests. If they start taking down Barrack Obama who will host the show? Alec Baldwin's insane brother? Pat Sayak? John Wayne?
2010 and 2012 will give no options beyond the usual donkeys-in-elephant-suits, who have the same destination but are willing to get there a little less rapidly. It will take a Major Unpleasantness to change this situation.
I;m surprised nobody's mentioned the absolutely spot-on impression that MAD-TV does of our Dear Leader. the woman who does Oprah on this is also pretty good…but the Obama impersonation is so good it's uncanny.
also much funnier than SNL. btw that's not a Fred Willard impersonator: that's Fred Willard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg_RNnSd0hk
The audience and lefty SNL seem to believe that this fraud of a President is just great and worthy of worship because he is NOT George Bush. This is absolutely pathetic. This is all they got? How low has his country sunk? They can not even see how ridiculous this is and sounds!
I really don't expect any of these shows that depend on booking hollywood guests to start taking on Barrack Obama. They will be immediatly boycotted if they get a reputation for attacking him.
The only guests they will be able to get will be that one Baldwin brother and Chuck Norris.
Barrack Obama is their Jesus.
SNL is just one more propaganda tool of the Left, so why are we wasting our time discussing them?
STALE……….
If they wanted to be funny, they would have had people showing up to give him the Heisman, an Oscar, an Olympic gold medal, etc… it writes itself. It's obvious that they knew they had to do something, but didn't want to.
It wouldn't surprize me one bit if the folks at SNL weren't putting their all into the Obama skits.
I'm sure thye've got piles of Palin bits for when Tina Fey returns.
Best analysis of all; succint and accurate.
Not heat, but they got a lot of press. However, unlike the Palin stuff, there was no accompanying ratings boost. It would help if it had remotely been a good Obama impression.
Probably his daughter
REALLY LAME. Its obvious the O house has made its displeasure known to its pet peacock about the pretty good skit last week. The press rolling over and begging forgiveness is the message I got in this lame -ss excuse for what could have been back to back hit skits for the network.
Executive powers being abused and misused at every step.
Glenn Beck did a FAR BETTER parody of this joke on his Friday's radio show. Throughout the whole broadcast, Beck had been informed that he had become valedictorian of Harvard AND Cambridge (even tho he never intended… but because he may one day intend to go, he immediately won it). And then he won an Oscar for best picture and a lifetime achievement award for best documentarian… even tho he has never made a film and never made a documentary before… in case he _intended_ to make such a film. And on it went.
For SNL to have made the (Better) joke, he would have said he won Powerball, and just think, he never once played a ticket, but he had every intention to playing it, once, in the future. *THAT*'s the joke, and the SNL writers are scared to incur the wrath of the liberalsphere if they were to make it.
Fred could have appeared in a neck brace to explain why no tele prompters present. Feigning injury stating he was about the give his Nobel prize money away to his favorite charity: ACORN…
actually, i thought the 3am phone call/hillary dig was the ONLY funny part.
on the other hand, maybe they are putting their all into it and they just suck.
What a bunch of timid sissies! Not only did they let Obama off the hook, but only a lame mention of David Letterman during an even lamer skit. They're obviously kept on a short leash by their NBC masters!
Here's a joke for Weekend Update. Since the timid Seth Meyers has no edge, you'll just have to imagine SNL used it.
"To show he's not a hypocrite and that he understands the serious nature of sexual harassment in the workplace, David Letterman has changed the name of his production company from "Worldwide Pants" to "Pants wide enough to hide my boner."
The actor portraying Obama isn't even close. The actor seems almost warm and likable. Not smug, arrogant, aloof, condescending, disinterested and a world class jerk.
You may be right. LOL
SNL = SOCIALISTS NEANDERTHALS LIBERALS. Always has been and always will be.
To "Win" for not being George Bush. PATHETIC COMMUNISTS ANTI-AMERICAN SOCIALISTS.
They are always "oh so smart" and their representatives are reflective in Congress which has a 21 % approval rating which is FIFTY PERCENT LOWER than President Bush at his LOWEST. Furthermore until the 2006 Elections, when the Democrats took COMPLETE CONTROL over Congress, President Bushs' Economy was having RECORD NUMBERS!
WHY is it that the Liberals/Dems have IMMUNITY to the fact that they have been in COMPLETE CONTROL OF CONGRESS since 2006 Elections? Lets judge them on THEIR record and quit allowing them to "blame bush". PATHETIC PARTISAN PUPPETS!
This YouTube video is much more humorous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31nqvyBTWis&fe...
Elucidate
http://blog-elucidate.blogspot.com/
Ophra,,,,,, Obama,,,,,,,, Overstock.com, this is the natural progession
wow, that was incredibly not funny.
It's like he's not even trying anymore. He doesn't even remotely…. Speak! … Like! … Obama!…… (wait for it)…. Anymore! Come on, I can even type in Obama's punctuated spit-out-the-words-speak… why can't a professional imitate it?
CNN's fact checkers may have a problem though…. The SNL skit says Obama hasn't been George Bush for 9 months, but by my count, it's a lot longer than that. Wish I could tell you for sure how long, but that would require actually seeing a birth certificate.
OBAMA WON THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE?
WELL, SH!T! AND HERE I THOUGHT THEY SAID THE O'DELL GREASE PRIZE!!!!
Wolf Blitzer who is one of the CNN syncophants.
yea and even Nixon went on laugh in even tho they made fun of him on the time he had great time poking fun at himself i rem seeing that episode it was funny obamas just a cry baby like chris wallace said he is
Seriously, I was expecting tepid, but that was just pathetic.
ACORN and SEIU wouldn't accept it on principle. They only want money if it is stolen from producers.
Of course, Tina Fey is set to reprise her pantomine of Sarah, so they know where their bread is buttered
I don't watch SNL anymore. It's sucked for a long time. I just watch my DVR'd editions of RedEye. Gutfeld and Co are much funnier.
in all fairness, he has done better before… but this one was so hideously unfunny, so pathetic… how disappointing!!
THAT was the lamest skit I ever saw. But then again so is Obama… so I guess SNL is just as irrelevant as Obama is… and also in need of their own teleprompter(with declines in viewers, they can't afford two teleprompters and lack the skills to act it).
Question: Dear Roseanne Roseannadanna, what do you think of President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize? Answer: "Well, it just goes to show you, it's always something! If it's not one thing, it's another! Hey, Bo! You think you're so neat, huh..?! …What are you trying to do, make me sick?" [answer is comprised of real lines used in a SNL Roseanne Roseannadanna sketch]
what bs from snl/nbc…
obama has a very noticeable speech pattern, armison doesn't even try. could it be because he doesn't have the skill. see what i did there; i avoided using the term "talent" when referring to snl cast.
also, where is all the outrage about black face? having a black performer do obama would be entirely too embarassing for the potus.
It wasn't Wolf Blitzer, he was busy giving Chris Matthews a "reach-around" back at the CNN headquarters while Don Lemon was giving Larry King a sloppy BJ.
jenandlaw, your remark was funnier than the SNL skit. Maybe you could get a job with them.
I've got a great idea for a SNL skit about Obama's Nobel peace prize. Obama starts telling about getting the news about the Nobel peace prize. His daughters come in the room and say "You got the Nobel peace prize. And did you know today is "Bo's" birthday? Oh yeah, and we have two days off from school." and Obama says, "Yeah, forget about the dog's birthday and the two days off from school — I got the Nobel peace prize for the speeches someone else wrote. Is that great or what? "
Oh wait, Obama already told that joke. Well — except for the last line.
I actually did something I had not done in years, maybe decades…I deliberately on purpose turned the television to Saturday Night Live. I thought, if there is ever any week in history ripe for parody of a POTUS, this was it. They had a pretty good time last week and even had the added joke of being "fact checked" by CNN! I mean, this week practically wrote itself. Many bloggers and others had a field day. Come on, SNL, here's your big chance to be back on top, back on the edge, back to relevancy. I thought, if SNL makes history, I am going to watch it, I deserve it for sitting through landshark and nocokepepsi back in the day (pot helped). I want to see them do something good for a change. Instead, the lame sketch about the Lotto check (as someone pointed out earlier, the joke could have been that he did not play, but intended to play one day, so they awarded him the Lotto). It's just ridiculous they could not have done better than he won the first time he played, which just means he's extremely lucky, which is a good thing in a POTUS, right? I did not stay tuned to see if they did any more, since that would have involved hearing the voices of Drew Barrymore and some girl singer I had never heard of.
Just pathetic. Just plain pathetic. That's all there is to it. Even the jr. high school kids who pass for writers at SNL could have come up with something better than what they did. It's obvious they knew they had to do something, but they wanted it to be forgotten immediately. I bet they will never touch Obama again. I also agree that the guy doing the impression is probably being bad on purpose. He knows if he's good and it catches on that he is going to be labeled a villain and will probably never work again.
This was the most ridiculous, Un-funny skit I've ever seen. SNL needs some new writers.
He reminds me of someone in an early sitcom acting like he is acting within the plot of the show.
It was awful. The fact that the impersonation is soooo bad has to be deliberate. what cowards
Right On WeWeed!!……….I quit watching that about the same time…..they appear to be more whining little bitches…
LOL YOU DAM HILLBILLY!!!!!!!
This bunch oF Libs will follow this guy right off the cliff. The said thing is that they want to take us with them. While brave men and women fight for this country they uplift a man that has done nothing and I would not follow across the street to get the mail. We must teach our kids the truth of this all freedom is the one thing worth fighting for, and the guy in the foxhole with you. So while this do nothing in the WH get his NB here are the names of six real American heros:Paul Ray Smith, Jason Dunham, Michael Murphy, Michael Monsoor, Ross McGinnis, and Jared C. Monti. They gave their lives for their awards and we quckily file them away. So go get your award Obama I hope you make world peace, save the polar bears, and feed the poor, because you have a lot to live up too.
LOL well played ;D
Dana Carvey as George Bush was hilarious, remember the young boy that use to play Dan Quayle?
I think snl and late night comics have forgotten that comedy doesn't have to be purely spiteful and hateful the way it was with George W., you can poke fun at someone and still agree with them politically.
If this is the only crap they can come up with they may as well go on hiatus when a democrat is in the white house. It's pointless and they embarrass themselves.
Sorry to disagree with you, but SNL hasn't been funny since Belushi, Ackroid, Radner and Chase…..maybe Obama is a Conehead….from France.
"Don't worry, they can use a little sugar on daddy's ass."
Ok, *that* was funny.
[...] Chooses Unfunny Over Hurting Their Guy by Andrea Shea King Big Hollywood's Alexander Marlow has written a spot-on assessment of "Saturday Night Live's" skit about Obama. This video clip of Chevy Chase on CNN bolsters Marlow's [...]
it looks like the SNL writers are cut off from the drug suppliers that the skit writers in the '80's had. couldn't get less funny if they tried….and it looks like they tried, this time.
I have to agree with Nelson on both aspects.
I can do a better impersonation of PEBO. He doens't even try to mimic the way he speaks or the pauses he puts in every sentence he utters. He also doesn't even try to do the mannerisms that PEBO always uses.
I haven't watched SNL in decades – for basically these reasons. Also because they haven't been funny for decades.
Would Armisen do a bad job at the pardoy because he actually thinks that his President has accomplished anything that he set out to and that Obama is doing a good job? Because if that's the case, then that's funny! Thanks for the laugh Fred!
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