SNL – Sorry, Not Laughing

What’s the deal with Saturday Night Live? It used to be funny. Am I the only one who thinks this? I don’t know if it is just because I am getting older and apparently humor is changing, or if it is because SNL is just not as good as it used to be.

I miss the golden years of Chris Farley, Adam Sandler and David Spade. Nothing was funnier than the Zagats, Canteen Boy, Spade in America, Farley’s Chip N’ Dales audition, the Gap Girls, any one of Sandler’s original songs or Matt Foley living in a van down by the river.

The next cast with Cheri Oteri, Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell was hilarious also. The cheerleaders were classics along with Barbara Walters, Mary Catherine Gallagher, Harry Caray and the infamous Cowbell sketch.

The years with Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon, Rachel Dratch and Amy Poehler were also good ones. I never missed Weekend Update with Jimmy and Tina or Amy and Seth. The horny teenagers from Boston, Appalachian Emergency Room, Colonel Angus, Debbie Downer, mom jeans and any sketch that Jimmy cracked up in were all great.

The current cast of SNL has some really talented and funny people. Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg and Bill Hader are some of the best. I think the writing isn’t as good as it used to be. The talent is there, but they just aren’t given good material. If a sketch is funny, it’s because one the actors does something to make it funny, not because the sketch was funny on its own. With the exception of Andy Samberg’s Digital Shorts, I’m afraid the new SNL is nothing to laugh about.

Joy Larson is a mother of four, graduate of The University of Montana, animal lover and writer.