Willie Simpson

Archive for 90s comedy

Eddie Vedder, Emilio Estevez, Adam Sandler Shooting SNL Promos in 1994

Posted in Fun and Crazy, SNL, Youtube Favs with tags 90s comedy, 90s rock, 90s SNL, Adam Sandler, comedy, David Spade, Eddie Vedder, Eddie Vedder Emilio Estevez Adam Sandler Shooting SNL Promos in 1994, Eddie Vedder's Tribute to Kurt Cobain, Emilio Estevez, funny, grunge, grunge rock, hard rock, indie rock, Kurt Cobain, Lorne Michaels, NBC, New York City, Nirvana, NYC, Opera Man, Pearl Jam, Rock and Roll, Saturday Night Live, Seattle, SNL, The Opera Man, willie simpson on December 6, 2011 by Willie

Making a television show is difficult, especially one like Saturday Night Live where all the content is written and produced a week in advance before live airing. From the looks of this video, making an SNL is a long an tedious process. Here, they are just making a promo spot, and even though this video is edited to 9 minutes, it probably took well over an hour. It’s fantastic to watch though. First you have Eddie Vedder, appearing in April of 1994, a few days after Kurt Cobain killed himself. Eddie and Pearl Jam did a nice little tribute to Kurt as you can see in the picture above with the “K” on Eddie’s chest. That’s just a bit of rock and roll history, but in this clip you get to see a nervous and very young Adam Sandler yuck it up with Eddie, whom Adam is clearly enamored with. You also get to see the oddly detached Emilio Estevez, famous brother of Charlie Sheen, and son of Martin Sheen, interact with these other two icons of film and music. At one point Eddie asks Emilio, how’s it been this week, to which Emilio replies, “I believe everything’s been good, just fine.” It was awkward, and Emilio looks like he’d rather be anywhere else then with some long haired grunge rocker and with the jittery nutbar Adam Sandler. This video is fascinating and revealing, and an awesome time capsule of one of SNL’s golden eras. Check it out!

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The Doors, Kids in the Hall, Waiting for the Sun

Posted in Kids in the Hall, The Doors with tags 60s rock, 90s comedy, Bruce McCulloch, California, Canada, Canadian Comedy, comedy, Dave Foley, funny, Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Kevin McDonald, Kids in the Hall, Kids in the Hall and the Doors, Lorne Michaels, Los Angeles, Mark McKinney, psychedelic pop, psychedelic rock, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, Rock and Roll, Saturday Night Live, Scott Thompson, SNL, The Doors, To Be A Doors Fan, Waiting for the Sun, willie simpson on November 8, 2011 by Willie

The Kids in the Hall were a sketch comedy team formed in the 1980s by a group of talented and semi-demented Canadian geniuses. SNL guru, and fellow Canadian Lorne Michaels gave them a show that pushed the limits of comedy to frightening new edges of hilarity. Playing out like an uncensored SNL, the Kids in the Hall tackled drugs, homosexuality, counter-culture ideas, religion, and raving lunacy with breathless confidence, finding humor in very dark places. In many ways, its no surprise they were Doors fans. The Doors were a group who too were unafraid to push boundaries, and they did both musically and socially with their manic psychedelic rock and with the outrageous behavior of lead singer Jim Morrison. So, Kids and the Hall and the Doors? Match made in heaven. Check out the hilarious clip below where the Kids in the Hall teach you exactly how to be a Doors fan, and then watch the clip of “Waiting For the Sun,” preferably at dusk.

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Ben Stiller and Bruce Springsteen, SNL and the Ben Stiller Show

Posted in Bruce Springsteen, Fun and Crazy, SNL, Youtube Favs with tags 90s comedy, Andy Dick, Ben Stiller, Ben Stiller SNL, Bob Odenkirk, Bruce Springsteen, comdey video, comedy, David Cross, Dino Stamatopoulos, Fred Armisen, Janeane Garofalo, Judd Apatow, MTV, NBC, NYC, Saturday Night Live, sketch comedy, SNL, The Ben Stiller Show, willie simpson on October 10, 2011 by Willie

Saturday Night Live is really hit or miss this days, mostly miss, but sometimes, when they get a guy in there who knows sketch comedy, like Ben Stiller, they can hit a few home runs. That was case the other night when Ben revived his classic impression of Bruce Springsteen from his cult hit “The Ben Stiller Show.” The bit was a clever, almost throwback comedy parody that reminded me of the golden age of sketch comedy found in the 90s. In the sketch, Ben is Bruce selling you nothing but the stories he tells in between songs, and it’s pretty damned funny. It was nothing revolutionary, but it really evoked that spirit of classic grunge era sketch comedy. The next clip is a collection of all the Ben as Bruce bits from the “Ben Stiller Show.” You get to see Bruce teaching kids how to count, delivering a baby, fighting in a bar, and warding off aliens. You even get to see Bruce travel through time and help out old Abe Lincoln, (awesomely played by Stiller Show alum Bob Odenkirk.) Speaking of Bob, if you catch a hint of Mr. Show whilst watching the Springsteen compilation, you’re not smellings things because both Bob and David were head writers there, and went on to make their own masterpiece of sketch comedy shortly following the Stiller Show’s brief run. So get ready to laugh in UHN, TWO, HEE, HOOR!

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Paul Simon, Kodachrome, Coneheads Highlights!

Posted in Paul Simon, SNL, Youtube Favs with tags 70s rock, 90s comedy, 90s film, Adam Sandler, Adult Contemporary, Andy Warhol, Art Garfunkel, BBC, Beldar Conehead, Chris Farley, Columbia Records, Coneheads, Dan Aykroyd, David Spade, Drew Carey, Eastman Kodak, Eddie Griffin, Ellen DeGeneres, England, folk, folk rock, Jan Hooks, Jane Curtin, Jason Alexander, Joey Lauren Adams, Jon Lovitz, Julia Sweeney, Kevin Nealon, Kodachrome, Kodak, Kodak 35mm, Lorne Michaels, Maine, Michael McKean, Michael Richards, New York City, Nikon, NYC, Parker Posey, Paul Simon, Phil Hartman, pop rock, Portland, Prymaat Conehead, Rock and Roll, Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld, Simon and Garfunkel, Sinbad, SNL, There Goes Rhymin' Simon, Tim Meadows, Tom Arnold, willie simpson on October 1, 2011 by Willie

I was sitting around in Portland, Maine yesterday with nothing better to do, when on came the “Coneheads” movie. I haven’t seen in quite sometime, but its one of those movies where you just have to sit through the whole thing. I was amazed at the parade of 90s comedy superstars appearing in one scene after another. Not only did you have original SNL stars Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin in their iconic roles, you had Seinfeld stars Jason Alexander and Michael Richards, mega comedy stars Adam Sandler, Phil Hartman, and Drew Carey, and even film indie stars like Parker Posey and Joey Lauren Adams. When the film was released, it was a commercial dud, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t a cult classic. It contains Chris Farley’s best supporting role ever caught on film, where he plays the unlikely love interest Ronnie, and its riffs on the US immigration experience and laws are spot on and brilliant. Anyway, I couldn’t get enough of the film, especially the scene where Beldar Conehead gets a 35 mm Kodak camera filled with glorious Kodachrome color film, and shoots his life on Earth with his family in the late seventies and eighties. It’s a brilliant sequence set to Paul Simon’s classic hit song, “Kodachrome,” from his 1973 There Goes Rhymin’ Simon record. Bit of trivia, the song was banned by the BBC in England for its use of a trademarked commercial item in the lyrics…kinda unfair considering how much commercialism is imprinted on our lives…just ask Andy Warhol. So below, check out a sweet homemade “Kodachrome” video someone made, as well as the trailer for the legendary “Coneheads” film….See you next zearl!

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Seinfeld, Brokeback About Nothing

Posted in Larry David, Seinfeld, Youtube Favs with tags 90s comedy, Brokeback Mountain, Brokeback Mountain parody, comedy, Elaine Benes, film parody, films, George Costanza, Jason Alexander, Jerry Seinfeld, Julia-Louise Dreyfus, Kramer, Larry David, Michael Richards, Newman, Not That's There's Anything Wrong With it, Seinfeld, Seinfeld Movie, Wayne Knight, willie simpson on August 22, 2011 by Willie

I’m getting pretty good at predicting trends. Just a few days ago I posted a series of Seinfeld trailers cobbled together by a brilliant internet guy, and today I have a new one from a different guy who imagines Jerry and George lost somewhere on Brokeback Mountain. His future film entitled, “Brokeback About Nothing,” is a passionate and serious look at the obvious chemistry between Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza and the consequences they face pursuing forbidden love. Of course there have been dozens of Brokeback parodies in the past, but this is the first Seinfeld one, and its just as funny because there is ample accidental moments to pull from. Anyway don’t feel bad if you enjoy this because after all, it’s not like there’s anything wrong with it.

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Seinfeld, How it Began

Posted in Curb Your Enthusiasm, Fun and Crazy, Larry David, Seinfeld with tags 90s comedy, 90s sitcoms, Castle Rock, comedy, Elaine Benes, George Costanza, How it Began, Jason Alexander, Jerry Seinfeld, Johnny Carson, Julia-Louise Dreyfus, Kramer, Larry David, Michael Richards, NBC, Newman, Seinfeld, Seinfeld documentary, Seinfeld How it Began, sitcom, The Tonight Show, TV, Wayne Knight, willie simpson on July 28, 2011 by Willie

The “Seinfeld” obsession continues, this time with a great documentary on it’s unlikely creation and even more unlikely smash success. It’s a revealing 6 part look into how the show started off as a quirky experimental program whose premise was wrapping a sitcom around a standup comedians act. It was a totally novel creation springing from the minds of Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. The documentary is great because you see the enormous strain and pressure Larry David was under in the creation of this thing countered with the unnatural calm and ease that Jerry Seinfeld exuded during the whole creation. The whole video series is great, a must for “Seinfeld” fans, which should just about include the entire human race. Sadly, Part 3 and 5 cannot be embedded! Stupid youtube censors. Don’t worry, I’ve provided links so you won’t miss out. Enjoy.