2 posts tagged “kristen wiig”
I was pleasantly surprised to go to Entertainment Weekly's web site today and see a post about Saturday Night Live's decline in quality, with writer Ken Tucker directly addressing the issue of Kristen Wiig (finally!).
The post states: "Speaking of Wiig, her Kathie Lee Gifford and Bjork were excellent, but I doubt I'm the only person who thinks she's on-screen way too much these days--at best, she's carrying too much of the load."
Finally! All this time, I thought I was crazy. I've stated in previous blog posts my confusion about Kristen Wiig and why she shows up everywhere in movies and television, playing the same dry-talking, weirdo female character. Against everything conventional, Wiig is like the most popular girl in school who makes goofy faces and fart noises in class all the time, and students think it's hilarious and cute. It just doesn't happen. Yet, Wiig appears in EVERY SNL SKIT.
Message boarders chimed in at the bottom of the EW article, with one saying she's "one-note" like Adam Sandler. I feel like I've finally been vindicated.
However, I will say that Wiig does a good job of impersonating celebrities, especially Elisabeth Hasselbeck. She nails it -- dead on. But really -- it isn't hard to make a View skit funny when the material is pretty much directly lifted from the ABC daytime talk show itself. It's similar to Tina Fey making "Sarah Palin" funny when Fey looks exactly like the V.P. candidate and took dialogue directly from Palin interviews (which then became "jokes").
Either way, SNL needs a reboot. While I love Seth Meyers' Weekend Updates, I don't know how he leads the writing team with some of the skits that garner crickets from audiences. I long for the days when Will Ferrell would show up and somehow make the worst written skit funny (although I'm sure many will debate me on this one!). I wonder if Lorne Michaels and crew think Wiig is the new go-to girl for that.
Here's Wiig in The View skit that actually made me laugh:
Kristen Wiig is everywhere, and I can't take it anymore.
No offense to the woman. She might be a nice person. But I can't take another SNL skit or low-budget, throwaway farce with her face in it. I can't watch a trailer for an Apatow comedy or anything that might even have a few chuckles in it without seeing her face or hearing her voice drop in that low ironic way in which she only knows how to speak.
Just when you thought it was safe to watch a trailer for the new Superbad-esque comedy Adventureland, Wiig shows up in the trailer, pushing me over the edge. That's it. Something needs to be done. I would like to build a case against Kristen Wiig and argue how unfunny she is.
After her "retirement" from Sarah Palin, Tina Fey said that she thought Wiig would be a good contender for future SNL impersonations of the Alaskan V.P. candidate. Really? You be the judge of whether I'm right or wrong. The future of Saturday Night comedy depends on it.
First, I would like to submit exhibit A into evidence of Kristen Wiig NOT BEING FUNNY:
Ladies and Gentleman, Exhibit B:
I don't get it. I didn't laugh once. I only felt uncomfortable, like one feels at amateur comedy clubs when someone is bombing on stage.
So what is it about her? Is she not given good material or am I just lacking a grasp on this style of comedy? Do I need to get on the Wiig Wagon? Did you not laugh once at either of these skits? If you did laugh, I can submit dozens of other tragic examples. Just ask me. I could go all day.
