Image = Kate the Great McKinnon

I have a major pet peeve.  I hate when people say that Saturday Night Live hasn’t been funny since the original cast.  This is a bandwagon people jump on just to sound cool even if they haven’t watched the show in years.  To them I say, first of all – watch the first episode ever.  It’s not that funny.  It’s slow and actually very weird.  SNL was a crazy experiment and it is an inimitable accomplishment that it’s been on the air for pver 40 years.  Second – yes, every single sketch is not a home run, but every single cast (after the original) has had brilliant members with indelible characters and sketches.

Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscopo, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Nora Dunn, Jan Hooks, Cheri Oteri, Molly Shannon, Phil Hartman, Martin Short, Will Ferrell, Bill Hader, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Fred Armisen, just to name a few…

I am a devotee of SNL and as such, I slog through the inferior sketches for those moments of gold - and there are many.  In the past 2 seasons this current class has delivered some of the most clever and salient work on the show in years.  (Honorable mention goes to the music videos and Weekend Update with Michael Che & Colin Jost skewering Trump last season after he hosted).  SNL provides scathing social satire on the American condition and is a barometer on current events.  Even though SNL has an ensemble cast, there are always cast members who stand out.  Right now, the “stars” of the show are Taran Killam and Kate McKinnon.  And although they are not household names, they are kicking ass on SNL and I predict that Kate is going to be a huge star after this weekend.  Ghostbusters opens today and it is going to be gi-normous and make her a huge star.

I knew McKinnon was special since The Big Gay Sketch Show (2006-2010).  She played an aristocratic British boy named Fitzwilliam who could have anything in the world but all he wanted was a vagina.  This was at a time before there was a transgender character on every other show on television.  It was brave and bold and a little heartbreaking.  Watch here to see a taste of Fitzwilliam and other characters Kate did on TBGSS.  

On SNL, Kate moves seamlessly from a dead on Hillary Clinton to Justin Beiber to Ellen Degeneres.  Her character last season who was abducted by aliens was so funny that every other cast member in the scene broke into laughter, including host Ryan Gosling.  She also, with Kumail Nanjiani, was a better host of the Independent Spirits than Chris Rock was of the Oscars.  McKinnon is fearless in her work and that’s what makes her so engaging.  I’m guessing that comes from how she lives her life, being the first openly gay cast member in SNL history.  Like I said, if you don’t know her name right now, you will after this weekend.  Whether this Ghostbusters is a good movie is beside the point.  It's a watershed moment that a big summer blockbuster stars 4 women with 2 relatively unknown.  Thanks to Paul Feig for that.  I hope this is the beginning of a trend - in casting, in the world and whatever it takes to get many more Kate McKinnon projects made. 

Image = The Renaissance of Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin is one of my top 2 favorite people in show business (the other is John Cusack.)  I have admired Mr. Baldwin for many years and right now Alec Baldwin is having a major renaissance.  Alec has already been a huge movie star and a celebrated TV star and now he’s branching out in other ways.  He started with a podcast called Here’s the Thing, interviewing celebrities and other notable people to find out what truly makes them tick.  And he has a distinctive knack for interviewing.  He asks questions most conventional hosts don’t ask, out of a true inquisitiveness and respect for his guests.  Now Baldwin is hosting a talk show on MSNBC called Up Late with Alec Baldwin where he features more political guests such as NY Democratic candidate for Mayor Bill de Blasio. 

On his podcast, I’ve heard Alec say a number of times that he’s thinking about quitting acting.  I don’t think that he will ever completely leave show business, but he has been very open about his disillusionment about the process of movie making.  He and longtime friend James Toback made a documentary/mockumentary called Seduced and Abandoned (premiering on HBO tonight) about trying to raise money at Cannes for an ill-conceived movie concept.  Unabashed about who he is and his politics for years and now being vocal about becoming un-enamored about the movie business are many of the reasons I love Alec Baldwin.  Most actors just do the same thing for 50 years, but not Alec.  He is not afraid to take chances or even become unpopular in order to evolve and stay true to himself.

Alec on the set of Up Late

He may have done so early in his career but these days, Alec Baldwin doesn't play the Hollywood game.  First, he's a native New Yorker and very involved with New York politics and culture.  He walks the streets, he's the voice of the New York Philharmonic and he publicly endorses candidates like de Blasio.  Alec, once considered a major sex symbol, didn't shy away from acting (and winning an absurd number of awards for 30 Rock) when he gained a significant amount of weight a few years ago.  (He slimmed down a lot after his doctor told him he was pre-diabetic). The New York Post trashes him regularly and it doesn't seem to phase him.  Unless he is literally tackling paparazzi, he seems cool and very comfortable in his skin.

The most amazing thing about Alec Baldwin is what a fan he still is despite being a long established member of the club.  He is forever in awe of SNL and shows up there whenever Lorne Michaels calls.  He says that Michaels and Tina Fey "changed his life" with the opportunity to do 30 Rock.  And the last thing he said when he interviewed Billy Joel (a fellow Long Islander) was, "You're the king!"

This quote probably sums up Alec and my admiration of him best:
"And yet, for everything that's happened to him and around him, Alec Baldwin shows not the pitted surface of a battered survivor but the smooth finish of a beloved entertainer." - James Wolcott, Vanity Fair March 2010