A friend of mine recently told me that he thinks improvised comedy is one of the most important art forms that we have. Two things: 1) this guy isn’t even an improviser (which raises the question of why I was even interacting with him), and 2) he was at least a little drunk. So, while I take what this anonymous “friend” said with a grain of salt, I do agree that improv has a lot of redeeming qualities that should bring it more attention than it currently has.
I used to love watching Saturday Night Live during the Will Ferrell years. I would stay up until 1 am every Saturday night, despite the fact that I almost always had to go to Hebrew school the next morning. It didn’t matter. It was worth it. But casts change. Will Ferrells slowly give way to Jimmy Fallons, who in turn give way to Bill Haders. Saturday Night Live’s current season – its 39th – saw a large cast shift. Gone are the Haders and Sambergs and Sudeikises, only to be replaced by newer, whiter guys (we’ll get to that in a moment). With that last chunk of cast members I felt a real allegiance to, so went my near-constant viewing habits. I’ve only seen two episodes this season (“Tina Fey/Arcade Fire” and “Jimmy Fallon/Justin Timberlake”), but it turns out that I am not above getting sucked in by a good sketch or two.
Steven Cohen's 365 Days of Reviews 