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There's a reason Lorne Michaels keeps asking Alec Baldwin back to host Saturday Night Live: He's really good at it. Baldwin may have made his name in hard-hitting dramas like Glengarry Glen Ross and The Cooler, but SNL has long allowed him to flaunt his skills in stage acting and mimicry. In other words, he never gets flustered or seems at all concerned about making a complete ass of himself--the essence of good sketch comedy. As with such versatile performers as Christopher Walken and John Goodman (who appears in the boozy Bill Brasky skit), these qualities have made him one of the show's most popular hosts. Granted, some may fault the man for a few too many sketches built around the double entendre, like pastry chef Pete Schwetty and his tasty balls, but there's no doubt the guy can sell even the silliest of lines with the straightest of faces. As for his impressions, Baldwin's Tony Bennett--by way of John Travolta--doesn't just capture the legendary crooner's voice and mannerisms, but his unstoppable optimism, as well ("I love things that are great!" ). His squinty-eyed, stiff-necked Robert De Niro is another treat. (His fidgety Charles Nelson Reilly doesn't hit the same heights.) Aside from more than a decade's worth of Not Ready for Prime Time Players, including Mike Meyers, Adam Sandler, and Will Ferrell, The Best of Alec Baldwin includes two deleted dress rehearsal sketches and dishy, occasionally profane commentary from Baldwin and producer Marci Klein. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars
29 reviews
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
OMG This is SO LOL Funny I Fell Off the Couch
Jan 30 2006
By Anthony Ian
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD
Alec Baldwin has always been the best host of SNL (along with Walken and Spacey) and this makes a pretty good case why.
The opening sketch with the press conference about Prince Charles is priceless. And what could be more demented than "Canteen Boy." Baldwin is so over-the-top in that that what is a really, really sick joke is actually funny.
But the home runs come with three of the funniest sketches of all time: The Tony Bennet Show (I was seizing during this one), The Joe Pesci Show (with Baldwin doing DeNiro) and the "Zinger" sketch, which just got funnier as it went along. Even better was the voicemail sketch where he keep re-recording his greeting, only to listen back to it and hear a gay man.
There are a couple of clunkers: "Planet Truth" was just not that funny and maybe two others didn't need to be here. Including one so-so opening monologue that probably was only included because it included Paul McCartney.
The bonus features include one great sketch that never made it on-air, and a great audio track by Baldwin and the Producer of SNL which provides lots of really, really entertaining stories about the cast and the sketches themselves.
Absolutely hilarious.
The opening sketch with the press conference about Prince Charles is priceless. And what could be more demented than "Canteen Boy." Baldwin is so over-the-top in that that what is a really, really sick joke is actually funny.
But the home runs come with three of the funniest sketches of all time: The Tony Bennet Show (I was seizing during this one), The Joe Pesci Show (with Baldwin doing DeNiro) and the "Zinger" sketch, which just got funnier as it went along. Even better was the voicemail sketch where he keep re-recording his greeting, only to listen back to it and hear a gay man.
There are a couple of clunkers: "Planet Truth" was just not that funny and maybe two others didn't need to be here. Including one so-so opening monologue that probably was only included because it included Paul McCartney.
The bonus features include one great sketch that never made it on-air, and a great audio track by Baldwin and the Producer of SNL which provides lots of really, really entertaining stories about the cast and the sketches themselves.
Absolutely hilarious.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dreamboats CAN do comedy!
Mar 2 2006
By M'Hannah
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD
There is no more manly man, chiseled of jaw and steely of glance, than Alec Baldwin at his peak. This DVD is thus a double delight: we see him act well and handsomely in these sketches, and we get to watch him, time and again, play against type. There is a fair amount of homo-humor (Alec as the British prince's press secretary using every possible elaborate metaphor for buggery in a skit that Baldwin co-wrote; Alec as a predator to Adam Sandler's Canteen Boy), and a fair amount of silliness (Alec as an exacting high school french teacher, a PG-rated skit, has been a favorite of my family's since it aired). Alec hawking Pete Schwette's Balls on NPR is probably the best known skit ever to challenge the SNL actors to maintain their composure, and he pulls it off. The only Baldwin masterpiece not on the DVD is Alec as "The Mimic," another utterly silly piece that should not have been omitted. The DVD follows the typical format of others in this series and indeed of the show itself, beginning with a vintage monologue before moving into skits. Baldwin's excellent preparation (you never see him glance at cue cards), his swooning masculinity, and his penchant for the goofiest material that never causes him to break character make this DVD special in the Saturday Night Live retro series.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better than you would expect
Feb 2 2006
By A reviewer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD
Considering that the SNL 'Best of' DVD's can often be very hit or miss with their selections, the majority of the selected sketches on the Baldwin DVD are indeed very funny. As someone who has hosted the show so many times over the years, there is a lot of solid material to choose from. Some highlights include one where he gets a promotion at his job, but is unable to record a voicemail without it sounding less than manly when he does the playback. A zinger vs. burn skit between him and Seth Meyers is a riot, and it ends with a 'Bill Braksy' bar scene that also features Will Farrell and John Goodman that is absolutely hysterical. While there are a few sketches that are not quite as good and you'll probably want to skip over once you've seen them, the majority of the material on this DVD makes it well worth buying for any SNL fan.
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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