Film

The Best Of... Saturday Night Live (DVDs)

Paul Cook 11/06/2010

Rating: 3/5

The Best of Saturday Night Live is releasing four DVD's of selected material by Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock and Eddie Murphy. Each comedian-specific DVD features the typical SNL skits, sketches and stand-up and demonstrate that Saturday Night Live has, as often recognised, produced much of America's best comic talent in recent years.

Each DVD contains an hour compilation of material from each comedian with a small selection of bloopers and extras to boot. For a UK audience some of the material across all the DVDs seems a little irrelevant this side of the pond but for the most part the comedy is the sort of material that shot them to fame a decade or so ago. Chris Rock's DVD is quite literally black comedy through and through. For those acquainted with Rock's high-pitched ecstatic approach, the DVD features several in-your-face, OTT stand-up performances and black sitcom parodies.

There are also early, regular cameos from David Spade (Just Shoot Me), Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Jim Carrey, Bill Hader (Superbad etc), Jimmy Fallon, The Wayans brothers, Jon Lovitz and so on. At times it's like watching 'Where Are They Now' as some of America's biggest comedians pass by in fleeting cameo roles.

Will Ferrell's DVD, again, offers no real surprises. Typically oddball, off-beat comedy that shot him to fame into the Frat-pack franchise is relived and revitalised on the DVD. Some classic sketches feature, including the infamous 'Night at the Roxbury' sketch. Ferrell's DVD is sketch-heavy unlike the predominantly stand-up and performance based material in Chris Rock and Adam Sandler's.

Adam Sandler's DVD is very much the Happy Gilmore/Billy Madison style comedy that we've become accustomed to. However, there are also some intriguing live music skits from Sandler too making for an interesting insight into the star's early career on SNL. The Eddie Murphy DVD is perhaps the best for those wishing to watch one of Saturday Night Live's comedians in their glory years. You'll find no Norbit/Klumps filler, just Murphy's infamous early sketches and standup.

The Best of Saturday Night Live DVD's are being released and marketed with Father's Day on 20th June in sight. However, unless one can be sure that their dad is a genuine fan of the given comedian/s, the comedy could be hit and miss. There is also the added issue that in our Youtube-culture a majority of the DVD content (aside from the extras) is readily available somewhere online. Nevertheless, fans of the SNL comedians will love these DVD's and fans not yet acquainted with the stars' beginnings should really check these out.