Classic SNL Review: October 24, 1987: Sean Penn / LL Cool J, The Pull (S13E02)

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RATINGS SYSTEM:
***** - Classic
**** - Great
*** - Good/Average
** - Meh
* - Awful

OPENING: FATAL ATTRACTION II

  • Sean Penn gets an unwelcome visitor in his dressing room: his former prison lover Alex (LL Cool J).

  • Another opening that combines a big summer movie with a bit of topical humor, this time involving tonight’s host’s brief prison stay. Penn’s a good sport here, and gets a good laugh when he rebuts LL Cool J’s line about being a comedown after Madonna (“Now that’s not fair!”)

  • Interestingly, there’s nobody from the cast in this sketch at all; just the host, one of the musical guests, and stage manager Joe Dicso.

  • Rerun alterations: The shot of Penn and LL Cool J reflected in the dressing room mirror is replaced with dress rehearsal. One of LL Cool J’s lines is also edited in from dress to eliminate a bit of dead air.

***

MONTAGE

  • The SNL Band gets an updated photo tonight.

MONOLOGUE

  • Sean Penn explains that his aversion to celebrity photographers comes from a childhood trauma.

  • Continuing to have fun with Penn’s notoriety, Don Pardo makes an announcement that the taking of photographs is strictly prohibited.

  • Penn gets a laugh clearing up the “misconception” that he’s married to Madonna (“I wish!”). His story about a roving gang of celebrity photographers burning down his family’ house when he was a child was funny, though the punchline (“It was a slow news day”) didn’t get much of a reaction.

  • Rerun alterations: None.

***

SHOW: WALL STREET WEEK

  • Louis Rukeyser (Jon Lovitz) and his guests discuss the fallout from Black Monday.

  • Solid way to make fun of the Black Monday market crash that week. Phil Hartman and Jan Hooks both have very funny scenes (particularly Hooks calmly advising investors and gradually descending into terror), but Sean Penn’s performance as a cocky ruined Wall Street whiz-kid is so terrible it actually makes the sketch funnier.

  • The inclusion of Dennis Miller as a carny who helped Rukeyser with his metaphors in his opening speech and the whole Future Man segment also bumped this up for me, and gave it a bit of a sillier edge.

  • Lovitz seems to be battling a cough tonight; you can see him coughing as soon as the camera comes up on him at the beginning, and you can hear him cough a lot of times over the rest of the show, especially when the camera is off him.

  • Written by Al Franken, Tom Davis, and Jim Downey.

  • Rerun alterations: Applause mixed out of opening videotape. Hooks and Penn’s responses are from dress rehearsal: Lovitz’s wig is styled differently and Hooks rips her glasses off before the end of her rant, while some stumbles from Lovitz and mic issues from Penn are only in live. The pan to Future Man is zoomed slightly to remove more of a camera that gets in the shot. Penn asking directions to the bathroom is from dress (the live show camera angle showed the lights and boom mic); it looks like Lovitz also starts saying Penn’s line in live.

****

SHOW: CHURCH CHAT

  • Church Lady (Dana Carvey) has words with an Iranian diplomat (Jon Lovitz) and makes Sean Penn lose his temper.

  • Last year’s breakout character returns (just listen to the huge cheers at the title screen) with a particularly memorable installment featuring a much more combative guest than usual.

  • Lovitz’s appearance as the Iranian diplomat is a reference to another big news story that happened that Monday, Operation Nimble Archer. Both he and Carvey get some strong lines here, but it’s quickly overshadowed by the Penn interview, where Church Lady accuses him of being a publicity-seeking “drunken pugilist”, tricks him into having his picture taken, and slags his wife before Penn has enough and punches her, followed by a brawl between the two.

  • Written by Dana Carvey, Bonnie Turner, and Terry Turner.

  • Rerun alterations: Lovitz’s complete interview is from dress. A slight bit of dead air removed before the Madonna clip. Church Lady’s reaction through Lovitz offering horses is from dress. Brawl scene to end is from dress. Band shot is from dress.

****

COMMERCIAL: PITMAN AND BULLOCK

  • The investment firm takes inspiration from the aggression, tenacity, and cold-bloodedness of a ferocious dog.

  • A very short, very straightforward commercial parody (directed by Jim Signorelli). Not really a whole lot to say about it.

  • Oddly, the show runs this immediately after a real commercial break. I’m guessing the next sketch took a little longer than usual to set up.

  • Rerun alterations: Audience mixed quieter.

***

SKETCH: TEENY CAFE

  • Robert DeNiro (Sean Penn) discusses a project with his agent, and Babette (Nora Dunn) and Bob (Jon Lovitz) sing a badly-retranslated version of “The Way We Were”.

  • A follow-up to a sketch in May’s Garry Shandling episode; it treads a little too much on familiar ground, but there are some fun bits involving Kevin Nealon describing how the veal is pampered before being killed, Penn’s Robert DeNiro impression, and of course, Babette (in the character’s final appearance) and Bob’s new lyrics.

  • Written by Nora Dunn and George Meyer.

  • Rerun alterations: Microphone issues during Nealon’s description fixed. A few seconds cut between the Fergie lookalike waving off Nealon and Babette beginning to speak.

***

WEEKEND UPDATE

  • Best jokes: Black Monday, Bush visits Jessica McClure.

  • Opening music: “One Slip” by Pink Floyd.

  • Dennis Miller now has a shorter hairstyle (actually first seen in the Wall Street Week sketch); he also seems to have a weaker set of jokes than usual, though it picks up a little at the end.

  • Kevin Nealon is back with another Thoughtful Insight, sharing cliches to discuss Black Monday; some good jokes here, including the odds of Lou Gehrig having Lou Gehrig’s Disease (I like the one about not knowing who Alzheimer’s played for) and stacking cattle on half an acre of land.

  • Rerun alterations: None.

***

SKETCH: AFTER THE DATE

  • Marge (Jan Hooks) and Don (Phil Hartman) frustrate daughter Susan (Victoria Jackson) and her date (Sean Penn) with faulty reminiscence.

  • A follow-up to last season’s Movie Talk sketch with Steve Guttenberg, with the family now confirmed to be the Keisters. Again, this is a softer, slice-of-life scene, with some relatable laughs coming from Penn’s impatience, and a sweet ending.

  • Written by Bonnie and Terry Turner.

  • Rerun alterations: None

*** 1/2

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: “GO CUT CREATOR GO”

  • LL Cool J performs his ode to DJ Cut Creator from the Bigger and Deffer album, with the man himself and DJ Bobcat backing him up. An energetic performance from the rapper, only 19 years old at the time.

  • Unusually, the first musical performance of the night doesn’t happen until almost 12:30 am.

  • Rerun alterations: Remixed; LL Cool J’s vocals are not as prominent in the rerun.

SHOW: DISCOVER

  • Peter Graves (Phil Hartman) endangers a snake researcher (Sean Penn) by asking him stupid questions.

  • Hartman’s Peter Graves gets his usual laughs from his stupidity (particularly thinking a snake is a coward because it won’t kill him); the part with Penn feels a little rushed, though.

  • Written by George Meyer and Phil Hartman

  • Rerun alterations: The beginning up to Graves asking to see the experiment is from dress rehearsal, as is a brief part when Penn says he has been bitten on his ankle.

***

SKETCH: JOEY COMES HOME

  • Eddie Spimozo’s (Jon Lovitz) kid brother (Sean Penn) wants to join the family business after returning from war.

  • Another recurring character, this time not having appeared since January. Again Lovitz does well with this character and gets some good lines in, though it’s not the most memorable installment.

  • Written by Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, A. Whitney Brown, and Robert Smigel.

  • Rerun alterations: Bumper photo of The Pull removed from end.

***

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: “THIS & THAT”

  • Sean Penn introduces “the guy Ma always loved best”, older brother Michael and his band The Pull. This song appears on Penn’s debut album March two years later with some minor differences; here it’s a pretty straightforward performance.

FILM: CAT DENTIST

  • Dr. Daniel Rudolph (Tom Davis) makes chit-chat as he fills Peggy’s cavity.

  • More cute than laugh-out-loud funny (aside from the obvious stuffed cat in some of the shots), but I liked it.

  • Written by Tom Davis; directed by Andy Aaron.

  • Rerun alterations: Audio error at beginning fixed.

***

GOODNIGHTS

  • Sean Penn says “Hope you enjoyed the show, thanks to everybody, it was a good time.”

  • Don Pardo announces next week’s guests Dabney Coleman, The Cars, and Elvira (“It’s our Halloween show, and I’m already scared!”)

Final thoughts: Not a bad show overall, though it does peak early with the Wall Street Week and Church Chat sketches; the rest is heavier on recurring material, but still watchable. Sean Penn was an OK host, more memorable in the material poking fun at him than anything else (unless you count his hilariously bad performance in Wall Street Week). Good music this week too.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Church Chat

  • Wall Street Week

  • After The Date

SHOW LOWLIGHTS:

  • (none)

MVP:

  • Jon Lovitz

CAST & GUEST BREAKDOWN:

cast

  • Dana Carvey: 2 appearances [Church Chat, Teeny Cafe]

  • Nora Dunn: 1 appearance [Teeny Cafe]

  • Phil Hartman: 4 appearances [Wall Street Week, Teeny Cafe, After The Date, Discover]; 2 voiceovers [Wall Street Week, Church Chat]

  • Jan Hooks: 3 appearances [Wall Street Week, After The Date, Discover]

  • Victoria Jackson: 2 appearances [After The Date, Joey Comes Home]

  • Jon Lovitz: 4 appearances [Wall Street Week, Church Chat, Teeny Cafe, Joey Comes Home]

  • Dennis Miller: 2 appearances [Wall Street Week, Weekend Update]

  • Kevin Nealon: 4 appearances [Wall Street Week, Teeny Cafe, Weekend Update, Joey Comes Home]

featured players

  • A. Whitney Brown: credited, no appearances

unbilled crew, extras, and bit players

  • Tom Davis: 1 appearance [Cat Dentist]

  • Joe Dicso: 1 appearance [Fatal Attraction II]

  • John Henry Kurtz: 1 voiceover [Pitman & Bullock]

  • Don Pardo: 3 voiceovers [Monologue, Weekend Update, Joey Comes Home]

  • Christine Zander: 1 appearance [Teeny Cafe]

guests

  • Sean Penn: 8 appearances [Fatal Attraction II, Monologue, Wall Street Week, Church Chat, Teeny Cafe, After The Date, Discover, Joey Comes Home]

  • LL Cool J: 2 appearances [Fatal Attraction II, “Go Cut Creator Go”]

  • The Pull: 1 appearance [“This & That”]

  • DJ Bobcat: 1 appearance [“Go Cut Creator Go”]

  • DJ Cut Creator: 1 appearance [“Go Cut Creator Go”]

REBROADCAST HISTORY:

  • February 6, 1988

  • May 28, 1988

Known alterations:

  • Docu-Fresh (from 12/12/87) added

  • Edits: Wall Street Week, Church Chat, Teeny Cafe.

  • Dress substitutions: Fatal Attraction II (part), Wall Street Week (part), Church Chat (part), Discover (part).

  • Audio remixing: Pittman and Bullock, “Go Cut Creator Go”, “This & That”, “Cat Dentist”.

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.