Classic SNL Review: November 14, 1987: Robert Mitchum / Simply Red (S13E04)

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

OPENING: THE ROLLING PAPER CHASE

  • In 1973, Harvard Law professor Douglas Ginsburg (Jon Lovitz) smokes pot with his students.

  • A good way to approach a topical cold opening (Ginsburg withdrawing from consideration for the Supreme Court after his earlier pot use became known); it’s also a bit of a snapshot of a more innocent time, especially following the confirmations of creeps like Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh.

  • I like the laid-back way Lovitz plays Ginsburg; he also has some funny flourishes (licking the joint duing “that…I cannot dig”, and while stuffing a towel under the office door crack).

  • The epilogue, with the “where are they now” captions as “I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)” plays, was s pretty funny ending.

  • Rerun alterations: A small trim during the transition from the title to Ginsburg spraying his plant. The transition into the “Later That Night” segment is also trimmed, removing “Purple Haze” and going straight into “Sympathy For The Devil”.

*** 1/2

MONTAGE

  • Slight tweak: the yellow stripe under the guest, featured player, and SNL band photos is a little wider.

  • A. Whitney Brown gets a new picture; from this point he will also only be credited when he appears that night.

  • Rerun alterations: Audio remixed; there are bursts of cheers in the live show that aren’t audible in repeats.

MONOLOGUE

  • Robert Mitchum says doing the show doesn’t scare him because he’s seen and done it all.

  • Very brief and to the point, but Mitchum comes across well, and has a few good lines.

  • Rerun alterations: Mitchum’s “thank you”s at the beginning are inaudible in the live show.

***

COMMERCIAL: COMPULSION

  • Calvin Kleen’s new disinfectant inspires great passion for cleaning.

  • One of the period’s best commercial parodies, a dead-on spoof of the campaign for Calvin Klein’s Obsession. It stands up well enough without having seen the original ads, but it gets even better once you see just how many details from the real thing were worked in.

  • Written by Bonnie and Terry Turner; directed by James Signorelli.

  • Rerun alterations: None.

*****

SKETCH: DEATH BE NOT DEADLY

  • Philip Marlowe (Robert Mitchum) lapses into film noir narration during a visit from a potential client (Kevin Nealon).

  • A perfect use of Mitchum here, and I love how the joke of him doing the narration escalates with him trying to find ways to hide his face. Nealon also does a good job playing off that as the dim but suspicious visitor.

  • Lots of funny lines throughout too, mainly in Mitchum’s narration (especially when he’s trying to come up with similes at the end).

  • I really like the moody jazz instrumental that the SNL Band horns play during the band shot at the end.

  • Written by Kevin Nealon

  • Rerun alterations: None.

****

SKETCH: THE MOUNTAIN MAN

  • Rick “Peachfuzz” Parsons (Dana Carvey) has odd lessons about the wilderness for two prospective hikers (Jon Lovitz and Victoria Jackson).

  • An underrated bit of silliness. Carvey’s weirdo outdoorsman has so many funny moments here, including eating a banana chip that he just scolded Jackson for sticking in her mouth after he told her to.

  • A lot of great lines from Carvey too, including him randomly telling Lovitz “I bet you have a teeny weenie peenie”. I also liked how the line about how “mini men like [Lovitz] who make women turn lesbo” is followed up by Jackson asking “Remember what happened to your first wife?”

  • Written by Dana Carvey

  • Rerun alterations: One of Lovitz’s lines is from dress. Several different camera switches. A few brief edits during Carvey questioning Lovitz to tighten up the sequence. Closing bumper of Robert Mitchum with SNL Band starting “Kiss and Say Goodbye” removed, replaced with rerun of Team Xynex from 10/11/86.

****

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: “THE RIGHT THING”

  • Simply Red performs the first single from their current album Men and Women; the growly vocals from Mick Hucknall early on are more funny than sexy, though he has some better vocal moments in the coda.

  • Slight change to the musical guest set this week: the brick wall is now the back of the set, while the windows are now on the side.

  • Rerun alterations: Remixed

WEEKEND UPDATE

  • Best jokes: Ginsburg/Smith Brothers, Hahn/Hefner, I don’t normally recommend Broadway shows

  • Opening music: “True Love” by Wang Chung

  • A bit of a rebound for Dennis Miller after the comparatively weaker set of jokes last time.

  • “SNL’s answer to June Cleaver” Victoria Jackson drops by to relay some advice she gave to her daughter Scarlet about the importance of a good body, and shows off the baby’s “exercise tape”; again, this was more cute than funny, though the sheer wrongheadedness of Jackson’s advice borders between funny and disturbing. This ends quite awkwardly, though.

  • A. Whitney Brown is back to put the failed Douglas Ginsburg nomination into The Big Picture, and how pot can be both the cause of and the solution to the country’s economic troubles. The usual good stuff from Brown tonight.

  • Rerun alterations: Audio during the workout tape segment remixed.

***

SKETCH: SWEENEY’S COMEBACK

  • Candy (Jan Hooks) is preoccupied with her new beau Dutch (Robert Mitchum), so it’s up to Liz (Nora Dunn) and Skip (Marc Shaiman) to rekindle her interest in performing medleys.

  • Something different for the Sweeney Sisters, with a glimpse of them when they aren’t performing; this was a fun change from the usual formula, and I like how the sisters end up using the medley to communicate with each other. Probably my favourite Sweeney Sisters sketch so far.

  • Written by Rosie Shuster, Christine Zander, Marc Shaiman, Nora Dunn, and Jan Hooks.

  • Rerun alterations: Audio slightly remixed during medley.

****

FILM: OUT OF GAS

  • Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) and The Kid (Bentley Mitchum) get a visit from femme fatale Kathie (Jane Greer) at the last leaded gas station in America.

  • A fun homage to Mitchum and Greer’s performances in the film noir classic Out Of The Past, which had come out 40 years before.

  • Written and directed by Trina Mitchum, Robert’s daughter; Bentley Mitchum is her nephew and Robert’s grandson.

  • Rerun alterations: None.

*** 1/2

SKETCH: ANDRE & REX: MACHO HAIRSTYLISTS

  • Tough guy hairdressers Andre (Phil Hartman) and Rex (Robert Mitchum) are extorted by the leader of the Gay Mafia (Jon Lovitz).

  • I’m not entirely sure what to make of this; there are parts of this I liked (Hartman’s outburst about the sculpting gel) and I can’t help but laugh at Lovitz’s campy performance, but the whole premise is a little iffy, and the ending doesn’t work for me.

  • Written by Christine Zander, Rosie Shuster, Al Franken and Tom Davis.

  • Rerun alterations: Audio on Tom Davis’s intro voiceover remixed. Bell before Victoria Jackson’s dryer finishes louder in rerun. Slight edit before Lovitz’s entrance. Crowd shot cuts out earlier in rerun.

** 1/2

COMMERCIAL: BEAUTYBATH

  • The soothing caress of a bubble bath lets Corazon Aquino (Jan Hooks) relax after another assassination attempt.

  • Funny idea, with some particularly great visuals like Aquino blissfully walking by as the gunfire shoots up the wall behind her.

  • Directed by Matthew Meshekoff.

  • Rerun alterations: Bumper photo at end removed in repeat.

***

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: “SUFFER”

  • Another Men and Women track, this one a slower ballad co-written by Motown legend Lamont Dozier that includes a call-and-response chorus featuring keyboard player Fritz McIntyre, as well as a sax solo from Ian Kirkham.

  • Rerun alterations: Remixed.

SKETCH: MYSTERIOUS OLD MAN

  • A wealthy man (Dana Carvey) hears his beggar father’s (Robert Mitchum) tale of how he came to possess The Star of Ceylon.

  • A little low-key, but it’s one of those sketches that gets funnier as the whole thing reveals itself, with a lot of laughs coming from the details.

  • Written by Jack Handey.

  • Rerun alterations: None.

*** 1/2

GOODNIGHTS

  • Robert Mitchum tells the audience that “we’ve enjoyed performing for you” and asks “Isn’t this a wonderful group?”. He starts to walk off the stage early, but Jon Lovitz pulls him back.

  • The Eaves-Brooks credit is in the same font as the other credits for this week only. Sandy Frank is credited as a guest writer.

  • Don Pardo announces next week’s show with Candice Bergen and Cher, adding that it will be a hard week for him because they’re both old flames.

  • Rerun alterations: Microphone squeak removed.

Final thoughts: A consistently strong show, particularly the first hour, which was boosted by the classic Compulsion commercial, followed by the great Death Be Not Deadly and The Mountain Man. There’s also a fun switchup for the Sweeney Sisters and an underratedly silly 10-to-1 with Mysterious Old Man. Robert Mitchum was best served by the film noir parodies, but his presence also lent a certain air to the other sketches.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Compulsion

  • Death Be Not Deadly

  • The Mountain Man

  • Sweeney’s Comeback

  • Mysterious Old Man

  • The Rolling Paper Chase

  • Out of Gas

SHOW LOWLIGHTS:

  • (none)

MVP:

  • Dana Carvey

CAST & GUEST BREAKDOWN:

cast

  • Dana Carvey: 4 appearances [The Rolling Paper Chase, Compulsion, The Mountain Man, Mysterious Old Man]

  • Nora Dunn: 3 appearances [Compulsion, Sweeney’s Comeback, Andre & Rex: Macho Hairstylists]

  • Phil Hartman: 4 appearances [The Rolling Paper Chase, Compulsion, Andre & Rex: Macho Hairstylists, Mysterious Old Man]; 1 voiceover [The Mountain Man]

  • Jan Hooks: 5 appearances [Compulsion, Death Be Not Deadly, Sweeney’s Comeback, Andre & Rex: Macho Hairstylists, BeautyBath]

  • Victoria Jackson: 4 appearances [The Rolling Paper Chase, The Mountain Man, Weekend Update, Andre & Rex: Macho Hairstylists]

  • Jon Lovitz: 4 appearances [The Rolling Paper Chase, The Mountain Man, Andre & Rex: Macho Hairstylists, BeautyBath]

  • Dennis Miller: 1 appearances [Weekend Update]

  • Kevin Nealon: 1 appearances [Death Be Not Deadly]

featured players

  • A. Whitney Brown: 1 appearance [Weekend Update]

unbilled crew, extras, and bit players

  • Tom Davis: 1 voiceover [Andre & Rex: Macho Hairstylists]

  • Don Pardo: 1 voiceover [Weekend Update]

  • Marc Shaiman: 1 appearance [Sweeney’s Comeback]

guests

  • Robert Mitchum: 6 appearances [Monologue, Death Be Not Deadly, Sweeney’s Comeback, Out Of Gas, Andre & Rex: Macho Hairstylists, Mysterious Old Man]

  • Simply Red: 2 appearances [“The Right Thing”, “Suffer”]

  • Jane Greer: 1 appearance [Out Of Gas]

  • Bentley Mitchum: 1 appearance [Out Of Gas]

REBROADCAST HISTORY:

  • March 19, 1988

  • September 3, 1988

Known alterations:

  • Team Xynex (from 10/18/86) added

  • Edits: The Rolling Paper Chase, The Mountain Man, Andre & Rex: Macho Hairstylists

  • Dress substitions: The Mountain Man (one line)

  • Audio remixing: Montage, Monologue, “The Right Thing”, Weekend Update, Sweeney’s Comeback, Andre & Rex: Macho Hairstylists, “Suffer”

  • Directorial changes: The Mountain Man

Additional screen captures from this episode are available here.