Saturday, May 8, 2010

A Rose by Any Other Name...(some thoughts on Betty White on SNL)


It was a great idea, a great honor, a great movement...all of that. I was among the throng eager to have Betty White host on SNL. Excited enough to set my DVR. Got myself all set up with my post-shower ice water and wet-to-dry straightener and make a night of it. And the monologue was hilarious--funny send-up of the facebook campaign (back in my day we used to "poke" each other, but it was something you did on a hayride under a blanket). See? That's the kind of just-under-the-radar sweet-n-slightly-dirty persona.

Then came the first sketch. A too-long rundown of a baked-good vulgarity. A little later a strange piece with a mononym punchline ("Lesbian") repeated over and over. The MacGruber pieces were clever, until she dropped a bleeped-out F-bomb. The digital short featuring the cast singing "Thank You for Being a Friend" showed some promise, until Betty put on a mask and screamed and, well, got disgusting.

The census-taker skit with Tina Fey was old-school hilarious, though. And it was dead last. Almost worth wading through the rest. Almost. At least I got my hair done.

I think the writers (and, sadly, Betty) forgot the words of Anthony from the latest season of Project Runway: "Being a lady never goes out of style."

Really--I hope all the facebook users who supported this appearance need to settle down and watch a Golden Girls marathon (or Netflix some Mary Tyler Moore) and see this woman at her finest, with dead-on delivery and a wicked-dimpled grin. I've seen her on episodes of Password where she was more engaging, and Humane Society PSA's that were funnier.

I still loves my Betty, but I think I'll stick with Rose.

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