keeponwithbrian

I occasionally see some of this show because my wife watches it sometimes. I try to enjoy it for it's basic idea which is helping a needy family, but several factors get in the way for me. Every episode follows the same format where many parts seem totally scripted (which they are) and tears flow seemingly on cue. The attempt to manipulate the viewer with a mixture of emotional breakdowns and sad music is a real turn off for me. The fact that everyone who donates something to the house, be it Sears or whoever, has to plug themselves for being generous is also annoying. Probably the biggest problem I have with it all is that what must be huge amounts of money and a small army of workers are combined to build an amazingly over the top home for a single family. Now I know that this amount of money is nothing but a drop in the bucket for Disney/ABC but how much more could be done for more people with the amount they are putting on one house? Instead of focusing on one family and getting them all to cry during the episode why not help 10 families and show highlights? Isn't life difficult enough for the average person? Why do I need help finding things to feel sad about, why not show something truly inspiring without being manipulative? I know what is being done for these families is good, but they are also being used for ratings. You can't tell me they aren't being coached sometimes on the crying. I guess when I see these people moving into a home that most hard working people in the U.S. could not afford for their children it really bothers me. I can't help but think of what could really be done with a small portion of Disney's money. Instead of giving each member of the family a flat screen TV and or personal shower that tells you the water temperature and shoots out of the ceiling why not help more people afford food, clothes, education and medical insurance? I know so we can be entertained and have a good cry. In terms of money, I feel the same about Oprah. I don't think anyone can actually conceive the amount of money she possesses. Yes her recent reality show did good things, but when she gave $30,000 to each losing "contestant" I'm sitting here thinking...that's a years salary for many, many people...if they're lucky. Don't get me started on game shows. So I realize that Extreme Makeover Home Edition is "doing good", but forgive me if I see it as more self serving than giving of itself. Is there anyone out there that feels similar?

It's true that Will Ferrell's contributions to SNL can't be summarized on one DVD, especially not one running a little over an hour (one episode of SNL is 90 minutes), but that's not to say that the material here isn't hilarious. The problem with these collections is that fans have their favorites and almost always a few of them are missing and that's definitely the case here. In fact, some of the particular recurring sketches like "Jeopardy" & "Inside the Actor's Studio" could've chosen better examples than what ended up here for those. Again, what is here is funny and the extras are nice too. Here are the sketches in order that make up the main feature (the sketches are pretty complete except for where I list them as "snips":

Marty & Bobby Culp: Drug awareness assembly VH1 Behind the Music: Blue Oyster Cult (with Christopher Walken)"More Cowbell, baby!" - A personal favorite! Dissing your dog training video Spartan Cheerleaders Chess Team tournament Robert Goulet: Coconut Banger's Ball Snips - Will in thong at business meeting/Mini Cell Phone at new wave store/Rachel Dratch gives birth to Will Jeopardy: Burt Reynolds, Sean Connery, French Stewart Inside the Actors Studio: Charles Nelson Riley (Alec Baldwin)

The Devil teaches Garth Brooks a song Snips: George W. Bush/Janet Reno boxing Guliani/Clinton, Monica, & Saddam on the phone Space the Infinite Frontier with Harry Caray (& Jeff Goldblum)

Hot Tub Luvas (with Drew Barrymore) Roxbury Guys (with Jim Carrey) Snips: Good Morning Latte/Dog Show Nude guy poses for Art Class (with Lucy Lawless) Family yelling at dinner (with Sarah Michelle Gellar) Jacob Silj: Voice Modulation (on Weekend Update)

Extra Features:

Will Ferrell's audition for SNL as Harry Caray Unaired Dress Rehearsal sketch: Prospector in the Army

Will's Conan appearance in black underwear (plugging Roxbury)

Will's Conan appearance as Goulet

Outtakes: Hot Tub Luvas (with Winona Ryder), Goulet as Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Sketch (with Seinfeld), Voice Modulation on Weekend Update, George W Bush & George Bush Sr. (Dana Carvey), Neil Diamond on Weekend Update, Fight in club (with Ellen Degeneres), Tap dance (with Katie Holmes), and Mini computer email at New Wave shop (with Pierce Brosnan)

As you can see, the disc is above average in content and as far as these collections go, this one's up there. None of these collections will be perfect because the focus is on stars who have done a slew of hilarious sketches and many of them will be left out. Personally, I was disappointed to not see the VH1 Behind the Music on Neil Diamond...priceless. I agree with a previous reviewer that said Will needs something like a three disc set to even scratch the surface of his hilarious work on SNL, but this is better than nothing and probably as good as it will get unless SNL one day sees Season set releases. So I'd say start digging up your dubbed from TV SNL marathon VHS tapes, unless you have none, then by all means pick this up!

Don't bother seeking out Super Soul Brother, it Super Sucks! On the back of the box it says "In the spirit of The Devil's Son in Law...", which means it's supposed to be like "Petey Wheatstraw: the Devil's Son in Law" - well, it's not. PW was hilarious and starred Rudy Ray Moore as the title character. Actually Wildman Steve who stars in SSB is in PW for one scene as a nightclub owner talking about how patrons "whipe their sh*tty ass". The problem is, Wildman Steve isn't funny and lacks much personality. He's no Rudy Ray and as a matter of fact, you can hear him using Rudy Ray's lines in Super Soul Brother to no effect. Wildman Steve shouldn't take all the blame for this mess. It's filmed & edited badly and the acting is awful, which I would've accepted if there was some funny dialogue. I have to say, if Rudy Ray was in the lead, the film might've been saved. Bottom Line: Super Soul Brother just isn't that good or exciting. Even if you're a fan of the Dolemite & Petey Wheatstraw films. It doesn't help that Wildman Steve doesn't have much presence or funny jokes.

One question: If he's supposed to be the strongest man in the world why does he lift safes and huge rocks with moderate difficulty? Shouldn't he be able to sling those things around. The one part I found funny.