Tag: Chris Parnell

The Top 50 SNL Cast Members of All Time: Number 1 – Will Ferrell

I’m closing out 2024 on the blog by closing out my Top 50 SNL Cast Members of All Time series while the legendary program’s 50th season is currently underway. It’s been a hoot coming up with this list as we celebrate a half century of often brilliant comedy.

Before he was Buddy the Elf or Ron Burgundy or Ricky Bobby or a stepbrother, Will Ferrell’s seven years in what is now the middle of SNL’s run takes top honors. The Groundlings alum came to the show during a transitional period with a mostly all-new cast. He made his mark immediately with a seemingly endless parade of bizarre and uproarious sketches. This included him yelling (there is no better comedic yeller) at his kids to “get off the shed” and an uncomfortable family dinner where he sadly but boldly proclaims his ownership of a Dodge Stratus. There’s his Evil Boss terrorizing Pierce Brosnan and Chris Parnell, his doctor who flat out lost a baby, and a commercial where he humiliates his dog. Part of Ferrell’s appeal was his everyman look combined with his off-kilter instincts. It made for an irresistible combination.

Then there’s his takes on President George W. Bush, Harry Caray, Inside the Actors Studio host James Lipton, crooner Robert Goulet, Attorney General Janet Reno, and Alex Trebek, constantly suffering to the insults of Darrell Hammond’s Sean Connery. The Cheerleaders with Cheri Oteri. The Roxbury guys with Chris Kattan. His boutique employee with a tiny phone that caused Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz to lose it. There’s the post 9/11 sketch with his overly patriotic employee that provided much needed humor at that time. And More Cowbell anyone?

And that’s just scratching the surface. Ferrell’s contributions are truly remarkable and I didn’t have to think too hard for this placement.

Will Ferrell

Years on the Show: 1995-2002

The Top 50 SNL Cast Members of All Time: Number 25 – Andy Samberg

Andy Samberg has been a frequent presence on SNL’s 50th season as Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff in cold opens leading up to the election. It was his contributions to the show from 2005 to 2012 that have him kicking off the top 25 of my 50 all-time cast members.

His writing partners Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone also deserve special mention. That trio made up The Lonely Island and are responsible for SNL Digital Shorts. These taped bits brought the sketch program into the internet age starting with “Lettuce” in which Will Forte and Samberg hilariously mull serious issues while chomping on heads of the title plant. Yet it the second Short “Lazy Sunday” with Samberg and Chris Parnell’s hardcore rapping about The Chronicles of Narnia that became a YouTube sensation just as that platform was becoming known to the populace.

Many uproarious Shorts followed. Natalie Portman and her hip hop skills? Check. Laser Cats and T-Pain on a boat? Double check. And, of course, a trio of iconic risquè numbers with Justin Timberlake. It’s also worth noting that Samberg did memorable Mark Zuckerberg and Nicolas Cage impressions. #24 will be up soon!

Andy Samberg

Years on the Show: 2005-12

The Top 50 SNL Cast Members of All Time: Number 50 – Chris Parnell

My Top 50 countdown of SNL cast members begins with a glue guy who was present in one of the show’s finest eras. That would be Chris Parnell. Whether rapping about Jennifer Garner or Britney Spears or rapping alongside Andy Samberg in the iconic “Lazy Sunday” short or lead singing beside a cow-belling Will Ferrell, Parnell was always a welcome presence on the show.

A utility player who would also provide hilarious moments on Tina Fey’s 30 Rock, Parnell kicks off the list and #49 is coming your way shortly!

Chris Parnell

Years on the Show: 1998-2006

If you missed my prelude mentioning cast members who just missed the cut, you can find it here:

The Top 50 SNL Cast Members of All Time: A Prelude

Oscar Predictions: Spaceman

Johan Renck’s Spaceman is not – I repeat, not – about the doctor that Chris Parnell hilariously played on 30 Rock. The sci-fi drama does star a fellow SNL alumni in Adam Sandler as a Czech astronaut on a solo mission. It premiered at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this week, hits theaters in limited fashion this weekend, and premieres on Netflix March 1st. Costars include Carey Mulligan (currently vying for Best Actress in Maestro), Paul Dano (doing voiceover work), Kunal Nayyar, Lena Olin, and Isabella Rossellini.

Sandler’s serious work has probably come close to making the Academy’s cut with 2019’s Uncut Gems or 2022’s Hustle which earned him a SAG nod. I don’t think you’ll see Spaceman launch him into consideration. The RT score is a mixed 64% with some reviews calling it a bore. Others are far more complimentary, but not to the degree that I think that generates any awards buzz. The lone exception could be Visual Effects. I’m not confident in that. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween Box Office Prediction

R.L. Stine’s bestselling series of books gets its sequel next weekend as Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween scares its way into multiplexes. This is the follow-up to the 2015 original that managed a $23.6 million opening and $80 million overall gross. Ari Sandel takes over directorial duties with a cast including Wendi McLendon-Covey, Madison Iseman, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Ken Jeong, and Chris Parnell. Jack Black does reprise his role as Stine, though it’s unclear whether it’s more of a cameo this time around.

The release date close to the holiday it’s named after should help and there’s also little in the way of direct family competition as The House with a Clock in Its Walls (starring Black) is winding down. Venom will be in its second weekend of release, however.

I’ll predict this doesn’t quite manage to match the earnings of its predecessor and it may come in with about 25% less. That would give the second helping of Goosebumps a debut in the high teens.

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween opening weekend prediction: $17.3 million

For my First Man prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2018/10/02/first-man-box-office-prediction/

For my Bad Times at the El Royale prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2018/10/03/bad-times-at-the-el-royale-box-office-prediction/