They’re not all former cast members on my Top 50 SNL Cast Members of All Time list as #49 is Chloe Fineman, who just began her sixth season on the iconic sketch show. She’s proven herself to be one of the program’s strongest impressionists including Meryl Streep, Scarlett Johansson, and Drew Barrymore. That’s in addition to dancing alongside Julia Stiles in a Save the Last Dance inspired Update bit and uproariously understudying fellow cast members in a digital short. Her take on con artist Anna Delvey is another example of her versatility as Fineman is one of SNL’s current bright spots.
SNL just began its 50th season and a grand televised celebration is anticipated this spring. I have been a huge follower of the iconic sketch comedy show my whole life. That includes devouring books about its history and memoirs from former cast members.
To mark its half century in existence, I have decided to make a list of my top 50 cast members in the show’s history. Let’s establish an important ground rule. This list covers each member’s time on the show only and not what they did before or after. There’s obvious examples of Not Ready for Prime Time Players who had terrific careers following their stints (some of them short-lived) on Saturday Night Live. Robert Downey, Jr. and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Ben Stiller and Damon Wayans. Chris Rock and Christopher Guest. You won’t find them in my top 50, but they’ve certainly had incredible contributions to film, TV, and stand-up.
I wrote down 70 performers of the 167 total cast members and whittled it down to 50. Not all original members from 1975 made the cut (apologies to Laraine Newman and Garrett Morris). There are current cast members who almost made it like Mikey Day, Ego Nwodim, and James Austin Johnson. In between there were those I struggled to leave off like Beck Bennett, Nora Dunn, Leslie Jones, Chris Kattan, Taran Killam, Tim Meadows, Kyle Mooney, Joe Piscopo, and Rob Schneider. There were a couple that were just never quite my cup of tea… Jim Breuer and Jon Lovitz.
Despite the tough subtractions, the forthcoming list is a treasure trove of talented comedic performers who have kept the show running for half a century. These posts will be a countdown from 50 to 1 (yep, 50 posts) that’ll run through the course of the 50th season. Stay tuned!
In the summer of 2011, the star of the CBS sitcom “Mike and Molly” Melissa McCarthy broke through to moviegoers in grand fashion with her supporting role in Bridesmaids. The film was a smash, grossing $169 million and earning McCarthy a rare Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for a comedic role.
After that terrific Bridesmaids part, McCarthy pretty much sat 2012 out with just a small part in Judd Apatow’s This Is 40. 2013 is a different story and this year has solidified McCarthy’s standing as Hollywood’s most bankable funny girl.
February’s Identity Thief with Jason Bateman would put her box office abilities to the test. It received mostly poor reviews and gave McCarthy her first starring role. The result? Thief grossed a fabulous $134 million. Critics may not have been on its side, but audiences were.
In June, McCarthy would pair up with Sandra Bullock in the buddy cop flick The Heat and it managed to accelerate the star’s box office cache. The Heat earned $159 million giving McCarthy two laugh fests that easily crossed the century mark domestically.
Technically, there were three pics featuring her that crossed that milestone. McCarthy had a small role in The Hangover Part III, which made $112 million but was considered a financial disappointment. However, its subpar performance had nothing to do with McCarthy.
In addition to her work on her sitcom, 2014 will see McCarthy on the silver screen with two promising projects. There’s St. Vincent de Van Nuys which pairs her with bonafide comedic legend Bill Murray. July 4th brings us Tammy, a road trip pic that also features Susan Sarandon, Dan Aykroyd, and Kathy Bates.
Bridesmaids proved that McCarthy had the potential to be a major film star. Her movies in 2013 turned that potential into reality and it earns her a deserved spot on the list of performers who had a big impact this year.
My final entry in this blog series arrives tomorrow with an actor who was everywhere in 2013 from a famous yellow bricked land to… brilliantly spoofing a famous rapper’s ridiculous video?
Every summer, we usually see a major breakout comedy that connects with audiences across the board. Last season, it was Ted which earned $218 million. In 2011, it was The Hangover Part II with $254 million, as well as Bridesmaids ($169M) and Horrible Bosses ($119M). In 2010, Grown Ups brought in $162 million. In 2009, the original Hangover grossed $277 million and The Proposal made $163 million.
This summer, there’s no shortage of contenders. The comedy winner could be The Hangover Part III and that film was already covered in my sequels blog post. However, that film faces serious challengers, particularly from two titles:
From Bridesmaids director Paul Feig comes The Heat, a buddy cop comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. This is Bullock’s first headlining role since her Oscar winning turn in The Blind Side. Added to that, McCarthy is a hot commodity right now with her spring comedy Identity Thief well exceeding analysts expectations. The Heat could easily post Bridesmaids size numbers when it opens June 28th.
We also have The Internship, which reteams Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. Their first collaboration was, of course, Wedding Crashers. That came out in the summer of 2005 and grossed an astonishing $209 million. If The Internship delivers, it could be a real factor in the top comedy discussions. It’s out on June 7th.
These three titles are likely to have a healthy competition for the top spot (Grown Ups 2 is probably poised to earn between $100-$125 million and has also been covered in my sequels write-up).
There are plenty of other comedies that will attempt to bring crowds in. Two high-profile entries have yet to release a trailer: the road trip flick We’re the Millers (August 9) with Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston and Girl Most Likely (July 19), which brings us Kristin Wiig’s first starring role since Bridesmaids.
Then we have This is the End (June 12), which has Jonah Hill, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Michael Cera, and others playing themselves in an end of the world scenario. The trailers are pretty damn funny and I’m particularly looking forward to this one. End could be a major breakout player if it’s as funny as its potential suggests.
The Tyler Perry factory brings us Peeples (May 10) starring the very funny Craig Robinson, who also is featued in This is the End. It basically looks like the Tyler Perry version of Meet the Parents, which his name alone will likely mean solid grosses.
The coming of age flick The Way, Way Back (July 5) with Steve Carell received rave reviews at Sundance and is being looked at as a potential sleeper hit.
And Woody Allen brings us his movie a year with Blue Jasmine (July 26) with Cate Blanchett and Alec Baldwin. Two years ago, Woody had an unexpected hit with Midnight in Paris. However, last summer his To Rome with Love tanked. No trailer is available at press time.
All in all, there are plenty of comedies to choose from this summer. If some Hangover fatigue occurs (something which I believe is possible), don’t be surprised to see Bullock and McCarthy as the comedy champions of the season.
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