Dan Aykroyd The French Chef SNL Classic Skit

 This is another 1970s Saturday Night Live skit that deserves a review. It's from season 4 episode 8. This is one of Dan Aykroyds best impersonations ever in my opinion. Although I think he does a wonderful job of representing Julia Child I do have some problems with this sketch.

Julia Child is a great American icon. A wonderful French Chef and a woman with a huge personality. Her public television show The French Chef ran from 1963 to 1973 and produced more than 200 episodes. She was the author of many books and her TV shows taught professional cooking techniques in a way that made them understandable and accessible to millions of Americans.

Her personality and way of speaking made it inevitable that she would be top shelf comedy material for a sketch show like SNL. Dan Aykroyd dressed up like an older woman and mimicing her mannerisms was spot on in his performance. My only problem is that I think he should have continued with his impersonation of her rather than going for the cut and bleeding hand gag.

Physical comedy is the most difficult type of humorous endeavor, however the bloody finger gag is the oldest trick in the book. Don't get me wrong, I think this classic SNL skit is hilarious. I just think Dan Aykroyd could have gone in a different direction with this. 

Classic SNL Skits Two Wild & Crazy Guys: Computer Dates

 This classic 1970s Saturday Night Live skit from season 3, episode 18 is one the first repeating character sketches to appear on the show. It features Dan Aykroyd and Steve Martin playing the two socially awkward Festrunk brothers. Two recently immigrated Czech brothers who don't really understand English lingo.

These two siblings are constantly trying to score with American women as they cruise the New York club scene. Although the title of this skit says computer dates I think there may be some confusion here. Instead of waiting for dates they are waiting for two foxes they met during their latest club outing. These two ladies played by Gilda Radner and Laraine Newman promised to meet them at their apartment.

Garrett Morris shows up playing their cool American friend named Cliff. He is convinced that his two buddies have been stood up but there may still be a chance for some swinging in their bachelor pad tonight.

This is a great skit. I think Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd had real chemistry together back in the 1970s. I wish there were more skits with them together. As it is they rehashed their roles as the Festrunk a few more times but more importantly it led to the creation of many more recurring characters. Recurring roles would become commonplace on SNL throughout the 70s, 80s and beyond.

Saturday Night Live Classic Skit Samurai Hotel With John Belushi, Chevy Chase And Richard Pryor

This is one of the greatest SNL skits of all time. It features in incomparable John Belushi as the Samurai Futaba or Samurai Hotel clerk and Chevy Chase who in my opinion is one of the greatest comedians of all time. It's interesting how Chevy Chase ended up having more big screen success than John Belushi even though John was the bigger mainstream star at the time and I don't mean this because of Belushi's early death.

This Saturday Night Live skit was featured in the 7th episode of the first season and is Belushi's first portrayal of Samurai Futaba. He would go on to do a total of 18 sketches as this character. The role is based on Toshiro Mifun's character in Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo. In that movie Toshiro plays a peerless Samurai named Sanjūrō Kuwabata who's mind is even quicker than his sword.

Although the role may be based on a more serious character Belushi turns it into comedy genius. Speaking mock Japanese to Chevy Chase's perfect English, the two seem to understand each other despite the language barrier and that is part of the underlying comedy here. Richard Pryor makes an appearance as another Samurai employee of the hotel. Apparently there is some confusion as to who is the bellboy at this establishment and a mock sword battle ensues.

I won't give away all the laughs in this one but if you haven't seen this classic SNL skit you must watch it immediately. If you like vintage Saturday Night Live clips and you like reading about the history of this great American sketch comedy series then stay connected to this blog because for the next few months I will be posting tons of great SNL skits from the 70s and 80s and adding lots of great commentary.