Sun, December 15, 2002

I should begin by admitting that I'm a huge Al Gore fan. Not in the way that misanthropic anti-establishment vegetarians are huge Ralph Nader fans or gun-toting mouth-breathers from Mississippi are huge Dubya fans; it has nothing to do with whether or not his name is next to "Democratic Candidate," I just like him and always have.

First of all, I like someone about whom the worst you can say is "He's too smart." When did that become a character flaw? (For those of you playing at home, the answer is "The Reagan Years.") Second, he's passionate and devoted. I'll never be the fervent environmentalist that he is, but I respect his enthusiasm. One of the most moving books I've ever read is Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, and Al Gore wrote the introduction. It brought me to tears, and I've never forgotten it. I'd follow the man into hell.

Not to mention that, slanderous taunts to the contrary, he has a great sense of humor. And some mega-hot daughters, one of whom happens to write for one of my favorite TV shows – which he's guest-starred on, twice!

So, as I said, I like the guy. I'm biased.

I was very much looking forward to his appearance on Saturday Night Live and, believe me, it wasn't for the "Saturday Night Live" part. I still remembered his famous appearance on Letterman in the first Clinton administration, shattering ashtrays with a hammer on Dave's desk. (As part of an argument about government waste that Aaron Sorkin recently skewered from out of left field!) More recently, he's been on Conan and the Daily Show and back on Dave, and he's been really funny. Everyone says "Yeah, well people wrote that." Maybe so. Maybe not. But Conan and Dave and Jon Stewart have writers, too, people! No shame in that. He's been quick and witty and his timing has been excellent, and that's funny in my book.

Al Gore's appearance on Saturday Night Live was brilliant. He did a fantastic job of making fun of himself, in terms of his personality, his perceived stiffness, and the 2000 election. He was funny, his performance was right-on; it was wonderful. And, he outshone every previous host of SNL by barely even glancing at the cue cards – what a professional! Ordinarily, guest hosts of that show – particularly non-actors – can be seen staring at the cue cards all the way through their scenes. Not once with Al. Not once! And this is in a year when even the show's cast have given up the ghost and just started reading their lines right off the cards. Al was prepared.

By a stroke of luck, his appearance on the show came right on the heels of Trent Lott's silly remarks about Strom Thurmond, and on the heels of everybody making a big fuss about it. So, Al got to do a Trent Lott impersonation on one of the funniest of Darrell Hammond's Hardball sketches to date. It's easy to come on and play yourself. It's easy to come on and play one of the show's stupid characters or dress in drag. But to show up – as a non-actor – and do an impression that is at once convincing and incisive... that's something! Al Gore's Trent Lott not only looked and sounded like him, the nuanced performance underlined the subtext of the sketch's comedy. The script was about goofy one-liners showing how Lott can put his foot in his mouth, but Gore managed to make it also about the underlying problem of political liability and publicity. That Lott was being ostracized from the GOP not because they disagreed with what he said, but because he was tarnished by the scandal. What a pro!

It's a shame that SNL itself can't maintain such a standard of excellence. It is, and will continue to be, the zeitgeist spotlight pop-culture arena for such appearances. Those wishing to initiate an off-kilter, envelope-pushing media blitz in the style of Al Gore will have no choice but to approach SNL, because it's an institution. What a delight it would be if SNL would live up to that status. If the writing were as fresh and snappy and current as it was in the early years, if the performers were as smart and funny and devoted, it would really be something to watch. As it stands, though, we're forced to tune in because it's an institution, and we just have to hope for great guests like Al Gore to come along and raise the bar.

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