It feels like we’ve been talking about Joker for a thousand years, but finally it’s cultural ubiquity had led us to something that’s actually funny. As part of his hosting duties on last night’s Saturday Night Live, erstwhile Hawkins sheriff and national treasure David Harbour put on a grouchy face to parody Joker with….Grouch.
Yes, it’s a dark and gritty take on Oscar the Grouch’s tragic origins and it’s brilliant. Not only does this short send up the pretension and self-serious darkness of the Joker film and trailers, it also is chock-full of Sesame Street Easter Eggs. Oscar’s trash man co-worker in the opening? His name tag says Grover M. (M is for monster!). And it goes on from there. Snuffleupagus (yes, I had to google the correct spelling on that) as a pimp is fun, but I think the craziest was Burt and Ernie getting mugged and stabbed over a rubber duckie.
I love that this skewers all the over-the-top angst and darkness of Joker, all the way down to Harbour going through a dramatic transformation into the green one, complete with careful application of grease paint and a bushy eyebrows and showering himself in garbage. It’s one of the funniest things I’ve seen from SNL in a while…but it wasn’t the only great bit last night. We also loved their cameo-packed spoof of CNN democratic town hall on LGBT issues. You have to applaud them for getting Billie Porter, Lin Manuel Miranda and Woody Harrelson into the same sketch.
Elsewhere in the news and on the net this Sunday:
- We talked this weekend about how Phantom of the Opera is the best ever, but did you know it’s going to be a graphic novel too? It looks pretty good but it really annoys me that the chandelier it not correct to the show or the Paris Opera, and neither is the auditorium. Yes. I’m that big of a nerd. (via SyfyWire)
- Love this profile of Jourdain Searles. (via Vulture)
- Listen to Mark Hamill:
If you can’t watch the news without falling into a deep depression, try watching this:
🐶+ 👶= 😍 https://t.co/cFjRL45GCj— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) October 13, 2019
- Is Oliver going to meet his daughter and reconnect with John Constantine during Crisis? (via CBR)
- Parasite is doing scary good at the box office. (via The Wrap)
- Thanks I hate it:
you might think UK unis offering therapy dogs instead of counseling is bad, but at my uni they have this thing where they will let you lie in a grave for a while and think about life. its called the purification grave and you’re not allowed to take phones or books in it with you pic.twitter.com/rsYt3CxVtZ
— 🦇 delectable batterino 🦇 (@SPYKlDS2) October 13, 2019
- Trump must release his tax returns. (Via New York Times)
- The news in Syria is completely awful. (Via New York Magazine/Intelligencer)
- Hell yeah, Jane Fonda:
Saying she’s been inspired by Greta Thunberg, Jane Fonda tells @ABC she’s going to hold a weekly protest in DC on climate change: “I’m moving here. I’m going to be here through Thanksgiving, and Christmas, sleep, rain, whatever it is.”
“This is a crisis.” https://t.co/57QJ2Xbx51 pic.twitter.com/k1Z2IC5aYu
— ABC News (@ABC) October 11, 2019
- Can’t make a Tomlette without breaking some Greggs – Succession season finale tonight! (via Variety)
- As if we didn’t love Tessa Thompson and Brie Larson enough:
brie larson: how do i top lesbians?
tessa thompson: uh i’m sure the lesbians can show you right after this panel pic.twitter.com/kHXcqBkpYy— my.ka ✵ (@acciodanvers) October 12, 2019
That about rounds out the weekend, have a great Sunday Funday Mary Suvians!
(Image: NBC)
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