Contrary to a popular misconception, Steve Martin was not among the original "Not Ready for Prime Time Players"; he has never appeared as a regular cast member on "Saturday Night Live". You wouldn't guess it from Trimark/NBC's The Best of Steve Martin, which quantifies the comedian's perennial hosting gigs for the show.
Oftentimes, SNL's guest star is relegated to supporting roles in ninety minutes' worth of sketches, but Steve Martin is God, or should be, to the regular performers--the younger ones, at least--and so his character is usually, respectfully, the focus of a given skit. Now and again, he goes it alone, and (this may be my bias for the man intruding) his episodes are never better than during those times.
The special first aired on NBC last year, and it showcases Martin in esoteric opening monologues and skits from the past twenty-two years. It's an admittedly unruly compilation, with some bits dated beyond reproach (the Czechoslovakian Festrunk brothers, the Coneheads vs. the tax man). I'd listen to the "Wild and Crazy Guy" LP or watch L.A. Story before spinning this DVD again, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it.
What's included?
"Tonight Song" opening A jaded Martin gets a burst of inspiration and announces, in song, "I'm not gonna wing it tonight!" Fun for a few bars
Banjo & Arrow Monologue The arrow-through-the-head routine, live and in colour. Relentlessly silly and deeply amusing
"Rise" Callow mock commercial advertising a product that ensures your ass won't touch a public toilet seat
The Festrunk Brothers Give Dan Aykroyd the hook! Long-winded and not clever
To My Love Martin's hilarious ode to his perfect mate
The Coneheads and the I.R.S. Spare me
Indian Dance Monologue Truly strange, politically incorrect, and darned funny
Common Knowledge A game show that requires you to be as imbecilic as the average American citizen--naturally, some people won't get it!
King Tut The pièce de résistance, Martin's groove about the famous Pharoah
Hollywood Minute A crowd-pleasing moment: David Spade is reprimanded for his churlish insults
Theodoric of York Medicine, medieval style; pay attention to the throwaway laughs ("Brun-Gilda")
Penis Beauty Cream "The only beauty cream with a picture of my penis on it."
Jeopardy 1999 Uproarious late-seventies take on Jeopardy of the future; another listen-closely
Tightwad 007 James Bond is forced to penny-pinch in a skit that realizes its potential. (Features cameo appearance by Sting as a villain whose name generates big applause.)
Steve and Bill Murray Monologue Can't wait for the Bill Murray retrospective!
Theatre Stories A carry-over from The Best of Mike Myers. Even Martin looks lost as a theatre critic trading stories with other thesps, including Dana Carvey as Mickey Rooney--or is that Johnny Carson? Notable only because Martin's best line, "What the French call a certain "I don't know what,'" was spoken by Myers' Dr. Evil a few years later
What the Hell is That? "Oh, I know what it is." No gut-buster, but well-timed
Bonus material is limited to airdate info for all aforementioned sketches.
The video and audio quality of this disc is about what you'd expect--they can't turn water into wine, especially when it comes to the older material, which smears and blooms like old camcorder footage! (The image is slightly cleaner than a standard cable signal.) The stereo track gets the job done--actually it sounds great, but there isn't much in the way of left-to-right separation. Somewhat frustratingly, the viewer is forced to endure two difficult-to-skip advertisements for "SNL" DVDs upon first inserting The Best of Steve Martin, although the response time of menu commands has been blessedly sped-up since the initial batch of SNL titles, The Best of Mike Myers and The Best of Adam Sandler.-Bill Chambers
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