Saturday Night Live - Best of Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin is a quintessential actor (soon to show his skills in a Broadway revival of gay playwright Joe Orton?s classic black comedy, Entertaining Mr. Sloane.) He?s also the quintessential Saturday Night Live guest host, honoring his comedic presence on the seminal sketch show a whopping 13 times. Fans of both the show and Baldwin can now enjoy his many amusing vignettes as NBC releases Saturday Night Live: Best of Alec Baldwin on DVD.

Possibly more remembered for his dramatic roles, Alec Baldwin proves on SNL his versatility as a comedian, an impersonator, and an ensemble player. How this long-time thespian doesn?t break character and burst into laughter on SNL is beyond me. That is definitely talent.

The Best of Baldwin opens with Greenhilly, the funniest sketch on the DVD (as well as the funniest SNL sketch ever,) where Mr. Baldwin makes out with the housemates of Greenhilly. Not all housemates are female (Baldwin makes out with the late Phil Hartman), and not all are human. Let?s just say a certain dog will never be the same.

Of the 17 skits on this special DVD (18 if you include the Monologue), 8 of them have a gay overtone. They?re never done in an offensive way, but rather, it?s what makes them funny. These include the Voicemail skit, where Baldwin tries over and over to record his voice onto voicemail, only to get back a fem recording, and Inside the Actor?s Studio, where Baldwin does a deadpan impersonation of Charles Nelson Reilly.

Here?s a breakdown, of the hilarious to the not-so-funny, of the Alec Baldwin SNL sketches:

Hilarious:
Prince Charles Cold Open
Greenhilly
The Tony Bennett Show
Canteen Boy
Inside the Actor?s Studio
NPR: Schwetty Balls
Soap Opera Digest
Zings
Voicemail
The Breakfast

Funny:
Monologue
Public Opinion
Francais
Honest Planet
Joe Pesci Show-Deniro

So-so:
Pyramid of Pain
Tough Guy
Bill Brasky