These sketches defined "SNL" in the 80s. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most hilarious SNL sketch moments of the 1980s.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 "Boy, it's been a long time since them days. Hi, I'm Buckwheat, remember me?"
00:06 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most hilarious SNL sketch
00:11 moments of the 1980s. "Acting!" "I'd say. Genius!" "Thank you!" "No, thank you!" "Shut up!"
00:18 Number 10. Synchronized swimming. Martin Short only enjoyed a single season run with Saturday
00:24 Night Live, but he certainly made the most of that tenure. "But that's okay,
00:28 'cause we could use the time. 'Cause I'm, I'm not that strong a swimmer."
00:34 This otherwise forgotten sketch has seen some revival lately on social media as of late,
00:39 and we're gonna cosign all of the flowers. Short collaborated with future Simpsons star Harry
00:44 Shearer as a man who can't swim, yet who dreams of winning Olympic gold for the men synchronized.
00:49 "Although the judges don't count it, deck work is a very important part of Lawrence's preparation
00:54 for the water, and I allow it to come from within him." Short's character, named Lawrence,
01:00 flops around in a life preserver, and is hilariously over the top with his clumsy
01:04 mannerisms. It's something of a hidden SNL gem that we love to revisit. "We have the opportunity
01:11 to do something that no one has ever done before, and we're going for it."
01:15 Number 9. Pumping up with Hans and Franz. "Once again, I'm Hans." "And I'm Franz." "And we are
01:22 here to pump your..." It's seriously impressive to gauge now just how popular Arnold Schwarzenegger
01:28 was during his heyday in the 1980s. Saturday Night Live certainly seemed to take notice,
01:33 as evidenced by Kevin Nealon and Dana Carvey's characters of Hans and Franz. "Yeah, that's right,
01:38 we spent most of the summer in movie theaters intensely screening the year's most important
01:43 cultural event, Terminator 2." This pair of bodybuilders echoed the era's focus on physical
01:49 fitness, particularly in the wake of Schwarzenegger's meteoric success. The Hans and Franz
01:54 set was even completed by real-life cutouts of Arnold at the peak of his competition powers.
02:00 Weak men didn't stand a chance against the pulsating pecs of Hans and Franz, who were
02:04 determined to "pump up" anything that stood in their way, from the 80s and into the 90s. "Maybe
02:10 we should just squeeze you with our big white thighs, you know, like a tube of toothpaste,
02:15 until your hooves are all over the thing." "That's right, and believe me now, my friend,
02:19 after that, three out of four dentists wouldn't recommend you for anything."
02:23 Number 8. Sprockets "You sit in the corner, old rocking chair,
02:28 it makes me feel good to know you are there. I feel emotionally obliterated." You don't necessarily
02:37 need to understand the importance of Krautrock Trailblazer's craftwork to appreciate the hilarity
02:41 of Sprockets. That electronic group may have provided the theme song to Mike Myers' fictional
02:46 West German talk show, but it was the SNL cast member that brought all of the yucks.
02:51 Sprockets parodied German cultural stereotypes in a manner that felt both celebratory and silly.
02:56 It was the sort of irreverent comedy at which Saturday Night Live could excel under the proper
03:08 circumstances. Myers was willing to go all in as the Sprockets host's eater and deliver a
03:13 performance that was without modesty, in the best possible way. "You are a running sore,
03:19 running from yourself, yet your scab heals us all."
03:23 Number 7. Ed Grimley Martin Short is rightfully celebrated for his
03:28 stints hosting and co-hosting Saturday Night Live, but let's not sleep on his recurring character of
03:33 Ed Grimley. "Will you please have a seat, Mr. Grimley?" "Yes, sir, this is a great honor for me to be here and to meet you, you know.
03:39 This is a very decent office. So often high ceilings can be effective." The character actually dates
03:46 back to Short's improv days and debuted on Canada's SCTV prior to making the jump to SNL.
03:51 Ed Grimley is chaotic in all of his forms, playing the triangle with abandon and will go with
03:57 thrilling everyone with his knowledge about Pat Sajak and Wheel of Fortune. "Is Pat there? Just
04:02 tell him it's me. Oh, that really makes sense now I think of it. Like I suppose Pat Sajak doesn't
04:08 have like over a million friends probably, but then again maybe he doesn't. It's difficult to say."
04:13 It's the sort of character that's clearly been developed with time, and all of these little
04:18 subtle nuances come together to create a recurring sketch that SNL fans, including us, thought was,
04:23 to quote Grimley, "totally decent." "Thank you for being so decent, I must say." Number 6. Frank Sinatra
04:30 and Stevie Wonder duet. "I feel it is a tremendous honor to be recording with you." "Thank you,
04:36 Stevie. I feel, I feel the same. I'm very much into that tune you do with the Beatle kid. What's
04:43 his name? The one that looks like a broad?" It was the real-life musical collaboration between
04:48 ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, titled "Ebony and Ivory," that served as the inspiration
04:54 for this sketch. However, this time it was Joe Piscopo's impression of crooner Frank Sinatra
04:59 that replaced McCartney, while Eddie Murphy took on the task of impersonating the legendary Stevie
05:04 Wonder. "Now something tells me that this is more than a song about playing the piano." "Frank,
05:10 it's about racial equality and unity of all people." "Well, uh, I don't understand. When I
05:17 think Ebony, I think of a magazine that most people do not buy. And when I think of Ivory,
05:24 I think of a soap that floats." The end results are note perfect, as Piscopo captures Sinatra's
05:30 occasionally brash personality, together with a desire to appeal to the kids. Murphy, in the
05:36 meantime, actually faced real-world flak for his take on Wonder, with some SNL fans considering
05:41 Stevie to be something of a sacred musical cow. For our money, however, this duet is music to
05:48 the ears. "We're talking salt and pepper, Sammy and Dean, Stevie and me are peachy keen."
05:57 Number 5. The Sweeney Sisters. "Here we come, walking down the street,
06:02 we get the funniest looks from everyone we meet." Just as Bill Murray's character of Nick the
06:08 Lounge Singer perfectly encapsulated lounge culture of the 1970s, so too did the Sweeney
06:13 Sisters echo this sentiment for the 80s. Lounge singer hopefuls never really went away in this
06:18 new decade. They just started learning some new songs. "You know, I didn't go out on Saturday
06:22 nights, I just stayed in my room until my beloved sister Liz sat me in front of a television set,
06:28 and there I saw the woman who would eventually pour me into the girl that I am today."
06:35 Candy and Liz Sweeney were portrayed by SNL alums Jan Hooks and Nora Dunn,
06:40 and both absolutely nail this hopeful sentimentality that often goes along with
06:44 this subculture. According to former SNL writer Mark Shaman, Sweeney Sisters' sketches aren't run
06:50 by Saturday Night Live quote "because of music rights." So we won't show them here, but trust us
06:55 when we say the pair sings their hearts out and try to put on a show for comparatively apathetic
07:01 audiences while always brandishing million-dollar smiles. "Hold on, do I see William Shatner? No.
07:08 Oh,
07:10 Number Four - Buckwheat. "Take me from high dang, your dang and nubby, buy my wicket, all tight."
07:27 We don't expect younger SNL fans to go out and research the history of Buckwheat and the Little
07:32 Rascals. Yet those who do will find yet another layer to just how funny this impersonation by
07:37 Eddie Murphy was back in the day. The main hook here is how Murphy lovingly riffs on
07:42 the character of Buckwheat, who possesses a speech impediment. "Take a whiffin'
07:46 Untie, see times I made it." This is achieved to particularly hilarious effect during the sketch
08:02 Buckwheat sings the classics, as Murphy deliberately picks songs that emphasize this point.
08:08 Yet another important aspect of this recurring sketch is how it never feels mean-spirited either.
08:13 It's just side-splittingly funny. "And if you order now, you'll get Buckwheat's tribute to
08:18 alfalfa." Number Three - Church Chat. Dana Carvey's Church Lady just has to be one of the
08:34 best recurring Saturday Night Live characters from the 1980s. "Well, isn't that special?"
08:39 Carvey's Enid Strick possesses a covert malevolence as the host of Church Chat.
08:44 This is in spite of the wonderful little jig she performs that's colloquially known as the
08:49 "Superior Dance." That's about as far as her goodwill goes, however, since the Church Lady
08:54 basically invited guests onto the Church Chat stage solely to admonish them for their sinful
09:00 lifestyles. "And who could have led us into that chasm, Jimmy? Who was behind the wheel of our
09:05 Lincoln Town car when we drove into the Crazy Eight Motel? Who could it be? Who could it be?
09:11 I just can't imagine. Who could it be? Say it!" Carvey brought a smug sense of self-satisfaction
09:19 to the character, but never made the Church Lady so beyond the pale that she couldn't connect with
09:23 the SNL audience. The end results became a fan-favorite sketch that would live on forever.
09:29 "Perfectly aligned, then suddenly askew, then aligned, then askew in the other direction,
09:34 then aligned, then askew, aligned, askew, aligned, askew. Not unlike two muscular gerbils
09:40 tussling under an afghan." Number 2 - James Brown's Celebrity Hot Tub Party
09:45 If it seems like we're discussing Eddie Murphy a lot during this list, we have a very good reason.
09:55 The man frankly helped keep the good ship SNL afloat during some difficult times,
10:00 creating sketches that we're still discussing today. James Brown's Celebrity Hot Tub Party
10:05 absolutely deserves to be mentioned in that conversation too. A very funny idea that's
10:09 anchored by a supremely memorable performance. "Too hot in the hot tub, burn my sex,
10:15 make it cooler, good God!" Murphy's mannerisms as Brown are solid gold, focusing on the soul icon's
10:22 uncontainable energy. It's an impression that helped solidify Murphy's tenure on
10:27 Saturday Night Live as a period that helped define a legend. "Say hot there, hot tub,
10:32 gonna get you hot, I'm gonna make it wet, say, say hot tub, rub a dub in the hot tub."
10:37 Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
10:41 Fernando's Hideaway - Simply marvelous. "My favorite thing Howard, may I call you Howard?"
10:47 "Of course." "My favorite thing, I love, of course, I love that,
10:50 he's a cat in yama kid." Master Thespian - John Lovitz always knows how to make us laugh. "But
10:56 what about last night?" "Acting!" "But what about the screaming?" "Objection!"
11:04 Toontz's The Driving Cat - With disastrous results. "Hey look, he's driving away!"
11:09 "I guess he can drive." "Yeah, just not very well."
11:15 Weekend Update - Bill Murray's 1981 Oscar predictions. Nepotism at its finest.
11:21 "For the best picture, there of course is only one winner, and that is Caddyshack.
11:28 Because it was written by my brother Brian Doyle Murray and Doug and Harold."
11:35 Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about
11:40 our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
11:45 If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
11:51 Number 1 - Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood. "It feels real good to walk streets again after being in
11:57 jail doing seven to ten. Would you be mine, would you be mine? I wish you was my neighbor."
12:02 The sixth season of Saturday Night Live, sometimes known as SNL 80, isn't for everyone. Its supposedly
12:09 uneven quality enjoys a contentious and controversial reputation among fans to this day.
12:15 But this sketch proved to be pure comedy gold. "Oh look, an eviction notice brought by Mr. Landlord.
12:24 Can you say scum bucket?" Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood parodies Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood
12:29 to wonderful effect, and is hilariously funny. Eddie Murphy's Mr. Robinson seems to possess the
12:35 similarly down-to-earth and approachable mannerisms of Fred Rogers, but with a noticeable swerve in
12:41 tone. "46.79? Wow, that's a lot of money boys and girls. Especially for a lady who can only afford
12:48 to give me a quarter to carry this to her car. I feel so bad for I carried the rest of the way to
12:55 my apartment for free." The real life Mr. Rogers was reportedly a fan of this sketch, which plays
13:01 with economic and social disparities in an uproarious and no-holds-barred kind of way.
13:06 It's great stuff. "Hey remember boys and girls, you didn't see me. Tomorrow, tomorrow, I come back
13:14 home tomorrow when the coast is clear." Did you watch any of these sketches when they originally
13:20 aired or in reruns? Let us know in the comments. "I hope I get to move in your neighborhood
13:26 someday. The problem is, is when I move in, y'all move away." Do you agree with our picks? Check
13:33 out this other recent clip from MsMojo. And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified
13:38 about our latest videos.