Cheap Saturday Night Live - The Best of Molly Shannon (DVD) (Leon Ichaso, Bill D'Elia, Dave Wilson, James Signorelli, Robert Altman, Walter Williams (IV), Tim Robbins, Christopher Guest, Mike Judge, Eric Idle) Price

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Customer Reviews of Saturday Night Live - The Best of Molly Shannon

Yeah, she's a funny lady, but she pales in comparison to such "SNL" comediennes as Gilda Radner, Jane Curtain, and even Chery Oteri, who is very goofy. Molly Shannon's "Best Of" collection is fine, I suppose, but I didn't laugh that much -- and not nearly as often as I did with Will Ferrell's "Best Of" DVD.

Here she plays her most famous (and mostly original) characters: Salley O'Malley, Mary Katherine Gallagher, Courtney Love and Anna Nicole Smith (in a disgusting but funny segment with Ben Affleck), among others. But they're never exactly laugh-out-loud funny; I smiled a few times. I enjoyed some of the gags. But I was only really laughing when Will Ferrell was interacting with Molly.

Whether or not they are good films is definitely arguable, but there's a reason that Will Ferrell has been cast in virtually every mainstream Molly Shannon film. They go together. She cameos in his movies, he cameos and/or stars in hers. Remember "Superstar"? Remember "A Night at the Roxbury"? Maybe they're not good, but at least Lorne Michaels was smart enough to realize that the two have some sort of chemistry.

I noticed that Molly Shannon likes to move around a lot. I watched the Conan O'Brian interview with her (included on the DVD), and she absolutely could not sit still at all, just like her "Joyologist" character, who, in the DVD's outtakes, flipped over her chair from moving around so much.

She's good as Courtney Love, and Molly Shannon is undoubtedly a good comedic actress, but to say that she deserves her own collection of best moments at this point in time is a bit presumptuous, especially considering the fact that classic "SNL" actors have yet to appear in any sort of "Best Of" DVD collections. (Or am I just not finding them on Amazon and in the stores?) Besides, most of the compiles sketches aren't even that great -- or is it just that Molly Shannon herself isn't that great? I hope it's the former.

If you're a fan of Molly Shannon and/or "Saturday Night Live," I would definitely pick up this DVD. I bought it for fourteen dollars, and I've got to say that I'll probably return to it once and a while for some good grins. But not nearly as often as I am already returning to "The Best of Will Ferrell," which still stands as the best "Saturday Night Live" DVD I own at the current time (only three, but I'm getting there).

"Saturday Night Live: The Best of Molly Shannon" runs 76 minutes. It contains outtakes, a deleted dress rehearsal scene, a picture gallery, two TV interviews with Conan, and so on. It is not rated, but contains some language and sexual content/partial nudity. The feature's guest stars include, among others: Val Kilmer, Matthew Broderick, Gabriel Byrne, Tina Turner, Alex Baldwin, et al. It is now available on video and DVD.

Molly: One of the all time GREAT TV ladies of comedy!
Molly Shannon's presence is sorely missed on "Saturday Night Live" but not you can relive some of her finest moments with this DVD. Although I personally would have chosen some different sketches , this DVD is sure to put a big smile on even the grumpiest of faces.

Included are:

"Mary Katherine Gallagher"- Mary auditions for the school variety show and sings "Sometimes When We Touch" and does a Meredith Baxter Birney tv movie monologue. (with Gabriel Byrne)

"Helen Madden, Licensed Joyologist"- "I love it! I love it!" Helen appears on "Pretty Living", hosted by Ana Gasteyer. (with Matthew Broderick)

"The Courtney Love Show"- Courtney's got a talk show, and she interviews Julie Andrews (played by Christine Baranski)

"Elizabeth Taylor"- Elizabeth picks the winning lottery numbers on Weekend Update ("Gladiator!")

"Jeanne Darcy"- the very unspontaneous and over rehearsed comedienne makes an inappropriate appearance at a nursing home.

"Monica Lewinsky"- Monica addresses court, with Hillary watching.

"Sally O'Malley"- Sally auditions to be a Rockette! "I'm 50 years old! And I like to kick! Stretch! And kick!" (with Danny DeVito).

"Veronica & Co."- The European supermodel has a talk show whose set is located in the middle of a fashion show runway (with Val Kilmer).

"Delicious Dish On NPR"- Molly & Ana Gasteyer as the very low-key hosts of a radio cooking show. This is the famous "Schweaty Balls" episode (with Alec Baldwin).

"Leg Up!"- Molly as Ann Miller, and Cheri Oteri as Debbie Reynolds. (with Phil Hartman as a very cranky Frank Sinatra)

"MTV FANatic"- Molly as Anna Nicole Smith (with Ben Affleck as an obsessed fan who looks to Anna Nicole for a mother figure).

"Mary Katherine Gallagher"- Mary meets the real Tina Turner by hiding in her dressing room. (with Alec Baldwin)

"Rae Murphy"- an awkward blind date at an airport bar goes horribly wrong (with Will Ferrel and Chris Kattan).

"Dress Rehearsal Sketch"- that was cut from the final broadcast features Molly as an odd, accent loving girl who brings home date Bill Paxton to meet her parents (with Ana Gasteyer and Horatio Sanz).

Also features a photo gallery of Molly in different costumes, outtakes: Molly as Xena, Princess Warrior (with Brendan Frasier), as Helen Madden (with Ben Stiller), NPR's Delicious Dish (with Alec Baldwin), 70's Ladies In Bar (with Calista Flockhart), Dog Show! (with Will Ferrell- it's just a teeny blooper clip), and Jeanne Darcy on Weekend Update.

Two more goodies: two appearances on Conan O'Brien. On the first one she discusses how Courtney Love didn't seem pleased to be parodied and how Gary Coleman once trapped her in his hotel bathroom and tried to put the moves on her; the other appearance is with Will Ferrell and she talks about dating and a new sketch she was working on called "Hot Cocoa Girls."

Great collection! I would have given it five stars had it included some "Goth Talk" and "Dog Show" sketches on it. My absolute favorite Mary Katherine Gallagher sketch isn't here either (Gwenyth Paltrow was the host that week)- but it'd be nearly impossible to include everyone's favorites. I'd say that Molly Shannon definitely deserves a second "Best Of" DVD!

Good, but brief.
I believe that most people buy a "Best of" title mainly to see some of their favorite skits. Don't set your expectations too high here. This is just 76 minutes long, which includes outtakes, tv interviews, a dress rehearsal, and some recognizable skits. One can always argue about what should be on a "Best of", but this is so limited as to leave one convinced that this was made short to allow for other "Favorites" to be bundled up by producers for other DVD's to be released later. Disappointing.