There Is A Negative Infinity Chance That SNL Would Have The Balls Today To Run A Sketch About Blind Stevie Wonder Playing Tennis
Back when I was a little kid my Aunt Mary Beth used to babysit me a lot on weekends. It was always fun staying at her house because she let me stay up as late as I wanted and watch TV. She loved Saturday Night Live and loved pranking me telling me she was putting on the news and something very important was happening so I'd watch and pay attention.
I would inevitably fall for the opening skit, involving Dana Carvey playing Ross Perot, or Phil Hartman playing Bill Clinton.
Every single time. When they'd look in the camera and yell "Live From New York, it's Saturday night!" I'd look around like what the fuck just happened?
Admittedly, the majority of the jokes went way over my head back then, but the low-brow stuff, what people today would term crass, or blatantly offensive stuff, always landed, and I would laugh my little ass off.
Good times.
A buddy sent me this yesterday and I couldn't believe my eyes. (No pun intended)
I legit laughed out loud watching this.
I thought I'd seen all the classic sketches Saturday Night Live had trotted out in the past, but I'd honestly never seen this one until yesterday.
There he is, one on the greatest musical talents to ever grace God's green Earth, Stevland Hardaway Morris, AKA Stevie Wonder, attempting to shoot some friends at the country club playing a little tennis, and then attempting to do so himself.
The obvious joke is that he can't do either because he's blind. But that's what makes this so hilarious.
Look at these shots!
Taking the risk, actually being edgy, and throwing in the cute punchline of a camera that's “so simple, even Stevie Wonder can use it" is comic gold.
Imagine SNL having the balls to run something like this today? No fucking chance. It would take somebody with brass nuts like Kevin Clancy sitting in that corner c-suite at 30 Rockefeller Plaza calling the shots. Not that little bitch Lorne. Today they're too afraid of offending anybody and everybody, losing the mothership sponsors, or stirring up controversy in the echo chambers online. And the ratings prove it.
But not to throw it all solely on Saturday Night Live here. I think people back in the day just took things a lot less seriously. Especially themselves. People, like Stevie, were able to laugh at themselves a lot easier.
(Fun fact- one of the best things I ever heard about Stevie Wonder is he doesn't say "goodbye to people", he always says "I'll see you later", because he likes to laugh at himself.)
sidebar- my favorite Stevie song ever
p.s. - my other favorite SNL commercial parodies in no particular order-
Schmitt‘s Gay (obvious #1. need Joey and Pat to recreate this for high noon badly)
Colon Blow
Love Toilet
Mom Jeans
Oops! I Crapped My Pants!
Martha Stewart: Home for the Holidays - Topless Christmas Special