It says volumes that Iman Crosson has made far more inroads into the popular consciousness as a parody President Obama than Fred Armisen’s mistake of an impression.
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Yeah, that kid is good. Still think the “I can do whatever I like” video is the reigning champ of Obama parodies.
Oliver you are right that SNL’s Obama impersonation largely failed, but I think that really does help illustrate how hard it is to do a good impression of the guy. He’s difficult–and really not that easy to make fun of. That’s probably ultimately a good thing, but bad for late night comedy.
I’m not sure. Obama has some clear, distinct mannerisms, which is the key for impersonation. Armisen is just not funny, and the material they’ve written for SNL is just awful, they haven’t found anything to go after. I believe the biggest flaw in the SNL style is their attempt to attack Obama like they would any other politician. Where Imam’s stuff is so strong is that he doesn’t stick to anything remotely rational, it doesn’t have to be believable, it just have to be funny..
You might be right. The main problem with Obama parodies is that they have not yet figured out an angle for which to poke fun of him.
Folks, SNL is dealing with something called “The Curse Of Eddie Murphy” SNL hasn’t been able to find one funny black gal or guy since Murphy left.
Chris Rock is a funny stand-up but isn’t a funny sketch comedy guy and Tracey Morgan isn’t funny at all. Lorne Michaels is so out of touch that he gave the fat kid from the movie Good Burger a job.
Did In Living Color happen in a vacuum?
Did Mad TV happen in a vacuum?
Did Chapelle’s Show happen in a vacuum?
I guess so.
I agree with your larger point…
Tracey Morgan isn’t funny at all
But that’s just WRONG.
As someone who does a few decent voice impressions (ask my coworkers about my Limbaugh), Obama’s voice is a lot harder to do than many others (like Bush, Clinton, and Kerry) – it isn’t stereotypical to any region or nationality. The best you can usually do with it is the pauses and that’s the diff between the two guys above.
Obama is generally pretty plain, most of the time, with a lot of odd umm’s and pauses. Oddly enough, I think if you do a good Al Gore (vocal tone/intonation, not enunciation, southern, speed, etc), you can convert it to an Obama by adding the pauses, the fits and starts, and the occasional uplifting/inspirational bit.
Listening to his speeches, the thing I think is the most unusual is that the faster he speaks, the lower his voice is, but when he reaches an emotional peak, his voice rises, and his pace slows. This is very different from most speakers (is this the essence of the “black preacher”-vibe?), and particularly most politicians. It’s also the part Armisen completely screws up (well, that plus having a voice a full octave too high, and being unfunny as hell), all he’s got is a regular voice with some of the odd pacing.