Customer Reviews

Finesse Mitchell: Snap Famous

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Finesse Mitchell is the funniest cast member on Saturday Night Live since Eddie Murphy, or at least Garrett Morris....
No, I'm only serious. "Snap Famous" catches Mitchell performing his brilliant stand-up routine, and it shows a side of him that you don't get to see on Saturday nights. There are no skits here, no group performances - it's all Mitchell all the time, and he gets to stretch out a bit. If you watch the comedy channel, you'll see a lot of stand-up, but Mitchell is a cut above the rest. His style is conversational and he isn't afraid to make a fool of himself, but in a way that endears him to the audience. He discusses his move to NYC, and his experience as the new kid on the block of the longest-running comedy series on television, including encounters with Halle Berry, Brad Pitt and Prince. Also hilarious is his recollection of white people dancing, black names for children, transsexuals, and especially his stories about growing up with his teenaged mom (God help him when he goes back home to visit...). His closing bit - which happened to be his audition for Saturday Night Live - about a black crowd watching a movie with subtitles is one of the funniest things I've seen in quite a while.
In a few years, Finesse Mitchell will probably be as famous as those stars who now left him tongue-tied. When you are this good, it's inevitable. If that happens, he will no longer be able to relate to everyman in the way that he does during this stand-up routine, so see this DVD before things change. I'm only serious. A- Tom Ryan

I was laughing so hard! I miss him on Saturday Night Live. Hopefully he is doing bigger and better things. This was shot while he was still a cast member of SNL. He is also fine!

I'd never heard of Finesse until I read his advice column in a popular magazine. I thought it was funny, so when I was in a movie rental place, I hoped this DVD would be too.

Cons: The audience was cracking up through all of his jokes, and I sat in front of my t.v. screen wondering if I was watching the same performance that they were. Too many of his jokes were similar to other comedians. He reminded me of Ricky Smiley with the sing-song jokes. He reminded me of Jamie Foxx when he kept making jokes about temporarily being gay when Prince walked into the room (as well as Brad Pitt). He reminded me of Cedric the Entertainer with the jokes that stopped cold and went into music. He showed out with being a Kappa, reminiscent of frat members Cedric (Kappa) and Ricky (who I believe is a Que) also. There were times when he elaborated on jokes for entirely too long (ex. the flat iron joke, the Prince joke, the movie theater joke with the girl chanting childhood songs). There were times when he missed the timing of the jokes (ex. "shim" should have been funny but he waited until the audience was laughing and they missed out on that one). I watched this slightly disappointed, because I really had high hopes for this comedian. His humor reminded me of the class clown in high school. I'm sure people around him found him funny, but this was not the best first impression. Then again, I didn't enjoy Jamie Foxx or Martin's live performance when they first started out, and practice makes perfect. So, it could be possible that over time, he will improve.

Pros: No matter what came out of the man's mouth, all I kept thinking was "This has got to be the finest comedian EVER!" Whew. Even though the jokes weren't funny, every single move he made was attractive. I know that's superficial, but it's the truth. He did have a couple of funny lines, like the wife beater/grab your neck joke; the homework joke; and the Cheney dance performance.

There is definitely room for improvement, but again, his advice column cracks me up, so I know he's funny. But this DVD did him no justice.

Update: I wrote this review before I saw the bonus features. Now I'm completely confused. The "Cribs" bonus and the "Streets of New York" were hold-your-side funny, so once again, I know he's funny. I've come to the conclusion that he's hilarious in regular conversation when he's not trying to be, but somehow the stage didn't work out. I have faith in him though. I bet he'll be better next time, especially after watching the bonus features. I'd give those two FIVE stars.