Customer Reviews

Saturday Night Live - The Best of Phil Hartman

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Before you slam me, keep in mind I am definitely not giving Phil Hartman's talent a less-than perfect rating (I would give him 10 out of 10 stars, if I were rating that) or his performances on SNL as a whole a sub-par rating (10 out of 10 stars again, if that were the case).

I just felt that this collection didn't do him the justice he deserved. There was some great stuff in here, such as him as Barbara Bush, The Sinatra Group (where as Sinatra, he hilariously puts down his 'guests' Billy Idol, Sinead "Uncle Fester" O Connor, and Luther Campbell, played by Sting, Jan Hooks, and Chris Rock) Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer, Bill Clinton, and more. After watching it, however, I did feel like they could have done a better job putting it together-there were sketches that I really had to wonder what they were thinking (such as the beheading one) when they included them instead of more of PH as Ed McMahon, or even more Sinatra. After it was over, my husband said he felt like he was watching "The Best of Jan Hooks and Phil Hartman", since she seems to play a more prominent role in some of the bits they include than he does. I should state in all fairness that I was never a big fan of hers, and was relieved when left the cast. But even if she didn't irritate me, this should really be a tribute that focused more closely on Hartman. I agree that they (Hooks and Hartman) worked closely together (for example, she played Hilary to his Bill)so it would have been hard not to have her appear at least part of the time. I just wanted less of her and more of Hartman.

At first, I didn't especially like the short film they ended it with (Hooks plays an elderly star who goes to her safety deposit box to try on her prized jewelry collection, and we flash back to her as a young woman, dancing with Hartman in a glamorous Astaire/Rodgers type musical) the first time I watched it, but upon repeated viewings, the ending really grew on me and I found it very touching and fitting. It is so well-done and romantic that it probably would make me choked up a tiny bit even if Hartman was still alive, but since his tragic murder, it really is poignant to the point where I get teary just thinking about it. At the risk of sounding really sappy, his death was so shocking and unexpected that I still hard to believe sometimes that he is gone. This video collection is good, but just seems as though it was slapped together too fast (with the better organized Farley tribute, I get the feeling they already had put the whole thing together and ready to go months before he passed away-they aired it what, 2 weeks after he died). I am sure everyone involved in the making of this collection was still emotional and shaken up after Hartman's death, and were maybe so sad (he was especially well-loved among everyone that worked on the show-I have never heard anyone ever say anything negative about him before or after he died) that they didn't have their hearts in it to do the best job possible. I enjoyed it, but felt it was too short and left out too much...though it's a long shot, I'm hoping for a volume 2, a second, better-organized collection.

This volume clearly shows how wonderfully unique Phil Hartman was. My favorite skit on this DVD was Unfrozen Cave Man Lawyer. I would like to see at least another volume or two from the SNL archives on Phil. I don't believe they even scratched the surface of his best past performances. Some of the videos shown here were just snippits of performances.

I read all the reviews of this, and i found the one extremely negative one and figured it was just some moron that didn't know what he was talking about. After buying this and watching it, i realized that he was way closer to the truth than any of the other reviewers. This dvd contains about 4 funny sketches, tops. I remember phil hartman being way funnier than he is portrayed on this dvd, and i have a theory as to why this one stinks as bad as it does.
-Phil Hartman is an extremely funny and talented actor, but for some reason he was written in as a funny "side guy" in a lot of sketches, and the ones where he is the main character, he is usually doing an impression of someone or it is just plain boring, for whatever reason. Therefore, to see Phil Hartman in his top form, you would be better off buying Adam Sandler's, Mike Myers', or Chris Farley's dvds, because theirs probably have all the sketches in which we remember Phil Hartman being so funny. The only sketches left by the time they got around to making Hartman's dvd were the ones we would have been better off forgetting. The only things worth watching on this dvd are "cooking with the anal retentive chef" and "the all drug olympics," which is about 10 seconds long. I hate to write a review like this because i really loved phil hartman, but it is a shame that i would rather watch the "bad" ones on the will ferrell dvd than the "good" ones on this dvd. Sorry.

Phil Hartman was a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" for eight years. During that time, he gave the show some its most memorable and hilarious moments. From zany recurring characters to dead - on impressions of people in the news, he always knew how the grab the audience. So after his untimely death in 1998, it was only fitting that the good peole at "SNL" would put together a collection of Phil's best moments on the show. The result, "The Best Of Phil Hartman", was a good collection but many people felt something was wrong.

"The Best Of Phil Hartman" starts off on a high note. Showcasing his memorable impressions such as Bill Clinton (I personally like his better than Darrell Hammond), Phil Donahue, Peter Graves, Ronald Reagan, Barbara Bush and Frank Sinatra (in the funniest sketch on the whole dvd) is a great way to kick things off. In fact, the first 45 minutes or so is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

However, there's a noticable drop in quality after the "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer" sketch. Sketches like "Anne Boleyn" and "Robot Repair" are basically filler sketches added for time. Also, there are funnier Frankenstein, Tonto And Tarzan sketches than the one here, but they opt for their first appearance. I would havee loved for an "As World Turn" or "Season's Greetings" sketch. The only real keepers throughout this entire half are the end tribute and "Cooking With The Anal Retentive Chef".

If they wanted to make a great tribute to Hartman, they should have devoted the first half to his impressions and the rest to his many recurring characters. Phil had a lot of memorable and funny characters - Mr. Claymore, gay talk show host Russell Clark, Mace the convict, Susan The Transsexual, Helen and even Jesus (which is actually more of an impression depending on your beliefs). All of them are either missing are butchered to mere snippets in montages.

I was also very surprised that they didn't included "The Environentally Conscious One". This sketch was a parody of the movie "The Wild One" with Alec Baldwin in the Brando role, except he's a defender of the environment fighting pollutionist Phil Hartman. The best part of the sketch is at the end when Baldwin is about to ride off on his motorcycle while the town is being destroyed by pollution when Hartman jumps on and says, "take me with you". Hartman says it so funny and woman - like that Baldwin starts laughing. I truly expected it to be here (though I'm glad they kept the part in the "Greenhilly" sketch from the same episode where Baldwin and Hartman kiss each other).

Overall, this dvd starts off great but really loses steam toward the end. Hopefully they will release of volume 2 of Hartman's best (like Phil's 1990s' successor Will Ferrell, although his second best - off was a lot less funnier than his first). Maybe then they can spare us a complete sketch of his Charlton Heston impression or maybe the "Dating Game" parody on "Sprockets" where he played Susan. Until then, this will just have to do.

The opening credits for this video say "Saturday Night Live Remembers Phil Hartman." How could anybody NOT remember Phil Hartman? With so many impersonations and characters, I'm sure it was very difficult for the creators of this video to pick out "The Best of Phil Hartman." The following skits and impersonations are included in this 83 minute video:
Cold Opening - Admiral Stockdale
The Sinatra Group
Compulsion
Clinton At McDonald's
Donahue
Discover The World of Science
Barbara Bush
Ronald Reagan
"The Tonight Song" with Steve Martin
Governor Mario Cuomo
Senator Edward Kennedy
Church Chat
Visit From Jesus Christ
Charlton Heston
Johnny Cash
Michael Caine
Telly Savalas
Burt Reynolds
Star Trek
Andy Griffith
"Dadly Duties"
Ed McMahon
Unfrozen Cave Man Lawyer
Weekend Update Commentary: The All-Drug Olympics
Drama Class
Johnny O'Connor
Cooking With the Anal Retentive Chef
Succinctly Speaking
Encounter With Mr. Cherrywood
Sassy
Army Base
Sprockets Dating Game
On Broadway
Robot Repair
Anne Boleyn
Love Is A Dream

I would say 30 out of the 36 sketches on this tape are very funny. It's incredibly saddening that Hartman is no longer alive to share more laughs with us. This tape is a great tribute to the times that he was. I dare you fans and new viewers to try not to laugh as you view this truly great tribute to a truly comedic genius.

For 8 years, Pil Hartman kept America laughing as one of (if not the ) most versatile castmembers on "Saturday Night Live". Judging by his long line of work, it would be hard to find just 20 sketches that would qualify as his best. In 1998, shortly after he was murdered by his wife Brynne, Lorne Michaels and Company came up with "Saturday Night Live: The Best Of Phil Hartman", which was soon released on dvd. The results were okay at best.

The first half is hilarious. "The Sinatra Group" is my favorite, especiially the Sinead O'Connor (Jan Hooks) jokes. Also worth a view are "Clinton At McDonald's" and "Discover The World Of Science With Peter Graves", in which Hartman plays the screen veteran as a bumbling idiot (so gold is long and thin like, say, Kareem Abdul Jabaar?). Best of all, there's a montage of his impressions. So many people watch him for his Bill Clinton that they forget his repitoire ranged from Ted Kennedy to Burt Reynolds to Jesus. After the "All Drug Olympics" sketch, the dvd falters a bit, but enjoys a resurgance of hilarity with "Cooking With The Anal Retentive Chef". But skecthes like "Robot Repair" and "On Broadway With Brenda Krouse" just weren't as good as I expected. The final sketch is "Love Is A Dream", a short film with an ending that will leave you misty - eyed.

Overall, not a bad set, but it could have been a better sketch. For instance, where was the sketch where he's Frank Sinatra and he's recording his "Duets" album and he doesn't like his partners?

I bought the DVD hoping to see one skit -- the funniest one my family had ever seen on SNL. We had it recorded on VHS many MANY years ago and somehow lost it. But we would sit and laugh until we cried watching the skit where Phil played the drill sargeant who came up with nicknames for his new recruits -- "Smiling Laughing Joking Around Man" ... "Man Who Reminds Me Of My Doggie" ... "Hair Head!" I thought for SURE that THE funniest skit in all of SNL history would be on there, but no...it was just a 20 second clip. I was SO disappointed!!

And it was quite surprising to see some of the skits they chose to show in their entirety...They just weren't funny.

On a positive note, there was a serious song and dance number at the very end of the DVD that was so sweet, it brought me to tears. And the bonus featuring Phil's audition was quite interesting. But overall, I don't recommend it.

When Phil Hartman was murdered by his wife, he left behind something that nobody could take from him - his legacy. As possibly "Saturday Night Live's" most versatile star, he was a major influence on later, equally great castmembers Will Ferrell and Darrell Hammond (who is the only castmmebrs whose Bill Clinton impersonation matched up to Hartman). As always, when he died, Lorne and company decided it was time to put together a tribute show as they did for Chris Farley. The resulting "The Best Of Phil Hartman" was mixed at best.

The first half is hilarious. Here, he gest to show up his versatillity in such roles as Frank Sinatra ("The Sinatra Group"), Bill Clinton ("Clinton At McDonald's"), Peter Graves ("Discover The World Of Science"), Phil Donahue ("Donahue"), and "Barbara Bush (don't know name of sketch, but features Nancy Reagan (Jan Hooks) trying to take back the White House). Also, there's a great montage of his impressions. He became so well known for playing Bill Clinton, people forget that his repetoire included Ted Kennedy, Andy Griffith, Telly Savalas, Michael Caine and even Jesus. Also, there's his infamous "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer" and one, the "Weekend Update' "All Drug Olympics".

But after this, the dvd falters. While "Cooking With The Anal Retentive Chef" "Succinctly Speaking", and the touching closer "Love Is A Dream" are worth viewing, the second montage (don't know what it's about), "On Broadway", "Ann Boleyn" and "Robot Repair" rank among the worst "SNL" skecthes ever.

Is this dvd worth viewing? Yes. But is it perfect? By all means, no. How could it have been better? First, they could've taken out the entire second half (with the eexception of "Anal Retentive Chef", "Succinctly Speaking", and "Love Is A Dream") and replaced it with the "Sinatra Duets" sketch, another Clinton one, and a montage of his voiceovers. I think Phil Hartman deserves a best - of, volume 2.

This is good for a few laughs, but overall is a major disappointment. It does not do justice to all the hilarious Phil Hartman moments on SNL. The first half of the tape is decent, but the last few sketches on the video are flat out unfunny. Purchase the video with your expectations low or you will be disappointed.

Phil Hartman has to be one of the best SNL players of all time. I loved this tape. I loved the "Sinatra Group" sketch. I thought this tape was very good and put most of, at least, my favorite Hartman sketches together.