With Tracy Morgan’s recent rise in fame on 30 Rock, it’s understandable that Saturday Night Live: The Best of Tracy Morgan would be re-released. However, if you were hoping for funnier material than was on the original release in 2004, you’ll definitely be disappointed. Perhaps it would be more accurate if this DVD was titled The Best and Worst of Tracy Morgan. Some of the skits are hilarious, like the two Safari Planet sketches, in which Tracy Morgan argues with a parrot over who the real Brian Fellow is and Matt Damon tries to convince him that a pot bellied pig would make a good pet while Tracy fantasizes about a dirty talking porcupine. Black James Bond is another humorous segment, especially when Tracy suggests that Star Jones could be a Bond girl. But then there is the likes of Woodrow, in which a homeless man hangs out with Kate Hudson in the sewer, and Pimp Chat, in which Vince Vaughn guest stars as Mr. White Chocolate, a Caucasian pimp. If these are examples of the best Tracy Morgan can do, he has no future in the world of comedy.
Along with Vince Vaughn, Matt Damon and Kate Hudson, several other incredible guest stars appear on this DVD. Alec Baldwin joins Tracy for a segment about guys from the porn industry who quit and get office jobs, and Shaq shares a tiny couch with Father Tracy in Coming Home Late, which showcases Tracy’s aptitude for physical comedy. Meanwhile, Britney Spears and Brittany Murphy play aliens with Barbie’s proportions in the Astronaut Jones clips, and Bernie Mac sees The Pianist on the silver screen with Tracy, much to the dismay of other theater goers in “Movie Theater.” Other Saturday Night Live favorites such as Tina Fey (Tracy’s 30 Rock costar), Jimmy Fallon, Molly Shannon and Amy Poehler perform in some of the more entertaining portions of this collection.
While I wouldn’t call this the most enjoyable Best of SNL DVD, the video quality is rather good. The sound is pretty standard, nothing extra special, but it definitely won’t detract from the audience’s viewing experience.
Overall, fans of Tracy Morgan will enjoy this collection, and those who dislike him won’t change their opinions. However, it’s a decent buy, if only to see Tracy Morgan dressed as both Aunt Jemima and Uncle Jemima, selling liquor and being chased by cartoon birds, or singing with Simon Cowell about how Christmas is way cooler than Easter in the bonus features.
DVD Bonus Features
There are several extras on this DVD set. Tracy Morgan’s original Saturday Night Live audition is one of them, and after watching it, you will wonder how he managed to snag a spot on the show in the first place. It’s seriously not funny. Dress Sketch shows a skit with Queen Latifah that was cut from the show, but is actually more entertaining than some of the featured sketches. There are also photos; outtakes, in which you can watch Tracy Morgan mispronounce words and laugh at himself; TV appearances with Conan O’Brien (which include a bit of the same material from Tracy’s SNL audition in case you want to listen to the lameness twice) and more sketches that were left off the original DVD, such as Tracy’s monologue, Scared Straight, and Skull Island: Weekend Update. Again, a lot of these segments are more appealing to the audience than the ones that actually made the cut.
"Saturday Night Live: The Best of Tracy Morgan" is on sale July 13, 2010 and is not rated. Comedy, Television. Directed by Beth McCarthy Miller. Written by Lorne Michaels, Tina Fey, Charlie Grandy, Paula Pell, Matt Murray, Andrew Steele, etc.. Starring Amy Poehler, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan.
