All Rise...

Judge Cynthia Boris treats herself to a sack of Schwetty Balls.

The Charge

"No one can resist my Schwetty balls."

Opening Statement

With more than one hundred credits on his résumé, Alec Baldwin is one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood. He went from soaps (The Doctors) to the kind but confused husband in Beetlejuice to the great Jack Ryan in The Hunt for Red October. But even with his enormous body of work, he'll always be remembered for his Schwetty Balls.

Coming in second to Steve Martin for the most hosting stints on Saturday Night Live with twelve episodes—I give you Saturday Night Live: Best of Alec Baldwin.

The Evidence

As with all of the SNL "Best of" DVDs, there's some good and some bad in this package, but I'm happy to say there are more highlights than low spots. That may be because Baldwin himself chose the sketches that made it to this DVD. And since Baldwin says, "the sillier the better," it's not surprising that a large number of these skits are sexual in nature with more than their share of double entendres.

"The Prince's Press Conference" brings up the subject of Prince Charles's sexuality. (Would Prince Charles rather have roses on his piano or tulips on his organ?) "The Tony Bennett Show" asks the question: why is David Guest sleeping with Liza? Everything leads to a sexual encounter on "Greenhilly" and Oops! Was that your sleeping bag? You'd better share mine. It's Extra Large! The scoutmaster has a lesson for Canteen Boy. And let's bow down and pay homage to my all time favorite—No one can resist my Schwetty balls. It's Christmas time on National Public Radio.

If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read—but I always like to know what sketches are on these DVDs, so here goes:

• "Prince Charles Cold Open"
• "Monologue"
• "Greenhilly" (skip it)
• "The Tony Bennett Show" (with Liza and Guest)
• "Canteen Boy" (a classic)
• "Inside the Actor's Studio" (with Baldwin as Charles Nelson Reilly—a hoot)
• "NPR: Schwetty Balls" (a classic)
• "Public Opinion"
• "Soap Opera Digest"
• "Zings" (another favorite)
• "Francais" (skip it)
• "Honest Planet"
• "Voicemail"
• "Pyramid of Pain"
• "Joe Pesci Show: De Niro" (gotta love it)
• "Tough Guy"
• "The Breakfast"
• "Bill Brasky"

Extra features include two unaired dress rehearsal sketches (I never knew they deleted sketches right before going live). A still photo gallery and a really interesting commentary track with Baldwin himself.

Closing Statement

Though I would still prefer to watch SNL in the manner in which is was originally conceived (whole episodes, not chopped up into pieces), I found this particular "best of" to be full of laughs and more than a few joyous groans. Baldwin is truly amazing in his commitment to the comedy. He goes full bore and manages to speak the most hysterically embarrassing lines without ever cracking a smile. And since his hosting duties stretched out over a number of years, you'll get a nice variety of classic SNL players from Adam Sandler to David Spade, Molly Shannon, Will Ferrell, and more.

The Verdict

I hereby declare that Saturday Night Live—Best of Alec Baldwin is still not ready for prime time, but since it's a DVD, you can enjoy it anytime you want.

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