Pan-sexual Portauthoriparty
January 13, 2012 4:52 PM Subscribe
New York Yelp's hotest reviewer is Stefon K. Founded by an unknown Manhattanite, this user's got everything: Mother Theresa on a ketamine binge, live-action Furbies, Laotian children in birdcages and a connection to one of Saturday Night Live's favorite characters.
Am I the only one who doesn't get Stefon? I find his bits on SNL really meh.
posted by falameufilho at 5:10 PM on January 13, 2012
posted by falameufilho at 5:10 PM on January 13, 2012
HAVING SAID THAT: The Yelp reviews are really funny (just not SNL-material funny).
posted by falameufilho at 5:11 PM on January 13, 2012
posted by falameufilho at 5:11 PM on January 13, 2012
Is this satire on common NY Yelp reviews or something? I've never seen anything like it before. Not sure I'm getting the joke.
posted by Doleful Creature at 5:29 PM on January 13, 2012
posted by Doleful Creature at 5:29 PM on January 13, 2012
Kristen Wiig in a cone of silence that only she doesn't know is there...
posted by longsleeves at 5:32 PM on January 13, 2012
posted by longsleeves at 5:32 PM on January 13, 2012
Can anyone tell if these are recycled from the SNL bits or wholly fresh? Either way I'm loling. Stefon is the funniest thing I've seen on SNL since Horatio Sanz got fired. (clearly I love stupid).
Also: very well made post APS.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:36 PM on January 13, 2012
Also: very well made post APS.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:36 PM on January 13, 2012
Thom Metzger is on Yelp?
posted by evidenceofabsence at 5:38 PM on January 13, 2012
posted by evidenceofabsence at 5:38 PM on January 13, 2012
I find Stefon funny, but my urbane 16-year-old daughter finds him hilarious.
posted by MrMoonPie at 5:42 PM on January 13, 2012
posted by MrMoonPie at 5:42 PM on January 13, 2012
Am I the only one who doesn't get Stefon?
I think he's a great character and it's often funny. I'm always disappointed, however, when he breaks character and starts laughing; I can't stand that.
It's the reason I hated Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz on that show. Breaking character is lame; even lamer now than when Harvey Korman did it.
posted by chococat at 5:43 PM on January 13, 2012
I think he's a great character and it's often funny. I'm always disappointed, however, when he breaks character and starts laughing; I can't stand that.
It's the reason I hated Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz on that show. Breaking character is lame; even lamer now than when Harvey Korman did it.
posted by chococat at 5:43 PM on January 13, 2012
Breaking character is bad when Jimmy Fallon does it cuz he's not funny. It's fine if it doesn't affect the funny level, and in Hader's case it doesn't at all.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:49 PM on January 13, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:49 PM on January 13, 2012 [3 favorites]
Is this satire on common NY Yelp reviews or something?
I'm kind of hoping that this is satire. Becky F. received a chai latte that was not to her liking. Her review begins with a "**BAD DECISION ALERT!!!**" and ends with "i actually had to leave it on the street because it was so heavy, my arm was cramping and i couldn't make it to a trash can."
posted by evidenceofabsence at 5:50 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
I'm kind of hoping that this is satire. Becky F. received a chai latte that was not to her liking. Her review begins with a "**BAD DECISION ALERT!!!**" and ends with "i actually had to leave it on the street because it was so heavy, my arm was cramping and i couldn't make it to a trash can."
posted by evidenceofabsence at 5:50 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
What kind of weird neighborhood is named after a thing goth girls do their hair?
Where are you living these days? The Manic Panic district? Cool.
Ha ha ha.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:53 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
Where are you living these days? The Manic Panic district? Cool.
Ha ha ha.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:53 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
Nobody remembers Norm Macdonald?
posted by monospace at 5:54 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by monospace at 5:54 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
even lamer now than when Harvey Korman did it.
Oh, hush, now!
posted by darkstar at 6:11 PM on January 13, 2012
Oh, hush, now!
posted by darkstar at 6:11 PM on January 13, 2012
I'm always disappointed, however, when he breaks character and starts laughing
Behind the scenes, the sketch is a game-of-wits between Hader and SNL writer/character co-creator John Mulaney. Mulaney changes the script between dress rehearsal and live-broadcast, so Hader sits down with no idea what he'll be reading off the cue cards. Mulaney has mentioned in interviews that he takes the challenge to break Hader's character very seriously, which, I think, keeps the writing fresh. In context, much of Hader's squirming is less character-driven and more a reflection of the suffering he endures as each new line unfolds.
posted by prinado at 6:13 PM on January 13, 2012 [33 favorites]
Behind the scenes, the sketch is a game-of-wits between Hader and SNL writer/character co-creator John Mulaney. Mulaney changes the script between dress rehearsal and live-broadcast, so Hader sits down with no idea what he'll be reading off the cue cards. Mulaney has mentioned in interviews that he takes the challenge to break Hader's character very seriously, which, I think, keeps the writing fresh. In context, much of Hader's squirming is less character-driven and more a reflection of the suffering he endures as each new line unfolds.
posted by prinado at 6:13 PM on January 13, 2012 [33 favorites]
"Am I the only one who doesn't get Stefon?"
Mmm Hmmmmm (presses hands to sides of nose)
posted by zippy at 6:18 PM on January 13, 2012 [4 favorites]
Mmm Hmmmmm (presses hands to sides of nose)
posted by zippy at 6:18 PM on January 13, 2012 [4 favorites]
Behind the scenes, the sketch is a game-of-wits between Hader and SNL writer/character co-creator John Mulaney.
That makes the sketch all the more funny to me.
posted by LordSludge at 6:21 PM on January 13, 2012 [3 favorites]
That makes the sketch all the more funny to me.
posted by LordSludge at 6:21 PM on January 13, 2012 [3 favorites]
I think he's a great character and it's often funny. I'm always disappointed, however, when he breaks character and starts laughing; I can't stand that.
It's the reason I hated Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz on that show. Breaking character is lame; even lamer now than when Harvey Korman did it.
I agree 100%.
posted by davebush at 6:26 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
It's the reason I hated Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz on that show. Breaking character is lame; even lamer now than when Harvey Korman did it.
I agree 100%.
posted by davebush at 6:26 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
game-of-wits
Wow, not a phrase you hear much in re: to SNL post-1992 or so.
posted by drjimmy11 at 6:27 PM on January 13, 2012 [3 favorites]
Wow, not a phrase you hear much in re: to SNL post-1992 or so.
posted by drjimmy11 at 6:27 PM on January 13, 2012 [3 favorites]
Stefon is the best. I'm glad they have decided to dial him back a bit - nothing kills a great sketch or character like overexposure.
And prinado, I didn't know that. Makes it even funnier.
posted by HostBryan at 6:32 PM on January 13, 2012
And prinado, I didn't know that. Makes it even funnier.
posted by HostBryan at 6:32 PM on January 13, 2012
Fun for them, I guess, that they have a game going on behind the scenes. It still comes across as kind of cheap and self-indulgent to me. I remember reading that with the original SNL cast, Lorne Michaels had a pretty strict rule about not breaking character; not wanting to be like the Carol Burnett Show.
posted by chococat at 6:34 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by chococat at 6:34 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
On a podcast, Hader said it's not just him and the writer, it's the cue-card guy, the microphone guy, etc. They're all in on it.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:42 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:42 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
Meaning, they're all trying to fuck with him. I think it's hysterical.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:43 PM on January 13, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:43 PM on January 13, 2012 [3 favorites]
The Stefon bits are amazing because Hader clearly is doing these on the fly. I can see why it would bother some people if you didn't catch that, but you can clearly tell by how hard he is concentrating on the cue cards and how hard he has to try at not being hilariously shocked at what he is reading. It is the same sort of bit they do when Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig do their under-prepared singing duo -- it's pretty obvious that the whole joke is that Kristen has no idea what Fred is going to do. I'm surprised they break as little as they do, and that any of them could get through those bits at all just shows how good they are all at what they do. Just imagine trying to read one of those club descriptions about "human traffic cones" live on air without losing it.
Also, the yelp thing is somewhat funny in that those are all real places, but it would be funnier if they could do them in the Stefon-vibe while describing some of the actual absurdity and people found in some of the places in NYC. For example:
"New York's hottest new club is Zaaaabaaaaars!! Located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan across the street from a construction pit and just blocks from the sticky banks of the maple-syrup-soaked shores of the Hudson, Zabaaaarrrs has everything: piles of dead fish, giant walls of knives, and home to roving gangs violent osteo-poritic grannies with razor-wire-clad shopping carts that feed only on the samples from the giant vats of olives standing in as bouncers at the front door."
posted by This_Will_Be_Good at 6:47 PM on January 13, 2012 [5 favorites]
Also, the yelp thing is somewhat funny in that those are all real places, but it would be funnier if they could do them in the Stefon-vibe while describing some of the actual absurdity and people found in some of the places in NYC. For example:
"New York's hottest new club is Zaaaabaaaaars!! Located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan across the street from a construction pit and just blocks from the sticky banks of the maple-syrup-soaked shores of the Hudson, Zabaaaarrrs has everything: piles of dead fish, giant walls of knives, and home to roving gangs violent osteo-poritic grannies with razor-wire-clad shopping carts that feed only on the samples from the giant vats of olives standing in as bouncers at the front door."
posted by This_Will_Be_Good at 6:47 PM on January 13, 2012 [5 favorites]
Hey, here's a sentence I never thought I'd write!
Stefon is the first thing to make me literally LOL at SNL in years. He's hilarious.
posted by Space Kitty at 6:49 PM on January 13, 2012 [5 favorites]
Stefon is the first thing to make me literally LOL at SNL in years. He's hilarious.
posted by Space Kitty at 6:49 PM on January 13, 2012 [5 favorites]
Stefon, Herb Welch, James Carville... Bill Hader's got it all.
posted by d1rge at 7:18 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by d1rge at 7:18 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
Jimmy Fallon does it cuz he's not funny.
Tebowie
posted by drezdn at 7:19 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
Tebowie
posted by drezdn at 7:19 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
For a moment there I thought a hotest reviewer evaluated hookers getting laid.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:58 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:58 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
Cool Papa Bell - would you mind pointing me a vague direction of where I can find the podcast you mentioned, please?
posted by spec80 at 7:59 PM on January 13, 2012
posted by spec80 at 7:59 PM on January 13, 2012
The podcast was either Bill Simmons from ESPN, or Adam Carolla. I think it was Simmons.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 8:15 PM on January 13, 2012
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 8:15 PM on January 13, 2012
I'm not sure but he definitely talked about that on his Bu--er, Sound of Young America interview, here: http://www.maximumfun.org/sound-young-america/bill-hader-actor-and-comedian-interview-sound-young-america
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:34 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:34 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
Yelp reviews just make me think of this sketch. "The waiter at Katchenza stirred my daughter’s drink with his penis."
posted by book 'em dano at 8:43 PM on January 13, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by book 'em dano at 8:43 PM on January 13, 2012 [4 favorites]
@ Mr.MoonPie, if my dad called me urbane, I'd be tickled.
posted by k8t at 9:14 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by k8t at 9:14 PM on January 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
SPICY
posted by not_on_display at 9:31 PM on January 13, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by not_on_display at 9:31 PM on January 13, 2012 [3 favorites]
YAY STEFON!
As for the whole corpsing issue - the act is only truly funny when done by someone who is usually a deadpan pro; Colin Mochrie, for example, or Bill Hader - when people like that break, then you know things are downright hilarious.
posted by cerulgalactus at 9:58 PM on January 13, 2012
As for the whole corpsing issue - the act is only truly funny when done by someone who is usually a deadpan pro; Colin Mochrie, for example, or Bill Hader - when people like that break, then you know things are downright hilarious.
posted by cerulgalactus at 9:58 PM on January 13, 2012
Flagged as spam. The links go to adverts for bars in NYC. Not best of the web, even if you do find it okay to link "Laotion Children in Cages" to NYC Gay bars.
posted by Goofyy at 10:05 PM on January 13, 2012
posted by Goofyy at 10:05 PM on January 13, 2012
what is a new york
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 11:43 PM on January 13, 2012
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 11:43 PM on January 13, 2012
Dear goofyy,
You have no idea what Yelp is, what it does, or how it works, do you?
Or the concept of humour?
Or even who Stefon is?
So yeah...
posted by cerulgalactus at 11:57 PM on January 13, 2012
You have no idea what Yelp is, what it does, or how it works, do you?
Or the concept of humour?
Or even who Stefon is?
So yeah...
posted by cerulgalactus at 11:57 PM on January 13, 2012
I think he's a great character and it's often funny. I'm always disappointed, however, when he breaks character and starts laughing; I can't stand that.
Eh, I actually find it can make things funny to watch, because it adds the tension of the actor trying not to laugh. I always find myself laughing more when I see other people trying to suppress it. I actually didn't know that it bothered some people.
posted by delmoi at 2:29 AM on January 14, 2012 [4 favorites]
Eh, I actually find it can make things funny to watch, because it adds the tension of the actor trying not to laugh. I always find myself laughing more when I see other people trying to suppress it. I actually didn't know that it bothered some people.
posted by delmoi at 2:29 AM on January 14, 2012 [4 favorites]
Links dont work outside of US
posted by sgt.serenity at 3:31 AM on January 14, 2012
posted by sgt.serenity at 3:31 AM on January 14, 2012
bummer cuz they're rilly rilly funny
posted by R. Schlock at 3:57 AM on January 14, 2012
posted by R. Schlock at 3:57 AM on January 14, 2012
Good thing I realized that yelp is a performance-art site and not a restaurant review site. Did you know there are some people who use yelp reviews to decide where to eat? Like getting one's news from The Onion.
posted by fuq at 6:38 AM on January 14, 2012
posted by fuq at 6:38 AM on January 14, 2012
Now is a good time to mention SNL's Christmas card from this year.
Nobody remembers Norm Macdonald?
There was a really good interview with him on WTF recently. As people know Marc Maron is sort of obsessed with SNL and hearing Macdonald talk about his time there gave me a little more understanding about what he's all about. Still not sure I like him, but at least now I sort of understand what he was doing, or thought he was doing.
posted by jessamyn at 7:21 AM on January 14, 2012 [2 favorites]
Nobody remembers Norm Macdonald?
There was a really good interview with him on WTF recently. As people know Marc Maron is sort of obsessed with SNL and hearing Macdonald talk about his time there gave me a little more understanding about what he's all about. Still not sure I like him, but at least now I sort of understand what he was doing, or thought he was doing.
posted by jessamyn at 7:21 AM on January 14, 2012 [2 favorites]
Bill Hader is one of the best SNL cast members in years (he does a mean Al Pacino and a great tauntaun). And Stefon is hilarious both because the character is just funny (SPICY!) and because of the behind the scenes torture. I believe it is still the case that Hader hasn't made it through a Stefon bit without laughing (me too). I love Bill Hader, he is incredibly versatile and very, very funny.
posted by biscotti at 7:55 AM on January 14, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by biscotti at 7:55 AM on January 14, 2012 [2 favorites]
There are times I find breaking character hilarious, such as Stefon and Colbert (I rewatch Filliam-H-Muffman regularly), but Fallon's breaks got old fast. I realized what distinguished the breaks I was OK with from the ones I disliked. Monologue breaks are usually fine, but a member of an ensemble breaking is not enjoyable. In instances like Stefon and Colbert, they were already being silly, but couldn't find the silly-shutoff-valve. The break is still tonally similar to the material they rehearsed. In ensemble pieces, it throws all the other performers off, and the discomfort is palatable. I also think Fallon's tendency to laugh makes him a great talk show host, but a toxic sketch performer.
posted by yorick at 12:54 PM on January 14, 2012
posted by yorick at 12:54 PM on January 14, 2012
Derek Zoolander was in one of the sketches, I have nothing bad to say of this at all.
posted by Apocryphon at 2:23 AM on January 15, 2012
posted by Apocryphon at 2:23 AM on January 15, 2012
prinado: "Behind the scenes, the sketch is a game-of-wits between Hader and SNL writer/character co-creator John Mulaney. Mulaney changes the script between dress rehearsal and live-broadcast, so Hader sits down with no idea what he'll be reading off the cue cards. "
That strategy was behind two of my favorite Daily Show sketches: the hilarious "Britain's Fallen Soldiers" (where Oliver came up with a fresh list of names before taping) and "Bloggers in the Media" (where Colbert picked his "real name" without telling Stewart beforehand).
posted by Rhaomi at 3:46 PM on January 15, 2012
That strategy was behind two of my favorite Daily Show sketches: the hilarious "Britain's Fallen Soldiers" (where Oliver came up with a fresh list of names before taping) and "Bloggers in the Media" (where Colbert picked his "real name" without telling Stewart beforehand).
posted by Rhaomi at 3:46 PM on January 15, 2012
First paragraph of this week's Nonsense NYC list:
"The show features: Tanya Solomon magic acts, Morgan O'Kane and Friends shredding banjo and ferocious foot stomping, Veveritse Brass Band brass tapestry inspired by Romany style, DJ Dusty Walker booty shaking beats straight from the living room, GltrPnch Riot Grrl inspired trans-core punk, Billy and Casbur frolicking malformations, Raya Brass Band exuberant Balkan music from the village of Brooklyn."
On the one hand, it seems like a good-spirited event that's raising funds for people who were arrested. On the other hand, I can't not read that in Stefon voice.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 4:03 PM on January 20, 2012
"The show features: Tanya Solomon magic acts, Morgan O'Kane and Friends shredding banjo and ferocious foot stomping, Veveritse Brass Band brass tapestry inspired by Romany style, DJ Dusty Walker booty shaking beats straight from the living room, GltrPnch Riot Grrl inspired trans-core punk, Billy and Casbur frolicking malformations, Raya Brass Band exuberant Balkan music from the village of Brooklyn."
On the one hand, it seems like a good-spirited event that's raising funds for people who were arrested. On the other hand, I can't not read that in Stefon voice.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 4:03 PM on January 20, 2012
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