Everyone's a Critic

Pop-ups (36 · 6 fan picks from YouTube comments)

1. Origin of the "may I paint you" idea

   2:14

   The short started from a single note: Andy entering Paul Rudd's dressing room to ask "may I paint you?" with a cut to a Titanic shot. The idea grew from there as the team pitched weird developments.

   I think maybe, correct me if I'm wrong, gentlemen, I had a note written down in my ideas notes that was just, may I paint you?

2. Jorm's signature 'type of singing'

   3:05

   Jorma's distinctive vocal style, a mix of yodel and rap, is described as something no one had done before him and that has since been widely imitated.

   I'm going to give you the most credit for it, Jorm.

3. A notes-page reaction to the music

   4:35

   Seth wrote in his notes while rewatching that he hated the song yet loved it, which he felt was an effective trade-off for a bit this grating.

   I hate it, love it so much. It was trying my patience in the best possible way.

4. The worst song in the world

   4:49

   Jorma recalls that a group of scientists tried to create the worst song ever, and that it sounded much like his own music, a comparison the hosts found funny.

   John Solomon at one point found there was a group of scientists who tried to make the worst song in the world.

5. Fans point here

   5:15

   2 YouTube comments timestamp this moment, 2 likes.

   Like that has high pitch, like yo, yo, like it has rapping and yodeling and it's just, it's fucking. Yeah. Anyway, it is good. I've heard it. It spoke to you. It spoke to me, yeah. I believe, Keev and Jorm, that we… — Jorma

6. The song was recorded after the shoot

   5:43

   The team recorded the terrible song after filming, and Andy first heard it when he saw the first edit. Paul and Andy never heard it on set.

   I think you recorded it after we shot. As a fun thing for Andy to hear. Yeah.

7. The white-tux outfits

   8:35

   The all-white tuxedos were chosen so that blood would show up well against them. The hosts agree the costume choice was a deliberate, if odd, decision.

   Do we wonder if the white tuxes is reverse engineered because we wanted there to be something that the blood showed up really well on?

8. The Happening comparison

   11:21

   Seth links the short's self-harm content to M. Night Shyamalan's film The Happening, in which plants drive people to suicide.

   Do you think it is inspired by the movie The Happening, which we've talked about

9. Hader and Wig's Indiana Jones bit

   12:23

   The moment with Hader and Wig tied to a stake, screaming "don't look at it," is singled out as a favorite gag in the short's escalating chaos.

   my favorite moment, Hader and Wig as Indiana Jones' Marion tied to a stake and him screaming, don't look at it.

10. Practical vomit effect

    13:04

    The hosts praise a practical effect where a woman vomits white substance, noting it was shot from behind and held up well.

    it's a really good effect.

11. Fans point here

    16:59

    1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 16 likes.

    So also our white tuxedos, which it turns out you've only been wearing because there are easels for blood. Really good. I mean, how many, now Mike, here's a very important question. How many of those tuxes did you… — Seth

12. One-take tuxedos

    17:14

    Akiva notes the team had only one white tux per actor. The production ran with pre-tapes that were insisted upon and underfunded, with no spare takes.

    One and done. Really?

13. Everyone's a critic: the sketch's closing line

    17:59

    Andy's reply to Paul after the carnage, "Everyone's a critic," closes the short and sets up the junket reveal that follows.

    because Andy, you let Paul know that even though his art has led to multiple people taking their own lives, your reaction to him is to say, everyone's a critic.

14. Barfing boom guy callback

    19:32

    Jorma reprises his role as the barfing boom operator, appearing twice in a month. Seth notes this is a recurring gag.

    I reprised my role as barfing boom guy, yeah.

15. Search for a lost fourth beat

    19:56

    The short may have had a fourth reveal cut, which Kevin Miller was sent to the archives to find. The team suspected a second junket beat and wondered whether it was cut.

    we think there might be a lost fourth beat. We have sent Kevin Miller to the files, to the archives

16. Diminishing returns in cuts

    20:22

    Seth argues the short never suffers from diminishing returns, so cutting a beat would only make sense if it were clever but less funny.

    And at no point has there been diminishing returns in this short.

17. Wish It Would Rain comparison

    20:30

    Andy compares this cut to Seth's favorite sketch, Wish It Would Rain, where the team cut material after the dress rehearsal and joked about the length.

    I think after it aired, it felt to me similar to Seth's all-time favorite, Wish It Would Rain

18. Beyoncé's live sketch

    ~21:39

    Beyoncé hosted the sketch alongside Paul Rudd, with Justin Timberlake and Bobby Moynihan as background dancers in a Single Ladies video-shoot parody.

    I was in a live sketch. Oh, well, no, not this time you hosted. Yeah, this time. Paul McCartney? No.

19. Bobby's idea for the Single Ladies bit

    22:08

    The Single Ladies sketch was Bobby Moynihan's idea, pitched during the table read, after Justin Timberlake came to town and was added to the cast.

    It was Bobby's idea. It was. It was at the table read.

20. Beyoncé and Prince as top performers

    23:25

    Andy names Beyoncé and Prince as the two most incredible musical performers he saw during his SNL years, citing their ability to perform physically and creatively at once.

    it's her and prince probably are the two

21. No, No, No: Rudd and Hader's repetition bit

    24:48

    A No, No, No sketch in which Rudd and Hader talk about Bill dating a woman Rudd used to date, with Fred arriving as the current boyfriend. The bit is built on rapid-fire repetition.

    Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Yeah, no, it's totally, you know, it's cool.

22. Single Ladies video sketch with Timberlake

    24:57

    Seth describes the Beyonce single ladies sketch as an iconic Anne Golden era piece, a staple of best-of montages. Timberlake's Update monologue is singled out as a tour de force, impressive for shifting tone so quickly.

    Beyonce video is, I think, from Anne Golden era, a very iconic sketch.
    an golden era

23. Timberlake's 'this is me if I host' Update bit

    25:13

    Timberlake's Update segment is a two-minute preview of how he would host the show, a rare feat that Seth and Andy say only a handful of hosts ever pulled off.

    this is me if I host. I didn't have time to host this year, so here's two minutes

24. Songwriters Showcase: a song about a tracking number

    26:28

    Wig and Rudd perform a long, story-country song about a package delivered to the wrong house, with the tracking number sung as the chorus. Seth calls out Rudd's ability to match anyone's tone.

    It's called Songwriters Showcase. And I went back and rewatched it today

25. Kissing Family: Lorne's favorite line

    28:23

    Fred's Vogelchek monologue about a grandfather who came to America to escape judgment of affection. Seth says Lorne laughed hardest at the 'we're Vogelchecks' ending, which Lorne pitched for the 50th.

    Lorne even told me like a month before the 50th, he's like, you know, I'm thinking maybe a kissing family

26. A line that got no laugh

    28:47

    Seth points out a 'writer's line' in Kissing Family that drew no audience laugh: the grandfather 'left his job as a foreigner.' He says it moved too fast for the audience.

    there was a line that does not get a laugh that made me laugh out loud.

27. Was the Single Ladies sketch an iconic one?

    29:49

    Jorma asks Andy whether he sensed the Beyonce sketch would be rewatched. Andy says the appeal was its pop-culture timing, like a modern Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter moment.

    Did you have the sense that you're like, ah, this one's going to get re-watched?

28. The Petulant Pit: Seth's Corner variant

    34:46

    Seth introduces the Petulant Pit, a joking alternative to Seth's Corner, where Seth lives among petulants. Andy is asked to sing it.

    Oh, hey, can we go into, it's like Seth's Corner, but it's called the Petulant Pit.
    Seth's Corner

29. Fans point here

    34:55

    2 YouTube comments timestamp this moment, 16 likes.

    Oh, hey, can we go into, it's like Seth's Corner, but it's called the Petulant Pit. Oh. Can you sing a song for that? I think Andy should sing the Petulant Pit. Oh, the Petulant Pit, yeah. It's a pit full of petulants… — Seth

30. Seth's Rahm Emanuel sketch got cut

    35:33

    Seth wrote a live sketch with Andy as Rahm Emanuel that was cut. It later aired as a pre-tape. In anger, Seth's door knob punched through the wall.

    This is where I was so mad because I wrote a live sketch where you played Rahm Emanuel

31. Shoemaker's refusal to fix the hole

    36:17

    As punishment for Seth's door-knob hole, producer Mike Shoemaker refused to repair it, so Seth would be reminded of his tantrum. Seth's later uniball pen mark was also left unpainted.

    Shoemaker, as punishment, wouldn't ever get the hole fixed.

32. Fans point here

    37:41

    1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 34 likes.

    Check this out, guys. Love that we've all heard that story. My thought was, man, what's up with dudes and our rage, and why do we always want to break stuff when we're mad? And Jorm was like, I bet Shoemaker's got a…

33. Fans point here

    38:10

    1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 7 likes.

    Keith, what was your takeaway? I'm just enjoying the pod. Righteous Kill. Oh, Righteous Kill. Oh, Righteous Kill. Have we ever talked about Righteous Kill as a saying? No, that's why I'm surprised we haven't. Where is…

34. Righteous Kill, the Schaffer slang that stuck to Andy

    38:22

    Akiva tried to make 'righteous kill' a casual slang around the 2008 De Niro/Pacino film. It didn't catch on widely, but Andy kept using it, and the phrase became the response to 'Quaid Army.'

    Akiva, when it came out, or when it was not even out yet, the movie Righteous Kill, said he was going to try and start that as a thing.
    righteous killQuaid Army

35. De Niro 'you talking to you' line

    39:54

    Seth recounts De Niro's Late Night appearance, where producer Kevin Miller wrote a joke about De Niro playing two mobsters, leading to the line 'you talking to you.'

    Kevin Miller basically gave me an A-plus line to say when De Niro was out

36. Jorma pushes Quaid as a greeting

    40:31

    Jorma suggests people start calling each other 'Quaids' after the Quatto sketch, and says Seth picked up the habit more than most. Quaid is the podcast term for a listener.

    I really did want people to start calling each other Quades.
    Quaid

37. Criterion verdict: Everyone's a Critic

    41:25

    After discussion, the hosts decide the short is not quite Criterion, but fits Kim's Video, the second-tier ranking for well-made shorts. Akiva notes the value of a best-of mix.

    Is it Criterion? I don't know. I'm going to say not.
    CriterionKim's Video

38. Fans point here

    42:55

    1 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 3 likes.

    I wish I had it on my computer right now because it really makes me happy. I wish it was my ringtone. Can I pitch something? Maybe take five minutes and just rerecord it? You know what? Okay. This one goes way more… — Jorma

39. Ben Affleck episode and McCain's QVC sketch

    43:52

    Seth recalls John McCain appearing on the Affleck episode days before the 2008 election, in a QVC sketch Seth originally wrote for Darryl. McCain was in his dressing room with senators Lindsey Graham and Sam Brownback.

    came on the show and did a QVC sketch that I had originally written for Daryl.

40. Palin's 'going rogue' line

    45:49

    Tina Fey's Palin turns to a new camera and says she's going rogue, a joke that echoed news coverage. Sarah Palin later titled her book Going Rogue.

    okay, y'all, I'm going rogue.

41. Malkovich short: first shot outside SNL

    47:17

    A tease for the next episode: the Malkovich-hosted short was the first made outside SNL, shot during the off week. The hosts say it changed production.

    It's the first one we did outside of SNL, where we took the off week previous to SNL

42. Changed the game

    47:45

    Andy's phrase 'change the game' gets recycled as a running joke. The hosts tease a payoff in the next episode.

    Changed the game. Next week, we change the game.