Affleck mocks Olbermann on 'SNL'

While hosting "Saturday Night Live," Ben Affleck offered his impression of left-leaning MSNBC "Countdown" host Keith Olbermann. The result is an eight-minute-plus insanely pompous tirade railing against perceived injustices of the world -- such as his co-op board denying his request to have a cat ...

... Maureen Ryan called the Affleck's take "scarily intense," but Aaron Barnhart said Affleck's impression was "a real letdown ... like Ted Baxter on Thorazine." 

Comments

[Ludvig Von Mises]

Ron Paul!

[John Woods]

LOL, its not like people (with any common sense anyways) watch SNL!

Jiff
www.Privacy-Center.net

[I SMELL AN OPPORTUNIST]

AFFLAKE IS NOT ONLY A BAD JUDGE OF POLITICIANS

BUT IS AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN A LOUSY ACTOR.

GOOD THING JENNIFER CAN MAKE A GOOD LIVING

[Mike D]

I watch Keith frequently and I thought it was hilarious.

[Liberal Thinker]

I am a big K. Olbermann fan, but even when I make an objective critique, this isn't really THAT clever. It's not ridiculously scandalous either. Kind of the classic SNL conundrum.

[Doab]

I don't watch TV very often, so I'm more likely to catch clips like this on the net. I remember the first time I saw a Keith Olberman special commentary calling for George W. to step down after he pardoned Scooter Libby. His passion on the subject was remarkable and I really liked his his tone and use of rhetoric. To be honest though, it wasn't until weeks later when I caught an eerily similar special commentary on an entirely different subject matter that it hit me; what had impressed me initially turned out to be nothing more than this guy's shtick. Much like the boy who cried wolf, the more frequent the outcry, the more disingenuous it is perceived to be.

[Elise M.]

I am amazed Affleck did this. In poor judgment I do watch Olbermann, and this is him exactly. He is so off his rocker at times, anti-Republican over some of the strangest stuff. I really enjoyed SNL in this instance.

[Catfishman]

I like Olbermann, and I find this hillarious.

[Maryanne]

Olbermann is nuts, the shame is people fail to realize his show is commentary as opposed to news. He's insanely biased, which is fine as long as you understand it is ultimately commentary, not necessarily factual. Easy to forget when you watch him get so worked up and insane.

[Kenneth]

I never liked Affleck until I saw this. Good stuff.

[toddzilla]

He sounded like Rush Limbaugh when he was on the Oxycontin....

[Matthew]

I can't stand Olbermann, and this is why.

[neatslopjob]

Limbaugh was more coherent high than this guy ever will be sober. That's why they can so easily mock KO, lots of theatrics, no substance.

[philliesrox]

Olbermann bites it-GO O'REILLY!!!!!

[Andrea Miller]

This is why i never watch MSNBC

[Ryan]

I watch Olbermann pretty frequently, and I enjoy the fact that he's a pretty eloquent speaker. On that, I thought this roasting of him was great, even if it was done by Ben Affleck. :)

[Ryan]

Go O'Reilly? Evidently you weren't aware of the nightly satire of right-wing pundits that is the Colbert Report.

[Tim Andren]

A funny impersonation. SNL has been improving of late...

[Bob Aman]

What can I say, spot on. Loved it!

[worstperson]

affleck is such an abominable actor it makes me sick to my stomach... this could have actually been semi-funny with a decent actor and better writing.

[keith o]

Sometimes a foreigner sees us more accurately than we see ourselves.

From the British author Melanie Phillips, writing in The Spectator (UK):

"You have to pinch yourself---a Marxist radical who all his life has been mentored by, sat at the feet of, worshiped with, befriended, endorsed the philosophy of, funded and been in turn funded, politically promoted and supported a nexus comprising black power anti-white racists, Jew haters, revolutionary Marxists, unrepentant former terrorists, and Chicago mobsters, is on the verge of becoming President of the United States. And apparently, it's considered impolite to say so."

That was great, whats the big deal...?? If you want to see Affleck "scarily intense" watch the movie Dazed and Confused.

[Si]

I'm an obermann watcher (somewhat of a fan), but guys this is Satire. If you can't laugh when they make fun of the liberal media you don't have the right to laugh when they make fun of Republican targets.

I found it hilarious.

[mobamination]

Thank you so much for posting the quote from Melanie Phillips!!

It's impossible to get a fair treatment in the US on the valid concerns of this candidate. Even 3 days ago Tom Brokaw (considered a media god by some) was admitting we know very little about Obama. Why is he worried at the 11th hour? Here we are at the precipice of election day, and Brokaw along with most of our media have yet to do their job. It becomes laughable when our news people report commentaries, and our commentators are the only ones reporting news. Olbermann falls into a category all his own though, along with MSNBC.

[Mesa]

This is a dead on performance!
Ben Affleck portrays the terminally insane Keith Olbermann from (PMS)NBC in one of skits mocking Countdown with Keith Olbermann. I think it is Ben's best acting ever! The only other skit I would like to see is one of the crackpot Chris Matthews with a shiver running down his legs with the name of Obama mentioned or the sound of Obama's voice. But I don't think this can be topped, as it is 100% accurate. It is funny to see an accurate portrayal of this nut

[Keith Middleton]

Ben, Ben, Ben, Why.... This was horrible... just as bad as Daredevil and Paycheck....

I would have been more amused with the Affleck (aflac) Duck doing the skit!..

[tyler k. rauman]

This had it's funny moments, but Affleck is a terrible character actor, and every SNL sketch I've seen him do he laughs at his own jokes, even the lame ones.

[philliesrox]

Ryan, I happen to be a huge Colbert fan, and I'm a Reagan conservative. I find him hilarious, I have no qualms laughing at either side. Colbert is brilliant in satirizing folks like Limbaugh (who is over the top grandiose for the sake of comedy himself -- if you actually understand Rush). I'm not sure how Olbermann fits into the Colbert remark. He's neither funny nor enlightening. But he makes for good comedic material.

[Plague]

This was great!!!! The only reason I watch Olbermann is for comic relief. The guy is a nut job and I can't for the life of me figure out why is is on any form of television show short of something to laugh at on occasion.

For those that do like him, it was funny and done in fun... it IS SNL after all. Lighten up.

[smc341]

This was dead-on Keith Olbermann, someone please give that man an anti-psychotic medication....I read that he's so paranoid that he would not attend the Republican convention because of his paranoia.

[fkl]

Kenneth -- right on, smc341 -- right on. Others expressing the same inbetween, sorry, I can't read blogs -- they bore me.

For those who would just trash Ben because you didn't like his performance in xyz or you don't like his personal life in that rag you read, YOU SIR are, DARE I SAY, nay DECLARE, TOTALLY INSIPID!

This was fairly objectively a sheer piece of brilliance in the classic SNL style, and if you didn't lose a spleen watching it, then you have no sense of humor.

And yes, I think Keith is great, but really -- he's a sportscaster who happens to have strong and well stated political opinions.

I look forward to when he declares himself....

THE WORST PERSON IN THE WOOOOORLLDDD!!!!