Actors Lie and Coaches Father
Saturday Night Live Season 42 kicked off its 18th episode laughing with the ever-so-loved Jimmy Fallon as the host. The episode was particularly spectacular, because it was broadcasted live across the entire country for the first time in forty-two years of being on TV.
Saturday Night Live’s sketch, Basketball Scene, features Jimmy Fallon and Mikey Day as background actors. In the sketch, the director’s “favorite scene” is in progress; the ever so predictable “coach becomes the father figure” scene. What’s a sports movie nowadays if the coach doesn’t take responsibility over a troubled player? The two background actors, however, become very distracting to what’s supposed to be a serious scene. They miss shots, hit the boom-mic guy, stare into the camera, pop the ball, etc. The director, played by Alex Moffat, consistently must stop and give more directions to them, only to find out that neither of the actors have basketball experience as they said on their resumes. When asked, Mikey Day states that he “took a sports movement class at Julliard” and Jimmy Fallon states that he was in “Basketball Diaries.” The director rolls his eyes and lets the filming proceed only to end up having to fire Fallon and Day.
What makes a good coach?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote about this in his book, Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court. Kareem played basketball at UCLA under Coach John Wooden, who would leave a lasting effect on all who knew him, especially Kareem. Abdul-Jabbar unfortunately went to UCLA during a poor time where he experienced much racial strife, which took an under-the-radar toll on Wooden. Abdul-Jabbar was encouraged by his coach when he said he “believed in the goodness of most people and that he hoped the ignorance of a few wouldn’t change that.” Abdul-Jabbar also reminisced, “Coach had defended me by explaining the kinds of racial slurs that were commonly used against me, and why I may have felt less than enthusiastic in representing my country in those tumultuous times…” The two formed a bond that went much deeper than just a coach-player relationship; they became close friends.
“When I played for Coach Wooden at UCA, he was very hands-on. He would follow us up and down the sideline barking encouragement and instructions.” -Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Coach Wooden and Me
There’s a correlation between a coach being described as “good” and emotionally investing in players. A good coach will “remain a part of their lives as a teacher, and as an example of what a good man should be (Abdul-Jabbar),” as a father should be. Being a coach goes far beyond calling plays. An article on Bleacher Report says, “for a select amount of coaches (those that choose to do so), they have a heavier burden: one that means guiding, chastising and leading these kids into becoming grown men.” It also mentioned Mark Richt during his time at the University of Georgia, and saluted “the men who say ‘Son, you had a bad game. How’s your family? What can I do to make you a better man off the field?’” A good coach is able to connect with his team. Forming a strong relationship with each athlete can boost overall team morale and help the overall success of the team.
SNL satirizes how this theme has become prevalent to the point of predictability in every sports related movie. In Basketball Scene, Alex Moffat stars as the director and sets up the scene he’s about to film. He states, “Fellas, this is my favorite scene in the film. Ok, so its the core of the characters’ relationship.” To which Kennan Thompson, portrayed as the coach, replies, “So the coach is becoming kind of like a father figure here.” There is a mocking tone present here, and comedic suspense is building.
The director calls, “action,” and the scene begins filming; the stereotypical highlight reel of the star player dominating a pickup game under dramatic, low lighting. Then the coach comes into the scene. From a distance, he grins at the player in an admiring, yet disappointed, way. He knows how much potential the player has, but he also knows he’s not seeing it through. The coach calls for him to come talk. He begins a serious conversation about all the recruiters and scholarships at his fingertips. In the background, Jimmy Fallon and Mikey Day are strategically placed in the center of the conversation and they quickly steal the attention. They horribly fail at playing basketball in the background. The actors can’t seem to dribble the ball, make a simple lay-up, or even pass without hitting the boom-mic guy. The director is forced to consistently stop the scene and redirect them, until he finally cracks. After a few times of stopping the scene, the actors are confronted about the “basketball experience” their resumés claimed they had. It turns out that this “experience” stems from a “sports class at Juilliard” and a role in “Basketball Diaries.”
Actors start acting before they’re even hired. Do they really have the skills they say they do?
Anne Hathaway auditioned for Brokeback Mountain, and it was then that she took her parents’ advice and lied to the director, Ang Lee, about her ability to ride horses. “I replied, ‘Oh yeah, I’m a really good rider.’ So, I knew I had to learn to ride…”
Especially when competing for lead role, top actors don’t hesitate to say what it takes to get casted. Liam Hemsworth starred in The Last Song with Miley Cyrus. In the movie, Miley’s character and Liam’s character meet on the beach while Liam is playing volleyball. Looking at Liam’s skill (and Liam in general), it’s no wonder he got the part. However, in an interview with Collider he admitted, “Volleyball was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Before we started shooting, they asked me, ‘Do you play volleyball?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, no problem.’ And, I turned up for the first day of volleyball practice and I was honestly really scared to shoot the volleyball part because it takes a lot of skills to play that game and I didn’t have them, at all. I said to Julie Ann, ‘I think we’re going to need a double,’ but it’s hard to find someone as big as me.” Liam said there were days when they were filming where they had to “play against professional volleyball players, and they made (them) look stupid.” Again, it’s not uncommon for actors to lie about skills. Mila Kunis, Nicolas Cage and Sandra Bullock have all lied about age, Anne Hathaway lied about not fearing horses, and Rachel McAdams lied about being able to ride horses. These are but a few examples.
A lot of SNL’s sketches implement gag comedy. The unexpected ball-to-face moment when Mikey Day’s horrible shot rebounds off the hoop, and the moment Jimmy Fallon’s horrible pass attempt hits the boom-mic guy, laughter erupts from the audience. The director finally has enough of the ridiculousness and fires the background actors. The moment that really wrapped up the whole sketch, the most unexpected gag, is when Fallon kicks the ball in an anger fueled rage and ends up making a basket. The cast and crew go wild hugging and cheering, and the scene closes with a “you’re still fired.”
The skit beautifully killed two birds with one stone by satirizing both actors lacking skills and the unoriginality of sports movies.
