Review: Awkward chemistry and not enough from the star himself sinks Andy Samberg's sold-out campus show.Review: Awkward chemistry and not enough from the star himself sinks Andy Samberg's sold-out campus show.
Andy Samberg has put his d--- in a box, jizzed in his pants, and cavorted with a black, transgendered version of Reba McEntire.
What a mensch!
So University Union and Hillel had a stroke of genius to ask the Saturday Night Live comedian to come to Syracuse University Wednesday night.
Most college students revere the man linked to SNL’s often hilarious Digital Shorts that have celebrities such as Justin Timberlake, Natalie Portman and Rihanna in unimaginable situations.
But even the best products get damaged in the delivery. Or better put for Samberg fans, those on boats sometimes sink. Thus, Wednesday's sold-out crowd at Goldstein Auditorium got its star and a few laughs, but was left wanting more.
Samberg’s appearance was conducted as an Inside the Actors Studio-style interview moderated by music history sophomore Davis Haines, who landed the gig in a audition before spring break.
While Samberg was expected to bring his own moderator, having an SU student really added strength as there was little chance the night's exchanges were scripted.
In some respects that worked well. In others, it proved a tragicomedy.
Haines quickly put himself in the hot seat through a series of over-shares about his girlfriend and grasps for laugh lines, sometimes making the conversation more about himself than Samberg. Haines’ nervousness as an interviewer made it seem as if he were trying to dominate the evening with a dry run of his own standup material — none of which really killed. The chemistry was awkward between the eager and nervous Haines and the accommodating, but snarky Samberg.
While it's hard to imagine the pressure of handling such a task as Haines did, perhaps his red Solo cup on stage should have been spiked with something a little stiffer than water to loosen him up.
Most of all, Haines forget to let the star shine.
The exchanges between the two were entertaining to a point, but some in the audience came away wanting more glimpses of Samberg himself. The main attraction became the interaction between interviewer and subject rather than providing an opportunity for Samberg to share the offbeat comedy for which he's known.
But Samberg used the format to his benefit by playfully sparring with Haines. Whether or not intentional, Haines helped bring out the character of Samberg.
Samberg followed the flow with graceful belligerence and while wise-cracking, stayed down-to-earth. More of that would have been great rather than following his reactions to increasing inanity from Haines.
Aside from the final unaired clip that was shown, the videos served mainly to provide an excuse not to talk.
The question-and-answer session with audience members veered toward both the insightful and downright bizarre. Samberg dealt with the inevitable adoring fan trolling for an autograph, but quickly, as they say in the Carrier Dome, “shut it down,” by poking fun of it all and asking whether the audience really wanted to sit through that during the Q&A.
Speaking of men’s basketball, Samberg gets extra points for shouting out his support for the Orange going “all the way” in the NCAA tournament.
When all is said and done, Samberg came away no less appreciated as a performer, but perhaps this is one appearance that folks can just pass over.
