These "SNL" sketches defined the 90s. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the “SNL” sketches from the 90s that have stood the test of time and make the argument for the decade being one of the best the show has ever had.
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00:00 "I wanna wanna one Valdez! Say what? I wanna wanna one Valdez! Say what?"
00:06 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the SNL sketches from the
00:11 90s that have stood the test of time and make the argument for the decade being one of the
00:16 best the show has ever had.
00:18 "God, I love these fries."
00:20 "If you love them so much, why don't you marry them?"
00:22 Number 10. Chippendales' Audition
00:27 "Marcy, music."
00:31 In October of 1990, Patrick Swayze was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood,
00:38 and one of the sexiest leading men around. People would go on to name him
00:44 "Sexiest Man Alive" the following year. As for Chris Farley in 1990,
00:48 he was just a new cast member on Saturday Night Live, who few knew much about.
00:53 "Everyone's watching to see what you do."
00:58 But that all changed with the Chippendales' Audition sketch, in which an energetic and
01:03 half-naked Farley performs for the troupe alongside Swayze.
01:07 "Everyone's trying to get it right, get it right."
01:13 While some people today argue against the humorous use of Farley's weight as a punchline,
01:18 "You see, Barney, we consider the possibility that our heavier female customers
01:22 might actually prefer a heavier man that they could identify with."
01:29 Many still consider it a classic.
01:30 It was the breakout moment for Farley, who would go on to an impressive comedic career.
01:37 "We're gonna go with Adrian."
01:38 "I knew it, man."
01:40 Number 9. The Spartan Cheerleaders
01:45 "Wait, I found the switch."
01:46 Who would have thought that bad cheerleaders would be so funny?
01:53 "Spartan checker!"
01:55 Well, Sherry O'Terry and Will Ferrell did.
01:58 "Spartan beam!"
01:59 "Taken off!"
02:02 And they were right.
02:03 Craig and Ariana didn't make the Eastlake High School Spartan Cheerleading Squad,
02:08 but that didn't stop them from pursuing their cheered dreams.
02:11 "His beams, they come from Columbia way. He rides on his funky donkey hill every day."
02:17 Speaking of cheers, the audience would start cheering whenever the Spartan-clad
02:21 O'Terry and Ferrell would appear on screen.
02:23 It became so popular that almost 20 years after the first sketch debut in 1995,
02:28 the Today show recreated the characters on a Halloween episode.
02:32 "Everybody dance now!"
02:37 Now, if we could just get Ferrell and O'Terry to reprise their roles.
02:41 "We're on a caffeine high, so hold on tight. Live from New York, it's Saturday night!"
02:47 Number 8. It's Pat
02:48 "A lot of people say, 'What's that?' It's Pat."
02:53 Would Saturday Night Live in the 2020s be able to pull off a sketch about an androgynous
02:58 character named Pat whose gender was constantly undeterminable by the other people in the sketch?
03:03 "May I help you, sir? For anything? Ma'am?"
03:07 Maybe not.
03:07 But in the 90s, not only did Julia Sweeney pull it off,
03:12 she created one of the most popular recurring characters of the decade.
03:16 "Since it's my birthday, I'll be open with you.
03:19 I was in love with someone who was not what they appeared to be."
03:23 She even got a movie out of it.
03:26 "Oh, Chris, you believed in me all along.
03:28 Sorry, I have to go. There's someone at the window."
03:34 Although rather than define the decade, the 1994 movie was critically panned,
03:38 pulled from theaters after its opening weekend,
03:41 "Fantastic."
03:42 and nominated for a slew of Golden Raspberry Awards.
03:46 The sketch, though? Still a fan favorite.
03:48 "For whatever it might be, it's time for androgyny. Here comes Pat."
03:54 7. The Roxbury Guys
03:58 You know how you can tell if someone came of age in the 90s?
04:07 Play What Is Love by Hadaway and see how they react.
04:14 If they bob their heads to the side, wiggle their fingers under their nose,
04:17 and point around asking, "Do me, do me," then you have your answer.
04:22 Not only did The Roxbury Guys' sketches define the 1990s, they defined a song.
04:27 The first sketch premiered in 1996 and often featured the host as the third member of the
04:43 trio, along with Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell.
04:46 "Something's wrong with the CD!"
04:49 "What the hell is going on?"
04:50 The best of which was the great Jim Carrey.
04:57 "It's a souvenir!"
04:58 In 1998, Kattan and Ferrell even made a Roxbury movie
05:03 that was a whole lot funnier than it should have been.
05:06 6. Mary Catherine Gallagher
05:08 "That's me."
05:08 The 1990s saw a rather significant increase in the influence of women on Saturday Night Live,
05:13 both in front of the camera and in the writers' room.
05:16 "I saw them sleeping there and I just shot them both. I hate you, Dad! I hate you! I hate you!"
05:23 One of the great examples of that growing girl power on the show was the breakdown
05:27 of the show's opening sequence.
05:29 "I hate you, Dad! I hate you! I hate you!"
05:32 One of the great examples of that growing girl power on the show was the breakout hit
05:36 "Mary Catherine Gallagher Sketches," created by Molly Shannon.
05:40 "You just, you rip 'em all away from me. You just, you rip 'em! You rip 'em! You rip 'em! You rip 'em! You rip 'em! You rip 'em! You rip 'em!"
05:51 This armpit-sniffing superstar of a character premiered in 1995
05:55 and made many appearances over the next six years, including a movie.
06:00 "Superstar!"
06:01 1999's "Superstar," which, unfortunately, wasn't very well-liked by either critics or audiences.
06:08 "I wanna hold you 'til I die 'til we both break down and cry."
06:17 But audiences loved the character on "SNL," and that's what matters here.
06:23 "It's very good."
06:23 "Superstar!"
06:24 Number 5. President Bill Clinton at McDonald's
06:29 "Alright, boys. Let's stop in here for a second. I'm a little parched from the jog."
06:35 Because of the Monica Lewinsky scandal and all the turmoil that surrounded the end of
06:39 Bill Clinton's presidency, you might have forgotten that, early on, the biggest thing
06:44 people made fun of was his love of fast food.
06:46 "Say, you gonna finish these fries?"
06:48 This brings us to this great 1992 sketch featuring the brilliant Phil Hartman as Clinton.
06:54 "You know, we wanna create a network of community development banks to lend money
06:58 to small businesses like yourself. I see your boy doesn't like pickles."
07:02 "Heh heh, nah, he hates 'em."
07:04 "You mind?"
07:04 "Thanks a lot."
07:06 A man just trying to chat with the common folks and get as much fast food in his mouth as possible.
07:13 "Speaking of the devil, that's one of those McLean sandwiches, isn't it?"
07:16 "Yeah, would you like to try it?"
07:18 "Well, maybe just a bite."
07:19 Looking back, it almost seems innocent now given what kind of things would happen later on,
07:24 and how harshly politicians are parodied today.
07:28 "Alright, alright, you guys up for a real run?"
07:31 "Yes sir."
07:31 "Race me to the beach to hunt!"
07:33 4. Celebrity Jeopardy
07:37 "Welcome back to Celebrity Jeopardy."
07:39 We have to say that while mother jokes aren't really that funny, when the joke is Sean Connery
07:44 implying to Alex Trebek that he had sex with his mother, that's funny stuff.
07:49 "That's beautiful. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"
07:53 "No, but I did something to your mother with this mouth."
07:56 Assuming we're talking about Daryl Hammond as Sean Connery and Will Ferrell as Trebek,
08:01 of course. And who could forget Norm Macdonald as Burt Reynolds as well?
08:05 "Burt Reynolds!"
08:06 "That's not my name."
08:07 They usually did a Celebrity Jeopardy sketch twice per year during Ferrell's time on the show,
08:12 but they were pretty much all gold. They made such a mark on our culture that they brought
08:17 back the sketch when Ferrell returned to host SNL.
08:20 "We've got a real barn burner on our hands.
08:23 In the lead, we have Kathy Lee Gifford, a first-time player."
08:27 "Hey, you, you plack all in a player, G!"
08:30 With the passing of Connery and Trebek, the sketch may be retired, but what a phenomenal run.
08:35 "Okay, that's it. Show's over. Good night."
08:37 Number three, The Delicious Dish.
08:39 "You have some beautiful balls."
08:41 Maybe The Delicious Dish doesn't ring a bell, but how about Shweddy Balls?
08:46 "They're made from a secret Shweddy family recipe.
08:49 No one can resist my Shweddy Balls."
08:53 Yep, that now-iconic SNL sketch took place on an episode of The Delicious Dish.
08:58 While that particular sketch with Alec Baldwin is probably the most famous,
09:02 "I have to say your balls are so tender."
09:04 ten Delicious Dish sketches aired on SNL between 1996 and 1999.
09:09 "Delicious Dish, you're on the air."
09:12 "Yeah, hi, I'm a big fan of the show, but let me get this straight.
09:15 Are you guys talking about cooking food outside?"
09:18 "Yeah, we were."
09:19 "That's what we were talking about."
09:20 Although they didn't all feature sexual innuendos,
09:23 we'll admit that the ones that did are still our favorites.
09:26 "I can't wait to get my mouth around this ball."
09:28 We still think about Betty White whenever we have a muffin.
09:31 "My muffin hasn't had a cherry since 1939."
09:34 Dry or not, and with or without cherries.
09:39 "Your muffin sure has seen a lot."
09:41 Number two, Wayne's World.
09:43 "Alright, welcome to Wayne's World."
09:45 Schwing, nut, party on. We're nut worthy.
09:49 We could fill this entire entry with just Wayne's World catchphrases.
09:53 "Cool."
09:54 Sure, the 1992 film blew the characters up even bigger.
09:58 "Where did you learn English?"
09:59 "College, and the police academy movies."
10:02 "Ah."
10:04 But by then, Wayne and Garth were already ingrained in the culture of the '90s.
10:09 "Party! Party, hearty, it's Friday, it's 10.30, it's time to party. I'm your excellent host,
10:15 Wayne Campbell."
10:16 Having done 15 sketches in the three years before the film's release, let us not also forget that
10:22 the premise of the sketch was these two best friends doing a cable-access television show
10:26 from Wayne's basement. If that sketch was dreamed up today, Wayne and Garth would be YouTubers who
10:31 follow up their "We're Nut Worthy" with "But please like and subscribe anyways."
10:36 "Live from New York, it's Saturday night!"
10:39 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:43 Simon. He liked to do drawings.
10:46 "My name is Simon. I like to do drawings. I'm having my bath now."
10:54 The Hanukkah Song. It ain't just Jewish kids singing this catchy tune.
10:58 "Hanukkah is the festival of lights. Instead of one day of presents, we have eight crazy nights."
11:07 Gap Girls. We all went to the Gap in the '90s, and we all knew at least one Cindy, Christy, or Lucy.
11:14 "I'm so sick of that place. The next customer that comes in, I'm gonna go,
11:17 'Hi, welcome to the Gap. Can I sell you some crap?'"
11:20 Coffee Talk. Another one of Mike Myers' decade-defining characters.
11:26 "Thank you very much. You're a beautiful person.
11:28 Don't go changing just to please me. I'll tumble for you."
11:31 Bill Swirsky's Superfans. Definitely one of da defining sketches of da '90s.
11:37 "We are coming to you live from Dickers here on Thanksgiving Day,
11:41 a day for giving thanks for, or taking punishment from, a team that is known as da bears."
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12:04 Number 1. Matt Foley - Van Down by the River
12:10 "Now as your father probably told you, my name is Matt Foley, and I am a motivational speaker."
12:19 On May 8, 1993, SNL viewers were introduced to Matt Foley, the 35-year-old thrice-divorced
12:25 motivational speaker, who lived, say it with us, "In a van down by the river."
12:30 Chris Farley, one of the greatest physical comedic sketch players to ever grace the
12:34 Saturday Night Live stage, created and perfected this hysterical character.
12:38 "Whoops a daisy."
12:43 It was one that became a fan favorite right out of the gate, with a sketch that made David Spade
12:49 and that week's host, Christina Applegate, laugh almost as much as the live studio audience.
12:54 "Young lady, what do you want to do with your life?"
12:57 "I want to live in a van down by the river."
13:00 Which 90s SNL sketches do you think defined the decade? Let us know in the comments.
13:07 "Bye-bye."
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13:17 [Music]