Saturday Night Live: The Best of Steve Martin

I would be lying if I didn't say I was rather disappointed on an overall basis here. It's not that Steve Martin's best moments aren't included here - it's just that not *all* of them are. Sure, there are the essentials like King Tut, the Wild and Crazy Guys and other such skits, but a good number of the material included is also rather dull. I know there are funnier skits out there, and I'm just puzzled as to why they would choose some of the ones they did.

Martin was a comedic genius in his heydey, as evidenced here. He may have gone soft over the past few years like Robin Williams and "sold out," but at one time he was a thinking man's comedian - much like George Carlin (minus some of the politics and religion of Carlin's materal) - and that shines through in early sketches. Martin loved toying with perceptions (he studied philosophy in college and a lot of his standup originated from there) - and, for example, the opening involving Martin trying to suck a table through a straw, then abruptly giving up and picking up a banjo, is comedy at its finest.

I just wish they had added some funnier, even more recent stuff to this collection.