It’s a fair statement to say that everyone loves comedy––granted, individual preferences vary, but it’s hard to beat a good, family-friendly stand-up act. Who doesn’t like laughing? Saturday Night Live is one of America’s go-to sources for humor; it has streamlined and perfected the art of short skit, and keeps itself in the loop regarding popular, relatable material.
Figure 1: in addition to comedy skits, SNL also invites a variety of music artists onto the show; pictured above is popular Korean band BTS, who perfomed live on set earlier this year. Image by SNL via YouTube.
Embedded below is a “best man” speech given by Paul Rudd in honor of SNL’s 44th season finale. The clip is a bit too long for the purposes of this post, so I will be analyzing the 1:12 to 2:01 minute range. As an actor, Rudd has a predisposition for comfort on the stage, and this comfort facilitates the success of his interaction with the audience. To further increase relatability, Rudd employs informal speech patterns such as the unnecessary use of the word “like,” and gracefully allows himself use of the “uh” filler.
The audience is made to feel that they are privy to a private, tender confession (pathos) when Rudd segways into a personal story (which may or may not be fabricated, but that is beside the point) with a conspirational “You know…”. He uses a glass of champagne as as a prop, which helps to set the quietly celebratory “best man at a wedding speech” mood. Although his gestures are altered by this glass, Rudd generally uses effective, appropriate hand motions to echo his words, such as shaking his finger when he begins to tell his “true story,” as if he had sat the audience down in front of a fire to tell them a tale. All in all, the speech is effective in imbuing a nostalgic feeling in its audience, thanks to Rudd’s excellent public speaking techniques.