Well, that was awkward…. Q&A session with Andy Samberg creates more cringes than laughs
Andy Samberg could not stop cringing.
Samberg’s face, along with the entire audience of Wednesday night’s sit-down Q-and-A session with the ‘Saturday Night Live’ comedian, was locked in a permanent grimace as the moderator, Davis Haines, a sophomore music education major, misfired one awkward joke after the next. While Haines certainly received as much laughter as Samberg, it was clear that the audience was not laughing with him, but instead, the audience was laughing at him.
Sitting down next to the famed comedian, whose very presence sold out Goldstein Auditorium, Haines had the daunting task of matching wits with Samberg as the two uncomfortably discussed their sex lives, impersonations of celebrities and, yes, even ‘mouth queefs.’
‘I can see where it’s nerve-racking, but don’t let those nerves translate into trying to out-comedy a comedian,’ said Evan Fonseca, a freshman film major.
The discussion began as a relaxed affair when Samberg marched on stage to the sound of thunderous applause. He proudly brought No. 44 out of retirement by holding up a custom football jersey that sported his name and the number once held by Ernie Davis and Jim Brown.
‘I think the commentator was a little awkward. I think he talked a little too much about himself,’ said Alyssa Ierardo, a freshman biology and chemistry major. ‘I think some of Andy’s funniest moments up there were when he was trying to break the awkwardness.’
Taking his seat next to Haines, Samberg wasted no time stirring laughter. Facing the crowd, Samberg greeted the audience by lowering his voice and extending his syllables to say ‘Hiiiii.’
From there, Haines tried his own hand at comedy, telling Samberg he mistook the comedian for a porn star named ‘Candy Samberg.’ Samberg chuckled at the questions Haines had prepared for ‘Candy’ until Haines asked, ‘Have you ever had sex?’
Samberg paused. The audience fell silent. Finally, Samberg forced out his answer.
‘Yes …’ Samberg said, ‘… You actually had this question for a porn star?’
The duo then took a detour from the awkward exchange as they explored more serious questions. Samberg revealed that he was unprepared for his audition to join the cast of SNL, which he performed in front of actress and SNL veteran Tina Fey and SNL creator Lorne Michaels.
‘So that was super mellow,’ Samberg said sarcastically.
They then compared their best impressions, which ranged from Haines’ impersonation of ‘The Sugar Water Guy’ from the movie ‘Men in Black’ to Samberg’s rendition of Adam Duritz from the band Counting Crows having sex … with Andy Samberg. Haines confessed that his girlfriend and Samberg shared the same first name, and that he said Andy’s name during sex.
Samberg winced a bit more.
In an attempt to recover, Haines reassured Samberg that his girlfriend’s name was different because it was spelled ‘Andie’ instead of ‘Andy.’
‘He made awkward comments about his girlfriend and how he loved Samberg,’ Ierardo said. ‘I mean, Andy Samberg is kinda dirty, but he made it over the top.’
When Samberg and Haines weren’t exchanging random pauses or questioning one another’s jokes, Samberg showed the audience exclusive clips from SNL that had never been aired. One clip was an extended version of the SNL digital short ‘Boombox,’ which included a scene that was cut from the television version.
As the conversation reached its end, the questions were opened up to the rest of the audience and Davis no longer remained the only one to share an awkward moment with Samberg. While some questions were serious, Samberg was forced to sign a poster with a malfunctioning pen and choose which member from his band, ‘the Lonely Island,’ he would rather kill.
‘He was very real with everyone,’ said Heather Newkirk, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. ‘Some of the questions asked weren’t very relevant, but he still took them in stride.’
Although Haines had to endure negativity from the crowd as he tried to keep up with Samberg’s behavior, he gave the show the unique flavor.
‘I made Andy look good,’ Haines said, ‘I tried to find any questions I could.’
Even though audience members could finally stop clenching their teeth as Haines left the stage, Samberg would not have been able to shine without him.
‘Davis kept his cool the whole time, it was really good,’ Newkirk said. ‘Since they kind of matched each other, Andy Samberg seemed to have a really good time hanging out with him.’
Published on March 24, 2010 at 12:00 pm
