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Former SNL cast member Finesse Mitchell shows why he belongs on the sketch comedy circuit in his recently released DVD Snap Famous, a showcase of his standup comedy. Although the 50 minute set had its high points, Mitchell’s stand up routine was nowhere near as entertaining as the various characters he formerly portrayed on SNL.  I have to give Finesse a lot of credit though for keeping much of his act clean, which is very hard to do as a standup comedian. There were some instances where his jokes fell flat on their face, but dirty jokes and curse filled-rants probably would not have helped here and, surprisingly, were not needed.

Mitchell covers everything from his early experiences on SNL, to hilarious childhood stories, to his “snap famous” star power which refers to the finger snapping reaction he gets on the street from people who recognize him, but can’t quite remember who he is.  He starts out mildly funny by relaying his first meeting with Halle Berry on the set of SNL and his fear of 50 Cent.  Things pick up from there when he relays his experience at a Prince concert in which he couldn’t understand “the white people dance” and what beat they were dancing to -- how the more the crowd shouted for Prince to come on, “the gayer we sounded.” While I don't believe he was deserving of the wild laughter from the story, his dead-on "Prince walk" made it even clearer that Mitchell’s more at ease and at his best when he imitates someone else.

One highlight of the set was his childhood memories of his young mother, who had him at age 15 and was not the best at helping him with his own homework, let alone her own. He recalled one instance in which his mother was called to come down to school to get him and rode there on her bicycle.

By far the funniest portion of the set however was his rap about Dick Cheney’s hunting accident, in which he proclaimed that "A man who gets away with shooting someone should have a theme song." 

“I took him to the woods and I shot him. I took him to the woods and I shot him. I was practicing for Hilary Rodham. Don't make me angry! I'm Dick Cheney!”

This had me laughing well after "Snap Famous" ended. The scantily clad dancers in the background of the rap performance also added to the laugh fest.

The set is appropriately closed with one of his well-known SNL characters “Starkeisha”, a loud, obnoxious and opinionated black woman. I can relate to Starkeisha’s frustration with movie subtitles,

“Bitch we gotta read! You have me reading on my birthday? I knew we shudda seen Shrek.”

Finesse Mitchell has something rare. He is a likable guy. People want to like him and because of that.  His set is successful even despite its shortcomings. After all, it’s hard not to admire Mitchell's energy, irresistible smile, boyish good looks and roughly clean cut style.  He may be “snap famous”, as he proclaims, but he sure is funny!

"Snap Famous" isn't exactly a “gut buster” but it does have some memorable laughs along the way. It’s a shame his stint on SNL didn't last longer as his impressions and personas are wildly entertaining. Be sure to check out the bonus material. His “Pastor Tweeny Bucks” skit is funnier than the whole standup feature and makes the DVD worth watching more than once.