Why didnt Cheri Oteri achieve post-SNL success?

[wildojinx]

Cheri Oteri was a huge star when she was on SNL and responsible for several memorable main characters. Yet, after SNL, while she still has steady work, she didnt become a huge household name like say Will Ferrell (who she did several sketches with). Looking at her wikipedia page, I see a lot of obscure movies and small roles in tv shows (her biggest post SNL tv show success was as a VA on Puppy Dog Pals, which she did 62 eps of). So why didnt she achieve success?

[Ben Wyatt]

For the same reason Molly Shannon never quite hit the level people expected of her: She was very solid piece of a very strong ensemble cast, but on her own/outside the SNL environment, just wasn't *quite* talented enough to do more.

While we're talking about that era and the strong female cast, Ana Gasteyer was better than both of 'em and she never found anything substantial post SNL

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

Probably just comes down to the "it" factor and not finding that true breakout role. SNL is a very specific type of show, and has produced a lot of stars, but it's also had many, many more people who've just gone on to do very little.

[tirtefaa]

You look at anyone from the 1996 cast, and there's a lot of "should have been bigger" members;

Jim Breuer
Darryl Hammond
Chris Kattan
Michael McKinney
Cheri O'Teri
Molly Shannon
Nancy Walls

Even Norm Macdonald I assumed was going to get a gig similar to Dennis Miller. Even when I was 11, this was the highlight of the show for me.

Of all the people who were on the show at the time, I didn't think that Will Ferrell would be the breakout star. Not only did he not have any major original characters outside of the Spartan Cheerleaders and the Roxbury Guys, and in both situations he was outclassed by his co-star.

While Ferrell would hit his stride a little better in the subsequent season, and even moreso by 1998...I never understood why he was always given these big opportunities, while other far more talented people could have done a better job. He appeared in just about every sketch in one form or another, and again he was largely outclassed by everyone around him.

Years later, it made sense. Adam McKay was the head writer and they were BFFs for years, and after hearing a couple other cast members speak out against McKay (without directly naming him), things began to line up better.

[salz4life]

Apr 25, 2023 15:08:33 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

For the same reason Molly Shannon never quite hit the level people expected of her: She was very solid piece of a very strong ensemble cast, but on her own/outside the SNL environment, just wasn't *quite* talented enough to do more.

While we're talking about that era and the strong female cast, Ana Gasteyer was better than both of 'em and she never found anything substantial post SNL

I'm trying to remember the last time I saw Ana Gasteyer after SNL and before the show American Auto on NBC.

[salz4life]

Apr 25, 2023 15:30:45 GMT -5 tirtefaa said:

You look at anyone from the 1996 cast, and there's a lot of "should have been bigger" members;

Jim Breuer
Darryl Hammond
Chris Kattan
Michael McKinney
Cheri O'Teri
Molly Shannon
Nancy Walls

Even Norm Macdonald I assumed was going to get a gig similar to Dennis Miller. Even when I was 11, this was the highlight of the show for me.

Of all the people who were on the show at the time, I didn't think that Will Ferrell would be the breakout star. Not only did he not have any major original characters outside of the Spartan Cheerleaders and the Roxbury Guys, and in both situations he was outclassed by his co-star.

While Ferrell would hit his stride a little better in the subsequent season, and even moreso by 1998...I never understood why he was always given these big opportunities, while other far more talented people could have done a better job. He appeared in just about every sketch in one form or another, and again he was largely outclassed by everyone around him.

Years later, it made sense. Adam McKay was the head writer and they were BFFs for years, and after hearing a couple other cast members speak out against McKay (without directly naming him), things began to line up better.

I remember thinking between Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell, I thought Kattan had the bigger chance at post SNL success. It's no wonder I would never make it in Talent management. LOL

[tirtefaa]

Apr 25, 2023 15:53:46 GMT -5 salz4life said:

I remember thinking between Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell, I thought Kattan had the bigger chance at post SNL success. It's no wonder I would never make it in Talent management. LOL

Yeah, Kattan was very loose on camera and pretty comfortable with whatever he did. The same I could say for Breuer at the time, I know Goat Boy was polarizing, but even in situations where a sketch died a horrible death, both guys always kept it together and never reacted.

Ferrell was just weird. He always had some weird stiffness to his performance, like he was in a choir recital or something. He was also notorious for clearly reading the cue cards instead of seeming more engaged in the sketch. I'm not going to say he wasn't funny at times, but compared to everyone else who got their reactions down to a T, Ferrel was the worst of the bunch.

[KingPooper]

Elf is the only thing I can stand Will in.

I was thinking how much could Adam and Will be BBFs... oh they did seven movies together in a row... got it.

[Ben Wyatt]

Apr 25, 2023 15:53:46 GMT -5 salz4life said:

Apr 25, 2023 15:30:45 GMT -5 tirtefaa said:

You look at anyone from the 1996 cast, and there's a lot of "should have been bigger" members;

Jim Breuer
Darryl Hammond
Chris Kattan
Michael McKinney
Cheri O'Teri
Molly Shannon
Nancy Walls

Even Norm Macdonald I assumed was going to get a gig similar to Dennis Miller. Even when I was 11, this was the highlight of the show for me.

Of all the people who were on the show at the time, I didn't think that Will Ferrell would be the breakout star. Not only did he not have any major original characters outside of the Spartan Cheerleaders and the Roxbury Guys, and in both situations he was outclassed by his co-star.

While Ferrell would hit his stride a little better in the subsequent season, and even moreso by 1998...I never understood why he was always given these big opportunities, while other far more talented people could have done a better job. He appeared in just about every sketch in one form or another, and again he was largely outclassed by everyone around him.

Years later, it made sense. Adam McKay was the head writer and they were BFFs for years, and after hearing a couple other cast members speak out against McKay (without directly naming him), things began to line up better.

I remember thinking between Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell, I thought Kattan had the bigger chance at post SNL success. It's no wonder I would never make it in Talent management. LOL

Kattan was probably derailed by his broken neck (suffered in a sketch in 02ish) that he didn't acknowledge until years later

[BorneAgain]

Norm probably could have big bigger, but his interest was more in standup than acting most of the time, and didn't really care about projects that didn't gel with his sense of humor or allow him to hang out with his friends.

[Terry McConkey]

Apr 25, 2023 15:08:33 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

For the same reason Molly Shannon never quite hit the level people expected of her: She was very solid piece of a very strong ensemble cast, but on her own/outside the SNL environment, just wasn't *quite* talented enough to do more.

While we're talking about that era and the strong female cast, Ana Gasteyer was better than both of 'em and she never found anything substantial post SNL

Ana Gasteyer is currently in "American Auto",which may or may not get a 3rd season.

[schma]

Apr 25, 2023 16:41:47 GMT -5 KingPooper said:

Elf is the only thing I can stand Will in.

I was thinking how much could Adam and Will be BBFs... oh they did seven movies together in a row... got it.

That makes more sense. I remember for the longest time it felt like Will Ferrell was playing the exact same character in each of his movies. If he had the same writer each time, that's probably why.

[Ben Wyatt]

Tim Meadows has had a good career and has always been working since SNL, but he's someone who I always thought should have been a slightly bigger star

[agent817]

Apr 25, 2023 15:08:33 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

For the same reason Molly Shannon never quite hit the level people expected of her: She was very solid piece of a very strong ensemble cast, but on her own/outside the SNL environment, just wasn't *quite* talented enough to do more.

While we're talking about that era and the strong female cast, Ana Gasteyer was better than both of 'em and she never found anything substantial post SNL

Now that I think about it, but was "Superstar" a flop in theaters back then? I remember even as far back as when I was in middle school, some girls I knew actually did the "Superstar" pose complete with saying the word. I am aware that "Superstar" was an SNL skit that was adapted into a film, but still.

[poodoojenkins]

Apr 25, 2023 21:54:18 GMT -5 agent817 said:

Apr 25, 2023 15:08:33 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

For the same reason Molly Shannon never quite hit the level people expected of her: She was very solid piece of a very strong ensemble cast, but on her own/outside the SNL environment, just wasn't *quite* talented enough to do more.

While we're talking about that era and the strong female cast, Ana Gasteyer was better than both of 'em and she never found anything substantial post SNL

Now that I think about it, but was "Superstar" a flop in theaters back then? I remember even as far back as when I was in middle school, some girls I knew actually did the "Superstar" pose complete with saying the word. I am aware that "Superstar" was an SNL skit that was adapted into a film, but still.

Yeah, it bombed hard in theaters and critics hated it, too.

I think it really found it's audience when it hit video and HBO. I remember seeing it that way, and it being quoted a lot.

[Ben Wyatt]

Apr 25, 2023 21:54:18 GMT -5 agent817 said:

Apr 25, 2023 15:08:33 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

For the same reason Molly Shannon never quite hit the level people expected of her: She was very solid piece of a very strong ensemble cast, but on her own/outside the SNL environment, just wasn't *quite* talented enough to do more.

While we're talking about that era and the strong female cast, Ana Gasteyer was better than both of 'em and she never found anything substantial post SNL

Now that I think about it, but was "Superstar" a flop in theaters back then? I remember even as far back as when I was in middle school, some girls I knew actually did the "Superstar" pose complete with saying the word. I am aware that "Superstar" was an SNL skit that was adapted into a film, but still.

The problem is that the Mary Katherine Gallagher skits were a one note joke that someone thought could be stretched out into a 90 min movie. It wasn't the only one (see: Ladies Man, and Night At The Roxbury)

To this day, I am absolutely stunned we never got a Spartan Cheerleader movie

[Jedi-El of Tomorrow]

Apr 25, 2023 21:43:25 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

Tim Meadows has had a good career and has always been working since SNL, but he's someone who I always thought should have been a slightly bigger star

He was in Mean Girls, that alone makes him a big star.

Honestly, after Ladies Man flopped seems like Meadows said "f*** trying to be a leading man, I'll go the supporting road", and he's had a great career because of it. His role in Mean Girls, appearances on Brooklyn Nine Nine, Walk Hard, and a long recurring role in The Goldbergs. Dude's had a better career just focusing on supporting roles. I don't think he gets a cameo in The Mandalorian if he didn't focus on being a supporting guy.

Apr 26, 2023 7:01:48 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

Apr 25, 2023 21:54:18 GMT -5 agent817 said:

Now that I think about it, but was "Superstar" a flop in theaters back then? I remember even as far back as when I was in middle school, some girls I knew actually did the "Superstar" pose complete with saying the word. I am aware that "Superstar" was an SNL skit that was adapted into a film, but still.

The problem is that the Mary Katherine Gallagher skits were a one note joke that someone thought could be stretched out into a 90 min movie. It wasn't the only one (see: Ladies Man, and Night At The Roxbury)

To this day, I am absolutely stunned we never got a Spartan Cheerleader movie

I liked A Night at the Roxbury.

[Ben Wyatt]

Apr 26, 2023 7:15:01 GMT -5 Jedi-El of Tomorrow said:

Apr 25, 2023 21:43:25 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

Tim Meadows has had a good career and has always been working since SNL, but he's someone who I always thought should have been a slightly bigger star

He was in Mean Girls, that alone makes him a big star.

Honestly, after Ladies Man flopped seems like Meadows said "f*** trying to be a leading man, I'll go the supporting road", and he's had a great career because of it. His role in Mean Girls, appearances on Brooklyn Nine Nine, Walk Hard, and a long recurring role in The Goldbergs. Dude's had a better career just focusing on supporting roles. I don't think he gets a cameo in The Mandalorian if he didn't focus on being a supporting guy.

Apr 26, 2023 7:01:48 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

The problem is that the Mary Katherine Gallagher skits were a one note joke that someone thought could be stretched out into a 90 min movie. It wasn't the only one (see: Ladies Man, and Night At The Roxbury)

To this day, I am absolutely stunned we never got a Spartan Cheerleader movie

I liked A Night at the Roxbury.

Oh, I did too. But it flopped because most people didn't wanna see a Ladies Man skit for 90 min

[salz4life]

Apr 26, 2023 7:01:48 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

To this day, I am absolutely stunned we never got a Spartan Cheerleader movie

Agreed.... everybody I knew loved this sketch back in the day.

[salz4life]

Apr 26, 2023 7:15:01 GMT -5 Jedi-El of Tomorrow said:

Apr 25, 2023 21:43:25 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

Tim Meadows has had a good career and has always been working since SNL, but he's someone who I always thought should have been a slightly bigger star

He was in Mean Girls, that alone makes him a big star.

Honestly, after Ladies Man flopped seems like Meadows said "f*** trying to be a leading man, I'll go the supporting road", and he's had a great career because of it. His role in Mean Girls, appearances on Brooklyn Nine Nine, Walk Hard, and a long recurring role in The Goldbergs. Dude's had a better career just focusing on supporting roles. I don't think he gets a cameo in The Mandalorian if he didn't focus on being a supporting guy.

Apr 26, 2023 7:01:48 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

The problem is that the Mary Katherine Gallagher skits were a one note joke that someone thought could be stretched out into a 90 min movie. It wasn't the only one (see: Ladies Man, and Night At The Roxbury)

To this day, I am absolutely stunned we never got a Spartan Cheerleader movie

I liked A Night at the Roxbury.

A Night at The Roxbury was very quotable. To this day, I know most of the movie by heart. LOL