I came here to watch this and show it to my husbance - because last night, while Trick or Treating, my kids were given little colorful calculators by one of our neighbors. When they got home, they poured out their buckets - grabbed the calculators, and ran around raving about how much they loved their calculators. It was unbelievable, and a lot like this sketch. I'm convinced that the writer experienced something similiar.
I think I wouldve also been excited, it's just something unexpected and different from candy. Kind of like when you get popcorn balls or little toys from trick or treating.🎃🍬
oh thank god they got the calculator i would’ve been so upset if they hadn’t. i also love how their family doesn’t make fun of them for it, they just look on in pride and love. those are some good parents.
In the SNL documentary by James Franco, you can actually see an e-mail from NBC censors about this sketch asking them to ensure the twins won't be portrayed as "mentally challenged" and I like how even though they're awkward, they just love math, that's all lol
"Do you have any idea how fast we are going to be able to calculate square roots? Multiply and divide?" Sounds like people satisfied with their obsessions, though I agree that this is different from materialism and greed.
When I bought my Casio fx-82SX plus, I was so happy. After about three years, I forgot it in train. I was devastated. I bought another, identical, but pain for first one is still here.
welcome to the reaction once the students get to the calculator portion of the test. "it's a calculator! it's a real calculator! I can go so much faster now!!!!"
Mary Jane I remember when I was really young and had no concept of money I just assumed that the more I wanted something the more expensive it must have been so I would beg and beg for things that as an adult I realize were super cheap lmao
**snl writers sitting in the writing den** "hey guys i have a great idea for a short" "what" "so there are these twins" "okay" "and they want a calculator for christmas" "what" "and then they get super excited" "YOURE A GENIUS THIS WILL MAKE MILLIONS"
That's me in 1970 or 1971 when I received my first calculator for Christmas. No square roots, percentages, or memory functions, just a simple 4-function calculator. I think I burned through batteries faster with that machine than I did with my battery-powered hot wheels a few years later.
This is actually me! All I wanted for christmas was a beautiful Texas Instruments 84 plus, and when I got it, I almost cried! Prop stat class hasn’t been easier!
My mom used to have all of our Christmas presents wrapped at the Department Store, with that slick high end wrapping paper. The slick paper made it easy to lift the scotch tape and slide the box out so that we could see what we were going to get on Christmas morning. It ruined the surprise, but it was still fun to peek.
No exaggeration: when my twin brother and I were 13, my parents got us TI-89 graphing calculators for Christmas because we'd "need them in high school." I was fairly disappointed, because, you know, who wants a calculator for Christmas? 14 years later, I'm a high school math teacher, and I use that same TI-89 constantly. It's been a loyal companion. So, you never know!
I love how they say calculator lol but this is more of a sweet sketch than a funny sketch. I'm glad they got the calculator that they wanted as Christmas is just about giving joy to others no matter what they ask for. 😊
I got a TI-84 for Christmas in 8th grade. I love that thing! I carve a little notch in it at the end of every math class. I used to call it my 'first cellphone,' and carry it everywhere in my jacket pocket. Possibly the most useful gift I've received, behind my laptop.
I think the skit is just seeing Christmas from the perspective of the kids. When you're a kid, the power that suddenly makes something appear, out of thin air, is magic. It's really weird that you can wish for something and it appears. It doesn't really matter what it is. The older brother's experience of Christmas is already what Max Weber would call "disenchanted" (entzaubert). He gets a Wii. Big deal. The two kids aren't so much transfixed by the calculator per se as they are just by the sheer thrilling excitement with which some object of their choosing appears every year.
My 6 year old grandson likes to make outfits out of plastic store bags, he has all kinds of toys to play with but that’s his favorite thing to do here. So I totally understand this sketch!
Its funny how theyre right, the one thing that matters the most is how you percieve things and what they mean to you. But then again its just a sketch.
What I love about this sketch is that it works on a basic level as innocent, goofy comedy but it's really a satire about affected 'retro' kids wanting outdated things that were once really expensive (Texas Instruments* (one of the first manufacturers) was the giveaway here) but made for boring presents that few kids actually wanted back in the 70s & 80s. *My dad had an led one that ran on 9v batteries...for about 5 minutes at a time!
Worst thing about calculators, graphing calculators that are required for math classes. The Ti83. Using the same tech its used since the last 70s, but still coasts $90-$120.
Here in Germany we ordered Texas Instrument calculators via the school and they were expensive as fuck. Don't know how they got in the system, but damn that's easy money raking it in by the class loads.
Supply and demand are what determine price, not material cost. They charge $90-120 because people are willing to pay $90-120, and for no other reason. Though, it should be said that's it's a pretty shady practice, requiring calculators for school. Effectively a way to keep the lower class in the lower class. Sad part is, almost all of the mathematics a person would do in school or in a career is something that'd be faster without a calculator. Case and point, I used my calculator exactly 4 times in my entire AP Calculus course, but it was required that I show up with it regardless.
SNL writer: I have an idea. 2 overgrown kids want a calculator for Christmas. Lorne: That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard. SNL writer: Fred Armisen & John Malkovich say 'cowlculateh' 19 times. Lorne: So let it be written, so let it be done.
I read some of the comments here... There is nothing to get. It's just 2 kids that freaking love calculators and Fred and John kill it! It's funny as hell the way they do it. So freaking excited! Classic, brilliant, love it
I'm in the AEC industry and use a Construction Master Pro Trig Model 4080 absolutely every day. Couldn't do my job without it. It's the only model I know of that can do feet and fractional inch calculations with trig functions. I find it essential when working on architectural building plans and site plans.
I love how the twins have accents that no one else in the family has.
Thunder'sDad yeah they’re doing Brooklyn Jewish accents.
@@williamdunn8208 Ey Ma!
ive babysat twins that came up with their own accent / language
your mother is my wife , loool, accents can't be inherited genetically
True.🤣
I love how the whole sketch is based around John saying "calculator" and Fred mimicking him.
Love this Skit/John, he's so brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did John malkovich say calculator is a movie or something that inspired this skit?
I'm glad they got the calculator.
Well, they were counting on it.
Was that a calculator pun? xD
Opinion is divided ;
youre my new hero
Bikewithlove Spoiler dude!
I came here to watch this and show it to my husbance - because last night, while Trick or Treating, my kids were given little colorful calculators by one of our neighbors. When they got home, they poured out their buckets - grabbed the calculators, and ran around raving about how much they loved their calculators. It was unbelievable, and a lot like this sketch. I'm convinced that the writer experienced something similiar.
The writer and his wife have two little mongoloids at home just as you surmised.
Wonderful family.
I think I wouldve also been excited, it's just something unexpected and different from candy. Kind of like when you get popcorn balls or little toys from trick or treating.🎃🍬
oh thank god they got the calculator i would’ve been so upset if they hadn’t. i also love how their family doesn’t make fun of them for it, they just look on in pride and love. those are some good parents.
I almost plotzed
This!
Spoiler warning, hello?!
Super-wholesome sketch!
In the SNL documentary by James Franco, you can actually see an e-mail from NBC censors about this sketch asking them to ensure the twins won't be portrayed as "mentally challenged" and I like how even though they're awkward, they just love math, that's all lol
Anybody else think that it wasn't gonna be a calculator in the box?? 😂
Uh-ha. )
I thought it would be a casio.
Yup
yeah, i was half expecting the gift to be something else and then the twins would go crazy and kill their parents
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
"I'm gonna need freak-out control"
That line goes through my head from time to time and it's so darn funny.
Me too!
The beauty of this sketch, people satisfied with simple things untouched by greed.
That's actually a really cool comment; thanks😂
That's was beautiful baby ❤
I get it now. Its performance art. I'm the ungrateful child opening his gift (this sketch) and saying "WTF?"
"Do you have any idea how fast we are going to be able to calculate square roots? Multiply and divide?" Sounds like people satisfied with their obsessions, though I agree that this is different from materialism and greed.
Isn’t this about the Menendez brothers? The same ones who killed their parents for greed ?
Fred Armison getting so excited that he crawls to the top of the couch and onto Malkovich's back is how I want to live.
Literally same XD
💙💙💙
When I bought my Casio fx-82SX plus, I was so happy. After about three years, I forgot it in train. I was devastated. I bought another, identical, but pain for first one is still here.
Wth? This is so pure. Lol.
Yeah, they do that sometimes to f*** with us.
Pure what tho?
Wait until they learn what a graphing calculator is...
Stereotypical Coaster Channel they are gonna explode
@@pashadyne skskskssksk, do u not know what a graphing calculator is
I heard that those kind of calculators can draw boobies on them. That's the way they learn some sex edu.
Ti-84 plus... Takes me back to high school lol
TI-85
James Franco did a Documentary about SNL called "Saturday Night". It was cool to see how this sketch came together.
I watched it last night. so much stress in a week!
The writing process would be a lot easier if they had a calculator.
RedonRust such a good joke 😭😭
James Franco sucks
Boobs
What a strange sketch
Ha. Yeah, it is.
as i was saying that to myself i scrolled down to see the exact comment with the exact wording
said the $@me-0.$hit
I think it’s brilliantly funny.
its facking with your expectations what is to be
welcome to the reaction once the students get to the calculator portion of the test.
"it's a calculator! it's a real calculator! I can go so much faster now!!!!"
Frayed Winter now days we always can use calculators :3 we are so spoiled!
Cahl-que-la-tah
I would have liked to see more skits with these twins. They are so innocent and cute lol
I love how Bill and Andy are the same age, but look like they could actually be father and son here
ua-cam.com/video/JiIKXGOGg64/v-deo.html
We actually bought my son a calculator (and other things) for Christmas and he was SO EXCITED. So this made me laugh. Omg LOL
ua-cam.com/video/JiIKXGOGg64/v-deo.html
When...???!!!
John has the most realest smile throughout this
This is so funny, I've seen kids react like that to weird gifts and it's just so funny
Mary Jane I remember when I was really young and had no concept of money I just assumed that the more I wanted something the more expensive it must have been so I would beg and beg for things that as an adult I realize were super cheap lmao
Weird gifts? That's a goddamn Texas Instruments A100 calculator.
this made me so happy. they got it.
**snl writers sitting in the writing den**
"hey guys i have a great idea for a short"
"what"
"so there are these twins"
"okay"
"and they want a calculator for christmas"
"what"
"and then they get super excited"
"YOURE A GENIUS THIS WILL MAKE MILLIONS"
+Nick Hackett **Snorts coke** "I LOVE IT"
+Nick Hackett well Andy Samber or whatever is in it so you know its going to suck
+Matthew Thomason LOL LOL
There is a mistake: you should divide millions by ten on a CALCULATOR!!!
Nick Hackett I
This is an extremely underrated SNL sketch. There's just something about John Malkovich. I'm also a huge fan of Fred Armested !
L💙ve John!!💙
John Malkovich's innate creepiness is perfect for this skit !
He looked like he was having a lot of fun. :-D X-D
"im gonna need freak out control"😂
Being from Texas and using Texas Instruments calculators in school, I thought that every state had their own calculator.
Does the Texas calculator come with a gun ? I heard everything in Texas comes with a gun ? :)
That's amusing. I never thought of that!
Whoever wrote this, wrote David Pumpkins. I just feel it. It's so dumb it somehow makes me laugh. lol
Marcos Villagomez Totally. I won't believe anything else
David S. Pumpkins
Dude this sketch was 10 years ago. The writing staff isn't even the same.
@@isaiah0137 any questions? 🎃
Some of the writers were the same, but none of the David S Pumpkins writers were around at the time of this sketch.
That's me in 1970 or 1971 when I received my first calculator for Christmas. No square roots, percentages, or memory functions, just a simple 4-function calculator. I think I burned through batteries faster with that machine than I did with my battery-powered hot wheels a few years later.
There is something so innocent about this skit. It makes me smile.
This was so pure and sweet, I loved it!!!
I'm so happy they got calculator
Did you get me a cal cu la tor? This has been in my head for days.
Malkovisch really is an incredible actor. So pure in this scene, reminded me of Mice and Men a little bit.
89×56= Wooooooaaaaahh! !!すごい!!
Anyone notice he didn't hit enough keys for that operation?
IrrelevantTrash any idea what number they got?
aisqutis same 4,984
this era of snl had the silliest sketches and yet funniest
I have no idea why this sketch made me smile and laugh so much
This is actually me! All I wanted for christmas was a beautiful Texas Instruments 84 plus, and when I got it, I almost cried! Prop stat class hasn’t been easier!
This is my favorite sketch . I’ve seen it like 100 times
My mom used to have all of our Christmas presents wrapped at the Department Store, with that slick high end wrapping paper. The slick paper made it easy to lift the scotch tape and slide the box out so that we could see what we were going to get on Christmas morning. It ruined the surprise, but it was still fun to peek.
No exaggeration: when my twin brother and I were 13, my parents got us TI-89 graphing calculators for Christmas because we'd "need them in high school." I was fairly disappointed, because, you know, who wants a calculator for Christmas?
14 years later, I'm a high school math teacher, and I use that same TI-89 constantly. It's been a loyal companion. So, you never know!
"loyal companion" - isnt it nice that calculators are usually monogamous and faithful?
I just rewind the whole video to see Fred Armisen's priceless expressions at 3:37!! So crazy funny and blissfully happy like a thrilled child!!! :D
This was most of us back around 1976!!!
Best sketch ever. Me and my friends still crack up about this years later! 😂🤣
You are right. So simple, so stupid, so great.
Lol this is the kind of calculator my dad has been using to file taxes and balance the check book since the 90’s 😂
I love how they say calculator lol but this is more of a sweet sketch than a funny sketch. I'm glad they got the calculator that they wanted as Christmas is just about giving joy to others no matter what they ask for. 😊
Fred is right on the nose sounding like my kids when he's saying, "Ma. Ma. Ma."
Somehow, I was expecting more.. Like, them breaking it or something.. idk
What perfect goofballs!
I got a TI-84 for Christmas in 8th grade. I love that thing! I carve a little notch in it at the end of every math class. I used to call it my 'first cellphone,' and carry it everywhere in my jacket pocket. Possibly the most useful gift I've received, behind my laptop.
John Malkovich looks fucking terrifying
I don't know why I love this so much.
John Malkovich is such a good character actor
I'm so happy for them for getting their calculator that was a great Christmas.
I think these guys are literally the best actors ever in this.
Malkovich can do no wrong, just look at that boyish charm and million dollar smile. 😂😂😂😂😂😂
This just reminds me of that time in a kid's life where they get wrapped up in a dork cocoon and ask for things like this.
this is really cute.
ive never seen john malcovich so happy ever
I think the skit is just seeing Christmas from the perspective of the kids. When you're a kid, the power that suddenly makes something appear, out of thin air, is magic. It's really weird that you can wish for something and it appears. It doesn't really matter what it is. The older brother's experience of Christmas is already what Max Weber would call "disenchanted" (entzaubert). He gets a Wii. Big deal. The two kids aren't so much transfixed by the calculator per se as they are just by the sheer thrilling excitement with which some object of their choosing appears every year.
My 6 year old grandson likes to make outfits out of plastic store bags, he has all kinds of toys to play with but that’s his favorite thing to do here. So I totally understand this sketch!
Hader's "dad" voice was similar to his Alan Alda impression.
I'll be honest, I was probably equally excited when I got my first graphing calculator
Me too! I'm a math major now and I freak out like they did when I see one of my friend's really fancy ones.
Eliza Fischer sad
@@fshstsya2332 How is that sad?
@@fshstsya2332 well, at least they have a future, not like you
@@elizafischer7229 that's so awesome.❤️
What a wholesome sketch
every time I need to use a calculator or someone brings up a calculator for any reason this damn sketch pops up in my head.
Didn't hit equals! He doesn't even know how to use a calculator but he is Malkovich. :D
If I recall correctly you actually don't need to on accounting style calculators like that one appears to be.
I have no idea why, but this is frickin HILARIOUS!!!
I loved John's work in Death of a Salesman.
Love how John says to his father. YOU MOCK IT!!💙
This is actually very very sweet. So simple
This was strangely heart-warming.
When you get to college and find a friend who will lend you a TI graphing calculator for classes, you feel like the twins 😂
john cant be down play.. he is incredible actor... even in a sketch..
I thought that they weren't going to get one.
I hope they got the little roll of paper that goes with it!
Its funny how theyre right, the one thing that matters the most is how you percieve things and what they mean to you. But then again its just a sketch.
The description is wrong...the twin brothers are Paul and Aiden...the other brother is Glenn.
I love that they have to share
What I love about this sketch is that it works on a basic level as innocent, goofy comedy but it's really a satire about affected 'retro' kids wanting outdated things that were once really expensive (Texas Instruments* (one of the first manufacturers) was the giveaway here) but made for boring presents that few kids actually wanted back in the 70s & 80s.
*My dad had an led one that ran on 9v batteries...for about 5 minutes at a time!
Worst thing about calculators, graphing calculators that are required for math classes. The Ti83. Using the same tech its used since the last 70s, but still coasts $90-$120.
Here in Germany we ordered Texas Instrument calculators via the school and they were expensive as fuck. Don't know how they got in the system, but damn that's easy money raking it in by the class loads.
Supply and demand are what determine price, not material cost. They charge $90-120 because people are willing to pay $90-120, and for no other reason. Though, it should be said that's it's a pretty shady practice, requiring calculators for school. Effectively a way to keep the lower class in the lower class. Sad part is, almost all of the mathematics a person would do in school or in a career is something that'd be faster without a calculator. Case and point, I used my calculator exactly 4 times in my entire AP Calculus course, but it was required that I show up with it regardless.
Particularly ludicrous when you consider you can likely get calculator apps for $50 tablets that have all the same functions.
But the funny thing is is mine lasted from junior high till college so at least they last longer
@Chris leyva damn you could make at least 200 bucks with those
I still love ❤️ this Christmas 🎄 episode. Nothing screams holidays like Malkovich. 😂🎄🎁
I was expecting one of the twins to ask the other to multiply 843 x 95 or similar, but it kept it classy, I guess.
So fun! It celebrates the thrill of smaller calculators back in the day. Wish SNL made more rated-G skits like this.
SNL writer: I have an idea. 2 overgrown kids want a calculator for Christmas.
Lorne: That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard.
SNL writer: Fred Armisen & John Malkovich say 'cowlculateh' 19 times.
Lorne: So let it be written, so let it be done.
Twins are pretty weird and this skit really sums that up.
Vader?
1:40 - "Shut up, Glen!" "Nobody cares what you think." Lol
we stan same age bill hader and andy samberg playing a father-son duo
I just have one question. How did the twins survive that long without a calculator?
"I'm going to need freak-out control" That is SUCH a thing a kid would say. = P
And "I can't believe how real it is!!!!"
I read some of the comments here... There is nothing to get. It's just 2 kids that freaking love calculators and Fred and John kill it! It's funny as hell the way they do it. So freaking excited! Classic, brilliant, love it
I'm in the AEC industry and use a Construction Master Pro Trig Model 4080 absolutely every day. Couldn't do my job without it. It's the only model I know of that can do feet and fractional inch calculations with trig functions. I find it essential when working on architectural building plans and site plans.
That was the kind of wholesome I needed today
One of my favorites to watch around Christmas!
Wait but this is lowkey really pure and happy lmao
I'm gonna need freak out control 🤣 lol
this is so pure, breathtaking even
Aside from the fact that I loved this sketch I can’t be the only one that realized the time for this video is *4:20* minutes- 😂
'That's all we want, ma.' only John Malkovich could make that line sound terrifying.
This is so wholesome lol
I thought they would get angry over 1 calculator. But they were happy to share. 🤣