Conan O'Brien Revives a Long-Lost 'SNL' Movie

By Andrew Sanford | TV | May 19, 2023 |

By Andrew Sanford | TV | May 19, 2023 |

They say that your favorite SNL cast is the one you grew up with. For many, that meant being allowed to stay up late or sneaking to the TV while their parents were asleep. I was lucky enough to be coming of age when Comedy Central would run SNL reruns for most of the day. The cast on TV at the time included the likes of Will Ferrel, Molly Shannon, Chris Kattan (just crushing it), and Cheri Oteri. I enjoyed that cast, but my tastes skewed older.

The reruns I watched most afternoons were from the late ’80s and early ’90s. I fell in love with Jan Hooks, Phil Hartman, Nora Dunn, and Jon Lovitz. Also shining bright in that era were Kevin Nealon and Dana Carvey. They both did plenty on their own. I was an altar boy, forced to give up an hour every Saturday afternoon to make sure I didn’t go to hell. Dana’s Church Lady made me cackle. Nealon is still my favorite “Weekend Update” host, and his dry delivery is the only thing that saves the mean Chippendale’s sketch. Together? Nealon and Carvey were unstoppable as Hanz and Franz.

Hanz and Franz were two obnoxious bodybuilders. They were modeled after Commando star Arnold Schwarzenegger. Their ridiculous fake muscles, arrogant attitudes, and silly catchphrases are a perfect blend of what makes an SNL character great. The characters were immensely popular, and we almost lived in a world where they got their own movie!

Dana and Kevin enlisted SNL writers Robert Smigel and Conan O’Brien to write a Hanz and Franz movie in the early ’90s. It was set to be called Hanz and Franz: The Girlie Man Dilemma. In addition to being a musical, it was to include Schwarzenegger as a main cast member, playing himself. The movie did not get made, but thanks to Conan’s podcast, it will (kinda) see the light of day!

Conan, Smigel, Nealon, and Carvey will be reading passages from the unproduced script on Conan’s podcast. The first episode has already been released, and it is a blast. Not only is it fun to hear Dana and Kevin back in character, but the movie is also funny! There’s a gag about a tandem bicycle in particular that cracked me up. They even have a fun cameo from another SNL movie character! Restore the SNLVerse!

You also get to hear the SNL alums reminisce about the movie and the process behind writing it, which is really fun. There could easily be too much of an “inside baseball” vibe here. Instead, it’s just good fun.