A parody video in the form of TV coverage of an annual New Year’s Day parade, featuring comedian Will Ferrell and fellow Saturday Night Live alum Molly Shannon and streamed on Amazon Prime, was panned by many viewers who seemingly did not realise that the clip was a spoof.
In The 2018 Rose Parade Hosted by Cord & Tish, Ferrell and Shannon assumed the roles of local TV anchors Cord Hosenbeck and Tish Cattigan. The Rose Parade is traditionally held in Pasadena in California each year on New Year’s Day, and is broadcast on several television networks in the United States.
The video, by Funny or Die, was uploaded on January 1. The live stream received multiple one-star reviews (38% as on Wednesday morning), with viewers criticising the coverage of the parade and the hosts. Later reviewers seem to have caught on, with mostly positive comments.
“The hosts were awful not giving any facts about the floats or commenting on what we were seeing,” wrote a user named Mariel Ralston, said Indie Wire. “Instead they were harassing Tim Meadows about his time on Saturday Night Live (something he told them clearly on two separate occasions that he didn’t want to discuss).”
Another user named Kistthefax complained, “I love the Rose Parade, but this was the worse hosting that I have ever seen. I turned it off. Cord got too personal and was rude and even cut one of the co-hosts off and dug into an old girlfriend. He should be fired! I tuned in to watch the parade not listen to someone’s rudeness and personal garbage.”
Why was Cord at the parade if he fears horses, one user wanted to know. “It’s one negative comment after another. Really guys. This is supposed to be a happy, positive event.”
A few who caught on to the parody were not pleased with the jokes. One user said, “Embarrassing. Was the intention to undermine the Rose Bowl Parade? Typical Hollywood isolation to the real world. There’s a time and place for their type of humor (Cord & Ferrell), but not the family tradition of sitting down and watching the parade. Amazon, they sound with each description condescending and hopefully they will not represent the Rose Parade in the future. SMH.”