By Sharon Oliver
Contributing Writer
BOSTON – “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) has a large cache of fictional characters that will forever leave an indelible mark for legions of fans. From Eddie Murphy’s Velvet Jones to The Delicious Dish hosts (Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon) to Dana Carvey’s judgmental Church Lady and beyond, dozens of characters served as cornerstones for every era of fans of the TV show, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.
Lexington underachievers
One pair of popular misfits is “The Boston Teens,” who made their debut in 1999 and have appeared in at least 14 sketches. Jimmy Fallon played the part of Pat “Sully” Sullivan and Rachel Dratch was cast as Denise “Zazu” McDenna, two underachieving Lexington High School sweethearts. At the time, Fallon had been in his second season as a cast member and Dratch had just joined the featured cast three weeks earlier.
Photo/NBC
Dratch, a native of Lexington, developed her character (initially named Heather) alongside fellow SNL alum Tina Fey during their time at The Second City improvisational comedy troupe. In the sketches, the Boston Red Sox-loving couple are seen romping around town as their never-seen friend Tommy filmed home video footage of them. Denise and Sully, who usually wore a Boston Red Sox jersey, often invoked the name of former shortstop Nomar Garciaparra as a catchphrase. In 2000, Garciaparra made a cameo appearance as the date of Sully’s older sister Bernadette (Kate Hudson).
Burlington Mall sketch
In their first sketch, viewers see the couple at the Burlington Mall being filmed for a school video project by Tommy. After being introduced by her boyfriend, Denise barks, “I swear to God, Sully, if you don’t get that Burger King breath out of my face, I’m gonna get wicked pissed off!”
The teens wander into a Hickory Farms store where they encounter an assistant manager played by that episode’s host and musical guest, Garth Brooks. He conducts an on-the-spot job interview with Denise, who spills shameful details of her criminal past before being exposed for sneaking alcohol into the store. When it comes to fan favorite episodes, there are plenty to choose from. For example, there is Britney Spears’ appearance as a butter churner at the Colonial Museum and another sketch involving Sully, Denise and her pyromaniac brother Danny (Justin Timberlake) having dinner at Anthony’s Pier 4.
A few fans took to YouTube to comment about their feelings for these teens known for their thick Boston accents, temperament and sloppy kisses.
Flala2261 wrote:
VirginiaVarble7818 added:
“I love these two characters so much! They’re hilarious!”
“SO Good! They could’ve easily made a low budget SNL movie out of these characters! I think they’re so good in these roles!”
As for the teens deserving their own movie, one writer at “Complex” could not agree more, citing in a 2015 article that “everyone can relate to the gross public displays of affection of young love.”
Characters return as adults
Since leaving SNL, Dratch and Fallon had returned to the show twice (2011 and 2017) to play adult versions of their now married characters who had at least five children after dropping out of school. In one sketch, the couple is seen taking their daughter little Denise (Kate McKinnon) on a tour of Harvard.
Whenever celebrity Bay State natives like Conan O’Brien, Matt Damon or Ben Affleck (who played Sully and Denise’s pal Donny Bartalotti) hosted or appeared on SNL, The Boston Teens made sure to make an appearance as well. In a 2015 Glamour magazine interview, Dratch shared, “I was the envy of so many girls because I got to make out with Jimmy Fallon. But really, it was more like mauling someone.” As for her frequently worn blue and gold varsity jacket, she added that “it was still in storage at SNL, because you never know when you’re going to come back.”
Interestingly, both Rachel Dratch and Jimmy Fallon, after more than 25 years of playing teen characters, are now 59 and 50 years old, respectively.
RELATED CONTENT:
Meet the former ‘SNL’ cast members from Massachusetts
Billy Crystal still makes ’em laugh
Boston’s comedy scene boomed in the 1980s
