Okay, here’s my review. This had to have been the worst show of the season so far. Renner didn’t even have that good of material to begin with and he turned out to be the worst host this season. He seemed a little nervous but he really seemed like he didn't give that much of a shit. I can’t imagine the cast, crew or especially the writers had the best time working with him all week. I’ll bet they were just phoning it in. It's odd that they have Renner playing fake piano when he could've just as easily played real guitar. Good to see the cast feel pretty balanced tonight and the new featured players get on a bit more. Although, Cecily is a little more disappointing as they try to shoehorn her into meaningless roles. Anyway, let’s just get to it.
C-SPAN Booknotes - This was pretty forgettable. I guess the whole joke was Cecily reading those lines in such a deadpan voice, but it felt derivative and predictable given all the other comedians that have given us Patreaus jokes this week. Seeing people leave made me chuckle and so did one of Cecily's lines that I can't remember right now. Hader was wasted in his role. Somehow, I felt Armisen would be the last guy standing there, so that took away from it, too. Come to think of it, this kind of reminded me of that sketch from '98 where Molly Shannon as Monica Lewinsky addressed congress. D+
Monologue – If this was gonna be memorable, it would be for the wrong reasons. That audio snafu was awkward, but Renner covered nicely for it. He also isn't that bad of a singer, either but he did kind of kill the monologue and make it go on too long with his stammering, mildly nervous Colin Quinnesque delivery. I did like the Bourne/Kings of Leon theme. Those were parody lyrics worthy of Mr. Alfred Yankovic himself! I was a little disappointed when the fake Lorne twitter account alluded to a musical monologue, but this was a nice take on it (even if it was like a cross between Kelsey Grammer's '98 monologue and Jason Sudekis's bit from the MTV Movie Awards with Emma Stone when he hosted). C-
Hometown Tourism - It was kind of awkward seeing them segue from a band number to a taped commercial, but this was well done even if it feels like I've seen this exact same bit done on CollegeHumor before (but in text/fake brochure form). As someone who goes back home to visit immediate family every Xmas/Thanksgiving, I can relate to this pretty well. I did chuckle at Bobby and Tim's appearances and I also laughed at Bill watering his lawn in his underwear. C+
The Californians IV - I didn't like this again, but I liked this better than the Applegate version. Seeing Fred crack up was nice because it really made him look dumb and like less of a pretentious douche. I also like Taran, Tim and Jeremy's characters as well as Bill's "we thought you were dead" line. Seeing Hader and Bayer both with transparently smeared lipstick also made me chuckle. C-
The Stand Off – This was a pretty funny short film. It felt a little similar to something The Lonely Island would do, but was obviously different stylistically. I liked the ice rink bit and Adam Levine's cameo worked for me. B-
The Situation Room VII - This was something we haven't seen since the dreaded '09-'10 season, so I was a little wary, but this started out okay. Jason’s Wolf Blitzer hasn’t changed that much, but I did like his “ghost of an old beard” line and his revelation that Renner’s character was the “self-proclaimed” mayor of Tampa. Even Renner was funny before he started repeating himself. I also chuckled at Tim in the dress as part of the “reenactment”. C+
Update was only good for commentaries tonight. Jay did a funny Katt Williams and had plenty of good lines. I mean, if you closed your eyes, it would almost seem like Katt himself was there. I mean, he was much funnier than the real Katt, but still. Chris Christie was pretty funny too, but he wasn't that good at being fake angry because he was obviously having fun with his own image. He was a good sport and I respect that about him. B-
The Avengers - This sketch was okay. Renner was the only one really bringing it down. I did like Hader, Sudekis, McKinnon and Moynihan in it. They did a great makeup job on Bobby. I liked Sudekis’s “you just got quipped line” and his Hunger Games jokes. C+
Dick Fuel - This sketch seems like something I read about getting cut at dress last season. I was expecting another Jeff/boom mike sketch (especially since Hader identified himself as "Wes Underballs") but this just went nowhere. I did like Jason's claymation line though. He tried his best, but he couldn’t save this sketch. C+
Midnight Snack: Drones - This short was a little strange. I didn't hate it, but it felt a little out of place on SNL instead of the internet. If they have more shorts like this, I am willing to give them another chance. It's just nice to see animation like this on SNL in the post TV Funhouse/post Lonely Island era. C-
Coroner - This sketch had to have been the best live segment of the night. I liked it just for its sheer absurdity. Even Renner was pretty funny in it. . I'm not saying it made up for his shortcomings as host, but he certainly got some goodwill from it. B+
Well, that was a slow train wreck. Next week, Jaime Foxx will be the host. For a guy who seems to take himself way too seriously, he does have legitimate acting and comedy talent. He should’ve hosted around 04-05 when “Ray” had come out, but it’s about time he came back. He did a pretty good job with his first show in 2000. That should be a fun show if they don’t saddle him with a bunch of lame sketches like they did this week. See ya then!
No comments:
Post a Comment