Sunday, May 12, 2013

Kristen Wiig/Vampire Weekend - 5.11.2013


Okay, here’s my review. While Wiig and Co. somewhat defied my expectations for the latter half of the show, it was still one of the more underwhelming outings of the season thus far. It’s not the absolute worst, but it’s still somewhere in the bottom five. I would still say it was a little better than either of the episodes from April. It’s great to see Wiig a little more willing to share the figurative spotlight with her castmates and especially this year’s featured players. Anyway, here it is.

CSPAN Benghazi Hearings - This cold open wasn't too bad. At least it was something different and a little edgier even if it didn't have much to say. Still, it felt a little too convoluted. C+

Monologue - This was pretty much what I expected. I couldn't tell if Kristen's shock at hosting was genuine or if she was doing her Taylor Swift impression again. The bit with the Spade photo was weird, but the song was okay. Her forgetting where everything was got kind of old fast, but I did like her referring to Vanessa as “Will Ferrell”. I did like how they worked a Maya Rudolph cameo in there, but Jonah Hill felt pointless. I guess Wiig and Rudolph CAN sing competently when they try. The way they worked Gilly in there was clever if not just a little grating. Thankfully, it spared us from another whole Gilly sketch. Overall, it felt too much like an inferior version of Fallon's monologue from Christmas. C-

1-800 Flowers - This mother's day commercial was well executed, but somehow felt too predictable. Somehow, it felt like something of a tired SNL trope. I could imagine Tina Fey doing it easily if she hosted again. Still, it's oddly lower key for something Wiig and McKinnon would do together. C+

The Californians VI - This installment of the Californians had its moments. It was a little clever the way they worked in Wiig's old character and it made me chuckle a bit, but again it felt too formulaic from there. Hader made me laugh in this, but Wiig's breaking kind of ruined it for me. Also, I thought I’d like it that they’d make Vanessa’s role bigger in this sketch, but she was just playing it too broad. Maya's character was something I saw coming miles away. I'm glad her cameo was short because I don't know how long I could stand to listen to her. C-

Aw Nuts, Mom’s A Ghost - This Disney Channel thing had an odd feel to it. On the one hand, making fun of Disney channel tropes felt like a horribly dated premise that MAD TV could've handled better in 2007. On the other hand, it felt like a strong and ambitious premise on paper that they didn't take far enough. Still, I liked the gag with Wiig sucking the life force out of Tim's character and then vomiting on Taran. While Bobby and Kristen's performances were missing something, Cecily turned in a great supporting performance. C+

Lawrence Welk VIII – This was a step backwards considering I liked how they changed up the last two. Still, at least I'm 2 for 4 in guess the recurring characters game. Jason really added something to it. I'm surprised they never had him play the male singer before. I liked the sand squirrel gag, the extended bobcat/cookie/genital bits and the coconut gag (even though seeing the hand ruined it). Overall, it felt like too much of a retread. C-

Update was a real mixed bag as far as Seth's jokes. Anthony Crispino was also a step backwards from the previous one which was saved by Seth and Bobby's spontaneity. This one was more of the same and the high pitch voice being planned kind of ruined it. Still, I have to give them credit for trying that and keeping this bit short because I was certainly wondering how Seth could get through it as sick as he sounds. Also, fuck Garth and Kat...seriously. D+

Target Lady X –This felt like it went on way too long. I didn't mind this sketch between 05-08 because she was playing off someone different every time, but thankfully they somewhat knew how to retire it right when it ran its course. Unfortunately, neither of those elements was here. I did, however, like the lesbian/stereotype busted joke and the Sassy magazine/Hoarders bit. C-

Acupuncture - This acupuncture sketch feels like the first original sketch of the night. I do like the excessive squirting blood gag as we haven't seen SNL do this in ages. It's also nice that Wiig graciously let Aidy share the stage with her. I also liked Bobby's off screen one liners. A-

Sixth Grade Date - This sketch was enjoyably odd. It's nice to see Tim and Cecily in the lead of a new sketch. Taran really added something and Tim had some great lines toward the end. Still, they could've done a bit more to wrestle the sketch out of Kristen and Cecily's Kung Fu grip. B-

Style, Class, Elegnance - This sketch started out pretty slow, but Aidy pretty much saved it for me. Kenan had some good lines, but other than those details, I found it kind of sad how this died with the audience. Also, Kristen looked a lot like a girl who was in my media ethics class who I follow on Twitter in that wig. C+

Well, that’s it. This season has certainly seen worse. Next week is the season finale with Ben Affleck and Kanye West. This I’m looking forward to as Affleck has proven to be a surprisingly capable host. See ya then!

Now, I leave you with some rankings of the night.

1. Acupuncture
2. Sixth Grade Date
3. Aw Nuts, Mom’s A Ghost
4. Style, Class, Elegnance
5. 1-800-Flowers
6. Monologue
7. The Californians
8. Lawrence Welk
9. Target Lady
10. C-SPAN Benghazi Hearings
11. Update

Here are my updated season rankings (best to worst).

1. Justin Timberlake
2. Martin Short/Paul McCartney
3. Seth MacFarlane/Frank Ocean
4. Louis CK/fun.
5. Zach Galifinakis/Of Monsters And Men
6. Anne Hathaway/Rhianna
7. Christina Applegate/Passion Pit
8. Christoph Waltz/Alabama Shakes
9. Kevin Hart/Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
10. Bruno Mars
11. Daniel Craig/Muse
12. Jaime Foxx/Ne-Yo
13. Jennifer Lawrence/The Lumineers
14. Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Mumford and Sons
15. Kristen Wiig/Vampire Weekend
16. Vince Vaughn/Miguel
17. Justin Bieber
18. Adam Levine/Kendrick Lamar
19. Melissa McCarthy/Phoenix
20. Jeremy Renner/Maroon 5


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