Okay, here’s my review. This show was a very refreshing
change of pace from last month’s underwhelming outings. I forgot how good of a
host Zach Galifinakis could be until tonight.This was probably the best episode he’s hosted because the
writing was good enough that saving certain sketches came naturally to Zach and
he didn’t have to work or try too hard. Good to see the featured players
steadily getting more airtime as the season progresses. Anyway, here are the
sketches.
FOX and Friends VII – Although I think this has been run
into the ground by now, I think the latest installment was better than the
previous two. I liked the gay athlete and "hero" jokes at the
beginning as well as Bobby's bit with the soda at the end. B-
Monologue - Zach's stand up was great as usual. It wasn't as
good as his 2011 one, but he had some great lines nonetheless. I particularly
liked the charades/beet salad/amish/braille jokes. A-
Game Of Game Of Thrones – This felt like it was following a
tired SNL game show trope of a the third contestant getting asked totally
different questions than the previous two (see "What Is This?") but
Zach sold it with his absurdist energy. He made some mediocre lines great with
it and had a good back and forth with Hader. C+
Match.com ad – This was just okay. McKinnon's Martha Stewart
certainly didn't make anyone forget about Gasteyer, Dratch or even Poehler but
again, her delivery made some mediocre lines funny. C+
Jennifer Aniston Look-A-Like Contest - This was one of the
better lines of the season. I liked the building absurdity of it (especially
with Bobby and Kenan's cameos) and Zach's over the top delivery of absurd lines
was a highlight. Cooper and Helms' cameos didn't add anything, but maybe
they're both due for another hosting gig soon. B-
Update wasn’t anything to write home about. Seth's Dzhokar
Tsarnaev joke was alright, by his standards. I don't think we needed to see
Hader's Carville again, but I did like his bullet and ghost bits. Armisen's
Google glass commentary is too repetitive and too cheesily underplayed for me
to like. This and his Bloomberg from the cold open make me realize how much
Armisen resembles my roommate. Yeah, and Seth is the absolute last person I'd
expect to find a clitoris anywhere. I did like seeing Cecily's party girl
again. She had some funny lines. C+
Racist Jim – This was funny mostly because of Zach. He had
great back-and-forths with Kenan and Vanessa. Racial humor isn't quite my bag
and not many other hosts could've made this sketch that much better, so I gotta
give Zach some credit here. B-
Darrell’s House - This was possibly the best sketch of the
night. I liked the sheer absurdity of it (even though public access is another
tired SNL trope). It got a little slow toward the end with his interaction with
Kenan, but I liked the silly theme song, the ridiculous premise and the bit
with Vanessa at the beginning. B+
Michael Jordan Wedding - This sketch was oddly placed in the
show for something vaguely topical, but it's good seeing Kenan's Charles
Barkley again and Jay's Dikembe Mutombo was pretty funny. Jason and Zach had
some good bits with the "once you go black" jokes and the excessive
cocaine use. B+
New Balance – This was okay for banal observational humor. Zach
as the ridiculously out of shape guy was funny. C+
Darrell’s House (Director’s Cut) - I definitely liked how
the Darrell's house continued on later in the show and I loved the (somewhat
expected) Jon Hamm cameo! It's a nice coincidence to have seen two wraparound
sketches with two standup hosts in the same season (as well as the second one
involving Jon Hamm). Hamm is another multiple host who is due for another one.
B+
Well, that was a much needed shot in the arm for SNL.
Kristen Wiig inexplicably returns right now. I’d like to imagine Abby Eliiott
will flip past this in her home one week from tonight and shoot out her TV with
a pistol in a drunken haze ala Elvis. See you soon.
Now, I’d like to do a little “ranking the night” of my own…
1. Monologue
2. Darrell’s House
3. Aniston Look-a-likes
4. Michael Jordan Wedding
5. Racist Jim
6. New Balance
7. FOX and Friends
8. Game of Game of Thrones
9. Match.com
10. Update
Here are my Updated rankings of the season…
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. Vince Vaughn/Miguel
16. Justin Bieber
17. Adam Levine/Kendrick Lamar
18. Melissa McCarthy/Phoenix
19. Jeremy Renner/Maroon 5
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