Sunday, October 6, 2013

Miley Cyrus (10.5.2013)

Okay, here’s my review. Overall, I can't help but think that while this show might be lame in terms of this season, it was a little better than her 2011 episode. Good to see some more of the new cast getting used but I wish the current featured players could’ve been more than glorified extras in the live show. Alright, let’s go.

New York, 2045 AD - This cold open felt a little dated and predictable, but I liked the whole dystopian take on it. The Kennedy ghost line was an odd reference and Kenan seemed to be overacting quite a bit. I liked Miley's "tiny strokes" line and Bobby as the traumatized teddy bear. Taran did a fine Robin Thicke and Jay actually had some good lines as Will Smith for once. C+

Monologue - This was classier than I expected. Good to see Miley wore something comparatively tasteful. The jokes weren't quite there, but I chuckled at Bobby on the wrecking ball. C+

Fifty Shades of Grey Auditions - These just had their moments. Good to see they utilized the more underused cast members for this, but these are becoming too much of an SNL standard at this point. Bobby's Seth Rogen and Miley's Scarlett weren't quite there but Noel's Emma Stone and Taran's Christoph Waltz were good. Too bad they didn’t give her any lines as Kristen Stewart. Bennett’s Phillip Seymour Hoffman wasn’t as good or as memorable as Jason’s though. I wish they'd given Aidy more lines but Nassim as Aziz Ansari was great (even if she didn't quite have the voice) and Vanessa’s one line as Mary Louise Parker was funny. Kenan as Steve Harvey had okay lines but was largely useless here. Jay did a fine Tracy Morgan even if he didn’t quite have the voice right away and Kate did a good Jane Lynch. John did an OK Cryer even though I wasn’t totally able to tell. Jay’s Shaq was okay and Nassim’s Kristen Chenowith was once again pointless. B-

Girlfirends Talk Show III - I don't really care for this, but it's good to see they're using Aidy more prominently. I still would’ve liked to have seen the version of this that got cut from the Zach Galifinakis show in May. Miley's character was annoying and just felt too played out conceptually but still had some OK lines here and there. I liked Aidy's "night crier" line and Cecily's odd boyfriend ramble at the end. Still, if I had to choose which of Cecily’s characters I’d rather keep seeing all season between this and the Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Talked To At A Party, I’d pick the latter. C-

We Did Stop (The Government) – I found myself having to seriously reevaluate my take on this music video. It was something I wanted to like at first and had unreached potential, but ultimately felt a little too MAD TV-ish at times. Also, while it may seem cool to get the artist of the original song to sing on your parody version it does kind of take away the impact of the joke. It seems like any jerkoff on YouTube could've done this exact same thing, but I did actually appreciate it more upon a second viewing as I caught and laughed at some of the jokes I missed. It is a well-constructed parody video in terms of both lyrics and visuals but I’m not sure if I want to see SNL attempt more of them. Still, I have to give Taran credit for making all he could out of it as he was truly funny at times. I guess my inner Weird Al fan got the better half of me after all. B-

Piers Morgan IV - This was all right for something that felt like another tired SNL trope. I'd say Kate did the best Hilary. Kenan seemed too stiff and awkward as Sway. Bennett did a fine Bill Clinton, but we've seen better obviously. I did like the saxophone bong and Taran's "village idiot" line at the end. C+

Wrecking Ball - I do appreciate the low key vibe of this performance.

Update is improving but is still pretty middle of the road tonight. Good to see that Cecily is coming into her own in terms of delivery at least. Winners and Losers is just too played out at this point. Kates' commentary was a little too Wiigish for my tastes but she had some decent lines. Jay's Shannon Sharpe makes me laugh even though I'm not totally paying attention to it. Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy was just more of the same. B-

Aliens and Cheerleaders - This may have been a great way to utilize the entire female cast, but didn’t quite go anywhere and appeared to have pacing problems. Too bad Taran didn't have a bigger part. This reminded me too much of that sketch from the last Lindsay Lohan episode where Fred kept getting hit by a car. Also, did anyone else get a serious Hannah Montana vibe from seeing Miley in a blonde wig again? D+

Morning, Miami - This news promo sketch was pretty good just for Kate and Bobby's ridiculous lines. It's definitely funnier than a lot of the other sketches tonight. I got kind of a Wake Up and Smile meets Taran and Bobby’s Minnesota DJs vibe from it. B-

We Can’t Stop - This acoustic version really weirded me out for some reason and it has nothing to do with the fact that she has a midget in her band. It's just that this one sounds so wrong acoustically and I thought she wasn't going to do this one based on the fact that they actually did a parody of it earlier...but then again Cee-Lo Green did the same thing with "Fuck You" when Gwenyth Paltrow hosted in 2011.

Poetry Class – This didn't seem to go anywhere either. Vanessa really dragged it down. Still, I liked Aidy and Kenan's poems as well as Mike's "thank Christ" line. D+

Good Neighbor: Kyle’s Office - This short was all right, but I can't help but think how much I would've liked it more if a different female host/mg took Miley's role. I liked how Kyle thought Bobby and Beck were 500/600 years old. Good to see they're getting stuff on. It’s a good way to introduce Kyle Mooney’s oddball magical surrealist humor to the SNL audience. I hope to see more Good Neighbor shorts in the future. B-


Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting at all. Stay tuned next week when Bruce Willis and Katy Perry will be on the show and I honestly have no clue how it might go down. See you guys then!

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