Okay, here’s my review. This show wasn’t as good as Fallon’s
other Christmas show from two years ago, but it was still a little more
enjoyable than most of the other recent shows this season. It was another
episode that started off promising enough and then rapidly fell apart after
about two sketches. Fallon is still a decent host who tried his damndest to make
some rather weak material more bearable. Timberlakes’ efforts are also
appreciated, but all of his appearances felt a little more gratuitous. Speaking
of cameos, I feel like the ones we were all expecting (you know…the cast Fallon
has actually worked with during his tenure) would’ve been better than the cameos
we ended up getting but after seeing Fallons #saugertiesdreams tweet, I think
he may have lobbied for them. Still, I did like how they chose to give a lot of
the new cast members some airtime this week as it felt like they all got on a
lot (except for Bennett). Anyway, here it is.
Wrappingville - Timberlake's dancing mascot hasn't been done
as the cold open, so this should be interesting. Usually, I like the parody
numbers, but this time they were pretty forgettable aside from the Gotye spoof.
Jimmy's role was a nice touch. Aidy was a decent foil and the twist that she
was both of their moms was funny. I did like that they tried to add some
backstory, but some of it fell a bit flat. The deck stacker bit was funny even
if they really milked it. The Thrift Shop number might have been better if they
hadn't bungled thee lines. C+
Monologue - Fallon's musical number was nice. It probably
wasn't as good as his previous sprawling musical number, but I appreciate this
even with the whole low key vibe and all. I liked hearing his Bowie and Dylan
impressions again. The McCartney cameo felt a little gratuitous but it was also
appreciated. B-
Celebrity Family Feud – For the most part, this turned out pretty
good. It was great seeing Taran's Ashton Kutcher again and I also like how they
threw the new featured players a bone (especially Brooks playing himself). Kenan
as Steve Harvey added nothing but it was nice seeing Timberlake's Jimmy Fallon
finally and it accurately captured Jimmy’s real life enthusiasm. I can't say
the same for Fallon's Jim Parsons but at least he had the facial expressions
down and his breaking felt a little gratuitous. I did like Jay's Ice-T much
better than Armisens' and Noel's Alyson Hannigan was amusing. It wasn’t totally
accurate yet it wasn’t completely baseless either but she sold it pretty well.
Kate’s Jane Lynch was great and Milhieser’s John Cryer was fine. Thankfully,
they knew how to keep it from going on too long. B-
Doin’ it in the Twin Bed – This video reminded me too much
of the hometown tourism ad from that awful Jeremy Renner episode last year, but
I did like this sexy feminized pop twist on it. Also, it was interesting seeing
how comparatively little they've all aged since seventh grade. Overall, this
was a nice showcase for the entire female cast. B+
Barry Gibb Talk Show VI – At first, I was disgusted to see
they did this again, but seeing the real Gibb there was a nice touch. This
tells me he was probably a fan of the sketch and this had his blessing. Seeing
Taran's Paul Ryan was nice, but Madonna's cameo was completely pointless as was
Cecily getting no lines as Megyn Kelly so Fallon could scream over her (as
entertaining as that aspect of his impression may be). They could've utilized
that impression more effectively. Still, I did like the “skeleton selfie/diamonds”
numbers. C+
Update was a little inconsistent. Aside from "Dork
Dynasty" and the Kathie Lee/Hoda intervention line, Seth seems to just be
phoning it in. Cecily is still getting a little better. Kate's Billie Jean King
commentary was all right but not as good or as memorable as some of her others.
The Fallon/Bloomberg commentary also seemed to go nowhere, but seeing him
reminisce with Seth was nice. C-
Waking Up With Kimye II – This also feels too soon to bring
back and it also felt way too underwritten. Did they have to cut a lot of this
for time at the last minute or something? The Bound 2 spoof was okay, but it
already felt too played out. Still, Jay's Kanye is still a decent impression.
D+
Now That's What I Call Christmas - This seemed like a pale
imitator of the Buble Christmas duets from Fallon's last show. What's odd is
that while a lot of the impressions in this were accurate and funny (Bocceli,
Rickman, DMX, Alanis, Shakira) they just didn't feel all that relevant. Still,
I did like the Lorde/Harry Styles and Fallon-as-Buble-and-Pitbull bits. I also
liked how this sketch really gave Kyle Mooney and John Milheiser a chance to
perform even though I can’t say that much about their Axl Rose/Billie Joe
impressions. C+
A Christmas Carol - This closeted Ebeneezer Scrooge bit
seems too much like something they would've done in 04-05 or 09-10 but I have
to admire how Taran and Jimmy were really selling it. Thankfully, they knew how
to keep this one short and it had a solid ending for what it was. C-
Baby Its Cold Outside - I was a little confused as to why
Jimmy and Cecily seemed to just be doing a straight rendition of this at first but I'll admit they had a pretty decent twist
on it. Still, I have to say Key and Peele did a much funnier twist on this
holiday standard. C+
Well, that was the Christmas show. Usually, it seems like
they save their best material for these shows but this year may have been the exception
to that rule. I knew they couldn’t keep up that streak of good Christmas shows
going for too long. Now, to update my rankings for this season…
1. Kerry Washington/Eminem
2. Miley Cyrus
3. Lady Gaga
4. Bruce Willis/Katy Perry
5. Tina Fey/Arcade Fire
6. Paul Rudd/One Direction
7. Josh Hutcherson/Haim
8. Jimmy Fallon/Justin Timberlake
9. John Goodman/Kings of Leon
10. Edward Norton/Janelle Monae
The show returns on January 18 with Drake pulling double
duty as both host and musical guest. Since he released a new album, it shouldn’t
be a surprise that he would appear at some point during this season. Now, Drake
is an odd choice for host but he could go either way. After all, he came from
similar backgrounds as Justin, Britney, Xtina, and even Miley and Taylor more
recently. Those kids turned out fine as hosts. Still, for some reason I can't
picture him doing sketch comedy that easily. I’m starting to think that maybe
the Amy Adams/Drake episode for 12/7 actually WAS planned but Adams had to back
out at some point. Then again, having Rudd with all the Anchorman cast on at
once was probably something they had to have planned in advance as well. That
probably wouldn’t explain why someone thought Drake could host the show too but…ah,
whatever. What I’m really getting at is it really feels like a weird sign of
decline to have THREE double duty hosts in the same season. I can’t even
remember the last ti…oh wait, they did it last season, too but never before
THAT…wow. Anyway, see you next year!