Okay, here’s my review. This show seemed to have a lot of
potential to be better when it started, but it all went to waste. Even though I
have to admire Melissa’s determination and dedication to sketch comedy, this
seems to be the second time the show has simply deteriorated around her
although the writers can probably share some of the blame with her on that. There
were some bright spots here and there but otherwise it felt too much like a
repeat of her episode form last year. McCarthy and Timberlake are repeat hosts
who have something in common in that the show always feels pretty much the same
whenever they host. The only difference is that in McCarthy’s case, it has more
to do with her playing the same character hosts than it does repeating specific
sketches. Still, this episode was good for some newer cast members in that it
gave them more substantial roles. Anyway, let’s get on with it.
Super Bowl Halftime - This cold open was a more fun and
creative one than a lot of the ones they've done this season. The entire cast
did well in it although I feel like McCarthy bought the whole thing to a
grinding halt. Seeing Jay's Michael Strahan again was good. I liked how he
looked so gleeful and delighted with the whole thing while the other color men
looked disgusted. I also liked how he looked like he was wearing Bill Brasky
teeth the whole time. The musical number was fine and Kenan, Taran and Kyle were
particularly good in it but it started to get a little tiresome and repetitive
after Melissa showed up. Also, Kudos to Beck for getting in on some of that
LFNY action. C+
Monologue - This was a lot more fun than both of her first
ones put together despite a glaring technical miscue. Bobby was great in it and
the pretaped segment with her berating him after the show was funny. The wired
segments weren't much but kudos to Bobby and Melissa for toughing it out
through that. Taran's parts were ok and I did like Melissa's line about being
married to Richard Sherman despite it not really having a point. C+
CVS - This ad was fine but I feel like it was too similar to
something they did before in the Steve Martin '06 episode. Still, I liked the
Taran/Sasheer face tickling bit. B-
Delaware One News Report - I'm surprised they actually
thought to recur Melissa's Sheila Kelley character from her last episode, but I
guess the Rep. Grimm story kind of called for it. I liked this better the
second time, but it felt like something that had a little more unreached comedic
potential. B-
Women’s Club – This sketch was okay. I did like the mix of
more subtle, female humor with some Adam McKay style dark comedy but again, I
feel like they could've taken it a little further without going on too long. I
did like the transition between this and the Kelley piece. That's something
they haven't done a lot lately and they did pull it off well. I also appreciate
how this sketch had a feel like something about the writing on SNL was finally
headed in a different direction. This had to be the best live segment of the
night by default. B+
Guess That Phrase - This game show sketch felt like both SNL
and Melissa McCarthy were both leaning on their respective worn out crutches
simultaneously. This gave me bad flashbacks to Melissa's ranch dressing/pizza
loan/knock off wheel of fortune sketches and felt like it was way too long.
Still, the only thing that was actually good about this sketch was how it
showed that the show was working Beck Bennett into sketches more prominently.
D+
Black History Month - This music video was okay, but again,
they could've gone a little further with the whole premise than just
emphasizing slavery. It might have been the most one note sketch of the night,
but I did like how Jay was committed to it and Bobby's part was funny. Also,
did anyone else think Kate STRONGLY resembled Mean Girls era Tina Fey here?
Update was just barely saved from being forgettable tonight.
It's good to see they gave Cecily a lot of the better jokes (although the
Bush/Obama one made me cringe). I liked the "sexcercise" one and
Seth's Pope/bird joke and I'm sure there were a few more but those were the
only ones I remember at the moment. Taran's Atlanta guy commentary was good
only because of him. He made the absolute most out of a really shaky and
derivative premise and it made me think about how I would've cringed at someone
like Wiig or McCarthy delivering this. Seth had an enjoyable sendoff even if it
felt a little drawn out. Seeing the return of Hader and Stefon with a call back
to the "Kevin" club was the best moment of the night hands down for
me. It was nice to see Hader finally make his obligatory next season cameo. Amy
was nice, but the frequency of her cameos kinda took away from it. Even Andy's
cameo and Fred as Gov. Patterson (for the sheer unexpectedness of it) were nice
touches. I did like how it was more sincerely heartfelt than Amy's despite
being very bit heavy. B+
Museum - This was just an incoherent mess but McCarthy's
performance and how it made prominent use of Kyle, Nassim. Kenan and even Mike
and Noel's one lines were also okay but this might just be the nadir of this
season's writing problems. D-
Girlfriends Talk Show V - I don't really care all that much
for these girlfriends talk show sketches but I do like how they're establishing
some continuity to them. Melissa was decent here and Aidy carried this sketch
as usual (I did like her "not allowed to use Twitter" line) but I
feel it devolved too quickly into derivative meandering again. Also, does it
seem odd to anyone else that they placed this so late in the show? C+
Diane - This sketch got better as it went along Bobby's
narration made it for me. Thankfully, they didn't keep it running on too long.
It got in, established its running joke, hung out for a little bit and got out.
C+
Good Neighbor: Kyle at the Superbowl - I'm pretty thrilled
they found a way for Kyle to do his "man on the street" interviews on
the show. I just wish it wasn't the very last segment of a pretty weak show.
Still, this was probably the most fun thing I saw on the show tonight and even
it felt like it could've been edited down just a bit. His interactions with the
"suberbowl sucks" and Mario guys made the whole segment for me. I
hope we get to see more of these from Kyle if they could just tweak the format
a little bit. B+
Well, that episode certainly came and went. Here are my
updated 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. Drake
8. Jonah Hill/Bastille
9. Josh Hutcherson/Haim
10. Jimmy Fallon/Justin Timberlake
11. Melissa McCarthy/Imagine Dragons
11. John Goodman/Kings of Leon
12. Edward Norton/Janelle Monae
It feels a little unsettling that they apparently haven't booked
a host for March 1st yet, but see ya then!
