Okay, here’s my review. This show, while rather
inconsistent, turned out to be the strongest of the season so far and had a lot
of things going for it compared to the previous three that aired. While the
writers are still relying on certain “tricks” too much, they didn’t rely on any
recurring premises from previous sketches tonight…so, I guess that’s a step in
the right direction. Carrey added some much needed energy to a lot of sketches
even if he didn’t seem to be giving them his all. I also appreciated the
abundance of Halloween themed sketches in the final October episode. It seems like everyone got in a lot of airtime tonight, so
kudos to Kyle Mooney for finally really breaking out as a sketch performer and
to Leslie Jones for making it into the cast after doing the same earlier in
this season. Anyway, let’s get right to it.
Ebola Czar - This cold open was pretty forgettable. Taran
was fine in his role. Kenan's Sharpton was the only thing that it could've done
without. Still, I appreciate SNL making an attempt to mock the hysteria
surrounding Ebola and choosing a more topical and relevant cold open than the
previous show. C-
Monologue - This was definitely the weakest of Carrey's
three hosting stints and had the least substance to it. It was only really
memorable for Carrey's bizarre "Helvis" costume. At least he did a
serviceable Elvis imitation and Bobby had a funny part. C-
Lincoln - This commercial parody was great. Carrey does a
much better McConaughey than Kilam did and was great at poking fun at the
pretentiousness of Matt's recent roles. B+
Carrey Family Reunion – This was a very strong performance
piece (despite being a blatant retread of the Walken reunion from '08 right
down to using the exact same set). Taran, Kyle, Beck were very funny and even
Vanessa didn't overact (even in the one sketch where it might have behooved her
to). Jay was fine here even if he played it a little too goofy. I appreciated
Cecily's Fire Marshal Bill reference and Bobby's reference to the Mask. Jeff
Daniels appearance was well timed. I did like how he and Carrey used this opportunity
to poke a little fun at themselves. I wonder who that was in the Riddler
costume? Was their part cut at dress for time? B+
Lincoln II – This was all right but the first one was
funnier. I did like the “whose kids are these?” reveal. C+
Graveyard - This was very bad. I never quite got the point
of it. It went on too long and meandered too much. The writing dragged down
pretty much every body's performances (even Jim and Bobby who must have been put
through the ringer by the makeup department tonight) Jay and Taran tried to
liven up their performances but it just wasn't working. There was also a big
camera miscue that really blew the sketch.Their explanation of their deaths was
all right. Still, at least they didn’t try to revive the Merryville brothers
again without Bill Hader. D-
Allstate/Lincoln III – This kind of meandered, but I liked
the mislead at the beginning, the visual of Kenan getting hit and the reveal of
Carrey being asleep at the wheel. I’m glad they didn’t run these into the
ground too much like they did with those Taran/Brad Pitt Chanel ads two years
ago. B-
Update was really strong joke wise, but not so much
commentary wise. Che had a good Ebola rant. Jost tried something similar but
just proved he isn't as strong as Che at stand up (but kudos to Jost anyway for
delivering three solid jokes and showing some traces of a personality). Vanessa
pretty accurately skewed the well-known tropes of romantic comedies but her
piece went on too long and just wasn't too funny when Che wasn’t trying to save
it. Drunk Uncle was more of the same but I did like the visual of Bobby
casually rolling over to Jost's side of the desk and admitting he says “super
racist” things. B+
Georgia Zombie Apocalypse - That zombie sketch was pretty
middle of the road. At times, it felt a little repetitive and dragged on a bit.
Still, Carrey and Davidson played their roles well (even if this sketch wasn’t
the best use of Davidson and still leaves the audience wondering how he could
work in most sketches). C-
Secret Billionaire - This was surprisingly funny. Bobby and
Jay were good in their supporting roles but Carrey really stole the sketch. I
liked the sheer bizarreness of his character. I especially liked his
Denis/Bryan speech. It would've even worked in a "Girlfriends Talk
Show" sketch with Carrey as Cecily's "boyfriend" but I'm glad we
got this instead of that. There were also some noticeable technical gaffes, but
they didn’t bring down this sketch. B-
Ghosts: Fact Or Fiction? - This short was a very strong use
of Leslie's performance talents and a strong debut for her as an official cast
member/featured player. B+
Chandelier Dance Off - This office costume contest sketch
felt really labored for what was essentially a rather under choreographed dance
number. Still, it was fun to see them sprawl all around the studio. I mean, Jim
Carrey/Kate McKinnon aren't exactly Steve Martin/Gilda Radner or even
Christopher Walken/Molly Shannon but it still works! It was also a nice use of
Lorne and Iggy Azalea in a sketch. Beck, Kyle and Aidy did well in this sketch.
Also, I’m sure you’re as surprised as I am that this actually made it online
with Sia’s song actually intact. I guess it wasn’t as hard to clear as it was a
fairly recent Top 40 hit. B+
Halloween Emporium - This sketch was pretty much screams
"ten-to-one" (no pun intended). Carrey played a demonically possessed
role suitably well and Cecily and Vanessa played fine off that. Good to see the
return of the sleeve concealed vomit hose after a seven year absence. C+
Now, I think I’m finally ready to rank the shows form this
season.
1. Jim Carrey/Iggy Azalea
2. Bill Hader/Hozier
3. Sarah Silverman/Maroon 5
4. Chris Pratt/Ariana Grande
Well, that was certainly enjoyable. Next week, Chris Rock
returns to host. There’s really no reason to NOT be optimistic about this episode.
We can already tell the monologue is going to be one of the best of this season
and Rock will most likely gel real well with the likes of Jones, Che, Pharroh
and Zamata. That dynamic should produce some strong comedy. See you then!
No comments:
Post a Comment