Okay, here’s my review. This was another real middle of the
road show that turned out to be more inconsistent than last week. Sarah
Silverman was a fine host, however underutilized she may have been. The cast is
still really inconsistent in terms of airtime. IT’s not a good sign when
Vanessa and Kenan are on this much and it may not have been wise for Pete Davidson
to disappear completely after such a strong debut last week. Anyway, let’s get
to it.
60 Minutes - This cold open was very middle of the road. Jay
and Taran were OK in it and some of the digs at social media were good. As a
whole it was better and more consistent than last week's open. Otherwise, it
seemed pretty forgettable. C-
Monologue - Sarah was great here. She was miles better than
Pratt's monologue was last week. Her stand up material was good. We could've
done without the lame audience interaction bit but the montage of her answering
her own audience question clips from '93-'94 was the real highlight and was a
very clever bit of editing. Still, I have to admit I was a little disappointed
that they didn't find a way to work in her ape mask clip from the Charlton
Heston monologue. B+
Ebola In Our Everything – This Fault In Our Stars parody was
very good. Taran and Sarah played very well off of each other and kudos to SNL
for being one of the first comedy outlets to find a satiric hook on TFIOS. I
think they were the first to parody this. A-
Joan Rivers Roast - This sketch was great for what it was,
although they could've done more with it. Sarah, Jay and Kate all did fine with
their impressions even if they lost it by the end of the sketch. At least they
found a way to work Sasheer in there even if her bit was a little forgettable. Adam
Levine as Freddie Mercury was possibly the worst stunt casting in the history
of television. Bobby stole the sketch as a giddy Ben Franklin. C+
Whites - This PSA had a funny start but kinda fell flat
toward the end. I'm sure I'm not the only one who was reminded of a certain
Louis CK routine by this. C+
Forgotten TV Gems - This soap opera sketch had some very
clever writing behind it even if some of the jokes could've been seen coming
from two towns over. The sting reactions at the end of each scene were the best
part. B-
Update continues to be a highpoint of the show despites its
relative inconsistency compared to last week. Che was very good and even Jost
had his moments but every time they got a decent bit going and built up some
momentum, a commentary would come along and kill it. Kenan's Al Sharpton just
came and went and god bless Sarah and Kate for trying to salvage that feminist
song bit, but it just didn't work. Kudos to Jost for at least trying to show a
sliver of human personality tonight. His bit with Che where they determined what
they can and can't say was the true highlight. B-
Riverboat - I don't quite know what to make of this sketch
except that Sarah had the strongest performance and I liked Sasheer's line
about trying to escape. Other than that, it really didn't go anywhere. C-
Cheating – This sketch was almost the strongest live piece
of the night. Sarah and Bobby really carried it. It was another piece that had
some strong writing but a little less so given how derivative it was of the
wedding toast sketch from Andrew Garfield's episode and that carpool sketch
from Baldwin's '06 show. Even though working Adam Levine into another sketch
seems a little too gratuitous, the sheer outlandishness of his part made me
chuckle. I also liked the fudge song on the radio, but it kinda fell apart at
the end. B-
Good Neighbor: Poem - This film was one of Beck and Kyle’s
stronger recent efforts. I quite liked the strong physical humor of it and how
well it contrasted against the softer moments. B-
Vitamix - Wow. Vanessa's performance in this blender sketch
makes that entire riverboat sketch seem laser focused. I'm genuinely surprised that
this even made it past dress. D-
Well, there is still hope for this season. Next week, Bill
Hader returns to host (albeit a bit soon). Frankly, I think the less cameos,
the better his episode will be. Sadly, I think at least Wiig may be guaranteed
to show up on account of being Haders’ “Skeleton Twins” costar. See you then!
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