Okay, here’s my review. This has to be the most inconsistent
show in a long time. While there were bright spots here and there, the bleaker
spots made this episode a strong contender for worst episode of this season. Seriously,
something about this show made me really hesitate to even bother posting this
review. In fact, I almost considered
giving up doing SNL reviews forever. Chris Rock proved to be a strong host.
Even though he didn’t seem to be giving it his all, he showed he is still in
touch with the show to a degree. At least Jay, Sasheer, Leslie, Beck, Kyle and
Taran got plenty of screen time. Anyway, here we are.
The Kelly File - This cold open already seems pretty dated,
but there have been less relevant and less topical opens this season. Kate and
Bobby were great in it. C+
Monologue - Chris Rock had a better monologue last time he
hosted, but this one had funny moments. The jokes about the freedom tower and
holiday commercialization were great. I'm just as surprised as you probably are
that the Boston Marathon isn't as taboo a comedy subject as it was a mere 18
months ago but I do hope Michael Che is taking notes. He could probably learn a
thing or two about finding humor in uncomfortable places. C+
How 2 Dance w/Janelle - It's nice to see Sasheer finally
break out with one of her own sketches. She did just fine, but her performance
was pretty forgettable aside from the dancing. Jay and Chris were great in it
(despite Jay seeming to miss his first mark) but Kyle and his latent creepiness
and patented uncomfortable acting was the true highlight for me. Unfortunately,
this isn't really the first time SNL has traveled to the "creeps on the
internet" well to mine for humor and they've done it more successfully in
the past. Still, this was just fine for what it was. C+
GoProbe - The GoPro colonoscopy sketch turned out
surprisingly funny despite looking like a legitimate GoPro commercial for about
the first full minute. Beck and Taran had quite a few funny lines but Kyle
seemed oddly out of place here. I did like the doctors reactions and the
"grandpas colonoscopy" clip. Also, with the juxtaposition of
"extreme sports" and rectal health themed humor...did this remind
anyone else of the Preparation H commercial from 01-02? C+
How's He Doing III? - This is probably a sketch we all
should've seen coming given the host. It would've felt too stale and run into
the ground if it weren't for the additions of Sasheer and Leslie to the cast.
They were welcome additions here and Sasheer managed to contribute more here
than she did to a sketch that actually centered around her character. Chris
also did well here. B-
Update was pretty inconsistent tonight. Jost had a couple of
good jokes and Che had a few. His Prince name drop was a nice save from that
disastrous Tim Cook flub. Pete Davidson was funny. Even though it didn't
actually get funny until the "allergic to condoms" bit, it may have
been his weakest (or second weakest) commentary of the three he's done so far. It
was still much funnier than Brooks Wheelan’s commentary on STDs form last
season. Kenan turned in a decent performance as Suge Knight but I think the
novelty of Katt Williams impressions on SNL has finally wore off. Sorry, Jay.
C-
Shark Tank II – Working ISIS into this sketch seemed like a
rather misguided attempt to be topical and edgy at the same time. Even the live
audience didn't know how to react to it. Seriously, it was like this decade’s
"America's Funniest Hate Videos". Still, it was better than the
previous Shark Tank sketch they did when Kevin Hart hosted but not nearly as
good as the ISIS jokes from the South Park season premiere two months ago. D-
Swiftamine – This seemed pretty underwritten and more like
something SNL should've done two years ago when "Red" came out. Beck,
Taran and Leslies' performances we're the only highlights but they were really
sailing on weak material. Hey, how much do you wanna bet that this was written
by either Colin Jost or Anderson/Sublette? D+
Old Couple - This Leslie/Chris old couple sketch feels like
a throwback to a bygone era. If it weren't for the tacked on Uber references,
this could of been a lost dress cut from the "bad boys" era that had
David Spade and Ellen Cleghorne playing Bobby and Leslie's parts. Sadly, the
most memorable thing about this sketch was when Leslie missed what appeared to
be several cues at once and badly threw off the timing off the whole scene (a
rare miss for her). D-
Good Neighbor: Bank Robbers - This sketch was very well
done. It was one of tonight's stronger pieces even though I saw every joke
coming two miles away since it played out exactly the way it read in
FeaturingEmilyPrager's dress rundown. C+
Women in the Workplace: Tape #5: Dealing w/Diversity - This
diversity video was the best sketch of the night. This version was much better
than the original sketch that aired during Melissa McCarthy's 2013 show. Chris
and Vanessa played especially well off each other and Kate and Cecily bought
something new to their characters that was missing last time. B+
Well, that was certainly a disappointment. In two weeks, Woody
Harrelson hosts. He was a good host in ’89 and ’92, but SNL was such a
completely different show back then that I don’t know if Woody will be able to
gel with THIS cast at all and this show certainly didn’t do anything to assuage
those fears. Oh well. See you then!
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