Okay, here’s my review. This episode really showed some
promise for the rest of this season of SNL. It may honestly rival Carrey’s
episode for best of the season so far. They recovered nicely from the mostly disastrous
Chris Rock episode two weeks ago and Woody proved to be a fine host and
connected effortlessly with this cast. Most of the cast got a fair amount of
screen time tonight, but a little more Bobby, Jay and Aidy wouldn’t have hurt.
Anyway, let’s get right to it.
Obama And McConnell Have Drinks - This cold open was a
little forgettable but it sure was fun while it lasted. I was expecting Beck to
play Mitch McConnell, but Taran did a fine job and really added something to
the character rather than just doing a straight impression. The Hillary prank call,
"black president" and Michelle bits were funny. B-
Monologue – Woody was fun, but this kinda dragged a little
and seemed sloppy and under rehearsed). His singing a parody of Taylor Swift's
1989 came completely out of left field (hell, for a whole minute I thought he
was singing a parody of Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69”) but his lyrics were
pretty funny. After this and the “Swiftamine” piece in the last show, I’d be
genuinely surprised if Taylor Swift doesn’t host by the end of this season. The
cameos from his Hunger Games costars felt a little gratuitous but Lawrence was
the only one that made me wonder why she wasn't hosting in Woody's place. Also,
Woody kissing her legs looked quite bizarre. She was probably still dealing
with the nude photo scandal fall out when they (might have) asked her, but
between this and her recent Colbert appearance promoting the new “Hunger Games”
flick it's nice to see her start to move away from it. B-
The Dudleys - This was a clever filmed piece. It was a
decent way for SNL to poke fun at the overly PC attitudes of today's social
media and show them as taken to their extremes (even as it may or may not apply
to criticisms of their show). The “Crazy Eyes” cameo was a little tacked on but
Woody played his role quite well and the bit about the little girl being in the
army was funny. B+
MTV’s Match'd - This was actually a well written dating show
parody. Beck, Taran, Kyle and Woody all played their parts very well and had
plenty of hilarious lines. I especially liked Woody's reveal that Cecily is his
daughter, Taran's bit about the panties and Beck's poem. A-
A New Day - This was a good use of Pete, Leslie and Woody
but it otherwise dragged and could've benefitted from some editing. I did like
the visual of Woody with blonde white dreads and Pete's speech/RugRats bit at
the end. C+
Locker Room -This was very funny. Woody and Kenan played
their parts very well and I liked the visual of the helmets but it did feel a
little dated as South Park and Key & Peele already did football/concussion
satire brilliantly. B-
Young Tarts And Old Farts - This was a decent impression
showcase, even if the Bennett/Gaga duets album feels like old news by now.
Cecily's Arianna was pretty accurate. Kenan wasn't the best choice to play
Lionel Richie but he played well off Cecily. Kenan did better as B.B. King,
though. Aidy didn't add much as Meghan Trainor but I guess that impression was
going to be inevitable. Woody was all right as James Taylor and had some good
lines playing off Taran's great Sam Smith. Taran also did a great Manilow
tooling on Kendrick Lamar. Bobby’s PSY feels a little too dated in 2014, but
Kyle and Taran as Crosby and Stills were okay. Sasheer had a good line playing
off of Kyles' passable Macklemore. Leslie had a funny line as Aretha Franklin
and Kate did some nice physical humor as Robyn. Kudos to Leslie and the writers
who finally found an impression that worked for her. Beck's Elton John was
surprisingly accurate and I wouldn't mind seeing more of it in the future. The
Lorde/Miley bit at the end was just okay. We honestly could've done without it.
B-
Update was fairly strong tonight. Che had several strong
jokes and even Jost had a few. They even did the obligatory Kardashian/Paper Magazine
jokes well what with Che’s “dat ass doe” and Josts’ “back to real news”. Leslie
Jones had another strong commentary and her screaming "look at my
breasts" at Colin was great. The True Detective commentary was good and
Taran was very animated as McConaghey although I liked his last McConaghey
commentary better. B-
Old New York – This was okay. The cast performed it well
even though some of the dialogue felt a little bit off, but it seemed pretty
one note. The attempted arrest at the beginning was funny, though. C+
Campfire - That guitar/camping sketch felt like the first
real bomb of the night. It felt too much like a 10-11 era Armisen sketch to me
but the water gags were funny. D+
Sheila Sovage IV - As soon as I saw Kates’ shirt and wig, I
knew exactly where this last sketch was headed. I figured I'd give it another
chance just to see how Woody would play off her. I liked Woody's
"eyebrows" and “dejaculated” lines as well as Kate's "plastering
gloryholes". It did get more fun from there with the cling wrap bit as
well as Kenan reading a bible and soaking the bar in gasoline. Woody definitely
had more fun with this than Vaughn and Goodman seemed to and thankfully they
didn't let this one go on too long. This one was second only to the original
with Louis C.K. B+
Now, for my rankings of this season so far from best to
worst…
1. Woody
Harrelson/Kendrick Lamar
2. Jim
Carrey/Iggy Azalea
3. Bill
Hader/Hozier
4. Sarah
Silverman/Maroon 5
5. Chris
Pratt/Ariana Grande
6. Chris
Rock/Prince
Well, that episode was really a breath of fresh air. Next week,
Cameron Diaz hosts the Thanksgiving show. I can’t really say I have the same high
hopes for her as much as I did for Woody. She’s hosted three previous times already
and we already saw what she was capable of. I just don’t know how well the show’s
current writing will serve her, but let’s hope it continues on the same upswing
its’ been on with this show. See you soon!
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