Monday, February 16, 2015

40th Anniversary Special (2.15.2015)

Overall, I thought this anniversary special was quite good. The first hour was especially strong (except for the non T.Swift/B. White/L. Newman portions of The Californians & the McCarthy portion of Update).

Seriously, why couldn't Laraine Newman have cameoed in EVERY Californians sketch? 

The montages were quite well put together and creative compared to the previous anniversary specials. Even the big musical number led by Short and Rudolph was fun even (as awkwardly paced as it was). As the show went on, these are the things I couldn’t help but notice.

Loved seeing Jane Curtin do Weekend Update w/Tina &Amy but I can't tell from her facial expressions if she REALLY wanted to be there.

Chevy Chase looks like his cummerbund fell in the toilet.

Apparently, Martin Short doesn't remember the other two times he hosted either.

You'd think Eddie Murphy would do more than stall for time during a THREE AND A HALF HOUR SHOW if they hyped his appearance up so much. Then again, I suppose it’s best he didn’t do one of his old Dick Ebersol era bits. I mean, Mr Robinson’s Neighborhood is the only one that would even come CLOSE to holding up in 2015.

That brief clip of a Mike Meyers/Wayne Gretzky hockey match during the Jeter and Manning sports montage may be the first or second time it's ever been rebroadcast.

That may be the worst Paul Simon cover ever, but it is somehow the only worthwhile moment of Miley Cyrus' whole career.

Louis CK provided a great intro to the short film montage. It would’ve been great if he had a chance to do stand up and riff on the audience like Robin Williams did at the 15th and Billy Crystal/Fernando did in the 25th. The Digital Short that followed it was a hilarious way to begin closing out the show.

That was quite an awkward Q&A but fortunately for Jerry Seinfeld, NONE of it was his fault.

20 years ago, New York Magazine called the late “bad boys” era of SNL "embarrassing and poignant". 20 years later, I evoke those same words to describe Kanye's #SNL40 performance (especially since he opened it with “Jesus Walks” in 2015).

Apparently, you can say "dick" unbleeped at 8PM on NBC but god forbid you say "shit" or "goddamn" any time after that.


I really appreciate how that "In Memoriam" included both cast AND crew.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

J.K. Simmons/D'Angelo (1.31.2015)

Okay, here’s my review. After those last two lethargic shows dragged in the New Year, this has to be the strongest SNL episode of 2015 so far. Still, we have seen better in terms of this season overall. Even though some of the problems that have been plaguing the writing are still present, the performances from the host and cast really carried this one. JK Simmons was certainly a welcome presence at studio 8H and he sure must have lit a fire under the casts’ collective asses this week. Also, they are still holding back on recurring sketches and characters (save for one) as they have been the past month which is always a sign that they’re at least taking baby steps in the right direction. My only real complaint about tonights’ show would be that Beck Bennett wasn’t in any sketches. He literally only showed up for the goodnights. Anyway, here it is.

Super Bowl Shut Down - This Marshawn Lynch/Richard Sherman open was good. It was a fine way for SNL to hit the topical stuff right out of the gate. Jay did a fine Sherman. His yelling and insulting people was funny (especially Mayor DiBlasio). Kenan didn't add much as Marshawn Lynch and his portrayal paled in comparison to that of Jordan Peele. Taran, Bobby and Sasheer had some funny lines, although their parts felt a little pointless. C+

Monologue - JK Simmons really delivered here. He had great delivery and poked fun at himself quite well. His yelling at the cast was great and Kyle, Pete, Leslie and Aidy all played quite well off him. Still, I suppose this was mostly aimed at people who have already seen Whiplash. The Fred Armisen cameo was wholly unnecessary (especially since it was at least his second cameo this season in the span of two months) but it was too brief and surrounded by too many solid performers to ruin the monologue. Also, it was thankfully his only appearance of the night. B-

Totinos Super Bowl Activity Kit  - This was something I didn't quite know what to make of but I do know it feels too early in the show for a Vanessa centered piece and I could definitely see some particularly dim but “well-meaning” comments calling it sexist (even though its intent was purely the opposite of that). D+

Miss Trash 2015  - This felt like a cross between the "Douchebag Of The Year" sketch from Seth Rogen's '07 episode and the Miss Universe sketch from Kerry Washington's episode last season. Srill, it was a decent example of an often used but not quite beaten into the ground yet SNL trope. JK Simmons was a very funny host. Aidy's performance was the true highlight of this sketch. Cecily and Kate played their parts well although something about Kate's character seem dated. Still, I couldn't help but feel like something was missing. This sketch could've made better use of this, but at least they kept this from running on too long. B-

Casablanca Alternate Ending - This sketch was well performed by JK and slightly overacted by Kate. Still, only Kate has the performance skills to make this watchable. It had several attempts at jokes throughout, but it seemed a little light on actual humor. Despite reminding me too much of something that might fall more into Wiig or Cecily’s or Anderlette’s wheelhouse it was the strongest Reese De'What involved sketch so far. C-

Teacher Snow Day - This seemed like a less funny retread of last month's Office Christmas Party from last month but damn if it wasn't fun and I'll be damned if the cast and JK didn't perform the hell out of it. B+

Update was pretty inconsistent. Aside from Josts' Romney/Disney Latine Princess jokes and Ches' rant and bat triaal line, most of it was forgettable. Cecily's One Dimensional Woman character was the absolute last thing I would expect to recur, but I did like the American Sniper reference. I was very excited to see the return of Jebediah Atkinson and while he had plenty of great lines even if I saw his jabs at Meghan Trainor/U2 jabs coming from two miles away, it made me realize that this bit doesn't work as well when the audience doesn't groan at his "edgier" jokes and leaves Taran to clutch at straws when they do. C+

Pushie - It seems far too late for SNL to do Microsoft Office Clippy jokes as they have already been beaten to the ground. Still, this sketch gets much more entertaining as it goes on and builds to something and reveals some actual writing. Bobby and JKs performances alone made me laugh and Aidy played well off both of them. To recap, surprisingly good sketch, odd use of green screen.

The Jay-Z Story - I wanted to check out of this as soon as I heard the name "Mike O'Brien" but I'm glad I gave it a chance because it turned out much better than I expected. I liked Mike's interactions w/Taran, Sasheer as Beyonce ;) and Jay slowly slipping into his actual Jay-Z impression. The scene with JK Simmons as Nas was funny and of course the surprise appearance of Jason Fucking Sudekis as "Kanye" made the whole night for me. B-

Japanese Messy Boy – This was possibly the strongest live segment of the night. JK pulled off a role that only an older distinguished male host w/lots of odd roles under his belt could do like a Walken or a Malkovich. His interactions with Leslie and Bobby really made the sketch for me and it was perfect to end the show on. I can't even remember the last time I saw a new episode of SNL end with a good old fashioned bizarre, experimental ten-to-one sketch like that. A-

Goodnights – These may have just earned second place behind Kirstie Alley’s ’91 show for longest goodnights ever. They would probably tie if they had shown this cast walking off stage and heading out for last night’s after party.

Now, for my updated rankings for this season…

1. Woody Harrelson/Kendrick Lamar
2. Martin Freeman/Charli XCX
3. Jim Carrey/Iggy Azalea
4. James Franco/Nicki Minaj
5. J.K. Simmons/D’Angelo
6. Bill Hader/Hozier
7. Blake Shelton
8. Kevin Hart/Sia
9. Cameron Diaz/Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars
10. Amy Adams/One Direction
11. Chris Pratt/Ariana Grande
12. Sarah Silverman/Maroon 5
13. Chris Rock/Prince


Well, that show was a breath of fresh air. I guess it was too much to expect for SNL to have announced the host/MG lineup for its’ February 28 show by the end of tonight, but I’m looking forward to the 40th anniversary special in two weeks and I’m sure they’ll release a press release soon enough after that. In fact, I’ve been thinking of reviewing the anniversary shows to fill the void, but I highly doubt I will have the time (or the energy) to do so with my new job starting tomorrow morning. See you soon!