Okay, here’s my review. This episode was pretty middle of
the road of this season, but it was certainly a breath of fresh air from the
last two episodes with Johnson and Hemsworth. The Rock certainly delivered as a
host again. He still is a talented comedic performer with a strong presence that
almost makes up for the continually uninspired writing this season. He also
manages to bring out the best in the current cast as talented performers as
they are. As far as musical guests go, I have to say George Ezra does have
quite a similar voice to Ray Lamontange who was the MG during The Rocks'
previous show in '09. They both seem like MGs that he specifically requested.
He must have a real specific taste in music. Anyway, here it goes.
The Rock Obama III - I don't think anyone DIDN'T expect SNL
to bring this out of mothballs but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by
how they were able to make it seem as fresh, topical and relevant as it did six
years ago although Dwayne’s impression seems to be slipping a bit. Taran and
Bobby played well off each other although since they have both now played Ted
Cruz I have to wonder what they're gonna do with the election material over the
next couple of seasons. The only real weak points in this sketch were how bad
Kyle and Becks' fake limbs looked and how Sasheer and Leslie has such small
parts were as clever of twists as they were. B-
Monologue - This was more enjoyable than it had any right to
be. Dwaynes "franchise Viagra" lines were funny as well as his jabs
at Smurfs/Theory Of Everything. All in all, The Rock and the girls had the
charisma to make such a sliver of premise watchable. B-
Pep Boys - This was funny. Beck, Taran, Bobby and Andy all
had great lines and Kate and Sasheer played off them well but Starbucks
canceling their race discussion campaign kind of removes some topicality from
it. C+
WWE Promo Shoot - This sketch felt like a derivative premise
but Dwayne wrestling background helped him pull this off and Bobby played off
him well. I did like the Family Guy porn and intricate catfish bits. B-
Bambi Remake - This felt like the first bit of clever
writing all night. The makeup team really deserves some kudos. Jay, Dwayne and
Taran performed really well here. B-
Dinner Date – This felt like a sketch premise that has been
done before but The Rock turned in a funny performance and it was nice to see
Cecily try a different type of accent for once. Also, The Rock’s character
reminded me a bit of the character he played in his “Goombahs” sketch from his
first show. C+
Escape From Jungle Island - This sketch seems like the most physically
and scatalogically daring sketch SNL has done in years. It felt like a sketch
that could've been cut from the dress rehearsal of The Rocks 99-00 show. In
fact, it reminded me a lot of the “Today’s Lady” sketch from that show. As far
as who could’ve wrote this, I also detect some traces of Anderlette but based
on his Update commentaries from the Pratt/Rock episodes last fall it seems more
to me like something Pete Davidson had a hand in writing. It seemed pretty one
note but they kept it from going on too long at least. Again, Kate was an
interesting casting choice. Speaking of which, did anyone else get some serious
Ace and Gary flashbacks watching this? C+
Brogaine - This almost seemed like a premise that was
beneath SNL but the Good Neighbor style of comedy really added something of
value to it. Even Kenan and Sasheer gave us some laughs and I liked the OU/SAE
racist chant jab. B-
Update was really strong tonight. A bunch of the jokes were
really solid. Che's Ted Cruz jab was great as relatively toothless as it
seemed. Josts' rant on The Jinx has to be the most animated we've seen him on
SNL. Kates' Russian commentary was fun even if I saw some of the jokes coming
from two towns over. Hell, I’m surprised she didn’t make a joke about how they
just got Eminems’ “My Name Is” in Russia. Also, was anyone else reminded of
Pete Holmes during the “Well Played, Devil” line? Still, I did like the Etta
James/Hunger Games Jokes. They built up a lot of momentum until Kenan bough it
all to a screeching halt. B-
Cooking With Paul - This was something a little different
for Kenan. He played well off The Rock and even though they relied on that
Internet gag a bit much I do like how they just got in, got its laughs and got
right out. B-
Improv Team - I really enjoyed this. Kate as Robert Durst
was clever stunt casting and I liked Cecily's part as well. What made me
appreciate this sketch is how accurate it was to all the improve shows I have
seen in college right down to the entrances and audience interview shtick. I
also appreciate how they ended this sketch at just the right moment as well. B-
Interrogation - This sketch seemed like it's took a while to
build to something. There wasn’t much more to it than The Rock playing against
his tough guy/action star persona. Still, he may be the only host who can
really pull it off. Also, it felt like Vanessa’s first appearance of the night
although upon further examination, it was her third. Perhaps they’re phasing
her out? C+
Kyles’ street interview was a good choice to cap off this
episode. The reactions from all the kids really made this one for me. B+
Now, for my updated rankings of 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. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson/George Ezra
7. Dakota Johnson/Alabama Shakes
8. Bill Hader/Hozier
9. Blake Shelton
10. Kevin Hart/Sia
11. Cameron Diaz/Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars
12. Amy Adams/One Direction
13. Chris Pratt/Ariana Grande
14. Sarah Silverman/Maroon 5
15. Chris Rock/Prince
16. Chris Hemsworth/Zac Brown Band
Well, that show was certainly a pleasant surprise at this
point in the season. Next week, Michael Keaton returns to host and I sure hope
he is still more of a host in the same vein as The Rock or Woody Harrelson or
even Martin Freeman. See you soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment