Okay, here’s my review. This was one of the more frustrating
episodes of this season. The writing got more reliant on recurring premises and
the rest of the show became more reliant on filmed sketches. The show was
taking two steps in the right directions the past two weeks but ended up taking
three steps back tonight. Taraji P Henson was a promising host but she was just
as underutilized as ever and even when she was used could come off as a little
overbearing at times. Anyway, here it is.
Hillary’s Big Announcement – This cold open was pretty
solid. Kate's Hillary has noticeably improved from last month. It still seems
like they are taking some time to find an angle on her inevitable presidential
run, though. Some of it felt like material they would've written For Sudekis as
Romney, though. Good to see Hammond bring his Slick Willie out of mothballs
although it still remains unclear as to whether he prerecords his announcements
or not. B+
Monologue – This could've been so much better. I do
appreciate the level of sheer commitment and enthusiasm she is bringing to the
show but something was seriously lacking from this number. Plus, the fact that
this is the third straight musical monologue in three weeks is quite troubling.
Thankfully, the cast was able to save this one. C-
Depends Legends – This ad is certainly different. It's definitely
the most tolerable fecal based ad I've ever seen on SNL. I'm not surprised this
was cut from dress last week but I am surprised that they thought it was worth
bringing back. C-
Teacher On Trial – This felt very derivative and played out
but Pete's natural charisma carried this. His long list of nicknames made the
whole sketch for me. Other than that, it's a little eerie how similar this is
to a fan written sketch that was posted on the S-N-L.com forum. C+
Home Sequels – This ad was decent for just another cheap
impression showcase. Taran's Jim Parsons was very funny and accurate and
Taraji's Nicki Minaj was much better than Sasheers'. Good to see they found a
way to work in Pete as one half of Die Antwoord. Jay's Kendrick Lamar was all right.
It was the only other impression we haven't seen before. This is probably gonna
hold up very poorly if Home turns out to be a flop. C+
QVC – This sketch has to be the biggest waste of Kate
McKinnon ever. Speaking of which, did anyone get a serious Molly Shannon vibe
from her? Also, why couldn't they just admit she was supposed to be playing
Lisa Minelli in this? Anyway, this pretty much SCREAMS Anderlette to me. D+
John Singletons’ Game Of Thrones – This seemed like a real
misfire to me. Maybe I'm just not familiar enough with Singletons' movies to
get this but it barely seemed like it knew what it wanted to parody. It even
made the QVC sketch look Focused. Still, I do appreciate them using Che in
another sketch and Kenans attempt at Ice Cube. I am surprised the real Jon Snow
got zero applause. I will admit, though, that it was a little better upon a
second viewing. C-
Update was pretty inconsistent tonight. The jokes started
out weak (I could see Josts' Hillary/Game Of Thrones punchline coming from two
towns over) but they picked up after Kate's commentary. For some reason, Josts'
grilled cheese/What? Magazine/7-11 joke mades me laugh as did Che's white
people rioting joke. Speaking of Kate, that Italian lady of hers was a
character that didn't need to come back but I did like the gargoyle bit. Jacob
may not have needed to come back wither but Billy Crystal's cameo was certainly
interesting. Namely, it was interesting in that it was the first time in 30
years Billy Crystal has been on SNL (outside of an anniversary special) and he
came back to do some stealth plugging for a lame FX show. Still, for all the
shit we give Crystal on this board, I found his cameo corny yet oddly
endearing. I did like how he was able to mimic Vanessa rhythms and enthusiasm
as well as the Fernando callback. However, when a cameo from Billy Crystal is a
highpoint of an SNL episode in 2015 something may have gone horribly wrong. B+
Hollywood Game Night II – This was another sketch that was
better the first time it was done. I did like the return of Beck's Nick
Offerman and Taran's Vin Diesel (even if he just did it two weeks ago).
Taraji's Wanda Sykes was a little dodgy and Jay's Common sounded more like his
Drake. Still, I did like Kate's Jane Lynch, Aidy's Winona and Cecily's Marion
Cotillard. C-
Dancing With Janelle II – This was surprisingly much better
than the first installment. Mostly, because it was shorter and more succinct
and Taraji and Kyle were far more committed to it than Chris Rock was. B+
Cinema Classics III – This latest Resse De’What sketch was
probably the strongest one of these sketches in recent memory. I gotta hand it
to SNL for attempting some kind of racial commentary and keeping this sketch
quick, sharp and right to the point. Bobby’s out of nowhere drag appearance
made me laugh. Thankfully, they went a different route than making THAT the
sole focus of the sketch. My only real complaint here would be how they
apparently felt the need to distance themselves from the source material they were
parodying and how this was the second sketch of the night to do so. Still,
Taran did a decent Tom Hanks whether he was supposed to or not. If I was wrong
and THIS turned out to be tonight’s Anderlette sketch, than it was surprisingly
good, even for their standards. C+
Cookie On Sesame Street - This Sesame Street/Empire mash up
seemed like a half thought out premise but Taraji and the other performers
really made the most of it. This seems like the type of thing Kelly and Schneider
would have written. C+
Connectatron - This sketch had an
overly long setup to too quick of a joke and seemed too close to a Key and
Peele sketch for me to get into. Plus, it was the third or fourth sketch of the
night to follow a certain trend. D+
Now, for my updated rankings…
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. Michael Keaton/Carly Rae Jepsen
7. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson/George Ezra
8. Dakota Johnson/Alabama Shakes
9. Taraji P. Henson/Mumford And Sons
10. Bill Hader/Hozier
11. Blake Shelton
12. Kevin Hart/Sia
13. Cameron Diaz/Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars
14. Amy Adams/One Direction
15. Chris Pratt/Ariana Grande
16. Sarah Silverman/Maroon 5
17. Chris Rock/Prince
18. Chris Hemsworth/Zac Brown Band
Well, that was that. Next week, Scarlett Johansson returns
to host. Given how this show as well as ScarJo’s previous three outings have
turned out, it might just take a miracle for SNL to end it’s 40th
season on a high note at this point. See you soon!
