Okay, here’s my review. This show bought the season to a
close on a high note despite getting off to a choppy start. Louis CK was a very
game host as expected and the writing showed signs of his positive influence. I
would say this episode is the strongest contender for the best of this season.
Despite a few minor flaws here and there, it was the most thoroughly enjoyable
show in weeks. Anyway, let’s get to it.
Summertime For Hillary - This cold open felt pretty awkward.
Kates’ Hillary could still benefit from some fine tuning. They did have
something with Kate's interactions with the surfers and the kids building
sandcastles. Otherwise, it could've used some serious edits. The cameo from
Darrell was a welcome surprise and allowed this sketch to have a great payoff.
This was a real middle of the road for this season. At times it felt like they
tried to clumsily combine two separate show opens together. Still, the song
provided a welcome twist on the group LFNY trope of recent seasons. C-
Monologue -This was stellar as expected. Louis bits about
benign racism, his daughters fighting like Israel and Palestine and the risks
he took by bringing up pedophiles were great. That was probably the biggest
risk this show has taken in years. Plus, this entire set managed to be funnier
and more memorable than most of his recent comedy store special. A-
The Shoemaker And The Elves - This sketch seemed like pretty
cheap and derivative but Louis, Kenan and Vanessas' commitment to playing such
awkward and corny roles really sold it. Plus, the left field viewer text ending
was worth a chuckle. C+
Sprint Store - This sketch was brilliant. Louis and Leslie
played off each other perfectly and again, it was nice to see Louis really
commit to playing a character. This is a strong contender for best live segment
of the show so far. A-
Wood PSA - This brief commercial was very funny. I liked how
it got in, got its laughs and got right out. Beck singing and Louis with the
single tear running down his face were very funny. A-
Update ended on a fairly strong note this season. The jokes
really picked up after the first commentary. Speaking of which, while I think
they should've gone a lot harder on Tom Brady (even though every unknown comic
on Twitter beat them to the punch) I did like how they used Taran's impression
of him here. He really did capture that stiff wooden vibes he and most athletes
gave off when they hosted. Plus, he played off Che and Jost played expertly off
of each other. Pete's Commentary was nice as well. It still wasn't up to some
of his previous ones but it is nice to see that he gets to go out on. I did
like his bits on Harry Potter and not knowing how he got on SNL. His
Clinton/Obama bit was also great. The Riblet thing was a little gratuitous at
this point in the season but I like how they kept it toned down compared to his
last appearance. They did have something more with the cut jokes from dress
angle. I wish they had gone more down that road. B-
Cabana - I can't believe they decided to recur Cecily's British
bimbo character. Even though this was an exact carbon copy of the first one, I
think Louis really added more to this than the Rock did and they really threw
Sasheer a bone by giving her a small role. Plus, they kept it shorter than the
last one. C+
Police Lineup – This had a weak premise but the performances
by Taran, Beck and Kyle did wonders for it. This seems like it was written
specifically with their acting skill sets in mind. Even Louis and his awkward
stage presence worked here. My only other complaint would be that the ending
with Taran felt too predictable. B-
Wood PSA II - I do like how they continued the Lumberjack as
a running gag. I also like how they're giving Sassher much more to do tonight.
Does this remind anyone else of the "Death By Chocolate" runner from
last season? A-
Whoops! I Married A Lesbian - All I can say about the last
sketch is that is that it was the only time in the show that the performances
as committed as they were did more to bring down a sketch than the writing or
the premise. C-
Now for my updated rankings of this season…
1. Louis C.K./Rhianna
2. Woody Harrelson/Kendrick Lamar
3. Martin Freeman/Charli XCX
4. Jim Carrey/Iggy Azalea
5. James Franco/Nicki Minaj
6. J.K. Simmons/D’Angelo
7. Michael Keaton/Carly Rae Jepsen
8. Reese Witherspoon/Florence + The Machine
9. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson/George Ezra
10. Scarlett Johannson/Wiz Khalifa
11. Dakota Johnson/Alabama Shakes
12. Taraji P. Henson/Mumford And Sons
13. Bill Hader/Hozier
14. Blake Shelton
15. Kevin Hart/Sia
16. Cameron Diaz/Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars
17. Amy Adams/One Direction
18. Chris Pratt/Ariana Grande
19. Sarah Silverman/Maroon 5
20. Chris Rock/Prince
21. Chris Hemsworth/Zac Brown Band
Well, there you have it. This episode sure gave a lot of SNL
fans hope for season 41. See you then and have a great summer!
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