Okay, here’s my review. While this episode was much better
than Chris Hemsworths’ last episode, it was pretty much on the same level as
Goslings’ show from last week in terms of quality (except less consistent but
not nearly as uneven). The host seemed more likable and showcased some charisma
that seemed to evade him from his first outing. While airtime was still
unbalanced in terms of the cast and it was one of the rare shows that started
out strong but started to crumble around Update without really picking up from
there, it still maintained the continued strong effort this season has been
showing us. Anyway, here it is.
A Message from Our 43rd President – This George W
Bush opening was great! I loved all the slams at the current GOP candidates
(especially Trump and Jeb!). If Ferrell couldn't find it in his schedule to
actually host tonight, this is an excellent way to make it up to us. B-
Monologue - This was quite fun. I liked seeing Hemsworth
interact with Beck, Pete, Jost/Che and the female cast. This episode is already
miles better than his first. B-
Star Wars Action Figures – This commercial was a little one
note and down the beaten path but the male cast members really sold it. C+
On The Record w/Greta Van Susteren - This sketch was better than it
had any right to be. Tarans' Ted Cruz is pretty lack luster compared to the
sheer dopiness of Bobbys' but thankfully Bobby was there to hit it out of the
park with his Chris Christie and Jay was there to pick up all the extra slack
with his Ben Carson. Plus, Kates' Greta is much stronger than Wiigs. B-
Time To Bleed - This was one of the best short films this
season. I loved the surreal darkness of this and Sasheer did very well with
what had to be her biggest role on SNL to date. A-
Brother 2 Brother 2…Brother - I can't believe they tried to
make Brother 2 Brother recurring but this was a little better than the first
one. I did like Beck as the wrestling coach, the end with Tarans' "created
by/not written by" credits (given Tarans' previous experience as a child
actor it wouldn't surprise me to find out he had a hand in writing this) and I
did like the small blooper of Hemsworth accidentally letting the door hit him
on the way in. Also, I’m quite shocked to find out that a Taran Kilam has a
chest tattoo and a Chris Hemsworth doesn’t C+
Debras' Song - This definitely killed any momentum this
episode may have still had as Brother 2 Brother was still progressing. If
Anderlette didn't write this, I'll be genuinely surprised. Plus, while I like
seeing them give Sasheer more airtime, it feels strange that this was Cecily's
first appearance of the night. D+
Update did beat some life back into the show with some great
Trump slams right off the bat. Che and Josh several more great jokes. As
expected, Kate bought out her Angela Merkel and it was fine and they even took
more jabs at Trump. Leslie Jones also returned. Her commentary was just okay
and worked best as a conceptual piece but the Breaking Bad references would’ve
dated it somewhat if we hadn’t known she was binge watching and live tweeting
the series very recently. B-
Brunch – This sketch featuring Hemsworth in drag surprisingly
worked only because the female cast did more to sell it than Chris did. While
the sketch lacked some structure, I did like the ending.
Fun Pirate Ship - This sketch felt odd. I don't quite know
what to make of it. It was nice to see Jon Rudnitsky finally get a lead role in
a sketch, but this doesn't exactly give us a sense of who he is as a comedian
or a performer. Plus, in spite of itself, it wasn't as "fun" as it
appeared to be. I gotta say Kenan and Taran seemed to be the only ones not
phoning in their performances.
Hunk Junction - This sketch was another odd one that I
wasn't too sure about. I could kind of see where it was going after about a millisecond
and it seemed like it was cut too short abruptly. Still, Kenan was all right
and I liked how the guys really sold us on the sheer cheesiness of it. The
funniest parts were the “racist” portion of the guys routine and the ladies
confused reactions with Leslie bring the most into it out of them. C+
Now, for my updated rankings of this season…
1. Tracy Morgan/Demi Lovato
2. Elizabeth Banks/Disclosure
3. Ryan Gosling/Leon Bridges
4. Chris Hemsworth/Chance The Rapper
4. Donald Trump/Sia
5. Miley Cyrus
6. Matthew McConaughey/Adele
7. Amy Schumer/The Weeknd
Well, that was certainly a pleasant surprise. Next week is
the big Christmas show with Tina and Amy returning as cohosts. This is the show
we have all been looking forward to the most on paper since this month’s lineup
was announced and I really hope they don’t disappoint. For my review of that
one, I was thinking of doing a similar kind of ranking of all the shows Tina
has hosted over the years, but looking back over them on the SNL archives, they
all seem to run together quality wise so it might be kind of pointless. Oh
well, maybe I can actually rewatch them again on Seeso since I did sign up for
that free beta test and am thinking of keeping it just to see KITH/UCB Show and
Funny As Hell. See you soon!
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