Okay, here’s my review. This episode somehow felt like a
breath of fresh air despite delivering a lot of recurring premises and
derivative writing. This might have been because Ariana Grande delivered some
charming performances as host (like many pop stars have in the past) and the
cast really delivered in their performances as well. It was a very fun and enjoyable
show, but still a ways away from the absolute best of the season.
CNN Election Coverage – This cold open was fun and Larry
clearly ran away with it. It was nice to see Jays' Ben Carson again and I did
like the bit about Trumps' racist supporters. Still, Larry's lines about youth
support were the only thing that stood out to me. B+
Monologue – This was all over the place. Having Ariana sing
about finally getting caught in her own "adult scandal" was a decent
concept but it felt pretty derivative (Mileys' 2011 monologue immediately comes
to mind) and while Ariana isn't a terrible singer and this was executed just
fine, something still felt missing. I did like Petes' appearance and Kenans'
"Where's Kel?" line, though. It's unlikely Ariana will be invited
back after her flub, but TV has been a little more lenient on "shit"
lately (well, cable at least) and Gaga got to come back two more times so
really, who's to say? C-
Feel The Bern For Hillary - This ad was based on a rather
tired observation but this was well executed and I liked the way that Kates'
transition from Hillary to Bernie was handled. B-
Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards Orange Carpet - This took a little while to prove itself as
more than a cheap hodgepodge of references to things teens like but even when
it got there something still felt lacking. Bobby role was really the only thing
here worth any laughs and the rest of it fell pretty flat. Toward the end it
really just turned into a really, really, really lame version of "Wake Up
And Smile". This was nowhere near as funny or entertaining as the Kids
Choice Awards sketch from Sarah Michelle Gellars' 98-99 show. C-
This Is Not A Feminist Song - This music video was really
the first well written piece of the night. It was definitely written in the
same vein as "The Dudleys" from Woodys' show last season and is a
great companion piece to any "think piece on any pop song released in the past
six years. B+
True Tales Of The Sea - This kind of telegraphed each joke
but it was still a great Kate piece. The "kiss" with her and Beck was
great. Props to the makeup department because I actually thought Kate was Kyle
until she got her first line out. B-
If Larry is anything like me he probably flubbed that intro
because he was wondering what the hell he was doing in the same building as
Ariana Grande.
Update had a lot of strong jokes, but the commentaries left
something to be desired. The jokes that stood out the most were the Trump/Carson
jabs and the Womens' History Month joke from Che (which he had visible
reservations about but he handled like a pro and I'm sure I'm not the only one
who got serious Norm flashbacks there). Cecily Bachelor commentary was cute but
it seems like either Cecily or Colin just wrote it for themselves and no one
else. Since I don't watch The Bachelor, the humor was lost on me. Riblet seems
like it was beaten to death but I did like the graphics and this was worth it
just to see how well the remote segment was pulled off. B-
Tidal - This sketch just seemed like a blatant rewritten and
underperformed version of the Bruno Mars Pandora sketch, but Ariana did all her
impressions well and the supporting cast had good lines. C+
Family Feud V – This is another thing that seems done to
death but this was also done surprisingly well and the whole cast did great
impressions (save for Kyle whose Woody Allen was a little disappointing).
Tarans' Tarantino and Bobbys' Kevin Smith were very funny. Kudos to Jon Rudnitsky
for finding the one impression (Scorcese) which he could do reasonably well.
Ariana Jennifer Lawrence really stood out to me since it seemed to be her only
dead on impression that wasn't a singer she hadn't previously done on Fallon. B-
Sound Of Music - This sketch was something that was far more
entertaining than it has any right to be. This was a good showcase for Ariana
as an actress in a role that, ironically didn't seem to be much of a stretch
for her. It worked well as a piece that played off of the diva/bitchiness
rumors surrounding her. Sure, this dragged a bit and the Sound Of Music is a
tired parody target but this was a good piece to end the show on. C+
Now, for my updated rankings of the season…
1. Larry David/The 1975
2. Tracy Morgan/Demi Lovato
3. Elizabeth Banks/Disclosure with Lorde & Sam Smith
4. Tina Fey & Amy Poehler/Bruce Springsteen & The E
Street Band
5. Ryan Gosling/Leon Bridges
6. Ariana Grande
7. Jonah Hill/Future
8. Melissa McCarthy/Kanye West
9. Chris Hemsworth/Chance The Rapper
10. Adam Driver/Chris Stapleton
11. Donald Trump/Sia
12. Miley Cyrus
13. Matthew McConaughey/Adele
14. Ronda Rousey/Selena Gomez
15. Amy Schumer/The Weeknd
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