Julia Louis-Dreyfus/Nick Jonas (416.2016)

Okay, here’s my review. This show was very enjoyable despite being wildly uneven throughout. Julia Louis-Dreyfus was a welcome presence and proved she still has the comedy chops for a live sketch show. She really bought some life into a show with the material to start off strong, steadily lose steam somewhere in the middle and then experiment quite a lot near the end in a way that paid off. Anyway, let’s get right to it, shall we?

CNN Democratic Debate – This was a great way to open the show. Kate and Larry were great as always and while Becks' Wolf Blitzer isn't dead on, he is immediately funnier, more professional and a more welcome presence in the role than Jon Rudnistky. Kenan was unexpectedly very funny presenting the "black question". Vanessa as Rachel Green wasn't necessary but I did like the Dr. Huxtable/noogie/feel that bern bits. Of course, Julia as Elaine walked away with this and the banks/taxes back and forth were the true standouts. B+

Monologue - This was a lot of fun. It's great to see someone with Julias' comedic talent poke fun at her pre-Seinfeld career in a true monologue. I especially liked the Soul Man/blackface jokes and the Tony Hale cameo really made this. B-

Heroin AM - This really was well executed and felt like an ad they could've s done in any previous era. Unfortunately, it seemed like they didn't quite know where to end this. C+

Huge Jewelry - This was another piece that ran on too long without much of a premise. This seems like they just put Bronx Beat in a blender with Armisen and Johansens' chandelier/marble columns pitchmen. Strangely, Nick Jonas was the only thing that really made me laugh here but that was just at his ridiculously oversized gold necklace. C-

The Pool Boy - This short film reminded me a lot of that student/teacher affair sketch in Annette Benning '06 episode. Still, Pete was funny here with the bags/squirrel bits although the rest of this was pretty one mote. Nick Jonas' cameo felt really telegraphed but Julia played off of him quite well. I think this being a taped piece really helped the timing of it. C+

Cinema Classics IV – This sketch also beat one joke to death (seems to be a theme tonight) but I have to give Andelette credit for almost knowing how to wring even last possible moment of comedy from this. I did like the ridiculous lengthso Julia went to just to retrieve increasingly smaller lines, Kate and Tarans' exasperation with her during their penultimate scene and the lines being read from Tarans' chest. D+

Mercedes - This battery run car ad also felt like something they would do in the early '90s but they really didn't go far enough with this premise. C+

Update was pretty inconsistent tonight. Aside from the Trump/Bernie/Cruz/FBI jabs, every joke fell flat (Ches' Kasich/GOP joke was particularly clumsy) and the punchlines were rather predictable. In fact, I could've sworn Che just straight up reused one of Josts' old jokes. Still, the commentaries were enjoyable. Kenan and Jay played expertly off of each other with their Shaq and Barkley impersonations as usual. Aidys' commentary was like a fun throw back to the commentaries she would do early in her first season. I don't think we needed to see Cecilys' 1D female character again but I did like how she broke the fourth wall and began to describe what sounded like a parody of a raunchy Farrelly Bros type comedy. The thing I liked about the female commentaries in this episode is how they each got increasingly more absurdist as they went along. B-

Who Works Here? – This sounds like the most ambitious game show sketch SNL has ever done but it was executed very well and the increasing absurdity of this made me laugh. Julia wasn't the greatest host here and Vanessa, Taran and Sasheer didn't add much as the contestantsun (even of that was the entire point of there roles) but the rest of the cast was great here. I'm really curious as to who wrote this as I know have to know what kind of experiences in CVS would have inspired this. B+

Match.com Mingle - This was another overly bizarre yet very fun piece. It almost seemed like it was lifted straight from a "Man Seeking Woman" script or something that should be on any other sketch show BESIDES SNL. Kudos to the makeup and sound people on this one. Kate and Julia were excellent in this and Beck played off of everyone really well. B+

God Is A Boob Man grew on me. At first, it was yet another predictable piece. I had a feeling it would just be another faux horror/disaster trailer based on something topical in pop culture but then I saw it was actually going for some traces of social satire and embracing the sheer idiocy of what it poked fun at. While the Kim Davis angle kinda dated this, it was still a well done parody of those Krik Cameron/Gods' Not Dead type of heavily religious films. C-

Now, for my update rankings of this 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. Julia Louis-Dreyfus/Nick Jonas

6. Ryan Gosling/Leon Bridges

7. Ariana Grande

8. Peter Dinklage/Gwen Stefani

9. Melissa McCarthy/Kanye West

10. Jonah Hill/Future

11. Chris Hemsworth/Chance The Rapper

12. Adam Driver/Chris Stapleton

13. Donald Trump/Sia

14. Miley Cyrus

15. Matthew McConaughey/Adele

16. Russell Crowe/Margo Price

17. Amy Schumer/The Weeknd

18. Ronda Rousey/Selena Gomez

Well, that was a breath of fresh air. In three weeks, Brie Larson makes her hosting debut. Although I can’t remember what I’ve seen her in besides “Trainwreck” right now, I’m sure she has the acting chops to be a fine host. See you then.

Russell Crowe/Margo Price (4.9.2016)

Okay, here’s my review. Russell Crowe delivered exactly what was expected of him as a host. It was more the writers who went above our expectations in the way they used him. This episode reminded me a lot of Lady Gagas’ hosting stint in 2013 in that the both episodes had the writers apparently realizing they needed to use the host sparingly or just as little their lack of acting or comedy chops dictated they should be placed within the show. However, this episode was far more forgettable. The only other thing I can say about it is that Margo Price quietly proved herself to be one of this seasons stronger musical guests.

A Message From Hillary Clinton - That cold open was pretty forgettable. I still like Kate as Hillary but aside from the subway/turnstile bit and the Bernie/Cruz/Sarandon jabs, she wasn't given great material. C+

Monologue – This was much better than I was expecting but that's not saying much. I did appreciate seeing Crowe make fun of himself and the way he delivered his lines was worth a chuckle. Still, it's hard to gage how he will be as host. C+

Preparation H - This commercial was pretty juvenile but it was Tailor-made for a performer like Beck Bennet. He played well off of Taran and really made this more amusing than it had any right to be. C+

Politics Nation V – This should've stayed in mothballs. It's nice to see Sasheer in something more than a "pretty girl" role but she was still wasted here. This was an odd place to have the real Sharpton make a cameo (and he is looking a little TOO thin to be honest). His appearance really just showed how tired "impressionist-meets-their-subject" sketches have become on SNL. I did like the Bill Clinton/Bernie/Cruz/Trump jabs but I didn't like how they sandwiched them between some fumbled fourth wall breaking. Other than that, the best thing I can say about this sketch is that it showed what a competent impressionist Kenan can be if he really tries. C+

Henry VIII - This sketch had a role Crowe was well suited for but beyond that, it was the most one not sketch in recent memory. Kenan had a couple of good lines here, but that's it. D+

Matchmakers  - This was a rather uneven sketch. Crowes' accent was nothing to write home about and Cecilys voice work was just odd. Crowes' vaginal talk was funny at first but got old pretty quick. Pete and Kenan really had the best material here. As cheap as it would'be been for them to just carbon copy the dating game show from Woody Harrelsons' episode last season, I would've actually rather seen that instead of this. C-

Update was enjoyable, but pretty uneven. Jose and Che had good election/subway material but a lot of their other jokes were pretty lackluster. Kates' Deenie commentary was just a pale imitation of the original from the Fey/Poehler Christmas show. Bruce Chandling made a welcome return and while I did get a kick out of seeing Che Crack up at him, it kind of ruined Kyle moment building. B-

100 Days In The Jungle - This was another uneven sketch. Crowe had awkward timing but he did well in a role that I imagined could have been filled by any male host and every joke felt really telegraphed. Pete and Leslie really had the best material here. C+

Pogie Pepperoni - This Good Neighbor short was the strongest thing of the night. Beck and Kyles' gleeful dorkiness was great and they really played well off of Pete and Leslie here. The extremely fake cheesy confetti mannequin headsplosion effects followed by the reveal that they were only working there for fifteen minutes was also really funny.

Shanice Goodwin: Ninja– This sketch was fun. While it went on longer than it should've been it was very funny. While it felt like a true ensemble sketch, Leslie stood out with her ability to get so many laughs with so few lines. Kenan break was covered up nicely and this was the only role that Crowe fit into seamlessly.

Oprah Winfrey: A Life Of Love - The Mike O'Brien Oprah biopic was not as great as his fake Jay-Z biopic but this had its moments such as the car/magazine segments and the celeb interviews. Of course the Sudekis cameo made the whole thing.

Now, for my updated rankings of this 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. Peter Dinklage/Gwen Stefani

8. Melissa McCarthy/Kanye West

9. Jonah Hill/Future

10. Chris Hemsworth/Chance The Rapper

11. Adam Driver/Chris Stapleton

12. Donald Drumpf/Sia

13. Miley Cyrus

14. Matthew McConaughey/Adele

15. Russell Crowe/Margo Price

16. Amy Schumer/The Weeknd

17. Ronda Rousey/Selena Gomez

Next week, Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns for her third time hosting. She should be a welcome change of pace and bring some much needed energy to Studio 8H just as she did when she hosted nearly ten years ago. See you then.

Peter Dinklage/Gwen Stefani (4.2.2016)

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