Okay, here’s my review. This week, the lows were a bit lower
and the highs just weren’t quite as high. Sadly, it appears that halfway
through their third straight show, the staff may just be starting to feel the
burnout from having to do four shows in a row. Emily Blunt proved to be an
upbeat host with an infectious energy who was game for anything. It’s a shame
that she was given an abundance of material that proved to be a challenge for
her to save. I wouldn’t mind seeing her host again with some stronger writing.
Good to see Moffat getting much more airtime, even if they are just using him
in straight roles at this point. Good to see Vanessa and Bobby again if for no
other reason than to prove to us they are still here. Melissa is still not
getting enough airtime outside of smaller roles. Given her talent as an
impressionist, it’s safe to say she is still not getting the chances she needs
to show u her full potential. Other than that, the cast seems pretty evenly
balanced. Anyway, let’s get started
Second Presidential Debate - This was serviceable. It felt
like it wasn't as singularly focused on just the second debate as it was on
working in every additional tidbit of election news but that worked too (even
if it felt a little sloppy at times) since the actual second debate almost
feels like old news now. Right out of the gate, Alex was miles ahead of Jon as
Cooper and Cecily turned in a wonderfully committed performance as Martha
Raddatz. Kate and Alec were great and they both played well off of Che, Leslie,
Good Neighbor and Bobby as the undecided audience. Still, they could’ve done
better with the whole Drumpf stalking Hillary bit. This time, Kates' Hillary
stood out more and her "handed me the election" line plus the
accusers/mistresses bit and the O Fortuna entrance made the whole sketch for
me. C+
Monologue - If nothing else, this showed that Emily Blunt
had the right energy and commitment to be the host. It was also nice that this
had a bit more to it premise-wise than just another songologue. Pete, Kenan and
Cecily had the best lines in this. C-
Escorts – This sketch had some awkward missteps to it. Even
though it was Moffats' first major live performance, I think the blame should
be shared pretty evenly between him, Leslie and Emily. I couldn't tell if Emily
was trying to help or just jumped ahead by accident. Although this was an odd
sketch for anyone to break, it was fun seeing Emily do so. I guess I would say
the role playing bit stood out the most to me. Otherwise, it felt too long and
awkwardly drawn out. Plus, it reminded me too much of that Russian mail order
bride sketch from the '09 premiere with Hader, Forte, Armisen and Megan Fox. D+
Melanianade - It took me a minute to register that this was
a months too late parody of Beyoncés' "Lemonade", but it was great
for what it was even if they probably could've done more with it. This may be
the most elaborate Kelly/Schnieder piece we have seen in a while. I questioned
why they felt the need to cast Emily Blunt as Melania Drumpf until I noticed that
Vanessa was cast as Tiffany which was actually pretty spot on given all the
Miley comparisons from the convention. Plus, it was a nice way for them to work
in Baldwins' Drumpf in a non-debate sketch. Overall, I guess this does prove
Weird Als' old adage that you don't need to know the source material to find a
parody funny. I wasn't terribly familiar with whatever track from Lemonade this
was a parody of (if it was meant to be a genuine parody rather than just a
Beyonce pastiche) but I found the jabs at Drumpf and his problems with women
funny. B-
Film Festival - This sketch was the funniest piece of the
night too me just for the sheer conceptual goofiness of it. My only real
complaint about this is that it could’ve benefitted from some editing. It feels
like something Alex Moffat may have written given how strangely fresh and sharp
it felt. It's probably not Anderlette seeing how the only one of their tropes
it has was Vanessa being the odd one out. B+
Chonk - This made me laugh for its sheer abruptness and how
it used Bobby and Pete at the end. This had to have been written by one of the
women. It seems to be making some larger statement on women's fashion that
thankfully wasn't to overshadowed by how silly this was. C+
24k Magic - I usually don't comment on the musical
performances buy Brunos' first performance was very fun visually. It looked
like something better suited to an awards show performance than confined within
the SNL stage. Part of me enjoyed the sprawl but part of me was a little bummed
that they would think to do something like this and it wasn't Weird Al
performing Tacky.
Update seems content to stick with the long form at least
until the election is over, which is fine. Unfortunately, they already seem a
bit too burnt out. Nothing about this week's two man rants aside from the
rigged/Clinton/WikiLeaks jabs. Che actually does Drumpfs voice surprisingly
well, by the way. The commentaries didn't add much either. Kates' Russian lady
had a couple of good bus/bomb jokes and Vanessas' Disney reporter had some good
jabs at Ken Bone and Billy Bush but that's about it. This was the weakest
Update so far. C+
Burger King Drive Thru - This thing has to be the first
example of sponsored content this season, but they really knew how to keep this
going until it actually got funny (despite not being hilarious from the start).
Emily, Bobby and Beck really stood out here. C-
The Sink – This was very strange and seemed to go nowhere.
Thankfully, they knew where to end it. The only real laugh I got was Emily
having the only credit.
Honda Robotics - This robot sketch doesn't seem to be going
anywhere either but kudos to Mikey, Emily, Leslie, Beck and Kate for performing
the hell out of it nonetheless. C-
Melania Moments III - Out of all three Melania Moments, I
would rank this one somewhere in the middle. C+
PBS Great British Bake Off - This sketch doesn't seem to be
anything more than a who-besides-the-host-can-do-the-best-British-accent-off
with Cecily the clear winner but that didn't necessarily make it unwatchable.
C+
Hamsters - This Virginia Woolf tinged sketch seems like a
blatant rewrite of a similar Beck Bennett film that got cut from dress from the
2014 Charlize Theron episode. The only things the audience seemed to respond
well to were the shoebox and baby hamster eating lines. Plus, the twist of Kyle
and Aidy being in on the whole thing felt too tacked on. D+
Now, would be an appropriate time to start ranking these
shows…
1. Margot Robbie/The Weekend
2. Lin-Manuel Miranda/Twenty One Pilots
3. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars
Next week, legendary hosting alumni Tom Hanks returns for
the first time in ten years to host the fourth straight show this season. I
have no doubt he’ll be great himself but I sincerely hope that he can really
boost morale and prevent the staff from getting to worn out. See you then.
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