Okay, here's my review. This show may not have stood out compared to the rest of this season as a whole but it sure did stand out in terms of previous January premieres as it was one of the stronger January shows in recent memory. Outside of a few weak spots it was a fairly consistent show in terms of what landed writing wise. Felicity Jones was a bit unpolished, but she was a real professional who I wouldn't mind getting to see host again. Good to see Pete make a comeback. Beck seems to have established himself as the shows' male lead judging by the amount of airtime he has been getting this week. Good to see Melissa being used more even though the bulk of her parts were straight non-impression roles (although this was the extent to which Jon Rudnitsky was being used by this time last year and we saw how well that turned out for him. While t hi is episode was unsurprisingly light on Sasheer and Alex it was surprisingly light on Cecily, Bobby and Kyle. Anyway, let's just break this thing down, shall we?
Trump Press Conference - This cold open was pretty strong (except for all the blatantly tacked on urine/pee pee jokes). Baldwins' Trump may need some fine tuning and Beck as shirtless Putin is teetering very precariously into "played out" territory. Was the title card at the beginning all that necessary? B-
Monologue - This was a lot more enjoyable than it had any right to be. Kenan was used well and Tina made a worthwhile contribution (despite it being unclear why she was there in the first place). At this point in the show, it was too early to get a good read on Felicity as a host. While she looked quite nervous and near Krazy Glued to the cue cards, she seemed focused and committed. B-
Beard Hunk - I don't think they needed to do three of the knockoff Bachelor sketches but I appreciated how they kept the changes to the formula they introduced in last years' Ronda Rousey episode. Beck Bennet doesn't seem like the best fit for this sketch but Felicity fit right in despite losing her American accent quite quickly. Other than that, nothing else stood put aside from a few of Kate and Aidys' lines. C+
Shondra And Malik - This short film was strange as it felt pretty one note after it established the conflict between Kenan and Leslie and didn't quite go anywhere. Leslies' sudden heart attack stuck out like a sore thumb right before a rather predictable (but still funny) ending. C+
Theater Donor - This seemed like it either needed some more variation to it or just needed to be cut short. Either way, I did like how it escalated wildly to such a quick punchline. Plus, I appreciated how committed the whole cast was to it. C+
The Princess and the Curse - This sketch was okay. While I legitimately wonder what prevented this from being done live I did appreciate the level of production value. I also appreciated how they didn't drag out the main joke too long and even if the ending was a little predictable, the way it was acted made it funnier. B+
Susan B Anthony House - This sketch felt like a huge wasted opportunity and needed to be edited WAY down. Although I did like how Kate delivered her "abortion is murder" line, it might have made for much more worthwhile sketch if they played THAT up a bit more instead of what they gave us. Oh well, at least by this point in the show Felicity had already established herself as a host that gelled well with the cast. D+
Update made a very strong comeback. Jost got a head start but it didn't take long for Che to catch up with him. I liked both Beck and Petes commentaries even if they made me feel a bit bad for Melissa as it sounded like they were both being set up for her. Becks' commentary particularly stood out since I appreciated seeing some classic Good Neighbor style comedy being bought back to the show after what felt like a half season absence of their shorts. Plus, it was nice to see a cast member who ISN'T Pete or Leslie deliver a commentary just as themselves on Update. Beck made this feel like a throwback to something we haven't seen on the show in 10-15 years. B+
Hot Robot 3 Fandango Junket - This wasn't the the funniest thing ever, but I could appreciate it for its sublty in the face of sheer silliness. I did like how everyone treated the raunchy stupidity of the movie they discussed with utter seriousness as it was high art or nuanced social commentary. C-
Corporate Retreat - This sketch really rewarded you for sitting through it. At first it looked like we were just seeing a leftover Kristen Wiig sketch from 2010-11 but then it escalated to something much bigger. Kate and Beck acted the hell out of their parts and it paid off. Felicity handled her role well and I did like how Melissa was at least use her odd natural speaking voice to her own advantage for once. B-
Now, time for my updated rankings of this season...
1. Dave Chappelle/A Tribe Called Quest
2. Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga
3. Lin Manuel Miranda/Twenty One Pilots
4. John Cena/Maren Morris
5. Felicity Jones/Sturgill Simpson
6. Casey Affleck/Chance The Rapper
7. Margot Robbie/The Weeknd
8. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars
9. Emma Stone/Shawn Mendes
10. Kristen Wiig/The xx
11. Benedict Cumberbatch/Solange
Well, that was a strong way to kick off a new year for SNL. Next week, Aziz Ansari will make his hosting debut As a fan of Aziz, I would say this is well deserved. Sure, maybe I'd be more excited about this if it were happening maybe four or five years ago, but I'm still looking forward to it. Aziz has previous acting and sketch comedy experience that will serve him well and it will be nice to see another stand up monologue on the show. Sure, Aziz may not have anything to promote currently but who cares? SNL could use some more actual comedians as hosts right now. See you then!
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