Okay, here's my review. This show was fairly inconsistent. Overall it was a bit of a let down from last week. There were great moments to be had but they were scattered to far and few in between. Still, what landed really hit. Aziz Ansari proved to be a capable (if not a little overbearing) host who effortlessly ingratiated himself with this cast. He would prove to be a welcoming presence on the show at this point in human history The fact that he was hosting with absolutely nothing to promote from within the past year felt strange, but him being SNLs' first host after Donald J. Trump was sworn in as president is at least somewhat encouraging. The cast was pretty even as far as airtime goes but Kyle, Pete, and Aid could've used more exposure. Sadly, the writing may be on the wall for Alex Moffat more than anyone right now. Anyway, let's break it down.
A Paid Message From The Russian Federation - This cold open was pretty solid, if not something that seemed like it was going to be forgettable. The only things that really stood out were thow Kates' Olya was finslly used outdide of Update and he inauguration/women's March jokes that were addressed directly to Trump. Beck is usually reliable as Putin, but does he ALWAYS have to be shirtless? Also, it was nice to get a bit of a break from Baldwin as Trump (even if it turns out to only be for this week). I assumed he wasn't going to be able to do the show anyway after I read about how he was involved in a protest at Trump Tower with Deniro, Moore, Ruffalo and others. B-
Monologue - This was definitely the third strongest portion of the show. Aziz is just as sharp of a stand up as he ever was. I definitely liked his shade at Trump, Bush and the "lower case KKK". Overall, this monologue was actually better than most of his last Netflix special. Even though this wasn't quite as good as Chappelle, it was nice to have another stand up monologue from another first time host this season. B-
Bear The Bookworm - This was a sketch that telegraphed it's main joke less than ten seconds in but thankfully they knew exactly where to end it. It seemed to be playing to Azizs' weaknesses as an actor. I couldn't help but wonder how much more enjoyable this sketch would be if Azizs' part were written for another host. C-
Interrogation - This felt like it was stretched WAY to thin. Maybe it's because La La Land criticism in general has been done to death in the press and on social media but it just didn't quite land with me. It was one of the shows weaker attempts to relate to current poo culture in a long time. Beck couldn't save it but at least he tried. Kenan walking was the closest thing to a laugh as I got out of this sketch. Otherwise, it just felt as if either Kelly/Schneider or Torres were having an off night. D-
The Kelly Anne number just confused me and didn't go anywhere. I'm guessing "Chicago" was the thing they were referencing here and that Anderson and Sublette were the ones that wrote this. Well, at least they are trying to give Kate something different to use as Kellyanne. I was wondering what prevented this from being done live until I noticed Beck was in the previous sketch, Kate was in the next one and Beck played both Jake Tapper and a backup dancer in this. C-
Broderick And Ganz Attorneys At Law - This was definitely the second strongest piece of the night. I definitely got a lot of laughs from Azizs' delivery and the intricate way this was written. Bobby's performance was great, too. A-
Update was definitely the strongest portion of tonight's show. Che and Josh really hit the Inauguration/R. Spencer/S. Spicer material out of the park (and I wonder if Che's feminism/women's March speech will win over some of his critics). Leslie's Hidden Figures Commentary was probably her second funniest commentary this season. Mikeys' Friend Zone report was something a bit different for this Era if Update and it could've been shortened as he kind of be labored the point with it but ultimately it worked. A-
Bedroom Dirty Talk - This was okay. It was good to finally see Melissa showcased in something. Even though she only got to sneak in two of her impressions, at least this piece let us see more of who Melissa is as a comedian (outside of her affinity for impressions). Now, if only she could get more of her impressions on the show, she should be set. Other than that, this felt a little rushed and derivative of something MAD TV would have done (not a commentary on their level of humor necessarily, just me pointing out that they tend to do a lot of bedroom scenes is all) it was nice to see the audience respond so well to something she got on. C+
Uber Rating - This short worked well. It got quite a few genuine laughs out of me. I did appreciate how subtle and grounded the humor was in this given how far it escalated. Bobby and Aziz definitely played well off of each other and had good chemistry. B+
Pizza Town - This sketch worked just because it was so well performed. Bobby, Aziz, Aid and Mikey were convincing as anamatronic robots. Kenan played well off of his surroundings. Beck and Kyle did a great job of providing a stark contrast as a cop and criminal in a tense standoff. I'm guessing Mikey wrote part of this. If so, at least he's been good at spacing out these types of sketches lately. This was another time I couldn't help but wonder how this sketch might be different with another host placed in Azizs' role. C+
To Sir With Love - This musical Obama tribute at the end was slightly awkward in execution but ultimately was definitely very sweet and definitely warranted. I can tell this meant a lot to Cecily and Sasheer. They must've been at least a little emotional about it. They're not bad singers either. I would like to see more of Cecily and Sasheer showcase their full singing abilities on the show. The one thing that could've improved this would've been if Kate, Vanessa and Aidy each gradually joined them on stage. I could tell from Vanessa and Aidy's social media that it would've meant the world to them if having to do a live show this week wasn't preventing them from joining the women's March in NYC today (at least it's probably still going to be going on tomorrow). C+
Now, for my updated rankings for this week...
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. Aziz Ansari/Big Sean
8. Margot Robbie/The Weeknd
9. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars
10. Emma Stone/Shawn Mendes
11. Kristen Wiig/The xx
12. Benedict Cumberbatch/Solange
In two weeks, Kristen Stewart inexplicably makes her hosting debut. Wow. I mean, she isn't even known for her DRAMATIC acting chops. She would normally stand out as just a questionable hosting choice any other time of year, but during a SWEEPS month you have to REALLY wonder what the hell is going on! Oh well, there's a chance she could still surprise us...as long as she at least attempts to LOOK like she's having reasonable fun doing this show. See you then!
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