Okay, here's my review. This episode turned out to be much better than I was expecting given my already lowered expectations knowing the host. It was certainly more consistent than last week as well (and that likely WAS to be expected with this host). It was far from the best we've seen all season, but it was also far from the absolute worst. Love or hate her actual sketch comedy chops, Scarlett Johansson still manages to gel well enough with the SNL cast no matter how many of the players have changed from her previous hosting stints. Of course, she still hasn't changed as much as the level of the writing apparently did in the past week. The entire cast got a fair amount of airtime tonight but Melissa felt virtually shut out of the entire show. Anyway, let's get to it.
Alien Attack - This didn't necessarily blow me away or anything, but since they still want to trot out Baldwins' Trump I'll say I did like how they were able to place him in a somewhat creative and unique new setting while managing to squeeze in references to Trump's gaffes of the past week...or even just since the inauguration...or even since he started his campaign in general (even the seemingly minor ones). I did like the brief shot of the charred corpse and Sasheers' one line was the biggest laugh I got from her the entire time shes' been on the show. The slam at Trump's NY hotels was also great. I especially liked how they finally slammed Info wars as well. I mean, that part could've been better but hey, I'm glad SNL finally got around to mocking them. Now if only they could just get Beck Bennett to play Alex Jones on the show. C+
Monologue - I automatically liked this one more than Scarletts' others since it's the only one where she did not sing. Kenan and Kate really made this for me. I liked his clips and montages (as predictable as they were) and it's nice to see Kate is still grounded after her Oscar appearance. We could've done without the 5 dollar footlong jingle, though. C+
Good Day Denver - As backhanded as the entire "Good Day Denver" sketch seemed, I appreciate the shout out to my own homestate. As for the writing itself, I was just about ready to write this off as something else that shouldn't have been fleshed out as a full sketch but the out-of-context graphic quotes, Scarlett reading tweets and Kenan statement really made this for me.
Cherry Grove - I'm not quite sure who the intended audience for this Logo parody was, but I'll say it worked because Scarlett and the female cast members gelled really well. I did like Kate yelling at her neighbor, though.
Dog Translator - I thought this sketch was going to be much more one note and thin than it turned out to be. I liked how it escalated more and more toward the end. If Beck adlibbed when the dog removed his helmet, good on him for doing that. I have a feeling he didn't since all his lines did sound prerecorded. There's a chance that dog may have been specially trained and that was written into the sketch but if not they covered it up well. I also liked how it seemed to be specifically written for the people that keep saying SNL has somehow gotten "too political" since Trumps' inauguration (despite covering him just as much as they have covered every president who has served since they've been on) buy I don't like this sneaking suspicion I have that this sketch was written specifically to placate those people. B-
Olive Garden Shoot - This sketch seemed a little long but Becks performance was what really sold it. Plus, the building absurdity of it really made it seem fun. I did think it got a little one note once Beck made everyone fake their organs at the same time. C-
Complicit - This Ivanka Trump perfume ad was some of SNLs' more pointed satire of Trumps' administration in recent memory. Since this basically relied on subtle cues and facial expressions, I'd say Bobby, Aidy, Vanessa and Scarlett did the most to sell this compared to Cecilys' voice over. I did appreciate how they worked in Baldwins' Trump in the mirror reflection. B+
Update was palatable. Che and Jost really started to get going after they got their post Trumpcare jokes out of the way. The Franken and Sessions segment was the real highlight. Kates' Jeff Sessions is still enjoyable although they should be very careful not to overuse it right now. Moffat as Franken was accurate (although he more closely resembled Samberg-if-he-were-playing-Franken in that wig and glasses). He captured the voice well enough but it helped that this didn't require Moffat to play it too big. Other than that, I'm just pleased that we got to see two different cast members each impersonate two other cast members on the show two weeks in a row. Petes' segment was unmemorable and continues to show that political commentary has never been his strong suit. The only part of this I really liked was when he made fun of his new found sobriety. C+
Truer Tales From The Sea - I'm surprised the made Kates' blob fish mermaid from last seasons' Ariana Grande episode a recurring character. It may have best been left a one time thing but I gotta hand it to Scarlett. She fit into this sketch as well as she fit into the similarly unnecessary Samberg Kuatto sketch ten years ago. In fact, this sketch reminded me so much of that one that it's like they may as well have put those two sketches in a blender. Also, it was nice to see Sasheer finally used in a role like this. B-
Shanice Goodwin: Rival Ninja - Speaking of sketches unnecessary sequels, I would've thought the fact that Leslie supposedly tore her ACL alone the last time she played a ninja would have discouraged them from making this recurring. Still, she and Scarlett weren't bad in this and they both played well off of Bobby here. The rest of the male cast as henchmen poured it on a little too thick for my liking but the cheap prop filled stage combat they played along with amused me. C+
A Sketch For The Women - I enjoyed this sketch even if it feels like they're continuing with a theme this entire month. It almost came across like they felt obliged to tackle tge trend of "mansplaining" since they took on the trend of "male 'feminism'" last week. Aidy and Scarletts' stunned reactions really sold this and balanced out Beck and Kyles' more over-the-top acting impulses. I did appreciate the Lorde cameo even if I could tell exactly where it was headed by that point. Still, I have a hard time believing any of the women on show actually skipped an entire day of work on the show. B-
Funeral Service - This sketch did give me some bad flashbacks to when Scarlett did Deep House Dish in at least one of her first two hosting stints. Still, I had to giggle a little as the songs gto dumber and Leslies' performance really made me laugh here. C+
Now, for my updated rankings for this season
1. Dave Chappelle/A Tribe Called Quest
2. Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga
3. Kristen Stewart/Alessia Cara
4. Lin Manuel Miranda/Twenty One Pilots
5. Aziz Ansari/Big Sean
6. Alec Baldwin/Ed Sheeran
7. John Cena/Maren Morris
8. Scarlett Johansson/Lorde
9. Felicity Jones/Sturgil Simpson
10. Casey Affleck/Chance The Rapper
11. Octavia Spencer/Father John Misty
12. Margot Robbie/The Weeknd
13. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars
14. Emma Stone/Shawn Mendes
15. Kristen Wiig/The xx
16. Benedict Cumberbatch/Solange
...and since she is officially a five timer now, I thought I might rank all of Scarletts' episodes as well. This was pretty easy to do since all her shows run together so much and stay with you on the first viewing that it doesn't matter that I didn't review two of them.
1. Scarlett Johansson/Death Cab For Cutie (1.14.2006)
2. Scarlett Johansson/Bjork (4.21.2007)
3. Scarlett Johansson/Lorde (3.11.2017)
4. Scarlett Johansson/Wiz Khalifa (5.2.2015)
5. Scarlett Johansson/Arcade Fire (11.14.2010)
Well, that certainly defied my expectations. In three weeks, Louis CK returns to host for his fourth time. Now, THERE'S a deserving five time host in the making! Of course, I'm less of s fan of his more recent standup as much of a fan of his earlier classic material but I have no doubt he'll still deliver an outstanding monologue. See you then!
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