Okay, here’s my review. This felt like the strongest show
since Kristen Stewart hosted in February (which is something I never thought I’d
find myself typing) and in both cases, it was mostly due to the writing. This
week, however, the writers were willing to take more chances with Louis around.
While not everything paid off handsomely, there were no huge losses so nothing
was too much of a gamble. Louis was exactly what you’d expect of him as a host.
The one big change from previous weeks was how uneven the cast was. We saw a
lot of Cecily, Aidy, Kyle, Pete and Vanessa in particular but we saw very
little of the featured players (save for Mikey) and maybe one or two scattered
appearances from everyone else. Perhaps it felt like
Louis and Baldwins’ increased presence overshadowed everyone
else. Two people whose virtual absence really stood out were Kate and Bobby in
a way that fuels the rumors of their departures. Anyway, let’s break it down
further.
Trump Kentucky Coal Mine Visit - This cold open was all right.
They obviously wrote some stronger material for Baldwin but since his Trump is
kinda stagnating at this point his delivery didn't add much to it. Beck, Kyle,
Aidy and Mikey made this for me much more than Alec did. C+
Monologue - This got this show off on the right foot. For
the record, I liked his white motel white patron white material white better
than the animal stuff (which was only sporadically funny) It did pale in
comparison to his previous three SNL monologues but it reminded me of why I got
into Louis' stand up in the first place. B-
Eyelash Lawyer - This sketch got off to a slow start but I
liked everyones' commitment to it and how it wasted very little time in its'
buildup to a decently satisfying payoff. I have a feeling Louis may have cow
rote this with Julio Torres. If so, kudos to Julio on finally getting to write
live sketches. C+
Thank You Scott - This was catchy and really breathed some
life into a comedy trope ("slacktivism" on social media) that now
feels a little too far down the beaten path. This is another thing I suspect
Louis co-wrote as it almost felt lifted from his stand up around the height of
his acclaim and popularity. B-
Sock Hops And Soda Shops - This sketch also had a satisfying
payoff. It took a little too long to build up to where it was going but the
small touches really made this. Louis had some great dark lines such as his
insults to Vanessa and his imagining of his "date" with Cecily. Did
anyone else get flashbacks to Chris Parnells' raps in Update there? I also
liked the absurd twists with Pete and Leslie's characters and Cecilys' big
reveal at the end. For better or worse, Louis’ role was perfectly suited for
him and wouldn't have worked better with any other male host. The jukebox
breaking/hand cutting gag felt too derivative. It was such low hanging fruit
that it was a gag Family Guy did just BEFORE The Simpsons. B-
Pepsi Shoot - This was something that worked because it was
a taped piece driven by Becks' acting meshing well with the writing and
direction because the subject matter was almost done to death by the end of the
week. Kyle and Cecily added plenty to it as well. I wonder if they actually got
to use the real extras from the Pepsi ad? B+
Update was as strong as it's been all season. It's pretty
obvious that Che had the Lions' share of great jokes this week but that's not
to say Jost didn't get his fair share of licks in by the end. I'm not sure
Cecilia Gimenez needed to be trotted out again but if it's one of only two
times we get to see Kate in the entire show, I'll take it. Aside from the
"stroke" line, not much stood out to me. I was a little too
distracted thinking about Kates' spottier and spottier presence on the show and
if she might be leaving by the end of either this season (or more likely) next.
B-
The O'Reilly Factor - This was what the show needed right
now but sadly it felt a little underwritten and a little underperformed. I
honestly can't tell whether O'Reilly or Trump is Baldwins' stronger impression.
I will say I can see what Baldwin was aiming for with his O'Reilly. He had it
there at the beginning but lost it sometime when he was talking to
"himself" (which felt kinda like overkill at this point and could've
been shortened). Boy, Bill O’Reilly is probably going to be PISSED in the
coming week and have some choice words for Baldwin if he sees this or someone
passes this along to him. C+
Birthday Clown - This short was something that worked
because it wasted no time establishing itself and was tailor made for the only
two performers in the world (Louis and Bobby, of which I’m guessing the former
also could’ve wrote) who could've made it work. Bobby also played well off of
Melissa. The conclusion seemed a tiny bit rushed but other than that it worked
perfectly. B+
Sectional Couches – This live fake ad felt like something
that had to have been written for the previous live show with Scarlett
Johansson but had to be scrapped when they found out Fred Armisen couldn't make
it and had to be completely reworked into something else when Louis agreed to
the pitch. Surprisingly, Louis had just the right dramatic acting chops to pull
this off. Cecily and Aidy weren't too bad here either but I’m left wondering
why at least Cecily’s part had to be pretaped and yeah…now I’m starting to
think that maybe THIS is something Louis CK and Julio Torres worked on together.
B-
Tenement Museum - This final sketch worked better than it had
any right to. Louis and Kate were perfect for it. Kenan and Vanessa played off
them very well. That might have been the first time I've seen someone break in
an SNL sketch BEFORE the premise or main joke had been established, but knowing
Louis I can completely understand and give him a pass on that one. I don't know
if it was the strong choices Louis and Kate made with those accents level of
ethnic humor that normally wouldn't fly on SNL (or really anywhere) today but
those factors genuinely made this the funniest live sketch of the night. A-
Goodnights – I normally don’t comment on these but when
Louis commented on how he missed Don Rickles, it was the best actual tribute to
a recently deceased former castmember/host/friend of the show since Wiig and
Hader gave a special intro to Hartman and Hooks in “Love Is A Dream” in October
2014. This is the kind of thing they should be doing more of when there is a
death in the extended SNL family.
Now, for my updated rankings of 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. Louis C.K./The Chainsmokers
6. Aziz Ansari/Big Sean
7. Alec Baldwin/Ed Sheeran
8. John Cena/Maren Morris
9. Scarlett Johansson/Lorde
10. Felicity Jones/Sturgil Simpson
11. Casey Affleck/Chance The Rapper
12. Octavia Spencer/Father John Misty
13. Margot Robbie/The Weeknd
14. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars
15. Emma Stone/Shawn Mendes
16. Kristen Wiig/The xx
17. Benedict Cumberbatch/Solange
…and since he’s probably as close to being a five timer as
he’ll ever get I’m going to continue on a theme in my reviews as of late and
rank all of Louis’ episodes from best to worst counting this one. Now, since I’ve
reviewed all of his previous shows and remember them well this is going to be just
as easy as the last time I did it. I won’t have a big problem going by memory
but I did glance at the SNL archives first just to make sure I didn’t miss
anything. Here we go…
1. 1. Louis
C.K./Rhianna (5.16.2015)
2. 2. Louis
C.K./The Chainsmokers (4/8/2017)
3. 3. Louis
C.K./Fun (11.3.2012)
4. 4. Louis
C.K./Sam Smith (3.29.2014)
Well, that was a refreshing change of pace from the last two
shows. They could’ve done worse coming back from a three week break. Next week,
Jimmy Fallon returns for his third hosting stint in the first of four (possible)
shows* that will be broadcast live in all time zones across the country
(meaning you may have to tune in earlier than usual to see the show live). Yeah,
it feels like an odd time to have Fallon come back and host as I get the feeling
(and I bet I’m not alone here) that most of America seems to want to see LESS
of Jimmy right now if his Tonight Show ratings are any indication. Maybe their
counting on people STILL being nostalgic for his time in this cast but it still
feels too much like they are throwing Jimmy a bone here. I mean, think about
it. The last two times he hosted he was riding a wave of success from his
iteration of Late Night and his promotion from Late Night host to Tonight Show
host. This year, he is losing viewers to Colbert, so I guess if anything this
episode will be Fallon promoting his new Tonight Show ride at Universal Studios
Orlando? Well, that will certainly be a first. Harry Styles will be his musical
guest because apparently Zayn was too busy or turned them down. This feels like
a strange booking as I’ve heard he was invited because he is coming out with
solo material but nobody seems to have heard it yet so he may as well be
debuting it on the show for the first time. It’s the least amount of buildup
for a singers’ solo career before they come on SNL. Well, I’m off to go view the
livestream advance screening of the MST3K season 11 premiere (for Kickstarter
backers only…sorry guys, most of the rest of you will have to wait until Friday
to see it on Netlfix). I’ll see you guys bright and early next week.
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