Melissa McCarthy/Haim (5.13.2017)

Okay, here’s my review. This weeks’ episode had its moments but it felt like a very strange show given that Melissa McCarthy was hosting and there was certainly NO shortage of political news this past week. I would expect both of these things to have really lit a fire under the writers’ asses but sadly there was no evidence of that here tonight. This wasn’t exactly the weakest show of the entire season but it was definitely the weakest of all the shows that went out live coast to coast so far. Hell, I barely felt like I was watching a truly “live” show and it wasn’t because of the hockey game going into overtime that may have at least delayed it on the east coast. Melissa officially joined the famed five timers’ club tonight which means that Lorne, the cast and the writing staff OBVIOUSLY loved working with her each and every time she has hosted. You’d think they’d jump at the chance to do so again and would make an effort to give her as much screen time as possible but she sadly (and STRANGELY I reiterate) felt way underutilized tonight. It’s not that she was overshadowed by anyone at all; she just seemed all but hidden in plain sight tonight. The strange thing about this was that Melissa McCarthy is usually a larger than life presence at SNL but none of that presence was felt in studio 8H this week. Maybe it was because she was noticeably less focused on broad physical humor as much as she has been in past SNL outings. Maybe the pressure on the staff of having to keep up with this weeks’ rapid fire deluge of jaw dropping political news at possibly break neck speed almost broke everyone. Maybe the staff knew they were going to narrow their focus to one particular part of the show from the very start of the week because it did certainly feel that way. Any number of these factors could’ve led to such an underwhelming show. I’ll let you decide which one(s) as we break down this weeks’ show together once again.

NBC News Trump/Holt Interview - This was enjoyable if not a little uneven. It didn't really get going until the Nixon/Kelly Anne jabs and the Melania/prime the pump line in the middle. Still, it was well acted and I liked the "did I get him/nothing matters" bit at the beginning. Mikey did well as Paul Ryan. It's about time he inevitably took over that role. I also liked the brief return of Alex as Anderson "Eye Roll 360" Cooper. B-

Monologue - This was entertaining enough once Melissa took that woman from the audience backstage. I liked that Kyles' appearance as well as the fact that they finally acknowledged the running gag of the backstage Llama. Why were the cameos from Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds necessary? I was hoping this was the monologue because they were so focused on making sure this show was caught up on all this weeks' insane political news that they only suddenly remembered it was mothers' day after realizing they forgot to write out a monologue this week. Sadly, much of the rest of the show didn't seem to confirm that suspicion for me. C-

Just Desserts – This REALLY stretched out one simple punchline for all it was worth. Honestly, it felt like a leftover dress rehearsal sketch from McCarthys' first show in 2011...that had previously been cut from several dress rehearsals...the last two seasons in a row. This was completely the wrong choice to lead off the show. D-

Amazon Echo Silver - This sketch seemed to have been suffering from the same fate as Just Desserts at first but the cast really did all they could to save this one. Kenan, Kyle, Kate and Leslie performed it well and made it more watchable than it had any right to be. C-

Sean Spicer Press Briefing IV - The requisite Spicer sketch left a little to be desired. It seems like it will compare better to the rest of this episode than it will to previous Spicer sketches, but at the same time I did like how they at least tried to imply the existence of a running arc or through line with the other Spicer sketches that was being concluded here tonight. It reminded me a bit of the Seth/Stefan wedding in Haders' final episode but drained of any and all emotional impact. I also liked how the pretaped footage from the other day turned out and how they incorporated it in between the live portions of the sketch as well as Aidys' performance as Sarah Huckabee-Sanders. The only real demerit on this sketch is that the ending felt a little rushed and incomplete. B-

Update was better than its' been in recent weeks. As far as jokes, the only ones that really stood out were the Trump/Comey/record scratch jabs (I pretty much knew exactly where Colins' Spicer/Bushes joke was headed before he even finished it). Petes' post-rehab commentary was the funniest thing he's done on (or off) the show in quite some time but it did really have a strong feeling like he was working out some new stand up material at the worst possible time setting. I did like Cecilys' latest Cathy-Anne appearance for the building absurdity and the glimpses of her back story we got. B-

Debette Goldry Does The Lincoln Center - Aside from adding Melissa as a clone of Kates' character, this was just a blatant by-the-numbers rewrite of the first one (right down to casting Cecily and Sasheer as Marion Cotillard and Lupita N'Yongo respectively). Thankfully, the outlandish Stefon-like quality of the writing of these is still present. Kates' "grip" joke had another punchline I saw coming from two towns over and I wish Melissa had put a little more effort into her character. It seemed like she was just trying to imitate the voices of Seth Greens' extremely nerdy characters from "Family Guy" and "Robot Chicken". I guess if nothing else this sketch just did more to confirm that Vanessa, Cecily and Sasheer are the best at not breaking. C+

Kyle And Leslie On The Rocks - I like that they chose to not only keep going down the road with Leslie and Kyles' relationship but also keep them grounded by giving them problems down the line to face. I also thought it was sweet of the cast to indulge their wedding and kids' recital in the studio. Also, naming their apparently rapidly aging kid "little Lorne" gave me flashbacks to when Jimmy and Tina did a "dramatic play" on Update 12 years ago when Cameron Diaz hosted. Lorne walked away with this simply by having the most psychologically removed reaction to Kyle shooting Josh right on the leg. B-

Mothers And Their Spirit Animals - This sketch was another blatant rewrite of the mom haircut sketch from last mothers’ day when Brie Larson hosted. Still, this one was a bit funnier by virtue of being more outlandish. I did like Vanessas' speech and McCarthy's line about choosing to call her son before a big meeting. Still, the only thing this sketch really had going against it was how out of place Villasenor seemed here. She stuck out like a sore thumb but oh well. I guess this was sort of a rite of passage for her as SNLs' newest female cast member. I understand that Sasheer wrote the Brie Larson edition of this sketch with her most frequent collaborators on the writing staff. I would assume she also got to write this as well so good on her for being able to get her own material on the air. C-

Lighthouse Pictures - This was the funniest live sketch of the night. I really liked how McCarthy and Bennett each really built up the strange silliness of this in their own different ways and how well Bobby and Cecily played off of them. B+

Goodnights - Having Steve Martin come out during the good nights to present Melissa with her own smoking jacket was a nice touch. I was wondering if they were going to make as big of a deal of McCarthy joining the five timers club when it actually happened as they did BEFORE it happened. B+

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. Jimmy Fallon/Harry Styles

7. Aziz Ansari/Big Sean

8. Chris Pine/LCD Soundsystem

9. Alec Baldwin/Ed Sheeran

10. Melissa McCarthy/Haim

11. John Cena/Maren Morris

12. Scarlett Johansson/Lorde

13. Felicity Jones/Sturgil Simpson

14. Casey Affleck/Chance The Rapper

15. Octavia Spencer/Father John Misty

16. Margot Robbie/The Weeknd

17. Emily Blunt/Bruno Mars

18. Emma Stone/Shawn Mendes

19. Kristen Wiig/The xx

20. Benedict Cumberbatch/Solange

Now, I’d like to give you my ranking of all of Melissa McCarthy’s episodes so far form best to worst (much like my ranking of this season above). Now, this was a considerable challenge. Unlike Justin Timberlake, Melissa McCarthy doesn’t seem to rely on a specific set of characters and by-the-numbers scripts. While her characterizations can be varied, there tends to be a common theme among her performances. She has a gift for fearless physical comedy and, in some cases, a knack for Wiig-like awkward interactions. She’s had memorable sketches from each of her specific episodes, but nothing much stands out at an “above all else” level. This is what really makes her episodes run together in my mind. Since I knew I couldn’t rely solely on memory on this one, I decided to reread some of my archived reviews of her old shows and rewatch some of her old sketches on YouTube and the SNL app. Frankly, I was surprised to see what still holds up and what doesn’t. Anyway, without further ado…here are my rankings of the shows hosted by the five timers clubs’ newest female inductee.

1. Melissa McCarthy/Kanye West (2.13.2016)

2. Melissa McCarthy/Imagine Dragons (2.1.2014)

3. Melissa McCarthy/Haim (5.13.2017)
4. Melissa McCarthy/Lady Antebellum (10.1.2011)

5. Melissa McCarthy/Phoenix (4.13.2013)

Well, that was a slight disappointment considering I’ve never had my expectations that high for a Melissa McCarthy episode until now. Next week, the season draws to a close as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Katy Perry bring us all home. Now, there’s the host that’s going to end this tumultuous year with a bang! While Dwayne and Melissa are two very different hosts who’ve done the show in vastly different eras of its history (and surprisingly the former started relying less on physical comedy earlier) I do have the same expectations for both hosts whenever they appear as it’s obvious they both bring the same drive, energy and work ethic to the show. Still, let’s hope we’re not let down as hard next week as we were after this Saturday. See you then!