Okay, here's my review. This was a strong episode that pretty much falls in line with the rest of this season in terms of quality. Chance The Rapper performed well as a host but even though we saw more of him throughout the show, he left virtually the same impression as he did the last time he was on as a musical guest. He came across as a little nervous and unpolished, but that may be expected of a first time host taking their first stabs at acting and/or sketch comedy. He obviously gelled well enough with the cast. Speaking of which, kudos to Chris Redd on having his first real standout episode of the season much like Heidi did before him last week. Anyway, let's break it down.
The Muller Files: Wikileaks - This cold open at first seemed like it was going to be more original and creative than it was going to be. Still, I do appreciate them going outside the box a little bit more and not overusing Alec Baldwin for the cold opens lately. Kate is a suitable replacement for Hader as Julian Assange and she seemed to play the part with much more subtlety than her other male roles. Mikey and Alex are still funny as Don Jr and Eric even when they just repeat their rythyms and cadences from the Update desk in sketch form. I did also like how they broke format a little with the LFNY line. Too bad the audience was pretty dead through this. Also, why did they title this "The Muller Files" when Muller was barely even mentioned let alone depicted in it?? C+
Monologue - This was enjoyable. I was expecting a musical monologue seeing as Chance The Rapper was not credited as a musical guest tonight, but given his stage name this wasn't quite the monologue I WAS expecting. It felt like a much funnier rewrite of Wiigs' Thanksgiving monologue from last year. Chance had some decent jokes although his delivery could've been better. Still, I think we can give him a pass for how noticeably nervous he was. He is a first time host after all. Kudos on Heidi and Luke getting their airtime I'm early. Also, Melissa looked pretty damn good here. C+
Wayne Manor Thanksgiving - This sketch was funnier than it had any right to be. The writing wasn't ambitious but the cast performances really sold this. The non-Caucasian cast really had the funniest parts and sold them. Melissa came in at just tge right time, got her laughs and got out. That's what really made this stand out from the other bits of sketch comedy I've seen poking fun at the foibles of Bale/Nolan/Dark Night Era Batman films. C+
Come Back Barack - This was a catchy song even though I could immediately see the joke coming after Kenans line about crying after he turns on the TV. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that Chance wrote this. Speaking of Kenan, his spoken word breakdown was the real highlight of this. My only actual complaint would be that some of the lyrics were unintelligible. B-
Family Feud IX - I'm glad to see they're still doing Family Feud sketches (I'm guessing whoever writes these is still with the show?) This did seem like a rewrite of the Family Feud sketch from the last episode that Tracy Morgan hosted but with a couple of small twists added to it to make it seem more complex. Still, I liked how they worked in Redd, Che and the new black writer who played Leslie and Kyles' college aged sin last week. Plus, Chance actually does a pretty solid Steve Harvey himself and I did appreciate the Forrest Gump reference. B-
Update was consistently strong tonight. Jost and Che don't have any real duds. The opening sexual harassed rant really stood out as I really appreciate how they went after Franken in a way that would trick someone who has never seen an episode of SNL from before 2004 that he was never even associated with the show. Josts' Piven joke was also great although I can't help but wonder what his Roger Goddell joke would've sounded like if Che had been the one delivering it. Kate really isn't bringing anything new to her portrayal of Jeff Sessions but I appreciate them relying on her more than Alec these days. This may have been both my favorite Pete Davidson and Bruce Chandling commentaries ever. I like how Kyle really relished delivering dumb punchlines with such foolhardy glee and made his sob story more grounded yet still rediculous. I think what made Petes' commentary work so well was seeing Pete and Colin laugh because of their bond over their mutual disdain of thir hometown of Staten Island. I honestly do have to wonder how many of those newspaper quotes were real. B+
Sideline Hockey Reporter - For a sketch that was based so heavily on a slightly tired and overused stereotype, this was much funnier than it could've been. Chance really sold his lines (which I'm guessing were written by some combination of him, Bryan Tucker and/or Gary Richardson). He and Alex seemed to have the most to add here out of anyone. This seemed like a slightly more underwritten version of the Univision Winter Olympics coverage sketch from the second time J. Lo hosted in 2010. C+
Rap History - This was very funny. Chance, Chris and Kenan really sold both the younger and older versions of themselves. It seemed a little unfocused at first but it holds up better upon repeat viewings as you can see what they were going for more clearly. I'm starting to think that Che may have written this because I've noticed a big part of his comedy is drawing parallels between disparate groups of people. When Petes' character was first established, I first thought something that came out about him in real life may have been part of the basis of this sketch. See, I follow the Twitter account @SNLInReview run by professional writer/critic Andy Hoglund. He reviews the show and posts the odd bit of trivia about it. On Petes' birthday, he tweeted that Pete had supposedly never even knowingly watched SNL before auditioning (outside of some Celebrity Jeopardy sketches on YouTube that he for some reason could not place). I mean, I know Pete is younger than me but this is still a stunning revelation. B+
Career Day - Chance and Mikey were both the best things about this sketch. Cecily and Aidy had some decent back and forth. This reminded me a lot of a similar sketch from January 2003 where host Jeff Gordon played an air force pilot and Seth Meyers played a carpet salesman and they were both giving competing career day presentations to an elementary school class. Also, was anyone else expecting more of an ending where there would've been some sort of reconciliation moment between father's and sons? C+
Skank Babysitter 17 - They didn't really do anything new with Aidys' character here but I did like Kyles' one line and I really did appreciate getting to see more of Heidi in a substantial lead role (even one that the other ladies could've played in a similar way). C-
Now, for my updated rankings for the season...
1. Tiffany Haddish/Taylor Swift
2. Chance The Rapper/Eminem
3. Larry David/Miley Cyrus
4. Kumail Nanjiani/P!nk
5. Gal Gadot/Sam Smith
6. Ryan Gosling/Jay-Z
Well, that was certainly one of the stronger Thanksgiving shows in recent memory. After the holiday, Saiorse Ronan makes her hosting debut. This comes way our of left field. I only know shes' an actress because I read that she was part of a spread in Vanity Fair or some magazine of that ilk along with Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence and (possibly?) Meryl Streep where one of these women (I think it was Emma?) spoke out against sexual harassment in the field. I take it she mostly takes on dramatic roles and isn't tremendously well versed in comedy or anything. I have no idea what to expect here. See you then!
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