Okay, here's my review. As expected, this show managed to be the relative high point of this season while not being as good as Larry Davids' first hosting stint from February 2016 in terms of quality or consistency. As a host, Larry certainly proved to be just as welcome of a presence as ever. Obviously this is good because he clearly gelled well with a cast and writing staff that has changed drastically since he last visited studio 8H. Still, its' nice to see they were still willing to take some risks for what felt like the first time this whole season. Aside from Luke, Mikey and Melissa everyone seemed to get a decent amount of airtime tonight. Anyway, lets' just break it down.
Trump & Manafort - This cold open felt pretty awkward even without the pre-shower scene blooper. I will say Alex as Paul Manafort worked more than it had any right to once you actually recognize what he was going for. I appreciated the initial sight gag of the Airplane!-style inflatable pilot disguised as Trump but I don't think that two scene of it was necessary (even if I kinda liked Cecily's dialogue in the second one). The best thing this cold open had going for it were Beck and Kates' walk-on as Pence and Sessions and even some of their parts could've been trimmed down a bit. C+
Monologue - This was quite enjoyable seeing as he rarely seems to do stand up anymore. His Weinstien jab worked much better than Alecs' in the cold open (c'mon , like every one on Twitter didn't make that same Weinstien joke that Baldwin just did). The Quasimodo jokes worked well and if it weren't for social media existing, you may also believe the Holocaust pickup lines did, too. Hey, all I'm saying is I've seen live SNL audiences react much worse to things that they considered shocking. B-
Celebrity Price Is Right - This worked very well. Beck Bennett is one of the last members of this cast I would ever expect to play Drew Carey (that role could've just as easily gone to Luke Null) but he pulled it off well (even if the voice was a little too high). Leslie and Kate played off each other well. This may have been my favorite of her appearances as Tilda Swinton on the show. Chris Redd did well as Lil Wayne. Kudos to him for getting his first impression with actual lines on the show. Alex did a great Chris Hemsworth and his presence provided a great excuse to sneak Miley and her fiance into the sketch. Nice to see Baldwins' Tony Bennet and Cecilys' Sofia Vergara worked in. Also, it was great that they found an impression from Melissa we haven't seen her do yet. Finally, I really liked that this was how the chose to work in the obligatory Bernie impression into the show. B+
Sarah Huckabee Sanders Press Confeerence - This music video was entertaining and had plenty of solid comedic moments (the "riddles" in particular come to mind) but something about it felt a little...off. I waa half expecting her to sing "incompetent" but as soon as she sang the actual lyrics, I got some mixed messages from it and at times it almost seemed like even the writers didn't know what they wanted this to be. Either way, I'm curious to see what Demi Lovato and Father and Daughter Huckabees' reactions will be. B-
Career Retrospective - This sketch was very funny. I liked how they took a real chance with this and got out right when they got all their necessary laughs and only Larry David could've made this work. Still, I was left wondering why Larrys' character had a ponytail that no one adknowledged and Aidys' character had no lines at all. For all its' strengths, it wasn't without its tiny flaws. B+
Baby Steps - This was something that really rewarded the viewers' patience as short as it was. Larry dressing down Miley and the cast was the best payoff possible to this. Plus, Pete Davidson is surprisingly competent as a rapper. C-
Update was a little inconsistent but it still had its moments despite how burnt out Jost and Che seemed at the beginning. Che had good rants on Trumps' tweets and the NAACP but this Update really seemed backloaded with all the best jokes delivered by Jost. The latest appearance by the Trump brothers seemed a little less inspired than their previous ones but Mikey and Alex still delivered (especially Alex who really knocked his best jokes out of the park once Mikey got him going). Kudos to Heidi for getting her first substantial character piece on the show and I was impressed with how well written and developed this was. I have a good feeling about Heidi as a cast member after she sold the hell out of this. It did almost seem like the type of thing that would've been written for Cecily except done better and with some more depth by Heidi. Leslie's commentary wasn't that great but it was obviously written as an excuse to work the Houston Astros into the show. B-
Fresh Takes - This sketch worked mostly because it felt natural as it wasn't as much of a stereotypical cookie cutter portrayal of high schoolers by a group of thirty-something adults as we'receive used to seeing on a show like SNL. They played well off of Larrys' wildly inappropriate AP History teacher and I'm glad to see they were able to bring his character to its logical conlusion. Leslie and the various "sponsors" were very funny. Pete and Chris scored some decent laughs. Miley didn't quite play against type here but kudos to Luke for getting one of the biggest laughs of the show with his only line of the show. B+
New Wife - This sketch also REALLY rewarded the viewers' patience for a totally different reason that obviously wasn't planned. I was actually anticipating Larry to start cracking up any minute. After watching this, any SNL viewer should be able to fully understand how breaking character can sometimes save a sketch rather than always derail it. Upon second viewing, what worked within the sketch that WAS planned was hearing Larrys' character incredulously over explain his girlfriends gay culture to a confused Beck, Kate and Chris and then suddenly kick Beck out of the room. Still, that worked best as a buildup to the breaking. C-
Good Neighbor: Beers - This worked mostly because of how intentionally absurdly miscast Larry was in his role and how the cheesy production values clashed with the attempts at building a serious or dramatic moment. It had the usual reliable trademarks of a Good Neighbor short that get laughs, but what Larry added was really icing on the cake. B+
Now, for my updated rankings for this season....
1. Larry David/Miley Cyrus
2. Kumail Nanjiani/P!nk
3. Gal Gadot/Sam Smith
4. Ryan Gosling/Jay-Z
Well, that was a shot in the arm the show needed right now. This season got off to a slow start but thankfully it has been gradually improving. Still, the question now is how long can they at least keep this momentum going? Next week, Tiffany Haddish makes her hosting debut I know shes' a stand up but I'm not terribly familiar with the jokes in her act. Most of my exposure to her has been seeing her as a guest on various panel/late night/talk shows. Still, after Larrys' monologue from tonight I am very excited at the prospect of THREE consecutive stand up monologs in a row (especially when one is from a person whose act I am genuinely seeing for the first time). I'm sure she'll also be dynamic as a host and hopefully Leslie and Chris get their chances to shine when paired up with her. Still, even an established comedian would need to be backed up with some solid writing so let's hope they keep actively trying to improve the show and play your Tiffanys' strengths rather than expose her weaknesses as an actress. See you then!
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