Okay, here's my review. Even this early in this particular season, this was a very inconsistent middle of the road show. I guess my expectations were a little too high this time considering that I remember liking Jonah Hills' '08 and '16 shows overall (certainly much more than I liked his '12 and '14 shows). I must have forgot that as much as he likes to grow and mature as an actor (and now apparently director) in Hollywood he just comes back to SNL to return to his Appatow comedy roots. Once again, the casts airtime seemed a little uneven as well as Mikey, Alex & Chris were barely in the show but everyone else seems to have gotten in their fare share. Kudos to Melissa in particular for finally getting a decent chance to prove her worth here. Other than that, this show had a strange vibe to it as while we only really saw one recurring piece all night, everything else felt derivative of something the show had done previously. Let's break it down.
Ingraham Angle - Well, I guess it was anyones' guess as to what this week's cold open was going to be focused on. I did like the "migrant caravan" angle. While I thought it lacked some substance and was almost too "bare bones" for it's own good, everybody had funny lines and the performances were decent. I'm still not that crazy about Kate's Laura Ingraham but I did like the return of the Handeyesque fake sponsors. Cecilys' Jeneanne Pirro was the strongest impression in this. I'm glad the show finally took down Sherriff David Clarke but Kenans' performance left me wanting a bit more. I was wondering how Chris Redd or Dave Chappelle (who they say would've played this part when he hosted had the election turned out differently) would've done here. Obviously, the true highlight of the sketch was the show seemingly calling itself out over its' own high profile association with a certain VERY frequently recurring guest star. That was a high note to end this on. C+
Monologue - I'm not sure we needed yet another look inside the Five-Timers' club lounge but at least they took an opportunity to mildly surprise us with a few genuinely unexpected cameos (of which Candice Bergen was the most welcome, IMHO and her calling Jonah out over his using toilet humor as a crutch was the funniest part of this). Otherwise, I kinda found myself disappointed by this partly because I was quickly reminded of how all out they went when they inducted Timberlake five years ago and partly because I found it an awkward place to jam in a #MeToo screed. B-
I'm (Still) Six! - I was initially baffled when I saw the Benihana set being assembled during the commercial break. Since we did not see Adam Grossman during Jonah Hills' 2016 hosting stint, I assumed they had retired the character. I certainly wasn't expecting to see him return because...y'know, both Bill AND Vanessa have since left the show. I guess it's not too much to expect that they would find a way to do that without either of them by just sticking Leslie in their place. Given both of their penchants for breaking on camera, I guess this was a disaster waiting to happen but still that was the most endearing part of this. I also do appreciate how they actually tried to have the six year old face a significant challenge to his own inexperienced world view by having him meet his first real life gay couple at the restaurant. C-
Vote Blue...Please?!? - This didn't really go anywhere at all once it established it's main joke. I liked the Beck smoking/Kate drinking/windows shattering gags as well as the Kyle/Aidy/Pete scenes but that's about it. D+
KCR News Albany - This was all over the place in terms of broad performances but thankfully it established a serviceable twist ending and didn't take too long to get there. It came just short of overstaying it's welcome. The highlights were Jonah's green screen shirt mishap and Aidys' brief walk on. C-
Divided We Stand - I'd like to think that the theater kids from Woodbridge High School grew up and went out to try and make it on their own (because it's pretty obvious that who ever wrote those sketches likely had a hand in writing this one). The harsh reviews from Beck, Chris, Alex and Heidi are what made this for me (even as tired and cliched of a narrative device that's become on SNL). Jonah unintentionally does a dead on Lin-Manuel Miranda. B+
Driver's Ed - This was basically just the infamous Kenan wheelchair sketch from ScarJos' 2010 episode if it were done exactly three seasons later. That's right, I'm saying this sketch was such a conceptual mess that it seemed like something that could've only been done in 2013-14. Still, everyone's full commitment to this premise made it worth watching. Oddly, something about Kate's performance really reminded me of what made her stand out as a performer in her early seasons when she still had something to prove and she wasn't quite the shows' go-to workhorse performer yet. I also liked how they made it pretty clear that Pete, Aidy and Jonahs' giggling wasn't breaking and was actually a part of the sketch. D+
Update was pretty uneven. Most of the jokes were pretty lackluster but the commentaries were well worth tuning in for. Che may have set a new record with his midterm voting rant for "longest he has ever held on to whatever seemingly cogent, salient point he was trying to make before letting it get away from him". Besides that, Ches' Megyn Kelly spa joke and Josts' Colombian-nun-turned-porn-star joke were the only ones who stood out. Petes' newest "First Impressions" segment was funnier than it had any right to be for something that was probably hastily written that morning to replace whatever Ariana Grande related piece he was reported to have written that he and Lorne mutually decided to cut (but kudos to him for seriously addressing said breakup in the most mature and dignified way he could muster). It was refreshing to finally see Melissa given a real chance to pull her weight as a cast member even if it was just behind the Update desk on camera but it was icing on the cake. It was neat that she was doing an original character rather than an impression. It was icing on the cake that she was taking on a highly conceptual role that they normally would've given to Cecily or Heidi. She really delivered here. Is it just me or did it seem like she was simultaneously channeling every non-Ellen Cleghorne female cast member from the early '90s "Bad Boys" era? Kenans' Big Papi felt like more of the same (even if we really did go quite a while without actually seeing this character) but again, I did like hearing about all of his sponsorships. B+
Americas' Got Talent: Wait, They're Good? - This sketch dragged on WAY too long for what it was and pretty much belabored the hall out of any and every point it had to make. Fortunately, I don't really have to watch or keep up with AGT to get what they were going for. Speaking of which, it's pretty surreal seeing Melissa Villaseñor participate in an SNL sketch parodying AGT fully knowing full well she may not have gotten to be on the former show without first becoming a contestant on the latter. Kudos to Ego for landing her first impression role on the show. Also, is it just me or does Kyle not make a good enough Howie Mandel? C-
HuckaPM - Well, since I could see the big reveal coming from two towns over I'm glad they spent the minimal amount of time necessary getting past it. This didn't have the freshest or most original premise but the Farleyesque pratt falls saved it from being a total waste. B-
Pug Wigs - Well, this is best appreciated for the casts visual commitment to something so unabashedly silly. Thankfully, it didn't get dragged out. Kenan and Kyles' appearances were the best things about it. C+
Now, for my updated rankings of this season...
1. Seth Meyers/Paul Simon
2. Adam Driver/Kanye West
3. Jonah Hill/Maggie Rogers
4. Awkwafina/Travis Scott
Now, just for fun, I'm going to rank each of Jonah's previous episodes from best to worst like I do with all newly inducted five timers...
1. Jonah Hill/Mariah Carey (3/15/2008)
2. Jonah Hill/Future (3/5/2016)
3. Jonah Hill/Bastille (1/25/2014)
4. Jonah Hill/The Shins (3/10/2012)
5. Jonah Hill/Maggie Rogers (11/3/2018)
Well, that was that. Next week, Liev Schreiber hosts. I think I've already made my preconceptions about that perfectly clear. See you next week!
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