Okay, here's my review. This was definitely the strongest show of this month. Overall, it was a high point for the whole season. It was slightly inconsistent at times but what clicked really clicked and there was plenty of fun to be had. The show didn't feel to bogged down in recurring sketches but there were plenty of nice retreads to things that were enjoyable the first time we saw them. Matt Damon proved to be just as effective a host as he was sixteen years ago. Each cast member seemed to get plenty of airtime with no one really getting shut out, not even Ego for once. Normally, I'd say it was strange that Pete was barely in the show but given the circumstances it was smart of them to not let him do Update (or really be in any other non-filmed sketches for that matter) and have his only (thankfully) live appearance be introducing Miley's second performance to show his fans he's okay and not succumbing to pressure. Anyway, let's unpack this week.
It's A Wonderful Trump - I appreciate all the time and effort that obviously went into putting this on as the cold open, but it was kinda hard for me to get into. For one thing, they're pretty much subjecting us to the exact same guest cameos and political characterizations they bought out two weeks ago (give or take about three people). Still, I have to say Damon's Kavanaugh was the most welcome addition. He was the only one who actually made me laugh here and I think it's because this is only his second appearance. Seriously, since Brett Kavanaugh has only been a headline grabbing political figure for four, maybe six months tops out of the entire year and Damon hasn't been able to make it out to New York again until this week, it's the character that's been beaten into the ground the absolute least. Also, for some reason I was expecting this to take place in more than just two different settings. I was hoping to see Baldwin and Kenan travel around to more different landscapes if this sketch was going to be as long as it was. It was only after the sketch ended that I realized that I may have been confusing "It's A Wonderful Life" with "A Christmas Carol" but then I remembered that they've done "It's A Wonderful Life" parodies that have sprawled about the studio a bit. "It's A Wonderful Newt" from season 20 immediately comes to mind as (to a lesser extent) Baldwin's monologue from four years after that (which oddly makes this the second "It's A Wonderful Life" parody that Baldwin has participated on the show in 20 years). This one more closely resembled the two cold opens from season 15 ("It's A Wonderful Dice" and the one from Goodman's first episode in December '89). C-
Monologue - This had to have been the most endearing monologue the show has done in several years. I genuinely appreciate Damon admitting that bonding through SNL meant as much to him and his family life as it did mine. I also liked him flat out admitting he had no movie out and the nonsequitir of this being Becks' last show. It's nice to see two hosts in a row who both claim to be knowledgeable fans of the show (especially when at least one if them can actually translate that into their performances). B+
Westminster Daddy Show - While I immediately recognized that I am WAY not the target audience for this, I do appreciate how it played out as the sketch went into detail explaining every intricate detail of it's own premise to me. I especially liked the visual gag of graying, middle aged men being jogged and led around by professional dog handlers and the twist that Damon's character would be a last minute Triwizard Cup dark horse victor. I also liked the back and forth between Kenan and Alex although I don't know if I like seeing Alex get typecast in all the smug, self-superior, perpetually blind to their own privelege straight white guy roles. B+
Best Christmas Ever - This was obviously done in the same vein as the Girls Halloween/middle school theater Legally Blond/Amy Schumer pregnancy shorts from the past two seasons. Having one of these take place during Christmas was a nice touch. Since I've seen this format so many times already, not much stood out to me besides Mikeys' #MAGA hat cousin and Damon consoling his non-adopted daughter and cursing at a crumbling Fisher-Price play house. C+
Back Of The Tree Ornaments - This was the funniest live piece of the night. Beck, Kyle and Melissa seemed mostly resigned to thankless straight roles but everyone else turned in great performances. Damon poked fun at himself and his career in an interesting way. Mikey was committed to playing his first of two Harry Potter characters of the night as an oblivious sap. Oddly, Kate's old aftermath of 9/11 era Guliani is a much more accurate impression than her current day Trump administration era Guliani. I wouldn't mind seeing her continue to play present day Rudy if the stuck to using that exact same voice doing so. Cecily doesn't play a lot of creepily damaged roles very often but she succeeded here channeling her inner Maria Bamford. Honestly, the worst thing about this sketch was the constant camera miscues. A-
Oscar's Host Auditions - The recent Kevin Hart controversy was an odd excuse to do another impressions screen test showcase but it was clever and it's always fun to see these. Egos' Tiffany Haddish was pretty dead on but the voice she used was a little too high pitched. I'd say the same for Kate's Michelle Wolf but maybe also suggest that Cecily had played her instead so that Michelle Wolf doesn't gradually sound just like Kellyanne Conway for some reason. Speaking of Cecily, I haven't seen a single episode of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" but I've seen thr cast and crew accept an absurd amount of Emmys inbetween each of the seemingly-endlessly-played-on-a- loop promos for the show to be able to see how accurate Cecilys' Rachel Brosnahan impression was. Damon's Hemsworth and McConaughey impressions were on the mark. Kenans' Michael Strahan and Terry Crews were very funny (although the former didn't make me forget about Jay Pharrohs' impression). Aidys' Roseanne still doesn't do much for me but her Hannah Gadsby stood out. I haven't seen Nanette but again, I did see her Emmys speech and from what I remember I can see why Aidy may have had to exaggerate this a little. Pete had the look down for Rami Malek but he may have needed a little more than just that. Of course, it's always nice to see Redds' Kanye, Melissas' Silverman, Heidi's Allison Janney and Kate's Ellen again. B-
Jingle Bells - This was obviously a Strong/Anderson/Sublette collab and I gotta say this was the most easily tolerable thing they've put together in quite some time. It's nice to see something from them that was just bland and forgettable rather than actively obnoxious and over the top. It reminded me of the lower key lounge singing duo type pieces that Anderson and Sublette would write for Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig. C-
Update was uneven but had some strong moments. Jost really got it going with the Cohen jokes after telling two Trump jokes that read so interchangeable they could've been cut from any Update in the past two years. I liked "Where's Wes" the first time I saw it during one of the Summer Thursday episodes last year. I don't think I needed to see it again when the only thing that's different is that a Christmas Carol is the theme song. I'm not sure why we needed to see Angel again either until I realized who tonight's host was. He was a welcome addition and I guess this gets the obligatory Boston role out of the way. I'd have to say the funniest moments of Update were Jost acknowledging the awkwardness of the Boy Scouts/Sex Island transition and he and Che reading each other's jokes written for each other. If that wasn't 100% genuine, then Jost in particular really knew how to sell it. B+
Weezer Dinner - I'd actually like to know who wrote this (I suspect it was whoever wrote that Shrek dinner sketch from Sterling K. Browns' episode in March) because casting Leslie opposite Damon as two ardent yet diametrically opposed Weezer fans was pretty inspired. I also liked how the ending was relatively grounded. B-
Christmas With The Cops - This sketch really didn't go anywhere at all and felt much too long and drawn out. The most pointless thing about it was Baldwin's presence. He barely had anything to contribute aside from a watered down version of his old DeNiro impression (and there was a distinct possibility that DeNiro had already left the building by that point). It's already uncomfortable enough just seeing him play Trump at this point. We're well beyond the point where he should also be placed in regular sketches throughout the show. The only things approaching jokes were Cecilys' walk on and Beck admitting to shooting Kyle's wife. If this was a parody of a specific scene from a specific cop drama, the reference was lost on me. I can't even tell who the intended audience was for this one. D+
Happy Christmas, Britain - Well, it's nice to see SNL comment on international politics every once in a while but a lot of this seemed destined to be lost on US audiences. Kate and Matt did turn on fine performances. I mean, I don't know a ton about former UK Prime Minister David Cameron but Matt Damon is still not the first person I would picture playing him. Aidys' Elton John is okay but still comes off rather strange and out of place. Mikey as Lord Voldemort looked like it was going to be the best part of this but too bad the bulk of his part had to get cut abruptly due to time. I guess Jost & Ches' giggling made Update run long. C-
Now, for my updated rankings of this season...
1. Seth Meyers/Paul Simon
2. Matt Damon/Mark Ronson & Miley Cyrus
3. Adam Driver/Kanye West
4. Steve Carrell/Ella Mai
5. Jason Momoa/Mumford & Sons
6. Claire Foy/Anderson .Paak
7. Liev Schreiber/Lil Wayne
8. Jonah Hill/Maggie Rogers
9. Awkwafina/Travis Scott
Well, that was a strong note to end the calendar year on. I'm shocked that there was no on air acknowledgment that this WASN'T SNLs' surprise series finale let alone any host/MG announcement for any episode that could theoretically take place next year. Maybe they actually ARE trying to get Bradley Cooper and/or Lady Gaga to do the show on January 19 and are just not having their calls returned. Maybe they already had them booked as recently as this week but they both had to drop out at the last possible second? I mean, it happened with Ariana Grande already this season. The way this season has been going, I don't see why it couldn't happen twice. I guess they'll make an announcement on social media either this next coming week or early next month after the holidays. Anyway, Happy Holidays and see you January 19th...whoever we end up getting.
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