Long Brewing Pre Show Thoughts
Hi, everyone. I know it's been a rough week, but if you found yourself in the right headspace to read this review as a bit of distraction, I'm glad you're here.
I'd like to start this review by copying and pasting an actual Facebook status I posted eight years ago around this time. I feel the message is still relevant this week.
Yes, that was a depressing time for me as well. Eight years later, I mostly feel a numbness more than an outright depression.
Maybe I'm just older and a bit more jaded or maybe the fact that he got elected and served a four year term once already helped me absorb some of the shock of this but I'm grateful for two things I have now that I did not have then; a job and a steady income.
Yes, at least I do have a schedule to adhere to and more structure in my life to help distract me and get me through the next few weeks and months.
So, if you're struggling right now just know that I'm here for you and I care about you. Take some time for self care and to do what you need to do in your own life and whenever you're ready come back ready to fight. We'll figure out a way to fight back against this thing once we know more about what's actually going to happen.
Now, on to the show...
Plea To Trump
- Like many of you, I was also wondering what this week's cold open would be and how they would address the week's events striking the appropriate balance between "appropriately maudlin" and "appropriately funny". Part of me was hoping they would do something more original than...what we got eight and four years ago around this time.
- Well, I'm glad they didn't go full on "Hallelujah/somber musical number" mode (not sure that was warranted this time and the moment when Kate did it is usually looked on derisively now...even if it probably "met the moment" better than most of the material in this episode did). They actually tried to give us something with a hint of satire to cut the treacle. It's always nice to see SNL buck even the most basic expectations with it's cold opens. Bowens' "breathalyzer" line made me chuckle and if they had to throw the newest cast members under the bus, I'm glad this turned out to be FAR from the only screen time they would get.
- This gave me strong flashbacks to the cold open to the Shelly Winters episode of Friday's from January 1981 shortly after Reagan got elected (look it up on YouTube kids) or the monologue Jon Keister did on Almost Live shortly after the Republicans took congress in 1994. This is more in line with what the show should be aiming for in terms of political sketches.
- JAJ (boy, he must be going through a range of emotions, right now, huh?) as Rambo Trump (I think the Weird Al/UHF fan in me helped me appreciate that one) and especially Carveys' Elon Musk were my favorite parts of this. Well, I liked Carveys' Elon better than his Biden anyway.
- Sure, I've seen more accurate Elon impressions than Carveys' warmed over Hans but I just generally approve of any portrayal of Elon Musk that makes him out to look like the big fuckin' dumbass he really is. B+
Monologue
- Huh...well, the flu/plane/foot stuff didn't do much for me but the "God made this guy" bit got this off to a decent start. I laughed at Bill calling Kamala a "real estate agent who speaks through her nose". I also liked the "Trump goes to McDonald's" stuff and his Shaquille O'Neal impression was fun and genuinely not dicey at all.
- Speaking of "not meeting the moment correctly" the "pantsuit" rant is gonna make pretty much all of social media insufferable for a day or two...but then again Bill Burr complained about a lack of "empathy" so...as always, you can at least tell his heart's in the right place.
- Does Bill Burr seriously think that the first assassination attempt WASN'T...ah, never mind, let's not go there right now. C+
Firefighters
- I liked how Bill played off the sheer deranged absurdity of this like it was nothing.
- I'm not surprised at all that Steven Castillo came back to write this. Anything with homemade cartoon porn seems like it would be right up his alley. Nice use of JAJ & Emil Wakim, though. B-
Buffalo Wild Wings
- Ok, it took me all of three seconds to figure out that this would be the obligatory "Mikey adjacent Boston Masshole" pretape. Still, he and Burrs' wildly off topic rants and their hockey fight at the end made this funny. B-
The Best Of Snakeskin
- Good to see another JAJ/Dismukes musical pairing (with an assist from Sarah) that actually works after "Remember Lizards" fell flat.
- I remember, in his last season (possibly the 47 premiere?) when Pete Davidson did a Weekend Update commentary deconstructing 80s hair/glam metal. This basically felt like that was thrown in a blender with "Best Of T.T. & Mario" and "Chucky Lee Byrd" but the way this was performed and written really helped save this.
- My only complaint would be that the "molestation" references were a little overdone. B-
The Janitor
- I can see how this seemed a little too silly, overlong and unfocused for some but the performances from Burr, Dismukes, JAJ and Thompson were what put it over for me.
- I have grown some appreciation for the "genius mathematician/dumbest Janitor ever" duality that was secretly a secret theme in this.
- JAJ as Robin Williams whole character was nice even if his whole beats felt a bit too telegraphed. C+
Calling Dad
- It's nice to settle down a bit and focus on something that has a point. Still, it feels like it might have been a little much this far into a Bill Burr hosted episode to have another piece focused on how older men communicate and/or stifle their emotions. I mean, it kinda feels like we may have covered that territory in "Buffalo Wild Wings" and "Snakeskin" but it's nice to see something with sharper and more grounded writing than those. B-
Weekend Update w/Jost & Che
- Jesus, it's called "reading the room", Colin. Look into it.
- Even Che seemed focused tonight. He even bought back his "guy who's no longer hiding his drinking problem" character. That was fun during the pandemic. Hell, he only got one sexist joke and one "it's the 90s" reference in tonight. Good on Che for finally showing some restraint.
- Nice to see another high concept character from Ego at the desk. I especially like the gun and ballot stuff. The ending was a nice micro format break from Update.
- I was never all that crazy about Kenans' "Willie" character but I did like the "hide" and "hitting Lorne" bits. C-
We Are Bald Men
- I like the sudden appearance of a silly 1950s MST3K style marching band song coming out of nowhere. Something about this made it feel timeless, like it could've been done in any previous era of the show (mainly the 80s and early 90s, give or take some specific "famous bald man" references). Even though it didn't go anywhere, it was a nice bit of near blackout silliness. B-
Trauma Support Group
- Weirdly, the biggest laugh I got out of this was probably at the Tubi jokes. Otherwise, it felt like another Bowen vanity piece, but toned down and edited take away focus from him. This ended up being my least favorite sketch of the night.
- Burr gave an odd performance in this. It felt like he was trying to play against type in a way that didn't quite land.
- Nice use of Jane (who's taken a bit of a hit tonight but at least she's already established herself by this point and this leaves room for other newbies to get some airtime).
- I like that Ashley Padilla got a substantial role in this but again, I'd like to see her more in the show outside of straight support roles. C-
Funniest Table
- Wow. Spoke too soon, huh? I feel like I've seen elements of this sketch elsewhere, but I like that Ashley is finally getting something big. Not crazy about how repetitive her part is or how she's giving off strong "female Kyle Mooney" vibes, but she is giving it her all. C+
Ranking The Season (Best To Worst)
2. John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
3. Bill Burr/Mk.Gee (11.09.2024)
4. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
5. Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)
6. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)
Overall Thoughts
- This may have been the most divisive episode of the season, but for some reason I enjoyed it.
- It was another uneven episode but it was uneven in a good way. The writers felt like they had to take some wild swings through most of the middle of this episode.
- Comparing this one to Bill Burrs' 2020 episode, that one was filled with reoccurring or reused premises and even hackier political material so, really aside from the monologue, most of this episode was better than his last one.
- Most of these choices paid off when they were focused on just giving us some non-topical silliness, but the stuff at the top of the show (y'know what most of America ACTUALLY pays attention to) is guaranteed to rub some people the wrong way, so...no real difference there except that most of the pressure was off so they felt more free to do whatever the hell they wanted.
- Cast use is still pretty even. Everyone made an appearance tonight (except Chloe, but no big loss there). Jane Wickline took a bit of a hit this week but at least that left room for the other newbies to fill the void. Emil Wakim in particular had an unusually outstanding night for a first year featured player. Ashley Padilla really made her presence known, but I still feel like I haven't gotten a bead on her real personality as a performer yet.
- Also having strong nights tonight were Ego, JAJ, Dismukes, Bowen (for better or worse). Marcello, Sarah, Devon, Heidi and Kenan were reliable background presences.
- I do like how they minimized JAJs' Trump impression this week and let him mostly pop up on smaller roles he could really score in. JAJ is a likable performer, so the audience should get plenty of chances to see what else he can do so they don't get sick of him for one of the main reasons they turned on Alec Baldwin years ago.
Closing Thoughts
- Well, that was that. Next week, two time musical guest Charli XCX makes her double duty hosting debut just in time for Thanksgiving.
- This is one I am cautiously optimistic about (emphasis on "cautiously" there). While I certainly like seeing her on the show, I could never tell whether she had any real comedic chops or not. Dua Lipa seemed like she did but her episode was disappointing for reasons that mostly had to do with the writing.
- I'd say we might be past the era where female pop stars host SNL and can produce solid episodes, but Ariana Grande did just that a month ago (and she managed to do it without bringing out the worst of Bowen either
- Then again, the shows closest to Thanksgiving tend to be disappointingly weak anyway, so...who knows? Anyway, stay safe and warm out there everyone!
Did you not like Longfellow?
ReplyDeleteNormally, I like Longfellow quite a bit. I just felt like he mostly served a straight man role in "The Janitor" and there wasn't much else I could say about that one.
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