Okay, here's my review. This was a bit of a divisive and slightly uneven show, but it was still quite enjoyable nonetheless. Seth may have seemed like a mere serviceable host on the surface but as I watched this show and saw Seth's chemistry with the cast (most of which he hasn't worked with on the show) I could actually see what Taran Killam was talking about when he said Seth was a better and more directly collaborative head writer than Jost was. I was also glad to see they mostly focused on original premises (aside from a few things that seemed quite familiar). Then again, they had no choice given that the host was someone who managed to become a beloved alumni while only maintaining a handful of obscure semi-recurting characters (although these days it's easier than ever to pull off such a feat while mostly being known as a Weekend Update anchor & head writer who works well with other cast members). Speaking of which, it felt like I was watching a host less show for the first time in years (if not decades) especially since Seth seemed to fade into the background even as host (I guess old habits really do die hard) and refreshingly the cast was the focus. While airtime seemed quite unevenly divided, it turned out to be a good night for Kenan, Heidi, Aidy and Chris. They seemed to be the only cast members who made more than two appearances in the entire show for some reason (a side from possibly Beck, Kyle & Kate). Cecily and Mikey in particular were practically nonexistent tonight. We've actually got a lot more to unpack than this tonight so let's get right down to it.
Trump-Kanye-Brown Summit - Well, I have to say I'm proud of Baldwin & the show for showing an admirable mutual restraint toward each other for the previous two episodes but I suppose it could only last so long. Oh well, all good things must come to an end as they say. I knew a big Trump centric headline would come along eventually that would necessitate Baldwin's inevitable return. Thankfully, they decided to have Baldwin just hang back and let Chris Redd take the wheel with his hilarious-as-expected Kanye impression. Kenan had a string of great one liners to chime in with as well. Kudos to whoever on this board predicted this would take the same form as the Palin Endorsement cold open from January 2016 with Fey and Hammond but I was expecting something a little different. Also, I have to give them credit for getting Baldwin to actually show us a shred of self awareness after that cringe-worthy Hollywood reporter interview even as forced as it came off. I guess Jost & Che didn't talk so much about this event on Update because they wrote this cold open about it instead and obviously got the bulk of what they had to say out of the way early. It's pretty obvious this was them since it was filled with Update like commentary to begin with. B-
Monologue - I still don't quite know what to make of this one. While I appreciate the show giving us a second real solo monologue in a row (and I've especially come to appreciate Seth giving monologues more in general given how much the general approach to topical humor has improved on Late Night in the past two years) but I was a little disappointed this was so sedentary given how much he was talking up his past with the show here. I mean, I was hoping to escape the expected onslaught of Obama first term era cast cameos as much as the next guy (who also happens to frequent this board) but I honestly wouldn't have minded one or two here (preferably Hader or Samberg since his name was mentioned here...and speaking of I did appreciate Seths' joke about naming his kids "dick" & "box" in Sambergs' honor). As for the rest of this monologue, while I appreciate the way Seth told the anecdote about pitching Kanye the BET 106 & Park sketch he participated, there were two specific things that disappointed me about it. First of all, he ended up telling us about a sketch that actually made it to air that you can actually watch on the SNL app as I did two weeks ago before the season premiere aired. Part of me wanted to see him go even more "inside baseball" than he did. Second, given my immediate familiarity with the sketch Seth was talking about I couldn't appreciate the implied twist that they predicted the 2009 Taylor Swift VMA incident since I already knew he was talking about a sketch that actually made it to air in 2007. Hell, I remember even watching it live back then at 16 years of age and still liking that sketch despite my early dislike for Kanye & his bloated ego because it at least showed he had a solid sense of humor about himself. That should show you how long ago 2007 really was. While were on the subject, heres' something I had realized before the season premiere that I just plum forgot to put in my review of that episode. That was the second time in eleven years that SNL had to get Kanye West of all people to fill in for a female musical guest who dropped out of doing the season premiere at the last possible minute. In 2007, he was replacing Amy Winehouse and this year he replaced Ariana Grande. C+
South Of Mason Screening - This sketch felt like something I had seen on the show several times before. It seems like they do this exact type of sketch once every season. I detected specific hints of the Kmart Returns line from Saiorse Ronans' show last year, the film screening sketch from the Emily Blunt show the year before that and the town hall meeting sketches from the Amy Schumer & Ronda Rousey sketches the season before that. I'm willing to bet this sketch and at least one or two of the previous ones I just mentioned were written by the same people. As for the meat of this one, it was pretty scattershot (and I am glad it was because I was glad they didn't just stick with the main jokes that Beck, Aidy and Leslies' characters had established) but I have to say Kyle, Cecily & Heidi were the real standouts here. They somewhat surprisingly gave me my biggest laughs in this sketch. Heidi stood out for her sudden character change and the fact that whoever did write this chose to name her character "Adele Dazeem". Cecily stood out to me because upon rewatching this sketch I noticed that this was literally her only appearance of the entire show. Seth & Kenan were solid anchors here (although in the case of the latter his leftover beard makeup being stuck on from the cold open was distractingly noticable). C+
Beta Force - I'm glad that somebody finally not only parodied this specific type of late night infomercial but took this premise to its' logical conclusion by imagining what the side effects would be if someone took these types of products and they actually worked as intended. Seriously, just imagine being such a person for a second. Seth did a good job disappearing into two sides of the same Jekyll & Hyde type character but it was really Becks' string narration that helped sell this. Kenans' cameo gave me the biggest laugh of the whole sketch. C+
Thirsty Cops - Glad to see they decided to give Ego her first showcase sketch with a lead role in her third episode (in something I'm guessing she & Leslie helped write together). I guess I was right when I tweeted at the guys who do the "That Week In SNL" podcast that Seth seemed like the type of host who would encourage the staff to give a new cast member like Ego her first fair shot on the show. I don't know why Kate chose to lay on a thick Pittsburgh accent here but it worked. I also liked how they didn't let this run on too long after Kate exited the scene either. I would say the thing I appreciated most about this sketch was just seeing how comfortable and completely within their own elements Ego and Leslie looked (which in Egos' case should help her get far on the show). My only suggestion to improve this would've been to maybe just place them in various different scenes throughout the sketch and hit on an array of different handsome male perps but I suppose that might be difficult to pull off live and there is the chance they might want to make this recurring. I have a sneaking suspicion that they pitched this to Adam Driver two weeks ago and it was cut from dress rehearsal but the ladies were easily persuaded to resubmit this to Seth. B-
A Frightening Tale - Glad to see they could get just the right amount of mileage out of something that could've seemed almost too banal on paper. I think the quick pace combined with the heightened superficial terror really made this for me. I liked seeing everyone's commitment and Kyle was playing the perfect role that seemed tailor made just for him. A-
The Cosby Cell - Kenan was hidden in the shadows for just long enough that I could immediately tell what his big reveal was going to be mere seconds before it actually happened. Besides that, this sketch just went on far too long with little in the way of standout jokes. Kenans' performance was the best thing about it. Seth's cue card starting was a bit distracting and Redd may have botched his second line because I don't think the lights were just supposed to flicker off briefly then turn back on when he said "lights out" just allowing the sketch to continue as normal. I originally had this pegged as a Jost & Che & Seth collaboration because it reminded me quite a bit of a sketch from last year around this time where Kenan played OJ out on a dinner date with Gal Gadot after he had just been released from prison which we later found out that they wrote together. I'm more disappointed than I am surprised to learn that John Mulaney cowrote this. I realize he wrote "The Obama Show" from the 2012 Maya Rudolph hosted episode but I found this to be just slightly below the standards set by most of his previous work. C-
Update was pretty uneven but what turned out to be good was very worthwhile. I have to give Jost & Che some props because I respect their deliberate choice to open with a rant on the recent dire climate change reports. I liked Josts' parts and Ches' "white girls love yarn" jokes. Unfortunately, those are the only things they contributed that stood out to me and Colins' breaking just called attention to how weak some of the rest of the jokes were. Usually, I like seeing Heidi debut a new character on Update but this really didn't do it for me. I appreciate Ches' attempt to nudge this in the right direction (or just any specific direction really) but it reminded me too much of all the grating sonetimes one-shot and plenty of other sometimes should've stayed one shot characters that Kristen Wiig and (to a much, much lesser extent) Vanessa Bayer did on Update over the years. I'm not surprised that I accurately predicted we'd get a new "Really?!?" alongside Jost & Che (I guess Poehler was too busy to make it out to 30 Rock this week) but what we did get was pretty entertaining. I was especially surprised that even Che could get away with dropping a legit n-bomb on the air & I can't wait to see how he will use his remaining three he's been allotted. I especially liked how the show also pretty much called itself out for making Trump president but way not for the reason you would think (although from what I've heard it was more Obama making fun of him that inspired him to run than Seth but if you really want to overanalyze that moment I would blame whoever invited Trump to this event in the first place). Mostly, I just enjoyed Seth, Colin & Che just loosen up and have fun with each other. B-
Bayou Benny's Liberal Lagniape - By far, this was the funniest sketch of the entire night. I was already really into the premise of a much more sincere and MUCH more southern and cajun version of a Bill Maher type left leaning panel show and Becks' insane levels of commitment really hit it out of the park. I was cracking up at Kate as the pepper with sunglasses and Alex as a giant biscuit. Heidi was serviceable as Taylor Swift and Seth fit in well as the more bewildered of the two non-cajun guests. I'm willing to bet this was written by some of the same people who wrote "Maine Justice". A+
Post Cuban Vacation - This was definitely the weakest sketch of the night but I still like how they gave Heidi another chance to play a new character. This role of hers wasn't quite as great either but at least it wasn't quite as grating as the Goop spokeswoman that she played on Update. I did also like how this was the one sketch of the night where Seth didn't just play himself or some variation of himself and I did like his "low IQ" line. Other than that, Kate's last few lines were the best thing about this. I'm not that shocked to learn that James Anderson wrote this as I am to learn that he wrote it for Heidi rather than Cecily. I just hope he doesn't get to Heidi too soon. D+
Trees - This was definitely the best taped segment of the night. I liked how densely packed with plot it was for a rap video. I also liked the extended fourth wall break between Pete & Chris as well as Chris' verse about how long it actually takes for trees to grow. Alex's speech at the doctors office also added a lot to this. This was just as funny as "Bayou Barrys' Liberal Langiape". The only thing that took me out of it was how they awkwardly cut off the beginning during the original live airing by cutting to commercial by accident and seemingly cutting right back. B+
Halloween Gig (Gucci Shoes) - I'm quite surprised they chose to do this twice let alone three times (and yes I had to look this character up on SNL Archives just to see when Kenan had played him before because I knew I'd faintly remembered it before). Maybe Seth had seen this and was a fan or maybe Anderson & Sublette wanted to do this sketch with Seth. Still, I'll admit it's grown on me. I get the feeling they had to cut this off early because they were running short on time. I was expecting another character show show up with Kenans' Gucci Shoes because that's how the Martin Freeman and Ryan Gosling 2017 editions of this sketch ended. Oh well, I guess I could've gone either way on the ending. C+
Goodnights - Yeah, these got cut off early too but they were posted in full on the SNL Twitter feed. In case you still didn't see them, Paul Simon was presented with a birthday cake. The show must have seriously been running long because I can't imagine why they would cut this off when they did.
Now for my updated rankings of this season so far...
1. Seth Meyers/Paul Simon
2. Adam Driver/Kanye West
3. Awkwafina/Travis Scott
Well, that show was considerably more fun than expected. It really gave a new meaning to the expression "less is more". Next month, Jonah Hill joins the five timers club. He's yet another host I find it hard to get excited about (partly because of how underwhelming some of his previous episodes turned out to be). At least this time, it's obvious that he has at least one thing to actually promote. Also, I think at this point it's safe to say he can be added to the list of hosts who are asked back as often as they are just because the current cast and crew simply love working with them because of how generous they are so I'm looking forward to getting to see another show with the same friendly vibe as this one. I'm just glad to see him finally reach this milestone. See you then!
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Sunday, October 7, 2018
Awkwafina/Travis Scott (10.6.2018)
Okay, here's my review. This show was a slight step up from last week, overall. It was more consistent in terms of sketch quality and relied less on recurring sketches and premises. Awkwafina delivered exactly what I expected her to as a host, but I'm not expecting her to be joining the five timers club anytime soon. Still, she didn't seem to be in every sketch and was exactly as (barely) visual as Adam Driver was last week. If this trend continues into November, I would find that troubling. Still, at least this show didn't rely as much on outside help to make the headlines this week (which, while good, makes the lack of a host presence THIS week somewhat more troubling).
CNN Kavanaugh Post Game Locker Room Coverage - This cold open wasn't what I was expecting but I liked it just fine. At least it's a different approach (even though it gave me flashbacks to Kate's performance as Hillary during the Lin-Manuel Miranda/Twenty One Pilots cold open). Speaking of Kate, while her Lindsey Graham impression continues to underwhelm (I would've rather have seen her play Susan Collins but Cecily did okay in that role) at least she had better written material than last week. Everybody had decent lines here and Heidi was a pretty solid straight woman anchor here. Beck as Mitch McConnell was the true highlight here. I did like how they kicked in with the Schumer interview portion right when I was starting to tire of the rowdy locker room premise (and was also wondering how Pete & Cecily fit into the roles they were given instead of Mikey, Melissa & Alex). Also, Kenan as Don Lemon was fine but left a little to be desired to what we were able to see of Jay Pharrohs' impression of him. I wonder why they didn't just have Chris Redd play Lemon? Still, this is encouraging after last week it's a sign they're capable of moving away from stunt casting and celebrity cameos (both unexpected and completely expected) in political opens. C+
Monologue - I wasn't expecting a straight, solo monologue from Awkwafina either, but it was very nice to see considering she just became famous so recently. To my knowledge she's more known as a comedic rapper turned actress and doesn't do standup regularly. I was half expecting her to bust out into a rap number stomping all around the studio here but what we ended up getting here actually made me glad that didn't happen. This should've been a good way for her to let the audience know how she is (especially if they barely know who she is). The "water bottle" joke at the beginning seemed a little too forced but the Lucy Liu story was very endearing and I liked her imitating her own fathers' Trump-like accent. Hell, at this point she'd be more fun to watch playing Trump on the show than Baldwin (and considering the fact that we're two shows into a new season and he has yet to show up even once to play him shows either incredible restraint on the show's part or extreme burnout on Baldwin's part). B-
Dance Battle - I guess since Awkwafina didn't end up filming a big flashy music video with the female cast (which I guess is something they really did leave behind when Sasheer & Vanessa left the show) this could've been the most she was in her own comfort zone the entire night. Still, this was actually very funny for what it was. I did like how they bucked expectations by having the Mikey/Ego/Kate/Redd team actually be intimidated by the opposing team's use of game show music instead of just confused or put off by it. Plus, if Travis Scott had to make an actual sketch appearance tonight this would've been the most appropriate one for him to be in. He actually helped provide this sketch with a real conclusion too somehow. The only thing that really bugged me was that while Kate actually can dance she felt a little out of place in this sketch. Maybe Pete or Heidi would've fit better there. Also, I do feel a little bit bad for Ego considering this was her only appearance of the night. I know it's only her second show, but still she, like all new featured players really only has until Christmas to prove herself. B-
Cricket Emergency Alerts - Even though the premise of this felt like I've seen it done to death on my social media feeds (Trump using the EAS system to deliver the exact same trivial and stupid messages he's been using Twitter for the past several years) this was still fun to see play out. Kate suddenly dropping her phone in the nearest available hot dog water was a sight gag that genuinely made me laugh and the twist of this being a Cricket ad was clever. B-
Hidden Tales Of Egypt - This was the weakest sketch of the night, but at least it was short. It got right to the point and got out. Cecily was the most likable player in this because even when she switched from playing it completely straight to playing like everyone else was playing it she did the least overacting. D+
Ted Cruz For Senate - Beck Bennett did a fine job picking up where Taran Killam left off in the impersonations department. His Cruz isn't quite there yet but there were plenty of other visual gags around him to cover it up. Seeing Ted Cruz physically damage and break every piece of equipment he touches effortlessly was hilarious and I especially liked him breaking his nose while dabbing. I almost wish they would've explored this a bit further. B+
Update was much more consistent than last week in terms of how many strong jokes there were. Somehow, I had a feeling we would see Eric & Don Jr drop by tonight but I liked how much they noticeably changed up the formula to these bits. Even the part where Mikey brings out the obligatory toy to distract Alex seemed much different. I also appreciate how much more smug, cocky and undeservedly confident Alex has made Eric and how his dialogue occurs much more naturally. While I'm not sure I like the idea of Pete appearing on Update two consecutive weeks in a row, I did like his humorously self-effacing commentary on Kanye's off-air rant from this week much more than his commentary on his & Arianas' relationship from last week. I especially liked him making fun of his own sense of style doubling down on the Chevy Chase dissing & showcasing his own reaction to Kanye as it happened last week (and at least now they can say part of Kanye's rant did make it to air, audible boos & all). B+
So You're Willing To Date A Magician - This felt like the longest sketch of the night simply because there were so many different & distinct characters that each demanded our attention. Kenan & Kyle were the real standouts. Alex & Heidi just came across like they were trying too hard (a rare miss for either of them, this really feels like a first). Meanwhile, Pete came across like he wasn't trying hard enough. His whole presence really took me out of this whole sketch because I really couldn't tell why the camera was supposed to be on and off of him when it was. Awkwafina & Leslie were good foils to all of this & Leslie fit surprisingly well into the game show host mold. C-
Baby Shower - From what they showed of the set during the commercial break, I thought we were getting another installment of the "haircut" & "spirit animal" sketches from the mother's day shows that Brie Larson & Melissa McCarthy hosted within the past three years. Then, I realized that whoever wrote those is probably not on the show anymore. Then, I got more disappointed when I realized what other previous sketch this was a carbon copy of. This was definitely the weakest live sketch of the night. I have a feeling this was written by Anderson & Sublette or if not them, whoever wrote the ten-to-one sketch from Amy Schumer's 2015 episode where she played a bartender (not just because both sketches were set at baby showers but because they also followed the same specific formula right down to Cecily breaking down in tears after her strange friend she invited shows up and gets them both upset about something). At least this one was better because it had an infinitely more likable host in it and had a quicker resolution. C-
Pumpkin Patch - This had a very sophomoric premise but Beck, Kyle and Mikey did their damndest to sell this one. For a brief moment, I thought this might have been written by the same people who wrote the high school wrestling short from the last episode Jonah Hill hosted two and a half years ago but Beck & Kyle were barely in that one whereas they were the main focus of this one so it's a safe bet this was written by them. C+
Film Panel - While I've never been all that crazy about Debette Goldry as a character (and I still don't believe her sketches are the right venue for SNL to address #MeToo comedically) this had its moments. I did like Kates' "cigarette nap/sleepy bitch" line as well as her jokes about giving away the Lindbergh baby & playing all the Asian woman roles in the '40s. It was nice to see Heidi's Allison Janney again (even played completely straight) and Awkwafina fit into this well (even though there are only so many things you can do with a Sandrah Oh impression). C-
Now, for my first official ranking of season 44...
1. Awkwafina/Travis Scott
2. Adam Driver/Kanye West
Well, that show took a few more baby steps in the right direction. Next week, Seth Meyers will make his hosting debut which means his show will probably be in reruns as he spends his week working just a bit further down the hall from where he normally does. You know, I legitimately thought this would never happen as recently as last month given Seth's lack of characters and acting experience while being on the show. However, I'm more accepting of the idea of it now that I've come to appreciate Seth more on Late Night. Still, I hope they don't overload us with certain cameos from his cast and I hope he pulls a Mulaney/Lobster Diner/Second Chance theater on us and tries to revive some of his favorite sketches that never made it. I think at a certain point it became more & more obvious that Seth's hidden talents lied more in the writing department anyway. That seemed to be the consensus. See you then!
CNN Kavanaugh Post Game Locker Room Coverage - This cold open wasn't what I was expecting but I liked it just fine. At least it's a different approach (even though it gave me flashbacks to Kate's performance as Hillary during the Lin-Manuel Miranda/Twenty One Pilots cold open). Speaking of Kate, while her Lindsey Graham impression continues to underwhelm (I would've rather have seen her play Susan Collins but Cecily did okay in that role) at least she had better written material than last week. Everybody had decent lines here and Heidi was a pretty solid straight woman anchor here. Beck as Mitch McConnell was the true highlight here. I did like how they kicked in with the Schumer interview portion right when I was starting to tire of the rowdy locker room premise (and was also wondering how Pete & Cecily fit into the roles they were given instead of Mikey, Melissa & Alex). Also, Kenan as Don Lemon was fine but left a little to be desired to what we were able to see of Jay Pharrohs' impression of him. I wonder why they didn't just have Chris Redd play Lemon? Still, this is encouraging after last week it's a sign they're capable of moving away from stunt casting and celebrity cameos (both unexpected and completely expected) in political opens. C+
Monologue - I wasn't expecting a straight, solo monologue from Awkwafina either, but it was very nice to see considering she just became famous so recently. To my knowledge she's more known as a comedic rapper turned actress and doesn't do standup regularly. I was half expecting her to bust out into a rap number stomping all around the studio here but what we ended up getting here actually made me glad that didn't happen. This should've been a good way for her to let the audience know how she is (especially if they barely know who she is). The "water bottle" joke at the beginning seemed a little too forced but the Lucy Liu story was very endearing and I liked her imitating her own fathers' Trump-like accent. Hell, at this point she'd be more fun to watch playing Trump on the show than Baldwin (and considering the fact that we're two shows into a new season and he has yet to show up even once to play him shows either incredible restraint on the show's part or extreme burnout on Baldwin's part). B-
Dance Battle - I guess since Awkwafina didn't end up filming a big flashy music video with the female cast (which I guess is something they really did leave behind when Sasheer & Vanessa left the show) this could've been the most she was in her own comfort zone the entire night. Still, this was actually very funny for what it was. I did like how they bucked expectations by having the Mikey/Ego/Kate/Redd team actually be intimidated by the opposing team's use of game show music instead of just confused or put off by it. Plus, if Travis Scott had to make an actual sketch appearance tonight this would've been the most appropriate one for him to be in. He actually helped provide this sketch with a real conclusion too somehow. The only thing that really bugged me was that while Kate actually can dance she felt a little out of place in this sketch. Maybe Pete or Heidi would've fit better there. Also, I do feel a little bit bad for Ego considering this was her only appearance of the night. I know it's only her second show, but still she, like all new featured players really only has until Christmas to prove herself. B-
Cricket Emergency Alerts - Even though the premise of this felt like I've seen it done to death on my social media feeds (Trump using the EAS system to deliver the exact same trivial and stupid messages he's been using Twitter for the past several years) this was still fun to see play out. Kate suddenly dropping her phone in the nearest available hot dog water was a sight gag that genuinely made me laugh and the twist of this being a Cricket ad was clever. B-
Hidden Tales Of Egypt - This was the weakest sketch of the night, but at least it was short. It got right to the point and got out. Cecily was the most likable player in this because even when she switched from playing it completely straight to playing like everyone else was playing it she did the least overacting. D+
Ted Cruz For Senate - Beck Bennett did a fine job picking up where Taran Killam left off in the impersonations department. His Cruz isn't quite there yet but there were plenty of other visual gags around him to cover it up. Seeing Ted Cruz physically damage and break every piece of equipment he touches effortlessly was hilarious and I especially liked him breaking his nose while dabbing. I almost wish they would've explored this a bit further. B+
Update was much more consistent than last week in terms of how many strong jokes there were. Somehow, I had a feeling we would see Eric & Don Jr drop by tonight but I liked how much they noticeably changed up the formula to these bits. Even the part where Mikey brings out the obligatory toy to distract Alex seemed much different. I also appreciate how much more smug, cocky and undeservedly confident Alex has made Eric and how his dialogue occurs much more naturally. While I'm not sure I like the idea of Pete appearing on Update two consecutive weeks in a row, I did like his humorously self-effacing commentary on Kanye's off-air rant from this week much more than his commentary on his & Arianas' relationship from last week. I especially liked him making fun of his own sense of style doubling down on the Chevy Chase dissing & showcasing his own reaction to Kanye as it happened last week (and at least now they can say part of Kanye's rant did make it to air, audible boos & all). B+
So You're Willing To Date A Magician - This felt like the longest sketch of the night simply because there were so many different & distinct characters that each demanded our attention. Kenan & Kyle were the real standouts. Alex & Heidi just came across like they were trying too hard (a rare miss for either of them, this really feels like a first). Meanwhile, Pete came across like he wasn't trying hard enough. His whole presence really took me out of this whole sketch because I really couldn't tell why the camera was supposed to be on and off of him when it was. Awkwafina & Leslie were good foils to all of this & Leslie fit surprisingly well into the game show host mold. C-
Baby Shower - From what they showed of the set during the commercial break, I thought we were getting another installment of the "haircut" & "spirit animal" sketches from the mother's day shows that Brie Larson & Melissa McCarthy hosted within the past three years. Then, I realized that whoever wrote those is probably not on the show anymore. Then, I got more disappointed when I realized what other previous sketch this was a carbon copy of. This was definitely the weakest live sketch of the night. I have a feeling this was written by Anderson & Sublette or if not them, whoever wrote the ten-to-one sketch from Amy Schumer's 2015 episode where she played a bartender (not just because both sketches were set at baby showers but because they also followed the same specific formula right down to Cecily breaking down in tears after her strange friend she invited shows up and gets them both upset about something). At least this one was better because it had an infinitely more likable host in it and had a quicker resolution. C-
Pumpkin Patch - This had a very sophomoric premise but Beck, Kyle and Mikey did their damndest to sell this one. For a brief moment, I thought this might have been written by the same people who wrote the high school wrestling short from the last episode Jonah Hill hosted two and a half years ago but Beck & Kyle were barely in that one whereas they were the main focus of this one so it's a safe bet this was written by them. C+
Film Panel - While I've never been all that crazy about Debette Goldry as a character (and I still don't believe her sketches are the right venue for SNL to address #MeToo comedically) this had its moments. I did like Kates' "cigarette nap/sleepy bitch" line as well as her jokes about giving away the Lindbergh baby & playing all the Asian woman roles in the '40s. It was nice to see Heidi's Allison Janney again (even played completely straight) and Awkwafina fit into this well (even though there are only so many things you can do with a Sandrah Oh impression). C-
Now, for my first official ranking of season 44...
1. Awkwafina/Travis Scott
2. Adam Driver/Kanye West
Well, that show took a few more baby steps in the right direction. Next week, Seth Meyers will make his hosting debut which means his show will probably be in reruns as he spends his week working just a bit further down the hall from where he normally does. You know, I legitimately thought this would never happen as recently as last month given Seth's lack of characters and acting experience while being on the show. However, I'm more accepting of the idea of it now that I've come to appreciate Seth more on Late Night. Still, I hope they don't overload us with certain cameos from his cast and I hope he pulls a Mulaney/Lobster Diner/Second Chance theater on us and tries to revive some of his favorite sketches that never made it. I think at a certain point it became more & more obvious that Seth's hidden talents lied more in the writing department anyway. That seemed to be the consensus. See you then!
Monday, October 1, 2018
Adam Driver/Kanye West (9.28.2018)
Okay, here's my review. Overall, this was a much stronger season opener than last years' outing with Ryan Gosling & Jay-Z. Adam Driver proved to be just as comedically effective of a host as he was two-and-a-half years ago but he felt much more underutilized this year compared to then. Still, the writing didn't feel as dull, uninspired and just running on empty as it was a year ago (I'm sure we have the fact that they hired four new writers to thank for this). Strangely, it felt like no one in the cast got any airtime and everyone just got kinda shoved into the background. No one particular cast member really stood out as being the one who dominated the show. Normally, this would be a good thing for an ensemble show for SNL but this week it was quite troubling. I was a bit saddened to see the narrative surrounding the show be so largely dominated by the antics of tonight's musical guest (which most of us only got to see & hear about via social media because these moments didn't even air as part of the show) but I'll get to that later. This episode had it's much more worthwhile moments. It was a surprisingly entertaining season premiere that deserves to be held up to better scrutiny on it's own planned comedic merits which is why I'm still here.
Kavanaugh Hearing Cold Open - Well, for starters, I am glad they decided to give us something other than a Baldwin/Trump showcase to open the new season. I just knew the Kavanaugh hearing proved to be too big of a story this week for SNL to go down the beaten orange path. I originally had Bennett & Moffat pegged as potential Kavanaugh portrayers but when I noticed they were both playing Orrin Hatch and Chuck Grassley respectively, my curiosity was immediately piqued. Matt Damon was a very left field choice (I'm guessing whoever wrote this had just watched "School Ties" in the past week?) but he came out pretty strong and was genuinely very funny. I'm glad to see he was mostly concerned with getting his raw emotion down and then exaggerating it just a little and that the main focus of this whole sketch was Brett's out of control emotional displays. I especially liked his various frat nicknames and his "keg is half full" line (and yes, I was and still am fully aware of the painful irony in casting Matt Damon as an accused sexual predator even as I type this). Dratch as Klobuchar was also unexpected (I don't really see the resemblance there) but nice to see her again and I did like how she wasn't wasted too much in a small role with little to no dialogue. I also liked seeing Chris Redd & Cecily Strong revive their Cory Booker & Diane Feinstein impressions here. Kyle was also very funny here and Pete couldn't help but appear a little out of place. Nice to see Kate revive her all but forgotten Lindsey Graham impression but I think she should've been much more animated and affected a higher pitch voice. Aidy was a nice voice of reason here as well. Sure, they didn't cover much new ground here and this was mostly just filled with standard boilerplate Kavanaugh observations but I'm glad they hit all the necessary mark's here (although I'm sure they could've done so in a little less than 13 minutes) while showing they're still somewhat capable of actually surprising the audience for better or worse. B-
Montage - I like that they finally changed this up to a more hip, stylized 03-06 style package with just a hint of 94-95 era B-roll. I think that vibe is more fitting for this cast and this era of the show. Still, I have to wonder if Darrell Hammond just forgot to say Kyle Mooney's name or if his mic just cut out or something. Also, if this does turn out to be the last year for Cecily, Aidy & Kate...it would be a damn shame to see these shots of them get edited out of this montage. A couple of people I follow on Twitter have mentioned that they hated the new theme song. I don't hate it but once you do notice the subtle difference between this year's theme and last year's theme, it does kinda bug you. I kinda hear the same regression from the season 4 theme to the season 5 theme or the 06-09 theme to the 09-12 theme.
Monologue - This was also surprisingly very funny given how very thin it was. Driver's angry inner monologues were very funny, but I am genuinely shocked that this portion of the show contained literally the only Star Wars/Kylo Ren references of the entire night. I'm not sure where Adams' final line about kids smoking cigarettes came from. C-
Fortnite - This seemed like it was going to have a more interesting and fleshed out premise to it than it actually did. Thankfully, it didn't go on as long as it seemed like it was going to given how repetitive and drawn out it turned out to be. Other than that, this whole sketch just seemed like a forced topical reference to one of this summer's most inexplicably huge fads. I can immediately tell this was a Day/Seidell penned piece given that Kyle's character briefly mentioned how he went by the username "DoomSnake" which I remember being used by Kenan in that Boo Boo Jeffries sketch from Tiffany Haddishs' episode last November which I remember playing out just like a rejected sketch of his he talked about on Seth Meyers' show just before he obviously rewrote and resubmitted it that week. I didn't quite have Day pegged as a huge gamer but it doesn't surprise me. I guess some of this sketch is bound not to resonate with viewers who aren't gamers. C-
A New Kyle - This short film was very funny. Kyle plays the young millennial douchebro type really well. This may have been the best possible way for the show to address the substantial changes in Pete's personal life that occurred in the offseason. Wendy William's and Kid Cudi were welcome cameos (the former especially made me chuckle just for the sheer outlandishness of her presence). The medieval sword/mace battle scene kinda dragged but that would be my only real complaint. Other than that, I liked seeing a twist on the usual formula to these short films focusing on Kyle. B-
Domenicos' vs BK Joe - I was initially disappointed at how quickly I could tell this was a retread of the underwhelming Terrazanos' vs Pizza Hut sketch from last season's premiere with Ryan Gosling. I was relieved that I gave it enough of a chance to see just how much better Adam Driver made this sketch than that one (and also how this one didn't quite belabor the point as much). B-
Rad Times At Frat U - Well, I guess the cold opening wasn't the only piece in this weeks' show that was inspired by the Kavanaugh hearing (and I guess whoever wrote the Neurotology short from Michael Keatons' season 40 episode is still on staff). I liked this okay but I guess noticing the similarities between that sketch and this one kinda took me out of it because the whole thing felt too telegraphed for me. I also feel a little bit bad for Ego seeing as this sketch seemed to be her most notable appearance of the entire night. I know this is her first episode and shes' quite new but I was hoping to see them give here more chances to make a first impression. I've heard how great she is on all the Earwolf podcasts where she is a regular and I just hope she gets a chance to make a splash early on and doesn't get cut by next year having her potential wasted if she is planning on bringing that Earwolf sensibility to the show. C+
Update was serviceable tonight. Che had the best material on the opening Kavanaugh rant. Josts' Kavanaugh punchlines could be seen coming from two towns over. He did make up for this during his Philly Flyers mascot fake Bruce Springsteen jokes, though. Kate as RBG was something else I was already predicting would happen tonight. Sadly, this was pretty indistinguishable from her previous "Gins-burn" laden commentaries. Also, its' a bit surprising to me that this was one of only four appearances for Kate the entire night. With all this talk about this being her last year under contract with the show, this makes it seem like she may be getting burnt out on SNL & may want to phase herself out and onto another bigger project by this time next year. If they were going to bring out Leslie to do her Serena William's impression tonight, I'm glad they went the extremely meta route and made the whole point of it how dated it was. Didn't like how clunky Ches' Cosby joke was but I did like how he made an instant callback to it right after Josts' next joke. Although his birth control/Tic-Tacs joke seemed a little off to me, Pete was surprisingly funny telling us all about the thing that happened in his life that made me actively want to see less and less of him. Also, I'm surprised I've already gotten used to seeing him with his blond early 2000s Eminem hairstyle. C+
Career Day - This was definitely the strongest live segment of the night. Adams' committment to just short of choking on the big chunks of scenery he managed to chew off was what saved this. Pete was a decent fool & Melissa's & Aidys' enthusiasm was a nice touch. I guess another writer had just seen "There Will Be Blood" in the past week? A-
League Of The South - I guess some of the writers had either just seen Adam in "BlacKkKlansman" (sp?) or simply just remembered that film would've been the most plausible explanation for his hosting at this moment? Anyway, while it was nice to see they chose to make white nationalists a target here Becks' commitment and Adam & Chris as foils were the only things sustaining it given how one note it was. Other than that, I just kept waiting to see if Becks' goatee would fall completely off or not even though this sketch didn't necessarily need that to save it. C+
"Goodnights" - They briefly cut to a shot of the band sandwiched between two different bumpers before this. I have to genuinely wonder if maybe the mostly Jost-led giggling during Update or a possible demand from Kanye to Lorne for a third song followed by a hissy-fit caused something to have to be cut for time. Yeah, like most of you I'm sure my local NBC affiliate cut the show off right when Kanye invited the cast back on stage with him. I only saw what was posted of his little rant on Twitter, YouTube and from secondhand exposure to Chris Rocks' Instagram stories. I agree with Rock that it sure was laughable how much Kanye had no idea what the hell he was talking about. He offered pretty much nothing of value to the show and absolutely no insight into anything whatsoever. I'm sure whatever he actually said would've managed to make even less sense unedited in full context. Honestly, I'm just more annoyed that Lorne allowed him to even do a third song on the air since that just gave him an excuse to stay up there on stage and pretty much barely hold the cast, crew and audience hostage with his own warped political views. In that moment, everyone left in Studio 8H was Mike Meyers circa 2005.
Well, that was a pretty successful season premiere all things considered. Next week, Awkwafina makes her hosting debut. She is someone I've seen very little of but I do understand she has at least some background in comedy and acting so I'm cautiously optimistic. See you then!
Kavanaugh Hearing Cold Open - Well, for starters, I am glad they decided to give us something other than a Baldwin/Trump showcase to open the new season. I just knew the Kavanaugh hearing proved to be too big of a story this week for SNL to go down the beaten orange path. I originally had Bennett & Moffat pegged as potential Kavanaugh portrayers but when I noticed they were both playing Orrin Hatch and Chuck Grassley respectively, my curiosity was immediately piqued. Matt Damon was a very left field choice (I'm guessing whoever wrote this had just watched "School Ties" in the past week?) but he came out pretty strong and was genuinely very funny. I'm glad to see he was mostly concerned with getting his raw emotion down and then exaggerating it just a little and that the main focus of this whole sketch was Brett's out of control emotional displays. I especially liked his various frat nicknames and his "keg is half full" line (and yes, I was and still am fully aware of the painful irony in casting Matt Damon as an accused sexual predator even as I type this). Dratch as Klobuchar was also unexpected (I don't really see the resemblance there) but nice to see her again and I did like how she wasn't wasted too much in a small role with little to no dialogue. I also liked seeing Chris Redd & Cecily Strong revive their Cory Booker & Diane Feinstein impressions here. Kyle was also very funny here and Pete couldn't help but appear a little out of place. Nice to see Kate revive her all but forgotten Lindsey Graham impression but I think she should've been much more animated and affected a higher pitch voice. Aidy was a nice voice of reason here as well. Sure, they didn't cover much new ground here and this was mostly just filled with standard boilerplate Kavanaugh observations but I'm glad they hit all the necessary mark's here (although I'm sure they could've done so in a little less than 13 minutes) while showing they're still somewhat capable of actually surprising the audience for better or worse. B-
Montage - I like that they finally changed this up to a more hip, stylized 03-06 style package with just a hint of 94-95 era B-roll. I think that vibe is more fitting for this cast and this era of the show. Still, I have to wonder if Darrell Hammond just forgot to say Kyle Mooney's name or if his mic just cut out or something. Also, if this does turn out to be the last year for Cecily, Aidy & Kate...it would be a damn shame to see these shots of them get edited out of this montage. A couple of people I follow on Twitter have mentioned that they hated the new theme song. I don't hate it but once you do notice the subtle difference between this year's theme and last year's theme, it does kinda bug you. I kinda hear the same regression from the season 4 theme to the season 5 theme or the 06-09 theme to the 09-12 theme.
Monologue - This was also surprisingly very funny given how very thin it was. Driver's angry inner monologues were very funny, but I am genuinely shocked that this portion of the show contained literally the only Star Wars/Kylo Ren references of the entire night. I'm not sure where Adams' final line about kids smoking cigarettes came from. C-
Fortnite - This seemed like it was going to have a more interesting and fleshed out premise to it than it actually did. Thankfully, it didn't go on as long as it seemed like it was going to given how repetitive and drawn out it turned out to be. Other than that, this whole sketch just seemed like a forced topical reference to one of this summer's most inexplicably huge fads. I can immediately tell this was a Day/Seidell penned piece given that Kyle's character briefly mentioned how he went by the username "DoomSnake" which I remember being used by Kenan in that Boo Boo Jeffries sketch from Tiffany Haddishs' episode last November which I remember playing out just like a rejected sketch of his he talked about on Seth Meyers' show just before he obviously rewrote and resubmitted it that week. I didn't quite have Day pegged as a huge gamer but it doesn't surprise me. I guess some of this sketch is bound not to resonate with viewers who aren't gamers. C-
A New Kyle - This short film was very funny. Kyle plays the young millennial douchebro type really well. This may have been the best possible way for the show to address the substantial changes in Pete's personal life that occurred in the offseason. Wendy William's and Kid Cudi were welcome cameos (the former especially made me chuckle just for the sheer outlandishness of her presence). The medieval sword/mace battle scene kinda dragged but that would be my only real complaint. Other than that, I liked seeing a twist on the usual formula to these short films focusing on Kyle. B-
Domenicos' vs BK Joe - I was initially disappointed at how quickly I could tell this was a retread of the underwhelming Terrazanos' vs Pizza Hut sketch from last season's premiere with Ryan Gosling. I was relieved that I gave it enough of a chance to see just how much better Adam Driver made this sketch than that one (and also how this one didn't quite belabor the point as much). B-
Rad Times At Frat U - Well, I guess the cold opening wasn't the only piece in this weeks' show that was inspired by the Kavanaugh hearing (and I guess whoever wrote the Neurotology short from Michael Keatons' season 40 episode is still on staff). I liked this okay but I guess noticing the similarities between that sketch and this one kinda took me out of it because the whole thing felt too telegraphed for me. I also feel a little bit bad for Ego seeing as this sketch seemed to be her most notable appearance of the entire night. I know this is her first episode and shes' quite new but I was hoping to see them give here more chances to make a first impression. I've heard how great she is on all the Earwolf podcasts where she is a regular and I just hope she gets a chance to make a splash early on and doesn't get cut by next year having her potential wasted if she is planning on bringing that Earwolf sensibility to the show. C+
Update was serviceable tonight. Che had the best material on the opening Kavanaugh rant. Josts' Kavanaugh punchlines could be seen coming from two towns over. He did make up for this during his Philly Flyers mascot fake Bruce Springsteen jokes, though. Kate as RBG was something else I was already predicting would happen tonight. Sadly, this was pretty indistinguishable from her previous "Gins-burn" laden commentaries. Also, its' a bit surprising to me that this was one of only four appearances for Kate the entire night. With all this talk about this being her last year under contract with the show, this makes it seem like she may be getting burnt out on SNL & may want to phase herself out and onto another bigger project by this time next year. If they were going to bring out Leslie to do her Serena William's impression tonight, I'm glad they went the extremely meta route and made the whole point of it how dated it was. Didn't like how clunky Ches' Cosby joke was but I did like how he made an instant callback to it right after Josts' next joke. Although his birth control/Tic-Tacs joke seemed a little off to me, Pete was surprisingly funny telling us all about the thing that happened in his life that made me actively want to see less and less of him. Also, I'm surprised I've already gotten used to seeing him with his blond early 2000s Eminem hairstyle. C+
Career Day - This was definitely the strongest live segment of the night. Adams' committment to just short of choking on the big chunks of scenery he managed to chew off was what saved this. Pete was a decent fool & Melissa's & Aidys' enthusiasm was a nice touch. I guess another writer had just seen "There Will Be Blood" in the past week? A-
League Of The South - I guess some of the writers had either just seen Adam in "BlacKkKlansman" (sp?) or simply just remembered that film would've been the most plausible explanation for his hosting at this moment? Anyway, while it was nice to see they chose to make white nationalists a target here Becks' commitment and Adam & Chris as foils were the only things sustaining it given how one note it was. Other than that, I just kept waiting to see if Becks' goatee would fall completely off or not even though this sketch didn't necessarily need that to save it. C+
"Goodnights" - They briefly cut to a shot of the band sandwiched between two different bumpers before this. I have to genuinely wonder if maybe the mostly Jost-led giggling during Update or a possible demand from Kanye to Lorne for a third song followed by a hissy-fit caused something to have to be cut for time. Yeah, like most of you I'm sure my local NBC affiliate cut the show off right when Kanye invited the cast back on stage with him. I only saw what was posted of his little rant on Twitter, YouTube and from secondhand exposure to Chris Rocks' Instagram stories. I agree with Rock that it sure was laughable how much Kanye had no idea what the hell he was talking about. He offered pretty much nothing of value to the show and absolutely no insight into anything whatsoever. I'm sure whatever he actually said would've managed to make even less sense unedited in full context. Honestly, I'm just more annoyed that Lorne allowed him to even do a third song on the air since that just gave him an excuse to stay up there on stage and pretty much barely hold the cast, crew and audience hostage with his own warped political views. In that moment, everyone left in Studio 8H was Mike Meyers circa 2005.
Well, that was a pretty successful season premiere all things considered. Next week, Awkwafina makes her hosting debut. She is someone I've seen very little of but I do understand she has at least some background in comedy and acting so I'm cautiously optimistic. See you then!
Sunday, May 20, 2018
Tina Fey/Nicki Minaj (5.19.2018)
Okay, heres' my review. For a season finale that was overloaded with cameos from guest stars in political roles, this was a rather diverse and thoroughly enjoyable show with more good/decent moments than outright bad ones. As host, Tina didn't really dominate the show as much as she seemed to during her previous hosting stints. It truly felt like a hostless cast focused episode. If anyone really did "dominate" the show in terms of airtime, it had to have been Mikey & Alex. I guess they've earned a "victory lap" episode seeing as they will be promoted to repretory player status once the show starts up again. Melissa comes in a distant second but at this point it is safe to say she has established herself. Of course, one may have to look past this shows' excessive (even for SNL in 2018) deluge of political material. I understand them wanting to get some stuff out of their system before summer starts but if any bitter right-wingers criticizing the show for doing nothing but sketches about their "seething hatred for Trump" were watching THIS episode, they just MIGHT have a valid point. Boy, thats' as good a segue as ever into the actual review, isn't it? Let us begin...
Jersey Diner - Well, it was pretty much a given that Alec would be in studio 8H tonight since its' the season finale AND one of his longest running costars was hosting. If they had to try to get in one last cold open with Baldwins' Trump before the season officially ends (lets' hope it will still be the actual last one by the time season 44 rolls around, right?) I do have to give them credit for placing him and his administration in a relatively unfamiliar setting outside the White House. Still, while doing a parody of the Sporanos finale was a somewhat out of the box idea it is now a dated enough pop culture reference to pass for something the show would've done during the Era when Seth Meyers was head writer. Plus, they really didn't have enough of an ending. I was hoping for some genuine format breaking there. While part of me was hoping to see Kates' Guliani again just to see how it would be developed more as a character, I feel like she was really all over the place with it. She seemed to have some of Gulianis' speech patterns down but her voice was a bit too high and I don't quite get what shes' doing with her hands. Overall, it doesn't work that well mostly because Kate is too feminine and down to earth to pull off the role and it really shows here. This is only Stillers' third appearance as Micheal Cohen and yet hes' already starting to feel as run into the ground as Baldwins' Trump. DeNiro was serviceable as Muller in this. With no lines, he wasn't all that remarkable but it's not an impression I'm ready to get sick of yet. Really, the only genuine laugh I got out of this was Alex as Eric parallel parking a big wheel. C+
Monologue - While I liked Tinas' opening jokes and her acknowledgment of her 20th anniversary with the show, I was diappointed at just the idea of another "audience" Q&A session. Still, I did genuinely like the meta self-aware vibe that this gave off (especially with Seinfeld, Bennett, Armisen, Rock and Glovers' contributions). Benedict Cumberbatch was allright (a little better than when he hosted last season, amirite?) but he seemed the most out of place and tacked on among the deluge of cameos here. DeNiro felt a little too tacked on since we literally just saw him seconds ago. Hathaways' cameo did nothing but remind me of how she played Kate Middleton when she hosted in 2010 and then wonder for a brief moment whether we would see her reprise that role later tonight so Cecily could play Meghan Markle (Spoiler alert: She didn't, and...she didn't either...but we'll get to that later). Tracys' cameo was the perfect way to bring this to a close but he seemed much less animated than usual. I guess hes' just either mellow in with age or perhaps the schedule of promoting (if not shooting) "The Last O.G." must be taking its toll on him. B-
Royal Reception - Well, this was certainly to be expected. Mikey as Prince Harry was a solid anchor here and it was nice to see him play off Moffats' Prince William again. Cecily was serviceable as Kate Middleton but I genuinely have to wonder what stopped she show from having her (or at least Melissa or even another female guest star really) from playing Meghan Markle. I know its' 2018 but I don't think Markles' ethnicity or sheer social status should make her off limits for a show like SNL. Beck made me chuckle as Prince Charles. Kate didn't do much for me as Queen Elizabeth but it was refreshing to see someone besides Fred Armisen in the role (and kudos to him for showing some restraint considering he was actually in the building tonight). It just seemed like she was there to set up Kenan for laughs. Chris and Heidi were fine but their roles were small enough to just seem too tacked on. Leslie poked fun at herself very well here. Tina seemed to be playing the type of character she had always been dying to play on the show. I have to wonder if this is one of the likely many things she had a hand in writing tonight considering she and Dratch cowrote all the Boston Teens sketches and this was essentially framed as another one of those. Pete was fine as Russell Brand but I really would have liked to have seen more of how he was handling that impression. Aidy as Elton John seemed like she was just there for the purpose of a cheap sight gag since I can't say much for the actual impression. C+
Mean Girls Rehearsals - I suppose this was a cute idea, but it still seemed a little thin to me. I thought the one-on-one interviews & testimonials really carried it. I also got a few light chuckles out of the coreography/lion costume scenes as well as the wedged in Lin-Manuel cameo. Otherwise, this could just as easily be added to the pile of sketches and filmed pieces that were largely lost on me because they were specifically written by and for the intense theater geeks in the audience. Hell, a girl I follow on Twitter was randomly pointing out all the Broadway person cameos in this on her feed. I definitely would have missed those. Still, it is nice to see Tinas' husband Jeff Richmond get some time in front of the camera for once in his life. C+
Morning Joe III - Tina as the Russian lawyer was the true highlight of this. Aidy as Meghan McCain was another "outside of the box" casting choice and she was very cute in the role. Thats' really all I can say about her part since it was so small and she was just there to be the guest that the anchors talk over (much like her role in the Wisconsin local news sketch from the last time Jonah Hill hosted). Honestly, it was better that they do this than cast Cecily in either one of these roles. Thankfully, this was shorter than the previous two morning Joe sketches that served as cold opens because Kate played it far too big here but Alex was fine coasting on some below average material. Mikeys' reactions were a bit stale and repetitive. C-
Chun-Li - I rarely comment on the musical performances but its' nice to see something more subtle and understated from Nicki Minaj. Plus, she seemed to have so many hardcore, intense fans in the audience it felt like I was watching the Billboard Music Awards instead of SNL.
Update was a little underwhelming tonight. The only jokes that really stood out to me were the jabs at Hannity, Gulliani, Bolton/N. Korea, Marijuana Arrests and the litany of "offensive" jokes at the end (of which only the Boy Scouts & NY Daily News ones were deserving of such a title). The rest just felt so down the beaten path that everybody had done them already. In particular the obligatory "Yanni/Laurel" throwaway joke seemed near identical to a bit Colbert did recently. (Also, fuck you Jost. It's clearly Yanni). Having Alex and Mikey come out as the Trump Boys felt like overkill seeing as they just reprised those roles in the cold open and this was just lather, rinse, repeat but I did get a big kick out of the botched high fives and the "Trump tower design/hidden swastikas" line. The Play-Doh gag seemed very telegraphed but I did appreciate Alex being more animated than usual in the role tonight. I appreciate Kenans' commitment to the role of the bishop who officiated the Royal Wedding even though most of the jokes were lost on me. The only coverage of this I was planning to pay attention to was the HBO special hosted by Ferrell & Shannon as "Cord & Tish". I DVR'd this but hadn't had time to watch it yet. As I'm typing this, I'm beginning to realize how much it showed that this entire commentary had to have been writing this morning. Aidy as the woman who called the cops on those black men just for holding that barbecue in the park was very funny. Why couldn't she have been the focus of an actual sketch instead if Aidy was going to play her? C+
Dateline: Pervert Hunters - I liked the different direction this sketch took once the initial joke was revealed (as predictable as the ending was) but this felt more like something the show should've been doing 12 years ago with Bill Hader as Chris Hansen when "To Catch A Predator" was a current phenomenon. In fact, since Hader hosted two months ago and Hansen occasionally confronts predators in stings on "Crime Watch Daily", I wonder if this sketch was written then but cut from dress or the table read? C+
What We Did For Trump - Since Sarah Palin hasn't really been in the news all that much since she initially endorsed Donald Trumps' campaign two-and-a-half years ago, I was hoping Tina could go an entire episode without breaking her Miss Wasilla imitation out of mothballs like she did in 2013. Still, they showed incredible restraint by waiting until well after Update to air this. Also, I did actually like the angle they went with here where Palin comments on how some figures who have only worked in the Trump white house for a short period of time before being fired are destined to become as politically and culturally irrelevant as she has been in the past ten years. I did like her intentionally bad singing here. Aidy was serviceable but Kates' part seemed a little rushed. I did like how they chose to sneak in Armisen, Goodman and Jones as well. Cecily was.pretty good here. Mostly, I'm glad to see they chose to "Make Cecily Stormy Again" rather than trot out the real Stormy. B-
Poke It Out - I had to genuinely wonder if Nicki had very suddenly fallen ill at the last second and could not perform because the live commercial bumper leading up to her second performancd was a shot of the band instead of the stage. Then, I saw a male guest rapper unaccompanied on a stage full of video screens for some reason and Nicki came out about halfway through her own song for some reason. It was very strange but I understand why a shot of that stage before the actual song might look silly.
At this point, I had to wonder why Nicki apparently did not participate in a sketch or two like both of the previous times she was billed as a musical guest on the show. Then, I combed back through some of the sketches on YouTube just to polish up this review and decided to check out the "Cut For Time: Friendship Song" short film and noticed Nicki was in it even though it was an obvious Haim parody. Well, I can understand why that was cut for "time" since it was kind of a jumbled, heavy handed mess.
High School Talent Show - Nice to see Melissa bring us another decent character even if it felt like a product of a different time. I liked fheir choices of song as well. Pete and Mikeys' intro was very funny.Kyle got a laugh out of me and Leslie's lines were a nice touch. Pretty much every cast member did a solid job in this even if Kenans' dialogue was a little one note and repetitive and the whole thing didn't quite have enough of a build up but still tied together nicely. I guess its' just a coincidence that both of the last two season finales ended with a live sketch set at a high school talent show (or at least had that premise as the last live sketch of the night). B+
Chicago Improv - Okay, this definitely has to be something Tina wrote given her Second City background. The firefighting imagery in the background of shots of heightened drama over improve made.this for me. The bad reviews were icing on the cake. B+
Now, for my absolute final updated rankings of the season so far...
1. Sterling K. Brown/James Bay
2. John Mulaney/Jack White
3. Bill Hader/Arcade Fire
4. Donald Glover/Childish Gambino
5. Tiffany Haddish/Taylor Swift
6. Chance The Rapper/Eminem
7. Tina Fey/Nicki Minaj
8. Chadwick Boseman/Cardi B
9. James Franco/SZA
10. Natalie Portman/Dua Lipa
11. Amy Schumer/Kacey Musgraves
12. Charles Barkley/Migos
13. Jessica Chastain/Troy Sivan
14. Sam Rockwell/Halsey
15. Will Ferrell/Chris Stapleton
16. Larry David/Miley Cyrus
17. Saoirse Ronan/U2
18. Kumail Nanjiani/P!nk
19. Gal Gadot/Sam Smith
20. Kevin Hart/Foo Fighters
21. Ryan Gosling/Jay-Z
Well, that was a decent and fitting way to close put an SNL season that did dhow very gradual improvement over time. Now, we've reached the end of what I've only just recently come to realize is my 10th season writing full length SNL reviews primarily for this board just for fun. Sadly, I didn't have anything big or special to commemorate this. Still, I'd just like to thank everyone here for indulging me for the past decade and thanks to Stooge (wherever you are) for inspiring me to do this at the beginning. Also, I'd like to say how grateful I am to have found this board and to be so readily welcomed into a like minded community of SNL fans with sharp critical thinking skills in regards to the show. I don't really have any plans to retire from doing this at the moment (at least not in the next two years or so since I've found this is the only way I can really keep up with and watch the show, so...see you guys again next season!
Sunday, May 13, 2018
Amy Schumer/Kacey Musgraves (5.12.2018)
Okay, heres' my review. Given how low my expectations were for this episode, I was generally pleased with how it turned out. It seemed like they weren't bringing back so much recurring material as in previous because all the things they did recur were bought out of mothballs after a few years. Still, there wasn't as much of an aura of burnout as I thought there might be this week even if this episode didn't feel like it was full of original ideas. There wasn't as much political humor tonight either, but what was there was really pointed and strongly written. Nothing stood out as being too horrible which puts it a notch above Schumers' previous episode (along with the fact that Schumer herself didn't seem to dominate the spotlight or steal much focus from the rest of the cast). Speaking of which, cast airtime seemed pretty evenly balanced since Kate & Mikey were much more visible this week than they were over the past few months worth of shows. Of course, this means there would appear to be a decreased presence of Cecily, Alex, Melissa & Leslie but again...we still know that they are all there and we see there is a nice balance between the cast and the host. It probably helps that this show also had the fewest surprise guest cameos they've had in recent weeks. Anyway, lets' get to it, shall we?
A Mothers' Day Message From The SNL Caat - It's a little strange that they would do this cold open right after airing a "vintage" episode from three years ago where they (and Reese Witherspoon) did almost this exact same thing for the monologue but they obviously had to do this at the very top of the show since this weeks' monolog was obviously going to be reserved strictly for Schumers' act. Still, it's nice to see Jost & the newer cast members who have joined the show in that time being featured in this (along with the cast members whose mothers could make it to New York this week). Nice to see Null make the absolute most of what might be his second to last week here. Kenans' mother subtly roasting his extremely lengthy tenure in the cast was my favorite moment. Thankfully, they kept this from going on too long given how one note it turned out to be. While this does have some references to the shows penchant for topical/political cold opens and just the vague concept of political comedy in general, it was nice to get something of a break from blatant reenactment of White House events. It's especially nice to get a break from Alec Baldwin tonight as well since him being there this week with Schumer hosting would be like putting a hat on a hat in terms of sheer mediocrity. B-
Montage - Is Darrell Hammond sick this week? Something seems to be affecting his voice to where it seems lower than normal. I almost thought some other announcer could've been filling in for him at first.
Monologue - This was pretty much duller than Kevin Harts' monologue from this seasons' Christmas show and at about the same level of quality, so...pretty much part for the course for Schumer. It should've been a given that Schumer would discuss her recent marriage since it was obviously the biggest change in her personal life since the last time she hosted this show three years ago. Still, ones' own wedding doesn't make for good standup comedy. Whether or not you happen to be a white celebrity whose career is (somehow) still going strong, weddings seem like they would be next to impossible to mine quality jokes out of. I now have to admit Patton Oswalt was really on to something about how marriage and relationships can nearly destroy a comedians' career in stand up (and since its' Schumer we're talkin' about here, you know thats' REALLY saying something). The only thing that really stood out to me here was the "gaping" size tampons joke. Boy, that plug for her movie seemed really desperately jammed in, didn't it? The best thing I can say about this is that by now, season 43 may have just tied (if not beat) season 20 (and possibly 40) for the record of most stand up monologues in a single season. While part of me hopes this trend does continue, I hope that they maybe showcase some newer, fresher talent from the top echelons of the stand up comedy community. I also realize they may have just burned through just about all the top tier stand ups who have big enough careers to be invited on SNL by this point, (maybe not restrict it so much to people who have even the most tenuous connections to the show) but lets' hope it doesn't take to long for any other rising comics to come up and join those ranks. Ah, who am I kidding? Someone I'm describing might be better off just joining the cast if they are just starting out. D+
Mother Knows Best - I couldn't really get into this game show sketch since it came off as very telegraphed and so much of it seemed like the exact type of thing SNL has already been doing for years with little to no variation. If Mikey & Streeter wrote this one, I have to wonder how many times it previously got cut? The only genuinely funny parts to me were Leslie and Pete breaking at the worst possible moments when the camera cut to them. Also, Schumers' line about being both "a YouTube sketch comedian and a very serious musician" was so oddly specific it left me wondering who exactly that was supposed to be a jab at. Also, while it didn't seem to have much of an ending at least they took this to its' logical conclusion in a satisfying enough way. C-
Handmaids In The City - These type of easy pop culture crossover premises (i.e. "Real Housewives of Disney", "The Office: Middle Earth") usually leave plenty of room for some solid writing and execution. I was expecting much more from this sketch once I realized it would also be in that vein but for some reason it just failed to deliver. Not even the obligatory fake reviews added much to this. Maybe I just wasn't familiar enough with the Handmaids' Tale to be able to appreciate it or maybe there was only so much they could do with this in execution as opposed to filming it but it just didn't land with me. Speaking of filmed sketches, I have to wonder if Amy bought any of her old "Inside Amy Schumer" writers with her? While watching this, I for some reason flashed on the parodies of "12 Angry Men" and "Friday Night Lights" they did on that show (which I only saw because they were the only sketches from her show strong enough to go viral) and thought this could be something they would be doing if the show was in production now. C-
The Day You Were Born - This was allright. It rounded out to not be too predictable after they established what the entire joke behind this was. At first, I genuinely couldn't even venture an educated guess as to who may have written this as I couldn't think of anyone on the current cast or writing staff who has given birth. Then, I thought of the possibility that this could have been one of the writers I just hypothesized Schumer had bought with her this week in my blurb on the preceeding sketch. Finally, I saw where this was going and realized that whoever wrote this obviously also wrote the Girls Halloween short from last seasons' Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga episode and the high school drama production of Legally Blonde film from the Jimmy Fallon/Harry Styles episode. All of those films made strong use of jarring contrasts setup by quick back-and-forth jump cuts. B-
Gospel Brunch - I still don't quite know what to make of this one. It seemed a little too meandering and low-key for its own good. It took a detour too many to get to its central premise. The only real laughs, again, came from Kenan, Leslie and Amy breaking and adlibbing to cover for the blender just not working. They covered that quite nicely. I'd say either Che, Gary Richardson or Wil Stephenson & Bryan Tucker wrote this if I had to venture another educated guess. C-
Update was very strong throughout. Jost, Che and the rest of the team that puts Update together really seemed to hit it out of the park tonight. Not everything was laugh-out-loud hilarious but they displayed some real sharp joke writing abilities tonight. The only real groaned was Ches' "one-legged woman" joke and I'll admit I thought even that was pretty solid. It's nice to see Heidis' teen YouTube movie reviewer return in a NOT completely by-the-numbers rewrite but they still need to change the ending a little bit so she doesn't always end up having a near panic attack over her high school problems when Che reveals one of her movie crushes. I liked Melissa McCarthys' cute cameo just for the fact that it was the first (and seemingly only) genuine surprise of the whole show (maybe not so much when you consider she also just essentially made a "cameo" on Colberts' show the previous night rather than be interviewed as a guest). Strangely, McCarthy actually hosted last year around this exact same time when she DIDN'T have a movie out and seemed to be coasting on her slightly increased profile from being involved in thr shows' political humor. Boy, she must be grateful that she got to make "Life Of The Party" when she did because that gig dried up pretty fast, huh? At least it was short enough that she got to bow out gracefully, unlike some other five-timer hosts, right? Even stranger, she seems to be on the biggest media blitz to promote a movie I've seen while giving the fewest actual interviews doing so. Anyway, I don't mind how long this bit seemed to go on because it was pretty grounded for a Melissa McCarthy sketch character. The only thing that could've really improved this Update would've been to let Jost handle a guest commentary instead of making Che the focus of one of the two. B-
Wake Up Denver - Okay, first off...I do still appreciate the Denver shout out even if the setting seemed completely irrelevant to the rest of the sketch compared to the animal photographer/pornographer sketch from last years' Scarjo episode (also framed as a segment on a Denver based morning show but as a remote from the Denver Zoo). As for the substance of the sketch, it seemed like they really spread the basic premise of this too thin over a little too long of a sketch. I could immediately tell this was going to be some kind of "Rent" parody when I saw Kyles' costume during the brief commercial break setup preview. I could tell immediately that Kyle would be playing the character of "Mark" because he seemed to be wearing almost the exact same costume that Neil Patrick Harris wore when he played "Mark from Rent" in the "Save Broadway" sketch when he hosted back in '09. Speaking of which, Kyle and Amy really did stick out like a pair of sore thumbs among a sea of extras who were actual children (especially Amy who was quite distractingly unconvincing kneeling behind an oddly placed puppet wall). Speaking of Amy, I couldn't help but notice that she played the same "Amy Merriwheather-Sherman" character that she played in the "Toddlers & Tiaras" parody on her old sketch show and in the Town Hall sketch from the last time she hosted THIS show. Since they revived that town hall sketch later that season when Ronda Rousey hosted, I'm sure Schumer and her collaborators outside of SNL didn't write either of these sketches. I'm guessing this was a possible collaboration between Mikey, Kent Sublette and Julio Torres (shades of the latter are the most noticeable here). This feels like any of them could've written this previously and had it get cut from a past dress rehearsal/table read or two and hastily punched up this week to include Schumer character as her being a fierce conservative made so little sense it was probably tacked on at the last second. C+
Sheila Sovage VIII - Yeah, I happened to have my TV tuned to NBC during just the right portion of the hockey game where we got to see a brief glimpse of this from dress rehearsal. I noticed Amy was in this as the first woman Kate was ever paired up with in these and wondered if this might be the final "Last Call" sketch she was planning to do while in the cast since it looked like (and proved to be) such a substantial shakeup to this formula. Since we now know that Kenan isn't leaving THIS season, I suppose this gives us much more room to speculate whether or not Kate or Aidy are more likely to say goodbye next week. Speaking of Kenan, his obligatory "reactions" were the only other thing keeping this from being a complete carbon copy of the previous installment with Charles Barkley. I guess opening the ark of the covenant was the only way he could possibly follow magically turning to stone. C-
James Madison High School Graduation '18 - Its' pretty obvious that whoever wrote the "Christmas Mass Spectacular" short from the Martin Freeman/Charli XCX episode three-and-a-half years ago. This seemed like a more seasonal/topical rewrite of that (even down to Aidy possibly playing the exact same character but her jumbled, scattershot protest along with Chris chickening out of a backfill were two of the funniest moments in this) but much less grounded and realistic. The only thing that I can say I related to in this was the "literally everybody is dabbing" joke (since I attended my sisters' college graduation a year ago...yes, even among college graduates the "dab" has still managed to not go out of style in the slightest). Everything else seemed like they dug up (and then maybe watered down for network television) some old cliches from twenty years worth of teen oriented movies. I mean, even Becks' voiceover was way more hyped up than it needed to be. Still, that didn't make it any less funny than its' spiritual predecessor. B-
Now, for my updated rankings of the season so far...
1. Sterling K. Brown/James Bay
2. John Mulaney/Jack White
3. Bill Hader/Arcade Fire
4. Donald Glover/Childish Gambino
5. Tiffany Haddish/Taylor Swift
6. Chance The Rapper/Eminem
7. Chadwick Boseman/Cardi B
8. James Franco/SZA
9. Natalie Portman/Dua Lipa
10. Amy Schumer/Kacey Musgraves
11. Charles Barkley/Migos
12. Jessica Chastain/Troy Sivan
13. Sam Rockwell/Halsey
14. Will Ferrell/Chris Stapleton
15. Larry David/Miley Cyrus
16. Saoirse Ronan/U2
17. Kumail Nanjiani/P!nk
18. Gal Gadot/Sam Smith
19. Kevin Hart/Foo Fighters
20. Ryan Gosling/Jay-Z
Well, that was an all around pleasant surprise. Next week, Tina Fey returns for the finale. This will be Tinas' sixth time hosting the show since leaving the cast almost twelve years ago. I know the show likes nothing more than to have an old friend of the show (be they distinguished alumni or five timer level host) close out the season but it would have been nicer to maybe break that tradition and let another fresh faced first timer host before the season ends. Still, if this episode turns out to be at the same level of quality as the last time she hosted (when she cohosted with Amy Poehler for Christmas three years ago) I will be reasonably satisfied. See you then!
Sunday, May 6, 2018
Donald Glover/Childish Gambino (5.5.2018)
Okay, heres' my review. This was still solidly a top five show for this season despite some very minor flaws. Donald Glovers' comedy background served him well as a host. He was very comitted and definitely deserves to host again in the future. He made the absolute most out of every role he was given but at times it felt like he didn't really get enough of a chance to shine as a comedic actor. It felt like he was just lifeless coasting on some rather weak material at times throughout the show. I mean, I may be a little biased on this one because I've been a fan of Glovers since the time before "Community" even premiered when Glover was still very active with the sketch group "Derrick Comedy" (and writing for 30 Rock which I didn't even know he was doing at the time). I was even a fan of his music in college (although I haven't really kept up with his Gambino albums since "Because The Internet" but I'm glad people are still raving about his songs) and I've been waiting for this exact episode to happen for at least the past seven years. I guess I was just expecting a little more (like I'm sure all of us were with Ferrells' episode from January) but this episode didn't completely dash my hopes. I guess he has just matured quite a bit since I was following his early career so closely. I also think that maybe part of the problem could've been that what I thought should have been a showcase for Donald Glover to return to his roots for a night got washed away in a sea of either just plain tired or just plain pointless and unnecessary cameos. Boy, that sure sounded like a nice segue into my comments on this weeks' cold open, didn't it? Lets' start off there, shall we?
Cohen Makes Calls - This cold open sure was a jumbled, distractingly green-screened mess. I think I'm kinda burnt out on stunt casting and cameos right now but still, the only real highlights to this were Martin Short as Dr. Harold Bornstien (the shades of his Jerry Lewis in that portrayal were a nice touch). Fallons' chirpy, aggro Kushner (nice continuity there) & Beck as Pence revealing he was calling a "party line". I'm sure I'm not the only one who was disappointed to find that they cast Kate as Gulianni but at least it was a fairly small role here (and strangely her ONLY role because for some reason.this and the goodnights were the only things she appeared in throughout the entire show). Personally, I thought Alex could've handled the role better instead of being relegated to a no-dialogue role as an FBI witetap agent along with Chris Redd. Speaking of, I wish we had gotten to see him or Glover as Kanye instead of the actual Stormy Daniels. I don't think that was the right thing for SNL to do in the moment (or any moment ever, really). It reminded me too much of those real life Monica Lewinsky cameos in the Cuba Gooding Jr./Ricky Martin episode from May 1999. I remember staying up to watch that one when I was eight years old and even then I could see how it reeked of shameless desperation (I mean, not as much as this, and it wasn't even announced or promoted ahead of time like Lewinsky was, but still). At the very least, we can now say that at least one actual, real life porn star has beem on SNL. C-
Monologue - This got the show off to a slightly better start. I mean, I was slightly disappointed that they didn't just let Donald do his own stand up act but I guess he legitimately retired from stand up to focus on acting and music and hasn't written any jokes in years. Yeah, I could tell SNLs' writing staff wrote all of these jokes for him. They were typical monologue jokes, but at least Donald had the sheer charisma and comedic timing to make them more genuinely funny than any other actor host would have. It kinda dragged in the middle when he started walking around the studio. At that point, it pretty much morphed into a cross between Justin Timberlakes' 2009 monologue & Tom Bradys' 2005 monologue. I honestly would've preferred he go into a Childish Gambino song than...whatever this was. Still, that walk around the studio at least built up to a reasonably satisfying payoff gag (no pun intended). C+
Jurassic Lawsuit - This sketch was okay. Glover was the strongest performer in it. My only criticism is that it could've been tighter and quicker paced. I get the sense that not only did Day and Seidell not only wrote this but resubmitted it after it got cut from dress a few years ago when the first Jurassic World actually came out. I guess the "Instagram story" was filmed just before Luke Null injured his leg? That wpuld explsin this being his only appearance in the entire show this week? B-
Friendos - I wasn't expecting Childish Gambino to participate in a Migos parody but I guess he is good enough friends with them in the rap community that he thought they would dig this. This seemed like a fairly simple idea but it had some really solid writing behind it and the whole thing was executed and performed perfectly. I found it to be very funny. The A$AP Rocky cameo didn't detract too much from this. I wonder whose office this was filmed in? I think I follow just enough of this shows' cast and writers on Instagram to notice the look of a writers' office on the 17th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Plus, I wonder if they reconsidered filling this so f Glover wrote any of these sketches himself, this stands out to me as the most likely to be his. B+ g. Thats' my only criticism of this otherwise well executed piece. B+
Raz P. Berry - This was very funny mostly for the building insanity of it. Kenan and Cecily also added to it and played off Glover well. If Glover wrote any of these sketches himself, this stands out to me as the most likely to be his. B+
A Kanye Place - I have to give them some credit for the somewhat creative angle of working their obligatory take on Kanyes' antics with an unexpected "A Quiet Place" film. Maybe I would be able to appreciate this more if I had actually seen the film but I still found the Kanye commentary a little heavy handed. Plus, it really didn't seem to have an ending. I do have to wonder who wrote this one. My gut tells me it might be Che but not all of this exactly screams him. I'm thinking it could've been Anna Drezen/Sudi Green since Aidy seemed so have such a noticable presence in it. There also seem to be shades of Julio Torres & possibly Stephen Castillo here as well. C-
More Bedroom Dirty Talk - It was nice to see that they gave Melissa another chance to get this on the air, but compared to the original with Aziz Ansari it was far too rushed and underwritten. It didn't quite capture what worked about the first one at all. Hell, she didn't even try to work in any of her impressions. Maybe the show was just running a little long and a big chunk of this got cut for time. Also, she's now done this sketch opposite both Aziz Ansari AND Donald Glover. Is is just a coincidence that both versions of this sketch starred guys whose named have been frequently tossed around by women and female centric publications as the most attractive males comedians? I genuinely have to wonder if this sketch got cut from Kumails' dress rehearsal. C-
Update was consistently strong tonight. Jost and Che had some surprisingly strong jokes about all the Trump scandals this week or maybe it just seems that way to me personally since I haven't been watching as much of Colbert, Meyers, Noah & Klepper as usual this week since I had to take care of quite a few personal items that came up on top of going to two Weird Al concerts in the span of two days (one I got a VIP meet & greet ticket to and another turned out to be a five hour drive away, so yeah, my week has been pretty busy and I'm going into this episode a little worn out here but I digress). I also liked a lot of the rest of their jokes such as Josts' 7-11 joke and Che simply saying g "pass" as a photo of Kanye appeared on screen. Pete roasting the fuck out of Jost & Che upon learning of their Emmy cohosting gig was the funniest part of Update. Leslies' commentary would've felt too much like all her others if it weren't for her shaking things up a bit format wise with the Sarah McLachlan commercial takeoff. Her comments to Colin pretty much made the whole thing for me. Was anyone else at least half expecting Scarlett Johansson to come out considering she was obviously in the building? B-
Galactic Black Human Summit - This was a little dry and thin premise-wise for me, but there were some things to appreciate about it. First off, I have to say I do like Glovers' subtle take on a young Lando Calrissian. He seems able to capture the essence of the character without trying to hard to just do a straight up Billy Dee Williams impersonation. Surprisingly, Kenan and Leslie had the funniest lines here. I feel kind of bad for Heidi and whoever was in the blue monster costume for being in such heavy makeup roles with no lines. Again, I want to say Che wrote this but I'm starting to think it was actually Sam Jay or possibly Bryan Tucker & Will Stephenson. C-
Barbies' Instagram Captions - This sketch seemed very unbalanced. While Pete had the funniest lines, Donald acted the hell out of his character and seemed to be the only one who fully realized what his character was supposed to be and should've been given stronger material to work with. Plus, Kenans' character was so similar in type to his it was almost distracting. This sketch genuinely could've used another rewrite. C+
Con Call Center - This seemed like they threw the Bill Kurtis sketch from the 2005 Jason Bateman/Kelly Clarkson episode with the "Ruff, Rugged & Roker" sketch from the 2010 Tina Fey/Justin Bieber episode along with all the prison sketches they've ever done in a blender and watered it all down before setting it to "puree". Becks' character didn't work as much as it should've for some reason and I personally would've liked to have seen more insane threats instead of going in a softer direction. C-
Now, for my updated rankings of this season...
1. Sterling K. Brown/James Bay
2. John Mulaney/Jack White
3. Bill Hader/Arcade Fire
4. Donald Glover/Childish Gambino
5. Tiffany Haddish/Taylor Swift
6. Chance The Rapper/Eminem
7. Chadwick Boseman/Cardi B
8. James Franco/SZA
9. Natalie Portman/Dua Lipa
10. Charles Barkley/Migos
11. Jessica Chastain/Troy Sivan
12. Sam Rockwell/Halsey
13. Will Ferrell/Chris Stapleton
14. Larry David/Miley Cyrus
15. Saoirse Ronan/U2
16. Kumail Nanjiani/P!nk
17. Gal Gadot/Sam Smith
18. Kevin Hart/Foo Fighters
19. Ryan Gosling/Jay-Z
Well, that wasn't quite what everything I expected it to be but there was still some fun to be had. Next week, Amy Schumer hosts again to promote "I Feel Pretty". I guess its' an unspoken rule that she must host whenever she releases a film with two or more current or former alumni as her costars? Anyway, I'm going to be sorely disappointed if this episode turns out to be more genuinely enjoyable than this one. See you next week!
Sunday, April 15, 2018
John Mulaney/Jack White (4.14.2018)
Okay, here's my review. This show was just as consistently strong as Sterling K. Browns' episode was last month. Even if it didn't quite pack in the same amount of raw energy, you could tell everyone was easily able to keep their spirits up all week. John Mulan proved to be just as adept at performing live sketch comedy as hes' always been at writing it and performing stand up. He really gave this show the boost it needed as it headed into the final home stretch of its' current season. He seemed to be the most visible dominating force behind the show which is a very good quality for any type of host to have. As far as airtime of the actual cast goes, Pete, Alex, Cecily, Heidi and (shockingly) Luke Null seemed to be the most visible. Anyway, lets' break it down...shall we?
Muller Fockers - As much as Kates' Sessions is played out, I was intrigued to see a cold open that started out with just her and Becks' Pence seemingly in place of Baldwin. I was hoping they would give us something a little different and thankfully, they at least did that. Ben Stiller as Micheal Cohen was a great casting decision and he fit the role perfectly. DeNiro as Muller was okay, but probably seemed like a better idea on paper. I think he's at least a better visual fit for the role than Kate, but performance wise he kinda killed whatever momentum this was building since Stiller appeared onscreen. The only things of his and Stillers' that really got a laugh out of me were the "codenames" and the "hard drive/yikes" line. While the "Meet The Parents/Fockers" parody seemed incredibly dated and forced in 2018, it was a little more outside the box that SNLs' current attempts at political humor. C+
Monologue - This was as great as his standup usually is. There were too many great jokes to point out individually but the things that stood out the most to me were the "running for Mayor of nothing" line, his admitting he did coke just before his college graduation ceremony, how he proved he is the only comedian working today that can make robot/captcha jokes even remotely funny and how he chose to open with an entire joke on an obscure Patrick Stewart Salt-N-Pepa intro from February 12, 1994 that obviously stuck with him when he saw it in his youth. I definitely appreciate how he chose to call back to it during his first Jack White intro! My only complaint about this monologue would be that my sneaking suspicion that Darrell Hammond actually butchered his name introducing him as "John Mulvaney" was all but confirmed. B+
JonMuls' Drag Brunch - This seemed like another thing only Mulaney could make funny. In fact, as it progressed it seemed more and more like something only he would've written. I'm willing to bet this is something he co-wrote with Marika Sawyer and Simon Rich. It reminded me of that 50s' diner sketch from five years ago with Jennifer Lawrence as the waitress and Bobby Moynihan as the patron she was totmenting. This was much better however as it built to a much stronger ending that actually improved the sketch. B-
National School Walkout - This sketch kind of rubbed me the wrong way. For one thing, it almost seemed like it was either in questionable taste or just not the right way to address the current gun debate if they were even going to address it at all. Getting past that, Kate and Alex seemed to have the funniest parts in the entire show even though by the time they got to them, this sketch seemed to lose what little structure and focus it had. C+
Wild Wild Country - This was pretty much dominated by Kenan. Thanks to him, I didn't feel like I needed to have seen the source material to find this funny. I think I only became aware of what this was parodying once I saw part of it via either Sara Schaefers' or Stephanie Simbaris' Instagram story (or if not her, than one of the other female comics living in LA that I follow there whose reaction to this I'd like to see). Also, I never thought that Nassim Pedrad would be invited back for a cameo in a million years so its' nice to see that not only did we see that exact thing just happen, but that she also got some recognition applause upon her appearance! She must've really liked writing and collaborating with Mulaney during their time on the show together since she was on his sitcom. I'm guessing he also had a hand in writing this since theres' definitely some shades of "Documentary Now!" to be found here. B-
Lobster Miserables - This sketch was just silly enough to work. It was a decent showcase for Cecily and Mulaneys' singing. Kenan and Kate performed their goofy parts well but Pete and Chris counteracted their absurdity so well that I maintain that this sketch simply would not have worked without them. The biggest thing this sketch had going against it were how the timing on the subtitles got screwed up so bad. Also, Pete botched that Mean Girls Broadway plug so bad that they had to fix it in the repeat and it strikes me as very strange that Mikey first appearance of the entire show would be as a waiter in a non speaking role in this. C+
Update was pretty much the polar opposite of last week in that it was more worth tuning in for the jokes rather than the commentaries. As for the jokes, their best material seemed to be the non-Trump related stuff (aside from Ches' "germaphobe" comments) although his student/teacher sex joke shouldn't have been done at all. Kates' Laura Ingraham seemed a little off to me. It's like she went for a Carvey-level exaggeration there but took the exaggeration too far and the impression just got away from her entirely. Plus, I feel like SNL making fun of someone in the media who screwed up so badly that several of their sponsors had to bail out by portraying them announcing pitiful joke sponsors is a beyond tired trope on the show at this point. I mean, Jack Handy made joke sponsors in sketches his trademark for several years. Long after that, SNL created their own special episode of the sponsor-hemmorhagingly controversial ovelry sexed up MTV Teen drama "Skins" (a bastardized British import) with the cheapest product placements ever. A little over a year later, Taran Kilam depicts Rush Limbaugh gruffly rattling off new Handey-like sponsors which I actually remeber being funnier than tonights' retread of this trope mostly due to Tarans' performance. The only sponsors here tonight that really landed with me were "Reverse Mortages" & "Malaysia Airlines" as well as he line about bullying and the first amendment. I'm not sure we needed to see the return of Kenans' Lava Ball this week (as the real Lavar Ball wasn't exactly dominating headlines) but he was very funny when he was talking about his own "league" and their amneties and incidentals. C+
Hollywood Update/Switcheroo Reboot - This sketch worked more than it had any right to. Specifically, what made it work beyond the initial reveal of the joke was Cecilys' increasingly horrified reactions to Mulaneys' going into detail on the next-to-impossible logistics of pulling this wholly unnecessary "reboot" off and the damaging consequences of even doing the original show. B-
Horn Removal - Kudos to Luke Null for finally getting a leading role in a worthwhile sketch. I'm not sure this alone will guarantee him a second season at this point, but I'm rooting for him after seeing this. His and Heidis' description in his characters' other increasingly outlandish body modifications was what made this sketch for me. He seems to work best with Heidi and have a real chemistry with her from what I've been able to see thus far. If (and it's a pretty big IF at this point) he manages to come back next season it would probably behoove him to do more sketches with Heidi as his scene partner. I wouldn't mind seeing more of them together after this. Also, Mulaney was the best possible straight man thus sketch could've asked for. B+
The Real Intros Of Reality Hills - This was OK. Normally, I don't care much for reality TV parodies on this show but this was just rapid fire paced enough to keep me interested. The only people who stood out to me here were Mikey (because he had the funniest line), Cecily (because she was the only one who got to play two different characters for some reason) and Mulan (because he played twins and, along with Leslie, seemed to have the most dialogue out of everybody). I'm guessing Mulaney also wrote this because a fan of his who I recently started following on Twitter pointed out his resemblance to The Property Brothers here and I take it thats' a show he frequently watches with his wife given the amount of times I've heard him drop references to it in his stand up act and on his Instagram posts. C+
Now, for my updated rankings of this season ...
1. Sterling K. Brown/James Bay
2. John Mulaney/Jack White
3. Bill Hader/Arcade Fire
4. Tiffany Haddish/Taylor Swift
5. Chance The Rapper/Eminem
6. Chadwick Boseman/Cardi B
7. James Franco/SZA
8. Natalie Portman/Dua Lipa
9. Charles Barkley/Migos
10. Jessica Chastain/Troy Sivan
11. Sam Rockwell/Halsey
12. Will Ferrell/Chris Stapleton
13. Larry David/Miley Cyrus
14. Saoirse Ronan/U2
15. Kumail Nanjiani/P!nk
16. Gal Gadot/Sam Smith
17. Kevin Hart/Foo Fighters
18. Ryan Gosling/Jay-Z
Wwll, that was certainly the return to form that the show needed right now. In two weeks, Donald Glover makes his hosting debut with Childish Gambino as his musical guest. It's about damn time they let Troy "Butt Soup" Barnes himself pull double duty on this show. It sure took them long enough. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is excited for this one. I've been wanting this exact lineup for at least the past six years. This also means we might get two stand up monologues in a row if Donald wasn't serious about COMPLETELY retiring from comedy! As much as I'm a fan of his music, I'd rather just see him do some new stand up material for his monologues than a song or even a typical sketch/cast interaction type "monologue" they do with your average hosts. If they could get Larry David to do it, they could certainly get him as well. See you then!
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