This week's SNL certainly had its highs and lows (but better live skits). A few cast-members really shined, so lets get into it.
The cold open was easily the greatest cold open of the season, and likely the best political skit of the season. It saw a "schoolhouse rock" segment about a bill....and an executive order. Jay Pharoah as Obama kicking the bill down the steps was great, as was Bobby Moynihan's portrayal of the executive order which "just kind of happens"
This excellent cold open made up for an absolutely dreadful monologue from Cameron Diaz. If it isn't a musical monologue, its a "take questions from the audience" one. It wasn't even clever or unique, just scattered and all over the place. Best to forget about this one.
The "Back Home Baller" girls returned (from last year's Christmas episode twin bed short). Aidy Bryant and Leslie Jones made this passable, but overall it was just okay (although bringing back Jean and actually showing her was great).
This next sketch was pretty promotional "An HBO first look at Annie". While it may not have gone anywhere, it still had great interactions with Vanessa Bayer and Leslie Jones, both as Annie, along with Pharoah as Jamie Foxx. Those 3 together made this work (even though Diaz was kind of absent).
There was a bizarre commercial for a "nest-spresso", for your chicken needs. I'm not even quite sure how to describe it. Vanessa Bayer was great in trying to sell it, and the dialogue was good, but overall it just seemed too out there (and I'm a fan of odd ball humor).
Next up was a High School theater showcase...put on by the students. It was one of those productions where the students are trying to preach or teach to the parents, about capitalism/sexism, etc. This is one of those sketches where you might have to watch it more than once for it to really sink in (sort of like Woody Harrelson's apple campfire song). But all in all the production-level was great.
High School Showcase
As for Weekend Update, I thought the jokes were really solid. Whether it was "if you want to know more about immigration reform, ask your grandpa at Thanksgiving", or "worst place for retirement is Loud Surprise, Arkansas". Michael Che waded into the Bill Cosby mess a bit, and while it was good, it could have been fantastic if he was able to go on for another minute or two longer in an actual rant (and it certainly seemed like Che wanted to say more).
Kate McKinnon's Angela Merkel returned, and while its still good, its starting to feel a little stale, without anything truly unique about it anymore.
On the other hand, Taran Killam and Cecily Strong appeared as Charles Manson and his new wife, and it was scarily accurate how Killam portrayed Manson. Killam really is turning into the MVP of SNL.
Beck Bennett's office "baby" boss made its return, this time outside the office and at his home with his wife (Cameron Diaz) along with Kenan Thompson and Shasheer Zamata. It introduced a new element to this character, seeing him at his home....with his giant baby chair at the table. Cameron Diaz was really present and active in this sketch.
Oy, I don't know what SNL was thinking. Some Animal Hour Brian Fellows ripoff with Kenan. Just, no. It felt like a cheap knockoff.
Another week, another Kyle Mooney/Beck Bennett short, this time the return of Chris Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick was looking for a fight with Bennett's character. It wasn't anywhere close to the Fitzpatrick for class president short last season.
The substitute poetry teacher skit returned, starring Vanessa Bayer. This went on for a bit (although Kenan's "friends" poem was pretty good). Then Diaz came in with a rather erotic poem, so that was pretty much the bit. I'm not sure why they have this as a recurring sketch.
Another featured music act, this time it was the 2nd one of the night that saw Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars joined by rapper Mystikal. This was as old-school as they come, and it was terrific (although the 1st performance, 'Uptown Funk' was pretty good as well).
The last sketch was a take-off of those nightchat phone dating ads. It was a little all over the place, with Cecily Strong/Cameron Diaz and Kate McKinnon (whose character was probably the best here). It was amusing though, as far as late night/last sketches go.
Overall, this has been a surprisingly good season so far, with the Chris Rock episode being the only true dud. Each episode has had its moments, including this week's with some strong character sketches.
Avg. Score: 6.81 (each segment was scored out of 10, and averaged, including the musical act).
Bill Hader - 8.06
Chris Pratt - 7.50
Chris Pratt - 7.50
Woody Harrelson - 7.42
Sarah Silverman - 7.15
Sarah Silverman - 7.15
Jim Carrey - 7.01
Cameron Diaz - 6.81
Chris Rock - 6.52
No comments:
Post a Comment