SNL's grand 40th season came to a close this week with Louis C.K. and Rihanna. Did SNL end with a "bang"? Lets get to the review.
The cold open started off as kind of a farewell, welcome to Summer kind of thing...and then Hillary Clinton (Kate McKinnon) showed up. While this may have been just one final rep for the season for Kate to get her Clinton impression into gear, this was a great ensemble sketch, and with a catchy song to top it all off.
I imagine writers breathe a sigh of relief when its a stand up comedian hosting the show when it comes to the monologue. They can just let them do their thing, and that's exactly what Louis C.K. did here. He was edgy, but he walked a fine line and always made sure to bring the audience back in. It almost isn't fair to judge this against some of the other monologues this season, but just a brilliant stand up session.
I'm not really sure what the writers were trying to get at with the post monologue sketch. It featured Louis CK as a shoemaker, with his unproductive elves in Vanessa Bayer and Kenan Thompson. The 2 elves wanted to get punished.......and it just kind of spiraled down from there. Essentially, these were a pair of elves with some wild fetishes. Now don't get me wrong, this sketch was never "offensive", but it felt too forced. Luckily though, this wouldn't set the tone for the rest of the show.
Next was a sketch about a sprint store, where Louis CK finds himself mimicking his boss (Leslie Jones), so he tries to persuade her that its how he really talks. This sketch was more than just Louis CK impersonating Louis CK though, it was how they made him fully commit to it. We see years pass by, and Louis is still talking the way he is. There's a nice twist in the end (which I won't spoil), but this was just solid writing, with terrific execution from Louis C.K and Leslie Jones (after a minor flub during the beginning).
SNL ran a pair of short commercials about the "lumberjack". It was just so random and dumb, yet humorous for what it was. Its a shame there were only a pair of 18 second segments, or else this really could have made an impact for the overall show.
Weekend Update as seen its ups and downs this season, but it felt like Colin Jost and Michael Che really connected for the finale. The jokes were fluid, and the two actually reacted to each others' lines. It looked like they actually had chemistry together. Hopefully this carries over to next season (since it seems likely we'll see these 2 return to the Update desk).
The first guest saw Taran Killam as Tom Brady to talk about his suspension from "deflate gate". Colin Jost's fawning over Brady was pretty great here.
The second guest was Pete Davidson, talking about recently turning 21. He went on about his mother, how Harry Potter never got laid, and how he even got this job. For a rookie, Davidson surely has made a name for himself on Update (just like Leslie Jones). It'll be interesting to see how he grows next season.
The final guest saw the return of Riblet (Bobby Moynihan), to interrupt on of Che's previously cut jokes. Riblet is quickly becoming a phenomenon of a recurring Update character. Here's hoping for more during Season 41.
Another week, another surprising recurring sketch, this time bringing back the Vanessa Bayer/Kenan Thompson couple to be interrupted by Cecily Strong and Louis CK. Much like the first time around with "The Rock", this seemed like a good enough concept, but it didn't quite work out. There were some good lines however.
Next was a sketch about a police lineup full of actors (featuring Killam/Kyle Mooney/Beck Bennett/Louis CK), as Davidson looked to identify a mugger. This was one of those sketches that just worked because everyone committed to the concept. Mooney and Bennett in particular were fantastic in this. Mooney had a breakout year, but I think we'll see Bennett with a similar one next season.
The final sketch saw a return of Reese De'What (kenan) for another installment of forgotten tv gems, this time "Whoops, I Married A Lesbian", starring Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant. This was a really good concept with a great role by Bobby Moynihan as the doofus of a friend...however this was missing that extra punch that would have really made this great. But as the final sketch of the night, it was still really good.
This was a somewhat bizarre, but still solid SNL finale. It seemed that the writers decided to let their inner weird thoughts fly, and for the most part it worked. Most importantly though, Colin Jost and Michael Che seemed to finally gel at Weekend Update. I doubt we'll see much overall cast turnover going into next season, but there's always the chance that we'll see 1 or 2 surprise additions or exits.
Avg. Score: 7.55 (each segment was scored out of 10, and averaged, including the musical act).
Bill Hader - 8.06
Martin Freeman - 7.56
Louis C.K. - 7.55
Kevin Hart - 7.51
Chris Pratt - 7.50
Michael Keaton - 7.45
Chris Pratt - 7.50
Michael Keaton - 7.45
Chris Hemsworth - 7.44
Woody Harrelson - 7.42
Reese Witherspoon - 7.20
Amy Adams - 7.19
JK Simmons - 7.18
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - 7.16
Sarah Silverman - 7.15
Taraji P Henson - 7.09
James Franco - 7.07
Jim Carrey - 7.01
Dakota Johnson - 6.83
Cameron Diaz - 6.81
Scarlett Johansson - 6.72
Blake Shelton - 6.60
Chris Rock - 6.52
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