SNL Season 41: Ep.6

SNL closed out their November run before taking a Thanksgiving break with Matthew McConaughey, so how did it go? Onto the review.

Fox & Friends (Cold Open): A very common cold open recently, Fox & Friends. The guests saw the return of Kate McKinnon as DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. But what made this cold open click was seeing Jay Pharoah as Ben Carson. That impression is so on point. Felt like something was missing though, as they decided to omit the end of show corrections that are usually pure gold. (6.9)

Monologue: In terms of monologues, McConaughey's was pretty fresh. It didn't include any singing, or Q&A sessions, it was just McConaughey talking about "Dazed & Confused" and how the catchphrase "alright alright alright" came to being. The story kind of rambled on, but as I said, in terms of monologues, it was alright. (7.0)

A Thanksgiving Miracle (Short): With Adele as the musical guest, there was bound to be a skit about "Hello", and low and behold, here it was. With that being said though, this was fantastic. It featured a family (Aidy Bryant/Cecily Strong/Beck Bennett/Jay Pharoah/Vanessa Bayer/Kate Mckinnon & McConaughey), bickering about refugees and ISIS over dinner. The only thing to bring them together? "Hello". The production value and the build-up was great, as everyone eventually just turns into Adele. Aidy and Jay were particularly great. Another Thanksgiving short done right by SNL. (8.7)

         

Blues Shack: An "introducing the band" type of sketch, this seemed like it was heading somewhere. Kenan was trying to get McConaughey to sing the blues, but to no avail as he went on to sing about his haircut, and other petty things. It ended with him saying that he lost out on millions on facebook....so he had a sad story after-all. The payoff just wasn't worth it in the end. (5.0)

3D Print Man: Well...this was a weird idea for a sketch. A crowd had to try and tell the difference between 3 men on who was actually 3D-printed. Despite Matthew really trying to sell this, this sketch never really hit into gear. (4.6)

Star Wars Auditions (short): Should have seen that this type of sketch was on its way too. This was mainly a vehicle for celebrity impressions, but what made this were the cameos thrown in there (Michael Buble, Jon Hamm, Emma Stone, and the Star Wars cast). Having J.J Abrams and some of the cast may have caused this to lose a little punch, but there were just so many great moments. From Taran Killam as David Beckham drop-kicking BB-8.....to Bobby Moynihan as George Lucas. (8.0)

Adele: "Hello" (9.5)

Weekend Update: Colin Jost & Michael Che may have figured it out (famous last words), but they just seemed to click. When they're loose is when they're at their best. The writing was also particularly edgy, which the crowd seemed to like in their own way.

The first guest saw Vanessa Bayer as a Disney actress, Laura Parsons, reading the news. I can see this being a popular recurring Update character in the future, it was just fantastic.

The second guest was Kenan as David Ortiz, talking about his endorsement deals as he announces his 2016 retirement. This bit was a little wild, but it worked in the end. (My only criticism is that....David Ortiz does know English pretty well..which this Update joke seems to think isn't always the case. So that's a little bizarre).

Overall, this was a Weekend Update for the ages. (8.8)

Should You Chime In On This?: A game-show sketch, this was taking on the myriad of opinions we see on social media and the like on foreign policy, politics, etc. While this was a good idea on paper, it just didn't play out that well. Maybe the contestants seemed a little too on the nose, but it didn't quite work, which is a shame. (5.8)

Right Side Of The Bed: Maybe this is the new "Girlfriend talk show", but this is the 3rd iteration of "right side of the bed" with Killam and Strong. The only thing that really saved this was McConaughey's character, who was high on fumes playing around with a turkey. All in all though, I just don't get why SNL is making this a recurring sketch. (5.5)

Adele: "When We Were Young" (9.9)

Town Hall Meeting: Another town hall sketch, this one was on a proposed Amtrak stop, but McConaughey's character wasn't feeling it. This sketch was a little wild (given the 10 to 1 spot), but much like the 2nd half of the show, it just kind of dragged without a real point. (5.8)

This week saw a rare feat, where the show was headlined by Update. Jost + Che were really in form, despite a mixed show. Overall, nothing was really bad, but a lot of the ideas just didn't hit quite right. But with Adele's brilliance, everything was just alright. 

Overall Score - 7.13


Tracy Morgan - 7.94
Elizabeth Banks - 7.53
Amy Schumer - 7.18

Matthew McConaughey - 7.13
Miley Cyrus - 6.07
Donald Trump - 4.92

SNL Season 41 Ep.5

Coming off last week's disastrous Donald Trump show, would SNL rebound with Elizabeth Banks? Onto the review

Cold Open (Paris Tribute): Coming off Friday's devastating attacks in Paris, I was wondering how SNL would handle it. This was a nice and fitting tribute by Cecily Strong, done in both English and French. It was nice and to the point. 

         



Monologue: The show then got going with Elizabeth Banks' monologue. They could have easily gone with a Hunger Games related one, but they did something different. Instead, it was a monologue on how she's recently gotten into directing, and wanted to direct her own monologue. It took a little bit to get into, but when it started rolling, Banks was just great. Our lives could use more star swipes.
(8.5)

Aron's List: An "ad" for "Aron's List"......America's Register of Non-Violent Sex Offenders; it was fine. It wasn't really anything new for SNL and seemed a little out of left field, but there wasn't anything incredibly offensive (although some of the offenses they listed were a little suspect as being minor). But as I said, all in all, this was fine. (7.0)


Black Jeopardy: Recent recurring sketches were a theme of the night, starting with the return of Black Jeopardy (last seen during Louis CK's show last season). While not quite topping the 1st, this one was still pretty good. Sasheer Zamata in particular really got a chance to shine. I also thought this was a good take on cultural appropriation with Banks' character, who thought she belonged there...(not going to get into that specific topic, which would take a while). There was a lot of good writing here, stuff that wouldn't quite fit in anywhere else, like say in Weekend Update. (8.0)                                   



"Fist Got Horny 2 U" (short): The women of SNL (Strong/Kate McKinnon/Vanessa Bayer/Aidy Bryant) plus Banks formed the girl group "Infinity +5" for a song about what first made them "feel feelings"...from Carson Daly and Mr. Sheffield from "The Nanny"....to the Menendez Brothers and the 90s sitcom "Dinosaurs". I loved that McKinnon got to play herself, stating how the Hanson brothers made her realize that she was "gay as hell". In terms of these type of shorts, this was far far better than last week's "Bad Girl Club". You could even make the case that this was better than last season's "Twin Bed". (8.6)
      




High School Theater Showcase: This was the 3rd incarnation of this sketch. It had the same general idea, but had more interactions with the parents, Bayer & Kenan Thompson. I liked how Leslie Jones just booked it out of there from the start. There were just a lot of great small moments, from "who run the world...whites", to Kate's "Sea world" monologue. This was better than the last version of this sketch. (8.2)
      



Disclosure ft/ Lorde "Magnets": (7.5)


Weekend Update: As seems to be the case with Update, as the show was going well, Colin Jost & Michael Che seemed to connect. They had a nice riff on the recent controversy with Yale, and Jost had a good "baby Hitler/Jeb Bush" line.

The first guest was Pete Davidson, as he talked about the recent "bathroom" uproar and the failed "HERO" equal right legislation in Houston. This was Pete's best Update appearance yet. He was actually making a point, instead of just throwing in some weed jokes. While he's been great on Update, he truly made a statement here.
          

The 2nd guest saw Kyle Mooney return as Bruce Chandling. This character seems to be a hit or miss, as it thrives in awkward moments. And while he's still not one of my favorite characters, I felt like this time it got more personal.

The 3rd guest saw Mckinnon return as Russian citizen Olya Polvlatsky. As I frequently mention, she's always great at what she does, and that was still true here. There were some truly great lines, like "did you fall from Heaven? Are my babies alright?". (7.5)


The Adventures Of Young Ben Carson: It was about time we got a sketch about Ben Carson. Jay Pharoah was just fantastic as Carson. He's really got that impersonation down. The great thing was that they didn't really have to make anything up here, they literally based and sourced everything on actual quotes from Ben Carson. Kenan was also great as "Black Jesus". (8.4)





Walk On Role: This sketch was based on a walk on role for Bobby Moynihan (who played a school principal) for a show called "The Bureau". The spin here was that he was playing the role of a pervert, and would be seen in countless promos. While everyone was committed here, it just didn't play out right. (5.1)


Disclosure ft/Sam Smith "Omen": (7.9)



Uber For Jen (Mike O'Brien Picture): Mike O'Brien returned with another short. He's now more of a freelance writer for SNL. Like with any O'Brien piece, this took a while to get into, but once it got going, it was pretty great. Mike was an uber driver for Elizabeth who took her on a journey of sorts, from hitting a guy, to the delivery of his child. It was overall well produced and well-made. (8.0)




Ghetto: This sketch featured the women of SNL, who were talking about "how ghetto" things were, until Banks started talking...who actually lived in a ghetto. The sketch made a good point on an over-used phrase, but it didn't quite mesh as it could have. (5.7)



From last week's horror-fest to Elizabeth Banks felt like a breath of fresh air. She was actually into it and felt like a cast member (which of course is always a good sign for an episode). The episode also reflected how good a mood the cast was in to move on from last week. All in all, this was a nice rebound season as Season 41 marches forward.

Overall Score - 7.53


Tracy Morgan - 7.94
Elizabeth Banks - 7.53
Amy Schumer - 7.18
Miley Cyrus - 6.07
Donald Trump - 4.92

SNL: Season 41 Ep.4

Through all the "hype", it finally arrived....the Donald Trump episode. So....how did it go? Well, I almost didn't want to even write this review, that's how it went. Onto the review.....(*sigh*)

MSNBC Dem Forum (Cold Open): With Cecily Strong as Maddow, the cold open saw SNL take on Friday's Dem Forum with Martin O'Malley (Taran Killam), Hillary Clinton (Kate McKinnon), and making his return, Larry David as Bernie Sanders. Larry David was the saving grace of this cold open. The writing was all over the place (appearing that they didn't even see the actual forum, which was actually full of tough questions). But all in all, this was alright, considering what was yet to come. (6.7)

Monologue: And then out came Donald Trump. Trump talked about "Rosie O'Donnell", who was actually Aidy Bryant, and then got flanked by 2 more Trumps (Killam and Darrell Hammond). It was just very blah. As scripted as it was, Larry David "heckling" Trump as a racist was really the only amusing part. (5.9)

Trump White House: Oy. This entire sketch (centering around what a Trump white house would look like, depicting how great it was) was a total disaster. It practically ended with a Trump campaign ad. One of the worst sketches in SNL history. (0.0)

Bad Girls (Short):  This short looked like it was trying to mimic the "Do It On My Twin Bed" series, but there just wasn't any bite to this. It was just very predictable and by the numbers....not to mention it went on forever. (2.8)

Live Tweet: Due to equal time restraints, Trump wasn't really in this sketch, but the premise was that he was live tweeting one. From ridiculing Killam, Vanessa Bayer, Strong, the entire cast here just felt trapped. The "tweets" weren't even clever, but just mean.....and kind of racist (in regards to Kenan Thompson). (3.0)

Hotline Bling Parody (Short): Beside the musical guest, this was pretty much the only saving grace of the night. Jay Pharoah was fantastic as Drake (he's usually great). We also got a tremendous cameo from Martin Short as "Ed Grimley". Heck, even Trump was pretty good here. (8.0)

       



Sia - "Alive": (8.1)


Weekend Update: Colin Jost & Michael Che pretty much set the tone when they stumbled with their intro. The jokes just fell flat (especially when they tried to mention the Trump Protests outside the studio, and Che whispering a Trump birther joke).

As the first guest, even Leslie Jones wasn't able to connect or get anything going with Jost.

Drunk Uncle (Bobby Moynihan) finally made an appearance, but it was a little on the nose as he discussed as he was a Trump supporter (with a random disparaging Caitlyn Jenner joke thrown in there to boot). (5.5)



Laser Harp (Rock Band): This was one of those sketches that might have worked with a host that was actually present, but it just fell flat here. Trump played a laser harp player who wanted a longer solo.....and that was pretty much it. (3.1)



Mr. Crocker (Short): Beck Bennett played a dad who recorded current pop songs, looking for a record deal. Donald Trump, as the executive kind of looked like a poor man's "Bruce Dickinson". (3.5)


Sia - "Bird Set Free": (8.8)



Porn Stars: This recurring sketch with Bayer & Strong can be hit or miss. When the show's going well, and with the right host, these can be hysterical......but this week wasn't the case. And that's all I'll say about this. (3.6)



Hurray, the review is finally over. But man oh man, was this a rough show. It was as miserable as I anticipated (maybe even worse). You could tell none of the cast was really into it. Larry David & Sia were the only ones able to really provide any sort of life into this week's show (beside Jay Pharoah's Hotling Bling parody). SNL will certainly take a hit with this show, but they should be able to bounce back in the next 2 weeks with Elizabeth Banks and Matthew McConaughey.....(and don't forget about Adele as the musical guest in 2 weeks). But until then...lets just forget that this week's show happened.

Overall Score - 4.92


Tracy Morgan - 7.94
Amy Schumer - 7.18
Miley Cyrus - 6.07
Donald Trump - 4.92