SNL Season 41: Ep.12

SNL returned after a week break with Larry David. Surprisingly, this was the first hosting gig for David. So....did he Curb SNL's enthusiasm? Onto the review

Cold Open: A Letter From Ted Cruz - SNL's really starting to hit home that role of Ted Cruz for Taran Killam. This was just a general introduction to Sen. Cruz, talking about his looks, mannerisms, etc. SNL hasn't had a problem on the Democratic side this year, but they just can't seem to cover the GOP side the right way. There's just something missing, and this cold open is a sign to that. (5.0)

Monologue - A good old-fashioned stand-up monologue, which tend to be the best. I feel like if you aren't familiar with Larry David or Curb Your Enthusiasm, this monologue makes for a nice introduction. David delves into the differences of being a "poor schmuck" and a "rich prick" and explaining that he's okay with woman dating him for his money. Overall, probably one of the better stand-up monologues since Louis CK. (8.4)

FBI Simulator - Oh man, this sketch. This is like late 90s/Early 00's SNL. Cecily Strong plays an FBI instructor while Kenan Thompson is on a simulated firing range, having to choose between bad and good targets....and then he runs into Kevin Roberts (Larry David). I have no idea how they came up with this character, but I'm so glad they did. David was at his best here. From his giant 1980s mobile phone, to the line "Can a bitch get a donut?", this was just fascinating on so many levels. (9.0)

FBI Simulator

Bern Your Enthusiasm (short) - We knew a Bernie Sanders impression was going to come, but SNL made it inventive with this short. Combining the 2016 campaign with "Curb Your Enthusiasm", this played out like an actual HBO spin-off. As is often the case with SNL shorts, this was incredibly well produced. Cecily in particular really shined in her "talk down" role as Suzie, as did Leslie Jones and Aidy Bryant as defected voters. And just know.....Bernie doesn't do a cough and shake (9.5)

Steam Ship: A ship starts going down Titanic-style, and the women and children start heading for the lifeboats. That is, until Larry David starts making some objections...and demands they check for pubes. This sketch rolls along, and then Bernie Sanders made his long-awaited cameo. Sanders looks to try and unite the sinking ship. He has a nice little rift with Larry, including talking about "democratic socialism". This was a little surprising vehicle for a Sanders cameo, but it did work. All in all, Clinton (the SNL premiere) and Sanders have both made successful cameos this season.....(same can't be said for that Trump hosted episode...but lets just forget about that). (8.0) 

Totinos (ad) - A rare continuation, this was a take-off from last year's totinos pizza rolls super bowl ad. It feels the same, but then it takes a dark turn when Vanessa Bayer realizes that the guys are reacting to a blank screen. It takes a spin, revealing itself to be an X-Files promo. A pretty clever and unique idea by the writers here. (8.4)

(The 1975) - (7.4)

Weekend Update - Given the show's solid energy, Colin Jost and Michael Che were on their game. The writers must have been fast with rewrites, because Jost started off with a take on the awkward GOP Debate intros, which had just occurred about a few hours prior. 

Kate McKinnon appeared as "Sturdy Barbie", another new model that didn't make the roll-out. McKinnon just seems to be great in any new role, including this one 

Sturdy Barbie

Jon Rudnitsky (who? Exactly), made an appearance, joking about his somewhat failed season so far. He went on to audition for "Dirty Dancing Live", dressed as Patrick Swayze and all. This started off amusing...but then kept going and going and going.

Finally, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson appeared as "Zoolander" and "Hansel", talking about political fashion. This was okay (I'll admit, not a big Zoolander fan overall). (7.2)

Intro To Song-writing - It was nice seeing Pete Davidson lead a sketch like this. He played a teacher teaching the basics of rhyming in song writing. It looked at first like this wasn't going anywhere, but then David's character starts going on about frogs and toads, which captivates the entire class. This was a sort of sketch that only would have worked with someone like Larry David. With any regular actor, this sketch likely would have tanked. (6.9)

Cam/Peyton - With the superbowl on the writer's minds, we got this sing a long with Cam Newton (Kenan) and Peyton Manning (Taran). They discussed their differences in celebrating and the like. It then took a turn when police showed up to arrest Cam for "dancing", showing the differences in perception among different NFL players the public has. (7.3)

(The 1975) - (7.6)

Last Call - With the right host, these are becoming the go-to 10 to 1 sketches (like the 'former porn star' ones). This was one of the better "Last Call" skits. Kate and Larry had some chemistry here. That, and the writing was particularly well-done. (8.0)

Last Call

Larry David & Bernie Sanders brought a spark back to SNL. There just seemed to be a lot of energy from the monologue onwards. Here's hoping SNL was able to bottle this up for the rest of the season....and here's also hoping that Larry David gets to go on a nice hosting spree over the next few seasons.

 Overall Score - 7.73

Tracy Morgan - 7.94

Larry David - 7.73
Elizabeth Banks - 7.53

Adam Driver - 7.22

Chris Hemsworth - 7.20
Amy Schumer - 7.18

Matthew McConaughey - 7.13

Tina Fey/Amy Poehler - 7.03
Ryan Gosling - 6.92
Miley Cyrus - 6.07

Ronda Rousey - 5.78
Donald Trump - 4.92