SNL: Top 15 of 2017

 

With 2017 coming to a close, its time to look back at some of the best sketches of this past year on SNL. The year was of course chock full of political pieces, though somewhat surprisingly in my ranking, there are only a select few of them (maybe due in part to this current season's weak political writing). Onto my personal top 15.

15) "Enhancement Drug"

This ad parody is pretty much all Dwayne Johnson. If he wanted, he could perfectly fit in among the cast.

14) "Come Back Barack"

Featuring Chance The Rapper, this wasn't necessarily among the funniest pieces of the year, but just the production/nostalgia factor, and the catchiness of the song put it on this list.  

13) "Sean Spicer Returns"

Melissa McCarthy's take on Sean Spicer was among the top characters on SNL in this past year. This sketch was the final time Spicer was seen on SNL, as he would exit the White House over the summer. 

12) "Translator"

This was one of those sketches that on paper shouldn't work...Scarlett Johansson's dog expresses its support of Trump in a lab experiment. But they somehow pulled it off.

11) "Girl At A Bar"

This sketch occurred before the #MeToo movement started up en masse, but it could easily fit into it. Its actually fairly sad how accurate this sketch can be.

10) "Republican Movie Trailer"

This turned out to be more true than we thought during the time of its airing. Sure, we've had Jeff Flake and Bob Corker make some symbolic gestures against Trumpism, but in a way those actions still seem a little hollow.

9) "Kellywise"

Probably the perfect take on Kellyanne Conway (and can we talk about Kate McKinnon's amazing year, she just ran the gambit among trump admin official impersonations).

8) "Gift Wrap"

This was among the shock-value genre of sketches, but James Franco played it up perfectly to make it work and keep the momentum going.

7) "Bedroom"

This was a breakout moment for Melissa Villasenor last season.

6) "Spelling Bee"

This was a sketch where it took the right host to make it work, and that's just what James Franco did with terrific character work.

5) "Beers"

Larry David in a Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett short was just what we needed in this sitcom spoof.

4) "Sean Spicer Press Conference"

The debut of Melissa McCarthy as Spicer, this was quite a moment. She just fit in perfectly to the role.

3) "Papyrus"

An entire short on a font type shouldn't have worked, or even made sense. Yet here we are, with great work by Ryan Gosling.

2) "Totinos With Kristen Stewart" 

A fitting end to the run on the totinos ads (given Vanessa Bayer's final season). This played out like a short film.

1) "World's Most Evil Invention"

Dwayne Johnson takes the top spot in this sketch (that I still can't believe made the air). What made this work was how Dwayne just keeps it cool throughout while everyone else freaks out.  

   

SNL Season 43: Kevin Hart

 

SNL closed off its 1st half run with Kevin Hart. Onto the review

White House Tree Trimming Cold Open: This cold open reverted back to what hasn't worked with SNL's political cold opens. Baldwin's Trump is just sort of there, and it was more of a hodge-podge of lines (decorating the tree with ornaments of the fallen in trump's 1st year). (5.5)


Monologue: Stand-up comedian + monologue = a fairly solid segment. (8.0)


Holiday Jewelry (ad): This parody of Pandora bracelets was pretty spot on. Get a bracelet, and then every occasion just add a vague charm that sort of resembles the person. (7.5)
 

Office phone Call: (7.0)

Captain Shadow and Cardinal (short): This was a fairly good realistic take on superheros, as Kevin Hart gets pulled over speeding in his bat-like mobile. Chris Redd really stood out as his robin-esque sidekick. (7.8)

Inside The NBA: Jay Pharoah had a good Shaq impression....and so did Kevin Hart. He perfectly portrayed Shaq's, shall we say, oddball nature. (8.1)

(Foo Fighters): (8.2)


Weekend Update: We saw a brief appearance by Omarosa (Leslie Jones).

Alex Moffat returned with his character "Guy who just bought a boat". This character is really starting to come along. It won't reach Stefon heights of course, but i'm interested to see where its going to go. (7.2)
Nativity Play: (5.4)


Christmas Party: (5.1)

Active Jack: (7.4)

(Foo Fighters): Let me just say, what a great Christmas medley to close out the show. (9.2)




 Like of much of this season, this show had its moments, but not a whole lot showed out overall. Although the Kevin Hart goodnights were pretty cool, with the classic skating scene. (7.20)

Chance The Rapper: 7.83

Ryan Gosling: 7.63

Kumali Nanjiani: 7.48 

James Franco: 7.28 

Kevin Hart: 7.20

Saoirse Ronan: 7.16

Tiffany Haddish: 7.15

Larry David: 7.14

Gal Gadot: 7.08  

SNL Season 43: James Franco

 

James Franco made his 4th stop as a SNL host. Onto the review.

Visit With Santa (Cold Open): SNL has had some rough cold opens this season, often times unable to coalesce around a single subject. That wasn't the case this week, with a change of pace. We see a bunch of kid actors asking "Santa" tough real-world questions from Roy Moore to opioids. (8.0)

Monologue: (6.8)


Sexual Harassment Charlie: (7.0) 


Gift Wrap: Some of the best SNL sketches involve shock moments and over the top antics that work. This was one of those. James Franco just owns this, with blood continuing to spurt from his finger. Things even got a little haywire, like Leslie Jones not expecting a mouthful of blood from Franco to go into her mouth. From that, along with Kate Mckinnon's reactions, this was just fantastic. (9.4)
Scrudge (short): (7.1)


Spelling Bee: This was a sketch that just fit Franco like a glove. I'm sure some other host could have had a decent job with it, but Franco was totally into the character as this disturbed host. Just the way he delivers makes it all click. (9.3)
(Sza): (7.3)


Weekend Update: The first guest saw Cathy Anne return (Cecily). As usual, Cathy always speaks the truth. Throughout her appearances, this character just keeps growing.

Next saw a rarity, a genuine field piece. Michael Che "disguised" himself as Gretchen, a liberal white woman. I hope they do more of these style of pieces. (7.2)
Za: (6.5)


Christmas Charity (short): This short was a pleasant surprise. You think you know where its going, and then there comes the twist. (7.3)

(Sza): (6.4)


Reunion: (5.0)


 James Franco brought it to this week's SNL. He at times can be a wildcard, but he was fully invested. (7.28)

Chance The Rapper: 7.83

Ryan Gosling: 7.63

Kumali Nanjiani: 7.48 

James Franco: 7.28

Saoirse Ronan: 7.16

Tiffany Haddish: 7.15

Larry David: 7.14

Gal Gadot: 7.08  

Top 10: Fall Out Boy

 

Just dropping this out of the blue, but I decided to do a Top 10 singles list for Fall Out Boy.  This list is subjective (yada, yada). Anyway, here's my take on their top 10 singles.

(all music video rights to Fall Out Boy, Fueled By Ramen/Island Records)

10) "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race

from Infinity On High (2007)

9) "Champion"

from Mania (2018)

8) "Young And Menace"

from Mania (2018)

7) "Irresistible" ft/ Demi Lovato

from American Beauty/American Psycho (2015)

6) "Thnks fr th Mmrs"  

from Infinity On High (2007)

5) "Centuries"

from American Beauty/American Psycho (2015)

4) "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)"

from Save Rock And Roll (2013)

3) "Dance, Dance"

from From Under The Cork Tree (2005)

2) "The Phoenix"

from Save Rock And Roll (2013)

1) "Sugar, We're Goin Down"

from From Under The Cork Tree (2005)

 

SNL Season 43: Saoirse Ronan

 

SNL returned, beginning its 1st half end run with an all-irish show pretty much. Onto the review.

White House Christmas Cold Open: SNL has had some problems with Trump featured cold opens. So in that respect, this one was actually alright. It ran on the concept of a Christmas Carol oriented sketch, with Mikey Day playing the "ghost" of Flynn to warn Trump. There was a nice surprise in the end, with the 3rd ghost appearing at first to be in the form of Bannon. (7.1)

Monologue:  Being a non-stand up, you could have had a good guess that they might go a musical route. With that being said, the musical approach was pretty clever, with Saoirse trying to tell the public the correct pronunciation of her name. (7.5)


Floribama Shore (ad): First off, yes, this is a real MTV show. Shocking I know. A nice twist to have this featured around a hurricane. And Saoirse's southern accent? Wow, she can do it all. (7.2)

American Girl Store: (7.0)

Welcome To Hell (short): We've seen a number of these female ensemble music videos in the past, so it was about time we got another one. This one was more topical, dealing with the #MeToo movement, and stating in general that this current environment we're in is really nothing new. (8.4)
Return Counter: This was a sketch geared towards the ensemble providing their best joke or character they've come up with. There wasn't any big punchline, but it provided some truth in what retail workers have to deal with, in regards to the people they face. (7.3)

The Race (short): I was a bit surprised this wasn't in the 10 to 1. This was a weird (yet entertaining) Kyle and Beck short involving a race in an office. Its so out there, I'm not even sure how to explain it. (7.5)
(U2): (7.7)

Weekend Update: This week's Update felt a little low energy.

The first guest saw Kate McKinnon as PM Theresa May. Kate can pretty much do it all in terms of impressions.

Then (in what was a very Mikey Day centric episode), we got the Duncan's (Mikey and Leslie). (6.8)
Bachelor Auction: (7.1)

Late For Class: (6.0)

(U2): (6.7)

Aer Lingus: (6.8)


Saoirse Ronan was a fine host, up to the task. The material often seemed like it didn't have her front and center that often (which is nothing against her). (7.16)

Chance The Rapper: 7.83

Ryan Gosling: 7.63

Kumali Nanjiani: 7.48 

Saoirse Ronan: 7.16

Tiffany Haddish: 7.15

Larry David: 7.14

Gal Gadot: 7.08  

SNL Season 43: Chance The Rapper

 

SNL closed off its 3 week November run with Chance the Rapper. Onto the review.

Wikileaks Cold Open: SNL has had a rough political cold open run recently, so this was a bit of fresh air. Instead of trying to cram in a bunch of things at once, they kept to one story, the Trump Jr-Wikileaks connection. We see Don Jr and Eric (Mikey & Alex) with Assange (McKinnon). It may be the same joke, that Eric is a moron, but Alex just plays it up so well. (7.6)

Monologue: (7.2)

Wayne Thanksgiving: This was a good concept for a sketch, that Batman is  kind of racist in the neighborhoods he targets for crimes. Unfortunately it wasn't executed as well as the concept, with flubbed and stumbled lines from Leslie Jones. (6.8)

Come Back Barack (short): In the style of a 90s r&b music video, Chance leads a heartfelt song for Barack to come back, pretty much in any way possible. This was in a similar lane to last Christmas's show "last Barack Christmas", though I think this topped it. (8.8)
Family Feud: Harvey Family Thanksgiving: Alas, a non-celebrity game show sketch. The twist here was that Chance played someone who looks an awful lot like a young Steve Harvey led by Aidy Bryant as the matriarch. This played up pretty well. (8.2)
(Eminem): (9.0)

Weekend Update: Jost and Che certainly didn't take it easy on Al Franken in regards to the recent allegations against him.

The first guest was Kate as Jeff Sessions following his "forgetful" house testimony.

Then Kyle came out as Bruce Chandling for some "thanksgiving humor". This is a fairly divisive character, but I just love that deadpan humor style.

Pete Davidson was the star of this Update though, as he railed against Staten Island. This could have been its own comedy special. (8.6)

Sports Announcer: It was a fairly simple concept, Chance plays a Knicks reporter who has to cover a hockey game. This was a sketch that only worked because of how Chance played it. He just owned it. (8.5)


Rap History: (7.4)

Career Day: (6.3)

Porn Pizza Delivery: A bit surprised to see this recurring sketch. Heidi Gardner plays a "babysitter" welcoming in a pizza delivery man (Chance)...and in comes Aidy Bryant, who the sitter is supposed to be watching. Its this absurdest humor that I love...how does Aidy's character keep winding up in these situations? (7.7)

To this point, SNL's had a fairly average start, with nothing really standing out that much. That changed with this episode. Everything just seemingly clicked. (7.83)


Chance The Rapper: 7.83

Ryan Gosling: 7.63

Kumali Nanjiani: 7.48 

Tiffany Haddish: 7.15

Larry David: 7.14

Gal Gadot: 7.08  

SNL Season 43: Tiffany Haddish

 

Tiffany Haddish made history with her hosting stint. How did the show go? Onto the review.

Roy Moore & Jeff Sessions (cold open): No Alec Baldwin this week, and that's probably for the better. We see Mikey Day as Roy Moore talking to VP Pence (Bennett), which didn't really seem to fit. But then Kate McKinnon's Jeff Sessions comes out from under the "cabinet" to have a heart to heart with Moore. This was better, but SNL still is having a cold open problem when it comes to politics overall. (7.0)

Monologue: Tiffany Haddish was very endearing in this monologue. You could tell how she's quickly becoming a house-hold name. Her bit on re-wearing her dress was perfect. (8.6)

Tournament Fighter: This would be a common theme, Tiffany playing a solid character, but with the overall material not quite being there. (6.9)

Lion King Auditions (short): These screen test pieces are usually only good for getting cast members to get to do whatever random impersonations they can think of. That being said, Heidi Gardner as Kristen Schaal was amazing and spot-on. (7.1)

Message From The DNC: This was maybe their best political bit yet, trotting out "Senators Feinstein & Schumer and company" in a PSA on how the Democrats are now back. And unlike last week, Larry David returned with a useful Bernie Sanders appearance. (7.5)  

Beck & Kyle (short): I'm loving this continuity within SNL of this Leslie Jones love triangle with Colin Jost and Kyle Mooney. Beck is trying to get him back, so he plans a switch with Jost at a masquerade ball. The biggest moment of this though was Jost getting "airplane'd" by punches. (8.5)

(Taylor Swift): (7.5)

Weekend Update: Colin started off with a perfect line on how it feels like right now; "better to stay inside, as its 20 degrees out and everyone's a sex monster".

Cecily Strong had a perfect character in "Claire from HR". This got across the point on how this isn't just a Hollywood or political problem, but an everyday workplace problem.

Then Kenan Thompson seemingly had a blast playing Lavar Ball, hocking more shoes. (7.6)

The Last Black Unicorn: (6.7)

Get Woke with Tamika: (4.0)

The Dolphin Who learned To Speak (short): (6.0)

(Taylor Swift): (7.6)

Whiskers R We: This recurring sketch returned. These are always fun, and this time the cats revolted. First they were trying to jump out of the pen, which Tiffany recovered well from. And then a hairless cat attacked Kate. The reactions were just perfect. (8.0)

Tiffany Haddish brought a lot of fun energy to this show, though the material wasn't quite there...especially in the post Update portion of the show. (7.15) 

Ryan Gosling: 7.63

Kumali Nanjiani: 7.48 

Tiffany Haddish: 7.15

Larry David: 7.14

Gal Gadot: 7.08