SNL 41.1 Review - Miley Cyrus

Original Airdate - 10/3/15

Last season, I lost track of my reviews and missed keeping everyone updated on the entire second half of the 40th season of Saturday Night Live.  This doesn't mean there wasn't any quality.  The show really started to find its new groove with the new cast as several started to emerge as potential new stars.  I am hoping to get this new 41st season off to a good start with my reviews.  This will be especially good after seeing just how good this season started.

Cold Opening

What was the biggest story of the summer?  There is only one name that comes to mind: Trump.  There was only one direction to go with the first sketch of the new season.  Taran Killam dawns the orange rug now, taking the reins from Darrell Hammond.  He may not be as good as the former castmember now announcer at SNL, but he is pretty good nonetheless.  With the show's top talent impersonating the biggest character in the upcoming presidential race, we could be in store for quite the memorable set of political sketches ahead.  This also marked the first of many times Killam and Cecily Strong were paired together this episode.  They have the potential of being SNL's new power couple a la Jimmy and Tina or Seth and Amy.

Monologue

Miley Cyrus has been quite the popular host throughout the years.  No matter how crazy she has been, she always seems to put on a good show at 30 Rock.  Her ridiculousness may have gotten a little out of hand, as Miley came out for her monologue dressed in a dress of flowers.  Once you get over the crazy get-up, you hear a song complete with a "15 minutes of fame" summer headline montage.  It actually turned out to be quite the perfect start to the show as it highlighted the host as well as everything the show wishes it could have commented on over the summer if it had been writing live shows.

Weekend Update

The Weekend Update team of Jost and Che developed into quite the formidable tandem by the end of last season.  It is now the highlight of every show as it was in the days of Fallon and Fey.  Of the three guests at the Update desk this episode, two of the worked and one didn't.  The first one was the dud, as Kyle Mooney brought the Pope to the desk to talk about his recent visit to the USA.  It was made up for with Pete Davidson and Leslie Jones stopping by to give their unique perspectives.  I could listen to them do this every week.

Best Sketch

Political figures love to make cameos on SNL during a political season push.  This sketch was much more than a cameo, as Kate McKinnon brings her Hilary Clinton to life as she drowns her sorrows at the bar and commiserates with the local barkeep played by none other than Hilary Clinton herself.  They discuss her political stances, as well as critiquing them at the same time.  It was a sketch that could go down as one of those timeless pieces of political satire that Saturday Night Live has been known for creating.

Worst Sketch

Stuff always seems to get weird after Weekend Update.  Although some of them are pretty funny, this one was just weird.  A group of girls are out to lunch, when they realize they are sitting at the diner and even the exact table that Meg Ryan filmed her famous scene from When Harry Met Sally... at.  So they take turns reenacting the scene.  Then comes Leslie Jones, who shouts to the heavens loads of gibberish that makes no sense but is supposed to be funny.  Leslie is great in her routines, but is still working on perfecting her sketches.  The one saving grace from this sketch is watching Vanessa Bayer make fun of the fact that she can't impersonate anyone as she tries (if you can call it that) to do a Billy Crystal impression.

Dark Horse Sketch

This was the first time Miley Cyrus had hosted in two seasons.  The last time she hosted was only the second episode for Kyle Mooney, Beck Bennett, and a host of others.  Kyle has become known for his quirky brand of comedy, and all that started with Miley's last hosting gig.  This episode brought back that sketch as Kyle complains to his buddies about how into him Miley Cyrus is.  They obviously don't see the problem.  The first time around, no one really knew what to do with this sketch.  Now that we know what Kyle is all about, it is always nice to see his sketches pop up at the end of episodes.  It was also good to see the return of the sketch that started it all.

Grade

No matter how crazy Miley Cyrus gets, she does know how to host the show.  Lorne Michaels always seems to be able to take these media dumpster fires and showcase their talent in a way no one saw coming.  I don't usually care for Miley Cyrus, but she could host SNL anytime.

***B+***

Watch the full episode here: