Friday, October 16, 2015

SNL 41.2 Review - Amy Schumer, The Weeknd

Original Airdate - 10/10/15

This summer, Amy Schumer went from having a cult following in the comedy world to being a household name after the debut of her movie Trainwreck.  It is always great to see a hard working comedic talent finally get their due, especially considering it means we can see people like Amy Schumer (or Louis CK or Sarah Silverman) host Saturday Night Live.  Although the episode was fairly average overall, Schumer brought an energy that will definitely warrant an encore hosting gig.

Cold Opening

One of my favorite sketches this current cast pulls out is their "Fox & Friends" parody.  This is because they make this so ridiculous and so cartoonish to shed light on just how crazy some of these TV personalities can sound.  The best part of each of these sketches is the list of errors.  It is worth pausing or slowing down so you can read them all.

Monologue

I have always said the best monologues come from those used to giving monologues.  The writers are able to take the night off for this one particular segment as the host can just work through some of their standard material.  When that material has unique style of someone like Amy Schumer, it truly becomes a highlight of the night.

Weekend Update






This is now officially the best part of every episode.  Jost and Che are on a great roll as their unique chemistry produces memorable joke after memorable joke.  Their debate about guns to open Update was something they hadn't done before, but something they should continue to do.  The more they are able to play off each other like that, the better it all gets.  I used to watch Update to see which characters would pop up as the guests.  Now I get disappointed when the guests appear because it interrupts the momentum the hosts had going.  This Update brought about a new guest in Update researcher Solomon, who was okay, and repeat guest Mrs. Santini, who is getting more and more ridiculous.  I am glad they only had two this time though, so we could see more from Colin and Michael.  On another note, I hope the "Weeknd Update" becomes a regular occurrence.

Best Sketch

For as good as these pieces of the episode were, the regular sketches were a little bland.  The best of them was probably this sketch about an over-zealous flight attendant crew that forgot one little detail upon take off.  Amy Schumer and Vanessa Bayer have great chemistry together as is shown here.

Worst Sketch

Amy Schumer's brand of comedy lives in the awkward and controversial.  When you live in this realm, some lines work and some don't.  This one, although not terrible, really didn't hit.  An over-zealous actor adlibs and butchers a Lincoln reenactment.  It teetered on the edge of irreverent and unnecessary, which is probably right where Schumer wanted it.

Dark Horse Sketch

This sketch was definitely awkward, but what made it work was the fact that everyone knows a person like this.  A baby shower gets interrupted by the uninvited guest that takes a simple mistake as a personal attack.  Again, Amy Schumer loves to live in the awkward, and this is a sketch that worked much more than the last one.

Grade
It was about time Amy Schumer got a chance to host.  Although it didn't go as well as it could have, it definitely showed why she has finally worked her way up the ranks.  She is unique, controversial, and hilarious.  I compare her hosting gig a lot to when Louis CK hosted for the first time.  It was a little rough, but there was potential.  Her brand of comedy certainly brought a breath of fresh air to the episode that is worth bringing back at some point in the near future.

***B-***

View the full episode here:

No comments:

Post a Comment