SNL 41.13 Review - Melissa McCarthy, Kanye West

Original Airdate - 2/13/16

One of the most popular hosts of the last few seasons at Saturday Night Live has been Melissa McCarthy.  As her star continues to rise in Hollywood, she keeps on getting asked back.  She has had poor performances, and she has had great performances.  It either seems to be one or the other.  Where would this episode fall?

Cold Opening

This was possibly the most creative political sketch of the season so far.  It starts with a group of people talking about the election.  They all agree Hilary is the logical choice, but they all lean towards Bernie.  Then we hear what could only be referred to as "Hilary's Lament."  It's such a strange way of looking at this presidential race but such a fun look at the environment.  Oh yeah, and poor old Jeb...

Monologue

I loved this monologue.  Melissa McCarthy comes out so excited that she finally gets to join the exclusive "5 Timers Club" for those that have hosted the show five times.  She even has a song prepared for it.  Then she realizes the 40th Anniversary Episode last year doesn't count.  She was one of many that spoke on stage so she considered it a hosting gig.  So it's just her fourth turn, but look for that celebration to take place soon.

Weekend Update

Weekend Update has been one of the highlights of every show this season.  It's the one thing that can be counted on in a bad episode, and something that puts good episodes over the top.  This one put this episode over the top.  First, there was a great cameo by Super Bowl MVP Von Miller, asked to talk about science which he constantly compared to hitting Cam Newton.  Then we have an impression that Vanessa Bayer can actually do, and it's a good one.  She channels her inner mid-90's Rachel Green from Friends and completely nails it.  Last, we have another appearance by Leslie Jones as she gives her Valentine's oratory.  I was laughing the whole time.

Best Sketch

Melissa McCarthy is a master of awkward comedy, and this sketch is a perfect example.  A teen has decided to sit down with his parents for a movie night.  However, everyone forgot this movie has a sex scene, and there is nothing more awkward than watching a sex scene in a movie sitting next to your parents.  This was one of many great sketches in this episode where McCarthy uses that awkward comedy to perfection, but this one is the best.

Worst Sketch

This sketch was all right, but I am just not a fan of comedy revolving around race relations and tensions.  This sketch talks about the latest Beyonce song and how it is forcing white people to come to grips with the fact that Beyonce is black.  There is an interesting point to the sketch, but I just don't find it that funny.

Dark Horse Sketch

Whenever Kyle Mooney has one of his sketches make the show, this spot really just becomes a time to focus on his genius.  This sketch is just crazy.  Apparently, Kyle Mooney thought he could be a rapper and decides to challenge Kanye West to a rap battle.  That's really all you need to know.  Enjoy.

Grade

At the beginning, I said there are two types of Melissa McCarthy episodes: really good ones and really bad ones.  This was a really good one.  There were times in this episode I was laughing harder than I have all season.  You add to the great sketches the spectacle that is a Kanye West performance, and you have one of the best episodes of the season.  This is the second episode in a row I have said that.  This group is really hitting their stride this season.

***A***

View the whole episode here:

SNL 41.3 Review - Tracy Morgan, Demi Lovato

Original Airdate - 10/17/15

When the first batch of hosts for this season of Saturday Night Live was announced, everybody circled this date on their calendar as it marked the first hosting gig for SNL alum Tracy Morgan.  It was much bigger than that though.  It also was his first working appearance since a car crash last year that almost took his life.  This was to be the triumphal return of one of the show's most beloved characters.  It didn't disappoint.

Cold Opening

The show started with what could turn out to be the best sketch of the season.  The Democratic Debate was the topic of the day, which always has the potential to be a highlight thanks to Kate McKinnon's Hilary Clinton.  What made this sketch so good is who filled out the rest of the panel.  Alec Baldwin portrayed the overly-confident and annoyed Jim Webb, and in what may be the best casting decision the show has had (at least since Tina Fey became Sarah Palin), Larry David was brought in to play Bernie Sanders.  It was perfect.  All of a sudden, McKinnon's Clinton was the boring sidekick, which many think is the case in the real campaign.  Either way, this made for a classic sketch that will be replayed for years to come.

Monologue

Now the moment everyone was waiting for.  Tracy Morgan took the stage.  There was a group of people who really wanted to welcome him back in a special way.  So they recreated a scene in 30 Rock, complete with Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Jack McBrayer, and Jane Krakowski.  It was a great way to welcome back Morgan and start the show off as the celebration it was meant to be.

Weekend Update

Colin and Michael had their first hiccup this week.  When you work in comedy, every now and then a joke won't work.  However, these two had a bit that flamed out so impressively that it left the hosts chuckling to themselves, which is funny because they were the only ones laughing.  As far as the guests to the Update desk go, you can't pass up an opportunity to have Tina Fey visit when she is in the building.  The second guest was Michael's neighbor Willy, who gets better and better each time he shows up.

Best Sketch

I have two best sketches to showcase here.  First is an old classic Tracy Morgan sketch everyone knew would be coming back, but everybody was excited to see.  Brian Fellow's Safari Planet is possibly Tracy's most beloved sketch, and to see it back brought a collective smile to SNL fans everywhere.  The other best sketch brought a new definition to Family Feud as the two families competing had recently separated.

Worst Sketch

Every sketch in this episode had its moments.  Tracy Morgan has a tendency to do that.  However, this sketch was just a little too weird.  It was like the start to a classic Broadway musical, as everyone sings their good mornings to each other.  However, it starts to go very wrong as someone doesn't quite get it.  It's funny, but just a little too much.

Dark Horse Sketch

Again, here are two sketches; one from Tracy's past and one new one.  Astronaut Jones was the epitome of a Dark Horse Sketch, as it was just weird enough to be original and hilarious.  The other sketch seeks the answer to a very simple question, "Where is Jackie Chan at right now?"

Grade

As I said, this episode was more of a celebration that Tracy Morgan is back and ready to make us laugh again.  He definitely did that in this episode as he brought back some highlights of the past and found new ways also.  It is episodes like this that make you sad certain cast members had to move on.  The only thing that would have made this episode better would have been a Christmas song brought to us by Tracy, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Kattan, and Horatio Sans.  Oh well, maybe next time.

***A***

View the full episode here:

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: