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***

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SNL 40.1 Review - Chris Pratt, Ariana Grande

Original Airdate - 9/27/14

Coming into the 40th season of SNL, there were a lot of questions that needed to be answered.  How would the landmark show celebrate its 40th season?  How will the show stay fresh, yet still honor its rich history?  Which of the 8 featured players that debuted in Season 39 would make the cut to Season 40?  And possibly the greatest question of all: how will Lorne Michaels replace Don Pardo, the show's announcer and one true mainstay of the show since day one that passed away over the summer at 96?

Many of those questions were answered in this first episode.  They had two options for host for this first episode of the new season: a classic host with history on the show or a fresh newcomer making his debut on the show.  They opted for a newcomer, and there was no one that deserved the honor more than Chris Pratt.  He has shown over the last few years that he not only is hilarious, but a great actor.  As far as the cast, 4 of the 8 featured players (John Milhiser, Mike O'Brien, Noel Wells, Brooks Wheelen) from last season were no longer a part of the cast (Mike O'Brien moved back to the writing room).  That meant 4 of the 8 featured players (Beck Bennett, Colin Jost, Kyle Mooney, Sasheer Zamata) were back as featured players, with newcomers Michael Che and Pete Davidson joining them.  The final question, and the most intriguing, was answered in the best way possible.  Don Pardo accomplished more for setting the tone for every episode than any sketch would.  When Pardo died, a part of the show's history and tradition died.  They needed someone that could bring something new to the table and not be compared to Pardo while still continuing on the tradition of SNL.  When Darrell Hammond, the longest tenured cast member in the show's history, was announced as Pardo's replacement it only made too much sense.  As for the question about how the show will celebrate it's anniversary season, hopefully the first episode was no indicator as it neither showed any recognition of the show's history, nor showcased any strong sign the show is headed in a strong direction.

Cold Opening

The cold opening is usually reserved for commenting on recent pop culture developments.  This makes the first cold open of the season one of the most interesting as they have a whole summer's worth of pop culture to discuss.  They decided to attack the NFL's recent string of domestic violence.  This line of commentary led to impressions of the evasive Ray Lewis and the cartoon-ish Shannon Sharpe.  This also led to an appearance by Chris Pratt channeling his inner Roger Goodell.  It wasn't a legendary sketch, but it was definitely a strong start to the episode and the season.

Monologue

Chris Pratt's monologue was the perfect example of why he is one of America's favorite average Joe actors.  After discussing how he is honored to have this opportunity, he pulls out his guitar and sings a simple song that he wrote about his experience.  This included a shout out to his wife, 2-time host Anna Faris.  After stumbling over a couple lines (my favorite being the line about him being up for 40 straight hours), you can't help but love the man.  The show had some serious promise.

Weekend Update

The new anchor combination of head writer Colin Jost and writer Michael Che was debuted this episode, and you could tell it was their first time.  The dynamic between the two showed some promise, but was very stiff and awkward for this first episode.  Jost isn't exactly established, taking over for Seth Meyers halfway through last season, and Che was added to the cast simply to take on this task.  It will get stronger throughout the season as they seem to be trying for some back-and-forth banter much more than Cecily did with either of her co-hosts.  Speaking of Cecily, one of the biggest drawbacks to her anchoring Weekend Update was it meant the end of the Girl You Wished You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party, one of the budding new guests to the Update desk.  Well, in her first episode in a season she wasn't an anchor, they brought back the Party Girl.  They must have really missed her, and it also allowed for Cecily to indirectly show that there were no hard feelings.  She showed once again what makes her such a strong cast member.

Our second guest to the Update desk was Leslie Jones, a new writer to the show making her second appearance at the Update desk.  Jones is hilarious as she brings a brand of comedy to the show with her quasi-stand-up that really nobody else has in the cast right now.  She is a welcome sight whenever she wants to come on and yell at the camera for a little while.

The last guest to the desk was the debut of the newest, and youngest, cast member, Pete Davidson.  Immediately, he showed why he was brought in.  In two minutes, Davidson proved he was naturally funnier than any of the cast members who were not brought back.  It was a little raunchy, but what do you expect out of a 20 year old stand up comedian?

Best Sketch

Although it sounds like the episode was pretty solid from the Cold Open, Monologue, and Weekend Update, those were the only highlights of the first half of the show.  It was really hard to find a regular sketch that had any laughs in it.  There were actually no laughs in the first half the episode after the monologue.  I had to go to the first sketch after Weekend Update to find a sketch that was funny at all.  This sketch had Chris Pratt and Aidy Bryant trying to flirt with each other by using rap lyrics.  They were cheap laughs, but at least they were laughs.

Worst Sketch

There were several contenders for this title from this episode, however the winner has to be the first post-monologue sketch.  This is supposed to be the strongest and best sketch of the night as it sets a real tone for the show.  Well this sketch about a boy who wishes his toys would come to life sure set that tone, but I don't think it was the tone they were meaning to set.  Also, it brought a needless cameo from Ariana Grande way too early in the show.  I don't know what they were thinking with this one.

Dark Horse Sketch

One of the main reasons Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett thrived last year and made it to a sophomore season was their off-beat quirky digital shorts that ended almost every show.  It became something to look forward to at the end of every episode, as it took the prize for Dark Horse Sketch more times than not last season.  Well, in this disappointing season premiere I knew I could count on Kyle and Beck to bring something different to the end of the show once again.  Add to that Chris Pratt, whose brand of comedy fit in a little too well with the duo, and you have not only the quirkiest sketch of the night but possibly the best one.  This sketch channels retro 80's/90's family sitcoms in a bizarre plot and corny music and punchlines.  I don't know why, but the stuff these guys put out just fascinates me in its strangeness.

Grade

With the start of a landmark season and one of the biggest funny men in the world right now hosting, this was quite the anticipated episode and disappointed on so many levels.  The majority of the sketches were not funny and the writing was terrible (a trend I was hoping wouldn't continue from last season).  However, worst of all was that it missed so many opportunities to honor the history of the show.  If you are a fan of the show at all, you were probably like me waiting to see how they were going to pay tribute to Don Pardo.  This personality that was a part of almost every episode of the first 39 seasons of SNL got a tribute of a five second screen shot afterthought at the end of Weekend Update just like any other fallen celebrity.  Even if this episode had been top notch, this one fact would have made it a disappointment.  However, the episode was about as bad as this 40th season could have started.

***D***

Watch the full episode here:

SNL 39.18 Review - Seth Rogen, Ed Sheeran

Original Airdate - 4/12/14

One of the trends that has developed throughout this season of Saturday Night Live is giving some of the industry's top comedic talents their third chance to host.  So far this year, we have had Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, and Melissa McCarthy.  Now joining the party is Seth Rogen.  When Rogen is involved, there are two things that are sure to come: gross-out humor and marijuana jokes.  Both appeared several times throughout the night.  However, just because it was expected didn't make it any less funny.

Cold Opening

In just a couple years, there will be another presidential election upon us.  One of the big questions leading up to that time is how will the Republicans make themselves more appealing to pop culture.  SNL has an answer to that question: send your party leaders to one of the biggest music festivals of the year.  This is what puts Jeb Bush, Paul Ryan, and Rand Paul at Coachella.  In the ultimate fish out of water scenario, about as much awkwardness that you are imagining can be found in this sketch.  I wouldn't call it a great sketch, but it is definitely a strong opening to the show.

Monologue

Seth Rogen comes out addressing a couple elephants in the room.  Would there be any pot jokes? Yes.  Would any of his crazy buddies show up?  Yes, and more.  He started by reading his diary entries from the week after saying that his first two turns as host were such a blur he wanted to remember this one.  Throughout his reading, as he is saying that he doesn't want any help with his monologue, slowly Zooey Deschanel, James Franco, and (quite randomly) Taylor Swift come out to assist.  Swift does have a great one-liner to cap off the bit.

Weekend Update

I am really starting to enjoy Weekend Update with Colin and Cecily.  There is an edge there that Seth Meyers had lost over his last couple years.  With their first featured guest, they bring out Big Papi, David Ortiz from the Boston Red Sox.  Kenan doesn't give great impressions, but more shoots for the essence of the character (or caricature many times).  This is a perfect example of that.

Next came one of my favorite characters they bring out.  Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy is always a welcome sight as he explains Jewish holidays in a half-speech, half-family roast.  This was the first time Jacob worked with Cecily instead of Seth, which was a seamless transition.

Best Sketch

There weren't really many sketches that soared above average in this episode.  This was one of them.  Two best friends are discussing whether or not to get a life-changing surgery ... because their monsters.  The surgery makes them look like humans.  The sketch was pretty hilarious as you discover who is behind those monsters.

Worst Sketch

There were definitely a few clunkers.  This sketch I just did not get, as it featured one of the few characters brought to us by Cecily Strong that disappointed.  At an engagement party for Seth Rogen and Vanessa Bayer, Cecily shows up as Seth's cousin and crudely brings up embarrassing moments in his past.  It just doesn't work, and you can kind of tell the stars know it too.

Dark Horse Sketch

I am really starting to fall in love with the Kyle Mooney random nightcap of the week.  It is really giving him a niche to make him memorable.  With 8 featured players this year, you know not all of them can make it to next year.  They aren't getting rid of Shasheer Zamata after the flack they got that led to her hiring, and Colin Jost and Mike O'Brien aren't going anywhere after they pulled them out of the writing room into the cast.  It's sketches like this that will keep Kyle Mooney and his best bud Beck Bennett around.  (Beck isn't featured here, but often is.)  This latest digital short celebrates Seth Rogen's favorite holiday: 4/20.  Kyle is a little too convincing as a stoner telling of the legends behind Pot Day.  This sketch was just beautifully weird.

Grade

I love Seth Rogen, but this episode really ended up a little too bland to be up to par for Seth.  Of the 3-timers, this episode is near the bottom of the list.  The best episode of the night didn't even involve your host.  With that said, there was still enough there to make this an enjoyable episode.  There were a lot of fun moments, but a year from now, this is one of the episodes from this season I don't remember existing.

***C+***

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