CREDIT: Saturday Night Live via YouTube

This review was originally posted on News Cult in January 2018.

NewsCult Entertainment Editor Jeffrey Malone watches every new episode of Saturday Night Live and then organizes the sketches into the following categories: “Love It” (potentially Best of the Season-worthy), “Keep It” (perfectly adequate), or “Leave It” (in need of a rewrite, to say the least). Then he concludes with assessments of the host and musical guest.

Love It

The Science Room – The theme of reckoning with inappropriateness is heavy throughout this episode, even in this seemingly innocuous educational show. But mostly “The Science Room” is about the intellectual lapses borne out by nervousness and the frustration they cause. This is no mold-breaker, but it is so well-timed and the details are bizarrely unique (“The oil is…” “False?”). Also, Sam Rockwell drops an F-bomb … whoops!

The Look represents sensitivity run amok, but in a charmingly confused fashion instead of worrisome backlash…Michael and Colin are at the top of their games, with the hottest of their burning asides and the swerving of expected topics into unexpected directions…Okay, so the “dog person” concept at the Next Gene Labs is obviously very silly, but the commitment is just so delightful. Somehow hearing that this good boy is ready to start wearing shoes is the greatest news ever.

Keep It

Morning Joe – As is so often the case, the cold opening is all about rounding up the major political news of the week. There is no need to frame it all in a Morning Joe parody, although, sure, Kate McKinnon and Alex Moffat have a firm parodic take on the hosts of that show. But their presence does not really add any depth to what is going on around them. On the plus side, I appreciate that the cameoing guests (Fred Armisen as Fire and Fury author Michael Wolff and Bill Murray as Steve Bannon) are not there just for the stunt casting, but also because they have a fully formed conceptualization of their subjects.

Sam Rockwell’s Monologue does not really go for the laughs, but it does bring the pizzazz…Re: Tucci Gang: an ode to one of the era’s greatest supporting actors set to the tune of a droning hip hop track? I’ll allow it…My Drunk Boyfriend makes some astute observations, but it’s ultimately more depressing than sad…Oprah and Stedman make some vaguely presidential proclamations, and I’m mainly here for Chris Redd’s Stedman struggling to explain what exactly his role is (“First Stedman”?)…Aidy Bryant makes a reasoned plea for women to not worry about being so accommodating and for men to be more accommodating, and it’s perfectly sensible and all, but it needs that final declaration that “we can all be Transformers” to really stick…More LaVar Ball nonsense from Kenan, most notably him outpizza-ing the Hut (and is that Lithuanian stereotyping troublesome?)…Marcus Comes to Dinner, and Marcus is a gay porn star, you see, and I can tell where this sketch is going right away, but Sam Rockwell sells it exactly as well and as fidgety as you expect him to…An occasional actress whose aspirations surely go higher than community theater offering a confessional in a Chantix commercial is a role that fits Cecily Strong like a glove.

Leave It

ATM – There is some worthwhile social messaging in this filmed piece, but it is not especially profound, and the comedic offerings are a bit too scattered for the whole thing to really hit. I guess there is irony at play here, but what is the ultimate message? And what does the prostitute twist have to do with anything?

I hear what the Peter Pan sketch is saying about the weirdness of Hook’s whole deal, but honestly my biggest takeaway is how much Beck Bennett as Smee looks like Larry David.

Sam Rockwell
In his hosting debut, Sam Rockwell plays a kids’ TV scientist, an artificial boyfriend, a (not-that-)closeted husband, as well as some guy (another scientist) who is really excited about combining dogs with humans. Superficially, I don’t know if there is a whole lot of similarities to this crew, but the way that Rockwell plays them, they feel like outgrowths of the same personality. And I mean that as a compliment.

Halsey

A pop singer with intriguing hints of R&B, Halsey has a solid vocal range, but it’s only occasionally been put to use for interesting songs. Her first performance, “Bad at Love,” is impressive in a way that a live rendition can overcome the shortcomings of middle-of-the-road material. But “Him & I,” her collab with G-Eazy, does not really transcend the trappings of romantic back-and-forth numbers.

Letter Grades:
Morning Joe – B-
Sam Rockwell’s Monologue – B-
The Science Room – B+
Tucci Gang – B
The Look – B+
My Drunk Boyfriend – B
Halsey performs “Bad at Love” – B

Weekend Update:
The Jokes – B+
Oprah and Stedman – B-
Aidy Bryant – B
LaVar Ball – B

Peter Pan – C
ATM – C
Halsey and G-Eazy perform “Him & I” – C+
Marcus Comes to Dinner – B-
Next Gene Labs (BEST OF THE NIGHT) – A-
Chantix – B