CREDIT: Will Heath/NBC

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

What Even Matters Anymore – Too many SNL game show parodies give away way too much of their premises in their titles, and that can be frustrating. But when it is infused with as much real-world anger as “What Even Matters Anymore” is, that obviousness is understandable, and justified. Then there is the joy of the sketch’s structure itself breaking down, as the performative mask (minimal as it is to begin with) starts to fade away, with Jessica, Cecily, and Kate all ultimately playing themselves. But Kenan still gets to play Bernard, and thank God for that.

Chris Redd must have been waiting a lifetime to debut his dark Fresh Prince of Bel-Air parody, huh? And well, the (Method Man-featuring) result is thrillingly confident…The scene at the Jalapeños restaurant is full of laughs not just because of the idiocy on display but also because of all the complicated details that force you to engage so many brain cells…15 seasons in, and Kenan Thompson is still giving showcase performances, as he really examines the wonders of mugging on the Justice for Anne movie set.

Keep It

Google Talks – Okay, so I’m fairly certain that there is no real person in the world who actually looks like Bart Simpson (though considering just how many people are alive, maybe there is someone like that, but what kind of god would allow that to happen?), although seeing Mikey Day in that spiky yellow-haired getup is a solid sight gag. Anyway, this is all to say that this is a sketch that invents something that doesn’t exist but pretends that it does, but everyone’s having fun, so it’s kind of okay.

The White House Press Conference cold open gets a pass this week due to Pete Davidson playing himself…Why call it “Car Hunk”? Why not just be upfront about it being a Bachelor parody? Anyway, these sketches are always a mess, but the details can be pretty funny, and a few of them are here, especially the date that consists of mini-golf with Young Sheldon and one contestant being the inventor of eating Tide pods…Michael and Colin have a few pointed questions about the government shutdown, while the high-water mark is Colin’s “Minister of Loneliness” middle school look…Well, what do you know, Kate McKinnon is also the perfect person to play Robert Mueller…Doctor’s Orders sees Jessica Chastain’s medical professional as the latest victim of Chad’s simple charms, and I’ve got to ask: is this the more progressive version of Mango?

Leave It

Prince William and Prince Harry – Alex Moffat and Mikey Day show up as the English royals, supposedly to discuss U.K.-U.S. relations, but instead they just make fun of each other. The prosthesis work is impressive, but the whole affair is quite immature.

Jessica Chastain honors the Women’s March in her Monologue with a rendition of “You Don’t Own Me,” and she keeps getting interrupted, making the whole thing very sloppy…Shouldn’t Cecily Strong’s Stormy Daniels impression be, I don’t know, crazier?…If we’re going to have a sketch about Amazon searching for its new corporate headquarters, let’s do more than just have a parade of various cities’ stereotypes.

Jessica Chastain
Ms. Chastain commits so hard emotionally to all of her performances that I kind of want someone to tell her that she’s on a comedy show, not a wrenching drama. I mean, I’m sure she knows, and besides, there are sketches that do work best with tragic and/or scarily intense characters. In conclusion: she’s a great host, please invite her back, but also make sure she doesn’t disappear into her work completely and forget who the real Jessica Chastain is.

Troye Sivan

“Troye Sivan” is a name in music I have heard of plenty lately, while not actually hearing any of his songs (that I know of). So his breathy, electro-infused pop was not exactly what I was expecting. He’s got some interestingly spare arrangements and a fascinatingly oblique stage presence. I might be a fan?

Letter Grades:
White House Press Conference – C+
Jessica Chastain’s Monologue – C
Car Hunk – B-
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air – B+
Google Talks – C+
What Even Matters Anymore (BEST OF THE NIGHT) – B+
Troye Sivan performs “My My My!” – B

Weekend Update
The Jokes – B
Stormy Daniels – C
Princes William and Henry – C-
Robert Mueller – B

Amazon – C
Jalapeños – B+
Doctor’s Orders – B-
Troye Sivan performs “The Good Side” – B
Justice for Anne – B+