SNL Love It/Keep It/Leave It: Rachel Brosnahan/Greta Van Fleet

January 20, 2019

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television , , , , , Leave a comment

CREDIT: Will Heath/NBC

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

Ken Instagram – This redux is not quite as masterful as the Barbie Instagram bit from the Donald Glover episode, which was my pick for the best sketch of last season. Luckily, it’s different enough to stand on its own and still be quite hilarious, thanks to Pete Davidson and Heidi Gardner’s daffy suggestions and Rachel Brosnahan’s unique darkness. Alas, it is also different in a couple of bad ways, as the timing isn’t always perfect and the ominous piano is unnecessary. But that’s just evidence of how difficult it is to capture magic in a bottle more than once. In this case, I’ll settle for almost-magic.

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Entertainment Essentials: January 11, 2019

January 11, 2019

jmunney Cinema, Television , , , , , , 1 Comment

CREDIT: Entertainment Studios; Netflix; TBS

This post was originally published on News Cult on January 11, 2019.

1. Movie: Replicas (Theatrically Nationwide) – Keanu Reeves stars as a neuroscientist who loses his wife and kids in a car accident and then attempts to “resurrect” them in the form of androids. You can imagine how that goes. This is the type of original sci-fi movie that tends to fly under the radar, and that is a shame, even if it turns out to be horrible. So let’s all go see Replicas to declare to the big studios that we want to see more unique and challenging concepts on screen! Also, Silicon Valley‘s Thomas Middleditch co-stars as Reeves’ friend and colleague, which should add to the intrigue.

2. TV: Sex Education (January 11 on Netflix) – Gillian Anderson stars in this Netflix dramedy in the role that is pretty much perfect for her at this point in her career: a sex therapist who tends to overshare a bit too much with her teenage son. That teenage son is an awkward virgin played by Asa Butterfield who sets up a clinic at his high school to help his fellow classmates deal with their range of sexual problems. For my money, it is always a boon to have a show that is open-minded and sensitive on the topic of sex.

3. TV: Angie Tribeca Season 4 (Premiered December 29 on TBS) – Starring Rashida Jones as the titular detective who does things her own way, Angie Tribeca is a delightful spoof in the vein of Airplane! and The Naked Gun. Not every gag lands, but the joke-per-minute ratio is higher than any show currently airing, and it is all played so deadly serious, making it hard to get mad at any joke that falls flat. Even if you’re a fan of the show, you might not have any idea that a new season just arrived, as all ten episodes debuted the weekend before New Year’s with basically no promotion. Luckily, if you missed it, you can head over to the TBS website or app. In this batch of episodes, Bobby Cannavale joins the team as Tribeca’s long-lost son (it makes sense in context, sort of), and there is also the usual plethora of guest stars, including Anjelica Huston, Gillian Jacobs, and Jim Rash.

Kevin Hart Doesn’t Know How the Internet Works

January 6, 2019

jmunney Awards Shows, Cinema, Oscars, Television , , , , Leave a comment

After watching Kevin Hart’s appearance on Ellen on Friday, I’m not sure if he should host the Oscars, but I am sure about one thing: for someone who uses social media as prolifically as he does, he really doesn’t know how the Internet works. He is astounded by how much effort someone put in to dig up something he tweeted eight years ago. But if you know what tweet you’re looking for, it takes about five seconds to locate it. Hart seems to think it’s like finding a needle in a haystack, but when you can ask your favorite digital assistant to find that needle for you, it’s not as difficult as it’s historically been.

I’ll be generous and give Kevin Hart the benefit of the doubt and believe that he really has changed and that he is sincerely sorry for his past homophobic remarks. His apologies have perhaps left something to be desired, but maybe he is having trouble expressing himself (otherwise-decent people often do when asked to atone for their mistakes). The trouble is that he is misunderstanding the context. He has framed himself the victim, thinking that trolls are out to ruin his career. But most of the coverage I’ve seen in response to him being offered the Oscar hosting gig has been LGBTQ people and their allies expressing concern, not vindictiveness. Hart may be frustrated that he is being asked to apologize for something he’s already apologized for, but there are probably people who never heard his original apology in the first place (or found it lacking).

Hart is encouraging people to move on, which is a good idea, so long as the correct lessons have been learned. It looks likely that Hart has decided for good not to host.He is worried that his presence will be a distraction, but there could’ve been (and still could be!) an opportunity for him to change the narrative. Don’t ignore the controversy: address it, and then move into a more celebratory, more inclusive direction. If Hart somehow changes his mind again, he could spend part of his opening monologue spotlighting notable queer films of the past year, invite up-and-coming queer filmmakers to be presenters, and donate part of the money he makes from the gig to LGBTQ-focused charities. Marginalized people could always use more allies and cheerleaders.

Best TV Shows of 2018

December 26, 2018

jmunney Best of 2018, Best of TV 2018, Television , , Leave a comment

CREDIT: Courtesy of the Networks

This post was originally published on News Cult in December 2018.

I spent much of 2018 despairing over how there isn’t enough time to watch every great show out there, just as I have every year for the past decade or so. Despite that permanent dilemma, I did not struggle as much as I usually do to settle on a top 10. But of course, there are always more than ten great shows that I would like to recognize. So before you continue reading on to my picks of the very best, here are some other shows I loved in 2018: Bob’s Burgers, The Goldbergs, The Good Place, Great News, Homecoming, Jane the Virgin, Killing Eve, The Last O.G., Mystery Science Theater 3000, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Sharp Objects, Speechless, Trial & Error, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

And here are some 2018 shows that I kept hearing wonderful things about, but that I never got around to seeing: The Americans, The Good Fight, Lodge 49, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, One Day at a Time, Random Acts of Flyness, Succession, The Terror.

10. BoJack Horseman (Netflix) – Most BoJack Horseman seasons lead up to some earth-shattering conclusion. Season 5 followed much the same structure but wisely ultimately settled on a more even-keeled note, declaring that people sometimes do good things and sometimes do bad things, and the trick is to do good things more often. Maybe there is equilibrium in BoJack’s future?

9. Joe Pera Talks with You (Adult Swim) – Perhaps the most unique show of 2018, and probably the gentlest in Adult Swim history, Joe Pera Talks with You inspires wonder at all the simple facts of life. As a fictionalized version of himself, Pera presents a well-examined life in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula that we can all appreciate.

8. Better Call Saul (AMC) – Jimmy continued his path towards fully becoming Saul Goodman, which could really describe any season of this show. And yet by just continuing along its set path, it gobsmacks you evermore with its explorations of identity, duty, and destiny. It just goes to show you that it really is all about the journey.

7. Barry (HBO) – Alec Berg and Bill Hader walked a tightrope every episode as they tracked the progress of hitman turned very bad actor Barry Berkman. They pushed themselves into narrative corners, as violently dramatic consequences bumped up against the foibles of the trenches of showbiz, and yet they always followed through on their trickiest conundrums.

6. Pose (FX) – The push for diversity in television is valiant in terms of representation and employment. But is it also valuable for creativity? Pose is a perfect example to show that yes indeed, it is. This recreation of New York’s 1980s queer ballroom scene opened up groundbreaking avenues for televisual storytelling.

5. Big Mouth (Netflix) – Netflix’s animated tale of burgeoning puberty courtesy of Nick Kroll and company is raunchy and specific in a manner that is uproarious, gross, and a little profound. Hormone and Shame Monsters are the stuff of modern mythmaking.

4. American Vandal (Netflix) – The first season of this Netflix true crime mockumentary was a rousing success, but I had my doubts about the second. The jokes and intrigue around spray-painted dicks made sense, but taking on actual poop sounded a little frightening. Luckily the crimes of the Turd Burglar were treated as terrifyingly as they deserved to be, and we were treated to another fascinating portrait of adolescence, the high school ecosystem, and our online selves.

3. American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace (FX) – It was really more “The Killings of Andrew Cunanan” rather than just “The Assassination of Gianni Versace.” Progressing backwards and expanding outwards, this was Ryan Murphy’s other exhilarating formal experiment of 2018.

2. Baskets (FX) – The Baskets family went into business together and opened up a circus. It sounded like a great idea, but there are always struggles along the way. If you’re looking for portraits of genuine American families on TV, Baskets is a little odd, but it does the trick.

1. Atlanta (FX) – Atlanta is a landmark achievement in surreal television. It all appears to tie together when watching it, but as I attempt to reconstruct Season 2 in my head, I wonder how Florida Man, a slippery barber, and Teddy Perkins can all possibly hang together. And yet I know deep in my psyche how much emotional sense it all makes. Donald Glover and company followed their muse to dark and exciting corners for our delight.

SNL Review December 15, 2018: Matt Damon/Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus

December 16, 2018

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television , , , , , , , Leave a comment

CREDIT: Will Heath/NBC

This post was originally published on News Cult in December 2018.

Love It

Michael and Colin Swap Jokes – Anchorpersons Che and Jost started out this Update at their standard level, maybe a little better than usual, but they make their way to the top spot thanks to their wondrous finale, in which they recite jokes written by the other that they have not seen until this very moment. They brilliantly play off the personas that they have constructed to rag on each other: Che the Total Freak and Jost the Bland White Bread Racist. If “Uppity Bus Passenger Day” did not already exist to be reclaimed, then Michael Che needed to create it to force Colin Jost to say it.

You know something? The world could use more people who care as much as Matt Damon and Leslie Jones’ characters in the neighbor Christmas dinner sketch care about Weezer.

Keep It

It’s a Wonderful Trump – I thought today was finally going to be the day that I put my foot down and said “Enough’s enough” to a Trump-y cold open. But then there comes an inversion of It’s a Wonderful Life, and I have to admit that it is actually a good premise. The show’s insight into Trump is still not particularly insightful, but there is some amusement to be had here, and Robert De Niro’s cameo isn’t his normal complete disaster. While political SNL is in many ways a lost cause in this era, a few decent ideas do peek through here and there occasionally.

Matt Damon’s Monologue is a sweet paean to letting your kids stay up late enough to watch SNL live for the first time…The Westminster Daddy Show looks like it is a fan of daddies, but then it oddly mostly throws shade at them. Luckily it ends with the triumphant Broadcast Daddy joyously taking Best in Show…The Christmas Ornaments sketch presents a memorable microcosmic dystopia of personal and cultural detritus…The Jingle Bells performance at the Carnegie Lounge is a fair enough offbeat showcase for Cecily Strong…The Where’s Wes? gag would probably hit harder if it had a more interminable setup…Matt Damon’s appearance as Angel‘s boxer boyfriend is all well and good, but I’m mostly here for her Madea impression…The Cop Christmas at Frankie’s Ale House has plenty of welcome bonhomie amidst the ribbing and dark backstories…Happy Christmas, Britain! is a delightfully spot-on seasonal treat about how the current prime minister is being gifted with feces, but then due to bad time management, it gets cut off halfway through.

Leave It

Oscar Host Auditions – SNL has an addiction to behind-the-scenes impression showcase sketches, and understandably so, because the granddaddy of them all, the Star Wars 20th Anniversary auditions, are a stone cold classic. But since then, they have fallen into a trap of diminishing returns. This edition mixes things up a bit by transferring the setup from BTS of a movie to the search for a new awards show emcee. Alas, it does not breathe much fresh air the proceedings. The impressions are all decent, but none are transcendent, and the whole affair does not offer much insight into the Oscars. Although Aidy’s take on Hannah Gadsby does demonstrate that the actual Gadsby would be an ingenious actual choice.

Best Christmas Ever is both too tame and too over-the-top with its peaceful/hectic juxtaposition.

Matt Damon

On a scale of Christmastime hosts, Matt Damon sure is willing and able to jump right into the holiday spirit. And he absolutely had to be, as it appeared like a greater number of sketches than usual for the Christmas episode were seasonally themed. It’s a little hard to believe that it’s taken 16 years for Damon to have his second hosting stint. He really feels like he’s part of the extended SNL family.

Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus

On a scale of SNL musical team-ups, I’m afraid that Mark and Miley are somewhere in the middle. “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” is perfectly agreeable, and their version of “(Happy Xmas) War Is Over” hits the spot about as well as it can, but I don’t feel any of it sticking with me. On the other hand, Miley’s unzipped jacket is certainly striking and I do appreciate the lyrics flashing on the back screen. Anyway, I guess that is to say, this combo is only disappointing if you’re holding them to a very high standard.

Letter Grades:

It’s a Wonderful Trump – B-

Matt Damon’s Monologue – B

Westminster Daddy Show – B

Best Christmas Ever – C-

Christmas Ornaments – B

Oscar Host Auditions – C

Jingle Bells – B-

Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus perform “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” – B

Weekend Update
The Jokes (BEST OF THE NIGHT) – B+
Where’s Wes? – C+
Angel – B

Weezer Argument – B+

Cop Christmas – B

Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus and Sean Lennon perform “(Happy XMas) War Is Over)” – B-

Happy Christmas, Britain – B

SNL Review December 8, 2018: Jason Momoa/ Mumford & Sons

December 9, 2018

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television , , , , , 1 Comment

CREDIT: Will Heath/NBC

This post was originally published on News Cult in December 2018.

Love It

A Christmas Carol – I don’t love this sketch entirely, but I do admire what it is going for. So many SNL sketches answer the question, “What if this well-known story were … slightly different?” Oftentimes the small change is something that many others have surely imagined before, while other times it’s a little more offbeat, but you can see how the writers got there from the source material. But in this case, Ebenezer Scrooge being visited by one last spirit who just happens to be a male stripper does not really track in any way at all. Thus, the sketch never really comes together on any firm foundation, but I do enjoy watching Scrooge being confused by the total lack of logic.

The first appearance of Cecily Strong’s Gemma accompanied by a meathead boyfriend is one of the best sketches of the decade, but all subsequent appearances have seen significantly diminishing returns. Sleigh Ride rediscovers a bit of the magic, thanks to Gemma and Jason Momoa as her beau confusing Gene’s new girlfriend for his sister and Gemma’s detailed descriptions of her new vagina.

Keep It

first Impression – This filmed piece is quite similar to the Christmas Carol sketch insofar as I have no idea where the premise came from, so part of the fun of watching is attempting to figure out what the writers were possibly thinking. The lunacy almost seems to make sense thanks to Beck Bennett and Jason Momoa committing so hard as the greased-up boyfriend who thinks that being a master hider will impress his girlfriend’s parents and the dad who is so hellbent on being a champion seeker, respectively. This does not represent any version of reality, or inversion of reality, that I’m familiar with, but it seems to somehow work out for all the characters involved.

I feel like I’ve been too lenient on the current era of political cold opens, and this latest scene in the Trump Tower does not change that, but at least it mixes things up a bit and is mercifully short (although in another time and place, I might have said instead that it’s too short)…Jason Momoa’s Monologue has a very haphazard feel to it, but I can’t fault something featuring P-Funk music too hard…A hardened Elf on the Shelf has some important, fairly non-judgmental things to say about kids entering adolescence…The GE Big Boys commercial tickles me with the idea of a dishwasher with a 70-pound door…Them Trumps makes the point that the current First Family probably wouldn’t get away with everything they do if they were black and also that this sort of behavior is not admirable no matter what the perpetrators’ race…Michael and Colin make some jokes that sound like they could have been on any other late night show this week, but they do infuse their own personalities enough to have a winning outing…Aidy Bryant’s teenage travel correspondent Carrie Krum is pretty cool, though far from a budding Stefon…Che becomes a correspondent to talk about the Tushy bidet, which is a fairly amusing change of pace.

Leave It

Rudolph’s Big Night – This is an example of a bad sketch that isn’t completely dreadful, as it has some elements that could have been put to better use. Rudolph going psycho is certainly a premise there for the taking in the legend of the brightly schnozzed reindeer, and Pete Davidson throws himself into it full throttle. It’s one of the few times when he’s playing someone besides himself that’s actually a good fit. But overall, this is a by-the-numbers approach to a “dark” version of a familiar tale, although Santa so quickly putting down a supposedly rabid reindeer is sufficiently shocking.

Khal Drogo’s Ghost Dojo likely means nothing to non-viewers, and I doubt that any Game of Thrones fans will find it funny either…Day of the Dorks is too loud and destructive to say anything significant.

Jason Momoa

On a scale of hosts who are so excited to be there, Jason Momoa is the most excited host in quite some time. But is he the most qualified among those super-excited guests? Enthusiasm can go a long way toward success on SNL, but it can also be a distraction, and that is the case with several sketches in this episode, with Momoa being just too loud and big a presence in a way that throws off everyone else’s timing. That is much less of a problem in the pre-taped bits, as you can edit around that issue. Momoa offers some worthwhile avenues for sketch comedy, but if he is going to return to SNL, he should calm down a bit.

Mumford & Sons

On a scale of musicians whose moment has passed, Mumford & Sons might be survivors. The folk-y rock boom of the early 2010s seems to have faded, although it still exists in its own corner. Plus, it is Mumford’s bread and butter, so they’re going to stick with it no matter how the trends are blowing. As it goes for this appearance, their first number, “Guiding Light,” has me thinking little beyond how it is not 2012 anymore, but their #2, “Delta,” is exactly quite the rise-to-a-satisfying-climax experience. I guess I’ll listen to them for a few years longer.

Letter Grades:

Trump Tower – C+

Jason Momoa’s Monologue – C+

Elf on the Shelf – B-

GE Big Boy – B-

Khal Drogo’s Ghost Dojo – C-

Them Trumps – B-

Mumford & Sons perform “Guiding Light” – B-

Weekend Update
The Jokes – B-
Carrie Krum – B-
Che on Tushy – B-

A Christmas Carol (BEST OF THE NIGHT) – B

Day of the Dorks – C-

Mumford & Sons perform “Delta” – B+

Sleigh Ride – B

first Impression – B

Rudolph’s Big Night – C

SNL Review December 1, 2018: Claire Foy/Anderson .Paak

December 2, 2018

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television , , , , , Leave a comment

CREDIT: Will Heath/NBC

This post was originally published on News Cult in December 2018.

Love It

The War in Words – Before Mikey Day joined the SNL cast, he was a part of the short-lived variety show Maya & Marty, and the best thing about that show was an earlier version of “The War in Words,” and it’s just as hilarious the second time around. The correspondence between Day’s World War I soldier and Claire Foy’s possibly unfaithful, definitely puzzling wife proves the viability of the letter-writing format in sketch comedy. Information is initially withheld, and then gloriously revealed, as the wacky world comes more and more into view with successive missive.

And in the sphere of Cut for Time sketches that I love, Beck and Kyle continue their satire of cheesy family sitcoms with “Cars.”

Keep It

Netflix – Jokes about Netflix having a bottomless amount of content and automatically throwing money at whatever is pitched to them are nothing new, but there is plenty of energy and unique style to this parody. Positioning “the Endless Scroll” as approaching the Singularity is certainly an apt way to put it. Plus, as “Officer Winslow” proves, it is always appreciated to see a dark take on Family Matters. While this doesn’t quite strike me as a classic immediately, it’s one of those bits that might gradually grow on me and reach that status eventually.

The Park Hyatt Argentina is certainly emblematic of the problems of Trump-era cold openings, but I do enjoy the silliness of the Giuliani and Putin impressions…Claire Foy’s Monologue is short and sweet enough to not make much on impact, positive or negative…Dad Christmas makes the scuzzy jokes you would expect about divorced kids getting shipped around for the holidays…Michael and Colin‘s highlights include the “very legal & very cool” Russian prostitutes Craigslist listing and the three cows in a trenchcoat (you can never go wrong with the “3 small things in a trenchcoat” joke)…Leslie Jones isn’t actually giving up sex, but she is making a joke about her chiropractor excusing her from twerking…As “economist” Jules, Beck Bennett might be the quote master of the season (“But if you have a roof over your heads, how are you going to see the stars?”)…The Holiday Message From the Women of SNL is most amusing when I mishear “Mueller” as “Mother” (and also, of course, when Leslie apparently mixes up Bigfoot and Santa Claus).

Leave It

Willy Wonka/Good Morning Goomah – Here are two sketches with promising germs of ideas, based on questions raised by classic movies, that are far from fully fleshed out. Specifically, those questions are: what’s the deal with all the grandparents in Willy Wonka sleeping in the same bed? And: what’s going on with the mistresses in Goodfellas and other gangster movies (and real-life mafioso society)? The answers we get are pretty much exactly what you would expect. The bed (and house) rocking in Willy Wonka is certainly explosive, but not particularly insightful. Meanwhile, Kate, Claire, and Aidy certainly sink their chops into ther goomah performances, but there are no surprises along the way.

Morning Joe is just a mess of an unfocused talk show sketch…HSN benefits from Cecily Strong’s committed breakdown, but ultimately it’s a whole bunch of shouting.

Claire Foy

On a scale of hosts that my mom is super excited about, I don’t think Claire Foy has convinced too many Crown obsessives to suddenly become SNL nerds. Although maybe she has enticed some SNL fans to check out The Crown, because if nothing else, this episode does show off her accent skills. Alas, it doesn’t show off much else of her talents.

Anderson .Paak

On a scale of artists I’ve heard plenty about but haven’t heard that much from, I think I’ve heard more of Anderson .Paak’s music than I’ve realized. I just don’t know what the names of those songs are! His two performances here are enjoyably energetic and righteously rhythmic, enough so to convince me to dive a little deeper into what I’ve been missing.

Letter Grades:

Park Hyatt Argentina – C+

Claire Foy’s Monologue – B-

Netflix – B

Morning Joe – C-

The War in Words (BEST OF THE NIGHT) – B+

Dad Christmas – B-

Anderson .Paak ft. Kendrick Lamar performs “Tints” – B+

Weekend Update
The Jokes – B
Leslie Jones – B-
Jules – B

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – C

HSN – C

Anderson .Paak performs “Who R U” – B

Good Morning Goomah – C

A Holiday Message From the Women of SNL – B-

SNL Thanksgiving Special, We Need to Talk

November 25, 2018

jmunney Saturday Night Live, Television , , , Leave a comment

CREDIT: NBC

Around every Thanksgiving and Christmas (and sometimes Halloween), NBC airs SNL compilation specials consisting of some of the most memorable holiday-themed sketches in the show’s history. With the Christmas editions, there is an overabundance of sketches to choose from. But the Thanksgiving specials usually contain a few “family meal” sketches that don’t actually take place on Turkey Day. That’s fine, though, as there aren’t as many Thanksgiving as there are Christmas bits. But it’s not entirely okay, because there are some actual Thanksgiving bits that don’t make the cut but that deserve to be revisited, like the Thanksgiving Song Auditions with Phil Hartman. Let’s take a deep dive into where rectification needs to be made.
The two main problems with the SNL Thanksgiving Special are recency bias and inexplicable sketch selection. The first is understandable, as the special gets refreshed every three years or so and thus tends to get reloaded with sketches that weren’t around to make the cut the last time. But at least room is still made for some sketches from previous decades, like Paul Simon dressed as a turkey; Tonto, Tarzan, and Frankenstein singing; and the Nikey Turkey.
Let’s run through some quick points that SNL‘s compilation packagers simply must hear:
-The Bird Family is an acceptable inclusion, because when else are we going to see that classic?
-The Yelling Family Dinner is also acceptable, but please use the one with Sarah Michelle Gellar instead of Gwyneth Paltrow.
-The Loud Family, on the other hand, while funny, should not be included, as it is not sufficiently about food.
–Right Side of the Bed is certainly about Thanksgiving, but it is not very good.
–The one sketch where Vanessa Bayer plays a turkey dating Josh Hutcherson is one of the most bizarre sketches ever. I guess it’s an acceptable inclusion, but what is up with the animation at the end?
-Bring back Thanksgiving Song Auditions!

SNL Review November 17, 2018: Steve Carell/Ella Mai

November 18, 2018

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television , , , , , Leave a comment

CREDIT: Will Heath/NBC

This post was originally published on News Cult in November 2018.

Love It

Space Thanksgiving – This sketch is more of an Almost Love It than a full-on Love It, as it starts out with some wonderfully surreal 10-to-1-style wackiness, but then it kind of just ends. It checks off much of the ingredients in the formula for brilliant comedic stupidity. Space setting? Check. Minor but significant pronunciation differences? Check. Hacky special effects? Check. It’s a recipe for me getting invested in discovering whether or not the Earth astronauts will attempt to save the cornels from the kern, and whether or not they really should. But then … they just keep on eating them and Space Thanksgiving continues forward like nothing happened. The weirdness will stick with me, but the lack of follow-through is disappointing.

Keep It

Friendsgiving – Let’s take a moment to acknowledge how this episode has a striking surplus of “sequel in spirit, if not quite in fact” sketches. Here we have the first of the two Thanksgiving dinner bits, along with the aforementioned Space Thanksgiving, which was also the second outer space sketch. And then there are the two notably similar sketches with Steve Carell as a struggling, clueless dad visiting his kids in the middle of the night (we’ll get to them). Anyway, Friendsgiving is of a piece with previous attempts in the history of comedy to compose an honest-to-God Thanksgiving song. It has flashes of excellence as everyone joins in on singing a tune that appears to be made up on the spot. It’s not quite layered or committed enough to reach classic status, but it’s fun while it lasts.

This is overall an underwhelming episode, but it’s mostly filled with “Keep It” sketches that are just amusing enough to keep me paying attention. That quality is perfectly represented by The Ingraham Angle cold opening, which does not have a particularly sharp or consistent point of view, but it does have a few funny lines thrown in (like how Judge Jeanine Pirro is “Pulitzer Prize-eligible”)…Steve Carell’s old Office-mates badger him throughout his Monologue, but it’s the actual audience member (or likely rather a writer playing a real audience member) who makes the biggest impression…Dad Steve Carell tells his kids they’re Going to Disney World, but his capacity for missing all the betrayal happening right under his nose is impressive…The Message from Jeff Bezos gets a decent-sized laugh out of me when it notes that The Art of the Deal is the “only book with four Chapter 11’s”…The RBG Rap isn’t offering a particularly fresh message from SNL or comedy in general, but it’s a message we’re always happy to have around…The NASA Television sketch is ostensibly about disturbingly frozen animals, but I appreciate it more for the dad jokes (“I Apollo-gize”) and a girl called Halley saying that her name is like both the comet and Eminem’s daughter…Michael and Colin have a decent night as usual, but the moment I most remember from this Update is that delayed camera switch at the top…Kenan’s LaVar Ball has certainly given me a memorable image by mentioning a grandma filling a shoe up with spit…The Grease-style ’50s Sleepover kind of feels like a direct sequel to the Going to Disney World sketch, and I kind of wish that Steve Carell and Aidy Bryant were in fact playing the same father-daughter pair as before. As it stands, I enjoy that the joke is more about Dad Steve spending a bizarre amount of time singing to a high school dropout than it is about anything creepy…GP Yass understands drag queen terminology, but it isn’t quite fully imbued with the spirit of drag.

Leave It

Denver Riggleman – So, apparently a Congressman-elect is into Bigfoot erotica  – good for him! But Mikey Day doing an impression of said Bigfoot enthusiast that merely consists of him reading a book  – I’m going to need a little bit more than that. Look, I appreciate the commitment, and the the illustrations are spot-on appropriate (are they the actual pics from Riggleman’s books?). But there’s not much of a comedic hook here besides “just goofing off.”

RV Life is too terrifying to be funny. But Heidi Gardner saying “Did you know that a dog can punch you?” is definitely worth a laugh.

Steve Carell

On a scale of hosts I’m surprised haven’t hosted more often than they have, I still feel that way about Steve Carell, but this episode doesn’t convince me that he needs to come back as soon as possible. He shows up and is perfectly reliable, like the professional comedian that he is, but he doesn’t notch any legendary performances to add to his career highlights. He plays several middle-aged dads, which makes sense for a number of reasons, and he also plays a few spacemen, which is kind of weird.

Ella Mai

On a scale of up-and-comers breaking big on the SNL stage, Ella Mai is somewhere in the middle. She certainly looks poised and has a look down, but her whole live performance isn’t quite blow-you-away level. That’s a high standard, so let me be clear that what I know of her so far is great, I would grade this appearance above-average, and I will happily be following the rest of her career. If her SNL performances haven’t won you over completely, watch the “Boo’d Up” music video and then keep listening to it over and over again. It’s one of the best songs of the year.

Letter Grades:

The Ingraham Angle – B-

Steve Carell’s Monologue – B

Going to Disney World – B-

A Message From Jeff Bezos – B-

Friendsgiving – B

RBG Rap – B-

Ella Mai performs “Boo’d Up” – B

Weekend Update
The Jokes – B-
Denver Riggleman – C
LaVar Ball – B-

’50s Sleepover – B

Ella Mai performs “Trip” – B

RV Life – C

Space Thanksgiving (BEST OF THE NIGHT) – B(+)

GP Yass – B-

SNL Review November 10, 2018: Liev Schreiber/Lil Wayne

November 11, 2018

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television , , , , , , , 1 Comment

CREDIT: Will Heath/NBC

This post was originally published on News Cult in November 2018.

Love It

Pete Davidson and Dan Crenshaw – Pete Davidson’s commentary last week about various electoral candidates understandably caused a bit of an uproar, though I imagine I was not the only one who thought that Lt. Com. Dan Crenshaw demanding an apology was a bit of an overreaction. True, Pete made light of a combat injury sustained by Crenshaw, but saying that an eyepatch makes you look like a detective in a porno isn’t necessarily an insult. It’s more like a weird observation. After all, it’s strange that in 2018 an eyepatch is still the prescribed way to handle certain ocular injuries.

Anyway, while Pete’s joke wasn’t exactly high-minded, it wasn’t like he was attacking Crenshaw’s character.  And it turns out, Crenshaw understands that! He’s not thin-skinned or humorless (or, more cynically, he’s not making a bad faith argument to gin up controversy). It looks like everyone involved came up with the best solution, as Crenshaw stops by the desk to in turn make fun of Pete in an awkwardly personal matter. Fighting fire with fire is usually a bad idea, but fighting comedy with comedy is often the best idea.

Dave’s Outside the Women’s Bathroom – This is exactly the sort of off-the-wall, experimental, possibly terrible idea that the last sketch of the night should be. It helps that nobody really knows what is going on and that there are a variety of reactions to the situation, some reasonable and some absurd. The women walking out of the bathroom are understandably confused and horrified, while Heidi Gardner slays as Dave’s uniquely passionate girlfriend, who is more worried that she will “look like a prostitute” while sitting alone and that Dave might leave her if his ridiculous talk show somehow becomes a runaway success. And through it all, Schreiber fascinatingly plays Dave as not a creep, but a weirdly earnest hustler and dreamer.

House Hunters demonstrates that relentlessly throwing a bunch of crazy details out there works if the characters delivering them maintain a straight face the whole time.

Keep It

Booty Kings – This hip-hop club banger is not the most hilarious music video parody SNL has ever presented, but it does have one of the best messages. Those who tout the importance of consent are sometimes (wrongly) accused of taking the fun and the sexiness out of sex, but the Booty Kings demonstrate that the room can still be hot and heavy if you take a second to ask someone if they are okay with their backside being worshipped. I think we can all benefit from making “booty ally” a part of our vernacular.

As we witness the Jeff Sessions Farewell, I just want to say how thankful I am that in 2018, we can have a political impression as silly as one in which the departing attorney general’s family tree is filled with possums…Liev Schreiber’s Monologue is like one of those monologues of yore in which the host is “managing expectations” by simply explaining to the audience who he is…Good Day Denver reveals that gremlins must be running the graphics department at morning talk shows…Unity offers an admirable message of, well, unity, but I gotta say, “crotch” and “moist” are perfectly decent words…Colleen Rafferty is back, this time for a Paranormal Occurrence, and hoo boy, it is quite the stunner that she is only 27 years old AND she’s a surrogate mother. But the biggest laughs this time come from Liev Schreiber’s love of tiny things…Michael and Colin are reliable for more jokes about Florida, Gritty, and RBG defending her UFC featherweight title…The Poddys deeply understand podcast culture and tropes (and what with it taking place at the “MeUndies Theater,” it almost sounds like the awards will be for “potty” excellence)…I won’t soon forget Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney as a pair of pantsless, feuding tween Brothers. Mad props for those Rasta-style Looney Tunes shirts.

Leave It

No Leave It sketches this week. Not too many outright classics, but no duds, either.

Liev Schreiber

On a scale of serious actors I never would have expected to host SNL, Liev Schreiber fits squarely within that classification. Despite his relative lack of an impact in the zeitgeist, he has the sort of dramatic intensity that could be hilariously slotted into sketch comedy if deployed correctly. And for a decent number of sketches, that is what happens. Schreiber does flub quite a few lines throughout, but interestingly enough, it appears that that is how his characters were written.

Lil Wayne

On a scale of the greatest living rappers, Lil Wayne is often included on that list, and man, I just don’t get that. His two performances in this episode don’t do much to change my opinion. He’s certainly confident and in the zone with his unique flow, and I appreciate that he has what looks like a gulag of backing dancers for one song. Maybe these tracks aren’t the cream of Wayne’s crop, and there are better offerings that can convince me of his prowess. (I’ll let those who are more in tune with the rap game sort that out.) Ultimately, what he has to offer is perfectly fine to listen to.

Letter Grades:

Jeff Sessions Farewell – B-

Liev Schreiber’s Monologue – B-

Good Day Denver – B-

Unity – B-

Paranormal Occurrence – B

Lil Wayne ft. Halsey performs “Can’t Be Broken” – B

Weekend Update
The Jokes – B
Pete Davidson and Dan Crenshaw – B+

The Poddys – B

House Hunters – B+

Lil Wayne ft. Swizz Beatz performs “Uproar” – B-

Brothers – B

Dave’s Outside the Women’s Bathroom (BEST OF THE NIGHT) – A-

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