Jmunney's Blog

SNL: Nick Jonas, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Aidy Bryant

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in April 2016.

This episode marks Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ third time returning to “SNL” as host, but in a way it feels like her first. She never hosted while “Seinfeld” was on the air, and this is the first to coincide with her run on “Veep.” Her last two times were during the age of the decidedly less heralded “New Adventures of Old Christine.” This is all to say, she has never more been one of the undisputed reigning queens of comedy. The writing had better not fail her.

Democratic Presidential Debate – The time in between Democratic primary debates is long enough such that Larry David’s cameo appearances can be spaced out enough to not feel like overkill. By multiple accounts, this round was more contentious than most, which this parody makes sure to confirm. But overall, there is not really an overriding theme to this sketch. The most prominent moment is JLD’s appearance as Elaine Benes, which allows Larry’s Bernie to go full George Costanza (“you break em up!”). This bit becomes increasingly untethered from reality, but “Seinfeld”-inspired bits still hold up so well. Vanessa’s Rachel Green, meanwhile, while clever, is so irrelevant to everything else. B-

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