This review was originally posted on News Cult in April 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
Black Jeopardy – SNL’s most resilient current recurring sketch is its ghetto take on the answers-and-questions game show, as it just keeps on discovering new spins on the same formula. This time around, the odd man out is Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, the Black Panther himself. As the formula dictates, his answers are way off from what the judges are looking for, but it is hard to outright say no to the utopian world of respecting your elders and police always living up to the requirements of their job. And on top of that, it is a hoot to hear T’Challa give his own erudite spin on zinging a white woman who does not adequately season her potato salad.
This review was originally posted on News Cult in March 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
Stefon – It is rare that an SNL recurring character gets as satisfying a “final” appearance as Stefon did, which would seem to render any subsequent City Correspondent segments sacrosanct. But when Bill Hader returns to host, are you going to not have him revive one of the greatest bits in comedy history? Stefon just continues to epitomize excellent humor writing, doling out new, fascinating information in perfectly timed, rhythmic fashion.
This review was originally posted on News Cult in March 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
Dying Mrs. Gomez – So Nickelback was and remains a punchline for many people as the height of 2000s rock music mediocrity. But while they were the most disproportionately successful of their ilk, they weren’t the worst. They actually have a few decent sing-along stompers, and “How You Remind Me” is the best of the bunch. And thanks to this episode, we now know that is the perfect tune to build a sketch about a dying unlikely superfan around.
This review was originally posted on News Cult in March 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 Champions – Given all the research available on head trauma, it is no profound observation to note that former professional football players have some cognitive difficulties. But Kenan’s performance as DC Timmons, an NFL veteran of 9 games (over 7 seasons), is so imaginative and so silly in how it renders the full ravages of his career. And it avoids bad taste by anchoring itself with a genuine sense of poignancy.
This review was originally posted on News Cult in February 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
No “Love It” sketches this week, although there are a few with elements that I love. Most everything is decent and/or perfectly fine, with a few flashes of brilliance. More
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
A Message From the Former President – This is one of the most masterful impressions of all time because it is just bursting with ideas. “The ‘W’ stands “wassup?!,” “Washington, Lincoln, and I want to say, Kensington,” “Shoe me once once, shoe’s on you. Shoe me twice, I’m keeping those shoes” … I could go on forever! And amidst all the goofy bonhomie, there is also a strong clearheadedness about what points are being made, most prominently being: the main reason liberals are now romanticizing the George W. Bush presidency is because at least his disasters were a lot sillier.
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.
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.
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