SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — “Alec Baldwin” Episode 1718 — Pictured: (l-r) Sasheer Zamata and Alex Moffat during the “Russell Stover” sketch on February 10, 2017 — (Photo by: Caroline De Quesada/NBC)
This review was originally posted on News Cult in February 2017.
Love It
Russell Stover Black History Month Heart Shaped Box – Great comedy often arises from the plans of the well-meaning going awry. Offering their black girlfriends a peanut butter-filled George Washington Carver or a Malcolm X fiery with cayenne, the white boyfriends look so eager to please, so intent on getting it right. But it is plain to see that they fail on two levels: romantically and racially. But as insensitive as this particular candy box is, wouldn’t we all want to live in a utopia in which the chocolate version of any historical figure has no unsavory implications?
The pitch meeting for a Cheeto’s ad stretches the social activism of commercials as far as it can go…Jake and Kellyanne are locked in a Fatal Attraction-style tête–à–tête, and may I say, with just a stern look, Beck Bennett is killing his impression of the CNN anchor…Trump takes his case to The People’s Court, which makes me go: hey, remember when Jon Lovitz played the Devil on a People’s Court sketch back in the day? That’s somehow both more and less believable than this…Leslie Wants to Play Trump, and I want to see as many of these dreamy, personal, behind-the-scenes short films as possible.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — “Kristen Stewart” Episode 1717 — Pictured: (l-r) Host Kristen Stewart, Vanessa Bayer during the “Totinos” sketch on January 31, 2017 — (Photo by: Rosalind O’Connor/NBC)
This review was originally posted on News Cult in February 2017.
Love It
Meet Cute – In this filmed piece, Kristen Stewart and Pete Davidson have the titular encounter at a coffee shop, and the unlikelihood of an immediate development into a relationship is examined, poked, and prodded. It is not really the case that in most cinematic meet-cutes someone fails to give out enough relevant information, but it is true that they are just too fast to truly be meaningful. So we should all relate to Pete’s struggle on a spiritual (not literal) level. Oh, and his confusion over how to spell Manhattan (it’s 2 T’s, not 2 D’s) is a marvelous detail.
When Robert Mugabe earns the big applause, as in the Oval Office Phone Calls cold open, you know you’ve got something … let’s call it “special.”
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — “Aziz Ansari” Episode 1716 — Pictured: Aziz Ansari as Dave during the “Five Stars” sketch on January 21st, 2017 — (Photo by: Caroline De Quesada/NBC)
This review was originally posted on News Cult in January 2017.
Love It
Peppy Ronnie’s Pizza Party – This scene about a late-night arrest at a Chuck E. Cheese-style pizzeria is similar to last season’s “Space Pants,” insofar as a kitschy performance threatens to derail a criminal situation. This does not quite reach the stellar heights of Jonathan Comets, as the Peppy Ronnie’s crew is a lower-stakes distraction. But animatronic bands are hilarious enough on their own, and reactions from Kenan Thompson provide just the right sort of flavoring.
Aziz Ansari is a seasoned stand-up, which pretty much always guarantees a solid Monologue; I appreciate his advocacy for news reports of brown people eating nachos and changing scary-sounding Islam music to something Benny Hill-style… Bobby Moynihan’s Ganz, of Broderick & Ganz, is a kidney-less personal injury lawyer whose incompetence knows no bounds or predictability…The police Interrogation of a man who only kind of liked La La Land wins special recognition for clever comic exaggeration…Michael and Colin are on fire, post-Inauguration…Leslie Jones is more on topic than usual (despite Che’s hilarious “that was about Hidden Figures?” comment) as she examines where else African-American accomplishments are hidden and points out that the Predator is from space…Five Stars is an understated take on five-star culture, perhaps a response to a hysterical (though pointed) Black Mirror episode.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — “Felicity Jones” Episode 1715 — Pictured: (l-r) Felicity Jones, Beck Bennett, and Kyle Mooney during the Movie Interview sketch on January 14th, 2017 — (Photo by: Will Heath/NBC)
This review was originally posted on News Cult in January 2017.
Love It
Fandango All Access – I believe we have had other examples of trenchant boob-based humor in the past, but never before has this type of material been performed with the idiosyncratic conviction of a Beck Bennett/Kyle Mooney joint. One caveat to my praise, though: I feel like they are holding back on us a bit. If the sketch were just scenes from Hot Robot 3: Journey to Boob Mountain, instead of a discussion about it, I think this could reach the raucous, surreal heights of this crew’s sitcom parodies. As it is, the steely commitment to the patent ridiculousness from everyone in this sketch is still plainly stunning.
Beck Bennett’s turn as a pop sensation feels like a half-baked idea. Or maybe it was fully thought out, and the concept is that it is meant to seem half-baked? Either way, he’s adorable.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — “Casey Affleck” Episode 1714 — Pictured: Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton during the “Hillary Actually” sketch on December 17, 2016 — (Photo by: Becky Vu/NBC)
This review was originally published on News Cult in December 2016.
News Cult 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
Hillary Actually – I generally cut SNL slack for not having the sharpest political satire around, but I do encourage more adventurous ideas, and this is exactly what I am talking about. Using a movie parody to make sense of the current twist in the election is what SNL is uniquely equipped to do. Hillary wooing an elector in the style of Love Actually’s cue cards scene may be over-the-top, but it rings through and through with essential truth.
I love the hacky comedy in the nativity play covered by New York Now and wish it had lasted even longer and gotten even more ridiculous…At Frankie’s Ale House, it is not just the guys looking to score who are deploying faux shyness: it’s also the bouncer, the guy calling 911, the EMT, and even God.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — “John Cena” Episode 1713 — Pictured: Host John Cena on December 6, 2016 — (Photo by: Rosalind O’Connor/NBC)
This review was originally posted on News Cult in December 2016.
Love It
Hook a Hunk – The hook of “Hook a Hunk” is clear from a mile away. As soon as all the contestants on this dating show parody are introduced, and not one of them is played by John Cena, it follows that the hunkiest of hunks in the building must be playing the host and Cecily Strong’s contestant must fall for him in favor of any of the contestants. And yet, “Hook a Hunk” succeeds despite its obviousness, as Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney carve out their own little scene amidst the disappointment, because love wins.
Aidy Bryant clings to the ledge while holding on to the Office Christmas Tree, and some terrifying camera angles ramp up the tension necessary to build to the catharsis that is so important in comedy.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — “Emma Stone” Episode 1712 — Pictured: (l-r) Beck Bennett, Mikey Day, Kate McKinnon, Emma Stone, Kyle Mooney, and Aidy Bryant during the “High School Theater Show” sketch on December 3, 2016 — (Photo by: Will Heath/NBC)
This review was originally posted on News Cult in December 2016.
Love It
Woodbridge High School Student Theater Showcase – I love the maddeningly self-righteous Woodbridge crew, but with each new edition, I fear their appearances have run their course. But then I remember what is going on in the world, and I realize how much we need them. Where else are we going to get a joke about a modern Holocaust that is so nonchalant and so cutting? Or a Black Lives Matter joke that is so loopy? And you know this is the only we can hear Aidy Bryant say, “Yep. You guessed it. I have AIDS.”
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — “Kristen Wiig” Episode 1711 — Pictured: (l-r) Kate McKinnon as Napoleon, Pete Davidson, Kristen Wiig, Cecily Strong, Sasheer Zamata, and Leslie Jones during “Kristen Wiig’s Thanksgiving Monologue” on November 19, 2016 — (Photo by: Will Heath/NBC)
This review was originally posted on News Cult in November 2016.
Love It
Kristen Wiig’s Monologue – The world is perpetually in need of good Thanksgiving songs, so “Thanksgiving freak” Kristen Wiig gives us a ditto supposedly about the origins of Turkey Day. But first, she fidgets with her instruments and the placement of props, in a deconstruction of form worthy of Will Ferrell. Dropping by are Steve Martin and Will Forte – big-name cameos that could distract, but since Santa Claus is already there, and Sacajawea is paying for dinner with her own coins, they just add to the wittily written, delightfully rhyming cacophony.
The Bubble is the deceptive utopia we’ve all been waiting for…Anderson Cooper 360° is a whole series of brick jokes mashed together, with a timely twist for the ages.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — “Dave Chappelle” Episode 1710 — Pictured: Host Dave Chappelle during the monologue on November 12, 2016 — (Photo by: Will Heath/NBC)
This review was originally posted on News Cult in November 2016.
Before I get into my Love It/Keep it/Leave It picks, a word on the Hillary “Hallelujah” Cold Opening, which I have chosen not to categorize. Normally when SNL forgoes a proper sketch in favor of a song for the opening, it is in the wake of a national tragedy. So add one more way in which this election is unprecedented. The song selection memorializes the recently departed Leonard Cohen, rendering this moment less depressing and more bittersweet.
Love It
Dave Chappelle’s Monologue – I guess somebody knew that Trump was going to win. That somebody? SNL’s talent booker. How else to explain how we got Dave Chappelle on the exact week that we needed him? This is not the most laugh-out he has ever been (although Bradley Cooper being the only white person at a BET-sponsored White House party is hilarious enough for the whole set), but that is fine, because he is mainly aiming for truth and strength. A lot of disappointed citizens have been struggling to say something positive while also holding on to their legitimate disappointment. By finding hope while passionately defending enfranchisement, Dave Chappelle hits that multilayered note.
This review was originally posted on News Cult in November 2016.
Love It
Over 30 years later, how can we possibly make a relevant parody of perhaps the most iconic commercial of all time? We now have an answer, and it is koohl: The Koohl Toilet. The word “sheeple” gets thrown around a lot today, and it is usually uncalled for. But there is in fact one way in which we all conform, as we are just too busy taking care of business. No more, though! There is another way, and it is not just a ridiculous idea for a comedy sketch, but a real revolution.
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