SNL Recap April 16, 2016: Julia Louis-Dreyfus/Nick Jonas

April 18, 2016

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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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SNL Recap April 9, 2016: Russell Crowe/Margo Price

April 10, 2016

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SNL: Margo Price, Russell Crowe, Kenan Thompson (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in April 2016.

It has been a while since Russell Crowe has been making headlines for throwing phones at people, so his personal life does not provide much fodder for his “SNL” debut. Instead, he has to rely on how well he can fit into the show’s routine, which he seems pretty confident about after seeing his “Nice Guys” co-star Ryan Gosling pull it off. It is hard to say how hosts who do not have much live performing experience will do, but Russell can follow the precedent of Alec Baldwin, Christopher Walken, and Jon Hamm, who repurpose their intensity from drama to comedy. In this episode, he ultimately does know how to deploy his acting chops as needed, but he could be utilized more frequently.

A Message from Hillary Clinton – Hillary’s recent stretch of primary losses allows Kate McKinnon’s impression to be even more desperate than usual, though it is worth questioning the soundness of this premise. With her delegate lead remaining quite high, do these losses matter all that much? That is the nature of a comedy show covering each bump in the election cycle instead of just the overarching narrative. Besides, this skid is enough fodder to ramp up Hillary’s freakouts, and the upcoming New York primary provides enough culture (New York “Meats,” “tumblr parties”) that she can use to struggle to connect with voters. B

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SNL Recap April 2, 2016: Peter Dinklage/Gwen Stefani

April 3, 2016

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SNL: Gwen Stefani, Peter Dinklage, Kate McKinnon (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in April 2016.

When Peter Dinklage is in a comedy setting, the two most obvious sources of humor are “Game of Thrones” parodies and cracks about his height. There are already plenty of examples of the former, and there is always the risk of being hacky or insulting with the latter. So in his “SNL” debut, the Westeros jokes are rare and have a whiff of exhaustion, while his size is basically only utilized for one visual gag. As for the rest of the episode, he is uniformly competent, but – with a few exceptions – he deserves more memorable roles.

CNN At This Hour – A modern habit of “SNL’s” political material is the variety of its news show parodies. Where 90’s “SNL” featured plenty of “Nightline” sketches, and “Hardball” dominated the early 2000’s, the 2010’s seem intent on taking on every CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News program. It is hard to understand why. “At This Hour” has hardly broken into the zeitgeist, nor is there anything about it that makes it especially fit to elucidate Donald Trump’s foibles. As for this sketch’s actual hook, it points out Trump’s misogyny and tendency to attract violence, but it does not do anything surprising with those qualities. C

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SNL Recap March 12, 2016: Ariana Grande

March 13, 2016

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SNL Promo: Taran Killam, Ariana Grande (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in March 2016.

Musical guests may have limited range compared to most “SNL” hosts, but they are still entertainers. On top of that, Ariana Grande is also a veteran of Nickelodeon, which – while excessively hacky – tends to make professionals out of its kid stars. If Grande is given good material, she will know how to hit her marks. So it should not be considered shocking that her hosting debut is mostly a success. But who would have guessed that in the pantheon of great “SNL” hosts, she would be most similar to Kevin Spacey?

CNN America’s Choice 2016 – Once again, the cold opening is a political catchall, but this one works better than most thanks to a more streamlined focus, with only the best impressions of the season (sans Hillary, though her moment comes later). Darrell Hammond and Jay Pharoah have sufficiently creepy chemistry as Trump and Carson, but the real twist is Larry David’s latest Bern-ing cameo. He rants delightfully on and on about the latest foibles of the primary, reserving special disdain for superdelegates (“I’ve met some of these superdelegates. They’re not that super”). B

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SNL Recap March 5, 2016: Jonah Hill/Future

March 6, 2016

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SNL: Future, Jonah Hill, Future (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in March 2016.

Jonah Hill does not proclaim “I’m six!” during any part of his fourth stint on “SNL.” This is not the sort of episode that relies completely on steady favorites, nor is it the sort of episode in which the host is clearly promoting something. (Hill’s last movie was “Hail, Caesar!,” which he appeared in for all of five minutes.) Also, Future is the musical guest. He is one of those artists who is really hot right now even though a significant portion of the “SNL” viewership have surely never heard of him.

CNN America’s Choice 2016 – After a few weeks off, “SNL” gets back in the groove of cold openings that run down the latest electoral goings-on. This is a low ceiling/high floor venture: it is too scattered to have a real selling point, but nothing lasts long enough to stink up the joint and the individual parts are all decent. The highlight, such as there is one, is a returning favorite: Jason Sudeikis’ reprisal of his Mitt Romney. The material is predictable (he’s a vanilla Mormon milquetoast), but refreshing, as there are only so many incisive jokes that can be squeezed out of the current candidates. B-

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SNL Recap February 13, 2016: Melissa McCarthy/Kanye West

February 14, 2016

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SNL: Kanye West, Melissa McCarthy, Taran Killam (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in February 2016.

Melissa McCarthy is one of the most reliable “SNL” hosts of this decade. She always brings her A-game, making herself right at home at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. She has her critics who call her out for playing the same character over and over: brash, over-the-top, and painfully awkward. That can be a problem with a film career (though she usually brings more depth than her critics give her credit for), but in sketch comedy, it can easily be a winning formula. Frequent musical guest Kanye West is also reliable, but his is a reliable unreliability, in which the stage design and sound style will never be the same twice.

I Can’t Make You Love Me – Instead of the umpteenth debate sketch, the leadoff political sketch finds its angle via the electorate. Its take on what appeals to voters about Bernie over Hillary is a little shallow, but that is a small blemish, as that patter is just setup for the main thrust of the sketch: Hillary’s take on Bonnie Raitt. This is Kate McKinnon pulling off the same note of desperation she’s been hitting, but this time she is really complicating the question of whether or not Mrs. Clinton is cool. She tries so hard, which is cool because of the commitment but not cool because of the strain. There is some reference to how support of Hillary or lack thereof affects feminism, but this sketch is more astute about the much less complicated issue of whether or not Hillary is cooler than the drab, depressing Jeb Bush. B

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SNL Recap February 6, 2016: Larry David/The 1975

February 7, 2016

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SNL: Larry David, The 1975, Kate McKinnon

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in February 2016.

If you want to enjoy life, it is best to keep complaining to a minimum. But if you want to put on a good comedy show, you’re going to want to have some complaints. That is why Larry David is an ideal “SNL” host, even though he is the type of guy who hates hosting anything. That tension of constantly being bothered by the things that he is best at is the stuff that dreams, and memorable television, are made of. The fact that he also looks and sounds exactly like one of the major presidential candidates is just a bonus.

A Message from Ted Cruz – The show kicks off with “SNL” showing perhaps its strongest bite yet in this election cycle, with Taran Killam pulling no punches in his portrayal of Ted Cruz as the most odious human being ever. While this is admirably fearless, it is not the freshest angle. It kind of writes itself, honestly, what with his daughter refusing to hug him and tricking voters into believing that an opponent has dropped out of the race. Framing the greatest challenge of his campaign as overcoming the handicap of “Being Ted Cruz” is a neat enough trick, making for a cold opening that is more clever than surprising. B-

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SNL Recap January 23, 2016: Ronda Rousey/Selena Gomez

January 24, 2016

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SNL: Selena Gomez, Ronda Rousey, Cecily Strong (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in January 2016.

With a few exceptions, athletes tend to be rather limited in their usefulness on “SNL.” Just having the host play him or herself or some variation in every sketch can solve this problem. But Ronda Rousey and/or the writers concede this point and give her very little to do throughout the night. Thus, she does not really affect the overall quality of the episode one way or the other. There are a few great sketches, a few okay ones, and some recurring sketches that seem to be hiding their recurring status.

Trump Rally – With Sarah Palin’s typically loopy endorsement of the Donald dominating this week’s election coverage, it felt like a no-brainer to bring Tina Fey back home (so long as she could make it through the snow). Back in 2008, there was the sketch parodying the Katie Couric interview of Palin, which was basically just a recreation of the original. The same approach could have easily been employed again this time around, but it ends up just being the jumping off point; she mentions the “bitter clinging” and adds some new rhymes and free associations (“Mom, 2 Broke Girls, and Three Men and a Baby” is a highlight). In addition, the asides from Trump serve as an astute, though not especially deep, commentary. B

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SNL Recap January 16, 2016: Adam Driver/Chris Stapleton

January 17, 2016

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SNL: Chris Stapleton, Adam Driver, Aidy Bryant

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in January 2016.

If “SNL” is going to book Adam Driver, then he is going to be called upon to do two things (assuming the writers are not suffering from temporary insanity): reference “Star Wars” and utilize his famous intensity. Surprisingly enough, the former is used sparingly; meanwhile, the latter is taken advantage of throughout the episode (which, depending on your opinion of the “SNL” team’s mental state, is either very much expected or totally shocking). This is the right decision. “Star Wars” is bigger than Driver (or any one person), and reliance upon intergalactic material could have been a distraction, but the character conviction he brings is comedy dynamite if deployed properly.

6th Republican Debate – The standard clown car jokes about the GOP field have mostly exhausted themselves, and Darrell Hammond’s legacy Trump impression is really the only performance here that has a strong enough default mode to run on autopilot. Thankfully, Ted Cruz gifted the comedy world a notorious moment with his “New York City values” comment. Instead of just repeating that jibe (which this sketch could very easily have gotten away with), Taran Killam’s Ted makes it just a little bit absurd by pairing it with “Seinfeld” references. Nothing groundbreaking, but enough to get by. B-

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SNL Recap December 19, 2015: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler/Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

December 20, 2015

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SNL: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in December 2015.

“SNL’s” Christmas episodes often have a homecoming feel, insofar as good vibes are easier to come by than usual, and visits from old friends are part of the deal. Usually sports teams designate a winnable game as homecoming, because nobody wants to lose homecoming. So it only makes sense when the “SNL” Christmas lineup features as co-hosts two of the show’s most famous alums who have developed quite the comedic partnership, and as musical guest one of the most iconic rock stars of all time who has a beloved Christmas song in his arsenal. It would take a lot of effort to screw this one up.

Republican Presidential Debate – The GOP primary circus is a bit of a boon but also a formidable challenge for “SNL’s” political machine. The endless supply of candidates ensures plenty of buffoonery but makes for material that is by definition unfocused. Sketches that cruise through a menagerie of characters are reliable for a few laughs, but they are rarely classics. The best political moments have one or two star impressions. Who is the star of this sketch? Is it Darrell Hammond dropping in for his iconic Trump, Beck Bennett as a wimpy Jeb Bush, or is the star the lack of a true star? The best impression is probably Jay Pharoah’s Ben Carson, but he does not have the screen time to show for it. This is all to say, there is plenty of quality here, but it’s all just crowding each other out. B-

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