SNL Recap 40th Anniversary Special

February 16, 2015

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Here’s my rundown of the best of the 40th anniversary special, featuring Celebrity Jeopardy, cast audition videos, questions and answers with Jerry Seinfeld, and Wayne’s World: http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2015/02/16/the-best-moments-of-the-snl-40th-anniv

SNL Recap January 31, 2015: J.K. Simmons/D’Angelo

February 2, 2015

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SNL: J.K. Simmons Monologue (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in December 2015.

J.K. Simmons is the presumptive Oscar favorite this year for Best Supporting Actor.  It is appropriate that he is in the Supporting field, considering that he has spent a few decades as a character actor, elevating the quality of his projects, no matter what the size of his role.  Interestingly, though, his role in “Whiplash” is prominent enough that it could be considered a Lead.   He certainly has the talent and charisma to be a star, but this episode mostly kept him confined to the supporting roles that he is used to.  He was perfectly fine in them, but he could have done more.  And in the few moments when he was given the chance to do more, he really shone.  Meanwhile, this show continued Season 40’s heavy focus on original material, with the only recurring characters appearing on Weekend Update.  That originality was a little inconsistent, but very welcome when the proceedings got weird late in the night.

Super Bowl Shutdown – “SNL” once again proved that it has been paying attention to the major stories of the week.  Richard Sherman and Marshawn Lynch have been flipping the script on Super Bowl coverage, and this cold opening … acknowledged that.  Lynch’s propensity to repeat the same stock answer is amusing, but it proved difficult to build a sketch around.  The talk show format, while a tired one, was helpful here, as it masked some of the holes in the premise. B-

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SNL Recap January 24, 2015: Blake Shelton

January 26, 2015

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SNL: Blake Shelton, Cecily Strong (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in January 2015.

The last time a male country music star hosted “SNL,” the results were a lot more interesting.  The thing is, Tim McGraw has much more acting experience than Blake Shelton, and thus he was a lot more comfortable branching out home from his country persona than Shelton was in this episode.  “The Voice” judge mostly stuck to variations of himself or generic roles.  This was fine for ensuring a show that ran smoothly, but it also prevented his appearance from being a truly memorable one.

Inside the NFL – This take on the New England Patriots deflated ball scandal made the weird decision of focusing on a whiny Tom Brady.  Brady is sometimes criticized for being an arrogant pretty boy, which is basically the antithesis of what Taran Killam was playing him as.  The idea may have been that in playing dumb, he was being someone he clearly wasn’t, but that didn’t really stick as comedy.  Luckily, Bobby Moynihan saved the day as Dougie Spoons, one of his classic hype men characters.  The “A Few Good Men”  parody was unexpected, but more or less successful. C+

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SNL Recap January 17, 2015: Kevin Hart/Sia

January 19, 2015

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SNL: Sia, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in January 2015.

The recurring sketch-lite Season 40 had its most original episode yet for the first show of 2015, with not a single repeat bit or character, save for Kate McKinnon’s Justin Bieber impression.  The best seasons tend to have a decent mix of recurring and original material, so while it is nice to see the “SNL” team coming up with plenty of fresh ideas, they might be wearing themselves too much.  Luckily, Kevin Hart was on hand to host for the second time, and there are not too many other comedians who can keep the energy level up like he can, and he did not disappoint in that department.  Meanwhile, Sia provided the music, and as is her m.o., she brought out some guest accompaniment while she kept her face covered.

Martin Luther King – This visit from a ghostly MLK was a clever idea for running down how decades of progress or lack thereof may not have been exactly what the civil rights leader envisioned.  Unfortunately, Kenan Thompson’s portrayal was not exactly as inspirational as the person he was playing.  It is hard to say if a different actor could have pulled this off much better, as the problems lay mainly in the writing.  This Dr. King, unlike the real deal, was not very imaginative about how the future might be different from his time.  He could have been any random black guy from the 60’s.  Pointing out how times have changed is usually good for a few solid chuckles, as this was, but it could have been more specific. B-

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SNL Recap December 20, 2014: Amy Adams: One Direction

December 22, 2014

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SNL: Amy Adams, One Direction (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in December 2014.

The 2014 Christmas episode of “Saturday Night Live” took most of its inspiration from the holiday season, as “SNL” Christmas episodes are wont to do.  Sometimes that resulted in sticking too close to tradition, while other times that tradition was rebelled against, resulting in memorably experimental Christmas sketches.  It was one of those episodes where you take the good and you take the bad.  In her second outing, Amy Adams was the sort of host who slotted in naturally to whatever role she was given without overshadowing the cast.  Musical guest One Direction did what they do, surely pleasing their fans but not making any new ones.  And it would not have been a Christmas episode without cameos, some of which were surprising and welcome and others which were welcome enough but a little too predictable.

A Very Somber Christmas with Sam Smith – Bringing in Mike Myers to reprise Dr. Evil, perhaps the most intrinsically ridiculous villain of all time, allowed for “SNL” to really get at what North Korea is all about: Kim Jong-un and his cronies categorically have no idea how to take a joke.  Evil’s Lorne Michaels-inspired “Throw me a frickin’ bone here” attitude was exactly the sort of mediation that this situation needed. B+

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SNL Recap December 13, 2014: Martin Freeman/Charli XCX

December 15, 2014

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SNL: Charli XCX, Martin Freeman, Kenan Thompson (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in December 2014.

It was the British invasion on the penultimate 2014 episode of “SNL,” with first-time host Martin Freeman and first-time musical guest Charli XCX.  It is not every week that “SNL” has the perfect actor to play nebbishy scamps, so this episode took every opportunity it could to fit Freeman into his wheelhouse.  Indeed, at least regarding the host, this was one of the most well-cast episodes of “SNL” in a while.  Meanwhile, the show in general continued its Season 40 pattern of focusing on original material, with a single character on Weekend Update serving as the lone recurring bit of the night.

Charlie Rose – It is not often that “SNL” extrapolates a broader social point from its timely political skethces, which is why this examination of a couple of architects of torture felt as fresh as it did.  Bobby Moynihan and Kyle Mooney were keyed in perfectly to the roles of two men who love being great at their jobs, morals be damned.  It was not clear, though, why this was presented in a “Charlie Rose” parody, other than for the joke about how it is torture to be stuck in a dark room for years. B

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SNL Recap December 6, 2014: James Franco/Nicki Minaj

December 8, 2014

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SNL: Nicki Minaj, James Franco (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in December 2014.

With a crisis in policing in America, and a movie studio being hacked, possibly in retaliation to the upcoming film starring tonight’s host, this week’s “SNL” was not struggling for topicality.  Surprisingly enough, one of the most uncomfortable issues of the year shocked the show out of its politically tepid default, resulting in some legitimately funny material on a difficult subject.  However, what this episode was most notable for was a bizarrely naturalistic pace.  It was not slow and sleepy so much as it was that many of the sketches took their time to find a joke.  Rhythmically, this did not feel like a typical 2014 episode of “SNL,” for better, for worse, and for neutral.

Politics Nation – The Ferguson and Eric Garner decisions were impossible for “SNL” to ignore, though it was a little odd that the show chose to initially take them on with Kenan Thompson’s malapropism-prone Al Sharpton.  While this rendition of the MSNBC spoof did keep that goofy element, the reverend came off smarter than usual, with his gaffes seeming more like the result of frustration than incompetence.  The conclusion of him eagerly hugging an uncomfortable police officer firmly established this as a genuine, albeit silly, call for solidarity. B

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SNL Recap November 22, 2014: Cameron Diaz/Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars

November 24, 2014

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SNL: Mark Ronson, Cameron Diaz, Bruno Mars (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in November 2014.

When people look back through the annals of “SNL,” this episode may go down as the one when the Season 40 cast fully discovered its confidence.  But since episodes are usually cataloged by the guests, this one might be hard to identify, because the guests did not do anything spectacular.  Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars came in and performed a couple of songs, while host Cameron Diaz did not have any showcase performances.  She gamely slotted in to whatever role she was needed in, but this episode was about the likes of Leslie Jones, Kyle Mooney, Aidy Bryant, and Beck Bennett asserting themselves in an ideal mix of original and recurring material.  The energy was high, with everyone coming in hard, making their comedic point, and moving on to the next sketch before wearing out their welcome.  The show may have petered out a little bit at the end, but it was still strong enough to set a new high watermark for the season.

Schoolhouse Rock – After a seasons-long rut of unimaginative, cookie-cutter political cold opens, “SNL” went silly and retro.  The result was a “Schoolhouse Rock” parody that was the show’s most pointed take on the current state of affairs in D.C. in years.  All it took to make it happen was Bobby Moynihan’s matter-of-fact delivery of “I’m an executive order, and I pretty much just happen.”  Then it ended abruptly when it seemed like it had plenty more to say, though its point was a simple one, and no more needed to be said. B+

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SNL Recap November 15, 2014: Woody Harrelson/Kendrick Lamar

November 17, 2014

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SNL: Kendrick Lamar, Woody Harrelson, Kate McKinnon (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in November 2014.

Season 40 of “Saturday Night Live” has been notably light on recurring material; this episode, with the exception of one sketch and one Weekend Update segment, was completely devoid of anything recurring.  While it is nice to have a tendency towards original material, the best “SNL” seasons have always had a decent mix of new and repeating characters.  It is time for the cast and writers to really figure out what they do best and focus on that. If the show was relying on the host to kick itself into gear in this way, then Woody Harrelson was never going to be the man for that job.  Instead, he was happy to ride along with whatever he was asked to do, a style that worked just fine but would have worked better if this season had a better sense of its identity.  Kendrick Lamar definitely brought it, though.

Barack Obama and Mitch McConnell – It can work comedically to have politicians appear laid-back in an atypical setting, but it requires playing off or playing against their known personas.  This sketch did play off Obama’s enmity with the GOP Congress, but it was not specific enough to have anything to do with Mitch McConnell.  Overall, this felt like an impression of the format of this type of gradual time-lapse sketch, but there was hardly any rhyme or reason to its pacing (the subtitles of what number drink the guys were on were meaningless). C

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SNL Recap November 1, 2014: Chris Rock/Prince

November 3, 2014

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SNL: Chris Rock Monologue (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in November 2014.

In the past year, “SNL” was widely criticized for its lack of diversity, hired a new black cast member following that public pressure, debuted its first black Weekend Update cast member, and from the writer’s room brought on another black cast member.  So an episode hosted by Chris Rock seemed poised to be the most head-on examination of race on “SNL” in years, or even decades.  While that element was present, it was not really any more so than it has been in the past couple of years.  Overall, in fact, this edition ended up like most episodes of the past couple of years: consisting of mostly new material that was mostly more interesting than fully successful and at its best when it got weird.  Let’s take a closer look at each of the sketches.

The Kelly File – There was no particular need for “SNL” to parody this particular Fox News talk show to cover the Kaci Hickox Ebola story.  This sketch did not break apart the form of “The Kelly File,” nor did Cecily Strong offer that strong of an impression.  Thus, the whole thing was rather formless.  Bobby Moynihan continued to play Chris Christie as loud and obnoxious, which is fine, while Kate McKinnon played Kaci Hickox as a typical Kate McKinnon character who won’t take any guff from someone like Chris Christie, which is also fine.  But ultimately, this sketch didn’t really say anything. C

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