SNL Recap March 12, 2011: Zach Galifianakis/Jessie J

March 13, 2011

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Wh’ are those, cargo shorts?

Cold Opening – March (Actual) Madness Selection Show
Kenan didn’t even bother to do an impression of Greg Gumbel (no surprise).  Sudeikis already kind of sounds like Jim Nantz.   Andy’s Dick Vitale was serviceable and about what one would expect.  There were some scattershot good lines here and there.  Melissa Leo: huh?   The solidness of the idea elevated the whole. B

Zach Galifianakis’s Monologue
I’ve seen Zach’s stand-up before.   He included parts of his act in his monologue the first time he hosted, and he included some other bits this time around.   The Axe/Ask Body Spray joke is tops.  Gotta love Hoobastank. A-

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SNL Recap March 5, 2011: Miley Cyrus/The Strokes

March 9, 2011

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Cold Opening – Duh! Winning! with Charlie Sheen
But of course this week SNL did not open with a political sketch.   Obviously Sheen was going to be all over this episode.  This was a clever premise to take him on, and considering the way he has dominated his interviews, it wasn’t too crazy an idea to make Sheen the interviewer.  Unfortunately, the guest choices did not really fit.  John Galliano and Gaddafi may have also had some issues this past week, but neither exemplifies “bi-winning” the way Charlie does.  And Xtina was totally out of place.  Gaddafi did get in a good line about dressing like Humpty Hump, though.  Thankfully, there was an appropriate guest when Lindsay showed up, as her troubles are actually of the sort that can be rationalized and dressed up the way Sheen has his. B

Miley Cyrus’s Monologue
I feel that Miley must have watched the SNL Backstage special, specifically, the portion about monologues.  According to that retrospective, hosts have been told that the monologue is their opportunity to introduce themselves to the audience, to say, “This is who I am.”  Miley took that advice, and came out swinging.   By addressing her “controversies,” she demonstrated the best way to call bullshit: instead of getting angry, she made a joke out of it.   I don’t think I’ve ever seen a host work an audience for a specific reaction in a non-joking way the way Miley did.   (That was quite a reaction when she mentioned Hannah Montana, and those shouts didn’t sound like they came from 12-year-olds.) B+

Babyspanx
I laughed a few times. Original Grade: C+ Adjusted Grade: B-

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SNL Recap February 12, 2011: Russell Brand/Chris Brown

February 13, 2011

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You gotta pay the bills.

Cold Opening – The O’Reilly Factor: The Super Bowl Sunday Obama Interview
Initially, this was all about O’Reilly stubbornly sticking to obviously wrong statements, as when Darrell Hammond did his O’Reilly. That was basically enjoyable. Then a new element was added with the pop culture quiz, which led to Obama’s mild exasperation, which is generally amusing. Ultimately lightweight, but in the best way possible. B

Russell Brand’s Monologue
Russell performed standup on a variety of topics, some of which were funny, some of which went on too long.  The centerpiece joke – that wearing tight trousers indicates fame in England – illustrated both elements, with the bit about having to say that you’re famous being like having to say that you’re sexually attractive eliciting a few laughs.  But Russell did take a while to get his entire point across.  His impression of his wife Ms. Perry was pretty spot-on.  Despite the inconsistency, it is always a huge relief when the host actually performs standup in the monologue.  (Did anyone else hear, “Ejaculate box” when Russell said “Jack-in-the-box”?) B

Gublin & Green
Considering the problems that have plagued this production, this sort of comedic sendup was only inevitable.  The fact that all the settlements were tickets for future performances was quite the zing at first, then got old quickly, and was ultimately so delightfully bizarre.  (For those who didn’t notice, the law firm’s name is a pun.) B+

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SNL Recap February 5, 2011: Dana Carvey/Linkin Park

February 7, 2011

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Looks like you on the phone with Ice-T.

Cold Opening – Wayne’s World
The great thing about Wayne’s World sketches and the reason why there has never been a bad one is because they always mix up the comedy styles.  This reprise was no different, making use of the ever-popular sniggering pun (“Winter’s Bone”), witty babe-ogling (“I’d make a Mila out of her Kunis”), and Abbott and Costello-style shtick (“Who’s on Firth?”) B+

Dana Carvey’s Monologue
Dana appeared to be going for goofy-sounding singing, so we don’t know if he could pull out a legit singing voice, but he didn’t need to.  Goofy, but rhythmic, singing is generally successfully but, oddly, it is rarely seen these days, at least on SNL.  That being said, the song itself wasn’t overly noteworthy.  It’s always good when something else is going on around the song, so here we had Dana not knowing the cast members’ names.  Calling Bill “Rainn Wilson” was funny in that it almost made sense.  And you can never go wrong with Lovitz yelling, “ACTING!” B

I-Sleep Pro
The black noise sleep aid commercial makes a return appearance, getting upgraded from the the last sketch of the night to the post-monologue slot in the process. B+

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SNL Recap January 29, 2011: Jesse Eisenberg/Nicki Minaj

January 30, 2011

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Cold Opening – Congresswoman Michele Bachman’s Response to the President’s State of the Union: The Second Attempt
The concept of technical difficulties galore was good for a few laughs and then it got a little old, but not as old as it could have gotten. Bachman offhandedly confirming that Xena was on the same tape as the Obama clip and the crash in the background at the end were the most amusing bits, because of how goofy and unexplained they were. B

Jesse Eisenberg’s Monologue
When Zuckerberg joined Eisenberg, it felt like they were going for pretend awkward, but instead it was just actually awkward. (Why didn’t all three Zuckerbergs appear together at the same time?) Jesse’s struggle to paint himself as cocky was well-intentioned, but that too was also awkward. C

Estro-maxx
This was one of the weakest premises SNL has ever had for a commercial parody, but thankfully it was part of a trend in which weak premises are saved by great performances. Bill, Fred, Paul, and Bobby especially were completely wholehearted in their roles, particularly while wining. And of course Kenan’s look of joyful surprise was the best moment. B

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SNL Recap January 15, 2011: Gwyneth Paltrow/Cee-Lo Green

January 16, 2011

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Cold Opening – Fox News: Embracing Civility
Kristen, Bobby, Nasim, and Jason basically just sat there (and to varying degrees attempted an impression) while Bill took over the entire sketch as Carville. Which is perfectly acceptable, because it is a strong enough impression for that. I am surprised that Carville hasn’t been used in sketches before to antagonize Republicans like this. It seems like it would have been an obvious call. B

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Monologue
Pretending your way through something is ripe for laughs, but you can’t be lazy about it. When it quickly became clear that Gwyneth was obviously not immersed in country music, I laughed. But then she just mumbled through the song, and that was kinda funny. Jason’s Kenny Rogers was ultimately pointless. And Kristen’s Dolly Parton was not properly incorporated. C+

The Cape Spinoffs
This started out agreeably goofy, but since none of the premises were given time to develop, this was the ultimate in hit-or-miss comedy. There were a few hits, “The Water Bottle Holder” being the best of the bunch. I appreciated the line, “Viewers have spoken, and some of them say, ‘We like The Cape.'” B

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SNL Recap January 8, 2011: Jim Carrey/The Black Keys

January 9, 2011

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Cold Opening – A Message from Michael Bloomberg
The humor of snow bamboozlement is long overdue. There were several individual items in this sketch that were funny, but the list format rendered matters a little stale overall. This is a rare example of a sketch that was “too New York.” Fred’s Bloomberg impression may have been accurate, but I don’t really know. Bloomberg just isn’t as well-known outside of New York as, say, Giuliani was. B

Jim Carrey’s Monologue
This is exactly the sort of positive energy we could hope for when Jim Carrey hosts SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE! And Lisa Loeb’s sister sure is cute. Too bad she’s taken. B+

Bosley Hair Restoration
Here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again. Original Grade: B+

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SNL Recap December 18, 2010: Jeff Bridges/Eminem and Lil’ Wayne

December 20, 2010

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Christmas Eve in Washington, D.C.
Well, there you go. Sticking with the political angle for the opening, but actually doing something out of the ordinary with it. It is clear that the writers have plenty of material on Obama, Hilary, Rahm, Pelosi, and Biden, but the focus has lately been getting fuzzy when they try to make a sketch around it. The solution, apparently: keep it simple. B+

Jeff Bridges’ Monologue
It was a treat to see Cookie Monster appear, though I imagine folks who weren’t familiar with his campaign to host found it only about half as amusing as those who were familiar found it to be. It was beautiful that Jeff introduced him as his buddy who’s always wanted to be on the show. The two of them singing “Silver Bells” wasn’t particularly funny, but it was surreal (as with much of what is actually on Sesame Street). Who else was thinking of the time Isaac Asimov and Crystal Gayle sang the same? By the way, I think Jeff broke the record for longest time between two successive hosting appearances, a title previously held by, I believe, Drew Barrymore.  (Update: It turns out that Sigourney Weaver broke the record for longest gap when she hosted this past January, and the previous record-holder had been Madeline Kahn.  So, as far as I can surmise, the order for longest gaps goes: 1. Jeff Bridges [27 years], 2. Sigourney Weaver [24 years], 3. Madeline Kahn [18 years], 4. Drew Barrymore [17 years].) B+

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SNL Recap December 11, 2010: Paul Rudd/Paul McCartney

December 13, 2010

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A Message from the President of the United States
And is this what the world (or just the country) has come to? B

Paul Rudd’s Monologue
Good-natured, but too short. Jeez, let a premise develop, why don’t ya? B

Feline Culinary Creations
I’ll allow it, since it didn’t last very long, but it didn’t do very much. C+

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SNL Recap December 4, 2010: Robert De Niro/Diddy-Dirty Money

December 5, 2010

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Cold Opening – WikiLeaks TMZ
The cold opening should always be reliable, and Bill Hader playing someone with an English (actually Australian in this case) accent is certainly reliable. I don’t know if Julian Assange is anything like the way Bill played him, but the accent allowed him to be in his comfort zone. This worked best when the political figures had no idea why the cameras were following them, and thus, the first bit, with Fred as Qaddafi, was the funniest. B+

Robert De Niro’s Monologue
I was watching De Niro’s first appearance as host recently, and in that monologue, he looked incredibly stiff. It barely lasted a minute; it looked like he couldn’t wait for it to be over. This time, he was actually willing to be funny. And scary at the same time. Damn straight New York is the home of EPCOT. A-

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