Jmunney's Blog

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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