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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