This review was originally posted on News Cult in November 2017.
Love It
Get Woke with Tamika – There tend to be a few SNL sketches per season that could manage to be classics if they could just get rid of the messiness. But that is not always a viable solution, as the chaos is what leads to both the problems and the hilarious weirdness. But “Get Woke with Tamika” solves that issue by making the messiness part of the premise. Leslie Jones has a history of flubbing lines? Well, just have her play the host of a talk show who claims to be a lot more knowledgeable than she is and watch her show disintegrate right before her and our eyes.
Beck and Kyle – It’s good to know that Beck and Kyle are still friends, and that scheming does not drive them apart, but instead brings them back even closer, with Kyle and Leslie remaining together, too. And Baby Lorne’s already off to college! Watching Colin getting punched relentlessly is a little rough, considering how sweet this saga has been thus far, but I do enjoy Tiffany and Lorne’s reasons for joining in on the pummeling.
This review was originally posted on News Cult in November 2017.
Love It
Ad Council Awards – Anybody can be offensive, but it takes talent to be truly creative with your offensiveness. At first, Larry David’s legendary adman seems like just your run-of-the-mill “things were different back then!” dude with his deployment of “No way. That’s gay” as his version of “Just say no.” But then he flips the script with his take on the disabled and also pulls a most disturbing rabbit out of his hat of tricks when dramatizing alcohol-fueled bad decisions.Tres magnfique.
Beers – Kyle and Beck are profoundly astute when they ramp up the surrealism in their takedowns of ’80s/’90s sitcoms. I worry, though, that they might hit diminishing returns at some point, but that concern may be absolutely unnecessary, as Larry David adds a very different supporting voice than Andrew Garfield, Chris Pratt, and Ryan Gosling. Plus, the dog licking ice cream and dinosaur on the White House lawn interstitials make it clear that this material is endless. But then the coup de grâce of that stabbing – hoo boy, let’s not sleep on these talents.
Heidi Gardner has her first big breakthrough as Angel, Every Boxer’s Girlfriend From Every Boxing Movie Ever. This at first seems like it is going to be a classic case of an Update guest ignoring her prompt, but then she ingeniously incorporates the news into the typical cinematic pugilist framework (“Snoopy, you’re 60 years old!”)…Maybe you need to be a frequenter of New York’s LGBTQ scene (or at least watch RuPaul’s Drag Race) to understand Larry David’s New Wife, but I firmly believe that Cecily Strong’s nonsense-spouting 18-or-55-year-old socialite (?) has wormed her way into all our hearts.
This review was originally posted on News Cult in October 2017.
Love It
Call Center – This tale of the long-distance friendship between the first lady and a Gucci customer service representative is a little reminiscent of SNL’s initial take on Kellyanne Conway, wherein she was portrayed as aghast at her boss’s behavior when the truth was that she was much more complicit. And yet, there is something beautifully human about this short film. It is hard to get an accurate read on just exactly what the real Melania Trump thinks about what is going on with her husband and the country, as her public appearances and comments are relatively few and far between. Thus, this speculative piece of storytelling is a bit of a risk, but I appreciate its empathetic message, however true to life it may or may not be.
Kumail advocates for less ignorant racism in his Monologue, and I advocate for comedians always being this hilarious…Bank Breakers features some ace comic heightening, but it also begs the question, why doesn’t the conflicted tobacco advertiser just pledge to give his winnings to his plenty-of-sob-stories opponent?
This review was originally posted on News Cult in October 2017.
Love It
Pete Davidson – Pete Davidson’s Update segments were one of those recurring bits that I resigned myself to accepting that they would be good enough but also pretty much the same thing each time. But then wouldn’t you know it, he comes out with a new energy while discussing a condition known for sapping the energy of those it affects. This discussion about depression is far from depressing itself. Instead it is quite agreeably loopy. The doctor’s note to put Pete in more sketches is plainly inspired. Now I actually want to see the sketch that’s about a chicken who ate eggs AND Black Lives Matter!
This review was originally posted on News Cult in October 2017.
Love It
Levi’s Wokes – In a season premiere that was no more than perfectly cromulent, the sketch that sticks with me the most is not one that had me non-stop laughing out loud, but the one with the most fully realized ideas. You know, sometimes “labels” are practical and only offensive if you are insane. It may be hilarious to denote a color as “#GREB,” but actual colors work better in most situations. But fashion is about making statements, and Levi’s Wokes do state themselves clearly.
Michael and Colin make it to the Love It section thanks to “White Fudge Ding Dongs.”
This review was originally posted on News Cult in May 2017.
Love It Hallelujah – Following its first post-election episode this season, SNL chose to forego comedy for melancholy in the cold opening. But now it is time to reflect (or refract) that approach through a cracked looking glass. With leaks now pouring out of every conceivable hole, it is time for Trump and his cronies to prattle on to the tune of Leonard Cohen, striking a note of face-palmingly eternal denial.
There is a certain craze that has seemingly come out of nowhere, so it makes perfect sense that a baby adult would be pacified by it, ergo the Cartier Fidget Spinner…I am categorically in favor of any sketch that features the entire cast, and if it can be managed in merely three minutes, as with the overstuffed rap video One Voice, all the better…Dawn Lazarus is one of those characters that makes such a huge impression in her first appearance that she is brought back almost instantly on her way to a meteoric rise (too bad this is Vanessa Bayer’s last episode, then)…I am not sure if I have ever officially said this, so let me be perfectly clear: Drunk Uncle is one of the best SNL characters of all time.
In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.
Sunday – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Monday – Jane the Virgin
Tuesday – Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Wednesday – Arrow is bringing it back.
Thursday – The President Show
Friday – RuPaul’s Drag Race
Saturday – In memory of a lost rock voice, the SNL Vintage vault busted out one of the best episodes of all time.
This review was originally posted on News Cult in May 2017.
Love It Lighthouse Features Logo – Endings are notoriously difficult in sketch comedy, so I have got to hand it to SNL when it comes up with a great closer, especially when it is the last sketch of the night, sending the whole show out on a high. The powerful conclusion in this case involves simply revisiting the stated premise at the beginning and putting a button on it to explain the protagonist’s incompetence. In between is a series of disturbing and multi-layered micro short films.
Mother’s Day seems like the ideal time for SNL to come up with fake technological products that cater to the older generation – add the ever-patient Amazon Echo Silver to that heap…When it comes to Women in Film, Kate McKinnon’s Debette Goldry (this time joined by Melissa McCarthy’s Gaye Fontaine) is only as strong as her stories, and this time she has killer ones, like removing her molars to maker her face less Polish and being married to a Nazi…Now for the continuing romantic saga of Kyle & Leslie, in which we learn that Lorne (not little Lorne) is okay with Colin being shot, because he can be annoying…The birthday party sketch ends perhaps a bit too abruptly when Melissa Villaseñor discovers her Mom Animal, but the satire of the cult of motherhood is equal parts disturbing and enticing.
This review was originally posted on News Cult in May 2017.
Love It
Song for Peace – Here we have a patently brilliant formula for sketch comedy excellence: I have no idea what is going on, and I do not care. I can tell you what is literally happening: Beck Bennett’s European rapper bemoans the sorry state of the world and his own pornography addiction, while Kyle Mooney provides the minimalist hype and a well-coiffed Chris Pine throws down the chorus. Bennett does an amusing Slavic accent – actual Eastern Europeans can attest to the accuracy or lack thereof, but there can be no doubt about the hilarity – and the digression into mainly focusing on porn (which is softcore, because weird details prompt chuckles) add up to an unforgettable combination.
Auto Shop – The most obvious (and most outdated and backwards) potential joke behind a group of mechanics watching RuPaul’s Drag Race would be that they accidentally stumbled upon it, thinking it was drag motor racing. There is a bit of a feint towards them being embarrassed by how this might reflect on their masculinity, but ultimately they love it too much to care to hide. This sketch is less about comedy and more about the unbridled joy of fandom. It’s infectious. And with the (accurate) appraisal of current contestant Trinity Taylor, it clearly comes from a place of love and knowledge.
Chris Pine’s Monologue song teaches us how to distinguish between all the Chris’s (he’s the one who’s not a Marvel hero, while Evans is the one who hasn’t hosted SNL yet), which isn’t that notable an observation, but the fun is in the details…Kid Actor Alert! I really wanted to see them tease out Where in the World is Kellyanne Conway?, but sometimes when you’ve got a real sharp zinger, you just get in and get out…The SWAT Lookout team wonders when they stopped allowing themselves to have fun, and I have to agree with that sentiment…An HR Meeting that devolves into a “Boy is Mine” contest? Totally up Aidy and Vanessa’s aisle…The House Seattle (the SECOND Beck/Kyle joint in the FIRST HALF of the episode) is basically The Real World by way of Dogville (Do they only do these when Chris’s stop by?)…Michael and Colin go right after the nasty American Healthcare Act, inspiring gasps and groans, and they have the staredown game to throw it right back at the crowd…As meteorologist Dawn Lazarus, Vanessa Bayer’s Fred Armisen influence is showing, as she sprays out a barrage of nervous, loopy wordplay…When a Star Trek sketch revolves around Spock’s Queens-bred goombah half-brother, we know we have gone to the goofy point of no return (also: kudos for letting longtime production designer Akira Yoshimura reprise his role as Sulu)…There was a distinct lack of Cecily Strong in this episode, until the Game Night, where she debuted her gorgeous curls and bewitching black dress and sang the Frasier (or Frazier) theme song, and all was right with the world.
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