Like most of America, I’m effectively over Miley Cyrus,
which is one of the reasons I was dreading tonight’s SNL. Another reason; I’ve got zero
confidence in the writers at this point.
I know, I know; it’s only the second week. But the premiere was so unimpressive, that I’ve got no faith
in anyone writing anything on Saturday Night Live.
Of course there’s a difference between uninspired and
lazy. Lazy is what happens at the
end of the year (or a long run of episodes) and uninspired is usually what
happens when a musician hosts or pulls double duty.
Oh crap.
Before we begin let’s jump into our rating system.
Phil Hartman – Comedic gold
Chris Farley – Definitely funny, but kinda messy
Norm MacDonald – Funny, but not for everyone
Kristen Wiig – So-so premise saved by performer.
Tim Meadows – Didn’t hate it, didn’t love it, dripping with
adequatulence
Darrell Hammond – Funny, but overstayed it’s welcome
Jim Breuer- Crowd pleaser, but a bit obvious
Robert Downey Jr – Brilliant performer, not a lot to work
with
David Spade – Trying too hard
Janeane Garofalo – Weird weird, not weird funny
VMA Cold Open – On one hand props to SNL for getting the
VMA’s out of the way early. On the
other hand, boo for not doing something with a bit of bite about Government
Shutdown. (In hindsight I realize
that it might have stepped on the “We Did Stop” video, but still.) The impressions were solid. But I’m way over “Miley smokes weed”
hysteria. I did appreciate the
critique on the reaction to the VMA’s though.
Rating: Tim Meadows
Monologue – First off, I applaud everyone for tackling
Miley’s press straight on.
Twerking? Check. Race?
Check. Video for Wrecking
Ball. Check. And it was actually pretty funny
too. It was like a laser, so
precise. It’s easily the briefest
monologue in recent memory.
Rating: Chris Farley
50 Shades of Grey Screen Tests – Screen test sketches are
really surefire hits. They don’t
require much writing and rely pretty solely on impressions. I love them. There were definitely some dope impressions in there;
Chrisof Waltz, Scarlett Johansen, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jane Lynch. (Does Kate McKinnon have and impression
of every lesbian in Hollywood in her back pocket?) Everyone else was just passable, but still made me
laugh.
Rating: Phil Hartman
Girlfriends Talk Show – I’m glad this sketch is back,
because it’s always been a pretty strong one. While I enjoy it, I do wish they’d switch up the formula a
bit. I really enjoyed Aidy’s character
relishing in being treated like an adult.
And the two friend competing for Cecily feels kind of new. I do wish
there was an actual ending to the sketch though. Miley contributed very little, but also didn’t
distract.
Rating: Tim
Meadows
We Did Stop – Pretty funny concept, placing Boehner and
Bachmann in Miley’s video. There
was a bit of a disconnect in that Killam’s Boehner was appropriately awkward,
while Miley’s Bachmann seemed right at home. The reworked lyrics were pretty funny too. But it kind of dragged on after the
initial joke wore off.
Rating: Darrell Hammond
Piers Morgan Live – Nice of SNL to utilize their female cast
so well. I’m always psyched to see
Nasim’s Ariana Huffington, so the sketch started off strong. Seeing the different versions of movies
of Hillary was pretty good. They
seemed to have the various brands of the networks down, which was a great deal
of the joke. Again, the lack of an
ending bothered me.
Rating: Kristen Wiig
Miley Cyrus Performance #1 – Honestly, this is the first
time I’ve heard this song. I’m a
sucker for a good “end of a relationship” song. I dog how passionately she’s singing. And while I’m willing to put my biases
against Miley aside, I genuinely can’t wait to hear someone cover this song,
acoustically or otherwise. (After her second performance, I’m glad to see Miley
reading my thoughts.)
Weekend Update – For a week that felt like it had a ton of
things happen, it felt weird to have three correspondents. Apparently McKinnon’s Pat Lynhart came
out with Jacob’s chair, which was entertaining to see. Equally dope to see; Cecily interacting
with correspondents. I liked
seeing Jacob react to a new anchor.
This week’s Update just didn’t feel quotable.
Cheerleading Practice – This sketch was just a mess. I wonder what technical difficulties
happened that necessitated switching to a camera with full view of a guy
hooking up rigs. And while that
took everyone out of the sketch, the sketch was flawed from the start. Aidy Bryant, who I love, was completely
off rhythm and the premise of the sketch was flawed. If the joke is that Miley’s lead cheerleader is unflappable,
half of her lines were stepped on by laughter, which just leaves the other cheerleaders
reactions. It was a weak
sketch.
Rating: Janeane Garofalo
Mornin’ Miami Promos – This sketch was brilliant. Everything worked. The disdain between takes. The corny copy with fake
enthusiasm. And the build up/pay
off with the full names was executed perfectly. Seriously, this was a flawless sketch.
Rating: Phil Hartman
Miley Cyrus Performance #2 – First off, I’ve got to laugh
because it’s an acoustic version of We Won’t Stop. Very nicely done Miley. But I’m of two minds about the dwarf guitarist. On one hand it’s entirely dope to see
that minority represented. But on
the other hand it feels mildly exploitative, especially since she’s doing a
song that’s been saddled with the exploitation tag on it. Also, she’s crazy nasally.
Poetry Class – As soon as Bayer opens her mouth, she sounds
like a Fred Armisen character. I
don’t know if this was written by someone who worked with Fred on his
characters or if she’s just channeling him, but it was distracting. I was happy to see Aidy Bryant step up
and almost steal the sketch. But
this one really didn’t go anywhere and the jokes felt few and far between.
Rating: Darrell Hammond
Kyle’s Office – I loved this sketch. I’m a sucker for absurdist bits and
this one was entirely dope.
Equally dope; seeing the new guys doing something and venturing into
having personality. But yeah, this
was pretty much just straight comedy.
Rating: Phil Hartman
Final Thoughts – Three taped bits. Technical problems. Clearly SNL is still working things out
in the new season. I’m glad to see
that Aidy Bryant is still stepping up and impressing. I’m also glad to see that Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett are
trying to break out of the pack of new cast members. As a host Miley was entire adequate. She didn’t really bring that much to
the table other than a comfort level in front of tv cameras. I am looking forward to next week to
see what Bruce Willis does when he returns to 30 Rock.
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