Jonah Hill is quietly one of the best hosts in the current
crop of SNL hosts. His last
episode contained some amazing sketches, so I know what he’s capable of as a
performer.
Still, that was nearly two years ago and Saturday Night Live
has undergone some changes. Should
I really have my expectations so high?
I guess only time will tell.
Before we dive into the actual episode, how’s about we check
out the trusty 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
U.S. Men’s Heterosexual Men’s Championship – On one hand, I
applaud this sketch for mocking heterosexuals. It’s a nice turn about for homosexuals who’ve been the butt
of jokes for decades. That said
the sketch isn’t all that funny.
Bobby Moynihan’s skater is the funniest and it’s much downhill from
there. There’s almost a spark with
Bennett and McKinnon’s couple, but it doesn’t quite catch. The sketch seems to drag because it’s
so unfunny. Also, this as topically funny as the writers could come up with?
Rating: Robert Downey Jr
Monologue – This monologue has two things going for it. First off, it’s the Q&A monologue,
which is one of my favorite types of SNL monologue. Also Killam’s Brad Pitt is always welcome. Leo’s appearance was predictable, but I
dug the relationship between Leo and Jonah. I liked how Leo was disappointed to Jonah, they both sold it
so well.
Rating: Norm MacDonald
Adam Grossman – I love this character. To say that I was happy to see him
would be the understatement of the year (so far.) Hill totally sells the character and the references he makes
are great, even if he doesn’t get them.
My only problem; why didn’t they cover up Hill’s tattoo? That was distracting.
Rating: Norm MacDonald
The Hit – Again, a SNL hit that brings almost equal parts
funny and heart. Tapestry is my
jam, so I dug the Carole King sing along.
I also dug Kenan’s introspective thug. And real talk; doesn’t the snow bring out the best in pretty
much everyone?
Rating: Kristen Wiig
Couples Quiz – This sketch was all build up to a
disappointing finish. The
interrogation of Hill was pretty funny, especially how he reacted to it. His letting the truth slip out in drips
and drabs really worked. But the
end felt like such an abrupt stop, like the writers didn’t know where to go and
just decided to pull the plug.
Rating: Tim Meadows
Bastille Performance #1 – This was interesting. I dug the use of harmonies throughout
the song. I will say that I didn’t
get much lyrically from the song.
I don’t know it was designed that way or it if was a lack of
enunciation, but I’d be hard-pressed to tell you what the song was about or
even string two lyrics together.
I do like that the lead singer seemed excited to be on SNL, which gave
the performance a boost. As for the
song, I could totally see it being used in commercials and movie trailers.
Weekend Update – Anytime you start off with a Dairy Queen
joke, I’m pretty much going to on your side. Cecily and Seth seemed to be having a ton of fun this
week. It was great seeing Cecily
and Kenan interact at the desk. I
was less pleased with McKinnon’s Russian woman, she was shticky and predictably
so. But I’d totally read the
Flurdah Son Tims.
Sweetland Ranch – Props to this sketch for devoting so much
time to set up. It felt like
almost a minute passed before the joke hit, as it were. I loved the absurdity of the sketch and
how forgiving Hill and Strong were with everything that happened. It was predictable and goofy, but I
loved it.
Rating: Chris Farley
Me – At first I wondered if this would’ve worked better had
I seen Her (I’m still about a month away from AMC’s Best Picture Showcase), but
I realized that this is probably just a spot on parody that hews close to the
source material. Of course Michael
Cera’s appearance was solid.
Rating: Kristen Wiig
Dinner Party – The premise for this was funny, but the
execution, particularly what Hill was screaming while in the bathroom, felt
seriously flawed. Everything at
the table was funny and worked really well But as soon as he went into the bathroom it felt like the
sketch would go off the rails.
Tonally speaking, what he was screaming didn’t seem to work with the
rest of the sketch.
Rating: Robert Downey Jr
Inside So Cal – Man, that didn’t so much feel “funny” as an
solid impression of the So Cal lifestyle.
Hill’s lines about his relationship with his dad were the only bits of
this short that were funny. On the
plus side we got to see Whelan and O’Brien in their sole sketch appearance of
the night. On the bad side Bennett
and Mooney’s stock is dropping after two clunkers in a row.
Rating: David Spade
Bastille Performance #2 – I can’t front; I keep waiting for
the performance to burst open like when Gaga did her performance on the
piano. Props on bringing in a
string section. Again, I got zilch
lyrically and the lead singer seemed to lose his voice towards the end of the
song, which glaringly stood out.
Lamborghini – I’m kicking myself for not predicting this
sketch tonight. If you’ve sen it
once, you’ve seen it every time.
Cecily’s stories always kill.
They did seem to be pushing the envelope this week and the audience
seemed shocked at some of the lines, which made it slightly more enjoyable to
watch.
Rating: Jim Breuer
Final Thoughts: Jonah Hill is a solid host, who seemed to be
game for what the writers threw at him. Some of it landed and some didn’t. Still he did his thing. I am slightly worried about how little screen
time the new members of the cast are getting. Hopefully they start utilizing them before the season is
up.
Melissa McCarthy is up next week with Imagine Dragons. Looking forward to it, because McCarthy
is an equally strong host.
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