In many ways Melissa McCarthy hosting SNL before a month
long break is strategic. On one
hand she’s a strong performer, so she’s more likely to have a strong show to
end things on before the extended break.
But she’s also a performer who seems to be game for anything, thus the
writers don’t have to try so hard.
This episode is also the last one for Seth Meyers. He’s the longest tenured cast member
and a former head-writer for Saturday Night Live, so his departure means that
the show will be taking a hit.
Will he go out with a bang or a fizzle?
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
Super Bowl Halftime Show – I get that it’s a parody of a
Broadway show, but this cold open feels long enough to have its own
intermission. The shimmery jersey
Killam’s wearing is a great touch.
Not so great; McCarthy’s “womp womp” line, which I guess was supposed to
elicit laughs somehow? The crowd
doesn’t laugh and it become reminiscent of the Nancy Grace/”the babies” fiasco
from the Drake episode. This goes
on way too long. The big Broadway
ending is good, but not good enough to justify the length of this cold
open.
Rating: Darrell Hammond
Monologue – The flashback to justify Moynihan’s anger is
great. Seeing McCarthy is full
diva mode was priceless. If only
the monologue had carried on with that or ended there. It didn’t and we get to see Moynihan
checking his wiring rig in prep for his high flying fight with McCarthy. It’s not worth getting into. Needless to say, it’s more messy than
funny.
Rating: Jim Breuer
Valentines Gifts from CVS – This was great and so real. Who does buy those holiday trinkets
from CVS? Yeah, things went on a
bit too long, but it’s still good.
Bennett’s casual indifference when picking up the TMNT chocolates was
worth the price of admission alone.
Rating: Phil Hartman
Delaware 1 News – What a great surprising reappearance. I’m not really aware of how big the NY1
reporter story got outside of NYC, but bravo to the writers of this sketch for
using that as a reason to bring back Shelia Kelly. She was great as a coach and she’s also great a
politician. And the escalation of
things really maximized the comedy.
Rating: Phil Hartman
Women’s Group – PJ is one of those characters that McCarthy
excels at. She’s trying to be normal,
but she doesn’t quite fit in. The
idea of a group of women getting together to realize dreams, and one has the
dream to “avenge the death of my father” is a great premise that just needs
McCarthy to deliver on the performance.
And she does, like an ace.
“Mostly ears and one penis.”
C’mon. And she ends the
sketch with a great exit.
Rating: Chris Farley
Guess That Phrase – Beck as the game show host? Interesting. Kathleen is yet another character built for McCarthy’s
strengths. Remember how the
previous sketch was a premise that just needed a performance? This one is a character that the
writers failed to build a sketch around.
This sketch is really under-written.
Rating: Robert Downey Jr.
Black History Month Song – C’mon, this is great. 1 - We Deserve a Chance. 2-28 –
Slavery. Dug the shoutouts to
Michael McDonald and Daryl
Hall. I loved everything about
McKinnon’s teacher. Moynihan’s
attempt at a retort was so deliciously awkward. This was just great.
Rating: Phil Hartman
Imagine Dragons Peformance #1 – So…this song was used in a
commercial for a video game, right? That’s where I heard it before the
Grammys. I really liked how the
band switched to percussion when K-Dot shows up. But the best part of this song isn’t anything Imagine
Dragons does; it’s the orchestra and the build during Kendrick Lamar’s
verse. Still, this performance is
dope, despite having seen it less than a week ago at the Grammys.
 |
| What exactly is Samberg contributing again? |
Weekend Update – I appreciated the attempt with Buford
Calloway, but his lines fell flat.
Killam gave it his all, to no avail. Obviously, the best part of Update was Seth’s send off. Seeing Amy and Stefon return for it was
great. Samberg? Not so much. But he also graduated, so thematically it made sense, though
comedy wise he added nothing. It
was great seeing Stefon react to Cecily.
References to “…Kevin?”, Meow Meow, Yolo Ono and one of the best
callbacks ever. Circus tickets
anyone?
Museum of Modern Art – This did not work. It went way too long without a joke and
it never recovered from that. I’m
guessing that the tourists blocked McCarthy’s entrance, which ruined the rhythm
of the sketch. McCarthy gave it
her all, but there was nothing there.
And the lack of laughter made this one drag on. Ugh. Again, under-written.
Rating: Robert Downey Jr.
Girlfriends Talk Show – A welcome change of pace by allowing
Morgan to pick the guest. But also
keeping things intact by having Kyra subvert things as usual. Also as usual Bryant has killer lines
like “I’m dating the woman I’m becoming” and Strong has a great and creepy
story about the desires of her boyfriend.
McCarthy fits in decently.
Rating: Tim Meadows
Imagine Dragons Performance #2 – I’ve got to say it; I don’t
really dig bands from Vegas. It
took me two albums before I finally decided to give The Killers a chance and
I’ve actually met members of that band.
This song does nothing for me.
Summer of Diane – What a weird sketch. This felt weird enough to be a five to
one. I dig the ambitious of the
sketch.
Rating: Kristin Wiig
Super Champions with Kyle – Everything about this
rocked. Kyle’s awkward
interviewing skills were amazing.
I loved his meandering mumbling.
And the interstitial graphics were to gloriously lo-fi. This was good enough to make me forget
how flat Mooney’s offerings have been thus far in 2014.
Rating: Norm MacDonald
Final Thoughts: It was either feast or famine this
episode. The writers clearly
relied on McCarthy to do the heavy lifting, to the detriment of some
sketches. I don’t think I’ve seen
a show as under-written as this one in quite some time. Basically sketches were
either homeruns or strikeouts.
Poor Brooks Wheelan, who I don’t believe I saw until “goodbyes.” That can’t be a good sign.
SNL is off for a month, hopefully they can recharge and
build some momentum. Though, good
luck finding a host for the show the day before the Oscars.
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