As Saturday Night Live’s season nears the end, it’s clear
that this is a transition year.
There’s a sprawling cast and a mild lack of direction. And at this point in the season it’d
clear that the show really won’t find it’s footing until it returns in the
Fall.
Still, having Charlize Theron hosting SNL is something to
look forward to. She’s incredibly
talented and she’s stunningly beautiful.
But the talent is the most important thing. The question is; what will she bring to the episode?
Let’s find out.
First, our obligatory 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
Mother’s Day Message – This is the rare cold open that
actually has momentum and builds.
The simmering and growing animosity and competition between Obama and
Clinton plays pretty well. The
only flaw in this sketch is Bayer’s “y’know.” I don’t know if it’s a tic or what, but it’s distracting and
hammers home that it’s Bayer playing Clinton. It feels like she didn’t even work on a Clinton
impression.
Rating: Darrell Hammond
Monologue – Because they’ve been used to sparingly this
season, this musical monologue feels like a treat. I like how it toes the line between self-deprecating and one
long humblebrag. Not particularly
funny though.
Rating: Tim Meadows
Come Do A Game Show With Your Mom, I’ll Be Fun, Yes It Will
– I was shocked to see Brooks in a sketch and with actual dialogue. Wow. I like Joanne Pendak.
I like that she’s quizzing her kids and that they completely know
her. I like this sketch. I’m mildly
Rating: Kristen Wiig
Girlfriends Talk Show – It’s Morgan and Kyra; what more
could you ask for? Well, for
starters you could ask for Charlize to look comfortable during the sketch,
which is something she never really manages to pull off. Charlize is the weakest part of this
sketch, but to be fair it’s a pretty weak outing for Girlfriends Talk
Show. Normally the demands of
Kyra’s boyfriend have a component that seems slightly sexual and weird enough
to be true. But filming yourself
drinking wonton soup from a Styrofoam cup with the backdrop being the worst
neighborhood in town is just weird.
Now if she were wearing pigtails and rollerskates…
Rating: Jim Breuer
Dragon Babies – First off, this was clearly written and
begun months in advance right? The
idea of Rick Shoulders as Bibbo is great, but the reality doesn’t quite live up
to the potential. It could have
been about a retired Chicago cop who finally realized his dream of being a
voiceover actor, after being hindered by his accent, albeit via a favor from a
friend. Or even having him be a
fish out of water. But bringing in
his wife dilutes that. And maybe
it’s because I share attributes with unarmed people who tend to be shot by
cops, but that bit didn’t strike me as funny.
Rating: Darrell Hammond
The Man Plan – Wow, Heshy makes another appearance? Either SNL is making a bid for Nasim to
stay on the show or they’re trying to give her something memorable to do before
she departs. Either way, kind of
surprised that Heshy is back (though not too much because she was always
designed to be a reoccurring character.)
I really wish the joke-to-pelvic thrust ratio on this sketch were more
balanced, in either direction. Ultimately
Nasim sells this sketch with her energy, but that’s about it. Charlize does adequately with the
material she’s given. I will say
that I’m totally stealing “a complex network of flaws” as a description of
something or someone. For instance
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was a complex network of flaws.
Rating: Kristen Wiig
The Black Keys Performance #1 – I like this song. But then again, I dig The Black
Keys. You can clearly hear the
influence of Danger Mouse on this track.
His fingerprints are all over it.
This song definitely makes me pissed that I missed out on seeing them in
concert.
Weekend Update – Very nice of SNL to pay tribute to Barbara
Walters, considering how much material she’s provided for them during the run
of the show. That said, the
segment dragged on and on. There
were some good jokes this week, some even delivered by Colin. “Dropped by 12% to 130%” and “Florida;
where working at Hooters is a happy ending” were two of the best. Breaking Nude was…interesting. Drunk Uncle felt off, though I’m glad
he didn’t have a guest with him.
Bikini Beach Party – Leave it to SNL to answer the age-old
question; when is a dead whale funny?
The answer of course is when you’re waiting for it to explode. There’s some awkward staging at the
beginning of the sketch, complete with someone partially blocking the shot. Then there’s the plastic bag that falls
on Taran’s ukulele. But I enjoyed
this sketch. It feels like
something I should apologize for, but I won’t. Also, that scene with the women dancing, good gravy there
are a ton of women in the cast. Plus
you’ve got Kenan to close things out.
Nice.
Rating: Chris Farley
The Black Keys Performance #2 – Another performance so soon?
(Charlize needs to clean up from the last sketch.) Again, another good song. The organ in this song reminds me of Tame Impala’s sound,
which is a good thing. It’s really
sort of dope to hear how this band’s sound has evolved over the years.
Whiskers R We – This totally feels like a five-to-one
sketch. It’s got weird characters
and performance, but the writing is also there. Damien’s back-story is amazing. A feline sociopath?
Cats with lingering kisses.
Equally funny, Kate almost breaking from Charlize’s caress.
Rating: Norm MacDonald
Tourists – So, this is Jay Pharoah’s sole appearance in the
episode? I actually loved this. What I liked the most was seeing how
the various cast members all approached the concept of “tourists”
differently. It was really dope to
see the different takes they used.
Rating: Phil Hartman
Final Thoughts – Charlize did a decent job. She played a couple interesting
characters and didn’t embarrass herself.
The episode wasn’t a homerun, but at this point in the season who is
expecting a homerun?
Next week is the season finale with Andy Samberg and St.
Vincent. Expect guest-stars
galore.
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