Obviously this isn’t Miley’s first rodeo; she’s been on
Saturday Night Live many other times both as host and as musical guest. The only question is what the writers
will throw at her. Will the season
premiere of SNL show signs of summer rust or will they catch fire right out the
gate?
As usual, our 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
And the host rating scale;
Drake – Outstanding
Edward Norton – Impressive
Josh Hutcherson – Fine Enough
Charlize Theron – Essentially an Extra
Seth Rogen – Expectation, Unmet
Jim Parsons - Awful
Donald Trump Cold Open – I get that Trump that target that
SNL wants to make sure that they hit and that they feel like they’ve got to
make up for lost time, but this felt rushed and not really fully formed. Killam’s Trump is fine in the broad
strokes, but he’s lacking a perspective.
This one could have used more work.
Rating: Jim Breuer
Monologue – Geez, speaking of “making up for lost time” this
just comes off as desperate. It’s
like “look at what we would have done, if we were on the air the last four and
half months.” It’s both desperate
and lazy, which is an accomplishment.
And it relegates the host to a prop.
Rating: David Spade
Abilify for People Who Think They Can Be President – This is
right on target. The irrational
actions of the candidates were pretty funny, as were the moments of
clarity. The specificity is what
made this so great.
Rating: Phil Hartman
Homecoming Dance – The new guy is already in a sketch? Good job new guy. That said, the joke of the sketch was
so telegraphed and predictable it was a challenge for me not to roll my
eyes. That said, the addition of
Thompson’s Nasty Jack from Philly took things to a greater level of absurdity
and actually brought some entertainment.
He almost make up for the laziness in the writing.
Rating: Tim Meadows
Hillary on Hillary – The meta-ness of the sketch,
particularly the gay marriage bit, really helped add some edge to what could
have just been pandering. The
biggest question about this sketch is why wasn’t it the cold open? How did that lukewarm Trump sketch bump
this lukewarm Hillary sketch?
Rating: Tim Meadows
Miley First Performance – I’d be lying if I said I was a fan
of Miley or had even consciously listened to her music. I’ve only ever heard her on SNL or
award shows. But I like that she’s
hanging out with The Flaming Lips and getting weird. She’s like a typical college age kid. Good for her. And the song was cool too.
Weekend Update – You’d hope that over the summer Update
would have worked on the things that didn’t work. You’d be wrong.
Jost’s run on the Democratic debate was rocky, the Pope appearance felt
undercooked and Che’s Pope bit needed more work. Pete Davidson’s bit wasn’t horrible, but Leslie Jones’
appearance was standard Leslie Jones.
It’s only the season premiere, but I’m beginning to worry that Update
won’t ever come together.
The Millenials – Wow.
I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a lazier take on Millenials than
this one. It’s like the writers
opted to throw in all of the clichés together and sort of form a sketch around
it. This was not good.
Rating: David Spade
Katz Deli – Right off the bat, the extras in the sketch are
fascinating. I’m sure everyone is
going to be talking about the dude with the moustache. I want to know the stories he has to
tell. As for the sketch proper;
it’s a solid premise that suffers from having Jones deliver it. She both totally sells it and kind of
ruins things. It’s like a
paradox. But her scenarios are
nutty enough for me to give this one a pass.
Rating: Tim Meadows
The Squad – This had a funny premise, but was kind of light
on laughs. It’s like a thematic sequel
to and obverse of The Beygency. It
was just fine.
Rating: Tim Meadows
Miley Second Performance – It’s mildly hard to take a crap
on a performance that’s so obviously personal, but I wasn’t feeling it. The lyrics did nothing for me and the
melody was so simplistic that it did nothing to distract from the lyrics. I’m just not feeling it.
American Voices – This could have been great, had it not
been plagued my gaffes. The
misfires and mistimed cues on this one was pretty bad. Also it felt like it was missing an
ending. On the plus side, we got to
see Sasheer for the first time since the monologue.
Rating: Janeane Garofalo
Miley & Kyle – What a dope follow-up to the last time
she was on. I loved everything
about this, especially Kyle’s beats.
Rating: Phil Hartman
Final Thoughts – This was a rocky episode. Not a lot worked for me. Even grading on the “rusty from summer”
curve, this was a poor episode.
Hopefully the writers will return from the summer hiatus next week.
Miley did fine as a host. She didn’t blow me away or really venture outside of her
comfort zone. But she also didn’t
stink up the joint.
Host Rating: Josh Hutcherson
Next week: Amy Schumer and The Weeknd, so things should get
uncomfortable pretty quick.
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