I’m not going to front; Kristen Wiig returning to host
Saturday Night Live felt weird to me.
She’s not really there with anything to promote and she hasn’t even been
gone a year. There’s a hint of
desperation coming from all parties involved.
But on the plus side, there’s a chance that we might get to
see Kalle again, so there’s that.
And being the optimist that I am, I believed the SNL writers would push
Wiig to take some risks and we’d be rewarded with some exquisite comedy.
So, was my optimism rewarded?
Before we get too far, let’s take a refresher course on 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
Benghazi Hearing – Wow, this is a poorly conceived sketch
that’s executed even more poorly. It’s literally like tossing two topical things,
Benghazi and the Arias trial, into a blender and hoping for the best. Thompson and Hader do their best, but
the material isn’t there. Honestly
it almost feels like they either abort the sketch or someone pulls the plug on
it. That’s how abrupt the ending
is.
Rating: David Spade
Monologue – I’m a sucker for the walking monologue. It’s one of my favorite types of
monologues. I liked how aloof
Kristen was, she really sold it.
And I was fine with how sloppy it was, because she genuinely looked like
she was having fun. I could have
done without Gilly, but what are you going to do?
Rating: Chris Farley
1 800 Flowers – This is a perfectly funny bit. It’s not insanely hilarious. The mom dialogue is spot on and
McKinnon delivers it perfectly. This
is textbook Tim Meadows.
Rating: Tim Meadows
The Californians – There’s a notion in comedy that if you
say something enough times it goes from being funny, to being unfunny, back to
being funny again. For me The
Californians has become funny again.
I enjoyed this sketch. I
liked how Kristen was wearing her rust and struggled to keep it together. It’s the same old sketch with nothing
new, but I dug it.
Rating: Kristen Wiig (whoa)
Aw Nuts, Mom’s a Ghost – This slayed me. The totally nailed the convoluted
premise of a Disney show. And the
tone of the corny jokes were perfect.
And the juxtaposition between a kids show and an Asian horror movie was
just a brilliant idea.
Rating: Phil Hartman
The Lawrence Welk Show – If there was one awesome thing
about Wiig leaving it was that we’d never have to suffer though this sketch
again. It may have been funny
originally, but it got old quick.
And there’s no reason to dig this sketch up again just because she’s
hosting. Try doing something
original! It’s like the writers
are just phoning it in. They’re
practically cutting and pasting.
Rating: David Spade
Vampire Weekend Performance #1 – I dig the 1950’s vibe of this song. I’ve been listening to a lot of 50’s
music lately and I immediately recognized the sound. As someone who was going to by the new Vampire Weekend album
because I had their previous two offerings, this song made me excited to go and
cop it.
Weekend Update -
Ok, so it looks like I was a week off with my Anthony Crispino prediction, but he still showed up.
I like the addition of his sources, which gives the character some
legs. Cinnabon Jovi had me
weak. The bit with his voice at
the end felt a tad forced, but it was ok.
I did appreciate that Update was more rapid-fire, stand-up style jokes
this time out. I thought it worked
pretty well. Of course Garth and
Kat are always welcome. Kat was
one of the few of Wiig’s characters I really hoped was going to make an
appearance.
Target Lady - If there was one awesome thing about Wiig leaving it was that we’d never have to suffer though this sketch again. It may have been funny originally, but it got old quick. And there’s no reason to dig this sketch up again just because she’s hosting. Try doing something original! It’s like the writers are just phoning it in. They’re practically cutting and pasting.
Rating: David Spade
Douglaston Acupuncture & Wellness Center – Finally a
reasonably inspired sketch. Yeah,
it’s a twist on a classic sketch, but it’s still funny. And the gasps of the audience make it
even funnier. Yes, it’s a one-note
sketch, but it manages to squeeze a decent amount of comedy from that one
note.
Rating: Chris Farley
Vampire Weekend Performance #2 – This song sounded more like
stereotypical Vampire Weekend, but I’m cool with their sound so I was fine with
that. This song didn’t slay, but
it didn’t disappoint either.
Tyler & Drew’s Double Date – This sketch was
genius. It works a critique on the
desperation of women and both Strong and Wiig totally sold it. For me, the funny came from the women
acting like it was a normal double date.
The mannerisms and feigned interest were great. Robinson and Moynihan played their parts
well, but again, for me the humor came from the women. And it genuinely made me sad that the
audience either didn’t get it or just didn’t find it funny.
Rating: Norm MacDonald
Classy Sexy Elegnace – This was yet another great
sketch. This sketch was one of
those sketches that has me kicking myself for not thinking of it first. Everything worked; the autotune, the
cheesy production, “Dear Craig T. Nelson.” And Thompson could barely keep it together. This was perfect.
Rating: Phil Hartman
Final Thoughts – This episode, along with the Justin
Timberlake episode, show the folly of falling back on reoccurring
characters. Part of what make Wiig
(and Timberlake) so great is that they are game for whatever you throw at them,
but the writers are just passing the ball instead of going for alley oops. This episode is very disappointing coming
on the heels of last week, which had some truly inspired sketches. Honestly, this was one of the most uneven episode I've ever seen. And what sucked is that the audience was taken out by mediocre sketches, which is something I've never seen. Hopefully the season will end on a high note next week.
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