I know very little of Anna Kendrick. I believe she was in End of Watch. I know she’s in a ton of other movies
that I haven’t seen, at least one of which recently got a sequel greenlit.
Other than singing, I’ve got no clue what she’s going to bring to Saturday
Night Live.
But I do know Pharrell. I know three things about him; he’s going to wear his hat,
he’s going to perform Happy and the other 50% of The Neptunes will be nowhere
to be found.
Before we get to the show, here’s the 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
GM Recall Testimony – I guess this might be funny, if I was
aware of the story. The escalation
of her evasion gets more cartoonish and the sketch gets mildly funny. But only mildly.
Rating: Tim Meadows
Monologue – Last year SNL totally overdid the musical
monologue, but there’s been so much variety this year that this monologue feels
fresh. Granted, it’s from a movie
I haven’t seen in decades, but it’s cool.
It’s also a pretty elaborate monologue. Sadly the funniest moment comes at the very end, when Mike
O’Brien clearly doesn’t know the words he’s supposed to be singing. Sadly this monologue is designed to
show off Kendrick’s singing, not her sense of humor or ability to be funny.
Rating: Jim Breuer
Fox & Friends – This sketch was all over the place. Normally this sketch can just coast on
wacky guests and outrageous retorts from the anchors until it’s time for the
corrections. But Kendrick’s
Obamacare victim seems to thrown-together that she barely elicits laughs. She’s a violent blackout drunk and for
some reason her doctor has a restraining order against her? Sure. Thompson’s deGrasse Tyson was refreshing in that for once he
seemed to be almost trying to do an impression.
Rating: Tim Meadows
Dongs All Over The World – For the first minute, this was a
funny premise. The fact that they
stretched it into, what felt like, a 7 minute song, stretched my goodwill. By the time the second verse rolled
around, it had gotten old, and there was still the rap to come. I’ve never seen SNL actively try to go
viral, but this might as well have given you a link to tweet out.
Rating: David Spade
The Little Mermaid – This was awesome because I was just
mentioning, to no one, that SNL needs to do more parodies of Disney animated
movies from decades ago. I barely
remembered Ursula’s song and I had to jog my memory to get there. That said, the sketch acceptable. Aidy’s Ursula was much funnier than the
incongruity of Ariel’s performance of modern pop songs. I guess I should give Kendrick credit
for performing those songs, but since that’s also what I remember her doing in
End of Watch, I won’t. Also, the
panic in Kendrick’s eyes when the wrong song was cued up first was classic!
Rating: Kristen Wiig
Neighbors – Kyle and Vanessa completely mastered the awkward
patter of crushes. And Beck’s Bro
was equally spot on. This was
equal parts funny and accurate.
Rating: Norm MacDonald
Pharrell Williams Performance #1 – Have I heard this song
enough? Let’s see, it was used in
the commercial for Beats speakers.
It’s also from a film and it was nominated for an Academy Award. Yeah, I’ve been over this song for
months. I’m equally over
Pharrell’s hat, though I accept that his refusal to take it off stems from the
merciless mocking he got on social media.
But yeah, this did nothing for me.
Weekend Update – Another week another uneven Update. Colin Jost almost seems to be getting
better. Maybe? Glad to see Merkel again and McKinnon
has so much fun playing her. Her
dreams were awesome and I’m sure “do you want to go to make-out point for some
boob touches” will be overused in the near future. Kind of surprised to see Brooks make a return appearance as
himself. I’m sure people in the
office find his storytelling hilarious, but it doesn’t quite play as well on
tv. And Moynihan’s George R.R.
Martin felt rushed, and not just because his beard was coming off. It felt like they wanted to reference
Game of Thrones, but didn’t know where to go with it.
Les Jeunes de Paris – Completely shocked that this made a
return. It’s been over a year,
right? The formula is the same as
always, with guest stars Jean Luc Picard Madeline and Ruby Rhod. And I guess you can count Nasim Pedrad
as a guest star too, right?
Rating: Norm MacDonald
Booker T. Washington Field Trip – Another returning sketch
that caught me off guard. While I
like the notion of a field trip, the mics don’t make all that much sense. Kendrick gets plugged into the sketch
and does fine. The insults hurled
at (and repeated) by her zoo instructor were pretty funny. Principal’s Frye’s referencing a monkey
with a snapchat account slayed me.
Of course Kenan’s Coach is always aweome.
Rating: Norm MacDonald
Pharrell Williams Performance #2 – I bet Pharrell’s performances
were supposed to encourage people to buy his album. Unfortunately I still feel burned by his solo debut from
2006. Despite the appearance by
Hans Zimmer, I’m still not sold on Pharrell as a solo artist.
Big Joe – This was a pretty funny sketch. Between the practical effects used to
book Killam’s physique and his comedically low voice, I was in from
beginning. From his struggling to
lift the rock, to the passage of time, to the song at the end it was
solid. Predictable, but
funny.
Rating: Norm MacDonald
Pharrell Auditions – This sketch was completely
predictable. And yet again, we get
Kendrick singing. This sketch was
really just a showcase for Kendrick’s singing and Pharrell’s attempt at
acting.
Rating: Tim Meadows
NCAA Tourney: Best of the White Guys – This was the most
daring sketch of the night.
“They’re basically on the team.”
“Giving it their best show.”
The reference to them playing in Europe before coming back as coaches
was sharp. This was literally
packed with jokes. Plus you get
“When It Was Fair” narrated by Jimmy the Greek. “These are your father’s players.” Classic.
Rating: Phil Hartman
Final Thoughts: This was a decent episode. Yeah, referencing two 20 year old
Disney films might not seem very bold, but you’ve got to play to your host’s
strengths. Kendrick didn’t so much
shine as she didn’t stick out like a sore thumb.
Next week is Seth Rogen & Ed Sheeran, so expect guest
stars and possibly James Franco.
No comments:
Post a Comment