I’ll admit to still being on a nostalgia high for SNL. The 40th Anniversary special
was pretty dope, despite all of the people who tried to make it out to be
disappointing. It was a very dope celebration
of a very influential show.
I’ll also admit to be slightly excited for Dakota Johnson
hosting. I’ve not seen Fifty
Shades of Grey and I probably never will, but I’m always up for an unknown
quantity hosting SNL, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a quantity more unknown
than Johnson.
I’m kind of expecting to be slayed.
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 introducing our new Host Rating Scale;
Drake – Outstanding
Edward Norton – Impressive
Josh Hutcherson – Fine Enough
Charlize Theron – Essentially an Extra
Seth Rogen – Expectation, Unmet
Jim Parsons - Awful
Rudy Giulaini Cold Open – Much like the movie it’s
parodying, I appreciated it more than I enjoyed it. I definitely appreciate SNL taking a shot at Rudy, which
feels rather big. But at the same
time it was Killam doing Rudy via a Michael Keaton impression. Yeah, the parallels between Rudy and
Keaton’s character are crystal clear, but it just wasn’t all that funny.
Rating: Janeane Garofalo
Monologue – First and foremost, I dig Johnson’s awkward
energy. It comes off as playful
rather than stressful. Sadly the
monologue is rather lacking. It
touches upon the two things I already know about Johnson; what movie she’s in
and who her parents are. Kinda
lame.
Rating: Tim Meadows
Isis Ad – This was a really well done ad, apart from the Back
to the Future-esque screaming while driving away. To be clear, I’m not defending Isis, I’m just saying that
that particular aspect of the ad felt lazy. But apart from that it was pretty spot on and funny.
Rating: Norm Macdonald
Cinderella – I’m a fan of Strong’s Kathy Ann character. And I’m really enjoying how she’s being
deployed into these storybook scenarios.
Her CBing Prince Charming was enjoyable to watch, though the sketch felt
like it dragged on a bit too long.
The ending was predictable, but still worked.
Rating: Kristen Wiig
Brave – It’s a pretty simple premise that’s well executed;
women finally speaking their mind.
The exuberance of the truth telling is what really sells this bit. As opposed to the previous sketch, I
never got tired of hearing the music kick in and seeing the women celebrate the
truth.
Rating: Phil Hartman
Fifty Shade of Grey Presser – I’m really hoping that Peter
Scott Finley makes it as a reoccurring character, because Mooney killed it on
this first outing. Finley’s
professionalism is second only to his snark. I love this 5th Grader even has a concept of a
“time crunch.” The setups to his
questions are hilarious and watching Johnson squirm adds that extra layer of
believability.
Rating: Norm Macdonald
Millennial Interns – This is a weird sketch. Honestly, I’d have been fine if it was
just the three interns complaining about various things. Here’s one time where I’m advocating a
lack of story for a sketch.
Margo’s plight is funny, but I really just wanted to find out of those
three interns would ever find something that they literally could. But the stuff about Margo breaking her
arms from stage diving at karaoke where no one caught here was pretty funny.
Rating: Kristen
Wiig
Alabama Shakes Performance #1 – I dig Alabama Shakes. I love Brittany’s voice and stage
presence. I dig her Prince earrings. I fully support the bassist doing his George R.R. Martin
cosplay. But seriously, it’s all about Brittany; she’s putting it all out there
and she’s completely fearless.
Weekend Update – Ruth Bader Ginsburg is one of those bits
that completely grew on me. At
first I wasn’t really a fan of the whole catchphrase aspect, but the more it
happened, the more I was onboard.
Pharaoh’s Kanye perplexes me a bit. I’m curious why Pharoah doesn’t try to incorporate Kanye’s
weird interview voice into his impression. Also, was that Sasheer’s actual tattoo on her thigh? That thing didn’t impress me much. Riblet’s return wasn’t surprising, but
he’s an enjoyable character so hopefully SNL won’t run into the ground.
Worf M. D. – I really liked this sketch. It was super weird and Dakota almost
broke. It was almost certainly in
response to Nimoy’s death, which means it was written on the fly. But I loved everything about this
sketch. I loved that Kenan’s doing
it get his love back. I also
enjoyed his voice. If only NBC
were actually making this show, I might actually watch an NBC sitcom.
Rating: Norm Macdonald
Net Effect – Can I say for the record, that I’m completely
over Jones punking people in the sketches she’s in. I’m tired of it and it gets less and less funny the more it
shows up. Also, what was up with
the bit about Dakota’s character being into getting slapped? Was that the lame attempt at meta
humor? Boo. This sketch didn’t really have anything
going for it and it went downhill from there.
Rating: David Spade
Alabama Shakes Performance #2 – I love this song. It’s like a slow ballad. The more I’m hearing it the more I fall
in love with it. I dig how it’s
just the band and no superfluous folks
on stage. I really enjoy the
vulnerability of the lyrics.
Really, I think I just love every part of this song.
Mr Riot Films – A nice parody of socially conscious YouTube
prank show. The preachiness of
Mooney and Beckett when they chastise the people who fail the test is
delightfully conveyed. And it was
dope how far they went to attack the concept of bullying.
Rating: Norm Macdonald
Final Thoughts – Dakota Johnson did a decent job
hositng. She fully commit to every
sketch, but she also didn’t ruin anything either. She was perfectly fine as a host.
Host Rating: Josh Hutcherson.
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