SNL Reviews: November edition

[bob_barron 0]

I wrote these reviews a while ago, but just forgot to post them. So here's November:

 

SNL Review- Ben Affleck/David Cook

 

 

Cold Opening

Cast- Sen. John McCain, Tina Fey, Cindy McCain

Thoughts- And the political cameos just keep on coming. Historians will note that this was Tina’s last appearance as Palin, a dark day for everyone. I don’t mind the political cameos and thought this skit was hilarious, but come on- there’s political cameos and there’s political campaigning and I didn’t like seeing them take needless shots at Obama and Biden on a comedy show. Kudos to McCain for being able to make fun of himself, especially the Palin 2012 bit. Fey was awesome as Palin as always. Gotcha return policies….that’s great. A fitting farwell for the Palin impression. ****

 

Monlogue

Cast- Ben Affleck

Thoughts- Affleck’s an awesome guy, so why give him such a short monologue? Any SNL that mentions Paul Tsongas has to be awesome, though I’m sad they couldn’t make a crack about him supporting Ross Perot or someone in 1996. This was cute, but just too short. **1/2

 

The View

Cast- Affleck, Kenan Thompson, Fred Armisen, Kristen Wiig, Casey Wilson

Thoughts- Kenan as Whoopi is an automatic laugh, but it’s sad that they don’t have another black person to play Sherri Shepard. This was just one big trainwreck and the Elisabeth Hasselbeck mocking just didn’t work for me. Affleck as Baldwin was funny but the whole thing just seemed like an odd rib. It’s a shame this couldn’t reach the Tina Fey written View skits from 1998, those were great. This was too much Elisabeth mocking and not enough Casey playing Jennifer Aniston. **1/4

 

Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Cast- Affleck, Thompson, Armisen,

Thoughts- This was funny, but also seemed like a trainwreck. It feels like one of those skits that was too dead-on, kind of like Darrell’s impression of Al Gore during the 2000 election. Yes, they were accurate in the sense that Keith Olbermann is an overreacting longwinded blowhard who takes things out of context, but I don’t know if I want to watch a whole skit that’s basically that. Fun fact: Keith Olbermann mentioned his high school in this skit, and I once met him at his old high school. My other fun fact for this skit (you get a lot of fun facts when skits go on forever), Chuck Knoblach once accidentally hit Mrs. Olbermann in the face with an errant throw.

 

This is when he was the fun guy on ESPN, and not the Olbermann of today.

 

Anyway this was funny, but probably could’ve been chopped down quite a bit. I mean, eight minutes? Really? ***

 

Target

Cast- Affleck, Wiig, Thompson, Wilson, Moynihan

Thoughts- Damnit, not the Target lady again. At least they got Affleck to play off with her. The character is just annoying, and not funny. Affleck professing his love to Target Lady cracked me up though. **1/4

 

Giraffes

Cast- Sudeikis

Thoughts- Yes!! A sequel to Sloths! That made my night. Well that and the insane Leafs win over the Rangers, but this is probably one of Lonely Island’s best bits. Come on, they play Mindsweeper! All the bleeping was great and I love Jason’s reaction at the end. Who goes to the Staten Island Zoo anyway? ****1/4

 

David Cook

Thoughts- On the American Idol scale, at least he wasn’t awful like Taylor Hicks or a [former] closeted homo like Clay Aiken. **1/4

 

Weekend Update

Cast- Sen. McCain, Seth Meyers, Armisen, Will Forte, Wiig

Thoughts- Yes! Solo Seth Update! I thought he did better this week, as I think he was just thrown into the fire with the Hamm Update. McCain was funny here, but come on, how can you boo the guy? And while it was funny, it really made him look desperate. You know some Hoosiers didn’t dig that. Also, Rocky didn’t live alone in the wilderness in Rocky IV, he was with Duke and Paulie. Seth had some good jokes and I loved seeing Gunther and Kelly. Somehow that bit never gets old. Aunt Linda was okay, but I liked the other two commentaries better. ***3/4

 

Night School Musical

Cast- Affleck, Samberg, Armisen, Forte, Wiig, Bill Hader, Darrell Hammond, Wilson,

Thoughts- This was pretty funny, and it probably helped that I’m a big fan of the HSM series. I loved Casey’s smoking song, and the spoof of Now or Never at the end was great. Plus, you can’t go wrong with Affleck’s Falconer getup. ***

 

Grady Wilson

Cast- Thompson

Thoughts- Swing and a miss by Kenan. Was this supposed to be the Grady Wilson character from Sanford and Son played by Whitman Mayo? Whitman Mayo played the old guy with Alzheimer’s in that episode of Full House where DJ visited a nursing home. Some of these moves were pretty funny, but this just screamed filler. *1/2

 

Zaleski Brothers

Cast- Affleck, Hader, Samberg, Sudeikis

Thoughts- This was…..weird. Hader can play anybody at this point and make it work. I’m going to have to Tom Green this skit as it was out there, especially the freeze frame at the end not really ending the skit. Inventive, if nothing else. **1/2

 

David Cook

Thoughts- I applaud him for bringing the energy in his second song. It went a little too long, but it was better than I expected it to be. **1/2

 

German Overcoats

Cast- Affleck, Armisen

Thoughts- For a last skit, this was good, and it seemed like a perfect skit for Fred- his voice reminded me of the Noonies skit. The Yelling Cone and the Flag (Where are you? I need you!) was pretty funny. **1/4

 

The Bottom Line- The avg. skit was **.55 making this a thumbs up show. Affleck, as always, was a great host, and he helped improve some skits that looked like they were dead on arrival. McCain was a good sport, if coming off a little sad in the process. Hopefully we’ll see Affleck host again, so he can join the 5-timers club, which he deserves.

 

Thumbs Up

 

 

[bob_barron 0]

SNL Review- Paul Rudd/Beyonce

 

 

Cold Opening

Cast- Jason Sudeikis

Thoughts- Does anyone even remember that Joe Biden is vice-president elect? Sudekis’ Biden is really funny, and there was a lot of great lines here, especially you know the time and the place for the trainwreck interview. Even though Fred’s Obama is terrible, I’m really looking forward to see what Sudeikis brings to the table as the veep. ***3/4

 

Monologue

Cast- Paul Rudd, Kristen Wiig

Thoughts- Seriously, how did it take until 2008 to get Paul Rudd to host SNL? That’s an outrage. The Obama tease was classic, and I enjoyed Wiig’s cameo. ***1/2

 

Sproingo

Cast- Sudeikis, Wiig

Thoughts- I don’t know, I would hope that you can feel an erection, rather than needing a springing noise in your penis. I wasn’t feeling this one too much, though the erection over music cracked me up. ½*

 

Affectionate Family

Cast- Rudd, Andy Samberg, Fred Armisen, Wiig

Thoughts- Remember when I said I watched the Sudeikis-Hader kiss a million times in the Anne Hathaway episode? I swear, I was just joking! I didn’t need to see more of Bill Hader kissing people or Andy and Fred open mouthing it. This was just a one joke and it really wasn’t that funny and it didn’t seem to go anywhere. Fred’s pep-talk had a couple of funny lines at the end. And for the record, Mary Steenburgen is from Little Rock, Arkansas. *1/2

 

Macintosh

Cast- Rudd, Sudeikis, Kenan Thompson, Samberg, Hader

Thoughts- Nice to see Kenan have a popular character for once, and it’s always fun figuring out what movies he’s referring to. The Misery reference was funny, though Teen Wolf and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure fell flat. I love the interplay between Sudeikis and Thompson, it’s great. I also liked him hearing say Socrates. ***

 

SNL Digital Short

Cast- Rudd, Samberg, Armisen, Hader, Wiig, Abby Elliot, Moynihan, Michaela Watkins, Wilson

Thoughts- Wow, this is a Tom Green skit if I ever saw one. I mean really, what the hell? And they act like they still don’t do drugs at SNL anymore! Also, congratulations are in order to Abby Elliot for not only appearing in her first skit, but also having her first skit get Tom Greened. She also died in her first skit! Casey dying….hot. But from the random Indiana Jones cameo to that music, still don’t know what to make of this one. **1/2

 

Country Singers

Cast- Rudd, Will Forte, Thompson, Wiig

Thoughts-Paul Rudd’s hair was enough to make me like this. This was a solid skit, nothing overwhelmingly funny, but I liked Fore’s facials and Wiig’s country girl dancing. And come on, you also wanted to know what happened to that package. ***1/4

 

Garden Party

Cast- Rudd, Sudeikis, Hader, Forte

Thoughts- Good to see our heroes have graduated from the bar to the car. Though, Garden Party is quite the obscure song to pick. Hader’s Palin story was hilarious, as was Forte’s. While this was funny, it didn’t reach the level of Danny’s Song or Amie even though Hader’s death was great. Rudd needed a good story to really finish it off. ***1/2

 

Beyonce “If I Were a Boy”

Thoughts- While it’s a decent song and Beyonce is really hot, this song is pretty sexist. I mean, it’s not like you’re perfect Beyonce. I anxiously await someone to record a response song. **1/4

 

Weekend Update

Cast- Justin Timberlake, Meyers, Forte, Moynihan

Thoughts- Seth’s first Update joke was tremendous, and my reaffirms my love for solo Seth update. And then he gets booed on his second joke. How can you not enjoy this guy? The jokes were awesome this week, hilarious, offensive, testy audience reaction- that’s what Update should be. The multiple joke gag is just awesome and might top Really for best current Update gag. There was maybe only one clunker, which is fantastic.

 

And then we get Bobby Moynihan as Snagglepuss. Now I hate Moynihan, but the way to get on my good side is to impersonate Hanna-Barbera characters. I thought the bit was hilarious until the Great Gazoo bit. Just like the final season of the Flintstones, the Great Gazoo manages to ruin a potential perfect Update.

 

And holy shit, Justin Timberlake! The guy must’ve been pumped given Memphis’ destruction of Fairfield that night. This was an incredible commentary, and I can’t believe he was able to pull that off without tripping over his words too much. The fake JT show sounds legit awesome, and much better than what we ended up getting. Come on, Timberlake doing Nicholas Fein is the best moment of the season, just ahead of Seth and JT dueting on Sexy Back. Amazing Update, and solo Seth has arrived! ****1/2

 

Single Ladies Dance

Cast- Timberlake, Knowles, Rudd, Samberg, Darrell Hammond, Moynihan, Elliot.

Thoughts- Wow, Bobby Moynihan in a leotard is probably the most awful thing I’ve seen. At least Beyonce made up for it a little. Timberlake was really funny here, though I don’t think it was as good as everyone thought. And Rudd’s stepson explanation was a little weak. ***

 

I Wish You Would Step Back From That Ledge My Friend

Cast- Rudd, Forte, Hader

Thoughts- Jackson Pollack painting? Someone’s smart. This was a classic Forte 12:30 bizarre skit (I watched this on DVR, so I’m assuming it aired after 12:30) “That’s a stupid name” and “Do NOT” both cracked me up. Forte complaining about splash back at the end was a nice way to wrap it up. ***1/2

 

Beyonce “Single Ladies”

Thoughts- Beyonce knows my rules for the musical guest. Have the slow song go first, and then rock the house with a loud second song. This song is addictive and catchy as hell. I do admit to not getting why Beyonce, who just married Jay-Z, is singing a song about single ladies. I’d say Jay-Z is a lucky man, but dude does own the Nets, which kind of sucks. I also like that Beyonce didn’t even try to sing half the song, that’s honesty! This was a fun performance and a great second song. ***1/2

 

Gay Marriage Attendants

Cast- Rudd, Hader, Moynihan, Watkins

Thoughts- Really? This was SNL’s best way to comment on Prop 8? This didn’t go anywhere, and one-joke premises that aren’t funny usually end up being pretty terrible. ½*

 

Clearing the Air

Cast- Rudd, Hader, Armisen

Thoughts- Leave the short films to the experts, guys! This was like some bad awkward Office scene or something. ½*

 

The Bottom Line- The avg. skit was **.7 making this a thumbs up show. Rudd was a fantastic host, and I hope he comes back again. Beyonce was a great musical guest, and aside from the last two skits, there really wasn’t anything that awful. Good for them to be able to keep the momentum from the election going, without having an election to cover anymore. And Justin Timberlake on SNL will always be awesome.

 

[bob_barron 0]

SNL Review- Tim McGraw/Ludacris/T-Pain

 

 

Cold Opening

Cast- Fred Armisen, Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis, Darrell Hammond, Bill Hader, Kenan Thompson, Casey Wilson, Bobby Moynihan

Thoughts- Fred’s Barney Frank is great, and I loved Hader’s Southern accent reminded me of Aykroyd’s Jimmy Carter impression. This was really funny, and the guys were hilarious as the sleazy car executives, especially when they talked about lemons. I do wonder which SNL writer (Jim Downey?) watches C-SPAN so much. ***3/4

 

Monologue

Cast- Tim McGraw

Thoughts- Really Tim? You had to wear the cowboy hat? Tim’s a pretty underrated actor, he owned Friday Night Lights, and I loved his brief cameo in The Kingdom. Along with Jon Favreau, he was also one of the few bright spots in Four Christmases. I’d rather him try a monologue rather than copping out midway through and singing some lame song. **

 

Clear Rite

Cast- McGraw, Kristen Wiig, Armisen, Michaela Watkins

Thoughts- Kristen playing some awkward and weird- how about that. Typing in Michaela each week is going to get annoying. This tried hard, but it just never seemed to go anywhere and really dragged. Wasn’t too big on the resolution either, though I did laugh at it’s not good. **

 

Dateline

Cast- McGraw, Hader, Wiig, Sudeikis, Wilson

Thoughts- Fun fact: Keith Morrison is Matthew Perry’s stepfather. Could he BE anymore of a stepfather? Keith Morrison has legit always creeped me out, so it’s nice to see SNL play up on that. I wish they had done more than just had him make weird noises though because that gold old pretty fast. *1/2

 

Turkeys in the Grass

Cast- McGraw, Andy Samberg, Wiig, Armisen, Sudeikis, Thompson, Watkins

Thoughts- Who knew they had black turkeys? I was hoping this skit would be more than turkeys running, but nope- it was just turkeys running as they got shot at. This was more boring than that Titans-Lions Thanksgiving game. ¼*

 

Casino Royale

Cast- McGraw, Hader, Forte, Armisen, Wiig, Samberg

Thoughts- SNL does know that Casino Royale came out in 2006 right? Granted it was awesome, but still- there had to be something in Quantum of Solace worth mocking. Also, we all know the James Bond has blonde hair, so get with the programme Bill. Call me crazy, but I liked this one, especially McGraw making her say Pussy Galore in the phone. ***

 

Ludacris and T-Pain

Thoughts- I guess T-Pain wanted to beat McGraw for dumbest hat. He looks like a stand-in for Flavour of Love. This was better than I thought it’d be as the guys played off each other well. Though boo on Ludacris for plugging his album. **1/2

 

Weekend Update

Cast- Seth Meyers, Hammond, Forte, Watkins

Thoughts- I think Darrell is going to be doing Clinton forever, long after Clinton is dead. Somehow, it’s still funny. The closing line was great. Seth couldn’t top last week’s Update as I felt some of his jokes missed the mark. Kudos to Watkins for getting her first Update commentary. I thought the bit and impression were both decent, though nothing to write home about. I usually love Forte’s Zell Miller, but they gave him nothing to work with here. Mocking people’s names? Boo. We need Zell going insane, though him talking about browns and blacks cracked me up. Quite the letdown for Update, but they can’t all be great like last week. ***1/4

 

Blizzard Man

Cast- T-Pain, Ludacris, McGraw, Thompson, Samberg

Thoughts- I liked Kenan referencing the Blizzard Man chilling with Common back in 2007. Also, Blizzard Man was rocking the 8-ball jacket like David Puddy. And T-Pain had another crazy hat. That must be his gimmick or something.

 

Blizzard Man’s first rap was lame, but I liked the second one about a strip club, and you got to love Kenan’s reactions. The third rap was just bad and killed whatever this one had going for it. **1/4

 

Thanksgiving

Cast- McGraw, Wiig, Forte, Moynihan, Abby Elliot, Wilson

Thoughts- Former Kansas City Royals closer Jeff Montgomery returns! Jeff Montgomery works better as a creepy paedophile, not as some guy trying to get a free turkey. The ending with Forte and the dog was just wrong on so many levels. **

 

Phony Phone Calls

Cast- McGraw, Wiig, Hader, Hammond. Wilson

Thoughts- Well they had to do something to appeal to McGraw’s demographic. I liked this more than I probably should’ve, since the bits with Wilson and Hader were actually kind of funny. I felt the prank with Darrell went a little too long, and the Wiig bit was just there. **1/4

 

T-Pain feat. Ludacris

Thoughts- This was crazy hat #3 for T-Pain. The dancers were freaky. I felt the song was really slow and boring, and it didn’t even pick up much when Ludacris came in. *1/2

 

Mark Payne

Cast- McGraw, Armisen, Thompson, Moynihan, Elliot

Thoughts- Do you think while in this skit, Abby feared that all her dad’s horror stories about working at SNL were right? DUD

 

The Bottom Line- The avg. skit was *.83 making this a horribly awful show. I’m not going to bitch too much about it (well ignoring that it was two months ago), because they had a tremendous run of good shows so they were due for a stinker. Plus if you had done 9 shows in 11 weeks plus three Primetime Extras, and you saw the host was a country singer, you’d probably phone it in too.

 

Thumbs Down

 

[Mik 0]

The problem with the reviews being this late is that I barely remember the skits.

[bob_barron 0]

I have that problem too, when I rewatch these episodes it's basically like watching a new SNL

[Black Lushus 0]

I have about 5 episodes on my DVR yet to be watched.

 

What episode was the Jizz In My Pants skit?

[bob_barron 0]

I have about 5 episodes on my DVR yet to be watched.

 

What episode was the Jizz In My Pants skit?

 

John Malkovich.

 

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

I loved the Affleck episode. He went all in on that show and it raised average sketches to higher levels.

[SuperJerk 0]

Blizzard Man’s first rap was lame, but I liked the second one about a strip club, and you got to love Kenan’s reactions. The third rap was just bad and killed whatever this one had going for it.

 

The first and third raps were funny because they openly mock rap music cliches like ego-centric proclamations of self-greatness based on random things like where you're from (50% of and over-reliance on electronic gimmicks (i.e. Lil Wayne), though the second was definitely the best.