Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
COLD OPENING
The Rolling Paper Chase- what Douglas Ginsburg (JOL) was like in the ’70s
— Good reveal of Jon playing Douglas Ginsburg, or as he calls himself, “Captain Toke”.
— Funny premise for a Paper Chase parody, which makes this SNL’s second parody of that show during this calendar year.
— I like the fake freeze-frame while we see an epilogue on what each character went on to do.
— The look on Dana’s face during his fake freeze-frame close-up is hilarious. (last screencap above)
STARS: ***
MONOLOGUE
(no synopsis available)
— I like how his only understanding of doing SNL is “In 90 minutes, I go to a party”.
— A very short, to-the-point monologue, which seems to be becoming the norm lately.
STARS: ***
COMPULSION
cleanliness-obsessed (JAH) uses the Calvin Kleen disinfectant
— This is a fantastic, dead-on, and memorable parody of a famous Calvin Klein “Obsession” commercial(s) from this time period. The real Calvin Klein “Obsession” commercial(s) is actually one of my earliest memories ever (I was 3 years old at this time in 1987), so seeing this SNL parody of it is very nostalgic for me.
— Dana’s especially funny in this, particularly him getting slapped by Phil right before the camera cut away.
STARS: *****
DEATH BE NOT DEADLY
private eye Philip Marlowe (host) narrates film noir
— Some really good laughs from Robert unknowingly speaking his inner narration out loud, while a confused Kevin can hear.
— The constant “and?” stuff from Robert is funny.
— This is getting even funnier with Robert’s increasingly poor attempts to hide his spoken narration.
— Great part with Kevin and Robert’s speak overlapping for a while.
— I like the subtle joke of there being an Eleanor Roosevelt Clinic.
— Good ending with Robert’s inner narration spouting off a string of poor analogies.
— An overall very spot-on and memorable film noir spoof.
STARS: ****½
THE MOUNTAIN MAN
Mountain Man’s (DAC) odd outdoor wisdom alienates (JOL) & (VIJ)
— A good laugh from Dana’s “You’ve got some set of ovaries, woman” comment to Victoria.
— Loved Dana’s very random “I bet you have a teeny weenie peenie” line to Jon.
— I really like Dana’s increasingly absurd “Have you ever…” questions throughout this sketch.
— Yet another very funny line from Dana, this time telling Jon “It’s mini men like you who make women turn lesbo.”
— Overall, a hilarious, forgotten, underrated Dana Carvey gem.
STARS: ****
TEAM XYNEX
— Rerun from last season
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The Right Thing”
WEEKEND UPDATE
VIJ shows a clip of her daughter Scarlett keeping in shape
AWB explores the link between marijuana & the nation’s ills
— Victoria’s advice to women had some okay lines, but was nothing special. Also, I didn’t care for the overlong video of her baby daughter exercising.
— A. Whitney Brown makes his first appearance of the whole season. Strangely, he was credited in the opening montage of this season’s first two episodes, but was nowhere to be seen in either of them.
— A. Whitney’s first Big Picture commentary of the season has turned out to be a strong one as usual. I particularly liked the comments about pot being a cure for PMS, blaming pot on America’s financial problems, and selling pot to the Japanese to make the quality of their products go down to match ours.
STARS: ***
SWEENEY’S COMEBACK
Liz averts Sweeney breakup by getting Candy’s mind off (host) with medley
— Very surprised to realize a minute into this sketch that Jan is playing her Candy Sweeney character. This sketch is a huge change of pace for the Sweeney Sisters.
— Interesting premise with Jan’s Candy not wanting to be a Sweeney Sister anymore.
— I like the way the Sisters’ tension is being worked into their medley.
— Nice moment with the Sisters breaking out into their usual Trolley Song when Candy decides to become a Sweeney Sister again.
— Very charming installment overall.
STARS: ***½
OUT OF GAS
by Trina Mitchum- host & Jane Greer [real] relive film noir
— Interesting-seeming film.
— Nice twist with the gas cap necklace.
— Overall, while there wasn’t much to say about this, this was a well-done film and yet another spot-on film noir spoof.
STARS: ***½
ANDRE & REX: MACHO HAIRSTYLISTS
Andre (PHH) & Rex (host), Macho Hairstylists are visited by the gay mafia
— Ehh, not to sure about this concept, though I liked the opening voice-over announcing the title.
— Pretty funny outburst from Phil over the missing cap on his sculpting gel.
— The bad haircuts reveal at the end was weak.
— Overall, despite a few okay moments early on, this wasn’t too great a sketch.
STARS: **
BEAUTYBATH
Corazon Aquino (JAH) escapes from her worries by taking a BeautyBath
— This is a funny topical concept for a beauty bath commercial, and it’s also a good use of Jan’s Corazon Aquino impression.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Suffer”
MYSTERIOUS OLD MAN
a beggar (host) tells his rich son (DAC) about how he obtained a jewel
— Love how Phil’s butler character is randomly named Sprinkles.
— Some laughs from Robert’s dramatic story about the bee in his car.
— Funny unexpected turn with Robert casually pulling out a human hand from his bag.
— Overall, a kinda strange sketch, but a decent one for this late in the show.
STARS: ***
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A mostly solid episode, and had a few very memorable gems (Compulsion, Death Be Not Deadly) as well as one forgotten gem (The Mountain Man). I also liked the classy, old-timey atmosphere Robert Mitchum’s presence gave this episode.
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Dabney Coleman)
— a step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Candice Bergen makes her hosting return after an 11-year absence from the show