Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
DRINKS AT THE WHITE HOUSE
Barack Obama (JAP) & Mitch McConnell (TAK) get drunk after election day
— I’m enjoying the structure to this, with all the time jumps.
— This is getting more and more fun the increasingly drunk and loose Jay and Taran’s President Obama and Mitch McConnell are getting.
— A very funny high-pitch shriek from Taran when the phone rings after his crank call.
— Love Taran’s delivery of “Oooooh, you’re in trouble!” after the tense exchange Obama has with his wife.
— This overall cold opening was not only strong, but it alone had a better energy and flow than almost anything in the preceding episode (Chris Rock).
STARS: ****
MONOLOGUE
Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence [real] visit host
— Yet another musical monologue, but this one is more forgivable, given the fact that Woody Harrelson’s previous two monologues, both of which were good, were guitar songs like this one is. It also helps that I really like the conceit of his guitar song tonight, reminiscing about 1989, the year he first hosted SNL.
— One of Woody’s lyrics about 1989: “I think I had a mullet.” Indeed he did (screencap of him from his 1989 hosting stint below).
— This suddenly turns into another one of those cameofest monologues, which I’m rarely crazy about when it occurs in recent seasons like this. I at least don’t mind seeing Josh Hutcherson on SNL again, as I found him to be a likable host the preceding season.
— A good laugh from Woody initially thinking Jennifer Lawrence is Taylor Swift.
— Great ad-lib (“You’re always so stoned!”) from Jennifer Lawrence when she has a hard time getting a line out while quoting Woody. This ad-lib sets off an infectious and endearing stretch of giggling from all four of the performers that almost sounds like they really are stoned.
— Overall, for both a musical monologue AND cameofest monologue, two of my least favorite monologue tropes, this was surprisingly not bad at all, was actually pretty fun, and had a nice charm.
STARS: ***½
THE DUDLEYS
viewer feedback prompts changes to sitcom; Uzo Aduba cameo
— Very strong and clever satire here, with all the frequent and increasingly desperate PC changes this sitcom makes as their answer to the various social media complaints they’ve received.
— Another surprisingly fun cameo tonight, as the appearance of “Crazy Eyes” from Orange Is The New Black is adding well to this.
STARS: ****½
MATCH’D
horny contestants contend with bachelorette’s (CES) dad (host)
— When the guys are each giving their response to Cecily’s first question, I love Beck’s affable delivery of his very sleazy line, “I would take you back to my house and show you my special ingredient: my penis.”
— Absolutely priceless twist of Cecily being Woody’s daughter, after all of the raunchy, horny things the guys had just said to her in front of him. Love how the guys all suddenly change their tune immediately after this twist, by awkwardly forcing themselves to give Cecily’s questions very proper, gentlemanly answers in order to not upset Woody.
— An absolutely killer and classic moment, with Cecily’s “Can’t shake hands with a ghost!” line about her mother.
— Another excellent twist, with the casual reveal that Woody is an ex-marine. This must be a Chris Kelly/Sarah Schneider-written sketch, because, as I said in some previous episode reviews, those two writers seem to have a knack for throwing great shocking twists into their sketches.
— Very funny bit from Kyle about “Veteruss Day, the day we celebrate our veteruss”, delivered perfectly in that trademark oddball Kyle Mooney delivery.
— Hilarious crotchless panties bit with Taran.
— Great ending with Woody revealing he’s about to watch footage of the moment he had just given the guys and Cecily alone together, where the guys crassly let Cecily know how extremely horny they are right now.
STARS: *****
NEW MARIJUANA POLICY
end of pot possession arrests sends NYC stoners out-of-doors
— I am loving the wordless, excellently-shot sequence with Pete and his stoner neighbors all simultaneously exiting their houses with bags of weed.
— Another scene-stealing appearance from Leslie, as her mere facial expression as she exits her pot smoke-filled car in slow motion is hilarious.
— Perfect appearance from Woody, who’s obviously a natural for this short film’s subject matter.
— Another great little Leslie moment, with her proudly yelling “DEBLASIO, BABY!!!”
— A very fun, memorable, and oddly beautiful sequence of the whole town happily marching in the streets in pot-related unity.
— Lots of funny little details throughout this short.
— Excellent twist with it turning out that, while the new policy allows people to openly possess marijuana in public, they can’t actually smoke it in public.
STARS: *****
FOOTBALL HALFTIME SPEECH
football coach (host) relays overcautious safety measures to players
— A lot of good laughs from the sequence with Woody using Jay to demonstrate the extremely gentle new tackling technique. I especially love the phrase, “Back of the head…” “PUT YOUR PRINCESS TO BED!!!”
— Kenan’s brain-damaged, nonsensical rambling is classic and steals the entire sketch. Among some great lines from him are “Who said sumpin’ about some rings?!?” and “This one’s for ALL the Marlboros!”
STARS: ****
YOUNG TARTS & OLD FARTS
duets album pairs established & rising musicians
— A cheap laugh from the title of this album.
— I had mis-remembered this as being a Christmas-themed album that aired in one of the December episodes of this season. I was probably confusing this with one of the Christmas duets album ads from the previous two Jimmy Fallon-hosted episodes. Minus the Christmas theme, those ads have a very similar style to this Young Tarts & Old Farts ad.
— Oh, there’s that awful Macklemore impression from Kyle that I mentioned in a previous episode review. Actually, watching it again right now, Kyle’s impression isn’t as bad as I had remembered.
— I like Sasheer’s Diana Ross saying, in regards to Kyle-as-Macklemore’s lyric about homophobia in hip-hop, “I don’t need him educate me about gay people. I invented gay people!”
— Love the James Taylor/Sam Smith duet, especially Woody’s Taylor telling Taran’s Smith, “Lighten up, dude” and “It’s a happy song!” Also, the decision to cast Woody as James Taylor feels very fitting.
— Oh, I did NOT need the return of Kate’s terrible and baffling Lorde “impression” from the preceding season.
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “i”
WEEKEND UPDATE
LEJ argues that it’s appropriate for women in relationships to be crazy
host’s True Detective co-star Matthew McConaughey (TAK) is a little loopy
— A classic opening to this Update, with the running “But dat ass, doe” gag in regards to Kim Kardashian’s famous Paper Magazine cover photo.
— Leslie in her first Update commentary as a cast member.
— A memorable moment, with Leslie repeatedly yelling at Colin, “LOOK AT MY BREAST!”
— Good ad-lib from Leslie after both she and the audience simultaneously giggle in response to a funny line of hers.
— As usual in her Update commentaries, Leslie is absolutely KILLING it tonight.
— Love the Lorne joke from Michael, despite his clumsy delivery of the set-up.
— Colin’s theme park/pedophiles joke is another early display of the great ballsy jokes he would often do on Update years later.
— Great to see Taran’s Matthew McConaughey impression back after that very funny commentary he did the preceding season. Also nice to see him paired up with McConaughey’s True Detective co-star Woody this time.
— Like last time, some very funny “deep” ramblings from Taran’s McConaughey, and I particularly love the Super Mario Bros. bit, especially the line, “Hop on a turtle’s back, send him into the abyss.”
— Overall, the first really strong Update of the Jost/Che era.
STARS: ****
OLD NEW YORK
at a bar, only (host) is wistful about the good old days of NYC crack
— Hilarious turn with how, after the other guys reminisce about normal, wholesome city things that are no longer around, Woody’s only contribution to the conversation is “Remember the crack?”
— A one-note premise, but it’s a damn funny one-note premise, and Woody is executing it very well.
— Kenan randomly deciding to use a loud and exaggerated voice when blurting out the line “I MISS THE RESPECT!!!” was very amusing, and clearly wasn’t in the script, given the fact that, when the camera cuts to a shot of Taran and Bobby immediately after that line, Taran’s smirking and Bobby’s stifling his laughter HARD.
— Priceless reveal of Woody’s “police badge” actually being a “Vote For Nader” button.
STARS: ****
CAMPFIRE SONG
(host) can’t get friends to help with apple song at a campfire singalong
— This feels like the most in character we’ve seen Woody all night, as he’s speaking in a different voice than his own.
— Oh, no. Our very first of way-too-damn-many James Anderson/Kent Sublette-written sketches with the premise of “A character sings a non-existent song that they expect their friends to join in and sing along as if it’s a famous song, but they’re not familiar with it”. Ugh, I’ve always strongly disliked this recurring concept, and never understood Anderson & Sublette’s fascination with it.
— As unfunny as Woody’s “Apples” song is, I do at least find it to have a catchy sound, I admit.
— I did get a laugh just now from the incongruously large amount of water splashing just from Woody throwing his guitar pick in the lake.
— Ugh, there’s that corny twist where “Hey, the main character’s friends actually DO know the song after all, and happily join in on the singalong!”, which would also become a staple of some (if not all) of the subsequent Anderson/Sublette sketches with this premise.
— Overall, leave it to Anderson & Sublette to ruin this episode’s perfect streak of segments ranging from pretty solid to excellent. That being said, as much as I didn’t like this sketch, I don’t find it to be as awful as some of the subsequent sketches with this same premise.
STARS: **
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest, Chantal Kreviazuk & Jay Rock [real] perform “Pay For It”
LAST CALL
sex-starved (host) & Sheila Sovage necessarily lower their standards
— A little odd how this is the second post-Update sketch tonight that takes place in a bar.
— I always love that “Ha-HAAAAAA!” laugh that Kate’s Sheila Sovage does in an early moment of each installment of this recurring sketch.
— Woody’s “Eyebrows, eyebrows, eyebrows” line was very funny.
— A huge laugh from Sheila Sovage revealing her occupation: “I re-plaster unpopular glory holes!”
— Woody has even better chemistry with Kate here than previous hosts had with her in prior installments of this sketch.
— I love Woody’s “STDetroit” line.
— Another great Woody line, with him assuming CDC stands for “Center For Doin’ It Correctly”.
— Kenan’s way of saying “That’s for my fruit!” absolutely SLAYED me. (He’s been killing it with his line deliveries tonight in general.) He pronounced “fruit” in such an odd, comical manner with such a goofy voice that it caught me off-guard and has me in absolute stitches. I honestly cannot stop laughing at it right now. His pronunciation of “fruit” is hard to spell out phonetically, but here’s my best attempt at the spelling: “fruuuT” with a very hard ‘t’.
— Excellent ending with how, while Woody and Sheila Sovage are nastily making out with each other through plastic wrapping in front of their faces, Kenan begins dousing the whole bar with gasoline and says, “Well, I gotta kill us ALL, I guess.”
STARS: ****½
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A fantastic episode. Not only is it easily my favorite episode of this season so far, but it honestly may even be one of the best episodes I’ve ever reviewed. (Can’t wait to see the rating average my review of this episode has when commenter Vax Novier tallies up the averages of each of my season 40 reviews.) Not only did this episode impressively go by with almost no bad segments at all, but almost every single one of this episode’s segments was great, receiving a rating in the 4-5-star range. And some of those great segments were particularly memorable or had at least one very memorable moment, and a few of tonight’s great segments are even classics. There was also an infectious energy in the air all throughout the episode, partly due to Woody Harrelson’s always-likable presence. Overall, a terrific episode, and, man, what an amazing turnaround from the troubled (though not as bad as its reputation) episode that preceded this.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Match’d
New Marijuana Policy
The Dudleys
Last Call
Weekend Update
Drinks at the White House
Old New York
Football Halftime Speech
Young Tarts & Old Farts
Monologue
Campfire Song
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Chris Rock)
a big step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Cameron Diaz
Get ready for a truck load of Anderlette-song sketches throughout the next few seasons. The worst of which, being the one from Steve Carell’s disastrous episode.
I also might be of the minority here, but I cannot STAND the Last Call sketches. It’s the same dumb plot centered around over-exaggerated kissing from Kate. Though this season and the next few is when she’s in her prime, we see a little bit of what eventually becomes the summary of 43-present Kate.
Nah, I also don’t particularly enjoy the Last Call sketches. I enjoyed the first couple, but I don’t see why the premise had to be revisited over and over, and they became interchangeable in my head.
I also, though, tend to enjoy the song sketches for some stupid reason. Although perhaps this is just me really liking the Debra’s Song sketch from the Hemsworth episode.
Wow, I really don’t remember this episode being that good (I remember it being a nice course correction after the Rock episode). I’ll have to rewatch some of these sketches.
I don’t DISLIKE Last Call, but it’s another case of how much you enjoy Kate’s schtick and how much she manages to modulate said schtick.
I can watch these more easily than the Close Encounters sketches (which should have only appeared once) or all the tedious self-indulgence of her many, many sketches with Aidy. At least Last Call gives the host a chance to have fun too.
The downside is some of the Last Calls (like the one in this episode) are very overwritten and the attempts at clever dialogue quickly overwhelm everything else. Woody is such a laconic, charismatic performer and they should have leaned into that more. I also think Kenan overacts in this one, which ends up clashing with Kate and creating two different sketches.
Kenan is more low-key in the later installments, which helps. Kate is also somewhat more low-key in the last few of these, which, again, is how I prefer her rather than the never-ending Kate! McKinnon! Experience!
I’d say the Last Call sketches are a whole lot more than just the wild making out parts. It’s a very dialogue driven sketches. Say what you will about the modern era’s struggles to piece together coherent sketches (more of a 2017-2020 problem, but whatever), but the writers are aces at one-liners. Last Call is about as good as it gets in that regard.
I also don’t hate the singing sketches. I actually like the idea that everyone in the scene exists in a universe where these hyper-specific songs are part of a common point of reference. I mean, the sketches aren’t great by any means, but I thought the song sketch was actually a highlight of the Steve Carell episode. Not, like, five stars, but I found it fun.
The Dudleys is absolutely pitch perfect. About as pointed as SNL gets.
I remember some of the critics being miffed about the locker room sketch because of how offensive it was to people who’ve had brain damage from multiple concussions, which is fair, but…man, that Kenan monologue goes past offensive and goes straight to artfully funny, I think.
I’m with you on Apples. There were some later versions of this concept that did it better, but I just didn’t like it at all here. Damn near ruined the momentum of a show that, on subsequent watches, turned out to be a classic.
This episode is so fun. Kendrick Lamar’s performance of “i” is one of the best SNL musical performances of the 2010s, imo. And Kenan’s nonsense ramble in the halftime sketch is one of my all-time favorite Kenan moments.
Unfortunately, this is another example of Anderson/Sublette being the ONLY bad part of an otherwise flawless episode. “You don’t know this song?” is probably my least favorite recurring SNL sketch ever.
Yea, I can’t remember who said it, but someone on here (possibly you) noted that as S40-42 gets closer to greatness (these years definitely never hit the heights of the best eras, but they get quite consistent at one point and there’s some all time stuff in there for sure) there a quite a few episodes where they have literally the only bad material. Guess this is the first example. I may keep a count.
I honestly didn’t remember this being more than a little above average. I remembered Match’d and the weed sketch, but nothing else besides the awesome Kendrick performances.
Speaking of which, man were we spoiled with this and Prince back to back. We really got two of the top 10 SNL performances of the decade one after the other. I know they’re more recent than he goes, but I’d be fascinated to hear the guy who reviews musical performances (I can’t remember his name right now, but he does a great job) thoughts on either of the last 2 episodes. Definitely 2 of the only recent musical performances I can think of that stack up to the greats (Jack White’s this season is up there too, especially considering they had 2 days or so to prepare). The other classic contenders we still have to come for me are David Byrne’s from S45, Foo Fighters from S43, Tribe’s from S42, Springsteen’s from S41 & Kanye’s performance of “Wolves” at SNL40 (his last great SNL moment, though his S41 performances were fine). I’m a big fan of all those guys, so I may be biased, but I did leave off some of my other all time favorites like D’Angelo & LCD Soundsystem because I couldn’t really remember their performances. Honestly not the best decade at all for musical guests, even though I previously defended it on another post. Way too much flavor of the day, like the Fey era all over again (though that was even worse). Did we really need Greta Van Fleet to guest? Or DJ Khaled, and on a finale?
But yea, very excited to rewatch this tonight, since I definitely didn’t remember it being this good. The upcoming Freeman & especially Adams episodes I thought were modern classics at the time, but I also thought that about Hader’s episode, and upon rewatch that fits more into the “slightly above average” category I originally lumped this episode into.
Prince, Kendrick, Tribe, D’Angelo and Byrne are my favorite musical performances of the last decade or so. Oh, Alabama Shakes too! Their second performance finally convinced me to give the band a shot.
Glad to hear D’Angelo is better than I remember. I absolutely adore that album, but I can’t remember those performances for some reason.
I don’t remember that cold open at all, but Match’d may be one of my favorite things from this entire season. (“Roses are red, my balls are blue…”) And I agree that this is first truly strong Jost-Che Weekend Update for their era.
Ending credits list an additional sketch by Paula Pell. I wonder which one she wrote. Any guesses?
It’s the Last Call sketches.
It is? Because I checked some of the other episodes that have a Last Call sketch, and she doesn’t have writing credits on those eps
Dunno about Match’d, but Kelly & Schneider wrote The Dudleys.
Here are two cut-for-time sketches from this episode. One of them is a musical piece, and the other is real different. Anyone have any info on these sketches?
10,000 Tweets, featuring a cut cameo from a certain season 39 host: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkCbZsnsHOU
Pentagon Briefing / Dancing Robot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkCbZsnsHOU
Also while I’m here, since everyone is raving about Kendrick’s epic performances, I’m gonna rave on his appearance in Young Tarts and Old Farts, which is particularly hilarious because the verse he breaks into is the same verse he does at the end of “i” on this same episode (and at the end of “Momma” on To Pimp a Butterfly).
Ooops! Accidentally linked the Pentagon sketch twice! 10,000 Tweets is right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdCaZyvXJO8
@Thatchos, thanks for sharing those. The robot sketch is one that I can see getting on now (where they try more for “edgy” takes) than at the time. Woody and Cecily carry that one along (that’s the type of very specific odd role Cecily can excel in).
I’m not sure why it is that so many musical sketches, aside from some of John Mulaney’s, feel so dead on SNL in the last decade or two. The Twitter sketch dies right out of the gate and mostly stays there, in large part due to being a musical when it didn’t need to be. It’s too bad, as Aidy’s performance is great.
A very, VERY strong episode, though I’m just a little less into it than Stooge. Still agree everything outside of “Apples” was good though, and it DOES remind me a bit of a Hartman era episode.
Harrelson and Lawrence definitely seemed stoned.
I forgot that Kenan’s concussion bit was in this episode. “Who said something bout some rings?” is one of my hardest laughs I can remember from this show. You can see Pete, Jay & Woody break during his whole spiel. His B.B. King impression also killed me. Definitely a strong night for him.
Found an interesting article. For all the talk around here about Taran being phased out this season, apparently he ends up with the most screen time.
https://www.vulture.com/2015/05/breaking-down-each-cast-members-contribution-to-snl-season-40.html
Considering his unhappiness and the lack of strong material, I guess it’s another reminder of airtime (or being a utility player, or what have you) isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I’m reminded of last season when I saw that Beck was, I think, in third place for airtime, and yet I could not remember him having much that he could do anything with (outside of a pre-tape or two and Del Taco) for long stretches.
I was surprised Kate was even third, considering this was her big breakout year (she had a lot of buzz in S38 & 39, but this was her big Emmy year and the year it was generally decided she was the star of the cast). Similarly, I was surprised Leslie ended up last, under Sasheer, but like you said I guess it’s less about screen time and more about what you do with it.
To your point: in the current season I’ve been far more impressed with the limited stuff Chloe, Ego & Melissa have been doing than the endless Kate showcases or any of Heidi’s wavery voiced weirdo shtick (though thankfully she’s done less of that this year, and I actually liked her recent Instagram commentary, even though it fits into that category).
I think the most recent season has been a real boon for Ego in terms of screen time. She’s been raking in a lot of utility roles, but she also makes the most of her feature performances.
Melissa obviously gets almost nothing to work with, but when she does I’m generally won over. Her SNL At Home short about going on a date was a definite highlight for me. I don’t think there’s been a castmember so effortlessly charming since Gilda.
Heidi basically just turns variations of vocal fry into a character. Not a huge fan.
I like Heidi, but more for her dramatic work than her comedy creations, which mostly makes me wish she’d been there in the Schiller’s Reel years. If she could move away from those same few Update characters and lean more into a melancholy she’d go a long way.
I often feel for Melissa as she gets so little to do and she talks about her struggles with the show and with some of the audience reaction, etc. but when she does get a chance and does well, it makes you feel so happy for her. I’ve accepted that she probably won’t ever get much beyond what she now has, but ideally these last two episodes would give her some momentum.
As you said, Ego is becoming a first-rate utility player. I was very impressed with her work in moments like that Take Me Back pre-tape she did with Beck in Chappelle’s episode. Sometimes I have wondered if her character work was a good fit for SNL, but stuff like the Dionne Warwick talk show was a step toward blending her style with the general SNL tone. I guess the revolving door of Aidy/Kate/Cecily all being gone at one time or another will hopefully keep her in good stead for the rest of this season.
Kendrick Lamar’s recent appearance at the Super Bowl halftime show reminded me of how much I love his album To Pimp a Butterfly, so I revisited it today, and then thought I’d revisit these SNL performances and take a crack at reviewing them.
Musical Performance #1: “i”
-First of all, when I first saw this performance, I was stunned (in a good way) by how radically different it was in comparison to the album recording. It was only later that I discovered there was another version released as a single, which has an arrangement closer to the one that Kendrick Lamar performs here.
-This performance starts with a brief a cappella call and response intro between Kendrick and his backing singers. I can’t remember what song these lines are from, if they’re from anything.
-Yessss, already loving the funk-style guitar and the sound of the drumsticks being hit against the rims.
-Kendrick’s black colored contacts always remind me of the aliens from The X-Files. Not sure what his intention was with those but it’s definitely a look that stands out.
-The backing vocals sound amazing, and the singers look like they’re having a great time.
-Is it too early in the performance to be impressed by Kendrick’s rapping? Well, I am very impressed by Kendrick’s rapping.
-My favorite thing about Kendrick’s performance in this song is the way his voice goes up into a sort of yelp at the end of certain phrases. “When you looking at me, tell me what do you seeEEE?”
-Kendrick didn’t stop to breathe between the first chorus and the second verse, but he didn’t sound like he needed to. Once again, I am impressed.
-I hear some mic popping at the beginning of the verse, caused by the plosives in the lyrics Kendrick is dropping. Wish they’d had a good filter set up for that.
-The way Kendrick is half-hunched over the mic makes me wonder how much better he would fare if he were holding the mic.
-Digging the random synth hit on the bridge, and the backing singers’ chant-like vocals.
-Some nice tom hits from the drummer on the next chorus.
-Oh, I love this breakdown SO MUCH. The bassist is coming in clutch with that sick bassline!
-Now here is where Kendrick’s rapping reaches its peak (in this song, anyway). The speed, intensity, enunciation, it’s all perfect. The backing vocals are also reaching their peak and they sound excellent.
-Fascinating dance moves from Kendrick on the break shortly before the last verse.
-A seamless transition from “i” into the lyrics of what would eventually be revealed to be “Momma,” from the album To Pimp a Butterfly.
-Kendrick is rapping like a man possessed, and I’m all here for it.
-Very cool, gradual downward camera pan, which has the effect of making Kendrick look like he’s rising up from the ground.
-Well, I know what that deserves…
Stars: *****
Musical Performance #2: “Pay For It”
-Now this is a song that I’m not familiar with.
-Chantel Kreviazuk is singing her heart out and I respect that, but I am not enjoying her voice. If the song were pitched a whole step lower, then my opinion might change. Or maybe if she hit the high notes using her head voice…
-The strings are probably fake, but they sound great.
-I love how the instrumental parts dropped out for one beat. Feels just as dramatic as a heart skipping a beat.
-Jay Rock’s verse is impressive in its own way, but I feel I’ve been spoiled by Kendrick.
-Love how this song is building with the piano chords and the backing vocalists coming in.
-Oof, it sounds like Chantel’s voice cracked on the last chorus. If they hadn’t raised the key…
-Great energy towards the end.
-Abrupt ending.
Stars: ***1/2