Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
THE ROCK OBAMA
anger turns First Couple into The Rock Obama & She Rock Obama (LEJ)
— Feels a little odd to see that old pre-taped “Obama going through a Hulk-like transformation” sequence being used for Jay’s President Obama, when you remember that Fred Armisen’s Obama was the one going through the Hulk-like transformation the previous times that footage was used.
— As usual for this recurring sketch, the violence and physical actions are pulled off well. However, there could at least be more variety. The violent things that The Rock Obama is doing to others (e.g. throwing them through a window, ripping off their arm/hand) were already done in previous installments of this sketch.
— Very fun twist with Sasheer’s Michelle Obama transforming into She Rock Obama, played by Leslie. Solid use of Leslie, and this reminds you of just how much the SNL cast has changed since 2009 when this The Rock Obama sketch last appeared.
— I wanted the She Rock Obama portion of this sketch to go on longer, but maybe they couldn’t figure out anything else to do with her besides the small bit that they did here.
— Unsurprisingly, Leslie is a total natural for an energetic, shouty delivery of “Live from New York…”. Tonight’s LFNY delivery of hers (and Dwayne’s) is probably one of my favorite LFNYs of recent years.
STARS: ***½
MONOLOGUE
host boasts that his box office success makes him “Franchise Viagra”
— Not only another musical monologue, but another musical monologue with Dwayne Johnson, after his (mediocre) one from 2009. However, I can’t complain about this particular instance, as I’ve always been a big fan of this “Franchise Viagra” monologue.
— Lots of funny examples Dwayne musically gives of movie franchises that he could add new life to.
— A great exchange between Aidy and Dwayne, with him responding to her “Another Smurf movie?” question with a very blunt “NO.”
— I love the computerized “Can you smell what Stephen Hawking is cooking?” lyric.
— An overall solid and fun monologue.
STARS: ****
PEP BOYS
customers shy away from Pep Boys’ discussions of gender & sexual identity
— A very funny concept and spoof of Starbucks’ “#RaceTogether” campaign.
— Another good use of Vanessa’s great knack for playing characters who flash an empty big smile to hide their uncomfortable feelings in the situation they’re in.
— Great satire throughout this short.
— I love Kyle’s little “Anywaaayyyyyyy”.
STARS: ****
WRESTLEMANIA PROMO
Koko WatchOut (host) demoralizes Trashyard Mutt (BOM) during WrestleMania promo
— A huge laugh from “He has herpes!” being Dwayne’s idea of wrestling trash talk towards Bobby.
— We’re getting lots of other hilarious overly-personal “trash talk” about Bobby.
— Bobby’s a fantastic straight man here.
— Not quite sure why we need that running side gag with Taran’s character always being occupied with his phone before suddenly going into “professional announcer” mode whenever the filming starts.
— I absolutely love Taran’s random, over-the-top delivery of “TOO FAAARRR, KOKO!!!!” while walking off at the end of this sketch.
STARS: ****½
BAMBI
host stars in live-action Bambi inspired by The Fast & The Furious films
— An absolutely priceless concept of Dwayne as himself starring in a Fast & The Furious-esque live action Bambi remake.
— Great delivery from Dwayne of his “deer-ly” pun.
— Very funny Vin Diesel voice from Taran.
— They couldn’t be bothered to give Cecily’s Michelle Rodriguez a big intro line like all of the other main characters in this had?
— Love the bit with the butterfly on Bambi’s nose.
— That “Here’s a sign: deer crossing, mother(*bleep*)!” line of Dwayne’s was freakin’ EPIC.
— Overall, this was fantastic.
STARS: *****
DINNER DATE
boorish (host) & girlfriend Gemma (CES) crash (KET) & (VAB) dinner date
— The debut of the Gemma sketches. A lot of people at the time seemed to consider this recurring sketch to be some of the better James Anderson/Kent Sublette-written sketches, but I’ve never agreed. These sketches never made me laugh much, but I’ll go into my current viewing of its debut with an open mind.
— Pretty funny throwaway bit regarding Kenan once, in jury duty, sending a guy to the chair because Kenan “just wanted it to end”.
— The concerned questions that Vanessa occasionally asks Kenan in regards to if he indeed has a boner or not (e.g. “You’re not hard, are you, Gene?”) are making me laugh.
— Dwayne’s performance is solid throughout this.
— Overall, while I found a few merits, I’m still not big on this sketch as a whole. Aside from the highlights listed above, I either didn’t care much for or flat-out disliked everything else in this.
STARS: **
ESCAPE FROM JUNGLE ISLAND
(KAM) wishes she could suck poison from adventure movie hero (host)
— Kate’s desperation in wanting to suck poison out of Dwayne’s various body parts is pretty funny.
— A cheap big laugh from darts being shot into Dwayne and Pete’s crotches. Their loud simultaneous yells of “OHHHHHH!” in particular sold it.
— Normally, I’d consider all of the homoerotic gags between Dwayne and Pete to be cheap and lazy, but between Dwayne and Pete going so all out in selling it (I’m particularly surprised that Pete agreed to do the bit where he places his lips on the side of Dwayne’s bare butt), and the conceit of Kate’s character, the homoerotic gags are somewhat working comedy-wise.
STARS: ***
BROGAINE
medicine is tailored for bald fraternity brothers like (BEB)
— Sasheer’s facial reaction to seeing a bald Kyle strutting through the campus is pretty funny.
— Amusing visual of Dwayne in that ridiculous long hair.
— Why did Dwayne’s “So, we doin’ this?” bit at the end feel so awkwardly executed?
— I’m not sure why exactly they ended this commercial by having a voice-over randomly say a Borat-esque “Brogaine – EEES NIIIIIICE!”, but it made me laugh out loud anyway.
STARS: ***
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Budapest”
WEEKEND UPDATE
fatalistic Olya Povlatsky broods over bleak Russia’s poverty & frigidity
COJ suggests equally-inappropriate theme music for The Jinx miniseries
Willie greets awful events with sunny responses & awkward aphorisms
— Kate’s Olya Povlatsky does her first Jost/Che-era Update commentary.
— As usual, lots of funny lines from Olya Povlatsky, and a very likable performance from Kate.
— I love Colin and Michael’s conversation with each other about the Starbucks’ “#RaceTogether” campaign. Even the unintentionally-awkward way it ended was amusing (which prompted a hilarious ad-lib from Michael).
— Wow, Colin and Michael have been on a hot streak in their jokes these past few minutes. Between the preceding episode’s fantastic Update and now tonight’s strong Update, I feel like we’ve officially reached the point where the Jost/Che era of Update has fully hit its stride.
— I love the segment with Colin breaking down the inappropriateness of the theme song for The Jinx’s opening credits, and offering even more inappropriate theme song suggestions.
— Kenan as Willie, regarding eating out of a litter box: “A little cat dookie cain’t hurt’cha!”
— Tonight’s Willie commentary is an improvement over his already-funny debut earlier this season, as they’ve upped the ante on the disturbing humor tonight. I particularly love his lines, “It’s like they always say: ‘Wolves raped your dog again, Willie!’” and “I bet she’d still be with me today if I’d just listened when she said ‘Hit the breaks, Willie!’”
STARS: ****
COOKING WITH PAUL
probation officer (host) bars Paul’s (KET) online illegality
— That sex offender reveal makes me feel like I’m watching a leftover Will Forte sketch. I’m not sure if I can buy Kenan in a sex offender role, as least not as much as I could buy Forte in that role.
— The running gag with the laptop is cracking me up, and this is a rare case of where a sketch with a dumb, one-note, predictable nature actually turns out to be good.
— Good decision by Kenan to play this creep role in a coy, playful, “I’m a naughty little rascal” type of way.
— A funny reveal of the portapotty-involved crime that Kenan’s character once got busted for.
STARS: ***½
IMPROV SHOW
improv troupe draws inspiration from creepy life of Robert Durst (KAM)
— Pretty funny dancing entrance from the improv performers.
— Ah, the days before Kate playing men became cliched.
— Man, I am LOVING Kate’s portrayal of Robert Durst here. This was another Kate McKinnon performance that, back at this time in the mid-2010s, made her my favorite current cast member during these 2014-2017 years (her peak years), and made me feel like I was watching a legend in the making.
— The debut of Cecily’s Jeanine Pirro impression.
— I’m surprised by how short this overall sketch turned out to be, but I guess I can’t complain. Plus, the short length, coupled with the fact tonight’s host was nowhere to be seen in this, kinda made this feel like a sketch from the 70s or early 80s.
— Speaking of Dwayne not being in this sketch, he apparently was originally supposed to appear, according to the Camera Blocking Rundown sheet that was shown during the preceding commercial break (screencap below).
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Blame It on Me”
INTERROGATION
(VAB) & (host) employ good-cop odd-cop interrogation technique with (TAK)
— Lots of funny nonsensical, dumb lines from Dwayne in his “intimidating” interrogation of Taran. Dwayne’s selling this material so damn well.
— Dwayne’s so funny here that even his constant stumbling during the “Friends theme song” bit didn’t hurt it.
STARS: ****
THE CIRCUS WITH KYLE
KYM has difficulty finding worthwhile interview subjects
— Yes!!! Our second (and sadly final, IIRC) SNL short with Kyle doing his “awkward man-on-the-street interviewer” routine from his pre-SNL days. There was, I believe, one cut from SNL’s 40th Anniversary Special earlier this season and would subsequently be posted online.
— Kyle has been having a huge night, being a lot more prominent than usual and seeming really comfortable playing various roles. Between the Dakota Johnson episode and now this, Kyle’s really come into his own lately.
— The tense back-and-forth between the father and son is very funny, as well as how uncomfortable it makes Kyle.
— I love the kid who confidently talks about how he could join the circus one day.
— Like the previous “awkward man-on-the-street interviewer” short of Kyle’s, there are pretty much non-stop laughs here.
— Another great kid, the one who just bluntly says a nervous “I don’t wanna” when Kyle comes up to him while asking a question.
STARS: ****½
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A very strong episode, and one of this season’s best. An impressively large number of highly-rated segments, and only one segment all night that I didn’t care much for (Dinner Date). Dwayne Johnson continues to be more and more of an extremely dependable host with each passing hosting stint.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Bambi
WrestleMania Promo
The Circus with Kyle
Pep Boys
Weekend Update
Improv Show
Monologue
Interrogation
Cooking with Paul
The Rock Obama
Brogaine
Escape from Jungle Island
Dinner Date
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Chris Hemsworth)
a big step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
Michael Keaton