January 23, 2016 – Ronda Rousey / Selena Gomez (S41 E11)

NOTE: Saturday Net, the SNL episode guide I usually borrow my sketch synopses from, is currently down (hopefully only temporarily). When/if the site comes back up, I’ll edit the sketch synopses for this episode into this review.

UPDATE: Saturday Net is back up! I’ve gone and edited the sketch synopses for this episode into this review.

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

TRUMP RALLY
Donald Trump (DAH) comments on Sarah Palin’s (TIF) rambling endorsement

— Tina Fey makes a cameo just two episodes after co-hosting, but given the real-life Sarah Palin endorsement this cold opening is spoofing, it’s understandable why SNL brought Tina back so soon.
— Ugh, I am not liking the running bit with Darrell’s Donald Trump being the voice of reason by giving asides to the camera about how crazy Sarah Palin is. A very bad take on Trump here, and it’s aged even worse over time. A shame how much this is souring this whole cold opening, because Tina’s lines here as Palin are funny as usual so far.
— The bit towards the end with Tina’s Palin giving an aside of her own to the camera came off really weak and corny, though it ended well.
STARS: *½

MONOLOGUE
host ensures successful monologue by invoking pandering audience-pleasers

— A pretty fun format to this monologue, with it being treated as a boxing match, right down to having Cecily occasionally pass by the camera as a ring girl.
— Kenan is perfectly cast in this role.
— Good execution of this monologue’s concept.
STARS: ***½

SCREEN GUILD AWARDS
Best Actor nominees are all white guys in mostly African-American movies

 

— Odd how Ronda Rousey’s only appearance in this sketch is a briefly-shown non-speaking role as Taran’s wife/girlfriend, which has her doing nothing but smiling at Taran while sitting next to him as his name gets called as one of the nominees. That role of Ronda’s might as well have been played by an extra, but I guess SNL couldn’t find any other role for Ronda to play in this sketch. I take it that, due to her lack of acting experience, SNL didn’t feel she could pull off Cecily’s role here?
— Pete is very funny as “Lil Q” in the Straight Outta Compton-esque scene.
— Surprisingly strong dramatic acting from Michael.
— Hilarious progression to how each movie clip of the white nominees features them playing increasingly insignificant roles while un-nominated black actors perform circles around them.
— The look on Jay’s face when Bobby tries to high-five him is making me laugh so much.
— The ending felt like it could’ve been a little funnier.
STARS: ****

LOVE STRUCK
bullied new girl (host) retaliates with mixed martial arts

— Great reveal of the very cruel, elaborate prank that was played on Ronda, concocted by Vanessa as a typical high school mean girl.
— Kate’s delivery of “Say hi….to the whole school!” cracked me up.
— A huge laugh from the sudden well-deserved hit that Vanessa’s mean girl character receives from Ronda’s timid character.
— This short is getting funnier and funnier as Vanessa keeps sustaining hits from Ronda while trying to act unaffected and maintain her mean girl image. A solid use of Ronda’s fighting skills, and, much like the pre-taped Santa Baby and Golden Globes shorts earlier this season, Vanessa is fantastic here playing against type. Mark this as yet another entry in the “Outstanding Vanessa Bayer performances from her final two seasons” category.
— I usually have mixed feelings towards surprise PSA twists at the end of sketches, but I liked this twist decently enough.
STARS: ****½

BLAND MAN
bachelorettes throw themselves at reality show vanilla Bland Man (TAK)

— The second in the series of annual Bachelor/ “Can I steal him for a sec?” sketches.
— Taran’s selling his comically bland role well.
— Sasheer: “I’m the black one.” Taran: “(immediately) Let me walk you out.” Sasheer: “Wait…”
— I’m not sure that Ronda’s delivery is working for me here, and it’s not blending in all that well with the delivery that the female cast members are using in this.
— I’m not finding the ladies’ lines quite as funny here as I did in the first installment of this sketch, but it’s still working decently.
— Selena Gomez is actually blending in with the female cast members’ acting style in this sketch better than Ronda is.
— The reveal of Selena playing herself didn’t make me laugh anywhere near as much as the reveal of Leslie doing the same in the first installment of this sketch.
STARS: ***

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Good For You” & “Same Old Love”

WEEKEND UPDATE
reporting from outside during a blizzard, (BOM) says “it’s not that bad”

LEJ imagines what it will be like after she & Leonardo DiCaprio have sex

follow-up report finds (BOM) frozen stiff

Willie has an unjustifiably cheery attitude toward winter weather

— Great rant Michael does about the Oscars boycott. I especially laughed at his digs at the movie Brooklyn.
— Hilarious bit from Leslie regarding making a ham sandwich after sex.
— Another huge laugh from Leslie, this time with her demonstrating a “laugh-gasm”.
— Leslie’s commentary in general about Leonardo DiCaprio is the usual great Leslie commentary, and I also like the running side bit with her accusing Colin of being jealous.
— An okay bit with Bobby as Your Friend Who Always Says “It’s Not That Bad”, and it provides a nice change of pace for Update. It reminds me a bit of something Rachel Dratch once did on Update in the season 30 Paul Giamatti episode, but I like Bobby’s version a little better.
— Willie!
— Willie: “It’s like the asbestos removal crew said: ‘My god, there’s somebody alive in here!’”
— Tonight’s overall Willie commentary was surprisingly short and didn’t have nearly as many quote-worthy lines as usual, but the commentary was still funny, even with Kenan flubbing his last punchline.
STARS: ****

THREE’S A CRIME: THE JANET JOHNSON-LUNA AND KARA TORKELSON CIVIL TRIAL
trial reveals teacher (CES) & (host) threesome made Gavin Daly a teen legend

 

— I liked the first installment of this sketch, but there’s absolutely NO REASON to do a second installment, and this isn’t the type of thing that’s going to work nearly as well in a rehash.
— Kenan is at least very solid again in his supporting role as the judge.
— Taran is strangely stumbly with several of his lines here.
— Much like in the previous installment of this sketch, I’m tired of the constant cutaways to Cecily (and now Ronda) delivering coy one-liners, and the audience apparently agrees with me, judging from their lack of response to those one-liners.
STARS: **½

SUPER CREW
all superhero team members must introduce themselves before saving city

 

— I’m currently three minutes into this, and while I kinda like the concept, absolutely none of the comedy in this sketch has been making me laugh so far. However, something about Pete’s silly, giddy performance during his brief bit as Noodle Man at least put a smile on my face (and, for some reason, reminded me of the Nickelodeon sketch show All That), despite the fact that he wasn’t given any funny material at all here.
— I’m noticing throughout tonight’s episode that the audience is quite dead at certain points. I certainly can’t blame them in this sketch.
— I finally got a laugh, from Aidy’s mere delivery of her spiel, though, like what I said about Pete in this sketch, that’s more of a compliment of the performer than the material itself, as the dialogue Aidy’s been given here is nothing special.
— Ugh at Jon as “Fire Butt”. We also get what appeared to be a very delayed fart sound effect during this part, not that the sound effect playing on cue would’ve made that bit funny.
— Overall, a flop.
STARS: *½

AT THE CLUB
(BEB)’s small penis undermines male trio’s sexy nightclub coaxing rap

— Beck’s providing some pretty good laughs in his stiff, unnatural attempts to speak suavely like Jay and Taran.
— Feels rare to see Beck starring in a rap short. He’s fun here.
— Love the sudden tone change with the very negative reaction everyone has to Beck rudely shoving Kate.
STARS: ***½

CITIZENS FORUM
Bakersfield city council hears more requests from eccentric citizens

— The second and final installment of this sketch.
— Tonight’s episode has a bigger-than-usual-in-this-era reliance on rehashed sketches, presumably because the writers were trying to go for an easy week due to Ronda being a non-actor.
— A big laugh from Leslie quickly saying “Bye!” and immediately walking out in response to the announcement that people unable to express their opinion without using foul language should leave.
— Kenan and Ronda’s scene is doing nothing for me.
— Overall, I could barely find anything to say about the content of this sketch, and I’m not sure what to say about this sketch as a whole. I didn’t find this sketch to be bad, but I felt it was a slight step down from the first installment of it, though the sketch wasn’t weak enough for me to give a rating less than three stars (the rating I gave the first installment of it).
STARS: ***

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Hands To Myself”

FOOTBALL PARTY
(BEB) & (KYM) reveal themselves to be clueless about party protocol

— Big night for Beck.
— Interesting at this point to see a Beck/Kyle-led piece that’s live instead of pre-taped. Speaking of which, SNL’s reliance on Beck/Kyle pre-taped pieces seems to have gradually disappeared over the course of this season so far.
— A very simplistic conceit to this sketch, but it’s definitely working for me, and Beck and Kyle are executing their offbeat characters well.
STARS: ***½

SETTL
— Rerun from 12/5/15.
— The re-airing of this ad is very significant, as it’s the final instance of SNL ever re-airing a fake ad in a new episode. That’s surprising to me, given how it had long been a tradition for SNL to do that, though the number of re-aired fake ads had slowly-but-noticeably diminished the last few seasons prior to this. Does it have anything to do with how available SNL’s new material has become online in recent years? (I know some people have speculated that that’s possibly the reason why recent seasons have cut back so much on recurring sketches.)

GOODNIGHTS

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IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A forgettable episode, despite a decent number of good things. Something also felt a bit off about this episode, possibly due to a combo of Ronda Rousey’s visible lack of acting experience (though she wasn’t particularly bad for athlete host standards), the unusual-for-this-era number of rehashed sketches, the unusual number of flubbed lines from performers (almost rivaling that of the preceding season’s Chris Rock episode), and the aforementioned subdued audience.

MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS

RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Love Struck
Screen Guild Awards
Weekend Update
Monologue
At The Club
Football Party
Bland Man
Citizens Forum
Three’s A Crime: The Janet Johnson-Luna And Kara Torkelson Civil Trial
Trump Rally
Super Crew

HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Adam Driver)
a big step down

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here

TOMORROW
Larry David