Tag: Florence + The Machine

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May 9, 2015 – Reese Witherspoon / Florence + The Machine (S40 E20)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

THE SOUTHERN REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE!
GOP presidential hopefuls try to look cool at a Republican gathering

— The concept of this is a blatant variation of that GOP At Coachella cold opening from the preceding season.
— Kenan as Ben Carson? Feels odd seeing this, knowing in hindsight that Jay would take over the impression in the following season’s primary debate sketches, and do a definitive take on Carson.
— Speaking of an impression from this sketch later being taken over by another cast member in the following season’s primary debate sketches, Cecily would later take over the Carly Fiorina impression that Kate’s doing here, IIRC.
— Despite fun performances, I’m just not into this, due to it being too much of a lazy outright knock-off of the aforementioned Coachella cold opening.
STARS: **


MONOLOGUE
host & cast members apologize to their mothers [real] & endure home movies

— Very fun to see each cast member’s mom, and I like how this feels like a throwback to the prime-time Mother’s Day specials that SNL previously did in 1992, 1993, and 2001.
— A particularly funny line from Kate to her mom, with Kate apologizing for re-enacting the shooting of Mary Jo Buttafuoco when playing make-believe with her friends as a child. I also like Kate’s mom’s charming response to Kate calling herself weird, telling her that weird is what got her on SNL.
— Wow, SNL actually gave Sasheer a very funny noteworthy moment here for once. Nice to see, especially after Sasheer got shut out of the preceding episode.
— Vanessa’s mom has the exact same hairstyle Vanessa herself used to have when she first joined SNL.
— The first of several SNL appearances Pete’s mom would make over the years.
— Funny comment Reese Witherspoon makes about Pete to Pete’s mom, and I also love Pete’s put-off reaction to that.
— Man, this whole “cast members and their moms” segment is so damn charming.
— Noticeably missing from this monologue (other than the two Update anchors, of course): Taran and Leslie. I recall hearing Leslie’s mother passed away when Leslie was a kid, which would explain Leslie’s absence here. However, I have no idea about Taran. Was his mom still alive at this point? If so, was she just not able to make it to the show?
— Okay, here’s what is not only my absolute favorite part of this monologue, but one of my personal favorite things SNL has ever done: the collection of childhood home videos of each cast member. As I said in previous reviews, I always find it such a fun novelty seeing what cast members looked like as kids, so you can imagine that this monologue must be heaven for me.
— Given the Laura Parsons character she’d later do on SNL, it’s funny seeing little Vanessa acting like a typical child performer in some kind of act she’s performing in with other kids.
— Kyle used to be chubby as a kid? Who knew?
— Aww, Pete was adorable as a baby. And, for obvious reasons, it’s interesting hearing the voice of his father (if that’s indeed his voice we’re hearing).
— Absolutely classic how Kenan’s “childhood home video” is actually a clip of him from one of the Mighty Ducks movies back when he was a child actor. It’s also funny seeing a young Joshua Jackson with Kenan in that clip. This clip also really reminds you of just how impressively long Kenan has been working as an actor. And watching this clip takes me back to my own childhood in the 90s, as I grew up watching child actor Kenan in so many things.
— Another classic portion of this childhood home videos segment, with 13-year-old Cecily frantically asking, as part of a play she’s performing in, “Where’s my cocaine?”
— Overall, man, that collection of childhood home videos of the cast was an absolute BLAST, and it, coupled with the charming “cast members and their moms” segment earlier in the monologue, makes this one of my personal favorite monologues of all time.
STARS: *****


BE SCENE IN L.A.
live mics sidetrack cougars’ (host) & (CES) talk show

— Ugh, I’m currently three minutes into this sketch, and this has been awful so far. I know it’s so damn easy to shit all over James Anderson and Kent Sublette as writers, but typically horrible sketches of theirs like this make it so damn hard not to.
— I did finally get a laugh just now, from Kenan saying “I don’t know what she talkin’ about. We not in a commercial” after Reese throws to a commercial so she can go to the bathroom.
— Aaaaaaaand there’s our fart sound effect, a staple of bad Anderson/Sublette sketches.
— I continue to find Kenan’s performance and delivery to be the only bright spot in this mess, despite him and Jay playing gay stereotypes (another staple of bad Anderson/Sublette sketches).
STARS: *½


PICTURE PERFECT
contestant (BOM) refuses to draw The Prophet Muhammad

— Meh at Cecily’s Rosie Perez impression. The voice should be much higher pitched.
— Hilarious turn with Bobby having to draw The Prophet Muhammad. However, I’m not sure how to react to this as a reviewer, given the fact that it was said this sketch was plagiarized from another show (Canada’s “This Hour has 22 Minutes”, I think). Unlike the plagiarized River Cruise sketch from this season’s Sarah Silverman episode, I’m not sure if it was ever 100% proven that this sketch was indeed plagiarized. [ADDENDUM: After reading some comments in the comments section of this review, there’s enough proof to suggest this sketch was indeed plagiarized.] I think I also heard that the writers of the SNL version of this sketch were James Anderson and Kent Sublette (man, between the preceding Be Scene In L.A. sketch and now this, are Anderson & Sublette writing this entire episode?), who certainly are no strangers to plagiarism (e.g. they were the culprits of the aforementioned River Cruise plagiarism). And if I find out those two writers indeed plagiarized this sketch AFTER getting busted for plagiarizing that River Cruise sketch, it’s going to take everything in me not to go off on the mother of all anti-Anderson/Sublette rants. I swear, those two writers just drive me fucking INSANE.
— Kenan’s Reginald VelJohnson impression has really slipped. It was much better in that Before They Were Stars sketch from the preceding season’s Drake episode.
— I did laugh at Kenan’s enunciation when repeatedly saying “Not. Doin’. It.” in a trademark Kenan-like way.
STARS: * (I can’t reward plagiarism)


MR. WESTERBERG
co-workers realize mocked boss Mr. Westerberg (BOM) molests (BEB)

— A very crass turn this has taken, but I laughed at it initially.
— I usually like me some disturbing comedy, but as this particular short’s disturbing, crass material goes on and on, I’m not quite sure how to react to it. Beck is delivering it pretty well, at least.
STARS: **½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Ship To Wreck”


WEEKEND UPDATE
LEJ reads love letters she wrote addressing the status of her booty call

COJ & MIC read jokes texted to them by their mothers

(host) is additional Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started A Conversation With At A Party

unduly-optimistic Willie offers words of wisdom for recent graduates

 

— A particularly amusing flirty remark Leslie makes to Colin early on in her commentary.
— The “halftime at SportsCenter” bit during Leslie’s commentary is very funny.
— After Colin ad-libs “And humble” as an addition to the positive traits Leslie proudly says she has, I love her intimidating staredown of Colin.
— Great ending to Leslie’s commentary, with her suggestively saying to her prospective next lover, “I’ll be your Tom Brady and deflate your balls.”
— Lots of funny comments from Colin in his takedown of the new look for McDonalds’ Hamburglar character.
— The bit with Colin and Michael each reading a joke that their mothers texted them is not only a fun bit, but I like how it also feels a bit like a continuation/addition to the monologue from earlier in this episode.
— A nice variation of Colin’s usual “………Dad” punchlines.
— A bit of a twist to Cecily’s usual Girl At A Party commentaries, with her being joined by Reese playing Girl At A Party’s similarly-traited friend, Mackenzie, who was actually mentioned in a previous Girl At A Party commentary (I think the very first one).
— Reese’s Girl At A Party character: “So if you c-section, say something.”
— This overall Two Girls At A Party commentary felt rushed and was much shorter than usual, but I still got some laughs from it.
— Colin and Michael have been having some killer jokes tonight. A nice rebound from their not-as-good-as-usual Update from the preceding episode.
— Wow, this is a long Update. Certainly can’t complain about seeing another Willie commentary, though.
— Willie: “It’s like those trainers used to always say – ‘Your dog’s spreadin’ chlamydia, Willie!’”
— Willie, on his school classmates: “I’ll never forget the last thing they said to me – ‘Ya locked us in here with the shooter, Willie!’”
— Much like the Two Girls At A Party commentary, this Willie commentary felt rushed (what’s going on tonight anyway?), but it was still damn funny.
STARS: ****


THEATER SHOWCASE
didacticism of Student Theater Showcase rankles parents in audience

— Like the last time this sketch appeared, this has a lot of hilariously bad “deep” social commentary from the theater students.
— Some good laughs from Leslie and Bobby’s comments in the audience, and I’m glad that tonight’s installment of this sketch isn’t overdoing it on having the audience members’ comments just be a whole bunch of Mikey Day-esque overly-obvious “Why did that weird thing happen just now?!?” comments.
— I love Leslie responding to the “black people getting shot” act in the play by saying “Yeah, I’m not okay with that.”
— Another great one-liner from Leslie at the end, when she walks by the front of the stage and says into the camera, “Man, screw this – I’m goin’ home to watch Judge Judy.”
STARS: ****


SOUTHERN LADIES
suburban women share their bizarre troubles, drink wine, rob a house

— After getting a break from Anderson & Sublette’s dominance, they’re back with a vengeance here, displaying two of their favorite and overused tropes: every character having cutesy names and every character speaking in exaggerated southern accents. Even for Anderson/Sublette standards, they’ve been relying on the latter trope an awful lot this season.
— I do at least like seeing Leslie in a female ensemble sketch.
— So far, I’m not finding myself exactly HATING this like some other Anderson/Sublette sketches from around this time, but I’m not laughing much either.
— The sudden house-robbing twist at the end made this feel kinda like the random twist endings of those Song Memories sketches from the late 00s/early 10s.
STARS: **


WATER SLIDE
waterpark employees (BEB), (KYM), (host) give little attention to sliders

 

— Funny scene-stealing walk-on from Bobby.
— Reese comically pausing when saying “Could one of you guys do me……..such a huge solid”, making the first half of that sentence sound dirty, was a very random gag, and if it was supposed to get a laugh, it didn’t work for me.
— A very over-the-top characterization from Cecily in her brief appearance.
— Wait, that’s the whole sketch?!? The hell? This was only about two minutes long and seemed to be missing a lot of things…like a POINT, for starters. I’m not even sure what to make of this sketch.
STARS: **


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “What Kind Of Man”


WHISKERS R’ WE
Barbara & latest girlfriend (host) profile adoptable cats

— There continues to be a heavy James Anderson/Kent Sublette influence in tonight’s episode. (Only one of Anderson and Sublette co-writes this recurring sketch, but I forget who.)
— A few funny corny side jokes from Kate and Reese. Otherwise, meh. Whiskers R’ We does not work for me as a recurring sketch. Should’ve just stayed a decent one-and-done sketch.
— The usual “host hits on Kate” portions of this recurring sketch are coming off particularly tired in this installment.
STARS: **


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A subpar episode. Despite having a few strong highlights, including one of my personal favorite things SNL has ever done (the monologue), there were a lot of things I either didn’t like or, in the case of the Mr. Westerberg and Water Slide pieces, found hard to figure.


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Monologue
Theater Showcase
Weekend Update
Mr. Westerberg
Southern Ladies
Water Slide
Whiskers R’ We
The Southern Republican Leadership Conference!
Be Scene in L.A.
Picture Perfect


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Scarlett Johansson)
a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Season 40 comes to an end, with host Louis C.K.

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November 19, 2011 – Jason Segel / Florence + The Machine (S37 E7)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

MITT ROMNEY RAW & UNLEASHED
even the “raw & unleashed” Mitt Romney (JAS) is stiff & uncontroversial

— Good premise with Sudeikis’ Mitt Romney desperately trying to shed his reputation as someone boring by unsuccessfully coming off “raw & unleashed”.
— During his interaction with Kristen’s character, I like Sudeikis’ Romney saying to the camera in a monotone voice, “I’m a real dog – bark, bark.”
— The head-shaking facial expression that Taran and Jay each make at the camera at the end of their respective scene got a laugh from me.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
host tells Muppets that, despite their SNL heritage, this is his solo gig

— Almost right out of the gate, Jason Segel’s already letting us know we’re in for (yet another) musical monologue. At least they’re open about it.
— It goes without saying that it’s very fun seeing the Muppets.
— Funny how clear it’s gradually becoming that the Muppets are under the wrong impression that they’re hosting SNL with Segel.
— A solid turn with the Muppets bitterly acting sarcastic towards Segel after he breaks the news to them that he’s hosting the show alone.
— Funny bit with Kermit’s “impression” of Ray Romano.
— Ooh, I love the fact that they actually mention that the Muppets were part of SNL since 1975, accompanied by a photo of forgotten SNL Muppet Scred, in a bee costume, with Gilda Radner. I love how seeing this photo takes me back to when I was reviewing season 1 all the way back at the beginning of this SNL project of mine.
— And now we have a Statler and Waldorf cameo at the end to put this over the top.
STARS: ****


RED FLAG
Rerun from 9/24/11


KELLY AUDITIONS
Kelly Ripa (NAP) auditions potential replacements for Regis Philbin

— A successor to the Regis Auditions sketch from many years earlier, in a season 25 episode hosted by Joshua Jackson.
— I like how Kenan’s Charles Barkley, when finding out the show starts at 9 a.m., immediately says “Okay, bye” and leaves.
— Garrison Keillor is a nice, out-of-the-ordinary choice for an SNL impression, and Bill is killing it in his impression of him.
— I love Bobby’s jolly Rosie O’Donnell suddenly telling Nasim’s Kelly Ripa a threatening “I will absorb you!”
— The debut of Abby’s Zooey Deschanel impression, which SNL will be getting some mileage out of this season in general.
— Taran’s Ashton Kutcher impression is absolutely hilarious.
— Jay’s mere facial expressions as Denzel Washington are slaying the audience.
— An overall fun impression showcase, much like the original Regis Auditions sketch.
STARS: ****


KEMPER-PEDIC ME TIME MATTRESS
(host)’s Kemper-Pedic mattress is for isolation of masturbation vibration

— A lot of laughs from the various masturbation-like innocent actions that Segel is demonstrating on the mattress being advertised. Segel is executing this really well.
STARS: ****


AFFECTIONATE FAMILY
Austin Vogelcheck joins his brother (host) & family for Thanksgiving

— (*groooooooaaaaaaaaaaan*)
— Did SNL forget that Vanessa already played the outsider girlfriend role in the last Vogelchecks sketch prior to this?
— At least we get a little something right now that’s kinda different for this recurring sketch, albeit brief, where Jay comes in as a second homeless guy and, upon realizing he’s at the Vogelchecks’ house, immediately reacts negatively and exits. One of the very few (if not the ONLY) laughs I ever got from a Vogelchecks sketch.
— Boy, do I hate the increasingly exaggerated mock-sentimental way Fred says “I guess we’re just….Vogelcheks” in each passing installment of this sketch.
— Paul Rudd cameo, where he and Segel IMMEDIATELY go all out and suck face with each other in the most exaggerated way possible.
— We end with a family photo of the Vogelchecks, which includes every SNL host who previously played a Vogelcheck son.
— On the bright side, this ends up being the final Vogelchecks sketch, not counting the revival that appears a few years later when Andy hosts the season 39 finale.
STARS: *½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Shake It Out”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Jon Huntsman [real] butters up voters from New Hampshire, like SEM

incredulous SEM & Kermit say “Really!?!” to school pizza as a vegetable

— Jon Hunstman cameo. And with it, we get an odd technical gaffe during his entrance.
— Huntsman’s commentary is just generic “Politician tries to prove they have a sense of humor” comedy.
— A “Really?!?” segment with Kermit joining Seth.
— Mm, it turns out that the material in tonight’s “Really?!?” is very blah, but Kermit is at least adding fun energy.
STARS: ***


RETIREMENT PARTY
at (FRA)’s retirement party, (host) hints at a big secret to be revealed

— Even in just a silent cutaway, Vanessa’s so good at comically playing a shy character.
— Ugh, Kristen’s various “I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY!” screaming rants are unfunny and annoying as all hell.
— Segel’s been given nothing material in this, but he’s selling it as best as he can.
— I finally got an actual big laugh just now, from the cutaway to a handlebar mustache-having Bobby making a shocked face into the camera.
— What the hell is this sketch going for?!? And what’s with all the bizarre, unfunny, random turns?
— Oh, are you kidding me?!? They end this sketch with YET ANOTHER one of Kristen’s unbearable “I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY!” screaming rants. Get the fuck outta here with that. Even the easy-to-please audience had no idea how to react to it, as there’s a very awkward stretch of silence between the end of Kristen’s rant and the sketch-ending audience applause.
— An overall mostly awful sketch.
STARS: *½


A NEW JACK THANKSGIVING
obscure artists fuse hip-hop with R&B

— A sketch in the vein of the preceding season’s The Worst Of Soul Train sketch.
— Meh, so far, this is nowhere near as funny as the aforementioned Soul Train sketch. Most of the scenes here aren’t doing much for me.
— When this originally aired, some online SNL fans bashed Vanessa for how extremely stiff she came off in her singing and dancing during the TLC-esque scene she’s in with Nasim and Abby. Just one of several examples of how heavily criticized and disliked Vanessa was among some online SNL fans when this season originally aired, which is worth pointing out given how well-liked she’d later go on to become, particularly in her final two seasons.
— Kenan’s song right now is at least one part of this sketch I’m finally liking.
— While I’m not caring much for the lyrics to Florence Welch’s song, she’s singing the hell out of them.
— A chuckle from the photo of the “Toni, Tone, Tony Shaloub” singing group.
— There’s Triangle Sally to give me some much-needed amusement after how much this sketch has been falling a little flat for me.
STARS: **


SEDUCING WOMEN THROUGH CHESS
(Olivia Wilde) & other women prove (ANS) has no game

— Another Digital Short that does a good job making the video look like it genuinely comes from an old, worn-out 1980s VHS tape.
— Very funny how the first scene abruptly ends with the rapid-fire “Checkmate!” “DAMMIT!” exchange between Nasim and Andy.
— I like Kristen’s little “Hey!” and raised-eyebrows facial expression when Andy rudely gives her a light shove.
— An Olivia Wilde cameo out of nowhere. Is this how she and her future hubby Jason Sudeikis met?
— I’m really enjoying the escalation to Andy’s character’s desperation, especially how he’s resorting to simpler and simpler games in his attempts to beat his female opponents. The glass-eating scene is particularly funny.
— Very good ending.
— Overall, a strong short, and a huge turnaround for the Digital Shorts the week after they had their absolute worst Digital Short up to this point (Wish It Would Rain).
STARS: ****


ANDRÉ THE GIANT CHOOSES AN ICE CREAM FLAVOR
in an ice cream parlor, André The Giant (host) does what the title above says

— A sketch in the tradition of “Celebrity performs a very simple task” sketches that these late 2000s/early 2010 seasons like occasionally doing.
— Fantastic André The Giant voice from Segel.
— Wow, and it’s over already. Short and very sweet. Segel did a great job in his execution of this.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “No Light, No Light”


THE BLUE JEAN COMMITTEE
local band charms townsfolk with rendition of “Massachusetts Afternoon”

— I’m usually not a fan of these “Fred as the lead singer of a band” sketches from Fred’s later seasons, but I’m liking this sketch so far. It has an enjoyable, laid-back, charming, feel-good atmosphere, which is a very fitting way to close an episode.
— Did I just see Paul Rudd in the background sneaking into the scene during a close-up of Fred?
— Yep, there’s Rudd now seen sitting at the bar, enjoying the band’s performance.
— Now more and more of SNL’s guests from tonight’s episode are popping up at the bar, jamming out to the band. This is only adding to the fun, entertaining vibe to this sketch. I’m also starting to find the band’s song really damn catchy.
— A great over-the-top excited look on Bill’s face while bopping back and forth behind the Muppets.
— More and more, I am absolutely loving this sketch. I really underrated this in my past viewing of it back when it originally aired.
— Ah, there’s a shot of Taran dancing wildly, a little Taran Killam trademark that’s always a comedy favorite of mine.
— Overall, probably one of the most pure, feel-good things this era has ever done.
STARS: ****½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A much better episode than I remembered it being. I’m pleasantly surprised by the impressive number of segments I gave a high rating to in this episode. The really bad segments that were hard for me to get through (Affectionate Family and Retirement Party, I’m lookin’ at you) will hurt this great episode’s rating average a little bit, but not too much, given the high number of strong segments.


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
The Blue Jean Committee
Seducing Women Through Chess
André The Giant Chooses An Ice Cream Flavor
Kemper-Pedic Me Time Mattress
Monologue
Kelly Auditions
Mitt Romney Raw & Unleashed
Weekend Update
A New Jack Thanksgiving
Retirement Party
Affectionate Family


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Emma Stone)
a step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Steve Buscemi

Posted on

November 20, 2010 – Anne Hathaway / Florence + The Machine (S36 E7)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW
Charlie Rangel (KET) steals the spotlight

— Rather surprisingly, this is the first time they’ve done this Abby Elliott-starring Rachel Maddow Show sketch since Abby’s fifth episode on SNL, back when that sketch was Abby’s very first big role. It’s sad that, in the almost two years that passed between then and tonight’s episode, Abby’s general airtime on SNL hasn’t progressed much, if at all.
— Abby seems to be trying harder in her Maddow impression tonight than she did in the last Rachel Maddow Show cold opening, but the voice she’s using is STILL too high-pitched to match Maddow’s voice.
— Bill sounded VERY Dan Aykroyd-esque in his-as-John-Boehner’s pronunciation of “barber”.
— Funny line about how Nancy Pelosi always looks like she’s staring at someone not using a coaster.
— (*groan*) Enough with all the cheap “Rachel Maddow looks like a man” jokes.
STARS: ***


MONOLOGUE
host lets ANS, BOM, KET think she’s going to do nude scenes on the show

— I love the genuinely very emotional, overjoyed look on Anne Hathaway’s face after she has entered the stage. You can tell how much hosting SNL means to her.
— Nice to see the underused and still-somewhat-new Bobby get some applause from the audience when he enters as himself in this.
— The premise of this monologue is a little cliched and tired (feels almost like a throwback to those “the male cast takes turns trying to hit on the female host” monologues from the late 90s, with hosts like Heather Graham and Sarah Michelle Gellar), but it’s being executed decently enough.
— I got a pretty good laugh from Kristen saying a sudden wholesome “And that’s what Thanksgiving is all about” right after all the sexual-related stuff in this monologue. Too bad she almost had to ruin it immediately afterwards by hammily staring down the camera during her exit for NO GOOD REASON. It made sense when Andy did that earlier in this monologue, but there was no logical reason for Kristen to do that at all.
STARS: ***


TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
TSA agents echo phone sex operators

— This TSA ad being presented in the style of a typical phone sex ad is a clever and very funny way to spoof the TSA pat-down controversy from this time.
— Solid delivery from Kenan of the line “But it’s proooobably gonna be us.”
STARS: ****


THE MILEY CYRUS SHOW
Katie Holmes (host) is peppered with queries by Miley Cyrus (VAB)

— This sketch has officially become recurring.
— Jason takes over the Billy Ray Cyrus role that was played by Bryan Cranston in the previous installment of this sketch.
— Turns out Jason is a lot of fun in this role, moreso than Cranston was.
— Vanessa’s Miley, as a segue: “So, as you probably heard, I’m sexy now!”
— The “sexy” photos of Vanessa’s Miley are all funny.
— Anne’s Katie Holmes impression is killer, especially the long, awkward pauses, which remind me of just how awkward the real Katie Holmes came off in her season 26 SNL hosting stint that I covered.
STARS: ***½


FREE THANKSGIVING DINNER
on Thanksgiving, volunteer Penelope harvests attention at a soup kitchen

— The first Penelope sketch to appear in a little over a year, and this also ends up being the final one.
— The audience’s laughter at some of Penelope’s lines tonight seems a bit mild and tepid. I’m enjoying this sketch a little more than they are, but I can understand the audience’s (or anyone else’s) lack of excitement towards this sketch.
— I like Penelope’s inappropriate comment about how it’s easy for homeless people to see fireworks on the Fourth of July because they live outside.
— An amusing cutaway to Penelope’s similarly-traited family members.
— While this Penelope installment is a slight improvement over the below-par last one that appeared prior to this, tonight’s installment still feels too average for Penelope standards. It’s a good thing this ends up being her final appearance, as this character has lost her novelty and seems to be running out of steam.
— I like how, at the very end of this sketch, after we see Penelope in her “celery boat”, the camera pulls back and reveals Kristen is lying on a greenscreen floor on SNL’s home base stage. In hindsight, there’s something strangely fitting about how that visual ends up being the last thing we ever see of Penelope.
STARS: ***


ROYAL ENGAGEMENT
secret chavs Queen Elizabeth (FRA) & Prince Philip (BIH) intimidate Kate Middleton (host)

— Good unexpected turn with Fred and Bill’s Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip suddenly dropping their dignified accents and demeanor, and suddenly talking brashly and threateningly in crude accents towards Anne’s Kate Middleton.
— Fred’s even managing to make this drag role not come off as groan-worthy as some of his other drag roles from around this time. I also like the almost-Mick Jagger-esque voice he’s using here.
— A funny “In the bedroom…THINK FERGIE” line from Bill’s Philip.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Dog Days Are Over”


WEEKEND UPDATE
alcohol & raisins pervade Guy Fieri’s (BOM) extreme Thanksgiving menu

SEM says “Come On, Dictionary” to inclusion of Sarah Palin’s “refudiate”

Four Loko creator Chris Hunter (JAS) defends besieged upper-downer drink

JAP performs hip-hop Thanksgiving songs a la Jay-Z, Drake, Biggie Smalls

— Bobby’s always fun in the Guy Fieri role, and is making this otherwise nothing-special commentary work decently for me.
— Hmm, a variation of the recurring “Really?!?” segment, with Seth doing a new “Come On, Dictionary” segment.
— The overall “Come On, Dictionary” segment ended up being okay. My biggest laugh came from Seth’s “rafing” comment at the end.
— I always love seeing Jason play boorish fratboys like this.
— A funny passing mention from Jason’s character about his coke dealer getting busted.
— Wow, Jay appearing as himself here. A rarity in this SNL era to see a cast member do an Update commentary as themselves.
— Yeesh, Jay’s brief bit about how “Thank You For Being A Friend” should be a Thanksgiving song for white people was a lame and hacky joke.
— A fairly fun excuse to have Jay do a parade of various rapper impressions from his repertoire. The concept of this commentary of his kinda feels like a throwback to Jimmy Fallon’s routine of holiday song medleys, where he does impressions of various singers’ voices.
— Jay’s Drake impression here sounds a lot different from the version he would do in his later seasons, probably because this is before Drake really blew up in popularity.
STARS: ***


THE ESSENTIALS WITH ROBERT OSBORNE
whiny Weather Vane (FRA) was cut from The Wizard Of Oz

— The debut of Jason’s Robert Osborne impression.
— Blah, I already don’t like that nasal, dopey voice Fred’s using, which is worrisome given the fact that his character is the main comedic focus of this sketch.
— Great Cowardly Lion/Bert Lahr impression from Bill.
— Yeah, I’m currently a few minutes into this sketch, and the general routine of Fred’s character is doing nothing for me.
— The ending with Fred looking into the camera and saying “da Wizard of Oz!” in that nasal, dopey voice was just plain dumb.
STARS: *½


WXPD NEWS NEW YORK
elderly TV reporter Herb Welch (BIH) hits his mic but misses the story

— The debut of Bill’s memorable Herb Welch character.
— Reportedly, this Herb Welch character and his hitting-people-in-the-face-with-his-microphone habit was based on ad-libs Bill made during rehearsals of the news sketch from the Emma Stone episode earlier this season, in which Bill played a normal reporter character. I guess that explains why tonight’s sketch is using the same WXPD news station name that was used in the Emma Stone news sketch.
— Bill is just as great as this character as I had remembered.
— Geez, I keep forgetting Paul Brittain is even in the cast. I know he’s still very new at this point, but compared to his fellow three newbies, the poor guy has gotten practically NOTHING to do these past three episodes.
— I love Bill’s Welch responding to a correction from Jason by angrily saying “You son of a bitch!” while lunging at the camera and repeatedly hitting it with his microphone.
— Funny ending with a dead Herb Welch suddenly coming back to life just to continue repeatedly hitting the camera with the microphone because he’s angry at Jason.
STARS: ****


MEGA-MART
Mega-Mart’s 12-minute Black Friday sale is irresponsibly hazardous

— Bobby: “That’s right, Coked-Up Rooster!”
— Strong performance from Bobby in a spokesperson role that I feel like we don’t usually see him in.
— I love the extremely fast-paced and frantic pacing of this. That, combined with the increasingly insane features of this Black Friday sale, is VERY much in the vein of the Kickspit Underground Rock Festival commercials. I wonder if this Black Friday commercial has the same writer(s) as those Kickspit commercials.
— Very fun testimonial from Anne as a hyper, rapidly-speaking customer waiting in line.
STARS: ****½


CAMEL TAME
Camel Tame overcompensates while camouflaging female genital definition

— Amusing snarky comment from Bill about Kristen’s camel toe during her office presentation.
— Some decent cheap laughs from the various visuals of proud women’s bulky Camel Tame bulge, and how it’s treated as totally normal by bystanders.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “You’ve Got The Love”


HORSE PLAY
star-laden soundtrack upstages animated equine baseball movie

— A variation of the Bunny Business sketch from the preceding season’s Taylor Swift episode.
— This even starts the exact same as the Bunny Business sketch, with Fred’s Randy Newman as the first singer.
— Kristen does another solid impression of a 90s singer, this time Dolores O’Riordan.
— Yet another fun performance from Anne tonight, even if I’ve seen better Alanis Morissette impressions elsewhere.
— Very funny take on Robert Smith from Andy.
— The “Buck You” song from Kenan’s Cee Lo Green has kinda stuck in my memory over the years.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A consistently good episode, and a nice rebound after the rough episode that preceded this. A few segments tonight stood out as strong, and there were no segments I disliked, aside from a bad Fred Armisen showcase (The Essentials with Robert Osborne). For the second time, Anne Hathaway was a great and likable host, not just with her sketch performances, but even the littlest things, from her aforementioned emotional, overjoyed demeanor after she made her entrance in the monologue to her endearing “Let’s do it all over again!” declaration during the goodnights.


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Mega-Mart
Transportation Security Administration
WXPD News New York
The Miley Cyrus Show
Royal Engagement
Horse Play
The Rachel Maddow Show
Weekend Update
Camel Tame
Monologue
Free Thanksgiving Dinner
The Essentials with Robert Osborne


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Scarlett Johansson)
a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Robert DeNiro