Tag: Lady Gaga

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October 22, 2016 – Tom Hanks / Lady Gaga (S42 E4)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) & Hillary Clinton (KAM) debate one last time

— Nice seeing Tom Hanks moderate this debate.
— Just realized how interesting it is seeing Tom Hanks and Alec Baldwin, two SNL hosting legends, in the same sketch.
— A big laugh from Alec-as-Donald-Trump’s sudden, uncalled-for exclamation of “They’re ripping babies out of vaginas!”, spoofing something Trump infamously said at the real debate.
— Kate’s Hillary Clinton, on her and Alec’s Trump: “What two better people are there to talk about women’s issues: me, a woman who has had a child and has taken birth control, and him, a man who is a child and who’s face is birth control.”
— Love the “Trump Bingo” card that Kate’s Hillary holds up.
— The “Alright, settle down, entire planet” line (in response to the whole world laughing at Alec-as-Trump’s claim that nobody has more respect for women than him) is such a fitting line for Tom Hanks, who’s delivery just has a way of selling lines that are written the specific way this particular line was.
— An okay meta moment with Alec’s Trump calling one of his celebrity supporters, Stephen Baldwin, the best Baldwin brother.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
America’s Dad host gives country a confidence boost via a father-son chat

— Ah, so nice to see Tom entering through the home base stage’s door for his first time in 10 years.
— Feels odd hearing Tom say this is his 9th time hosting, because, even though I just pointed out this is his first hosting stint in 10 years, it feels like he’s hosted much more than 9 times. (I somewhat feel a similar way about Christopher Walken.) You’d kinda expect him to have Steve Martin/Alec Baldwin/John Goodman numbers in terms of amount of hosting stints, but maybe that just shows what a damn strong and memorable host he is that it feels like he’s hosted more times than he has.
— Very solid concept of Tom giving America a chat as “America’s Dad”, in response to him being named that by a magazine. This also, in an unintentional way, feels like a nice progression to Tom’s season 14 monologue, which was based on a magazine calling him the nicest guy in Hollywood.
— A lot of funny and warm things being said by Tom here. I especially love the little line about America having a summer birthday.
STARS: ****


BLACK JEOPARDY!
Trump voter (host) finds common ground with contestants

— Here’s a beloved classic, and the zenith of this recurring sketch.
— Feels a little odd seeing this recurring sketch without Jay Pharoah for once, but it’s nice seeing Leslie now being one of the contestants.
— A great initial reveal of Tom’s character.
— An absolutely fantastic change to this recurring sketch’s formula, with how Tom’s character is surprisingly-but-reasonably fitting in perfectly with Black Jeopardy’s sensibilities. And the bonding between him and Kenan is so damn great and charming.
— Tom, to his fellow contestants and Kenan: “You people are fun. (*pauses after realizing that sounded offensive*) Can I say that?” Kenan: “(after a long pause) We’ll give you a pass this time.”
— A particularly hilarious answer Tom gives to the “Skinny women can do this for you” question: “What is, ‘not a damn thing’?”
— A great little detail of how the sound effect signal to start the next segment is the sound of a broom hitting the ceiling below this show.
— A priceless turn this sketch takes at the end, with the knowing uncomfortable silence that follows Kenan revealing that the next subject they’ll have to talk about is Lives That Matter. I also love Kenan’s line to Tom after that silence: “Well, it was good while it lasted, Doug.”
STARS: *****


HALLOWEEN SHOW
(MEV) & parents (host) & (CES) demo Halloween block party musical routine

— I’m not caring for ANY of the random humor in the first minute of this sketch. As I said in a previous review, writers James Anderson and Kent Sublette are so bad at attempting random, absurdist humor, usually my favorite type of comedy.
— At least this Anderson/Sublette-written musical number sketch isn’t one of their interminable number of “Come on, join in, you know this song!” sketches (e.g. Debra’s Time). However, this sketch still has too much of the general aura from those sketches, and regardless, I’m still finding this musical number to be an absolute chore to sit through.
— Given her very distinct voice, Melissa has an impressively beautiful and pleasant singing voice (what little we hear of it solo in this sketch). I actually didn’t even catch that in the Crucible Cast Party short from two episodes prior.
— Blah at the turn with the guests admitting they actually liked the musical number that Tom, Cecily, and Melissa have just finished performing, despite the constant cutaways we previously saw of those guests’ frozen puzzled facial reactions (which itself a tired, overused gag) throughout the song.
STARS: *


BROKEN
CBS hopes depressing “comedy” will earn awards consideration

— Another instance of Vanessa’s presence in a segment reminding me “Oh, that’s right, she’s still on the show this season.”
— Out of all the segments in this episode, this is one that I had completely forgotten about.
— Cecily’s mock-dramatic angry outburst at Tom made me laugh out loud. She’s always great at doing that kind of acting.
— A very funny, spot-on, and well-executed bleak, melodramatic tone to this commercial, made even funnier by the conceit of CBS trying to present it as if it’s a wacky comedy show. I’m surprised that I had no prior memory of this commercial, given how damn strong it is.
STARS: ****½


HAUNTED ELEVATOR
unscary David S. Pumpkins (host) is an enigmatic haunted house attraction

— Needless to say, an extremely famous sketch that would go on to become very iconic.
— Am I crazy, or does that suspiciously sound JUST LIKE the then-recently-fired Taran Killam doing the voice-over at the beginning of this sketch? It sounds way too much like his familiar voice to NOT be him. Was this sketch originally cut after dress rehearsal from a previous season or something (perhaps the season 41 Tracy Morgan episode, which was that season’s Halloween episode……wow, imagine the David S. Pumpkins character being played by Tracy), and SNL possibly reused Taran’s voice-over from it? After all, that Chris Farley-starring Dante sketch from the season 20 Bob Saget episode had a “new” voice-over from the no-longer-on-the-show Phil Hartman, because the sketch originally got cut after dress rehearsal from the season 19 Nancy Kerrigan episode, back when Phil was still on the show. (Then again, Phil wasn’t fired, unlike Taran, so it IS rather odd that SNL would use a recently-fired cast member’s voice-over from a previously-cut sketch. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s another example of that happening, though.)
— Beck and Kate play their second married couple for the second consecutive live sketch tonight. Kinda funny to imagine that Beck and Kate’s characters in both sketches are the same, even though I know that’s not SNL’s intention.
— A hilarious introduction to Tom’s David S. Pumpkins character in his first scene.
— Very funny and infectious silly dancing from Mikey and Bobby, who are making a solid pair here, which makes me kinda wish we saw them teamed up more often this season.
— I’m getting so many laughs from a perplexed Beck and Kate’s deconstruction of the concept of David S. Pumpkins (Beck is particularly great at that), even if Kenan previously did a similar thing in the preceding season’s Kevin Roberts sketch.
— Speaking of Kenan, he’s excellent in his role in this David S. Pumpkins sketch.
— Beck: “And the skeletons aaarrrreee….?” Mikey and Bobby as the skeletons: “…PART OF IT!”
— Tom’s David S. Pumpkins, in his usual catchphrase: “Any questions?!?” Beck: “Yes, several! I am so in the weeds with David Pumpkins!”
— Great fake-out with how Leslie’s scene ends up suddenly turning into a continuation of the whole David S. Pumpkins bit. Also, that gleeful look on Leslie’s face while she’s dancing with her chainsaw raised in the air is a riot.
— Beck: “Why did you go all in on David Pumpkins?!?” Kenan: “Hey, look – it’s 100 Floors Of Frights, they not all gonna be winners!”
— This sketch is all of the right kinds of silly, stupid fun, and has so many lines that I find quotable. While I can understand why some people find this sketch to be overrated (hell, I myself didn’t like this sketch when it originally aired, as I found it to be trying way too hard to recapture the magic of the Kevin Roberts sketch, and I didn’t like how it instantly became much more popular with viewers than Kevin Roberts ever did. It took me months to come around on David S. Pumpkins.), and while I do prefer Kevin Roberts, I definitely feel David S. Pumpkins is a perfect sketch.
— A perfect exaggerated startled look on Beck’s face during the freeze-frame at the end (the last above screencap for this sketch).
STARS: *****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest & Mark Ronson [real] perform “A-YO”


WEEKEND UPDATE
hacking victim LEJ is unfazed due to her inability to be embarrassed

The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started A Conversation With At A Party malaprops vainly

— As usual for the first few minutes of each Update lately, we open tonight’s Update with lots of great long-form ranting from Colin and Michael on the election.
— Rather unrealistic for Colin to claim he had no idea about Leslie getting hacked that summer.
— A very funny, heartening, and empowering speech from Leslie about how internet trolls can’t hurt her. One of her absolute best Update commentaries ever.
— I believe tonight’s Girl At A Party commentary is SNL’s very first mention of the modern term “woke”.
— While I went through tonight’s overall Girl At A Party commentary without finding any lines that I felt like quoting in my review, her commentary was strong as usual.
STARS: ****


COCKPIT
proud Sully Sullenberger (host) balks at being (Alec Baldwin)’s copilot

— Oh, hell yeah. After teasing us with having Tom and Alec in the same cold opening earlier tonight, SNL now gives us an outright pairing of them in the lead roles of this sketch. I’m in SNL Hosting Legends Heaven right now. Kinda reminds me of the joy of seeing Buck Henry and Steve Martin interact with each other in that Rise sketch from the season 5 premiere that Steve hosted.
— I got a big laugh from how, after being told by the control tower through his headset that Alec is the pilot of this flight, Tom’s Sully responds by awkwardly just stating “I’m uh…I’m Sully”, as if that alone will make the control tower change their mind about who should fly this plane.
— I love the dry, professional tone of the acting between Tom and Alec, and Tom in particular is fantastic here.
— Kyle plays his fourth kid character in just these last three episodes ALONE.
— I really like the structure to this sketch, with short scenes in the cockpit being interspersed with exterior shots of the plane in flight.
— Great bit with Tom’s Sully intentionally making the plane go awry so he can “save” it and then brag over the plane’s loudspeaker that “Sully did it again.”
STARS: ****


A GIRL’S HALLOWEEN
night of (AIB), (CES), (VAB) is a drunken disaster

— An entry in this era’s series of shorts that involve cutting back and forth between a tender scene and a related chaotic scene.
— Aidy’s drunken, gleeful delivery of “Awwww, pizza, biiiitch!” at the very end of one scene made me laugh even more than it probably should’ve.
— Out of all this era’s shorts with this “back-and-forth cutting between tender and chaotic scenes” concept, the concept is being pulled off particularly well in tonight’s short.
— The mere visual of Pete (making his first and only appearance all night, by the way) in that full-body green makeup is cracking me up.
— I was about to say this is also the first appearance Bobby has made all night, until I remembered his character in the David S. Pumpkins sketch. Tonight’s episode is another sign of how invisible Bobby is in this final season of his, sadly.
— I love how even Bobby’s character gets involved in the “back-and-forth cutting between tender and chaotic scenes” theme.
— Excellent ending, with the reveal of Pete’s full-body green makeup being all over Aidy’s mouth.
STARS: *****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest & Hillary Lindsey [real] perform “Million Reasons”


AMERICA’S FUNNIEST PETS
Joelle, Noelle, Ron Howard (host) voice animals

— This is the second and final installment of this sketch, though this installment changes the original “American’s Funniest Cats” title to “America’s Funniest Pets”.
— The first installment of this sketch was strong, but it doesn’t feel necessary to do a second one, as I don’t see how it will work as well as the first one did.
— Tom’s Ron Howard impression is so much fun, even throwing in a meta, self-deprecating remark at one point about Tom Hanks being a pain in the ass to work with.
— Surprisingly, it actually turns out that Kate and Cecily’s voice-overs in this second installment of this sketch are working just as well for me as they did in the first installment. In fact, of the two installments, I’d actually give the edge to this second one, because I feel that the host portions of this one with Tom are more fun than the host portions of the first one with Adam Driver, even if this second installment doesn’t have Kate and Cecily memorably saying “Boi-oi-oing” throughout the sketch.
— Kate and Cecily’s voice-overs during the “puppy walking on its hind legs in a store” clip are particularly hilarious.
— What was with the awkward, empty, abrupt way this sketch ended? The show ran out of time, I take it?
STARS: ****½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— An absolutely fantastic episode. Almost the entire episode was comprised of strong segments, including THREE that I gave a perfect five-star rating to (Black Jeopardy, Haunted Elevator, and A Girl’s Halloween). And, after Tom Hanks’ last two episodes prior to this ranged from disappointing (his 1996 episode) to forgettable (his 2006 episode), it’s nice that tonight, SNL gave Tom the strong episode he used to regularly have back in the day. Oh, and he himself was a wonderful host in this episode as always.


MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
(Much like the preceding season’s Tracy Morgan episode, there are way too many things to pick in this episode, so I’ll narrow it down to what I feel are the particularly best highlights)


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Black Jeopardy!
Haunted Elevator
A Girl’s Halloween
Broken
America’s Funniest Pets
Weekend Update
Monologue
Cockpit
The Presidential Debate
Halloween Show


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Emily Blunt)
a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Benedict Cumberbatch hosts the last episode before the election

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November 16, 2013 – Lady Gaga (S39 E6)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

CBC NEWS TORONTO
trainwreck Rob Ford (BOM) finds a media friend in credulous 60 Minutes

— Seeing Taran do a Canadian accent here reminds me that he’s married to a Canadian in real life (Cobie Smulders).
— Hilarious look of Bobby’s Rob Ford, though I can’t help but remember how people back at this time wished Chris Farley was still alive, as they felt he would’ve been perfect for playing Rob Ford.
— Very funny scene with Bobby’s Ford making a crack deal under the podium in front of an entire audience.
— Bobby’s Ford continues to be a riot in this cold opening.
— I think I recall once hearing Bobby actually injured his hand badly when filming the pre-taped scene of him doing a pratfall over the podium.
— Pretty funny 60 Minutes twist.
STARS: ****


MONOLOGUE
host proudly panders to audience while performing “Applause”

— At least it makes sense to do a musical monologue here, even if I still don’t like this monologue trope.
— A nicely-done and professional-looking musical monologue, at least.
— The subplot of this monologue with Lada Gaga trying to garner cheap applause by saying audience-pandering statements reminds me a lot of Chevy Chase’s season 3 monologue and Karen Black’s season 6 monologue.
— Good appearance from Bobby.
STARS: **½


PAXIL: SECOND TERM STRENGTH
Barack Obama (JAP) needs second-term-strength Paxil to combat depression

— A clever way to spoof the rough time President Obama’s been having in his presidency around this time.
— Funny disclaimer about this medication not being covered by Obamacare.
STARS: ***½


WAKING UP WITH KIMYE
Kanye West (JAP) & Kim Kardashian (NAP) boast

— Third consecutive episode with Nasim having a starring or co-starring role in the lead-off sketch.
— Pretty funny part with the Kardashian family band.
— Jay’s carrying this sketch well in his Kanye portrayal, with good assistance from Nasim as Kim.
— If you’re familiar with my reviews, you’ll know my aversion to the overused SNL trope of celebrity-hosted talk show sketches, but so far, this sketch isn’t bad, and it’s much better than the last new celebrity-hosted talk show sketch the show did prior to this (the Lady Gaga Talk Show sketch from the Bruce Willis episode).
— Blah, I could’ve done without the very blatant, corny, and overlong “wink-wink”-style stare Gaga gave the camera after her self-deprecating comment about how people shouldn’t try too hard with their outfits.
STARS: ***


WHAAAT? THE WORST COVER SONGS OF ALL TIME
Adam Duritz (TAK) presents a CD of the worst cover songs ever

— An okay excuse for a parade of singer impressions.
— A very funny Britney Spears impression from Noel.
— I love the ending of Kenan-as-Rick-Ross’ “Cups” scene.
— Hilarious bit with Aidy’s Adele “covering” the L.A. Law theme song.
STARS: ***½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
host & R. Kelly [real] perform “Do What U Want”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Thanksgiving defender Mr. Senior (KET) disrupts early Christmas activity

catty speech critic Jebidiah Atkinson (TAK) takes on famous orations

— Cecily’s second Rob Ford joke is one of those cases where the set-up (in this case, quoting Ford’s statement about having “plenty to eat at home” regarding women he gives oral sex to) is much funnier than the actual punchline.
— I love the idea of Kenan’s commentary having a big pre-tape with him outdoors.
— An amusing dumb conceit to the Kenan pre-tape, and he’s selling this dumb material pretty well.
— I don’t know if it’s just me, if she’s just having a more “on” night than usual, or if she’s legitimately improving, but Cecily’s Update delivery is coming off better than usual to me tonight.
— Ah, the debut of Taran’s Jebidiah Atkinson, a character I remember absolutely loving when this SNL era originally aired.
— So far, Taran’s characterization is fantastic here, and his insults are priceless.
— One very minor complaint about the Atkinson commentary, a complaint that has nothing to do with Taran himself: shut up that annoying off-camera guffawing, Seth.
— A priceless unscripted bit with Taran misreading his slam about FDR’s Pearl Harbor speech, prompting some excellent ad-libs from Taran.
STARS: ***


CO-OP BOARD
weirdos on NYC co-op board interview prospective residents (BEB) & (VAB)

— A good odd and inappropriate bit with Aidy and Kyle regarding lovemaking sounds.
— Some more funny oddball, disturbing characters throughout this sketch.
— Gaga’s doing a decent job disappearing into character in her imitation of Marisa Tomei’s My Cousin Vinny character.
STARS: ***½


SPOTLIGHTZ!
Laura Parsons & hammy kids do serious scenes at acting camp

 

— The return of Vanessa’s Laura Parsons character, who last appeared all the way back in one of Vanessa’s earliest episodes of SNL.
— Kyle is cracking me up a lot in his appearance.
— A funny “exploring the space” bit with Taran and Noel.
— Lots of good “hammy child actor” performances from all of the cast members and Gaga.
STARS: ***½


BLOCKBUSTER
now-jobless Blockbuster Video workers (MOB), (TAK), (BOM) seek a new home

— Not even sure if it’s intended to be funny, but Beck’s wig is something that I find to be a funny little detail of his character.
— So far, I’m loving the tone of and approach to this film. Very good work here, and lots of nice visuals.
— Great scene with Bobby giving his beloved Croods cardboard cutout a Viking funeral.
— Fun scene with the main characters discovering a hidden Blockbuster paradise in the woods.
STARS: ****


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
host performs “Gypsy”


4TH GRADE TALENT SHOW
at a talent show, parents (JOM) & (host) act out their kid’s routine

— John Milhiser finally getting his first (and what sadly ends up being his ONLY) lead SNL role that visibly features him front-and-center.
— A very funny escalation to John and Gaga’s dancing routine.
— This is a great use of John’s knack for physical comedy that I mentioned in an earlier review this season.
— A good laugh from the reveal of John in a bra after Gaga reveals her own.
— Great ending to the dance sequence.
— An overall simple, fun, short, and solid sketch. How this didn’t lead to John getting more and more big roles on SNL, I’ll never know. Dude had potential, and, from what I’ve little I’ve seen of him on and off SNL (including a cut-after-dress sketch starring him and Charlize Theron that would be put online), he seems like such a likable and fun performer. And his specialty in physical humor could’ve given him an identity in this cast, even if there are other male members of this cast who are good at physical humor as well (e.g. Taran).
STARS: ****


FUTURE GAGA
in 2063, forgotten host tries to impress her building’s super (KET)

— I always like when SNL does futuristic sketches with the host playing themselves as an elderly person.
— Good part with Kenan thinking Future Gaga’s singing of Bad Romance is her having a stroke.
— Kenan’s line about only knowing “Born This Way” as a jingle for laser toilet cleaners is an accurate dig at how some hit songs from decades prior are only known to some young people as altered commercial jingles.
— Pretty sweet ending.
STARS: ***


ROSÉ ZONE
the Rosé Zone delivers concentrated reality show trash to female viewers

— A funny affable, non-sassy delivery from Vanessa of lines like “Bitches be crazy.”
— A fairly funny idea of a Red Zone-esque network for only the exciting, trashy moments of reality shows, and Cecily, Vanessa, and Aidy are helping this with good performances. This commercial probably resonates more with people who actually watch these reality shows, but I’m still finding this to be okay.
STARS: ***


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A good, though somewhat unmemorable, episode. Aside from the monologue (and even that wasn’t too bad), I liked every single segment in this episode. It feels like there was barely anything that stood out as strong, but looking back at my review, there was a decent number of strong pieces.


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Blockbuster / 4th Grade Talent Show (tie)
CBC News Toronto
Paxil: Second Term Strength
Spotlightz!
WHAAAT? The Worst Cover Songs Of All Time
Co-Op Board
Waking Up With Kimye
Future Gaga
Rosé Zone
Weekend Update
Monologue


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Kerry Washington)
a slight step down


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Josh Hutcherson

Posted on

May 21, 2011 – Justin Timberlake / Lady Gaga (S36 E22)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

STRAUSS-KAHN’S CELL
in jail, (KET) & (JAP) mull Euro zone with Dominique Strauss-Kahn (TAK)

— Good to see the season finale’s cold opening be something that’s THIS different.
— It’s also refreshing to see such a different use of Jay, especially with how underutilized and poorly utilized he had been the past few months. He’s doing a good job in this non-impression role here.
— Funny juxtaposition of all the complicated dialogue about the world economy from Jay and Kenan’s prisoner characters.
— Kenan: “Portugal ain’t nothin’ but the dingleberry hangin’ off of Spain’s nutsack.”
— Even in a silent role, Taran is doing a spot-on facial imitation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
— The sudden “We gonna rape you now” twist at the end was crass, but damn funny.
STARS: ***½


MONOLOGUE
host’s actions don’t match the lyrics of “I’m Not Gonna Sing Tonight”

— I guess it’s fitting that a season extremely oversaturated with musical monologues ends with one. (*groan*) At least it makes sense to do one with Justin Timberlake, though.
— Typical Timberlake humor here, which is very polarizing among online SNL fans. The melody to Justin’s song here is at least very catchy.
— I do really like the in-studio rain effect they’re doing right now.
STARS: **½


LIQUORVILLE
singing & dancing mascot & co-worker (musical guest) battle tea bag (KRW)

— Ugh, I never cared for this staple of Timberlake episodes.
— They seem to be going for something slightly different with the mouth-popping sound effect bit Justin now does at the end of each song. It’s not enough to salvage this tired sketch for me.
— Now we get the addition of Lady Gaga as Justin’s fellow dancing mascot. Again, not enough to salvage this tired sketch for me.
STARS: **


WXPD NEWS NEW YORK
over-the-hill Herb Welch fails to report on junior high gas leak story

— This recurring sketch gives Jason a new co-anchor, with Nasim reprising the news anchor character she previously played in the WXPD News sketch that didn’t have Herb Welch in it (the news sketch from this season’s Emma Stone episode).
— There goes Bill’s obligatory character break that occurs at least once in most Herb Welch sketches. At least Justin is keeping it straight while Bill’s turning away from the camera to hide his giggling.
— I got a good laugh from Herb Welch’s awful misogynistic comment to Nasim’s character.
— Herb Welch telling Jason “Suck an egg, you mannequin!” cracked me up so much.
— A particularly hilarious part where, when Fred’s character says his name is Ken Yi, Herb Welch responds by telling him “Bonzai, huh?!? Hey, remember me?!?”, then proceeding to beat the hell out of him with his microphone.
— Herb Welch, to Jason: “Jack, if Shep Kramer knew about the way you anchor, he’d turn over in his grave.” Jason: “Uh, no he wouldn’t, Herb, because Shep Kramer was cremated.” Herb Welch: “(*in a depressed manner*) They burned my friend.”
— A very funny photo of Herb Welch at the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald.
STARS: ****


3-WAY (THE GOLDEN RULE)
(musical guest)’s presence negates Dick In A Box hook-up gayness

— Much like how these Dick In A Box guys’ last short prior to this (Mother Lover) picked up where their short prior to that (the original Dick In A Box) left off, their short tonight starts with them leaving each other’s mother’s house, complete with Susan Sarandon and Patricia Clarkson reprising their roles from Mother Lover.
— Fun start to Andy and Justin’s song so far, as expected.
— Cue the screaming female SNL audience members being heard all throughout this short (though screaming female audience members is a staple of Justin Timberlake episodes in general).
— A pretty good Three’s Company bit.
— The “Helicopter Dick” bit is particularly funny.
— Overall, not bad at all, but pales so much in comparison to Dick In A Box and Mother Lover. This came nowhere close to approaching “classic” status. There’s a reason this short isn’t anywhere near as reminisced about or as referenced as Dick In A Box or Mother Lover.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “The Edge Of Glory” & “Judas”


WEEKEND UPDATE
incredulous SEM says “Really!?!” to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s affair

Nicolas Cage (ANS) eyes Bradley Cooper’s [real] The Hangover Part II role

as SNL’s season draws to a close, SEM & Stefon head for the beach

— This is the second or third time that either Seth or his former co-anchor Amy Poehler did an Update joke where the punchline is someone being chosen for an important position because they were the last person in the room to shout “Not it!”
— A rare solo Seth Meyers “Really?!” segment, for only the second-ever time.
— Seth is doing a solid job in tonight’s “Really?!?”, especially his bit about how Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movie titles all make perfect newspaper headlines for his baby scandal.
— I got a good laugh from Bradley Cooper telling Andy’s Nicolas Cage, in regards to Cage being in so many movies per year, “You’re like a dangerous Eugene Levy.”
— The usual good “Get In The Cage” segment overall.
— A great way to end this season of Update, with Seth bringing his duffel bag, meeting up with Stefon at the front of the Update desk, and them detailing how their summer vacation together will go while slowly walking off into the proverbial sunset. This also, once again, continues the story arc of the growing dynamic between Seth and Stefon.
— Good to see an actual short Update, which is rare for the solo Seth Meyers era.
STARS: ***½


WHAT’S THAT NAME?: CELEBRITY EDITION
unlike host, musical guest remembers the little people

— This is when you start to notice that every actual sketch that has aired so far tonight (the cold opening doesn’t count) has been recurring.
— Steve Higgins’ opening voice-over sounded strangely kinda muffled.
— I like how tonight’s SNL host and musical guest are the two contestants in this What’s That Name installment.
— A good laugh from Justin’s puzzled facial reaction while Abby, as Justin’s one-night stand from two weeks ago, is going on about their whole encounter.
— Good twist to the usual joke of these sketches, with Lady Gaga instantly remembering the name of an extremely obscure fan she previously encountered only once. That’s also reminiscent of a sketch Paul Simon did in the season 12 Robin Williams episode, but I can forgive the coincidental similarity in this case.
— As usual, Bill’s Vince Blight character has some hilarious lines throughout this sketch.
— The whole part with Justin’s former N’Sync bandmate Chris Kirkpatrick is excellent.
— Overall, this was even better than the very strong first installment of this sketch. I look forward to seeing the third installment that airs years later in a 2019 John Mulaney-hosted episode (I haven’t seen the installment yet, as it aired after I started my still-ongoing hiatus from watching new episodes), as I’ve heard it’s particularly strong.
STARS: *****


MERRYVILLE LOVE TUNNEL
(host) & fellow Merryville animatrons steal (NAP) from boyfriend (JAS)

— The streak of every sketch in this episode being recurring continues.
— They’ll never come remotely close to topping the original installment of this sketch, which should’ve stayed a one-off, but I can’t complain TOO much about this being made recurring, especially knowing in retrospect that this sketch recurs only about two times after the original installment.
— Much like Jim Carrey in the first installment, Justin is really good at doing the accurate-looking robotic movements with Taran and Bill.
— Wow, is this Bobby’s first appearance ALL NIGHT??? And it’s just a small, non-comedic, thankless role.
— I absolutely love Jason’s various reactions to all the craziness going on. He’s a fantastic straight man in this.
— Despite not measuring up to the first installment, this installment is definitely still working for me.
— Jason’s such a fun and likable performer that he even managed to make that homoerotic ending come off less hacky than it would’ve under another performer.
STARS: ***½


SECRET WORD
Mindy Grayson & magician (host) don’t help contestants

— (*grooooaaaaaaaan*) Secret Word.
— The streak of every sketch in this episode being recurring continues.
— Showing that Bill has become this era’s go-to performer for game show host roles (and rightfully so, given how fantastic he always in that role), he plays his second game show host in just these past 10 minutes.
— I see they’re continuing to use Mindy Grayson’s middle name, Elise, an aspect of this sketch that was pointlessly introduced in the last installment of this sketch prior to tonight’s.
— (*sigh*) Cue the usual “You just read the secret word” bits.
— Didn’t they already use “grape” as a secret word in the very first installment of this sketch? They probably only brought it back tonight as a cheap excuse for Kristen’s Mindy Grayson (oh, excuse me, Mindy Elise Grayson) to tell a dumb, immature story about how she once farted non-stop during a play after eating a whole bunch of grapes.
— At least Justin is fairly funny as a hack magician.
STARS: *½


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Born This Way”


THE BARRY GIBB TALK SHOW
debt discussion leads to a defibrillation of Barry Gibb (JIF)

— The streak of every sketch in this episode being recurring continues. And with this being the final sketch of the night, that officially makes this an episode that consists ENTIRELY of already-existing sketches/characters, only the second episode in SNL history to achieve that feat. (The season 22 Rosie O’Donnell episode being the first. I’m not counting episodes where a recurring sketch made its debut in, which is why I used the term “already-existing sketches/characters”. The season 25 Danny DeVito episode is technically all-recurring in retrospect, but the Sally O’Malley character didn’t exist before that episode.)
— (*sigh*) Just copy and paste what I said earlier about me not caring for the Dancing Mascot bit as a Timberlake episode staple. The difference, though, is that unlike the Dancing Mascot bit, I actually loved the first installment of Barry Gibb Talk Show. It just never should’ve become recurring.
— Second consecutive episode with a Jimmy Fallon cameo.
— I do at least kinda like the change of pace with Justin’s Robin Gibb using two medallions as a defibrillator on the chest of a suddenly-frozen-in-place Jimmy-as-Barry Gibb.
— Hmm, the usual closing theme song of this recurring sketch ends differently, by suddenly and randomly turning into “Rapper’s Delight”.
— An overall poor and disappointing choice for the final sketch of this season.
STARS: **


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Not too bad a season finale, minus the poor way it ended with the final two sketches, but I take a little issue with with how “safe” and overly familiar the whole episode felt. SNL clearly wanted to end this season by going the safe route, by not only doing the usual Justin Timberlake episode staples, but by also doing recurring sketches for the entire rest of the night. Something about that really shines an unfortunate light on how unadventurous this season as a whole (and these 2009-2012 years in general) truly is. Speaking of an aspect I don’t like about this season, we’ve officially gotten through this entire season without a single episode that I would call flat-out strong and standout. That has to be a first in all 36 seasons I’ve covered so far in this SNL project of mine. Even the dreadful season 30 (the season with the lowest rating average in my SNL project so far, and rightfully so) had one or two episodes that I would call legitimately strong. While I would definitely say a majority of this season’s (season 36) episodes were passable, the fact that this season couldn’t produce a single standout strong episode is staggering and is another sign of this season’s bland averageness as a whole.


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
What’s That Name?: Celebrity Edition
WXPD News New York
Merryville Love Tunnel
Strauss-Kahn’s Cell
Weekend Update
3-Way (The Golden Rule)
Monologue
The Barry Gibb Talk Show
Liquorville
Secret Word


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Ed Helms)
a mild step down


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


HOW THIS OVERALL SEASON STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING SEASON (2009-10)
a slight step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Season 37 begins, with host Alec Baldwin

Posted on

October 3, 2009 – Ryan Reynolds / Lady Gaga (S35 E2)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

OBAMA’S CHECKLIST
Barack Obama (FRA) defends himself by pointing to lack of accomplishments

— Wow, Fred’s already-mediocre President Obama impression has somehow gotten EVEN WORSE. Aside from a few occasional (very occasional) vocal mannerisms, Fred’s not even ATTEMPTING to sound like Obama tonight. He’s basically just speaking in his normal voice and pitch. Usually when he plays Obama, he at least deepens his vocal pitch somewhat (but nowhere near enough to match the real Obama’s deep voice).
— When this originally aired, there was a huge shock among online SNL fans that SNL, after long being accused of coming off way too supportive of and easygoing on Obama in their sketches about him, was actually taking a lot of shots at Obama and criticizing his presidency in this cold opening. This decision of SNL’s got good praise among those shocked SNL fans.
— This cold opening’s jabs at Obama are coming off funny and well-executed. Good enough for me to now even ignore the non-attempt Fred is making at sounding like Obama. In fact, something about Fred’s non-impression is actually strangely working for me in this context. It fits the laid-back tone of this cold opening’s conceit.
— Pretty funny bit with the “Chicago 2016” shirts.
— Fred’s Obama, during his discussion of his accomplishments as president: “I’m seeing two big accomplishments: jack and squat.”
— Overall, I feel this was EASILY one of the better Fredbama sketches. Too bad this new angle SNL found on Obama would not last, and the show would soon go back to their usual soft, boring, non-comical take on him.
STARS: ***½


OPENING MONTAGE
— Two changes have been made to the new opening montage that was introduced in the preceding episode: 1) the single shot shown of Kristen Wiig in the preceding episode’s montage is now bookended by two shots of her in a hallway, the first shot of which she’s posing for the camera in a model-like manner, and the other shot of which she’s leaning against the hallway walls while laughing. 2) The way the musical guest and host’s respective photo is displayed has been changed from being displayed as a full-screen photo to being displayed as a smaller photo in front of a live-action NYC backdrop.


MONOLOGUE
host shows the difference between romantic comedies & superhero movies

— I’m really liking Ryan Reynolds’ delivery here.
— Some okay laughs from Ryan demonstrating the various differences between superhero movies and rom-com movies.
STARS: ***


MOSTLY GARBAGE DOG FOOD
(JAS) figures Mostly Garbage dog food is good enough for his pet pooch

— Funny concept.
— As usual, very strong spokesman performance from Jason, who’s perfect for the concept of this particular ad. I can also imagine Will Ferrell pulling this off, probably because he starred in a few dog commercials kinda like this back in the day, such as Petchow Rat Poison.
— Funny story from Jason regarding his reaction to once finding his dog eating cat poop out of the litter box.
STARS: ***½


CELEBRITY FAMILY FEUD
incest subtext affects John (BIH) & Mackenzie (KRW) Phillips

— Feels a little odd in hindsight seeing a Celebrity Family Feud sketch that’s set in the past and is hosted by someone OTHER THAN Kenan’s Steve Harvey, given the recurring Celebrity Family Feud sketches SNL would later do in more recent years.
— During the opening “Next on the Game Show Network…” bumper sequence, the “Feud” in “Celebrity Family Feud” is misspelled “Fued” (screencap below). Kinda surprised a noticeable typo like that got past SNL’s editors.

— When this originally aired, I remember how surprising a lot of SNL fans, including myself, found it that SNL had the guts to spoof such a touchy and controversial topical news story.
— The casting of Kristen as Mackenzie Phillips and Nasim Pedrad as the mother of Mackenzie, Genevieve Phillips, feels like it should’ve been the other way around, because in this sketch, Kristen looks noticeably a lot older than Nasim, and it’s hard for me to buy Kristen as Nasim’s daughter in this, and thus, also makes it a little hard for me to buy Kristen as Bill’s daughter. Back when this originally aired, I recall taking this miscasting as both a sign of SNL’s continued Wiig favoritism and a sign that they probably didn’t want to give this sketch’s important role of Mackenzie Phillips to a mere featured player (which all of Kristen’s female castmates this season are). 11 years later, I’m now questioning if that assumption of mine was fair or not.
— A huge laugh from Bill-as-John-Phillips immediately answering, in a wide-eyed manner, “Secrets!”, during the “Things you keep for a long time” question.
— I’m not too familiar with Richard Dawson, but Jason seems to be doing a very specific impression in his portrayal of Dawson. Whether it’s accurate or not, I’m loving Jason’s performance. Nice to see him fairly prominent so far in tonight’s episode, by the way, given how ridiculously underused he surprisingly was in the preceding week’s season premiere.
— When Jason’s Dawson gives Kristen’s Mackenzie a kiss on the cheek, I love Bill’s John reacting to that with a lighthearted “Heeeyyyy, careful now.”
— When Jason’s Dawson asks Abby’s Marie Osmond and Kristen’s Mackenzie the topic “Things you do with your father”, the cutaway to Bill-as-John’s silent facial reaction is very funny.
— I can see and understand why some people might be bothered by this sketch, but the sketch is definitely working for me.
— Great tense response from Jason’s Dawson, when finally catching on to what’s going on between John and Mackenzie Phillips: “Ohhhhh. Okay, I got it. Okay, this episode’s over.”
STARS: ****


ON THE GROUND
misguided rebel (ANS) smashes objects; Elijah Wood cameo

— Yet another all-time memorable music video Digital Short from Lonely Island.
— Hilarious comedic conceit to this song, made even funnier by Andy’s angry singing and his over-the-top facial expressions when throwing things to the ground in slow-motion.
— I love Andy’s whiny constant delivery of “Maaaaaaaaaan!” throughout this.
— This is getting increasingly hilarious. The “My dad’s not a phone!” part in particular is having me practically rolling on the floor.
— Andy, regarding a kid offering him a piece of birthday cake: “Whatchu want me to do with this cake, eat it?!? HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GROUND!”
— Man, this short is so damn epic.
— A huge laugh from Andy, OUT OF FUCKING NOWHERE, flipping over the restaurant table that “phonies” Ryan Reynolds and Elijah Wood are eating at.
STARS: *****


MIKE’S FOUNTAINRY
Mike’s Fountainry extends classy brand of Lexi’s dad’s Chandelier Galaxy

— Our third installment of this series of sketches.
— A sudden-but-plausible Scarlett Johansson walk-on, reprising her character from all previous installments of this sketch. At this time, she and Ryan Reynolds were either dating or married (I forget which, much like Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green’s relationship that I mentioned being unsure about in my last episode review), which explains her cameo (and the special flattering mention Ryan gives her during the goodnights at the end of this episode). This season is now 2-for-2 in the host bringing along their celebrity boyfriend/girlfriend in a cameo.
— I will say that Scarlett always sells her character in this recurring sketch well.
— I really like Ryan’s performance here. There’s something strangely kinda Will Ferrell-esque about his performance, especially the big, out-of-breath gasp he does when he’s finished with his speech.
STARS: ***


DEEP HOUSE DISH
musical guest & Madonna [real] get in a cat fight

— The first appearance this recurring sketch has made in a year…and even THAT appearance from a year ago was the sketch’s first appearance in over a year. This sketch is clearly being phased out. In fact, tonight’s installment ends up being the final one.
— For once, Andy’s T-Shane is already on the set while Kenan’s D.J. Dynasty Handbag is delivering his usual opening intro of the show into the camera.
— The echo mic bit with T-Shane made me laugh.
— Catchy melody to Kristen’s song.
— Speaking of catchy, I like the chorus part of Ryan’s “Danny McCooz Is…” Facebook song.
— I gotta say, I’m very surprised by how much I’m actually enjoying this Deep House Dish installment so far, given how I usually dislike these sketches. Maybe the year-long absences this sketch has been taking lately has done it some good.
— Not only do we have our obligatory Lady Gaga appearance, who’s obviously the reason why this recurring sketch was brought out of the mothballs tonight, but we surprisingly get a Madonna cameo with her.
— Despite the novelty of seeing Lady Gaga and Madonna interact with each other, I’m not caring much for the whole rivalry bit they’re doing in this sketch.
— Well, because of this sketch, Kenan Thompson can say he got the honor of being kissed by Madonna and Lady Gaga simultaneously, on opposite sides of his face. This Madonna/Lady Gaga/D.J. Dynasty Handbag kissing orgy eventually gets joined by T-Shane, closing out this sketch. What a wild and amusing way to end this recurring sketch’s run.
STARS: *** (I’m just as surprised as you are)


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Paparazzi”


WEEKEND UPDATE
Arnold Schwarzenegger (DAH) will not defend Roman Polanski’s actions

Charles Barkley (KET) offers skewed observations on China’s 60th birthday

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s (FRA) fiesty wife (NAP) makes fun of him in English

— The recently-departed-from-SNL Darrell Hammond makes his first of several regular-episode cameos this season. He previously cameod in all three Weekend Update Thursday specials that aired earlier this season. With all of these cameos Darrell had been making around this time, I remember joking to myself back then that Darrell’s appearing more than he did in his final season as an actual cast member! (Actually, that’s probably not an exaggeration.)
— Never liked Darrell’s Ahnuld impression.
— While I’m not caring all that much for some of his dialogue in this Ahnuld commentary, Darrell’s big energy is making it fun, which is something I’m not used to saying these past few seasons, given Darrell’s perpetual sluggish, low-energy performances in his later seasons as a cast member.
— I like how Kenan’s Charles Barkley is constantly referring to Seth as “Screech”.
— The usual hilarious absurd dialogue from Kenan’s Barkley all throughout his commentary.
— The Barkley commentary is an early display of Seth laughing his way through a guest’s commentary, which, IIRC, would go on to be a semi-regular thing when he interacts with certain Update guests.
— Seth’s “Eeyore finally did it” joke is one of his most memorable Update jokes of all time.
— Seth has some really strong jokes tonight in general.
— After spending her (official) first episode the preceding week being practically invisible and having no lines whatsoever, Nasim Pedrad gets her first big showcase.
— Nasim is immediately coming off so well in this first showcase of hers. Very strong and fun performance from her.
— This Mr. & Mrs. Ahmadinejad commentary is utilizing Fred’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad much better than that weak Update commentary he and Maya Rudolph (as Mahmoud’s translator) did two seasons prior.
— Very solid Update overall. Best one in a while, in my opinion.
STARS: ****


SO YOU COMMITTED A CRIME & YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE
cons do reality show

— Interesting concept for a So You Think You Can Dance parody.
— Boy, that scowl Abby’s making as Nancy Grace is almost downright scary-looking.
— Hilarious visual of Bill as Phil Spector.
— Will makes his ONLY appearance of this entire episode in a non-speaking role in a post-Weekend Update sketch. A sad sign of things to come for his airtime in this final season of his. That being said, even in a silent role, he’s killing it in this sketch, fittingly playing a character who we’re told looks like a sex offender.
— In hindsight, it feels kinda odd seeing Will and Nasim interacting with each other, knowing this is Will’s final season and Nasim’s first. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of many other interactions between them this season.
— Some good laughs from Fred’s constant attempts to escape during his and Kristen’s dance rehearsal.
— I love the visual of Jason as a cop handcuffed to Fred and sternly staring him down during his and Kristen’s dance sequence.
— Then-new SNL writer and future cast member Mike O’Brien (credited at this time in SNL’s writing credits as Michael Patrick O’Brien) makes his first onscreen SNL appearance, playing a stage manager whispering into Andy-as-Kevin-Federline’s ear (the ninth above screencap for this sketch).
— Jenny Slate makes her first live sketch appearance since her notorious accidental F-bomb in the preceding episode…and, as no surprise, she has NO dialogue here, nor anywhere else in tonight’s episode. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
— Kenan’s mentally disturbed character is very funny. I also love Ryan’s various reactions to him.
— An overall fun sketch with a lot of laughs.
STARS: ****


INTERNATIONAL MASTERWORKS
Norway doesn’t capture spirit of USA cop drama

— Bill’s a tad stumbly in his opening intro.
— Funny concept with Norwegian actors’ bad attempts at casual English speaking and American accents.
— For some reason, Andy’s “Do you want me to strike him with a knuckle sandwich?” line has stuck with me over the years.
— I can see why some people would find this to be another typical “Fred does an annoying voice” sketch, but, despite the sketch’s thinness, I’m finding it to be decent enough.
STARS: ***


MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs a medley of her hits


BACKSTAGE
backstage, ANS & musical guest are wearing the same bubble outfit

— Nice to see a non-monologue backstage sketch, which feels rare to me at this point of SNL’s run.
— Big night for Andy. He’s been all over this episode, especially the post-Weekend Update half.
— Amusing visual of Andy and Lady Gaga both wearing the same bubble dress.
— Fun gag with Gaga and Andy’s constant failed attempts to kiss each other over the bubbles on their costumes.
— Funny ending with Lorne’s bubble tie.
— Overall, short and sweet.
STARS: ***½


GOODNIGHTS

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A solid episode with a smooth-sailing feel, a huge improvement over the mediocre season premiere. This episode flowed really well, with absolutely no segments I disliked. Hell, this episode was so good that, for once, even a Fredbama cold opening and freakin’ Deep House Dish worked for me. I’m not an avid listener of Lady Gaga’s music, but even her special medley during her second musical performance in this episode caught my attention and fascinated me, especially in how much it felt like a mini-concert.


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


RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
On The Ground
Celebrity Family Feud
So You Committed A Crime & You Think You Can Dance
Weekend Update
Obama’s Checklist
Mostly Garbage Dog Food
Backstage
Mike’s Fountainry
Deep House Dish
Monologue
International Masterworks


HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Megan Fox)
a big step up


My full set of screencaps for this episode is here


TOMORROW
Drew Barrymore hosts for her sixth and, as of 2020, final time