All times central.
Sound of Music: Sorry, show, I didn’t really want to see Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig back, much less this character. Both had some good characters back in the day, but if they’re going to come back, it has to be better than the lameness here. I knew a Sound of Music parody would arise eventually, but not like this. GRADE: C-
Monologue: I also knew the Anchorman cast would show up, but this is great; the Nine Direction are a sight to see, and it’s hilarious watching all of them interact. “Why don’t you sit on Santa’s lap and ask for some balls?” says Steve Carell, and then they all burst into “Afternoon Delight”. It’s great. GRADE: B+
Al Sharpton: Well, here’s another tired ObamaCare spoof; Paul Rudd is criminally under-used here, and the main joke of this sketch is the inability of Sharpton to read. Some funny moments, but overall, it’s stale. GRADE: C+
One Direction’s Biggest Fan: So it’s a good, albeit very surface, concept here, and it’s worth it to see Paul Rudd as One Direction’s biggest fan. Many of the jokes don’t really land, though–it’s a purely sight gag sketch, I’ll give it that–and it goes on a bit too long. GRADE: B-
DIVORCE MEETING: Well, this is pretty fun. Paul Rudd and Vanessa Bayer break out dancing to Fleetwood Mac’s “I Don’t Want to Know”, and it’s just really entertaining. I liked the various interludes as well; the sketch could’ve been split up into two, honestly. GRADE: B
WEEKEND UPDATE: So the actual news jokes are pretty mediocre this week, but the guests are good. I know I’ll get tired of both of them at some point, so hopefully SNL doesn’t run them into the ground (nice quip about this very fact by Atkinson). Anyway, Killam and Bayer (it’ll be interesting to see Jacob’s interactions with Cecily) do great work, as always. “I probably shouldn’t do this after the audience went full bitch over the Snoopy joke!” “Charlie Brown, you have a pube on your forehead!” I love this guy, even if it wasn’t as crazy as last time, though. Edited to add: The show has Ron Burgundy in the studio; why not use him here? GRADE: B
MICHELANGELO: So, dick jokes; that’s all there is to this sketch, and the show knows it; Jay Pharoah pops in for a few seconds at a time to make tiny penis jokes, and this shouldn’t be funny at all. But hey, it isn’t AS bad as I was expecting. GRADE: C
WHITE CHRISTMAS: Okay, so we’re parodying “Best Man Holiday” and “Black Nativity” now; it’s a flimsy premise, but there are certainly some funny moments in there, even given the fact that everything’s too on-the-nose. Sadly, it’ll probably ignite a race discussion at some point tomorrow. GRADE: B-
SANTA’S WORKSHOP: So the cast is pretty good at playing elves, but the sketch never really gels; Kate McKinnon isn’t as funny as the concept suggests here, and while the general concept is pretty good, the jokes never land. GRADE: C
28 MILES AWAY: Although I wasn’t a fan of the sketch as a whole and it’s one-note premise, I’m glad about the attempt and the approach to it; Cecily Strong’s great, and Rudd’s Victor makes for a few laughs. It’s unique, I’ll give it that. GRADE: B-
ONE DIRECTION: So, these guys perform “Story of My Life and “Through the Dark”. These are some pretty generic pop songs here, but hey, I don’t have as much of a problem with them as a bunch of people I know. I’m not going to seek out their songs, but they aren’t terrible. GRADE: B-
BILL BRASKY: Well, I’m always a sucker for a five-minute workshop of spouting out one-liners. This hearkens back to the old days, which is something that it already has going for it, and although I would’ve liked to see the Anchorman cast utilized better (get in something, Carell. You and Rudd are my favorites.), I think this is a solid bookend to the night; it’s way too long, though. GRADE: B+
Now we’ll close out with whatever I could catch from the Brasky sketch:
“I actively worship the Devil.”
“Last night I made sweet, passionate love to a box of Kleenex.”
“Brasky’s ejaculate can cure leprosy.” “I wish I had leprosy.”
“Brasky gave AIDS back to the monkeys.”
“I like to sneak into hospitals and kiss coma patients.”
“Brasky once punched a bald eagle because it wasn’t patriotic enough.”
OVERALL GRADE: B-
NEXT WEEK: John Goodman, who is amazing. I was excited to see him in Inside Llewyn Davis, but alas, my theater didn’t carry the movie yet. That means I’ll have American Hustle, Inside Llewyn Davis, Anchorman, (hopefully) Her, and The Wolf of Wall Street to watch over the course of a week. It’s looking to be a good upcoming weeks for movies. Alright, that’s it for the movie talk for me; sorry.
Credit to NBC and Saturday Night Live for all pictures. I own nothing.
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