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HETEROSEXUAL FIGURE SKATING: ROAD TO SOCHI--Okay? I have mixed feelings on this; on the one hand, the premise isn’t particularly great, but on the other, the visual of Pharoah, Moynihan, and the rest trying to skate is good from some hilarious moments. GRADE: C+
MONOLOGUE: Hey, Jonah Hill. He comes out and everyone starts asking questions about DiCaprio, and there’s Leo himself! I wasn’t sure he would show up–thank you, Jonah Hill–but he does, and the interplay is fantastic here. The Titanic moment is great, and I’m hoping Leo can come back sometime with an Oscar to his name. GRADE: B+
BENIHANA: Adam Grossman’s back, and here’s some diminishing returns. Hill makes the sketch fairly entertaining, but it really just consists of him acting immature for a few minutes. It’s not necessarily funny as a whole, although some of the jokes are. GRADE: B-
THE HIT: The pre-recorded segments are usually great, and this one, although it’s not up to par with some of the other offerings, is still thoroughly entertaining. It’s a good concept, and Thompson, Killam, and Pharoah really milk the sketch for all it’s worth. GRADE: B+
COUPLES QUIZ: I’m pleasantly surprised; although this turns into a simple, one-note “bathroom joke” sketch, it actually subverts our expectations by not going ahead with the game show premise. Also, hey, bathroom jokes can be funny sometimes. GRADE: B
WEEKEND UPDATE: They spelled ‘whiskey’ wrong. Sorry, that’s just the grammar-phobe in me. Anyway, this is a great update; for one, I’m glad that Strong gets to conduct the interview with the cop who arrested Bieber (I’m also pleasantly surprised they didn’t have McKinnon break out her (albeit fantastic) impression two weeks in a row). In addition, McKinnon’s Olya Povlatsky is brilliant. GRADE: B+
SWEETLAND RANCH: This does not work anywhere near as well as, say, “Couples Quiz” does. It’s predictable, overlong, and people getting antagonized by a horse isn’t as funny as it sounds. GRADE: C
ME: “Her” is my favorite film of the year, but this parody doesn’t exactly do it much justice. Still, although it isn’t really inventive for a trailer sketch (I think the Phillip Seymour Hoffman-as-Samantha video that surfaced recently was better), it’s still highly entertaining. “I’ll start by giving butterfly kisses to your testicles” is a fantastic line, and Michael Cera’s here. I hope that’s in reference to Ann. GRADE: B-
WORK DINNER PARTY: The first time Hill goes into the bathroom and yells his lungs out, it’s amusing, but otherwise, it goes on for a bit too long. Still, Hill is very entertaining here, and his reactions are just about perfect; that’s the only thing that saves the sketch, because “screaming” is not a very good premise. GRADE: C+
INSIDE SOCAL: Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett…two weeks, two misses. Maybe I’m missing the point here, but this sketch doesn’t really have the charm or the energy they brought to their earlier segments. GRADE: C-
BASTILLE: These guys are perfectly good to listen to, and the two songs are both nice. “Pompeii” consists of some great writing while the “Oblivion” performance creates a nice atmosphere. GRADE: B
LAMBORGHINI: Oh God, this is amazing. There are way too many quotes to take down, so I won’t, but when you’re referencing rim jobs, gash mileages, testicles as “things you step on”, HPV, and countless other sexual car innuendo, you’re doing a great job. Also, they throw in a good ‘ol “Wolf of Wall Street” porn joke. GRADE: A-
OVERALL: B
Photo credit: NBC, Saturday Night Live
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