MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY: Pete Davidson and Kenan Thompson have a pretty great rapport, although there aren’t many jokes that land here. I did, however, enjoy the jab at the Academy for the Selma snubs. GRADE: B
MONOLOGUE: I’m far from the biggest Kevin Hart fan, but I always do enjoy when the hosts break out a standup routine rather than a generic song/questions from the audience bit. The audience loves him here, and the stuff about the driveway, raccoons, and mountain lions is funny. GRADE: B
JUSTIN BIEBER FOR CALVIN KLEIN: Kate McKinnon’s Justin Bieber is, as always, excellent, and this is a short and sweet commercial parody that features some hilarious physical comedy. “Yo, my pee pee’s in there.” GRADE: B
WHY’D YOU POST THAT?: The funniest parts of the sketch are the couch/dungeon gag and Mooney’s orangutan nipples. Other than that, it’s fairly average, but it’s a good concept that does make for some laughs. GRADE: B
BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN: Sometimes, just allowing a few cast members to interact with each other can lead to some of the funniest material of the show. Thompson, Hart, and Jay are all hilarious here, and the dogs, the mayonnaise, and the shooting are all bizarre, yet somehow fitting. Not a perfect sketch by any means, but still great. GRADE: B+
JAMES BROWN: This is an entertaining sketch all around, and it’s always great when a lot of the cast comes together for a segment like this. The first name changing and the chicken parm with mustard are incredibly random, yet funny, and Hart’s fun to watch as Brown. GRADE: B
NANCY: As long as these kinds of sketches don’t overstay their welcome, then I’m fine with them. Yeah, it’s a juvenile and one-note type of humor, but it’s still pretty amusing. GRADE: B-
BIEBER CALVIN KLEIN x2: I feel like the audience doesn’t think this is as funny as it really is. I love Strong’s reactions, and McKinnon is awesome. GRADE: B+
WEEKEND UPDATE: Kate McKinnon is killing it in this episode. She’s awesome as Mrs. Santini, and her notes are hilarious. As for the update jokes, Jost’s “Let it go” one is pretty good, and I liked Che’s about the Pope. GRADE: B
DRAGON: These folks are actually pretty good singers. Aside from that, the initial joke doesn’t really go anywhere here, and the sketch simply can’t hold up a flimsy premise past the first bit. GRADE: C+
HEINZ HALL: I like the set up here, as Jay Pharaoh bringing out his Hart impression right next to Kevin Hart is a great idea. Like with the previous sketch, though, it starts out funny and gets less so as the sketch progresses. GRADE: B-
SIA: The only way for this to really work was to have Jim Carrey and Kate McKinnon be the dancers. Alas, that did not happen, but both performances were still pretty unique and incorporated other elements aside from singing. That’s always a good thing. GRADE: B-
RAP: Fun sketch with some funny jokes, although it’s a pretty meh sketch to close out the night. Hart really brought the energy, though. GRADE: C+
OVERALL: B-
Photo credit: NBC, Saturday Night Live
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I actually thought that this was one of the best episodes of this season, so far. I really like this cast. I have to give the monologue and the Calvin Klein ads As. Great review, as always!
This was a really solid and funny SNL episode! I loved Kevin Hart’s monologue and I appreciate that he did not do the tired singing ( often poorly), have friends come and join you and the cast, opening.
Sia is one of my favourite musical artists! Loved her performance and the dancers and the mime.
And of course Kate the Great! I love Kate McKinnon, she is truly comedy gold. I am so happy that she had a big chance to shine this week, and I was very happy that Taran was more in the background ( I really do not find him funny at all).
Kevin Hart is a good storyteller comedian, one of his funniest bits is when he talks about The Man Pigeon. So funny Polarbear, you should give it a gander! 🙂
Oh, when he was talking about the raccoon, all I could think of was the singing Christmas raccoons, which made me laugh even more. I wonder it the raccoons know each other? 😉