SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW: Wait, is this supposed to be funny? I don’t get it, and the song itself doesn’t do much for me either. The sketch just doesn’t seem to ever fully come together, and it’s way too long; Michael Strahan is certainly entertaining, though. GRADE: C-
MONOLOGUE: My favorite part of this monologue is the pre-taped footage of McCarthy being a douche to everyone after her last show; as for the rest of it, hey, it’s fairly entertaining. Thompson with a ninja star in his head is hilarious, and the segment as a whole is, thankfully, different than all our other monologues. GRADE: B-
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+
Hey, guys, so I’m in LA today, meaning this live blog will begin at 11:30 Pacific time.
WRAPPINGVILLE: These are fun; there’s no question about that. The thing is, I’m already past the point of caring about them because they aren’t fun enough to scrape by on nostalgia. This specific one puts a nice spin on things with Fallon and Timberlake and has some pretty clever wordplay, but I just don’t enjoy it as much. GRADE: B-
MONOLOGUE: This is a perfectly good monologue that allows Fallon to sing, do some impressions of David Bowie, Paul McCartney, and Bob Dylan, and bring in Paul McCartney as our first guest of the night. It’s not anything original, but it’s absolutely enjoyable, and it allows Fallon to do what he does best. GRADE: B+
FAMILY FEUD: The “impressions” premise is fine enough, and I’m a sucker for these kinds of sketches. Fallon and Timberlake seem to have some kind of unique relationship that’s endearing to watch, and it’s no different when they crack up here. Taran Killam’s Ashton Kutcher is great and Fallon does a good Sheldon Cooper–Sheldon Cooper, not Jim Parsons. Thompson is also as enjoyable as ever, and oh, there’s something about Brooks Whelan not getting enough screen time. GRADE: B+
LET’S DO IT IN MY TWIN BED: And the pre-recorded segments strike again. My, this is fantastic, if only for allowing the women of SNL to shine. The song is catchy, the visual touches are amazing, and the premise is creative. Also, we get to see pictures of the cast members as seven year olds! GRADE: A-
THE BARRY GIBB TALK SHOW: Well, I’m surprised to see this sketch again. Still, it’s fairly enjoyable, and Fallon’s energy is what keeps it going; it’s also great to see Killam’s Paul Ryan back. Out of our two guests here, Barry Gibb makes more of an impression; Madonna is fairly superfluous, to be honest with you. Also, it seems like Timberlake’s a co-host. GRADE: B-
WEEKEND UPDATE: This is a nice send-off to Seth Meyers without being overly sentimental. Michael Bloomberg brings a nice dynamic to the Fallon-Meyers interactions, and I have to say, I will miss Meyers. He could get grating at times, but he was a solid weekend update host with some nice relationships with certain guests. As for the rest of the update, it’s fairly middling, even with McKinnon’s Billie Jean King, but hey, it’s solid. GRADE: B
WAKING UP WITH KIMYE: I like this sketch, and Pharoah’s Kanye is the highlight; the dynamic between him and Pedrad is fantastic, and there are some really hilarious lines in there. Oh, and of course we get a Bound 2 parody. GRADE: B-
NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL CHRISTMAS: Well, here’s another impression sketch, and it’s very solid; Fallon’s impressions are all very good, Cecily Strong is great as Alanis Morrisette, and Kate McKinnon nails Shakira. GRADE: B
A CHRISTMAS CAROL: This brings a string of good sketches to a screeching halt. The main takeaway is that Ebenezer Scrooge was gay, and I just don’t find any of it funny at all. Not even Killam’s energy can save this sketch. GRADE: D+
BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE: This is great. Fallon and Strong have amazing chemistry, and the concept is excellent; it’s a very sweet sketch that showcases some great singing voices and the ability of the writers to tell a whole story in such a short time. GRADE: A-
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE: I like Justin Timberlake, but I feel like he got caught up by the visual aspect in the first performance. However, the second performance shows off his skill in a much more impressive way, and it’s a solid ending to the night. GRADE: B+
OVERALL: B+
This is a very good finisher to the year that utilizes Fallon and Timberlake very well, as well as incorporating some guest stars into the proceedings. It also manages to provide a send-off to Seth Meyers, and there really is only one dud in this episode. I’m impressed, SNL.
Anyway, that does it for SNL live blogs for the year. Have a safe and happy holiday season, everyone.
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.
Check back in every 10 or so minutes for updates.
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