Cold Open: New Democratic Candidates
President Biden announces his new team of advisors.
• First time we’ve seen JAJ as Biden in a while. If you can believe it, this ends up being the ONLY time we see his Biden impression all season!
• You won’t believe how hard I grimaced when Biden made an Among Us joke.
• We then get a parade of impressions, starting with Chloe as Marianne Williamson, who she previously played back in her first episode. Something about the voice reminds me of Kate McKinnon, which is the last person I want to be reminded of.
• Molly introduces a Guy Fieri impression. This marks the start of a troubling trend with Molly being typecast as fat male celebrities. The impression itself is nowhere near as good as Bobby Moynihan’s take.
• Marcello as Tekashi 6ix9ine was so bad it was funny.
• An unwelcome return of Cecily’s Stormy Daniels impression. Can you please leave already?
• I did get a laugh from Ego as Azelia Banks and her ridiculous outfit.
• Kenan couldn’t sound a thing like Tracy Morgan if he tried.
• Wow, that was awful. It might be even worse than the one from two episodes ago.
Monologue
Schumer does stand-up about pregnant women and being intimate with her husband.
• That midterm abortion/election joke was terrible.
• Right off the bat, we’re getting vagina jokes. I knew she couldn’t resist.
• At least the vagina jokes were brief, but now she spends most of the rest of this monologue talking about fucking her husband.
• As if I couldn't hate her any more, she does a "joke" about Aspergers' syndrome having Nazi ties.
• TLDR: not a fan.
Sketch: Soup
Lunch gets interrupted by some shocking news.
• So far, absolutely nothing funny is happening.
• What’s the point of that scene where Amy glares at Marcello and Sarah? Is it a reference to something?
• As if this couldn’t get any worse, Kenan randomly appears in a bubble and starts singing for no reason. Did I mention that this was written by Kent Sublette?
• Overall, this sketch was extremely weak and confusing. This episode is already making me cringe.
Fake Ad: COVID
The best way to get a 10-day break.
• A pretty good concept of people intentionally getting COVID to keep others from bothering them.
• I like the logo a lot (it’s a COVID spore with a little happy face). For some reason it reminds me of the National Science Foundation logo.
• Nice to see Michael get a big role here. I like how he says he’s been “quadruple vaxxed”, if you count his shot for HPV.
• The scenes of Sarah jumping on the bed and coughing are great.
• I like how one of the things you can get out of doing is “friend’s improv show”.
• Even the random reference to the Capitol riots was funny.
• Overall, a surprisingly funny and sharp satire, especially with the advanced knowledge that COVID is no longer a national health emergency.
Sketch: Jurors
Three jury members struggle to keep their excitement under control during a trial.
• This sketch was originally cut from last season’s Jerrod Carmichael episode.
• Marcello gets another big role here as the defendant.
• As soon as I saw that shot of Amy, Bowen, and Sarah in the jury, standing out from everyone else, I knew we were in for a rough sketch.
• Sure enough, the only joke of this sketch is the three of them overreacting to everything.
• I cringed at Bowen asking the sketch artist to “yassify” him.
• Making matters worse is Judge Kenan delivering all of his lines extremely over the top as usual. Have I made it clear that I absolutely hate Kenan now?
• That open mouthed face Sarah keeps making is very distracting and so unlike her. Who does she think she is? Chloe Fineman?
• Predictable ending where the three jurors end up solving the crime. We then get the sketch of them that they requested earlier, complete with a “yassified” Bowen.
• A rare miss for a Sarah Sherman sketch. I can’t believe she would go along with this crap.
Sketch: Twitter Council
Twitter’s Content Moderation Council tries to decide whether or not to unban several previously-banned accounts.
• Our latest variation of those town hall/meeting sketches. The last one from the Willem Dafoe episode was pretty good, so I had some high hopes for this one…hopes which were immediately shattered by the overused text crawl opening.
• Cecily has played way too many of these right-wing conspiracy nuts in her career. I think it’s supposed to be the same one she played in an earlier installment of these.
• Funny twist how Bowen’s “veteran” character is actually a veteran in Call of Duty. The reason he got banned (he doxxed a middle-schooler) was also pretty good.
• I actually thought Amy’s character was one of the better ones here. I especially love how she almost seduces Kenan into revealing his Social Security number before Chloe cuts him off.
• Speaking of Kenan, he actually isn’t doing too bad in this one. These low-key performances are the ones he excels at.
• Punkie still exists! She tells everyone that she and her buddies from Black Twitter are going over to revive MySpace, to which Kenan responds with a perfect, “I’ll see you there!”
• Unfortunately, this sketch comes to a screeching halt with the unwelcome return of JAJ’s Trump. I guess I should have seen it coming with the premise being people getting banned from Twitter.
• Super lame and predictable ending where Chloe and Kenan’s characters get fired.
• This sketch was actually somewhat okay for the first half, but the part with Trump just ruined it. SNL needs to just let Trump go and focus on other Republican idiots.
Film: The Looker
A family receives a strange letter after moving into a new home.
• Marcello with another big role!! Good for him!!!!
• I like the creepy vibe this has. There’s also some unique camera angles that you hardly ever see on SNL, like the POV shot from the bushes.
• Great shot of Amy creepily staring out the window as her husband (JAJ) leaves for his jog.
• I got a big laugh from Amy jerking off to an episode of The Property Brothers.
• Stalker: “Why is she so aroused by that show? Is it the brothers? Or is it the property?”
• And they just keep going back to the Property Brothers after this!
• All of Amy’s attempts to cover up her weird habits are great, like how she tries to excuse her downloading every episode of the show by saying someone broke into their house and did it.
• I absolutely love the ending where Amy makes the rest of the family stay in a hotel for the night while she stays behind in case the stalker comes back. How does she spend that time? By staying in her room and watching Property Brothers with her pants open!
• Overall, this was a great short film. I can’t believe Amy fucking Schumer made me laugh so much.
Musical Performance: “Bad Habit”
Weekend Update (featuring Tammy the Trucker)
• I got a chuckle from Che’s “Hebrews II Negroes” joke.
• Another great Che joke about China sending children into space to assemble their space station.
• *sigh* I totally forgot that the following commentary was in this episode. Anyway, remember that awful clown commentary that Cecily did last season? Well, now she’s dressed as “Tammy the Trucker, who’s here to talk about gas prices and definitely not abortion”. I kid you not. After the horrible reception that last one received, you’d think she wouldn’t try this again. But I guess not!
• Just listen to the dead silence from the audience for most of this. Even they’re not impressed with this awful, showboating performance from a hack who’s way past her prime.
• As bad as the Goober the Clown commentary was, I think this one might be worse. Definitely a low point of Cecily’s career, and, believe me, that’s saying something, considering all of the shit she’s appeared in.
Note: After Update, a dedication appears for someone named “Take Off” Ball.
Sketch: Jets Fans
Rowdy Jets fans annoy everyone (including me).
• Ugggh, I forgot all about this sketch. I remember it being extremely awful.
• Yep, here comes a shouting festival from Cecily (man, this has not been a good episode for her).
• Longfellow appears just so he can get mocked for being a Bills fan. What a waste.
• After having such a good season so far, this is only the first time we’ve seen Mikey in this episode. This was a sketch he wrote, by the way.
• The scene where they all yell at a bunch of children makes me feel uncomfortable.
• Awful, awful scene where Amy assaults a guy in a wheelchair.
• Wow, that was extremely painful. I can’t believe how rapidly this episode is falling apart.
Fake Ad: Pinx Period Underwear
A new option for women having their periods.
• More vagina jokes? I’m surprised this entire episode hasn’t been nothing but that.
• I’m not quite sure I understand the “gag” with all of the animals being attracted to Amy’s underwear. Is there something in them that attracts animals? Gee, it sure would have been nice if they established that!
• Ugh, this episode just continues to die.
Sketch: WKTVN News
Victims of a fire are interviewed.
• Uh-oh, a news intro. I’m getting worried…
• Michael’s name is “Chance Harmstrong”? Gee, I WONDER who wrote this?!!?? (*sees Kent Sublette’s name*) What a shock.
• Another sign that this is a Sublette sketch is when Cecily shows up and starts talking in a cartoony Southern accent.
• This sketch is just nothing but bad accents and “wacky” characters. In other words, a typical Kent Sublette sketch.
• Not even the fact that Molly gets a second appearance tonight is enough to make me smile.
• No comment on the scene where Cecily and Amy flash the camera.
• What the fuck is happening to this episode? This is the third sketch in a row that made me want to puke.
Sketch: Big Penis Therapy
A discussion about the positive effects of destigmatizing therapy for men.
• I love all the airtime Andrew has gotten in this episode.
• Ugh at the reveal that the therapy Andrew has been going to is for his penis. We got a nice long reprieve from dick jokes for a while.
• I usually like Andrew’s sketches, but not even he can make a sketch where everyone keeps saying “penis” over and over a good idea.
Musical Performance: “Helmet”
Sketch: Big Dumb Hat
The new hat that’s perfect for any occasion.
• I’m sorry, am I watching a rejected Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant team up sketch? This is exactly like those awful ads they used to do. I’m guessing the reason is because this was written by Alison Gates, who wrote a lot of those sketches. Kent Sublette is also credited as a writer, which is another bad sign.
• Heidi’s voice in this is so annoying. This is just one of many annoying roles she will go on to play this season.
• Not even the pictures of them demonstrating the hats are making me laugh.
• I did get a surprise laugh from Heidi saying she made a baby while wearing that hat.
• The onscreen text that shows up when they say “Hat, Dumb, Big” is slightly delayed.
• Nice fake pizza you’re eating there, Heidi.
• The only other laugh I got was Chloe showing the crease on her forehead from the hat.
• I really wanted to appreciate this sketch for how much it’s trying to come off as intentionally cheesy, but it’s still just a throwback to an era of the show I’m glad we’re no longer in.
Final thoughts: Wow, that was one of the most bipolar episodes I’ve ever seen. While there was some good stuff in the first half, the show fell apart after Update and never recovered. While Amy Schumer wasn’t as annoying as I thought she was going to be, she didn’t help the show at all. I hope she never hosts again.
Best sketches: COVID, The Looker
Worst sketches: Monologue, Jurors, Tammy the Trucker commentary, Jets Fans, Pinx Period Underwear, WKTVN News
Next review: Dave Chappelle/Black Star
No comments:
Post a Comment