Amy Schumer/The Weeknd October 10, 2015

Season 41 is surprisingly off to a good start, despite the choice for the host and musical guest. Last week, Miley Cyrus pulled double duty as host and musical guest. I was surprised she didn’t do anything too crazy but this was her third time hosting so I think she had a sense of what not to do on the show that would get her banned. Don’t get me wrong, Cyrus is very talented but she wouldn’t have been my first choice to host the premiere. Some highlights from the season 41 premiere are:

            -A cold open debuting Taran Killam’s Donald Trump impression and Cecily Strong’s Melania Trump impression.

            -A monologue about the many news events that happened over the summer.

            - A sketch about a school dance in the 50’s with a subtle Hannah Montana joke and Miley’s character being up, close, and personal with Jon Rudnitsky’s character (That’s one way to welcome a new cast member).

            -Hillary Clinton making a cameo as a bartender alongside Kate Hillary impression.

            -The return of Pete and Leslie to the Update desk.

            -A sketch about millennials that could probably become the next “The Californians”.

            -A sketch about the deli in When Harry Met Sally.

            -A short about everyone in the world joining Taylor Swift’s squad.

This week, first time host Amy Schumer comes to the 8H stage fresh off her Emmy win for her show Inside Amy Schumer and her hot new movie Trainwreck. The musical guest is The Weeknd with his first appearance as the musical guest (he was on last season’s premiere as a featured singer during Ariana Grande’s performance last season of “Love Me Harder”). I had been looking forward to this episode since it was announced because I love Amy Schumer and she was due to host. I though Schumer did a great job hosting and The Weeknd also had some great performances. Here’s my take on the episode.

Sketch Rundown:

Fox & Friends: Speaker of the House Cold Open:

I love the Fox & Friends sketches and I’m so glad they brought it back. I thought this one especially was hilarious, Bobby’s lines especially. I love Bobby Taran, and Vanessa together in sketches since they have great chemistry together. I thought it was funny that Pete was playing a politician since he doesn’t do that many impressions. I also loved Kate’s character and loved her line “My name sounds like a law firm.” One of my favorite parts of these sketches is the corrections at the end. I love reading them and they’re always so ridiculous that they’re funny. This had to be one of my favorite cold opens of the season.

Amy Schumer Monologue:

I loved Amy’s monologue and I thought she was hilarious. I loved the joke about the little girl who play Schumer as a little girl in Trainwreck and how the camera zoomed into her face when she said “Well what does that mean Devin?” I loved the Kardashian joke as well as the line “She lost a Kendall.” I also loved the Miranda joke about being named after rights. I also loved her Hillary Clinton joke and the line “Who’s hazing Hillary Clinton?” I loved her Bradley Cooper “engagement” joke and thought it was funny. I also loved a lot of the jokes she had about herself and her little niece. Overall, I thought Amy’s monologue was hilarious and thought she did a great job.

Delta Flight:

I really liked this sketch and the parody of “Wannabe.” I thought Taran and Kenan were hilarious in this sketch. I thought the falling out of the plane bit was funny as well as Vanessa shutting the door on Amy and Amy clinging to the window. I loved the lines “And because of this inconvenience, you can all watch San Andreas for free,” and “Was I out there for a full year?” This had to be one of my favorite sketches of the episode.

Porn Teacher:

I thought this was a weird sketch and it took me a little bit to figure out that this was supposed to be a porno. I did, however, like how they used different effects to make it look like a video. I also liked Aidy’s character interrupting and bringing in Vanessa as her mom was funny. Even though this sketch had some funny moments, it wasn’t my favorite sketch.

Guns:

I thought this short was funny. I also loved how there was a gun for every occasion and how it poked fun at gun enthusiasts. This was a little awkward timing with the school shooting in Oregon but I still found it very comical. I loved the baby’s first gun bit and thought it was funny. I also loved the tagline “Guns. We’re here to stay.” I understand why there would be some controversy surrounding this sketch but it’s something that needs to be talked about.

The Weeknd “The Hills” Performance:

I liked this performance even though I’m not that familiar with this song. I was surprised to see Nicki Minaj appear during the performance. I thought this was a good performance with a catchy song.

Weekend Update:

I thought this week’s Weekend Update had a strong start on both parts. I loved Colin’s opening joke about the race for the new Speaker of the House and Che’s line about Ben Carson, “Dr. Carson, be honest. Was your medical degree given to you sarcastically?” I loved the bit on gun control as well as the lists and the camera bit (I wasn’t sure if it was intentional or accidental but they played it off well if it was the latter). I liked Jay’s new character, Solomon, and a part of me wants to see this be a recurring character. I loved the American Apparel and the Bieber jokes from Jost as well as the joke about National Breast Cancer Awareness Month celebrations and the joke about retirees. I loved “The Weeknd Update” and thought it was funny. I loved seeing Mrs. Santini again and thought it was funny. I loved the lines “I’m so sorry your baby is a car alarm,” “I teach my monkey how to steal in the street,” and “I’m so sorry your apartment is Bonaroo.” Overall, I thought this was another solid Update.

Ford’s Theatre:

I thought this was an okay sketch but I thought Amy was hilarious in this sketch. Although they were using the same joke over and over again, I thought it worked for this sketch in particular. I loved the camera bit and Amy taking off Kyle’s mustache and then stuffing it down her dress when it fell off her face. One thing I wondered about in this sketch is why they didn’t use more cast members as extras in this sketch. I was thinking “Who the hell are these people?” when I saw so many extras that weren’t cast members. I was surprised I ended up liking this sketch a lot more than I thought I would.

Hands-Free Selfie Stick:

I thought this was a funny short and a great way to make fun of the selfie stick. I thought it was funny that Amy appeared in this short as herself. I loved this short but I don’t think I would buy a hands-free selfie stick for myself.

City Council Meeting:

I thought this sketch was very funny and I thought it was great that Amy brought one of her characters from her show to this show. I thought it worked for this sketch even though I’m not too familiar with Inside Amy Schumer. I also loved Aidy and Kenan in this sketch and I loved Kenan’s “monster hands.” I liked this sketch a lot and thought it was funny.

The Weeknd “Can’t Feel My Face” Performance:

I love this song and this was my favorite performance out of the two. The song is so catchy and it just makes you want to dance. I loved this performance and I love this song.

Baby Shower:

I thought this sketch was funny. I loved Cecily in this sketch and thought her crying was so believable. Her crying through the majority of the sketch reminded me of the “Blue River Dog Food” sketch from season 39. I loved the chemistry between Amy and Cecily in this sketch as well as the line “First name is ‘Did you take my purse?’” I loved this sketch and thought it was a great way to end the show.

Overall, I thought this was another solid episode. Amy Schumer did a great job as host and I hope she comes back to host sometime again in the future. In my opinion, season 41 is off to a great start. I wasn’t surprised that Jon didn’t appear in the episode at all since he had such a big show last week and he probably had a bunch of stuff cut before the live show (hope this isn’t a trend since this happened to Pete at the same time last season).

In the last post, I did forget to mention that SNL hired six new writers before the season started. The new writers are former Upright Citizens Brigade performers Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, and Will Stephen, former Late Show with David Letterman writers Paul Masella and Chris Belair, and stand-up comedian David Sirus. Welcome to the show and hope we see you guys around for a while.

This has been my take on the SNL episode hosted by Amy Schumer with musical guest The Weeknd. I’ll be back soon with a review of a very special episode of SNL with host Tracy Morgan and musical guest Demi Lovato. Please spread the word about the blog and subscribe to the blog. Also, follow the blog on Twitter @SNLblogger. I live tweet during new episodes on the blog’s Twitter so feel free to join in on the conversation. Feel free to start your own conversations about episodes in the comments section but keep them clean. Also, please feel free to give me constructive criticism about the blog so I can improve the blog in any way.

Thanks for reading!

Lauren

Miley Cyrus October 3, 2015

Welcome to season 41! It was a long summer (it at least felt like it) without new episodes of SNL but the wait is over. Season 40 ended with Louis C.K. and Rihanna and it was one hell of a finale. Louis C.K. did a great job closing out season 40 and Rihanna had two good performances. Some highlights from the season 40 finale and news include:

            -A cold open about how it was finally summer and Hillary Clinton (Kate) was campaigning for the presidency (and a special appearance from Bill Clinton [Darrell]).

            -Louis C.K.’s monologue (enough said).

            -A very weird sketch about a shoemaker and elves.

            -PSA’s about a lumberjack.

            -The return of Taran’s Tom Brady impression, Pete, and Riblet.

            -The return of Jemma.

            -A show called Whoops! I Married a Lesbian!

As with the end of any season, we say goodbye to either writers, cast members, or a mix of the two. Also, for the start of the season, we also welcome new writers and cast members. Fortunately, we don’t have to say goodbye to any cast members but we do have to say goodbye to a few of the writers: Alison Rich, Claire Mulaney, Nick Rutheford from Beck and Kyle’s Good Neighbor videos, and unfortunately, we also say goodbye to longtime writer and one-time  cast member Mike O’Brien. Out of all of the writer departures, Mike O’Brien’s shocked me the most as it was unexpected even though he had been a writer since season 35. The good news, however is that they’re leaving the door open for O’Brien to come back and make his short films from time to time. Also for the start of the season, we welcome stand-up comedian and Groundlings alum Jon Rudnitsky. In addition, Kyle Mooney, Beck Bennet, Colin Jost, and Sasheer Zamata were promoted to repertory players with Michael Che, Pete Davidson, and Leslie Jones remaining as featured players. Before the premiere of season 41, Mooney’s promotion was the only one that was known. Nevertheless, it felt like it was time for some promotions.

For the premiere of the new season, Miley Cyrus pulls double duty as host and musical guest. She hosted early in season 39 and did a good job and I was pleasantly surprised that she did a good job in the sketches. The musical performances, however, are another story. In other words, they weren’t my favorite. To be honest, though, I haven’t been a fan of Cyrus’ since her Hannah Montana days. Here’s my take on the season opener.

Sketch Rundown:

Donald and Melania Trump Cold Open:

I had a feeling SNL was going to do something regarding Trump and I thought this was a great way to portray Trump. I loved the impressions and I thought Taran’s impression of Trump was spot-on and hilarious. I loved the jokes about the Trumps having the same interior decorator as Saddam Hussein, Trump saying that he loves immigrants and then points to Melania, Trump talking about his wall and China saying “Now that’s a wall!”, Hogwarts School of Business, and “I got the smartest guys” after Trump was talking about his plan for the economy. I also loved the lines “I’m just like you. A ‘Regular Joe,’ but better,” and “He puts his hair on one strand at a time.” I loved this cold open so much and I thought it was a great way to start season 41.

Miley Cyrus Monologue:

Surprisingly enough, I actually liked this monologue. I loved how they made fun of a lot of the stories that happened over the summer, since there were a lot of them. As soon as I saw Vanessa as Rachel Dolezal, I couldn’t stop laughing. Some of my favorites include Kenan as “Pizza Rat”, Taran as the dentist that killed Cecil the lion, Aidy as Kim Davis, and Kate as the guy that raised the price of the medication for AIDS. I was surprised that Cecily didn’t appear as Ariana Grande when they showed the doughnut she licked. I actually liked the song Miley sang (“My Way” by Frank Sinatra) and it really suited her voice well. Her outfit was, well, weird but she was at least wearing clothes. Overall, I thought this was a hilarious monologue.

Abilify for Candidates:

I loved this commercial parody, especially since Abilify is a real drug that treats schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and irritability associated with autism.  This sketch had a lot of great lines, including “It’s the only dementia medication prescribed for eleven specific people,” and “What was I thinking? This is our future president.” I thought this sketch was very funny.

50’s Dance:

I thought this was a good sketch. I felt like I was watching a parody of Grease. I thought Miley’s character was weird, even though I knew that was the joke of the sketch. This sketch was some way of welcoming Jon to the cast, especially with Miley grinding up against him and licking whipped cream off of his face. I loved the whole “She’s from Montana, right? I don’t think she’s been from Montana in a long time.” At first, it didn’t register that it was a joke about Hannah Montana but as soon as I realized it I couldn’t stop laughing. I thought Kenan’s “Nasty Jack” character was funny as well as the line “I don’t know if I wanna go all the way with you and Nasty Jack. I loved the hand jive bit near the end and, I admit, I was doing the hand jive while watching this. I also loved the piñata that Jon and Miley rode off on. I thought this was a funny, yet at times weird, sketch.

Hillary Clinton Bar Talk:

I loved this sketch so much! I loved seeing Hillary Clinton as Val the Bartender alongside Kate’s impression of her. I loved seeing Hillary be able to make fun of herself and I loved her Trump impression. This sketch had so many great lines, including “I’ve had a hard couple of twenty-two years,” “God I love a scalding hot vodka,” “I have a one-year-old granddaughter. She calls me Madame President,” and “He must. I wanna be the one to take him down. I will destroy him and I will mount his hair in the Oval Office!” I thought the vacation bit was hilarious. I also loved getting to see Darrell briefly as Bill Clinton and loved his line “Oh my God, they’re multiplying!” I loved the “Lean on Me” sing-a-long and the ending with Kate dancing around the bar holding the shoe. This sketch had to be my favorite sketch of the night.

Miley Cyrus “Karen Don’t Be Sad” Performance:

As I mentioned earlier, I haven’t been a fan of Miley’s since her Hannah Montana days. I thought this was an okay performance, especially from a song I’ve never even heard of. I thought her outfit was weird and looked like really long dreadlocks. I was also surprised Hillary Clinton stuck around to introduce the performance. I did think this was an okay performance and I’m still not a fan of Miley’s music.

Weekend Update:

I thought the first Weekend Update of season 41 had a strong start. I loved Jost’s opening joke with the punch line about “big boy pants”. I also loved the joke about the upcoming Democratic Presidential Debate and the punch line “The Human Lorax and three mannequins from Joseph A. Bank.” I also loved Che trying to name one of the other three Democratic nominees. I loved the Kim Davis joke and how Che said she was like a “homophobic Forrest Gump.” I loved seeing Kyle as Pope Francis (second appearance by his impression) and I loved the emoji bit where he tried to act out the different emojis. I loved the Mars water joke from Che as well as the banter between Jost and Che about the Burger King Halloween burger joke. I loved seeing Pete again and thought he was funny. I loved the Jost thumbs up bit and the Sanjaya/Trump comparison (I haven’t heard the name Sanjaya since I was in sixth grade). I loved seeing Leslie and thought she was hilarious. I loved how they brought up that she was filming Ghostbusters over the summer. I loved how she was like “I wish I was Jost-bustin’. I ain’t ‘fraid of no Jost.” I also loved one of her last lines, “I want to have sexuals with you Mr. Colin Jost!” Overall, I thought this was a funny Update and I really feel that Jost and Che are starting to get the hang of Weekend Update.

The Millennials:

I thought this sketch was okay. I felt like this was the typical sketch saved for after Update. I felt like this sketch was “The Californians” 2.0, especially with the accents. I did, however, like the lines “Where is the nap room?” and “I’m taking a break from social media.” I thought the sketch did its job by exaggerating the stereotypes of millennials. This sketch wasn’t one of my favorite sketches of the night.

Katz’ Deli:

I thought it was funny how this sketch was referencing When Harry Met Sally (one of the many movies I need to see). I thought Leslie was hilarious in this sketch and I loved how she kept saying “Oh no the condom busted!” I loved Kate’s “I’ll have what she’s having,” followed by “Oh, then definitely not. I’ll have the soup. Hot!” I thought Vanessa was just adorable in this sketch. Even though I’ve never seen When Harry Met Sally, I still thought this was a funny sketch.

The Squad:

I absolutely loved this short. I thought it was a great way to parody Taylor Swift’s ever-growing squad. I know for a fact that I would definitely join Taylor’s squad. I loved Aidy and Vanessa in this sketch and the mention that Matt LeBlanc had joined Taylor’s squad. I also loved how this sketch was a sequel to the “Beygency” sketch from season 39. Overall, I thought this short was hilarious.

Miley Cyrus “The Twinkle Song” Performance:

I thought this was a better performance than the first, especially since I’ve also never heard of this song, except for when she was screeching near the end. I did like the emotional connection she had to the song as well as the tribute to her dead pets. Apparently, she also got emotional during this song while in rehearsals. Although I did like this performance, I’m still not a fan of her current music.

American Voices:

I thought this was a funny sketch. I loved seeing Leslie as a late night talk show host and I could definitely see her as a host of a late night talk show. I loved the line from Kenan’s character “Make sure my car’s running.” I really liked this sketch and thought it was funny.

Miley Wedding Tape:

As soon as this started I realized it was a sequel to the “Miley Sex Tape” short from season 39. I loved Kyle’s “beats” and his Miley impression. I loved the name Baby Six Flags and Jon as Kyle’s son. I also thought the funeral bit at the end was funny. Although I thought this sketch was funny, it wasn’t necessarily my favorite.

Overall, I thought this was a solid episode and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I thought it was a surprisingly great way to start the new season. I was very impressed with Miley because, whether people like it or not, she is very talented. I actually kind of want her to host again in the future.

  

This has been my take on the season 41 premiere SNL episode with host and musical guest Miley Cyrus. I’ll be back soon with a review of the SNL episode hosted by Amy Schumer with musical guest The Weeknd. Please spread the word about the blog and subscribe to the blog. Also, follow the blog on Twitter @SNLblogger. I live tweet during new episodes on the blog’s Twitter so feel free to join in on the conversation. Feel free to start your own conversations about episodes in the comments section but keep them clean. Also, please feel free to give me constructive criticism about the blog so I can improve the blog in any way.

Thanks for reading!

Lauren

Louis C.K./Rihanna May 16, 2015

This is it. It’s the season finale of SNL’s 40^th season. It still doesn’t feel like the season finale. Last week, Reese Witherspoon came back to host the Mother’s Day show with musical guest Florence + the Machine. Reese delivered a wonderful performance and Florence + the Machine also had two great musical performances. Some highlights from the last episode include:

            -A cold open about the Republican Presidential candidates.

            -A sweet monologue with the cast members and Reese bringing out their moms.

            -A sketch about the “Draw the Prophet Muhammad” contests.

            -The return of Leslie Jones and Willie and the appearance of Two Girls You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at a Party.

            -The return of “High School Theatre Show” and “Whiskers R We”.

For the season finale, SNL brought back Louis C.K. who has hosted for now three consecutive seasons. Louis C.K. delivered a good performance for closing out this historic season. Here’s my take on the season 40 finale.

Sketch Rundown:

Summertime Cold Open:

I thought this was a good cold open and a great way to utilize the entire cast, minus Jost and Che. I loved that they were able to tie politics into the cold open with Kate as Hillary Clinton trying to get support from potential voters. I loved her jogging alongside the bike and the sandcastle bit. I loved seeing Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton and thought he was great. I loved the lines “Billary Rodham Clinton” and “Holy Mother of Chelsea!” Overall, I thought this was an awesome cold open and a great way to open the season finale.

Louis C.K. Monologue:

I did like Louis C.K.’s stand-up routine although I liked his monologue last season better. I thought the mild racism jokes were kind of funny. I loved how he talked about his daughters fighting and how he compared them to Israel and Palestine. The jokes about child molesters were a little uncomfortable, especially for me since I had watched a marathon of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit earlier in the day. I did think the way Louis ended his set was a little weird. Overall, I thought Louis C.K. had a good monologue.

The Shoemaker & the Elves:

I thought this was a weird sketch and a weird way to open the show. Some parts of this sketch were just so awkward to watch. I had the feeling of “What the hell did I just watch?” after watching the sketch. However, I did like the ending with the different phone numbers and I was really hoping they would do some kind of results at some other part of the show.

This Is How I Talk:

I did like this sketch and thought it was funny. Leslie was funny but her line flub was hard to watch. I truly felt bad for her but I know it was most likely nerves and because it’s a live show and things like that are going to happen. I also loved the different time jumps in the sketch and I thought that was a great comedic touch to the sketch. I thought this was a funny sketch and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

Wood PSA 1:

I loved the short and thought it was funny and I loved how they did short little commercials throughout the show.

Rihanna “Bitch Better Have My Money” Performance:

Rihanna’s no stranger to SNL as she has performed many times on the show before in the past. I thought this performance was okay but very weird. I thought the start of the performance was weird with the car and the girl tied up in the back seat. I was wondering if this was supposed to be like shooting a music video. Overall, I thought this performance was just okay.

Weekend Update:

I thought this week’s Weekend Update had a strong start. I loved Jost’s Apple Watch joke. I also loved Taran as Tom Brady and the cuts to Jost with the “Brady charm”. I also loved the “Brady flub”. I loved seeing Pete again and loved his jokes and Obama impression that was supposed to be a Hillary Clinton impression. I also loved the idea of Jost and Che each reading a joke that was cut. I loved Jost’s punch line of “jalapeño business”. I also loved the reappearance of Riblet and his “word bullets”. I thought this was a solid Update and I actually do like seeing Jost and Che as a duo. I can’t wait to see what they do next season.

Cabana:

I loved seeing Jemma again even though I’m surprised they brought it back for the finale. I’m also surprised that they used Kenan and Vanessa again as the other couple. As much as I loved the “Vacay” song, I still love the “Bananas” song more. Even though I love this sketch and I think it was funny, I feel like it didn’t work as well with Louis C.K. as it did with Dwayne Johnson.

Police Lineup:

I liked this sketch a lot more than I thought I would. I loved the idea of the actors treating the lineup like an audition. The headshot bit was hilarious. I loved Beck’s character asking questions about the “character” and wanting to try it again and thought it was hilarious. I also thought the vocal arrows bit was hilarious. Overall, I thought this was a funny sketch.

Wood PSA 2:

I love these PSAs and I loved that this one took place in a library.

Rihanna “American Oxygen” Performance:

I’m still not a Rihanna fan but I thought this was a good performance. I also thought the song was bearable.

Forgotten TV Gems:

I thought this sketch was funny and I loved getting to see Reese De’What again. I loved the show parody and felt it was very I Love Lucy-esque. I was also surprised to see this sketch as the last show of the night. I also loved the title of Whoops! I Married a Lesbian! I thought the kiss between Aidy and Kate. I loved how at the end Louis was pushing Aidy out of the show. I thought this sketch was a funny way to end season 40.

Overall, I thought this was a good episode and a great way to end this historic season. It’s hard to believe that this was the season finale. It feels like just yesterday season 40 was just starting. I also loved the tribute to David Letterman that Louis C.K. did at the end of the show since Letterman’s last show was the following week.

Some SNL news is that on May 11, 2015, Kenan Thompson confirmed that he is coming back to SNL for season 41. Also, SNL comes back October 3^rd instead of September 26^th, as most people thought. The whole cast from season 40 is confirmed to come back with the addition of Jon Rudnitsky on August 31^st. Season 41 will open with host and musical guest Miley Cyrus, the next week is host Amy Schumer and musical guest the Weeknd, and the week after that is host Tracy Morgan with musical guest Demi Lovato. The documentary Live From New York! will premiere on NBC on October 3^rd at 8/7c. SNL Vintage will also continue next season with the first one of the new season being the season 37 finale hosted by Mick Jagger.

This has been my take on the season finale of SNL season 40 with host Louis C.K. and musical guest Rihanna. I just want to take the time to thank all of you guys for reading. I didn’t think I would get a lot of followers and readers when I started the blog back in September. I’m forever grateful for all of you guys for reading. It means the world to me and I can’t wait to start blogging again when season 41 comes back in October. As always, please spread the word and subscribe to the blog as well as following the blog on Twitter @SNLblogger. Feel free to start your own conversations about episodes in the comments section but keep them clean. Also, please feel free to give me constructive criticism about the blog so I can improve the blog in any way. See you guys October 3^rd!

Thanks, as always, for reading!

Lauren

Reese Witherspoon/Florence + the Machine May 9, 2015

The second-to-last episode of season 40 is here which means the season is about to come to a close. It also means it’s the Mother’s Day show! Last week, returning host Scarlett Johansson was here with musical guest Wiz Khalifa. Johansson’s performance in last week’s episode was great and I hope she comes back to host again in the future. Some highlights from the last episode include:

            -A cold open about the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight.

            -Scarlett Johansson’s “lullaby” monologue.

            -The return of “Right Side of the Bed.”

            -More sketches about police brutality and civil unrest.

            -A trailer for a Black Widow rom-com.

            -The return of Kate’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg

This week, Reese Witherspoon returns for the first time since the first episode after 9/11 with musical guest Florence + the Machine. I’ve seen bits and pieces of Reese’s past appearance on the show and liked it and I had a good feeling she would do a great job. Here’s my take on the episode.

Sketch Rundown:

2016 Republicans Cold Open:

I loved this cold open and it was a great way to parody the millions of Republican Presidential candidates. I loved the impressions and Cecily was hilarious as the emcee. I loved the lines “He don’t give a Huck,” and “He went to Yale, so Yale ready for this?” This had to be one of my favorite cold opens of the season.

Reese Witherspoon Monologue:

This was the SWEETEST monologue I’ve ever seen since I’ve been watching the show. I loved seeing the cast members bringing out their moms and apologize for something they did in their childhood. The stories the cast members brought up ranged from cute and innocent to utterly disturbing. One thing I loved is Kate’s mom saying to her “It’s good that you’re weird because weird got you here.” I loved the moms getting their revenge by showing clips of home movies. I loved Cecily’s home movie clip with her line, “Where’s my cocaine?” I also thought it was funny that Kenan’s home movie clip was from Mighty Ducks. I loved Pete’s home movie and I cried when hearing his dad’s voice from behind the camera. This monologue, hands down, is my favorite monologue ever!

The L.A. Scene:

I thought this was a good sketch and the theme song was catchy. I loved Kenan and Jay’s characters and Cecily and Reese were funny. I loved the mic bits and the dog with the Poise pad. Even though this sketch wasn’t my favorite, I did think it was funny.

Picture Perfect:

I thought this sketch was funny and I liked how it mocked the “Draw the Prophet Muhammad” contests. I loved the part of the sketch where Kenan’s character “dropped” his pen. One thing about this sketch that was talked about following the episode was that it looks similar to a sketch from a Canadian sketch comedy show. I watched both of the sketches and even though the sketches look very similar I don’t think anyone from SNL would be watching a Canadian comedy show and anybody could’ve done this sketch idea. Overall, I thought this sketch was great.

Mr. Westberg:

I thought this sketch was more awkward than funny, even though I got the joke. If anything, I figured this sketch would draw some controversy. This sketch wasn’t one of my favorite sketches.

Florence + the Machine “Ship to Wreck” Performance:

Florence + the Machine is no stranger to SNL as they have performed several times on the show in the past. I like a few of their songs and this was one of them. I loved the song and the performance that I had it stuck in my head for weeks.

Weekend Update:

I thought this week’s Weekend Update had a good start. I loved seeing Leslie again and she was hilarious. I thought the love letters were funny. I also loved the line “SportsCenter doesn’t have a halftime.” I loved the joke about the Hamburglar. I also loved, in the spirit of Mother’s Day, which Colin and Michael’s mothers each sent in jokes for Update. Both of the jokes were funny. I especially loved Colin’s mom’s joke about measles and Disneyland. I loved Che’s line at the end “And I can’t wait to take you to dinner Colin’s mom!” I loved seeing Two Girls you wish you hadn’t started a conversation with at a party. I thought it was a great addition to one of the funniest Update characters. I loved the line “We couldn’t find her earlier so we put out an Amber Alert.” These two had so many great lines. At the end of Update, I expected to see Drunk Uncle since they were talking about graduation but it was okay to see Willie. Overall, I thought this was a really great Update.

High School Theatre Show:

I honestly didn’t think they would bring this sketch back but I ended up liking this sketch better than I did the first time with Cameron Diaz. I felt that Reese was a better fit than Cameron in this sketch. I liked how they shuffled around the cast members for audience members instead of using the same cast members from the first time. I loved Beck as the “regular guy in the audience” as well as Cecily’s “Trust me, I made cuts.” I also loved the other lines “Every single day for a year,” and “dedicated to John Lennon and Shonda Rhimes.” I thought Leslie was hilarious in this sketch, especially with her line at the end, “Screw this, I’m going home to watch Judge Judy.” I loved this sketch and thought it was very funny.

Southern Ladies:

I thought this sketch was okay and somewhat funny. I did like the joke at the end of the ladies really being there to rob the house. This sketch was okay and not my favorite sketch.

Waterslide:

When I saw this sketch, I didn’t understand why this wasn’t cut at dress. I didn’t think the sketch was that funny and it was short. It’s possible they had to cut some of the sketch because the show might have run a little bit longer than they thought. This sketch had to be my least favorite sketch of the night.

Florence + the Machine “What Kind of Man” Performance:

I thought this was another good performance of a good song. I like Florence + the Machine and a few of their songs and I would love to see them on the show again.

Whiskers R We:

I’m so glad that they brought this sketch back. I thought Reese was adorable in this sketch with Kate. I loved the line “cat-testants” and the cat, Skittles, being a cult leader. I also loved Mufasa and the fact he had a mane on him. I loved the line about Sapphire “going through mid-lives crisis”. I loved “Cat Middleton” and how she was good at producing heirs (pronounced “hairs”).” I also loved the lines at the end of the sketch, “Our policy is: look it in the eye, you bought it,” and “Plus, with every cat purchase you’ll get a free all the cats.” I love this sketch, especially all the cat puns, and it was a great way to end the show.

Overall, I thought this was a great episode with a great performance from Witherspoon. I really hope she comes back and hosts again, hopefully it won’t be fourteen years before she hosts again. At the end of the show, I loved seeing all the moms up on stage with the cast. It’s hard to believe that next week is the season finale!

Some SNL news is that Balls Out, formerly titled Intramural, starring Kate McKinnon, Beck Bennett, and Jay Pharoah landed a distribution deal and will be released on June 19^th in select theatres and on demand. I’ve seen this movie and thought it was hilarious, even though I don’t like sports movies. Trust me, this is not your typical sports movie. If you haven’t seen, go download it. You will not regret it.

This has been my take on the SNL episode hosted by Reese Witherspoon with musical guest Florence + the Machine. I’ll be back soon with a review of the SNL season finale hosted by Louis C.K. with musical guest Rihanna. Please spread the word about the blog and subscribe to the blog. Also, follow the blog on Twitter @SNLblogger. I live tweet during new episodes on the blog’s Twitter so feel free to join in on the conversation. Feel free to start your own conversations about episodes in the comments section but keep them clean. Also, please feel free to give me constructive criticism about the blog so I can improve the blog in any way.

Thanks for reading!

Lauren

Scarlett Johansson/Wiz Khalifa May 2, 2015

There are only three episodes left of season 40! It’s hard to believe this landmark season will be coming to a close in a few weeks! Even though there was no new episode of SNL last week, Cecily Strong traveled to D.C. to host the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. She did such a fantastic job! If you haven’t seen it, find it on YouTube or go to my post about her performance at the dinner (I included a link to the YouTube video of her performance). Some highlights from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner include:

            -jokes about President Obama.

            -jokes about Hillary Clinton.

            -jokes about 2016 Presidential Candidates.

            -a repeat-after-me saying that reporting on Hillary Clinton’s appearance isn’t journalism.

            -jokes about news outlets like NBC, C-SPAN, Fox News, CNN, The Huffington Post, NPR, and Buzzfeed.

This week, Scarlett Johansson, who has hosted and cameoed multiple times since 2006, returns to host for the first time since 2010, her most recent time hosting. I like that I haven’t seen any of her previous times on the show because I like not knowing what to expect from a host. I thought she did a great job hosting and I would love to see her host again. Wiz Khalifa was the musical guest and brought two pretty good performances. Here’s my take on the episode.

Sketch Rundown:

Mayweather-Pacquiao Cold Open:

With the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight going on the same time SNL was on, I had a feeling they would do this for a cold open. I loved the beginning with the voice-over before the sketch began and thought it was hilarious. I loved the lines “In fact, right now, many of you are frantically calling your cable company to order it on Pay-Per-View, for the very reasonable cost of ‘one month’s food,’” “Not even regular golf- we showed golf played at night,” “Without a doubt, it was the whitest day in the history of professional sports,” “The 9^th place finisher in 2007’s Dancing with the Stars,” and “They’re calling this the fight of the century but only because your combined ages are 100.” I loved Aidy as Pacquiao and seeing Kate’s Bieber again. I also loved how Jay and Kenan left at the end of the sketch. This had to be my favorite sports cold opens in a while.

Scarlett Johansson Monologue:

I thought Scarlett’s monologue was good. It was funny but it was weird. Even though I know she has a bit of a musical background, I didn’t expect a musical monologue from her. I loved the picture of her baby and thought it was funny. Taran and Kenan coming out for the monologue made sense because they’re the only cast members with children. This monologue also confirms that Taran and Cobie Smulders’ second child is a girl. I loved how Kenan said “And I have one that I know of: Kitten,” and “At 8 months, mine was screaming all night long or so I was told.” I also loved the other lines “Your baby is a lucky man,” “I’ll never sleep again,” and “Absolutely not. I’m awake from head to toe.” I thought the monologue was funny but the lullaby was very weird.

Right Side of the Bed:

I honestly didn’t think they would bring this sketch back. However, I did enjoy this sketch more than the first time. The chemistry between Cecily and Taran is amazing and I love them in sketches together. Scarlett’s character’s accent reminded me a little bit of Janice from Friends. I loved how Cecily’s character said “I love that accent. She sounds like a talkin’ pizza.” I loved Cecily and Taran’s reaction to Scarlett’s line “That show on TV, you know, the one with the gay guy and his mom.” That reaction was my favorite part of the sketch. I also loved in this sketch how Cecily was close to breaking, which is very rare for her since she’s good at keeping it together in a sketch. I loved Kate as Hozier and how she changed up the lyrics to “Take Me to Church” to go along with the Kentucky Derby. Overall, I loved this sketch and thought it was a great way to start the show.

Orioles:

I thought this was a funny sketch and reminded me of the “Morning News” sketch from the James Franco episode which was cut for time. I loved the Kiss Cam bit and the “Guess the Attendance” and how it was “31 including the players”. There were so many great lines in this sketch, including “Baltimore has just been on fire this week,” “Here it is provided by the good people at Nerf,” “So after the game, Flee,” “That knee grows stronger every day,” “And the ball is shot down by a military drone,” and “I’m going to Newark where I’ll be safer.” I loved this sketch and  I’m glad a sketch like this aired and wasn’t cut after dress.

Black Widow Trailer:

I thought this sketch was very funny and I would definitely go see this movie. I loved Taran as Thor and thought he was funny I loved “I’m sorry” written in fire on the side of a building. Some of my favorite lines from this include “Chill. Marvel gets women,” “From Marvel Studios and the writers of 27 Dresses,” and “I’d hate to be that guy’s girlfriend.” Overall, I loved this sketch and thought it was funny.

Girlfriends Talk Show:

I love this sketch so much, even though this particular sketch wasn’t my favorite. I can always sympathize with Morgan in these sketches. I think it’s safe to say that every single one of us is Morgan. This sketch always has some great lines, including “You’re singing just gave me years of pain,” “Yes you basic B,” “She may be prom queen but I’ll be at the prom long after her stacking up the chairs. So suck on that reality pop.” I thought this sketch was very funny and I enjoyed it a lot.

Wiz Khalifa “See You Again” ft. Charlie Ruth Performance:

I’m not a Wiz Khalifa fan at all but I really liked this song. I think it had to do with the fact that another artist was featured in the song. I also like that the song wasn’t very rap heavy. It was a good performance and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. It was the perfect balance of music and rap.

Weekend Update:

I thought this weekend’s Weekend Update had a good start. I loved the “Cal Ripken Molitoff Cocktail Day” joke. I loved seeing Kate’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg returning. I loved how she danced up against Colin after a “Gins-burn”. I also loved her Grimm Reaper joke at the end of her bit. I also loved the lines “I’m like a weird mole: I’m tiny but I could be dangerous,” “I gotta push same-sex marriage through before God remembers I’m still alive,” and “I just got Gins-burned!” I’m glad that they didn’t do a Bruce Jenner joke after talking about his interview with Diane Sawyer about how he’s transitioning into a woman (Bruce Jenner is now known as Caitlyn Jenner). I like the way this story was played out on Update, especially with Che’s off camera comments, because even though it is a touchy subject and doesn’t need to be joked about. Moving on, the couple from Game of Thrones played by Bobby and Vanessa was okay but I didn’t get a lot of the jokes since I don’t watch the show. I loved the 6-year-old meat joke with Che’s response, “Tyler’s not real!” I also thought the Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal impressions were funny, as always. Overall, I thought this was a very good Update this week.  

Dino Bones:

This was the typical sketch saved for after Update. One thing that I thought was funny, and didn’t realize at first, was that Kenan was referencing the song “FourFive Seconds”. I also thought it was funny how they played a clip of the song after the sketch. One other thing I thought was funny was Taran’s wig. Other than these, I felt like they were just running the same joke into the ground. Cecily and Scarlett’s characters came off as more annoying than funny, which I guess was supposed to be the joke. Two of my favorite lines from this sketch include “You’ve got a little bitch in you,” and “OMG, you are a bitch in the best way.” This sketch was probably my least favorite sketch of the night.

Blazer:

I liked this short and I loved how this sketch poked fun a little bit to police brutality. I didn’t expect Wiz Khalifa to be in a sketch. Another thing I liked about this sketch that it was a video within a video. Some of my favorite lines from this sketch include, “’Cause my partner filmes everything with his body cam?” “Also ‘cause I edited it all together and added music and put it up on YouTube?” and “Because I made light of race-based police brutality?” I liked this short a lot and thought it was funny.

Virgin Flight:

I thought this was a good sketch. I loved the robot flight attendants joke throughout the sketch. I loved how they kept saying “Happy Halloween” when it was May. I also loved the towel bit and thought it was hilarious. This sketch had so many great lines, such as “My microphone is in my face,” “You ordered 38 boxes of animal crackers,” and “It also looks like the other one has made her way into the cockpit.” I thought Vanessa and Scarlett were hilarious as the robots. Overall, I thought this was a good sketch and liked this sketch a lot more than I thought I would.

Wiz Khalifa “We Dem Boyz” Performance:

I thought this was an okay performance. I really liked the first performance better than this one. Like I said before, I’m not a huge Wiz Khalifa fan. In general, I’m not a huge fan of rap at all. The performance and the song were okay but I still liked the first performance a lot more.

Jingle Writers:

I thought this was a decent sketch, it was a weird kind of funny. I was so glad to finally see Kyle in a sketch. This sketch, however, did have a lot of great lines, including “You know the jingle scene. It’s coke for breakfast and ass for dinner,” “We accept personal checks and Sacajewa coins only,” and “If you change your mind, just whisper our name to an owl.” I loved how they included Papa John’s in the McDonald’s jingle. One thing I noticed in the sketch was that the bird noise at the end of the jingles sounded like the bird noises from the old “The Falconer” sketches. Overall, I thought this was a good sketch and a weird, yet funny, way to end the show.

Overall, I thought this was an awesome show and Scarlett did a great job hosting. I can definitely see her hosting again in the future. Although I liked this episode a lot, I kept asking myself this one question: Where the hell was Sasheer? I swear, I don’t think I saw her in a single sketch. Not even a pre-taped bit! I know she’s underused but still, I thought she would be in at least one sketch. She probably was in a few things that got cut before the live show. Other than the lack of Sasheer, I thought this was a great episode.

Some SNL news is that Cecily Strong has been cast in the new Melissa McCarthy movie The Boss, formerly titled Michelle Darnell, which will be released on April 8, 2016. Strong has also been cast in the new Susan Sarrandon and J.K. Simmons movie, The Meddler. Safe to say Cecily’s going to be very busy between these two movies and Ghostbusters. I definitely can’t wait to see these movies. Something tells me that 2016 will be a great year for film.

This has been my take on the SNL episode hosted by Scarlett Johansson with musical guest Wiz Khalifa. I’ll be back soon with a review of SNL hosted by Reese Witherspoon with musical guest Florence & the Machine. Please spread the word about the blog and subscribe to the blog. Also, follow the blog on Twitter @SNLblogger. I live tweet during new episodes on the blog’s Twitter so feel free to join in on the conversation. Feel free to start your own conversations about episodes in the comments section but keep them clean. Also, please feel free to give me constructive criticism about the blog so I can improve the blog in any way.

Thanks for reading!

Lauren