Dakota Johnson/Alabama Shakes February 28, 2015

The Saturday Night Live Fortieth Anniversary Special has come and gone and now it’s back to regularly scheduled programming. The highly anticipated three-and-a-half-hour special brought in huge ratings for both the show and for NBC. The special was the highest rated non-sports, entertainment prime-time telecast since the series finale of Friends back in 2004, bringing in a whopping 23.1 million viewers. It was a great way to celebrate forty years of this incredible show. Some highlights from the 40^th Anniversary Special include:

            -Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake rap the history of SNL.

            -Several video clips throughout the night showing the best of SNL.

            -Returns of these popular sketches: Bass-O-Matic, The Californians, Total Bastard Airlines, Celebrity Jeopardy, and Wayne’s World.

            -Eddie Murphy’s underwhelming return to SNL after thirty years since he last hosted.

            -Jane Curtin, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler anchoring Weekend Update together with several guests impersonating their favorite Update characters.

This week’s host is first-time host Dakota Johnson (the announcement was first made during an audience segment in the fortieth anniversary special). I didn’t know too much about Johnson except that she was in the highly anticipated movie Fifty Shades of Grey so I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from this episode. I thought this was a good episode but it wasn’t necessarily my favorite. This is also the first episode to follow the amazing fortieth anniversary special so this episode had a tough act to follow. Here’s the rundown from the Dakota Johnson-hosted episode.

Sketch Rundown:

Giuliani Cold Open:

I thought this was a funny political cold open with a hilarious tribute to Birdman. I also loved how they went off the set, which is seen more in sketches rather than in cold opens. While watching this, there was a girl who was playing Emma Stone’s character in this sketch that I thought, and still think, it was Dakota Johnson since I knew it wasn’t any of the female cast members. I thought Beck was great with the voice-over and thought the firearm bit was funny. Overall, I thought this was a good cold open.

Dakota Johnson Monologue:

I thought this monologue was just okay but I loved how her parents, Don Johnson and former SNL host Melanie Griffith, were in the audience and there to support her. I thought the audience segments were funny but it was obvious that the monologue would have something to do with Fifty Shades of Grey. The monologue was good but not my favorite.

Father Daughter Ad:

When I first watched this commercial parody, I instantly knew it was a parody of the Toyota commercial about a father-daughter relationship which ends with the father dropping off his daughter at the airport so she could join the Army. When the joke of the daughter joining ISIS, my first thought was that people would be complaining about this the next day about how terrorist groups like ISIS shouldn’t be made fun of and the subject of SNL sketches. When the commercial ended, I thought “Damn it, SNL! You ruined that commercial for me!” That idea started to change once I watched the commercial a few more times and reading the articles about the backlash it received for the bad taste of the commercial, mainly because about a few days before this episode there were some Americans who were killed by the group. Was it bad timing considering the preceding events? It’s a good guess. Did it start a conversation, or argument for lack of a better word, about the line between free speech and being offensive? Absolutely! Was this commercial un-American or un-patriotic? In my opinion, it wasn’t but other people may have a different reaction. As a comedy show, it’s SNL’s job to take current events and satirize them without being too offensive. These people are paid to do this! Fans of the show and even the occasional viewer would agree that this was satire or even think this sketch crossed the line. The next day, Taran Killam tweeted out a YouTube link to this sketch with a message saying that “freedom to mock is our greatest weapon”. I’ll post a screenshot of the tweet.

Taran does make a valid point. Without mockery and satire, we aren’t able to take current events and poke a little fun at them. Of course, there is a fine line between satire and being offensive. It’s safe to say that the cast and writers at SNL wouldn’t try to be offensive on purpose. I’m very certain everyone there knows how much of a threat ISIS is. Getting back to the material of the sketch, I loved the tagline at the end “ISIS: We’ll take it from here, Dad.” I thought this was a good and edgy commercial parody. It was definitely one of the more edgy commercial parodies I’ve seen during my time watching the show. (Side note, if anyone reading my review of this sketch was in any way offended by my comments, I truly did not mean to offend anyone and I sincerely apologize if I have offended anyone. This was a tricky review to write, mainly because of the subject matter).

Cinderella:

I liked this sketch and I really liked how they brought back Cecily’s Kathy Ann character. With a new Cinderella movie coming out, I figured they would do a sketch like this. I loved Kathy Ann’s one-liners during this sketch, especially “I’m a regular woman like Michelle Robama,” “She is a real C-U-N-Thursday,” and “I got my HGTV test done.” Cecily’s dancing in this sketch was hilarious and the fact that the shoe at the end belonged to Kathy Ann was a great twist. I thought this sketch was funny and I hope they bring back this character next season.

Say What You Wanna Say:

I thought this was an awesome short, especially since I love the song. Everybody was great in this and I loved Kate’s bit in the bathroom, which I thought was hilarious. I loved the line “You waited too long, Walt dies!” and the last few lines at the end of the sketch, “Great parade guys! Should we get brunch? NO!” I loved this sketch and thought it was hilarious.

Press Junket:

I thought this sketch was okay but it was really awkward to watch, even though I get the joke of a twelve-year-old asking very detailed questions to Dakota Johnson about Fifty Shades of Grey. I expected there to be a sketch about Fifty Shades of Grey but I didn’t expect a sketch like this. I thought Kyle’s character was adorable and his character was one of my favorite parts of the sketch. Kate’s facial expressions were also great and were my other favorite part of the sketch. I loved the lines “Acting equals pretending!” “Ice cube was cold!” and “I end all my interviews with this question: Woody or Buzz Lightyear?” Again this sketch was okay and it wasn’t my favorite.

I Can’t:

This sketch was okay but I felt like they were running the same joke into the ground. Aidy’s character was probably my favorite part of the sketch. I loved the spider bit and thought it was kind of funny when her character fell out of the window. I don’t know if anyone else thought this but I thought Cecily’s character sounded a little like “The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at a Party”. When I heard the voice of Cecily’s character, it reminded me of her popular Weekend Update character. One of my favorite lines from this sketch was “My arm bones are shattered from pits to wrists.” This was probably one of my least favorite sketches of the night.

Alabama Shakes “Don’t Wanna Fight” Performance:

I knew Alabama Shakes had been the musical guest on a previous episode of SNL (back in season 38 with host Christoph Waltz) but I had never really listened to their music. I thought this was a pretty good performance and a catchy song performed by a very talented group.

Weekend Update:

This week’s Weekend Update, I felt, was a pretty solid one. I figured one of the first jokes would be about “The Dress” (it was blue and black) and Che had a marijuana joke that I liked. I loved Kate as Ruth Bader Ginsburg and thought her portrayal of the Supreme Court judge was hilarious. I loved the joke about P90X and the quotes “He was Uptown Funking me” and “You’ve just been Gins-burned!” Her dancing after each burn reminded me about one of Kenan’s Update character, Jean K. Jean. I have a good feeling that we’ll be seeing more of Kate as RGB in the future. Moving on, I thought Che had a good Chris Brown joke. I loved Jay coming on as Kanye, especially since I love his pretty accurate portrayal of West. Jost’s joke about “Chickentown” was great. This week’s Weekend Update ended with the return of one of my favorite newer Update characters: Riblet! Everything about the character this week was great: the suit underneath the jacket, the pop-away hair pieces, and the ever famous Riblet mic drop. I really liked this week’s Weekend Update and I really feel that Jost and Che are really getting the hang of it. I hope we keep seeing this trend of solid Updates.

Emergency Room:

I thought this sketch was kind of weird. I loved Kenan in this sketch even though I’ve never seen an episode of Star Trek. When his character came out, I figured it would turn out to be a tribute to Leonard Nimoy. I loved how they showed a still picture of him after the sketch. I liked the title of “Worf M.D.” and thought it was funny. I also loved how Dakota broke during this sketch. I thought this sketch was okay but it wasn’t one of my favorites.

Net Neutrality:

This was a perfect sketch to show how much people know about net neutrality: absolutely nothing. I loved how this sketch continued the argument about “The Dress” with Pete and Leslie. Pete’s slow clap during the sketch was great, especially when the audience tried to join in. I also liked how Taran came out and slapped everybody but Leslie in the face, though I felt the Fifty Shades joke was just okay. I loved the quotes “Who am I? Bill Jobs?” and “Cable and Bits: The Show about Computers by Dogs”. I also really liked how Sasheer was the lead in a sketch, especially since she’s been a little underused this season. I ended up liking this sketch a lot more than I thought I would and thought it was funny.

Alabama Shakes “Gimme All Your Love” Performance:

I thought this was another great performance from Alabama Shakes. I really liked the song and thought it was a beautiful song.

Mr. Riot Films:

I thought this sketch was funny and it’s been a while since we’ve seen a Good Neighbor sketch. I thought Beck and Kyle were hilarious in this sketch. This sketch reminded me of the TV show What Would You Do?, although this was much funnier. This sketch reminded me of a project I did in high school that was similar to the show What Would You Do?, but the project wasn’t as funny as this. I liked this sketch and thought it was a great way to end the show.

Overall, I thought this was an okay episode and it wasn’t one of my favorite episodes. During the goodnights, I loved the Leonard Nimoy tributes from Bobby, Taran, and Don Johnson. I thought Dakota Johnson did a good job but I don’t think we’ll be seeing her host again any time soon. Being the first episode since the fortieth anniversary special, everybody was probably still running on adrenaline. I don’t think it would’ve mattered who hosted because the fortieth anniversary special was a tough act to follow.

Some SNL news for this week includes Cecily Strong’s new movie, The Bronze, being given a limited release date of October 16, 2015 and a wide release date of October 23, 2015. The movie opened Sundance Film Festival in January to mixed reviews but I still plan on seeing it because of Cecily. Another bit of news is that the song “Teacher Snow Day” from the J.K. Simmons episode was released on iTunes on February 10, 2015. Two days after, the SNL app became available to download.

This has been my take on the SNL episode hosted by Dakota Johnson with musical guest Alabama Shakes. I’ll be back soon with a review of SNL hosted by Chris Hemsworth with musical guest Zac Brown Band. 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

*Image courtesy of Taran Killam’s Twitter account (@TaranKillam)

The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special February 15, 2015

The moment we have all been waiting for has finally arrived: it’s the Saturday Night Live 40^th Anniversary Special! I have been waiting for this since it was announced over the summer. The last new episode was hosted by first-time host J.K. Simmons and musical guest D’Angelo. I thought this episode was great and Simmons did a good job hosting and I would love to see him come back and host again. Some highlights from the last episode include:

            -Several jokes about the SuperBowl and football in general.

            -The return of former cast member Fred Armisen in the monologue.

            -A new music video about what teachers do on snow days and jokes about the “snow-pocalypse”.

            -The return of “The One-Dimensional Female Character from a Male-Driven Comedy” and Jebidiah Atkinson.

            -The return of former cast member Jason Sudeikis in a Mike O’Brien short film.

This special is definitely one I’ll never forget. It was so cool to be able to watch TV history with this amazing three-and-a-half-hour long special. So many legends on one show, how could anyone not be excited? Here’s my review of this incredible night.

Sketch Rundown:

Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake Cold Open:

When the special started, I had a good feeling that Jimmy and Justin would open the show. I loved how it was done in the style of “History of Rap” from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. I thought the appearances of Rachel Dratch as Debbie Downer and Molly Shannon as Mary Katherine Gallagher were great and were a great addition to the already hilarious cold open. I loved the lines after Debbie Downer said by Fallon and Timberlake, respectively, “NBC doesn’t care about ratings! They really don’t.” This was a hilarious cold open and a great way to open the show and a great tribute to forty years of SNL.

Hosts Monologue:

I thought this was a funny monologue and thought Steve Martin was a good choice to give the opening monologue. I loved the Jon Lovitz bit where Martin said that he had died and then cut to Lovitz in the audience. I loved how Martin mispronounced Louis C.K. and Zach Galifianakis. I loved the appearances from Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin, Melissa McCarthy, Chris Rock, Peyton Manning, Billy Crystal, Paul Simon, and Paul McCartney (even though McCartney himself has never hosted the show). However, I wish they picked someone else other than Miley Cyrus to make an appearance during the monologue (she was also very close to having a wardrobe malfunction with the outfit she was wearing). I loved the interaction between Chris Rock and Steve Martin when Rock first came out, “Chris, I actually forgot you were a cast member. So did the writers.” I also loved how Martin closed the monologue by saying, “What better way to honor forty years of live television than with these pre-recorded clips!”

The Best of SNL:

I loved that they had videos like this shown throughout the special. I thought this video was a great way to pay tribute to forty years of SNL. I loved getting to see clips of both old and new sketches together. I also liked how they began this video with clips from the first cold open. I also thought this video had the perfect ending of a clip from the “Former Porn Stars” Moët & Chandon sketch with Cecily’s character saying, “I’ll drink to that!” This was a great montage of old and new sketches paying tribute to forty years of comedy.

Bass-O-Matic:

I was surprised that they brought back this sketch but I also thought it was cool they brought this sketch back. I loved that Dan and Laraine were able to reprise their roles from the original sketch. I thought it was a little funny how the blender wasn’t working at the end of the sketch. This sketch was just as funny and gross as it was back in the seventies.

Celebrity Jeopardy:

I had a good feeling they would bring this sketch back and I’m so glad they did! I think I liked this instalment of “Celebrity Jeopardy” more than the other ones. The sketch was funny and a great way to bring both current and former cast members together. I thought it was great that Kate and Taran were included in this sketch with their impressions of Justin Bieber and Christoph Waltz, respectively. I loved seeing Darrell Hammond reprise his Sean Connery impression and loved the categories “Who Reads” and “Let it Snow” with “Whore Ads” and “Le Tits Now”. Classic Connery! I loved how Norm Macdonald came back to reprise his Burt Reynolds impression and his whole “Who is Andre the Giant?” bit. Even though a little uncomfortable, Kenan as Bill Cosby was pretty funny in the “Potent Potables” category. I thought it was going to be Kristen reprising her Kathie Lee Gifford impression but that would have been too easy. I loved this sketch and I’m so glad they brought it back for the Fortieth Anniversary.

Auditions:

I thought this was a great video to show during the special. I loved how Pete Davidson and Leslie Jones, the two newest cast members of SNL, introduced the segment. This was a great way to show clips of the auditions of both current and former cast members. I loved that it showed that a lot of current and former cast members auditioned with their now iconic characters and impressions. I also liked how they included clips of auditions of people who didn’t get the gig at SNL, such as Jim Carrey and Kevin Hart. Showing those clips reminds people that some big names in comedy have auditioned for the show when they were first starting out. This segment was also great because it showed how young people looked when they first auditioned for the show. I loved this segment and thought it was a great one to show for the special.

New York:

Having Robert De Niro introduce this segment was an interesting choice but nevertheless a good choice. I loved what he said before the segment, “SNL and NYC: that’s the way I like my Saturday nights, that’s the way I like my city.” I loved this video and thought it was a great way to show how much New York City has evolved since the start of the show in 1975. This video was a great way to pay tribute to one of the greatest cities in the world.

Paul McCartney “Maybe I’m Amazed” Performance:

I thought this was a good performance and I was pretty surprised McCartney chose to perform this song. I also thought it was funny that Keith Richards from The Rolling Stones introduced this performance.

Politics:

I loved this segment, especially since a lot of my favorite sketches are the political sketches. Jack Nicholson was great introducing this segment. I loved how the video ended with a Jay Pharoah as President Obama mic drop from the season 38 episode hosted by Bruno Mars. This was a great way to pay tribute to all of the great political sketches and impressions.

The Californians/Buh-Bye:

At first, I didn’t think they would bring this sketch back. I loved how they included Laraine Newman, Kerry Washington, Taylor Swift, Bradley Cooper, and Betty White in this sketch. I also thought it was funny how Betty White didn’t use a Californian accent. The chemistry between Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, and Fred Armisen is something I’ve missed since they’ve left the show. I also loved Vanessa’s character so much in this particular incarnation of “The Californians”. I especially loved how her fainting caused Fred to break during the sketch. I actually liked Taylor Swift’s character and how she was crazy, funny, and hilarious facial expressions. The little make out session between Bradley Cooper and Betty White was weird but funny, just like the sketch. I loved how at the end of the sketch they included the “Total Bastard Airlines” sketch. It was great they brought back David Spade and they brought Cecily Strong in place of Helen Hunt. I thought having Cecily play this character was a perfect choice. I loved Cecily’s last line to Bradley Cooper, “Quit callin’ me!” To be honest, this was probably my favorite of “The Californians” sketches.

Weekend Update with Jane Curtin, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler:

Ever since I started watching Saturday Night Live, I instantly fell in love with Weekend Update. I would stay up to watch Amy and Seth, then Seth by himself, then Seth and Cecily, then Colin and Cecily, and now Colin and Michael. To see Tina and Amy with Jane Curtin, the first woman to anchor Update, was absolutely incredible. It was so cool to see Jane at the desk again since it was probably her first appearance on the show since the season five finale back in 1980. The different jokes about SNL were great and the chemistry between Tina, Amy, and Jane was incredible. I loved seeing different celebrities come out as their favorite Update characters. Emma Stone was great as Gilda Radner’s iconic character, Roseanne Roseannadanna. Edward Norton was funny with his impression of Bill Hader’s popular character, Stefon. I thought it was great that Bill came out alongside Norton and Seth coming out after Hader. I absolutely loved Melissa McCarthy as Chris Farley’s well-known character, Matt Foley. Jane looked absolutely terrified when Melissa came up at her during the bit. It was funny to see the return of the “Update Door” and the return of Landshark. It turns out that Bobby Moynihan was in the Landshark costume this time around. I loved it when Melissa crashed through the desk with Amy saying “Oh no, it’s the only desk we have! Sorry Jost and Che!” It would’ve been fun to see Cecily join in with them but I understand if she didn’t want to do it and focus on the sketches that she was in that night or if it was because of time constraints. I have to say it would’ve been fun to see the four well-known female anchors of Weekend Update together. Out of all the Weekend Updates I’ve seen since first watching SNL, this had to be my absolute favorite.

Weekend Update Retrospective:

I thought this was a great tribute to the anchors and characters of the show’s longest running sketch but there was one thing that bugged me while watching this: the anchors that were not included in the video. The anchors that were not included in the opening montage were:

            -Bill Murray (Although there were a few clips of him at the desk that were included in the video. There also may not have been video or audio of him introducing himself on Update when he was an anchor.)

            -Gail Matthius (Anchored 6 episodes during season 6 with Charles Rocket. There may not have been video or audio of her introducing herself when she was an anchor.)

            -Mary Gross (Anchored 6 episodes during her time on SNL with Brian Doyle-Murray. There may not have been video or audio of her introducing herself when she was an anchor.)

            -Christine Ebersole (Same case as Mary Gross)

            -Christopher Guest (Anchor during season 10)

            -Horatio Sanz (Filled in for two episodes while Tina was on maternity leave. Anchored with Amy.)

            -Cecily Strong (Co-anchor with Seth during first half of season 39 and anchored with Colin during the second half of season 39. Only footage of her shown at the Weekend Update desk was as her popular character “The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at a Party” from season 38)

            Out of all of these anchors being left out, the one that upset me the most was Cecily being left out. In the video, it went from Seth to Colin and Michael. I mean, Cecily came between Seth and Colin. She should have been acknowledged for her one season at the desk and the incredible job she did as an anchor. None of her jokes were shown, not even the infamous drunken Scottish fish joke! There was a little sliver of her shown at the desk during the introduction segment to Weekend Update but it was more of a “blink and you’ll miss it” moment. To me and to everyone else who was live tweeting the event, it almost seemed like they wanted to pretend Cecily’s year on Update never even happened. There’s my rant for this post. Other than that, I really liked the video.

Chevy Chase Tribute:

I thought it was an interesting combination of Kevin Nealon, Norm Macdonald, Seth Meyers and Colin Quinn giving the tribute to Chevy Chase. I loved how Seth was laughing when Norm started improvising his introduction to Chevy. I loved how they brought back the “news for the hard of hearing” when Chase was speaking. Even though I’m not a huge fan of Chevy Chase, I thought this was a good tribute.

Musical Acts:

Hands down, this had to be my favorite part of the night. Martin Short was hilarious, as always, and Maya was great as Beyoncé. I loved the bit with the fan and how Martin Short was reacting to the fan. I thought it was funny how Garth and Kat were sitting in the audience while they did their bit. The song by Martin and Maya about a lot of the musical sketches and characters was great. I loved seeing “The Culps” again (aka Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer) and their medley of Top 40 hits was hilarious. I loved the line “Lots of A-list middle fingers being shot at us right now.” I was surprised they brought back Joe Piscopo’s Frank Sinatra impression but it was still great. I loved Maya’s quote after the impression, “My friend Kanye say I’m better.” I also loved how they brought back Dana Carvey’s “Choppin’ Broccoli” character, Opera Man, and “What’s up with That?” I was surprised that they used Sasheer in place of Vanessa but I figured it was because Vanessa already had some screen time in “The Californians”. In addition, I wish Cecily’s microphone was also closer to her face so she could at least be heard. I loved that Steve Martin was able to reprise King Tut and Bill Murray was able to reprise Nick Ocean. The “Love Theme from Jaws” was hilarious. Jim Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as “The Blues Brothers” was great and I loved how everyone from this segment joined them on stage. Overall, I thought this was a great tribute to forty years of musical sketches and characters.

Eddie Murphy Tribute:

I thought this part of the show was a little underwhelming. This moment had been built up for about a month or so and the result wasn’t what anybody was probably expecting. It was exciting to see Eddie Murphy on the SNL stage for the first time in over thirty years but I wish there was a little more than him saying that it was great to be back. I also thought the camera flub near the end was planned. I thought Chris Rock’s intro was more entertaining. Overall, I wasn’t too impressed with Eddie Murphy’s return to SNL.

Sports:

Even though I’m not a huge sports fan, SNL has had some great sports sketches over the years. The video was a great way to show the best of sports sketches and athletes that have hosted the show over the years. I loved how they brought back the ESPN Classics sketch to be performed after the video. Overall, this was a great way to pay tribute to forty years of sports sketches on the show.

Miley Cyrus “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” Performance:

I haven’t been a fan of Miley since her Hannah Montana days but I surprisingly liked this performance. I was also surprised she didn’t perform one of her songs. I also loved how Fred played the tambourine on this song. I was surprised that I actually enjoyed this performance.

Audience Q and A:

I really enjoyed this segment though I thought the Brian Williams joke at the beginning was too soon. I loved the Tim Meadows bit with the Rolling Stone article where they ranked all the cast members from worst to best. I loved Tim’s line “Let me just read who’s dead last and do we have a camera ready to cut to Robert Downey, Jr.?” I loved how Jerry Seinfeld called Sarah Palin “Tina” although I hated her political plug, even if it was a joke. I thought this segment was a clever way to announce that Dakota Johnson was the next host after the special and I was surprised to see her there. I also liked the Ellen Cleghorne bit. I loved what Jerry said to former writer Bob Odenkirk about not having a tribute to the writers of SNL, “We were gonna do a whole segment honoring the writers but we decided to cut it and give four minutes to Randy Quaid to just say whatever.” I really enjoyed this segment and it was one I didn’t expect to see.  

Tracy Morgan Tribute:

I thought this was a sweet tribute from Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. I loved how Darrell announced them as “Mr. and Mrs. Alec Baldwin”. I loved that they showed a clip from “Brian Fellow” followed by a Tracy Morgan bumper. I know Tracy would have been there if he could. I know if I were in his position it would’ve killed me to miss this but I have a good feeling he was watching that night.

Kanye West Performance:

And now to my absolute least favorite part of the night. I thought this performance was a complete waste of time and the best part of this performance was Sia. They seriously could’ve had another musical guest or even another sketch (or expanded the Weekend Update video, but that’s just my opinion). Anyone who knows me knows I absolutely cannot stand Kanye West and I wish I could unsee that performance.

Films:

I thought Louis C.K. was the perfect choice to introduce this video. He was hilarious from the start and continued it to the start of the video. I loved the combination of old and new short films and music videos, especially since there have been so many great ones over the years. I absolutely loved this segment.

Digital Short- “That’s When You Break!”:

I loved how Zach Galifianakis had on a wig that was similar to Sia’s and how he joked that he and Sia had the same hairdresser when he introduced the video. I also loved how he was like “Wally next card, please.” I also loved how he introduced Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg as Andy Sandler and Adam Samberg. I absolutely loved this digital short. It was hilarious and shows that anything can happen and anyone can break on live TV. I loved how Chris Parnell and Bill Hader were involved in this digital short. I thought it was hilarious how there were so many clips of Horatio Sanz and Jimmy Fallon breaking. I also loved the Lorne section of the video and thought it was funny. I couldn’t stop laughing during this since one of my favorite things about SNL is seeing people breaking.

In Memoriam:

I thought that this was a beautiful tribute and I’ve cried every single time I’ve watched this. I loved how they also included crew members, band members, and writers in addition to cast members that have passed away as well as Don Pardo. I also loved the Jon Lovitz bit at the end as well as the tribute to Generalissimo Francisco Franco. Bill Murray was a great choice for this segment and I thought it was sweet how they played the goodnights music while showing the tribute video.  

Wayne’s World:

I had a feeling they would bring this sketch back and I’m so glad they did. I loved the “Top Ten Things About SNL,” especially all the Kanye jokes. I really loved the Kanye joke about him interrupting Beck’s acceptance speech at the Grammy’s the previous week. The Lorne impressions were also hilarious. Overall, this was a very funny sketch and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Paul Simon “Still Crazy After All These Years” Performance”:

I love the song and loved the performance but I was really hoping someone would come out in a turkey costume. I also loved the little tribute to the band from Paul Simon before the performance. This was a great way to end the show and proves SNL is “still crazy after all these years”.

Goodnights:

I usually don’t cover the goodnights but I felt like I needed to for this special occasion. I loved seeing everyone up on the stage and it shows how many people have had their start on this show. I also loved how Steve Martin brought Lorne up on stage. Seeing everyone on that stage was a great way to end one of the biggest events in TV history.

Overall, I thought this was an amazing show and I think I speak for all SNL fans when I say that I wish it didn’t have to end. This special was a great way to celebrate forty years of this iconic, New York institution. I can’t thank this show enough for giving me a reason to laugh, even on some of my roughest days. I can’t wait for the 50^th Anniversary Special in 2025!

This has been my take on the SNL 40^th Anniversary Special. I’ll be back soon with a review of SNL hosted by Dakota Johnson with musical guest Alabama Shakes. 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

J.K. Simmons/D'Angelo January 31, 2015

Well everybody, we have reached the last episode of January and the last episode before the anticipated 40^th Anniversary Special. Last week’s host and musical guest was first time performer Blake Shelton. I was familiar with Shelton’s music and I knew he had a good sense of humor from seeing him as a coach on The Voice. However, I was a little nervous to see if his sense of humor on The Voice would be able to translate well on a show like SNL. Nevertheless, I was very impressed with Shelton’s performance and I hope he gets to host the show again in the future. Some highlights from the last episode include:

            -Several jokes about “Deflate Gate” in the NFL.

            -A tribute to Hee Haw.

            -A new song from the genius minds of Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Sarah Schneider, and Chris Kelly.

            -The reappearance of Celebrity Family Feud.

            -A new Weekend Update character for Bobby Moynihan, Riblet.

This week’s host is first time host J.K. Simmons with first time musical guest D’Angelo. Before his appearance on SNL, I only knew him from the Farmer’s Insurance commercials and Growing Up Fischer. I had also never heard of D’Angelo before this episode but I was pretty impressed with his performances. After his performance on SNL, I was very impressed with him and I hope he gets the chance to host again.

Sketch Rundown:

Super Bowl Shut Down Cold Open:

I liked this cold open and thought it was funny. I’m not a big sports fan or even a big football fan but I love it when SNL does any kind of sports parody. I loved how they also made a reference to the so-called “Snow-pocalypse”. I also loved the football with dreadlocks and thought it was a great comedic touch. This cold open had so many great quotes such as “I’ve been a diehard fan since the beginning…of 2013,” “I’ve seen bigger blizzards at Dairy Queen,” “The scandal with the Patriots aka ‘Deflate Gate,’ aka ‘Ball Ghazi,’ aka ‘the Eballa Crisis,’” “The yearbook voted me best smile,” and “Knock, knock. No comment.” I thought this was a great cold open, especially with the Super Bowl coming up.

J.K. Simmons Monologue:

Since I’m not that familiar with J.K. Simmons, I didn’t know what to expect from him. I thought he delivered a funny monologue and loved how he made a tribute to his character in his most current movie, Whiplash. I loved seeing Kyle, Pete, and Leslie play the drums but I wish they would have had Aidy do something with the keyboard since she was out there. I thought it was great to see Fred again and after I got the running joke, I figured this was why they brought him back. This monologue had some great quotes such as “CNN said the storm was going to be a ‘snow-pocalypse’ but I think we can agree it turned out to be more of a ‘no-pocalypse,’” “I think my hair’s gorgeous (side note: yes it is, Kyle.),” “Do all the girls love you, because you’re the little SNL cutie pie (another side note: This girl thinks he is!)?” “I’m not gonna practice 100 hours a week,” “I really miss Blake Shelton,” and “Do not scream at me J.K.! I am a forty-seven-year-old woman, do not do that!” I thought J.K. Simmons did a great job with his monologue> I would also consider his monologue to be one of my favorites this season.

Totino’s Ad:

I thought this was a funny ad parody. I loved Vanessa in this and she does a great job playing a parody of the stereotypical wife. I also loved how this ad made fun of the stereotypical wife that doesn’t watch and/or understand football and is only there to make food for the guys and bring them beer. I loved how the age limit on the box was “For grown women ages five and up.” This was a great parody and I hope we see more of these in the future.

Miss Trash 2015:

I liked this sketch and thought it was a great parody of the Miss USA/Miss Universe-type competitions. I loved how Vanessa’s character came out in a ball gown and all the other girls’ characters were dressed “white trash” style. This sketch had a lot of great quotes and the quotes made up for most of my notes on this sketch. Some of my favorite quotes include “Last week, she tried to join ISIS but they said ‘No thanks,’” “She’s deaf-initely not wearing underwear,” “Her nickname in high school was ‘Slime Bitch,’” “She’s a graduate of Doggy Day Care,” “I thought this was Miss America,” “Too bad, now you’re trash,” “We have the before pictures but the network won’t allow us to show them because they are the visual equivalent of the ‘f-word,’” “Just today, my gynecologist told me I was accepted to UTI. And I’m so excited my crotch is on fire,” and “The winner will be sent to the hospital and the runners-up will be sent to prison.” I ended up liking this sketch a lot more that I thought I would, in the end.

Casablanca:

I liked this sketch for two of many reasons: Kenan and Kate. I loved seeing Kenan’s character, Reese De’What, again and I thought Kate was awesome in this sketch. Her character had me laughing so hard during the entirety of the sketch. I thought this was a funny parody of Casablanca even though I’ve never seen the movie. I thought Kate’s costume was great and since the sketch was done in black and white, it made her look like she could have been an actress from that era of black and white films. I liked this sketch and thought it was a great sketch.

Teacher Snow Day:

I thought this was a great sketch and thought it was very funny. The song was very catchy and I still can’t get “Teach the children” out of my head. Even though it was expected, I thought Pete was great as the student that came to school on a snow day. I thought the gospel choir was great and it was a great comedic touch. I love the quotes “Thought my teachers were bitches but they’re hard core thugs,” and, at the end of the sketch, “I’m definitely passing Chemistry now.” I absolutely loved this sketch and I hope they release this song on iTunes. This had to be one of my favorite sketches of the night.

D’Angelo “Really Love” Performance:

Before his performance on the show, I had no idea who D’Angelo was. After this performance, I was pretty impressed and thought it was a good performance and I thought the song was pretty good.

Weekend Update:

I thought this week’s Weekend Update had a good start to it and there were some strong jokes on both parts. I loved seeing Cecily’s other Weekend Update character, The One Dimensional Female Character from a Male-Driven Comedy, again and loved this appearance more than the first one. I loved Colin’s line, “Is this the baby from American Sniper?” I did have this thought, however, about when Cecily’s character said she was pregnant. I had to ask myself the question, “Is Cecily making fun of her pregnancy rumors or was it something the writers contributed for the character?” If it was the former, good for her (even if it wasn’t, I think a lot of people would think the former). As someone who has been asked before about if I’m pregnant, I have so much respect for her (It’s one of the many things I can relate to about Cecily). I remember last year when she tweeted, back when she was on Twitter, about the pregnancy rumors and calling out the “cruel bully dickheads” (if I were her, I wouldn’t have used those exact words but I would’ve said something similar). I normally don’t go off on tangents like this but on this subject, I felt like I had to since asking a woman if she’s pregnant, regardless of whether or not she is pregnant, is one of my pet peeves. Back to Update, there were two jokes by Michael Che that I thought were great. I loved the dog joke where the punch line was “The most popular breed in America is the Type 2 diabeagle.” I also loved Che’s joke about lesser known African American heroes getting their own stamps. I also liked two of Jost’s jokes, which were the quinceañera joke and the joke about the “zombie cat”. I loved seeing the return of Jebidiah Atkinson and I even predicted that his next appearance would be about the upcoming Grammy’s. Even though I loved seeing Jebidiah again, I didn’t like Che’s interaction with him. In all honesty, it’s not just Che’s interaction with Jebidiah. It’s Che’s interactions with just about all the Weekend Update characters that have appeared this season. Back to Jebidiah, I loved the question he opened with about the Grammy’s: “Who wouldn’t be excited for a night-long tribute to the Spotify playlist of a twelve-year-old girl?” Jebidiah always has so many great quotes, like “She’s all about that bass, bout that bass, no talent!” and “Someone turned her Celine Dioff!” I thought this was a good Weekend Update with strong jokes throughout the segment.

Microsoft Assistant:

I liked this sketch, even though I don’t like many of the sketches that appear directly after Update. I loved Bobby’s character, Pushie, and I really wish Pushie was on my computer. I loved the quotes “You selected: Birthday Cake Man!” and “Helvetica Bonham Carter!” I did get pretty sad when “Murder Pushie” came up (I would definitely not murder Pushie) and even teared up a little when Pushie said “I’m ready to be murdered now.” Thankfully, Pushie lives on and I hope this becomes a recurring character. I thought this sketch was pretty funny.

The Jay Z Story:

I thought this video was great and really funny. I thought it was funny how Mike O’Brien, Jason Sudeikis, and J.K. Simmons played Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Nas, respectively. I loved getting to see another Mike O’Brien video; I’m so glad they kept him on as a writer. I thought it was great that Sasheer was able to do her Beyoncé impression during this video. I didn’t expect to see Jason Sudeikis during this video but it was a great surprise. I loved how this ended with the ending title card, “A Mike O’Brien Picture”. I loved this video and videos like this prove that, at least in my opinion, Mike O’Brien is a writing genius.

D’Angelo “The Charade” Performance:

I thought this was a great performance and a catchy song. I also loved the tributes to Ferguson, Eric Garner, and the other race cases that have occurred recently with the shirts that were worn by D’Angelo and his band.

Career Day:

When the title card for the sketch came up at first, I thought they were going to bring back Nasim’s character, Shallon, since this was the title card used for those sketches last season. I loved Cecily’s reaction to hearing “Japanese Messy Boy”. I really hope someone made a gif of that. I loved Pete’s character and the reactions to J.K. Simmons’ character. Some of my favorite quotes from this sketch include “I then sit at a very small, white table in a very small, red, plastic chair and eat a meal while the wealthy, Japanese woman watches and silently judges me,” “Do you get a napkin? I wish!” and “You’re my hero and that’s coming from a fireman.” I thought this sketch was really funny and a great way to end the show.

Overall, I thought this was a good episode with a great job done by all. I especially loved the extra-long goodnights, especially since the goodnights are usually cut off during most episodes. I was very impressed with J.K. Simmons and I hope he comes back to host another episode in the coming seasons.

Some SNL news for this week is that former cast member Brooks Wheelan’s comedy album, “This is Cool, Right?” came out on January 27^th. It’s a great album (I bought it on iTunes and I have it on Spotify) and it brings me back to September of 2014 when I saw him perform live. If you ever get the chance to see Brooks perform live, go see him! I swear, you will not regret it. It’s a fun and memorable experience.

This has been my take on SNL with host J.K. Simmons and musical guest D’Angelo. I’ll be back soon with a review of the SNL Fortieth Anniversary Special. Please spread the word about the blog and subscribe to the blog. Also, follow the blog on Twitter @SNLblogger and on Instagram @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

Blake Shelton January 24, 2015

Well everybody, it’s happened. We finally have our first guest host pulling double duty of both host and musical guest! To be honest, I thought this would happen earlier in the season. Last week, the second half of the season kicked off with returning host Kevin Hart and first time musical guest, Sia. I liked this episode a little more than I thought I would. I was surprised that they picked Sia for a musical guest since she rarely does live performance. Nevertheless, both of her performances of “Elastic Heart” and a more acoustic, stripped down version of “Chandelier” were beautiful. Some highlights from the last episode include:

            -Kevin Hart delivering a funny stand-up monologue.

            -Kate McKinnon spoofing the Justin Bieber Calvin Klein ads.

            -A technical glitch during the first live sketch of the episode played off very well by Kevin Hart and Vanessa Bayer.

            -Both of Sia’s musical performances.

This week, Blake Shelton comes to the show on his first time hosting and his first time as a musical guest. I knew that Blake was funny and had a sense of humor just from watching him on The Voice with his interactions with the other coaches, especially Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine. Even though I loved this episode, I was surprised that Levine or the other coaches on The Voice didn’t make a cameo during the episode. I was also surprised that Blake’s wife, country singer Miranda Lambert, didn’t make an appearance either (It was later revealed that she was performing that night). Nevertheless, Blake Shelton is one of those hosts that I would love to see come back and host again.

Sketch Rundown:

Patriots Press Conference Cold Open:

I thought this cold open was very funny and I’m glad that it wasn’t a political cold open. I thought Beck was great as the Patriot’s head coach. Taran was great as Tom Brady. I also loved Bobby’s character as the assistant equipment manager, Dougie Spoons. Some of my favorite quotes from the cold open include “I’m Greg Gumbel, the human microphone,” “You’ve seen American Psycho,” “science computer,” “That’s honestly above my pay grade. You make $26.5 million a year,” and “You can’t handle the truth!” I also loved the interaction between Bobby and Kate and the reactions of everybody after the last line of this section:

            -“Did you deflate the ball?!”

            -“I did the job I was told to do!”

            -“Did you deflate the ball?!”

            -“You’re damn right I did!”

Overall, I thought this was a great cold open and one of my favorites this season.

Blake Shelton Monologue:

Knowing Blake’s sense of humor, I had kind of an idea of what to expect from him during his monologue. I really liked his monologue and thought it was very humorous, even though I did expect a musical monologue from Blake. I also loved how he said “I’m kinda like the Justin Bieber of country music. Just a little troublemakin’ cutie.” I loved his tribute to Hee Haw and getting to see the cast dress up and act stereotypically like country people. I thought Leslie was hilarious during the monologue and I loved Cecily’s fake country accent. I thought this monologue was great and it probably was one of my favorite monologues this season.

Farm Hunk:

I liked how this sketch was supposed to be a parody of The Bachelor. Throughout the sketch, I kind of got the joke that all the girls did some sort of work in the porn industry. I loved Kate’s character and thought the character was hilarious and thought the same of Aidy’s character. I loved the quote “I’m a veteran…of the porn industry,” and how all the girls would say in weird yet funny voices “Sorry, can steal him for a sec?” I loved Leslie at the end and when she said “Just google ‘Leslie Jones SNL’. It’ll all come up.” Overall, I thought this sketch was funny and was a good sketch.

Wishin’ Boot:

I loved this music video as it combined two of my favorite things: SNL and country music. I loved the song; it was catchy and I can’t get it out of my head. I loved everything about the boot. I loved food being in the boot, the imprint of the boot left on the bed, the boot pulling out a knife, and the dog becoming the boot. I loved the quote at the end “We’re gonna make so much fucking money off this song.” I love this music video and so happy they released this song on iTunes.

Celebrity Family Feud:

I’m so glad they brought back this sketch, especially since I love Kenan’s Steve Harvey impression. The impressions of the judges from both The Voice and American Idol were great, although Sasheer’s impression of Nicki Minaj was just okay. I was surprised they used Minaj and Steven Tyler since they’re no longer judges on Idol. I figured they didn’t have anybody to play Jennifer Lopez. I loved how towards the end of the sketch they made fun of the bromance between Blake Shelton and Adam Levine. I loved the quotes “I got this hat from Smokey the Bear,” “a voice from God and hair from Jennifer Aniston,” and “I think this Bratz doll is possessed. I thought this sketch was great and very funny.

Blake Shelton “Neon Light” Performance:

This is one of my favorite Blake Shelton songs and I wasn’t surprised he performed this song since it’s his most recent single. I like the song since it’s very catchy and I learned a line dance to this song a few weeks ago and I did do the line dance while this song was on. I thought this was a good performance from Shelton.

Weekend Update:

I thought this week’s Weekend Update had a strong start from both anchors. I feel like at this point in the season both Che and Jost are starting to get the hang of it and are starting to feel a little more comfortable doing Update together. I loved Bobby’s new character, Riblet, and Bobby was great at reading the news. I loved the alternate intro and the mic drop at the end. In my opinion, Riblet could actually take Che’s job and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a petition started to make that happen. I loved how Colin almost broke after Che’s last joke before Pete’s segment. I thought it was great to see Pete again and I loved his segment. I didn’t agree with Pete saying “I might be like a straight 5 but I’m a gay 1” but I completely lost it when Pete said to Colin “Easy for you to say. You’re like a straight 8 and a gay 10.” I laughed so hard at that line. I loved Pete’s quote “It was really good weed” and how he called The Expendables a gay porn franchise. I loved Colin’s instant replay joke and him getting hit in the face with a football. I loved Che’s reply of “You look so dumb” but unfortunately it’s been cut online and from all broadcasted repeats of this episode. I loved that Sasheer got a new character but was disappointed because the character was so static and didn’t seem like a very developed character. I thought Colin backing away in the middle of the segment was hilarious. It was almost as if Jost was saying “Yeah, I’m not getting involved in this.” I loved the back and forth “Why were you on Tinder? To see if you were on Tinder!” I thought it was great to see Riblet appear during the segment again and I loved the second mic drop as much as the first. Overall, I thought this was a good Weekend Update.

Parole Board:

I thought this sketch but felt that it was a little predictable and that they were using the same joke over and over again. Regardless, I thought Kenan’s character was still funny. I loved the quotes “You’re the Texas Man Gobbler. We’d be insane if we let you out,” “You ate a whole guy, man. All that was left was just empty clothes and his hair. That’s like a magic trick!” and “We watched the sunset, had a couple of beers, and when he was good and drunk, I ate him.” This sketch wasn’t one of my favorites and one typically saved for after Update.

My Darlin’ Joan:

I liked this sketch but it wasn’t my absolute favorite. I loved the makeup work done on Taran for this sketch. I had to take a second to make sure it was him because I didn’t recognize him at first. Great job to the makeup department on that! I loved the pictures of Kate in the background. The song was so catchy that I couldn’t get it out of my head for weeks. Some of my favorite lines from the song include “You could silence a room with your nasty remarks,” “You’re hatred of animals rattles my core,” “You’re favorite hobby was making me cry,” “Do they let you use your humidifier in hell?” and “Does the devil let you curse at him in front of his friends?” I loved how Taran was lip synching the words and harmonizing at the end. I loved the quotes “He’s my landlord so I kinda had to,” and “There’s three more verses.” I thought this sketch was good and it was funny but not one of my favorites.

Blake Shelton “Boys ‘Round Here” Performance:

This is another one of my favorite Blake Shelton songs though, unfortunately, I don’t know a line dance to this song. This song is also really catchy and gets stuck in my head all the time. Although I loved the performance, I was surprised he performed this song since it’s an older one from around late 2013 or early 2014. Nevertheless, I love the song and loved the performance.

Magician:

I didn’t expect this to be the last sketch of the night. I’m thinking either lines were cut or lines were skipped. I thought the sketch was somewhat funny but it was a typical sketch saved for near the end of the show. I thought Blake’s character was funny but then came off as annoying. Although, when they mentioned chicken nuggets with ranch, I did start craving chicken nuggets with ranch (No joke, I’m craving them right now as I type this blog post). I also liked Taran’s character and thought he was funny. There weren’t too many memorable quotes but some of the more awkward quotes were “I wanna be a black guy just for one day,” and “Give me the power to go down on myself.” This sketch was okay but I felt like they were dragging out the joke in this sketch.

Overall, I thought this was another strong episode. As I mentioned before, Blake Shelton is one of those hosts that I would love to see host again.

Some SNL news from the past week include the casting decisions for the reboot of the classic 80’s film Ghostbusters, this time with an all-female cast of Ghostbusters. The cast includes Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. The director for the reboot is Paul Feig who directed films such as Bridesmaids, which starred both Wiig and McCarthy. Feig also released the news via his personal Twitter account. I know people have their doubts about a reboot of a classic film and that it is an all-female team but I think it is going to be great and I couldn’t agree with Feig’s casting decisions. About a month before this casting decision was released, there were rumors going around that directors were wanting to cast Peter Dinklage from Game of Thrones as one of the primary antagonists and Cecily Strong as a “frenemy” of the Ghostbuster. This casting information was released as part of the Sony hacks and since then not much regarding this information has been confirmed. Regardless, I have a good feeling that this will be a good movie. The movie has been given a release date of July 22, 2016 so we have a little while until there is even a trailer released. Another piece of SNL news I forgot to mention in last week’s post is that SNL has already won an award at the start of award season. Saturday Night Live won a People’s Choice Award for “Favorite Sketch Comedy Show” on January 7, 2015. SNL beat out shows like Key & Peele and Inside Amy Schumer for this award based on votes from the people on the People’s Choice Award’s website. Congrats to SNL on this award! Hopefully, there will be many awards to come during the 2015 awards season.

This has been my take on SNL with host and musical guest Blake Shelton. I’ll be back soon with a review of SNL with host J.K. Simmons and musical guest D’Angelo. Please spread the word about the blog and subscribe to the blog. Also, follow the blog on Twitter @SNLblogger and on Instagram @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