Peter Dinklage/Gwen Stefani April 2, 2016

We’ve entered the last few episodes of the season and it’s hard to belief the season will end in about a month. On the last episode, Ariana Grande pulled double duty as host and musical guest for the first time. She delivered an incredible performance and I hope she’ll be able to host again.

Some highlights from the last episode include:

-A cold open about a Trump rally.

-A musical monologue with a little expletive slipped.

-An ad where Hillary is trying to reach Bernie supporters.

-A new song and music video.

-A sketch about two mermaids and their blobfish sister.

-Cecily playing a Lace-like character on Update.

-The return of Riblet!

-A couple of sketches that show how great of an impressionist Ariana Grande is.

-A sketch where Ariana plays Maria from The Sound of Music.

For this episode, Peter Dinklage makes his debut as host and Gwen Stefani makes her debut as a solo performer. I wasn’t super familiar with Dinklage and the only movie I’ve seen him in was Elf. I was also familiar with Stefani with her band No Doubt and her other solo albums. I was impressed with both of their performances. Here’s my take on the episode.

Sketch Rundown:

At This Hour Cold Open:

I thought it was great to see Kate in a cold open not playing Hillary. I loved her opening line “I’ve got the brain for MSNBC but the hair for Fox News so here I am at CNN.” I loved seeing Kate and Cecily play opposite each other in a sketch.  I loved the line “As a woman, I like Donald Trump but as a nut job, I freakin’ love him!” Again, Cecily is amazing at playing crazy. Kate’s facial expressions were hilarious during this sketch. Another line I loved was “He is bringing trade back so we can make American grapes again.” I thought this was a funny sketch and I loved how the two of them faced each other when they said “Live from New York…”.

Peter Dinklage Cold Open:

I wasn’t really knowing what to expect with Dinklage but I figured there would be a lot of Game of Thrones jokes. Vanessa coming out during Kate’s bit was funny and how Vanessa say “Screen time is screen time!”. I loved Bobby as George R.R. Martin and Leslie as a dragon. Beck’s song and dance was also funny. I was very impressed with the monologue.

Winnie the Pooh:

I thought this sketch was funny but also a little creepy. Jay’s character, Denny the Real, was funny. I loved the line “Your cousin was just in the movie The Revenant” as well as the line “They just made your boy the new Charmin bear”. I felt that Taran’s Christopher Robin was a little on the creepy side.

Naked and Afraid: Celebrity Edition:

I thought Leslie was hilarious in this sketch, especially when she had the bottle of hot sauce. I loved how Leslie kept calling Peter Tyrion, his character from GoT. I thought this sketch was hilarious.

Space Pants:

The sketch started off like something out of a gangster movie. I thought the song was catchy and it was great to see Gwen Stefani in a sketch. I really wish the song was on iTunes. This song sounded like it was inspired by Devo.

Glory Hole Restaurant:

I thought this sketch was a little weird. I thought Beck was great at the start of the sketch and it was funny that people were talking through the glory hole.

HBO First Look:

I figured they would have a GoT sketch. I thought Bobby was hilarious as the dragon. I thought this was a funny sketch.

Gwen Stefani “Make Me Like You” Performance:

I absolutely loved this song and was totally dancing and singing along. The song’s so catchy and it was a great performance.

Weekend Update:

I thought Update had a strong start with the Trump jokes. I loved seeing Pete again but it wasn’t my favorite bit of his bt it was still funny and made a good point about slut shaming. I loved the joke that ended with Jost’s R&B album “Surge of Vanilla”. Jost, I’d totally buy that album. I thought Big Papi was good but felt redundant. Overall, a solid Update.

Honeymoon Suite:

I thought this was a good sketch. Taran’s body floating outside the room was funny yet weird.I also liked the eel bit as well as Jay floating outside the room.

Vacation Nightmares:

I thought it was weird how they showed two vacation sketches in a row. Although I thought Kate and Aidy were hilarious, I thought this sketch was kinda weird.

Gwen Stefani “Misery” Performance:

I thought this was another good performance from Gwen Stefani. I was a little surprised she didn’t perform “Used to Love You” but it was probably an older single. The song was catchy and I really liked it.

Magic Show:

It looked like this sketch was similar to the one they did with Blake Shelton last season. Like the first time, it felt redundant and ran the same joke into the ground.

Overall, I thought this was a great episode. I was impressed with the performances of both Dinklage and Stefani. I wouldn’t be surprised if both make another appearance on the show in the future.

This has been my take on the SNL episode hosted by Peter Dinklage with musical guest Gwen Stefani. I’ll be back soon with a review of SNL hosted by Russell Crowe with musical guest Margo Price. 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

Ariana Grande March 12, 2016

With what looks to be the last episode of March, the season is very close to wrapping up. On the last SNL, Jonah Hill returned to host with Future making his debut as musical guest. I didn’t think it was that great of an episode and I’m not sure if we’ll see Jonah Hill host again anytime soon. Some highlights from the last episode include:

-Another cold open about the election but with the return of Jason Sudeikis as Mitt Romney.

-An ad about racists voting for Trump.

-The return of The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at a Party.

-Jay Pharoah does some amazing impressions.

-”News from the Future” featuring Future.

-Another installment of “Inside SoCal”.

This time around, Ariana Grande returns to the SNL stage pulling double duty as host and musical guest. I thought she did a fantastic job and I really hope she comes back in the future. Here’s what I thought about Grande’s performance.

Sketch Rundown:

America’s Choice 2016 Cold Open:

I loved seeing Jay’s Ben Carson again and how he said “ebony and orangey” as well as another one of his lines “Bye, America! It’s been weird”. It was great to see Larry David again. I loved how they cut back to him after the first time and he was in his pajamas. I also thought it was funny how Carson was a victim at a Trump rally. Overall, I thought this was a great cold open.

Ariana Grande Monologue:

With Ariana Grande’s background, I expected this to be a musical monologue. I ended up really liking it. I loved seeing Kenan regarding both of their Nickelodeon backgrounds. I thought it was funny how Kenan said that he’s asked about where Kel is twice a day. I think Ariana Grande created a scandal when she said “Oh shit!” I’m really hoping that was planned but something tells me it wasn’t planned. I really hope that doesn’t get her banned from the show!

A Message from Hillary Clinton:

I thought this was a funny ad parody. I loved how she was slowly morphing into Bernie Sanders. I loved Kate’s Bernie impression and thought it was great. I loved the slogan “Feel the Bern For Her.”

Kids Choice Awards:

I figured they would do a sketch like this since this is the month for the Kids Choice Awards. I thought it was funny how Miranda Cosgrove was going to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. I thought the countdown clock was awesome, especially with the clock counting upwards and it flashing 12:00. I also thought it was cool they did this sketch not only because of Ariana’s history with Nickelodeon but also with Taran’s history. Overall, I thought this was a funny sketch.

This Is Not A Feminist Song:

Safe to say, this is another hit for Chris, Sarah, Kate, and Aidy. The video and the song were hilarious and the song was very catchy. I loved that Leslie got a chance to sing in the song. I thought Beck’s little part was funny as well as #FeministSong. I’m so glad this song’s on iTunes.

True Tales from the Sea:

I thought this sketch was absolutely hilarious! I loved Kate’s character and the makeup job was incredible. I loved that Kate’s character said she was “35% woman, 65% blob fish”. The Lion King music was so funny. This had to be one of my favorite episodes of the night.

Ariana Grande “Dangerous Woman” Performance:

I thought it was funny how Larry David messed up her name. As for the song, I really liked it and thought it was catchy. I thought Ariana put on a great performance for this song.

Weekend Update:

I loved the opening joke about the Trump rallies. I also thought the joke about Kasich was funny. I loved the Drunkest Contestant on The Bachelor and it pretty much shows that Cecily and Lace are basically twins! I loved the line ‘If Leslie Jones hears about this, we’re both dead!” Cecily is so good at playing crazy and I loved her line “I’m a wide awake nightmare!” I thought the joke about Peyton Manning was great. I wasn’t a big fan about the Women’s History Month joke. I thought the Romney joke was funny. I was so glad they brought back Riblet! I loved how Riblet was talking to Don Roy King, the director, as if he knew him. I loved how Che was asking how Riblet knew him and asking Don why he was helping him. I loved how Riblet threw it to Riblet in the street. I thought the double mic drop was hilarious. Overall, this was an awesome Update.

Tidal:

This sketch was very similar to the Pandora sketch they did with Bruno Mars back in season 38. I loved the joke about the Billy Joel station, “No fire started over here, sir.” I loved the interaction, “Chloe, can you do Ariana Grande? Sorry, not a big fan”. I thought it was funny that Jay Z was undercover working at Tidal. I’m really glad they didn’t end this sketch with her death like they did with the Pandora sketch. I thought this was a hilarious sketch and a great post-Update sketch.

Celebrity Family Feud:

I was surprised that they brought back this sketch. I thought Ariana’s Jennifer Lawrence was incredible. I loved many of the other impressions, including Jon as Martin Scorsese. I really liked this sketch and thought it was funny.

Ariana Grande “Be Alright” Performance:

I was happy for Larry David that he was able to redeem himself by correctly pronouncing Ariana Grande’s name. I thought this was another good and catchy song and another great performance from Ariana.

The Sound of Music:

I really loved seeing Ariana play Maria. I loved the clapping and the lines “Nun, please,” “Bye bye bye bye, Maria out!” and “I have a feeling nun of us will miss her.” I thought this was a great sketch to close the show with.

Overall, I thought this was an amazing episode! I really hope Ariana can come back and host again. Hopefully, the little expletive she slipped won’t prevent her from being on the show again.

This has been my take on the SNL episode with host and musical guest Ariana Grande. I’ll be back soon with a review of SNL hosted by Peter Dinklage with musical guest Gwen Stefani. 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

Jonah Hill/Future March 5, 2016

It’s hard to believe we’re already in March and only have a few more months left of the season! On the last SNL, Melissa McCarthy returned for her fourth time hosting and Kanye West returned as the musical guest. I honestly could’ve done without Kanye as the musical guest but I thought McCarthy did a great job hosting. I would love to see her host again in the future. Some highlights from the last episode include:

-A cold open that wasn’t about a debate.

-A monologue where Melissa McCarthy thought she had reached her fifth time hosting.

-A sketch about how white people were freaking out over Beyoncé.

-Vanessa as Rachel Green, Von Miller, and Leslie Jones appear at the Update desk.

-A digital short about Kyle in a rap battle with Kanye.

-The return of “Whiskers R We”.

The next episode brings the return of Jonah Hill and the debut of Future. I thought this was a really weird pairing and was surprised to see Jonah Hill hosting again even he’s promoting his new movie. I wasn’t very pleased with this episode but no episode could be worse than Donald Trump’s episode. Here’s what I thought about this episode of SNL.

Sketch Rundown:

CNN Election Center Cold Open:

I really liked this cold open. I thought Bobby was hilarious as Chris Christie. I loved his line “Yes sir. Thank you sir. Please sir, may I have another?”. I loved Kate’s line “Cause I’ve got clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right and here you are stuck in the middle with me!”. I loved the close up of Taran as Ted Cruz as well as the crazy laugh. I loved seeing Jason Sudeikis come back and play Mitt Romney. I loved his line “We do not say racist and sexist things. We imply them subtly over decades and decades of policy”. I thought this was a great cold open and one of the better parts of the show.

Jonah Hill Monologue:

I thought this monologue was just okay. At times, it felt a little over the top. However, I did like the line “I love your videos that you make. They remind me about how much I miss Andy Samberg”. I thought Future coming out during the monologue was weird but I thought it was funny when Jay came out.

Voters for Trump Ad:

I really liked this ad and thought it was funny. I loved how the “real Americans” were white supremacists and racists. I also loved how the tagline at the end of the sketch said “Racists for Trump,” which basically seems like Trump’s target audience.

Fond du Lac News:

One of my favorite parts of this sketch was seeing Cecily play a news anchor again. I thought the accents were pretty good. I thought the news music playing after every story was pretty funny. I loved Taran playing the guy doing the lotto picks. I loved the ending where everyone was trying to figure out which lunch was theirs. I thought this sketch was just okay but it was one of the better ones of the night.

The Champ:

I thought this short started off good but then took a dark turn. I loved Kenan as the janitor. One of my favorite lines from this had to be “And Eric McCormack is back in the news and get this: It’s twins...that he murdered. The oldest living twins.” I thought this short was okay but at times was funny.

School Auction:

This sketch started off funny but then it went to just uncomfortable to watch. I didn’t really like the whole idea of Jonah playing someone from Qatar and Taran playing someone from Kuwait. I really didn’t like the line about the 200 virgins. This wasn’t one of my favorite sketches.

Future “Low Life” Performance:

I kinda know who Future is but I’m not really familiar with any of his songs. I was surprised to see The Weeknd appear on the show again. I thought the song and the performance were okay. I had no idea what Jonah Hill was doing with the cup in the beginning.

Weekend Update:

I thought this week’s Update started off strong with the OJ joke. I also thought the Carson joke was funny. I also liked the debate jokes but didn’t care for the dick jokes. I also thought the joke about Bernie Sanders was funny. I absolutely loved that The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with at a Party came back! I loved how she talked about the “Zima virus” and said “Maybe Leo Caprio’s right: bears”. I also loved the line “If you’re not part of the sudoku, you’re part of the answer. And it’s multiple choice and you’re none of the above”. I loved how she started singing Hamilton. I know I’ve said this a million times in previous posts but I absolutely love this character! I thought the “News from the Future” bit was funny. I was surprised they didn’t reprise “The Weeknd Update” since The Weeknd was there. I loved the Flossie bit and thought Kate was hilarious. I loved how the guys kept cutting back to Vanessa to keep asking Flossie more questions. I found the joke about Jared Fogle to be a little uncomfortable. I loved when Jay came out and did his impressions. I thought this was a great Update and was probably the best part of the show.

Murder Mystery:

I had a feeling that this sketch may have been inspired by Clue. I thought this was a bad sketch with some bad accents. A lot of the jokes felt redundant but I did find Taran flubbing one of his lines to be pretty funny. Honestly, this wasn’t a great sketch.

Inside SoCal:

Honestly, I was surprised they brought this sketch back. The only thing I liked about this sketch was the cute baby. Other than the baby, I absolutely did not like this sketch. The thing I didn’t like about this sketch was all the jokes about breast reductions. I know that they were supposed to be jokes but as someone who has had a breast reduction done, I found the jokes to be very offensive. Seriously, there’s more to like about a girl that only her boobs!

Future “March Madness” Performance:

I thought this was another okay performance from Future. I’m just not a big fan of him or rap in general. Also, what’s up with the cup Jonah? Seriously?

Silver Star Catering:

Honestly, I thought this sketch was bad. Usually, the last sketches of the night are supposed to be a little weird but this exceeded weird. I found Jonah’s character to be pretty annoying. I also didn’t like how he described the food that was eaten. I thought this sketch was just a bad way to end the show.

Overall, I didn’t think this was a great episode. It was bad but nothing was worse than the Trump episode. That episode gets the award for “Worst Episode of the Season”. Honestly, I don’t know if Jonah will host again in the near future. On the other hand, Future may come back for future episodes, no pun intended.

This has been my take on the SNL episode hosted by Jonah Hill with musical guest Future. I’ll be back soon with a review of SNL with host and musical guest Ariana Grande. 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

Melissa McCarthy/Kanye West February 13, 2016

This week, SNL has reached a milestone. This episode is episode 800! It’s amazing that we’re in season 41 and it’s episode 800 already! On the last episode, Larry David and The 1975 made their SNL debuts. Larry David did a great job as host and The 1975 did a great job as the musical guest. I have a feeling that both will be back to SNL in the future. Some highlights from the last episode include:

-A cameo from Bernie Sanders.

-A parody of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

-Another new Update character for Kate and Jon Rudnitsky appearing as himself.

-Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson appear as their characters from Zoolander at the Update desk.

-Several SuperBowl-themed sketches.

-The return of “Last Call”.

On this episode of SNL, Melissa McCarthy comes back to host for her fourth time and Kanye West comes back to be the musical guest again. I wasn’t too thrilled to hear that Kanye was coming back and I’ve decided that I won’t be reviewing his performances. I came to this decision because I knew I was just gonna say they were horrible and I didn’t like them. Anyway, here’s my take on Melissa McCarthy’s job hosting.

Sketch Rundown:

Hillary for President Cold Open:

I really loved this cold open and I was so glad it wasn’t another debate parody. I loved Kate in this sketch, especially her singing, and the swing and piano bits. Beck as Jeb singing and coming out from under the table was hilarious. One of my favorite lines from this was “I felt cold but safe”. I loved Kate playing the guitar at the end. I thought this was an overall funny sketch and a great cold open.

Melissa McCarthy Monologue:

I thought this monologue was really funny. I loved how she thought this was her fifth time hosting and they did the whole musical number. I loved her reaction to finding out that the 40th Anniversary Special didn’t count as an episode and, according to Kenan dressed as a giant five, counted as only one/sixteenth of a hosting. I loved how they then continued the musical number. I thought this was a great monologue.

The Day Beyoncé Turned Black:

I thought this sketch was awesome and I definitely would go see this movie if it was real. I thought all the white people freaking out was hilarious. I loved the Kerry Washington bit as well as the bit with the kids. I loved how the movie ratings were different. I found the ending to be funny but creepy at the same time.

Test Screening:

One thing I really loved about this sketch is how they incorporated pre-taped bits into a live sketch. I thought Melissa was hilarious during the pre-taped bits. The billboard at the end of the sketch was awesome. I thought this was a really funny sketch.

Movie Night:

I thought this sketch was funny but awkward at the same time. It’s a sketch where I could relate to a point. I loved the voiceovers in this sketch and how Pete was eating from a box of pasta.

Weekend Update:

I loved that this Update started with jokes about the debates. I loved the list of what Clinton needs to be more honest about as well as the second list. I also loved the joke about Beyoncé’s SuperBowl performance. I was surprised that Che would make a joke about Kanye with him in the building. I loved seeing Vanessa as Rachel from Friends. I love this impression because Vanessa sounds just like her! I loved how it played out like an episode of Friends. I loved Che’s line “She’s on Friends, she’s never seen a black person”. I loved the credits at the end and thought it was hilarious. I loved the joke about the Ted Cruz act. I thought the Von Miller bit was okay and it definitely had to be last minute. I thought the joke about Chipotle was funny. I loved seeing Leslie again. I love her food innuendos for Colin. I loved her list of qualities. I loved the Manuel bit and the jokes about flowers. I loved Jost’s line “How many steaks have you seen me cut?”. Overall, I thought it was a great Update.

Pick-Up Artist:

I kinda liked Cecily’s character in this sketch and thought Melissa’s character was funny. I loved how Leslie kept breaking throughout the sketch. However, I didn’t really like the characters of the guys. I felt like they switched the name of the uncle throughout the sketch. At first the name was Jesse and then switched to Joe which made it very confusing. I did think that Beck was good at the end of the sketch. Overall, I thought this sketch was just okay.

Kyle vs. Kanye:

I really liked this sketch. I honestly would’ve never thought of Kyle as a rapper. I loved the home movies and I loved how they used part of his interview from “The Today Show” which made me think if that part of his interview was planned for the sketch. I loved the throwback photos to his first season. When it came to the actual rap, I thought Kyle was the real winner. You could seriously make a drinking game about how many times “Kanye” was said in this sketch. I would pick Kyle over Kanye any day.

Bus:

This sketch wasn’t one of my favorites. To be honest, it didn’t really look like there was a point to this sketch. I did, however, like the line “If this is Roots, which one’s Questlove?”. I thought the ending was weird and it looked like it was a parody of the movie Speed.

Whiskers R We:

I love that they brought this sketch back! I loved how they called the order of the cats “todays feline up”. I loved how the first cat used the “Twitter box” and “she’s a troll because she fills it with crap”. I loved how for the hairless cat there were the lines “I covered him with Nair and ripped out all his hair and now he’s got a bone to pick with me. He’ll thank you come swimsuit season”. I loved how they said Sprinkles was “involved in medical experimentation” and how “he would put lipstick in rabbits eyes until they screamed”. I loved how Kate was breaking during this sketch. I loved the description of the OJ cat. I also loved the dog dressed up like a cat and how it was a “Mrs. Doubtfire” situation. I absolutely love this sketch and I’m so happy they brought it back.

Overall, I thought this was a great episode even though they could’ve gone with a different musical guest. I really wished Kristen Wiig would’ve showed up and all four Ghostbusters would’ve been together but I’m sure they’ll wait to do that next season.

This has been my take on the SNL episode hosted by Melissa McCarthy with musical guest Kanye West. I’ll be back soon with a review of SNL hosted by Jonah Hill with musical guest Future. 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