SNL kicks off 2012 with a not-so stellar episode hosted by Charles Barkley; who hardly contributed anything special in most of the sketches.
The opening sketch was very forgettable; as Andy Samberg portrayed GOP candidate Rock Santorum. His impression was alright and he had a couple of good jokes. Other than that, it was a very listless opening and Samberg failed to get the show started on a memorable note.
For the monologue, I felt that Charles Barkley did a fine job. He handled himself very well and he even had a few funny lines. It was also nice to see an actual monologue for a change.
"Inside the NBA" was the best sketch of the night. While Bill Hader and Jay Pharaoh were both funny, the chemistry between Kenan Thompson and Charles Barkley made the sketch. Thompson does a good job impersonating Barkley and his given dialogue was very funny. In addition, Barkley did a good job spoofing Shaquille O'Neal and I liked how he was a good spot by poking fun at his weight loss. The sketch was very funny and it featured Barkley's best performance of the night.
"White People Problems" proved to be a very silly and rushed sketch. Barkley had a couple funny lines; but his performance was greatly lacking genuine enthusiasm. Jay Pharaoh was funny with the material he was given but I wish he was given more screentime. Kenan was okay as well but his character wasn't very funny at all. Kristen Wiig and Tran Killam were fine with the material they were given; but their appearances in the sketch felt rushed as well. All in all, not a great sketch.
I did not find the sketch where Charles Barkley played a woman that was declaring herself to be a lesbian. Barkley didn't appear very into the sketch and his overall performance came off as being very unenthusiastic. The whole segment was just an excuse for Barkley to dress in drag. The performances by the rest of the cast were very forgettable; as they weren't given anything funny at all. In other words, this wasn't a funny sketch at all.
"Weekend Update" proved to be very weak as well. Seth Meyers only had one really good joke and his others were either just OK or very bad. Kristen Wiig's Michelle Bachmann impression was the only good portion of the weekly news segment. Her delivery was very good and she had some good lines.
The characters portrayed by Fred Armisen and Bobby Moynihan weren't funny at all and it seemed they were only trotted out to fill up time on "Weekend Update;" most likely due to the poor quality of most of Meyers' jokes.
Next up, Featured Player Paul Brittain brought us his character Lorn Wyndemere; who was first seen on Anna Farris' episode this past October. Brittain gave a good performance; but unfortunately, he wasn't given much to work with. Jason Sudeikis made me laugh once again as his character that was overly-excited when watching Brittain's character prance around the room with extreme merriment. In addition, Charles Barkley didn't contribute anything to the sketch en playing his character; as did Andy Samberg-- who was playing the jealous son of Sudeikis' character. Furthermore, the entire sketch felt rushed and it ended very abruptly as well.
The next sketch was the Spike TV Adult Video Awards. The sketch was only an excuse for the writers to come up with names for adult movie stars that mainly consisted of cheap puns. The castmembers and Charles Barkley hardly got to do anything; rather than appear briefly on camera as the respected porn stars that were being honored in an "in memoriam" segment. Bobby Moynihaan briefly impersonated Ron Jeremy; and he wasn't given anything funny to do or say whatsoever. What's more, the entire sketch was very rushed; and just like the previous sketch, it ended WAY TOO abruptly.
The evening's digital short followed; and frankly, I feel it was very pointless. It was just a quick advertisement-spoof for a CD of songs performed by an offbeat singer; played by Andy Samberg. The songs were too short to be considered funny; and Samberg's overall performance was too over-the-top and not at all funny. Once again, Charles Barkley didn't contribute anything whatsoever; as he was only on screen for less than a minute.
The final sketch of the night, which centered upon the creation of the Mayan Calender, actually was an intriguing idea. Unfortunately, the writing wasn't great and the entire segment just wasn't funny. What's more, the castmembers and Charles Barkley didn't have anything to work with; and it just went nowhere. Furthermore, the ending of the sketch was just too silly and failed to close the show on a positive note. In other words, it was just a poor way to end the show.
As for Kelly Clarkson's performances, I don't have much to say. Clarkson's a fine singer; but her particular performances tonight weren't entirely special. What's more, I've heard both songs she performed tonight way too frequently on VH1 Henceforth, I wasn't entirely spellbound by her performances tonight.
And that's it. So much for the first episode of SNL for 2012. Charles Barkley wasn't the best host of the season; and he only performed well during the monologue and the "Inside the NBA' sketch. Other than these instances, Barkley didn't contribute anything special to some of the sketches. Most of his performances were either not funny or not enthusiastic whatsoever. Frankly, I have no idea why he was asked back to host. He may have been a great basketball player; but he's DEFINITELY NOT a great sketch comedy performer.
And that's my review. Thank you all for following me tonight. I had a great time live-blogging the show; and I look forward to doing it again next week when Daniel Radcliffe hosts the show for his first time. Something tells me that he's going to be a VERY enthusiastic host.
Thanks again for following me tonight and I look forward to posting my next big writing sometime this week. Good night everybody!
E-mail me at thatsnatertainment@gmx.com
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