Saturday, November 17, 2012

That wasn't an entirely bad show

Sure it had its share of weak sketches.  But in the end, there ended up being some good segments after all.  Jeremy Renner did alright with what he was given; though he appeared tense at the start of the show.

The opening sketch wasn't very funny.  Featured Player Cecily Strong gave an alright performance but she wasn't given anything to do; other than just reading in a straightforward manner.  I did get a small laugh out of the audience members leaving as she continued reading.  In addition, Fred Armisen's excited expression towards the end of the sketch made me laugh .  This wasn't a great way of opening the show, however, and I wish that they came up with something a little better.

Jeremy Renner's monologue wasn't very memorable.  He appeared tense during the monologue and he seemed to hurry through the first few minutes.  He seemed a little more relaxed during the musical portion of the monologue; but the material he was given wasn't very funny. He did have a good singing voice; though I wish he was given more humorous songs. Overall, the monologue wasn't terrible; but I feel that Jeremy Renner could've had better material.

I haven't got anything to say about The Californians.  The sketch follows the same format everytime and it features the same gags as always:  funny voices, giving directions in a goofy manner, exaggerated facial expressions, and everyone looking into the mirror at the same time.  Jeremy Renner didn't contribute anything special to the sketch and I feel that it was slightly rushed as well.  Not a good sketch at all.

The short film was  amusing.  I liked the idea of the gun stand-off getting more and more exaggerated as it went on.  Everyone did well with their performances and I thought that Adam Levine's cameo wasn't bad. 

The Situation Room parody could have been funnier,  Jason Sudeikis gave a good impression of Wolf Blitzer; though I feel that he wasn't given anything special.  Jeremy Renner gave a generic performance in this sketch and the ending wasn't great.   This wasn't very memorable and I feel they could have done a better job mocking the
Patreaus Scandal.

"Weekend Update" wasn't terrible tonight.  Seth Meyers had a few good jokes.  His best was his jokes aimed at Florida during the "Winners and Losers" bit.  Jay Pharoah did a very good job impersonating Katt Williams.  He had the comedian's voice down pact and he did have a some good lines.  I was also surprised that SNL got New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to appear and I liked his segment.  He was a good spot and he gave an enthusiastic performance.  Overall, not a bad edition of "Weekend Update."

The Avengers parody was creative and very amusing,  I liked seeing all the castmembers portray the superheroes; especially Jason Sudeikis as Tony Stark and Bill Hader as Thor.  I also liked Kate McKinnon's clever portrayal of Scarlett Johanson's Black Widow and I must comment the make-up and costume department for their work.  Bobby Moynihan's Hulk make-up and costume had a lot of detail and everyone else resembled their respective characters quite well.  I though Jeremy Renner gave a good performance and he was a good sport in poking fun at his own character Hawkeye.  This was a fun sketch and everyone played their part well.

The film shoot sketch was also good; though it seemed a bit rushed.  Jason Sudeikis gave a good performance as usual when portraying his actor-character and he had great interactions with Bill Hader's character.  The two performers are always great together and their performances show just how important they are to the show.  Jeremy Renner hardly had anything to do in this sketch; as he didn't get to contribute anything funny.  The ending of the sketch seemed a little abrupt and I feel that the writers could have come up with a better one.  Not a bad sketch.

The cartoon seemed pointless.  The idea of military drones being performing R & B songs when they are not fighting villains wasn't funny and the whole short film just seemed too silly for my taste.  This short cartoon was basically used as filler material and nothing more.  Just a waste of time.

The morgue sketch actually ended up being quite amusing.  Jason Sudeikis and Jeremy Renner were funny together and they had very good interactions.  Bill Hader sporadically interjecting comments was very funny as well and the sketch had a nice flow to it.  The ending of the sketch was a clever twist and I laughed throughout the segment.  This was a good way to end the night.

This wasn't a bad show after all.  Though we had some duds, like the cold opening, the Californians, the cartoon, and parts of The Situation Room, we did get some good sketches.  The Avengers parody, morgue sketch, the short film, and the film shoot sketch all possessed a good amount of humor.  Jeremy Renner wasn't the best host of the season; though he did what he could.  He appeared nervous during the first few minutes of the monologue and he hardly contributed anything great to quite a few sketches.  I'm not sure if he'll host again in the near future; but if he does, perhaps he'll do a little better.

As for Maroon 5, they weren't terrible.  Their first performance lacked genuine enthusiasm and they just muddled through their song.  Their second performance, however, was a little better as they seemed to possess more energy.  I guess I'm just a little tired of Maroon 5; as their music is constantly played on the radio and VH-1. In addition, Adam Levine is just about everywhere nowadays; thus I feel that he is overexposed-- thanks in large part to "The Voice."

So that's the show and my review.  Thank you all for following me tonight and I look forward to live-blogging Jamie Foxx's show on December 8th.

Thank you all once again and good night.

No comments:

Post a Comment