All in all, last night's episode of “Saturday Night Live” proved to be one of the weakest episodes of the season. Adam Levine was not a great host at all; as he lacked a lot of enthusiasm throughout the night and most of his roles in sketches were either just alright or completely forgettable. He did not posses great comedic timing and there was hardly any genuine chemistry present with any of the castmembers.
The cold opening was not great at all. I do like Jay Pharoah's impression of President Barack Obama. Though I have to say that Kenan Thompson's portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wasn't humorous at all. Some of his dialogue was borderline sophomoric at best. This just wasn't a great way to start out the show.
The cold opening was one of the better parts of the show. This was one of the two best live performances of the night from Adam Levine. It was nice to see Andy Samberg again and he had some really good lines. The cameos from Cameron Diaz and Jerry Seinfeld especially were very random, but they were both pretty funny, with their comical advice to Adam Levine on what he should do as host of SNL. This was a well-written bit and I enjoyed all the performances.
The “Circle Work” talk show sketch wasn't very funny. Kenan Thompson and Adam Levine hardly had any good lines and I immediately gre tired of all the sexual jokes designed to get easy laughs from the audience. Jason Sudeikis did all right with the material he was given, but unfortunately, there wasn't much humor present whatsoever. Adam Levine didn't really contribute anything special to this sketch and this was just the first of his many unimpressive performances.
The fire station sketch mainly worked due to Bill Hader's comedically over-the-top performance. Though his screaming got a tad old, I still laughed due to the absurdity of his reactions, He has a good amount of lines and I noticed that he started to break wioth laughter as the sketch was nearing its ending. Adam Levine didn't contribute anything amazing to this sketch, and any lines he had just fell flat. Aside from Bill Hader's performance, there was nothing memorable about this sketch.
I liked the newest digital short presented by The Lonely Island. This was a welcome return of their short films and I thought their song had a good sound and their lyrics provided for some good laughter. Adam Levine did alright with the comedic material he was given, and this proved to be one of his better performances of the night. I also liked Danny McBride's quick cameos during the filmed piece; though I wish he got to do a little more. This was a nice return from “The Lonely Island” and I'm wondering if we'll see any more shorts from them later this season.
“Weekend Update” wasn't very funny at all. Aside from one or two jokes, Seth Meyers wasn't very funny, and I'm getting a little tired of the comments he makes afterwords. Nasim Pedrad once again performed well as Arinna Huffington, though the writing wasn't funny or memorable. Kenan Thompson had a couple good lines as Ray Lewis, though the segment went on a bit too long. All in all, not a very memorable edition of “Weekend Update.”
The barroom brawl sketch started out as a good idea, though it went on a bit too long. I did like Taran Killam's dead-on performance as the lead singer of Train and he had some good lines aimed at Adam Levine. Jason Sudeikis and Bill Hader were both humorous as Jason Mraz and John Mayer respectfully, though I wish they got to do more. Adam Levine's overall performance lacked genuine enthusiasm and he appeared to have his eyes glued to the cue cards for the entire sketch. I really wish this sketch could have been better, because the idea of all these musicians confronting each other had a lot of potential, but the overall piece just went nowhere. And that is a real shame.
The “Catfish” sketch wasn't very great; mainly due to Adam Levine's awkward performance. He appeared to still be glued to the cue cards and he just wasn't very funny. Most of the piece's comedy came from Bobby Moynihan as the cameraman who kept pointing out the foibles about the program' set-up and filmmaking process. This was just not an entirely funny sketch.
The bar sketch featuring Bobby Moynihan as “Janet” was alright; mostly due to his comical performance. As seen with Bill Hader during the fire station sketch, Moynihan's comedically over-the-top performance was the main source of my laughter. Adam Levine was an okay straightman, though his performance wasn't that energetic. I did get a slight laugh out of the sketch's ending, but ultimately, it was a tad predictable.
I liked seeing Jason Sudeikis' as Vice President Joe Biden during the “Biden Bash” commercial spoof. He had some good lines; though it was Sudeikis' enthusiastic performance that got me laughing wholeheartedly. He's such a good comedic performer. I have found that most of this season's best pieces have come from Jason Sudeikis. He has really been having a great year and I look forward to seeing more of his appearances in sketches as the season goes on. It's just a shame that Adam Levine does not possess the same comedic enthusiasm that Sudeikis has.
As for Kendrick Lamar, he was definitely not one of the best musical guests of the season. Both of his songs were lacked anything truly special and he doesn;t have a catchy sound. His cameo in the digital short wasn't bad however; but I had a feeling he would appear in the short-- considering that a lot of rapper have appeared in The Lonely Island's shorts.
And that's the show. Once again, Adam Levine wasn't a great host. He wasn't very funny and he didn't possess a lot of genuine enthusiasm. I'm worried about the current state of SNL; seeing as much of the writing hasn't been great and some of the hosting choices have been weak. And with Justin Bieber hosting the next live show on February 9th, I'm just not sure how everything will go.
Thank you all for following my blog and stay tuned for more Nater-Tainment!
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