This show was just downright poor! Kevin Hart was very much one of my least favorite hosts of the season; right up there with Adam Levine. Sure, he was enthusiastic and looked like he wanted to be on the show, but his over-the-top performances just irritated me.
The cold opening was perhaps one of the better parts of the night. Jay Pharoah was once again good as President Obama and the concept of bringing forward affected by the new budget cuts was humorous. Jason Sudeikis, Bill Hader, and Cecily Strong were very funny and I liked the visual joke about the construction worker, the cop, the construction worker, and the Idian Chief being presented as an incarnation of The Village People. This was a decent opening and it featured alright writing.
Kevin Hart's monologue wasn't very funny at all. His enthusiasm is worth commending, but his material just wasn't funny at all. His story about auditioning for SNL was interesting; mainly due to the fact that I always like learning about which comedians and aspiring actors originally trying out to be a castmember. Nevertheless, this monologue wasn't very funny, though I did get a slight chuckle out of Hart's Denzel Washington facial expression.
The Steve Harvey Show wasn't terrible; as Kenan Thompson's impression of the well-known comedian-turned-talk-show-host was very engaging. Though I am getting a bit tired of the joke about how Harvey mispronounces words on a regular basis. Kevin Hart's over-the-top performance peeved me and I wasn't crazy about the joke that his character was afraid of the fake horse. Though I did laugh when Thompson's Steve Harvey ran away from the fake horse along with Hart's character. Aside from Thompson's performance as Steve Harvey, this was a weak sketch.
The book store sketch featuring the return of Bobby Moynihan's and Cecily Strong's obnoxious employees wasn't great at all. Moynihan and Strong came off as annoying in their performances, and they weren't given any truly funny material. I did get a laugh out of the revelation that Vanessa Bayer's and Kate McKinnon's characters were actually Siamese Twins, as well as Tim Robinson's goofy employee that was ultimately fired. Kevin Hart wasn't funny at all as the boss; and his loud tirade towards the end of the sketch irked me greatly. Aside from the fact that the sketch took place at a bookstore, the entire format and premise was basically the same as the first installment that aired during the Anne Hathaway episode this past November. All in all, another weak sketch.
"Weekend Update" wasn't great at all. Seth Meyers did have good jokes and his delivery was very good tonight; unlike previous installments this season, during which he seemed to be rushing to get to the featured Update segments. Bobby Moynihan's "impression" of Kim Jung Un wasn't funny at all; as it was just an excuse for him to demonstrate an exaggerated fake Chinese accent. Jay Pharoah did alright as Denis Rodman; though he hardly got anything special to do. The act of both men making out at the end of the segment wasn't funny at all and it was just a cheap way to get laughs from the audience. Tonight's "Really?" segment with Kevin Hart was alright; and both he and Meyers interacted finely together. Though I didn't like Hart's overracting towards the end of the piece, though I was glad that it was short. A very weak update this week, though Seth Meyers was quite good tonight.
The "Walking Dead" parody featured good performances from Taran Killam, Bill Hader, and Cecily Strong, though I didn't find Kevin Hart funny in the sketch at all. The joke about his character using the accusation of racism in an attempt to hide his transformation into a zombie wasn't funny at all. What's more, I did not find the joke about Hart eating Strong's character at end funny at all. I was also slightly peeved by the sketch's abrupt ending. I'm getting tired of sketches ending suddenly after a abrupt joke; and tonight's show featured A LOT of this practice. Another bad sketch.
I'm not familiar with the show "Shark Tank"; so I was a little lost when watching the next piece. I thought that Jason Sudeikis, Bill Hader, and Kenan Thompson were funny funny as the executives judging the Kevin Hart's character's potential product (a lamp wearing glasses). I liked Hart's performance in this sketch; as he's better when playing more low-key characters and not being loud and overracting. This sketch felt a little rushed and the ending was abrupt as well. However, the performances in this sketch were all very good, and I was satisfied despite the weak writing.
The Z-Shirt commercial's 90s-style format was creative, though I did get a little tired of Kevin Hart's overly energetic delivery. That being said, I did like the constant frustration of Tim Robinson's character and he interacted well with Kevin Hart. This wasn't terrible, though the joke did get old by the end at the end.
The commercial line recording sketch wasn't very funny; mostly due to the obvious joke that the volume of Kevin Hart's character's voice was too loud to match the soothing tone of the commercial. Bill Hader and Fred Armisen were good as the straightmen of the sketch, and Vanessa Bayer was good as well. I did get another slight chuckle when Hart's character admitted that he wasn't right for the commercial's narration, but other than that, I did not laugh a lot afterwards; especially during the ending with Nasim Pedrad's character-- who was mouthing Hart's dialogue. Just another weak sketch that was slightly improved by Armisen, Hader, and Bayer as well as portions of Hart's performance.
I did not know where the funeral sketch was going until Kevin Hart appeared on camera and it turned out to be a continuation of the Z-Shirt ad spoof. SNL can take very unpredictable turns with sketches, and this was quite unexpected. The frustration Tim Robinson's character was funny once more, and I'm glad to see him get quite a bit of stuff to do during this week's show.
The final sketch that was a decent parody of news shows where the news anchor constantly turns from one camera to the next. Kevin Hart's quick camera turns was slightly funny and I did get a laugh when suddenly seeing his character sporting a neck brace following a news break. Though his loud creaming when expressing the pain he was experiencing after removing the brace got my nerves. I did get laughs out of Bill Hader, Taran Killam, and Kenan Thompson portraying cameramen who straight-out said the entire idea of the news show was a bad idea. Not a terrible sketch to end the show, but not great at all.
And that's the show. I'm not at all crazy about Kevin Hart, and I would probably only enjoy a return if he reduced his overracting and bring forward calmer performances. I was happy with most of the cast tonight; including the performances of Taran Killam, Kenan Thompson, Bill Hader, Jay Pharoah (during the opening), Jason Sudeikis, and Cecily Strong (aside from the obnoxious employees sketch). Bobby Moynihan, however, had a weak night, as his acting in the rude employees sketch and his appearance on "Weekend Update" came off as very obnoxious.
Furthermore, I am not crazy at all about Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Both their performances were slightly annoying and I was practically unable to understand a single word the lead singer was saying. Thy will truly go down as one of this season's least memorable musical guests.
And that's my review. I'm REALLY excited to see Justin Timberlake host next week; as he's always a very enjoyable host and he blends in PERFECTLY with the cast. He's a very likable performer and his comedic acting on the show is always GREAT. I'm also looking forward to seeing him perform music on the show again. I bet his show will be one of this season's best; as he's always able to improve the quality of the sketches due to his fun performances.
Thank you all for following my blog tonight. Have a good rest of the evening and stay tuned for more Nater-Tainment!
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