Kristen Wiig Host Card Image taken from http://snl.jt.org/ep.php?i=201305110
Kristen Wiig was always a solid performer throughout her seven years as a castmember on “Saturday Night Live.” She was always able to improve the quality of the sketches through her performances. As I got ready to live-blog Kristen Wiig's return to the late-night variety program to host this past Saturday night at 11:30pm,a couple questions were going through my head. Would Kristen Wiig get a good amount of original and creative sketches for her first hosting stint? Or would she be reprising many of her reoccurring characters throughout the show? Well, I wasn't surprised to see my first question answered a little bit into the program; with only a few original sketches taking place towards the latter part of the show. But, I will say that Kristen Wiig and the cast did everything they could top improve the quality of the sketches. Unfortunately, the writing throughout the show proved to be quite lazy and also caused some of the sketches to drag significantly. Below is a brief review of the sketches:
Cold Opening: Benghazi Hearings.
I was very surprised to see Kristen Wiig absent; as I expected to her have a large role as well as deliver the show's signature opening line. That being said, that wasn't a terrible opening; though the writing was just alright. The castmembers' performances throughout were alright; though the sketch appeared a bit rushed. The idea of poking fun at the media's coverage of the Benghazi hearings was intriguing; though I feel the sketch could have gone on a bit longer. Not a poor opening at all; though it could have been executed a tad better.
Monologue: Kristen Wiig
Image of Jonah Hill, Maya Rudolph, and Kristen Wiig taken from http://snl.jt.org/detail.php?i=201305112
In all honesty, I wasn't too surprised to see Kristen Wiig perform a musical number for her monologue. Nevertheless, Kristen Wiig gave a very spirited performance and the joke about her incorrectly identifying some of her former fellow castmembers. I also figured that her “Bridesmaids” co-star and fellow “Saturday Night Live” alum Maya Rudolph would make a cameo appearance at some point in the show. Jonah Hill's appearance I wasn't expecting; though his inclusion felt a little tacked on. In addition, even though I enjoy when host’s go backstage during their monologue, the overall format has been done quite often in recent years; with the most recent being this past December when Fellow Former “Saturday Night Live” Alum Martin Short hosted. Furthermore, Kristen Wiig reprising her wide-grinning and trouble-making reoccurring character “Gilly” felt awkward as well as tacked on. Despite these quibbles, I applaud Kristen Wiig on her engaging performance and I was interested in seeing where the show would go next.
Sketch: “The Californians”
I'm not going to go into details about this sketch. I basically say the same thing everytime I review this sketch. Henceforth, I'm just going to say this: the format of this sketch was basically the same as previous installments and the performances were basically similar to those the cast bestowed before. In addition, Maya Rudolph's performance in this sketch was nothing special at all. I am extremely tired of this sketch and I really feel bad for Kristen Wiig and the cast to be given such truly weak material by the writers. The less said about this sketch the better.
Commercial Parody: “Aw Nuts, Mom's a Ghost”
This was a humorous spoof of the Disney Channel's method of promoting their movies. Kristen Wiig gave a good performance as the restless and undead spirit of her children's mother, Bobby Moynihan and Cecily Strong did well portraying the young children; though I will say some of their scenes felt a bit rushed. Nevertheless, this wasn't a bad sketch and the performances were quite alright.
Sketch: “The Lawrence Welk Show”
Image of Kristen Wiig and Jason Sudeikis taken from http://snl.jt.org/detail.php?i=201305116
This reoccurring sketch of Kristen Wiig's I enjoy-- mostly due to her performance as her tiny-handed “Lawrence Welk Show” dancer “Doonise.” That being said, the format was basically the same as previous installments. Jason Sudeikis gave a good performance as the straightman to Wiig's character; and he did have some good lines-- such as asking the fellow dancers and sisters (played by Nasim Pedrad, Vanessa Bayer, and Cecily Strong)of “Doonise” if she is really their sister. As usual, Kristen Wiig gave an engaging performance; thus improving the overall quality of the sketch a bit more. Nevertheless, in all honesty, this was almost an exact rehash of previous installments.
“Weekend Update”
Now this wasn't a great edition of the weekly news segment at all. Most of Seth Meyer's jokes were complete duds; with the exception of his quip about “American Idol” launching a spinoff show about auditioning new hosts for the next season. Also, the return of Bobby Moynihan's second-hand news reporter “Anthony Crispino” wasn't funny at all, and the castmember's performance got increasingly annoying when speaking in an increasingly-high voice. The segment just dragged and I prayed for it to end. In addition, the return of Kristen Wiig's and Fred Armisen's “singing” duo “Garth and Kat” wasn't great at all, and their segment was basically just a rehash of previous installments; with the exception of the characters “playing” musical instruments during their final song. Kristen Wiig and Fred Armisen did what they could with the material, but the segment just wasn't great or memorable. All in all, not a great edition of “Weekend Update” at all. When Seth Meyers becomes the new host of “Late Night” next year, I hope the writing is better for him than it has been for the past few seasons of “Saturday Night Live.”
Sketch: The Return of Kristen Wiig's Target Clerk
And here we have ANOTHER reoccurring character of Kristen Wiig's. In addition, this was basically just another rehash of previous installments. Though I do like Kristen Wiig's mumble-mouthed performance as her character in this sketch, the ENTIRE format of the sketch was basically the same as previous installments. Once again, Kristen Wiig did what she could to improve the quality of the sketch through her performance. Unfortunately, the poor writing hurt the sketch
Sketch: Acupuncture
The first real non-reoccurring sketch to appear on the show after the Disner Channel spoof. That being said, this was humorous; mostly due to all the performances. Kristen Wiig and Aidy Bryant gave good performances as the acupuncturists; who pushed their pins so far into the back of their unsuspecting patient, played by Jason Sudeikis, causing an outpouring of blood. Watching Aidy Bryant and Kristen Wiig's characters go into such a panicked state was engaging, and I did get some laughs at some of the methods they employed to cover their mistakes; such as the latter employing a fake Japanese accent in an attempt to pretend to be another doctor. Jason Sudeikis also gave a humorous performance as their patient; who had no idea what was going on as the blood kept pouring everywhere. However, this was my problem with the sketch. I'm not crazy about the writing staff of “Saturday Night Live” writing staff employing such graphic material to get laughs from the audience. If it weren't for the comical performances of Kristen Wiig and the cast, this sketch wouldn't have been that great.
Sketch: “Double Date”
Image of Tim Robinson and Bobby Moynihan as their characters taken from http://snl.jt.org/detail.php?i=2013051112
And here was another original sketch. I was happy to see Tim Robinson get another starring role in a sketch. Here, he and Bobby Moynihan played two little boys dining with two sociable women; played by Kristen Wiig and Cecily Strong. Robinson and Moynihan played their parts very well, and I really liked their convincing performances. I also enjoyed Kristen Wiig's and Cecily Strong's performances as well. I also got another laugh at Taran Killam's performance as the waiter; especially when going into his manic laughing state. I also got laughs out of Tim Robinson's and Bobby Moynihan's characters pouring out a jar of change to pay for their meals as well as Kristen Wiig's character saying that the coins wouldn't be enough to pay for all their meals. This wasn't a bad sketch.
Commercial-Spoof: “Classy Sexy Elegance”
Image of Cecily Strong, Kristen Wiig, and Aidy Bryant as their characters taken from
http://snl.jt.org/detail.php?i=2013051113
http://snl.jt.org/detail.php?i=2013051113
This was a mixed bag of a commercial parody. For one thing. “Saturday Night Live” has done these CD commercial-parodies many times before. Even the set-up was the same. Two spokespeople-- in this case-- played by Kenan Thompson and Nasim Pedrad-- introduce singers on a music compilation. This time, the CD was a collection of socialites singing while their lyrics were delivered in an auto-tuned fashion. However, I will say that Kristen Wiig, Aidy Bryant, and Cecily Strong performed well as their characters. Though I will say that the entire segment appeared rushed. In addition, I wish that Kenan Thompson and Nasim Pedrad were given some more humorous lines for their characters. In addition, the whole auto-tuned concept for the album could have been funnier. Instead, the idea just felt a bit unnecessary. Nevertheless, this wasn't a bad closing sketch. I just feel it could have been a bit better.
And that's the show. I'm REALLY disappointed that Kristen Wiig, a very good sketch comedy performer, wasn't given a lot of creative roles to play. I enjoy her performances on the show over the years and I was happy to see her back. I just wish that the “Saturday night Live” writing staff had come up with more creative sketches for her first hosting stint.
And that's my review. Tomorrow night is the season finale; which will be hosted by Ben Affleck and Kanye West will be the musical guest. Before the show, I'm going to share some thoughts on the season as the whole as well as offer my opinions on longtime castmembers Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis, and Fred Armisen leaving the show after tomorrow night.
And right when the show begins, I will be live-blogging the sketches, the performances, the writing, and anything else that comes to mind. Be sure to have your televisions set to NBC by11:30pm tomorrow night and have my blog on your computers. Be sure to keep refreshing your computer screens so you can see my latest comments. Feel free to share your own thoughts by clicking the “comment” link underneath any of my posts. Your feedback means a lot and I look forward to seeing your opinions.
So stay tuned and I'll see you tomorrow night!
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