Cold Opening- “Piers Morgan Live”
This wasn't a bad opening. I always like “Saturday Night Live” Castmember Taran Killam's impression of Piers Morgan and his performance in this opening was good. In this installment, Killam's portrayal of Piers Morgan was interviewing guests regarding the latest criminal activity of George Zimmerman. Killam's best lines of the sketch were how he referred to himself as “the tiny little fool of news” as well as him reminding viewers at the end of the segment that he had won “Ceebrity Apprentice.” I did like Castmember Kate McKinnon's performance as the girlfriend of George Zimmerman; though I feel her writing could have been a bit better. Bobby Moynihan had a couple humorous lines as Florida Police Chief Mike Davis; the most humorous portion of his segment being the computerized images from Zimmerman's ankle monitor that revealed his most recent locations. In addition, I liked Featured Player Beck Bennett;s performance as George Zimmer; the founder of Men's Warehouse-- who was voicing his frustration with people confusing him for George Zimmerman. Bennett's performance was very humorous and I liked seeing him get a real funny role in a sketch after having mostly bit parts throughout a majority of the season so far. Overall, a decent opening.
Monologue- Josh Hutcherson
Let me first say that I'm happy that “Saturday night Live” did a creative monologue for Josh Hutcherson; as most monologues for young actors nowadays aren't that memorable. That being said, I've never seen any of the “Hunger Games” films or even have read the book. However, I have been given enough information from some of my good friends as to what the basic premise of the popular film adaptation of the book series is so I have an alright understanding. Josh Hutcherson handled himself well here and he interacted well with the cast. I liked the overall concept of the castmembers playing themselves and their worries about having to fight each other in a staging of the “Saturday Night Live Hunger Games”. I liked seeing Featured Player Noel Wells given some airtime; as she stated that she was able to take some comfort in that fact that she's at least getting something to do the show; as she was originally chosen to be the female participant in the games. I understood that Cecily Strong was basically playing “Katniss Everdeen” (the main character from the book series that Jennifer Lawrence played in the film adaptation). I got a slight chuckle out of Bobby Moynihan's reaction when it was revealed that he would be the male competitor. That being said, this was not a bad monologue; though it should be said that Josh Hutcherson wasn't really given a lot to do here.
Sketch- “Girlfriends Talk Show”
I am REALLY getting tired of this reoccurring sketch. Even though they somewhat changed the format of this sketch, seeing that Aidy Bryant's “Morgan” and Cecily Strong's “Kyra” were having a male guest on this particular installment, the overall format was basically the same as previous editions. There really wasn't anything funny here at all and the overall concept of “Kyra” eventually stealing the attention of their guest “Trevor Masterson”, played by Josh Hutcherson, away from “Morgan” wasn't humorous. In fact, there wasn't anything particularly memorable or funny here at all. Bryant and Strong weren't exactly very amusing at all and Hutcherson's character wasn't as well. I watched this sketch hoping to find something humorous; but alas, there wasn't anything. Just a very forgettable sketch.
Image of Aidy Bryant as "Morgan', Cecily Strong as "Kyra" and Josh Hutcherson as "Trevor Masterson" taken from http://snltranscripts.jt.org/13/13ggirlfriends.phtml
Sketch- Office Boss
Now THIS was a memorable and FUNNY sketch!! I'm glad to see Beck Bennett get to play the central character in a sketch. In this segment, Bennett played “Richard Patterson”; the head of a major company who possesses the body of a baby. Josh Hutcherson played a new employee who was meeting his boss for the first time. Bennett played his character very well and his mannerisms were spot-on! Highlights included Bennett fiddling around with various papers on a desk as well as “eating” his lunch, a plateful of spaghetti, by throwing the food around. Bennett's physical movements throughout the sketch were completely hilarious and his interactions with Hutcherson's and the castmembers characters were very humorous as well. My favorite being Bennett's character slowly make eye contact during a photo shoot for a magazine cover as Hutcherson's character was trying to gain his attention by jingling a set of keys within earshot. The whole sketch was well-performed and well-written and Beck Bennett's performance in this sketch has made him my absolute favorite out of all the six new “Saturday Night Live” featured players. Just a very enjoyable sketch and DEFINITELY one of my favorite of the season so far.
Image of Beck Bennett as "Richard Patterson" taken from http://snltranscripts.jt.org/13/13gboss.phtml
Short Film- “Matchbox 3”
Now, the show took another short nosedive. In this pre-recorded piece, Kenan Thompson, Jay Pharoah, and Josh Hutcherson played three subway dance performers with constricted skills. While I must salute the show for putting effort into the making of this sketch, it has to be said that it just wasn't very funny. Thompson, Pharoah, and Hutcherson performed finely and did the best they could to keep the sketch going. But, unfortunately, the sketch didn't really take off. So the three characters were only able to move certain parts of their bodies. Nothing else really happened; with the exception of Hutcherson's character getting lost at the end and having to be replaced. I mean, I liked the fact that a lot time was put into the sketch-- filming the piece on an actual subway. But, this just didn't take off. I feel this could have been better than it was.
“Weekend Update”
And, here is yet another non-momentious edition of the weekly news-parody segment. Seth Meyers and Cecily Strong hardly had any funny jokes. Though I did like the latter stating “bette leck next time” to the other members of Maroon 5-- who all lost to Adam Levine for being People Magazine's “Sexiest Man Alive” for 2013. As for this particular segment's featured guests, Aidy Bryant played “The Worst Lady on an Airplane”; who displayed the various acts of annoyances she would be subjecting her fellow passengers to during flights. Bryant's performance and segment came off a bit too over-the-top for my taste; though I did get a slight chuckle out of her comment that one of her three travel bags was only filled with all of her pills. Aside from that, I didn't get any laughs out of Bryant's poerformance. This edition of “Weekend Update” wasn't that great and I'm truly hoping that Bryant's character doesn't end up being reoccurring.
Image of Aidy Bruant as "The Worst Lady on an Airplane" taken from http://snltranscripts.jt.org/13/13gupdate.phtml
Sketch- Best Buy Firing
And here's another reoccurring sketch I have already grown tired of. Bobby Moynihan and Cecily Strong once again played their obnoxiously loud employee characters “Niff” and “Dana” respectively; who shout completely inappropriate jokes towards their fellow co-workers during a staff meeting. Moynihan's and Strong's performances in these sketches aren't humorous at all and they just come off as being completely irritating throughout the entire segment. Josh Hutcherson played their boss; but he wasn't given anything humorous at all. The only time I laugh during these sketches is when “Niff”'s and “Dana”'s hapless fellow employee “Carl”, played by Tim Robinson this past season, who would good-naturally say “Oh Well. Easy come, easy go” after hearing that he's been fired. And now that Robinson is no longer a performer on the show, I don't fund much to laugh at during these. The only time I did chuckle was from Beck Bennett's character; who had orange food remnants around his mouth. I wish that “Saturday Night Live” would stop doing these sketches.
Short Film- Dancing
And here's another offering from “GoodNeighborStuff” Comedy Duo and current “Saturday Night Live” Featured Players Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney. In this short piece, Mooney plays a guy who immediately catches the eye of a music producer, played by Bennett, after he's seen dancing in his apartment. This leads to Mooney's character rapidly riding the roller-coaster ride of fame without leaving his own apartment. This short had various small touches that made it hilarious-- such as Bennett's character making a video of Mooney's character dancing and then the former throwing the tape at the VCR and it played on TV instantly. The short got even funnier as it went on-- leading up to Bennett's character instantly picking up a newspaper featuring an article displaying a picture of Mooney's character with an accompanying headline saying “No Longer Popular.” I'm really enjoying these short films with Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney. They have great interplay and their short films are rich in hilarious-yet-subtle comedy. I look forward to seeing more short films from them as the season moves on.
Sketch- Veterinarians
This was a poorly-written sketch. Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, and Josh Hutcherson play three veterinarians who make people think their pets are dead and instruct them to sign the forms that confirm they heard the news. This was a very one-joke sketch that basically relied on mean-spirited humor. And the revelation at the end that none of the animals were actually dead and the trio of veterinarians were just being irresponsible wasn't funny at all. I will say that McKinnon, Strong, and Hutcherson performed their parts finely and the latter did well interacting with the “Saturday Night Live” castmembers. Regardless, this sketch wasn't funny at all and the “jokes” weren't spectacular..
Short-Filmed Piece- An Investigative Report
Well, this was an absurd sketch.... but in a good way. Featured Player Mike O'Brien played a goofy street reporter named "Winston Sam Bass" who would approach insects, hold up a microphone to them, and “interview” them. Even though the premise was completely stupid, Mike O'Brien's performance as the pathetic reporter made this sketch easy to watch. The over-eagerness of his character was humorous and I laughed when he started crying when realizing that he shouldn't be making fun of plus-sized insects when he himself used to be chubby. Josh Hutcherson also brought some laughs as the younger brother of O'Brien's character-- who managed to pull off an “interview” with an insect just by throwing his own voice. But it was Mike O'Brien's performance here that made the sketch memorable. Watching his character start out being very excited about his job only to eventually realize just how pathetic he was being throughout the whole report. This was the best thing Mike O'Brien has done on the show so far this season and I wonder what else he has in store for us this season.
Image of Mike O'Brien as "Winston Sam Bass" taken from http://snltranscripts.jt.org/13/13gbugs.phtml
Sketch- Thanksgiving Dinner
This wasn't an entirely hilarious closing sketch. Josh Hutcherson played a college students returning home to his family for Thanksgiving dinner. Along with him, he brings his new girlfriend-- a turkey, played by Vanessa Beyer. The girlfriend, played by Vanessa Bayer, was terrified to see the family eating a member of her own species for their holiday dinner-- so much so, that she eventually gets fed up and leaves-- cut to footage of a live turkey leaving the family's house in a state of panic. First let me say that all the performances in this sketch were fine. Vanessa Bayer did well playing the terrified turkey and Josh Hutcherson played his role as the boyfriend. But my biggest laugh from the cast came from Taran Killam as the father when screaming the words “Goddang Turkey” when expressing his shock when that his son was dating a turkey. Other than that, there wasn't anything truly hilarious in the sketch. It was well-performed; even if the ending felt a bit abrupt. All in all, not a terrible closing sketch. I just wish it was funnier.
And, that's the show. Josh Hutcherson did an alright job as the show's host and he had decent chemistry with the “Saturday Night Live” cast. Though I have to say that the biggest laughs I got during the show were from Beck Bennett; for his performances in the “Office Boss” sketch as well as his role of George Zimmer during the cold opening as well as his performance in the “Dancing” short film. Bennett is the best out of the new castmembers and I'm looking forward to seeing more from him as the season progresses. I also got some laughs from Kyle Mooney, for his performance in the “Dancing” short film, as well as Mike O'Brien-- for his performance as his reporter character in the Investigative Report piece. The writing is still not so great, and I'm hope that things get better with this month's shows
And that brings us to the new episodes for this month. Tomorrow night, Paul Rudd will be hosting the show for his third time and he will be joined by One Direction as the evening's musical guest. Paul Rudd is one of my favorite current comedic performers and I'm GREATLY hoping that he gets good sketches tomorrow night. Then, on December 14th, veteran returning host John Goodman will be joined by musical guest Kings of Leon. Goodman will be emceeing the show for his thirteenth time and is also returning to the show for the first time since 2001. I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing him host next week; as there was a time that he would host every year-- considering that he did so for ELEVEN straight years-- the show's fifteenth season to its twenty-fifth. He was always a good sketch comedy performer and I'm looking forward to seeing him interact with the current cast, In addition, on December 21st, Former “Saturday Night Live” Castmember and current host of “Late Night” Jimmy Fallon will be hosting for his second time. Joining him will be the one and only Justin Timberlake; who will be performing as theshow's musical guest for his fifth time. The combination of Fallon and Timberlake for the Christmas show is a GREAT one; as they have great chemistry and they always bring the funny whenever they are together. And seeing that Fallon last hosted one of my favorite shows in recent years, the Season 37 Christmas Show, I'm betting this episode will be VERY entertaining and memorable. Hopefully, the writers come up with good sketches for all three December hosts. I'm truly hoping the writers and cast DO NOT let us down. We have THREE potentially memorable shows coming up this month. So let's just hope the writers do not let us down.
"Saturday Night Live" December 2013 Promo Image taken from http://www.google.com/imgres?rlz=1T4ADFA_enUS473US477&biw=1345&bih=696&tbm=isch&tbnid=EqNGzH-DOcATLM:&imgrefurl=http://nbcsnl.tumblr.com/post/67698886560/just-announced-today-icymi-we-announced-our&docid=vzdQUxwm4FkSGM&imgurl=http://25.media.tumblr.com/0f6763912695495968971f69b1539820/tumblr_mwmwre7DeJ1rdzuduo1_1280.jpg&w=800&h=800&ei=IoKiUoLzJJOgsAT13YDAAw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1072&vpy=87&dur=4062&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=152&ty=119&page=1&tbnh=140&tbnw=137&start=0&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0,i:95
That being said, don't miss my live-coverage of tomorrow night's episode. Before the show, I will be posting an article that outlines my thoughts regarding Paul Rudd hosting. Then, beginning at 11:30pm, I will be commenting on the sketches, the writing, the performances, and anything else that comes to mind during the show.
So be sure to have your televisions set to NBC by 11:30pm and have my blog on your computers. Be sure to keep refreshing your computer screens so you can see my latest posts during the show. Feel free to share your own opinions by clicking the “comment” link underneath any of my posts, Your feedback means a lot and I look forward to seeing your opinions.
I thank you for following my blog and I appreciate your support. Stay tuned and I'll see you all tomorrow!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment