I'm going to do something different with this mini-review of this past weekend's episode of “Saturday Night Live”; which featured Guest Host and Musical Guest Drake. I'm going to talk about the main positives and negatives of the episode. Also, I'm only going to be addressing certain sketches and performances. I promise that my review of tonight's episode will be more in-depth.
And now, here's my review:
Section One: the Positives
I was very happy with Drake's overall acting in the sketches. Right when he appeared in the “Piers Moran Live” cold opening as Alex Rodriguez, I had the feeling that Drake would be a good ghost. I got some laughs from Drake's performance as Rodriguez; particularly how his cell-phone auto-correct is what got him in legal trouble-- as his messages were sent out with incorrect wording. I also got a laugh when Drake's portrayal of Rodriguez said that he was going to sue his cell phone as a way to deal with his scandal.
Drake's performance in the monologue was also quite good, Right when he appeared on stage, he appeared very confident. He also had a good stage presence and he made the transition into the sketch part of the monologue quite well. It should be mentioned that the overall idea of Drake reminiscing his Bar Mitzvah was a creative idea for the monologue, Drake also had some good lines as well; particularly when he said “Whazzup” and explained that he was quoting the Budweiser Frogs and telling everyone that it was 1999 (the year he had his Bar Mitzvah). In addition, Drake gave a good performance when he was doing his rap; even if the writing wasn't great. The overall idea of the monologue was creative, even if the writing wasn't that great,
Drake also performed very well in the sketches. He had good chemistry with the “Saturday Night Live” castmembers. And even when the writing was at its worst, Drake was able to improve the quality of the sketches. For instance, Drake did very well in a sketch when he played the host of an “Indiana Jones” attraction at a theme park and “Saturday Night Live” Castmember Nasim Pedrad played a foreign kid named “Raheet.” Throughout the sketch, Pedrad's character kept saying his name over and over; becoming the central joke of the sketch. Drake's performance, however, gave the better performance as his character tried extremely hard to keep to keep Nasim Pedrad's character focused at all times when participating in the show. Drake brought a lot of energy to the sketch and he managed to bring forward some laughs as his character-- particularly when he said that for anyone who misses the show, they can see it “on Youtube in a couple of days.” Drake managed to bring a lot of life to the sketches when the writing was particularly not very good. Drake manages his character to remain enthusiastic throughout the whole sketch. In short terms, Drake was the absolute highlight of this sketch,
In addition, Drake proved to be good at impressions. For instance, during the “Nancy Grace” sketch, Drake pulled off a very good impression of comedian Katt Williams. Drake had the voice down well and did well mimicking the comedian's facial expressions. What's more, Drake gave good performances during the “Hip Hop Classics” sketch; particularly when portraying rapper L'il Wayne as “Steve Urkel” in a scene from an early episode of “Family Matters.” Drake brought forward good laughs in his sketches, and this was no exception.
In short terms, I was very happy with Drake's performances as the show's show. He had very good comedic chemistry wit everybody and he acted very well. In addition, his musical performances were good; though I liked his second song a bit better than his first one. Nevertheless, I was very happy with Drake's acting and I would like to see him host again.
Other Positives
There were some other parts of the show that I liked as well. For instance, I REALLY thought that Kate McKinnon's impression of Justin Bieber in the “piers Morgan Live” sketch was VERY FUNNY. She mimicked the singer's speaking voice perfectly and did a GREAT job imitating his mannerisms as well. In addition, Kate McKinnon looked SO MUCH like Justin Beiber that I first though he was making a surprise appearance during the cold opening. McKinnon's performance was great and was, along with Drake's performance as the show's host, probably the best part of the show,
In addition, I got some laughs out of Vanessa Bayer's appearance on “Weekend Update” as Golden Globe Winner Jacqueline Bisset. The idea of Bayer's portrayal of Bisset being confused as to how to get to the “Update” desk to deliver a commentary was humorous; mainly due to the “Saturday Night Live” castmember''s facial reactions and Seth Meyers' constant attempts to get her attention. The idea of constantly checking in with Bayer's Jacqueline Bisset throughout “Weekend Update” was an interesting idea and it was worthy of laughter.
Some Negatives:
The overall writing for the episode is the main negative of this episode. The show's writing just isn't very good this season. For instance, the writing staff is basically rehashing sketches from earlier episodes from the season; as evident from the appearances of the “Mornin' Miami” sketch as well as the return of Vanessa Bayer's awkward poetry teacher “Ms. Meadows.” It should be mentioned that both sketches first appeared during the Miley Cyrus episode from this past October. The poetry class sketch was basically a simple rehash: Vanessa Bayer's character over-excitedly tries to get her students to write verses on the spot. And the format of the sketch was basically the same as before; leading up to Drake's character being in love with Vanessa Bayer's “Ms. Meadows” at the end of the sketch. The basic joke was the same as Miley Cyrus' sketch; with her character also being in love with Bayer's character as well. The whole sketch had no surprises whatsoever and there wasn't any real genuine humor at all. In addition, the “Mornin' Miami” sketch was basically just a carbon-copy as well; with Kate McKinnon's and Bobby Moynihan's characters basically offering up bizarre news headlines during a promo shoot. The only difference in this edition was that Drake was present instead of Miley Cyrus; who played the third news anchor. While all three offered good performances, the execution of the sketch offered no surprises at all. This is a problem of the writing staff. They are relying on rehashing sketches in an attempt to fill up space in sketches. This is very disappointing and I'm really worried that we'll be seeing more of this practice as the season progresses.
My other central negative of the te episode came from “Weekend Update.” Other than Vanessa Bayer's performance as Golden Globe Winner Jacqueline Bisset, there wasn't anything memorable at all. Seth Meyers' and Cecily Strong's jokes weren't very funny and it seemed like they didn't have a lot of news stories during this particular installment of “Weekend Update” at all. In addition, even though I like Nasim Pedrad's impression of Arianna Huffington, it should be said that her segment didn't have any memorable lines at all. There wasn't any really finny dialogue at all and I'm tired of Nasim Pedrad's Arianna Huffington hitting on Seth Meyers. The segment played out exactly like previous ones; thus causing there to be nothing special at all. With only two more weeks on the show, I am truly hoping that Seth Meyers' final hosting stints of “Weekend Update” offer up some memorable moments.
And there you go, That concludes my review of Drake's episode of “Saturday Night Live.” As said before, I was very impressed with Drake's performance as the host and I hope he appears on the show again. I just hope he gets better writing whenever he hosts again.
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And now, we get ready for tonight's episode; which will feature Jonah Hill hosting for his third time. Tonight, he is promoting his Academy Award Nominated performance in “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Now, I didn't see the movie, but I hear he did well well his performance. I do think he did a decent job performing in “Moneyball”; for which he received his first Academy Award nomination. I hope tonight's show is good; though the writing for his previous hosting stint, which took place on March 10, 2012, was not very good at all. The only parts of his show that I liked were his monologue, which basically poked fun at the actor getting an ego after getting his Academy Award nomination only to be humbled when two-time Oscar-Winner Tom Hanks showed up with his two awards, as well as the closing sketch; during which he played a husband surprising his wife, played by Kristen Wiig, with a full orchestra, played by the “Saturday Night Live” castmembers, performing Coolio's hit song “C U When U Get There.” Jonah Hill gave a humorous performance as the over-eager husband and he had good chemistry. with Kristen Wiig throughout the shetch. The whole bit was quite humorous and it was a good way to close the show. But nevertheless, Jonah Hill is not one of my favorite comedic performers. As seen by his involvement in R-rated comedies like 2007's “Superbad” and 2012's “21 Jump Street,” Hill spends a lot of time in his movies cursing out loud and acting in an over-the-top manner in most of the scenes. But I will say this: he has good comedic chemistry with his co-stars; particularly with Michael Cera in “Superbad” and Channing Tatum in “21 Jump Street.” In addition, he interacts well with the “Saturday Night Live” cast whenever he hosts. So, hopefully, the show is good tonight.
So, beginning at 11:30pm, I will be blogging the show. I will be commenting on the performances, the writing, the sketches, and anything else that comes to mind. I will also be paying close attention to Jonah Hill's acting in the sketches and will also determine just how genuinely funny his performances will be.
So, be sure to have your televisions set to NBC by 11:30pm and have my blog up on your computers. Make sure to keep refreshing your computer screens so you can see my latest comments throughout the show. Feel free to share your own viewpoints 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 for my live-blogging coverage of tonight's episode of “Saturday Night Live” with Guest Host Jonah Hill and Musical Guest Bastille. Thank you for following my blog and I will see you all at show time!
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