This was a perfectly good, if not exactly stand out episode. Rousey wasn't the best performer in the world, but she did a good enough job for an athlete, and the monologue, which was the point in the show where she was the most on her own, leaned into that, with the fight commentary conceit that helped mask her weaknesses out there.
There were an odd number of sketches that seemed to be a parade of quick, little character, and the results were mixed. The Bland Man sketch was a rehash from the Blake Shelton episode, and a bit of a mixed bag, but the rapid fire nature of the sketch kept it feeling fresh, especially with Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong who nailed the dating show archetypes to a tee. The Super Crew sketch, on the other hand, was dead on arrival. If you're going to do a rapid fire character sketch, a la Conan O'Brien, the characters need to weirder or at least more distinctive. Which is why the Bakersfield Public Forum sketch was the best one of the night. In contrast to the super hero sketch, every character had their own unique quirk and the performances from everyone were distinctive and interesting, with Aidy Bryant and Kate McKinnon standing out in particular, and even Bobby Moynihan and Cecily Strong giving underplayed by solidly funny comedic performances.
In terms of the more politically charged material, the cold open with Palin endorsing Trump felt as dull as it was inevitable. Fey's Palin impression has run its course, and there weren't any new notes for her to play here, and Hammond-as-Trump's asides to camera about her speech was a weird way to set up the sketch. On the other hand, the Screen Guild Awards sketch was on track to the best of the night, but it was kind ruined by the punchline of the five-way-tie. It made the point of the sketch and the joke at its core obvious instead of clever.
The pre-taped bits were good, not great. The Carrie meets Mean Girls sketch with Rousey beating up Mean Girl Bayer was funny, but went on too long, and the pick up attempt rap video featuring Beck Bennet as an ill-equipped third wasn't the best thing on the show, but had its laughs.
Weekend Update was great. There was a breezy feel to it with both Jost and Che on point. Che in particular was very solid despite his flub, with solid gags about Trump, the Oscars, and even Spike Lee. And Jost's "disrupting a lamaze class" joke was classic-style comedy. Leslie Jones's over-exaggerated routine just doesn't do it for me, and her plan to date Leonardo DiCaprio was no exception, with a desk bit that nearly killed the segment and just kept going. On the other hand, I normally don't really care for Kenan Thompson's Willie character, but something about this one made me chuckle. Maybe it was just short and punchy enough this time.
As for the other sketches, I was of two minds about Pete Davidson's courtroom bit. On the one hand, it kind of minimizes statutory rape and it's hard to imagine the show having the chutzpah to do a gender-flipped version of it, but it also had one of the better comedic rhythms of any of the sketches that night. I don't really like what it stands for, but it was a well-done sketch. I wish I could say the same for the The Good Neighbor guys' sketch in the 10-to-one spot. Their "we've never been to a party before" bit wasn't funny for a single second, and felt half-baked from the getgo.
Otherwise this was firmly a "pretty good" episode, with little that knocked my socks off, but little so bad either, which gets a 6.5/10 for the current incarnation of the show.
(Oh, and Selena Gomez has a certain stage presence about her, but her songs were pretty forgettable. Frankly, I would have liked to see her try her hand at more sketches than just her cameo in the Bland Man routine rather than sing.)
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-01-26T01:33:42Z
This was a perfectly good, if not exactly stand out episode. Rousey wasn't the best performer in the world, but she did a good enough job for an athlete, and the monologue, which was the point in the show where she was the most on her own, leaned into that, with the fight commentary conceit that helped mask her weaknesses out there.
There were an odd number of sketches that seemed to be a parade of quick, little character, and the results were mixed. The Bland Man sketch was a rehash from the Blake Shelton episode, and a bit of a mixed bag, but the rapid fire nature of the sketch kept it feeling fresh, especially with Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong who nailed the dating show archetypes to a tee. The Super Crew sketch, on the other hand, was dead on arrival. If you're going to do a rapid fire character sketch, a la Conan O'Brien, the characters need to weirder or at least more distinctive. Which is why the Bakersfield Public Forum sketch was the best one of the night. In contrast to the super hero sketch, every character had their own unique quirk and the performances from everyone were distinctive and interesting, with Aidy Bryant and Kate McKinnon standing out in particular, and even Bobby Moynihan and Cecily Strong giving underplayed by solidly funny comedic performances.
In terms of the more politically charged material, the cold open with Palin endorsing Trump felt as dull as it was inevitable. Fey's Palin impression has run its course, and there weren't any new notes for her to play here, and Hammond-as-Trump's asides to camera about her speech was a weird way to set up the sketch. On the other hand, the Screen Guild Awards sketch was on track to the best of the night, but it was kind ruined by the punchline of the five-way-tie. It made the point of the sketch and the joke at its core obvious instead of clever.
The pre-taped bits were good, not great. The Carrie meets Mean Girls sketch with Rousey beating up Mean Girl Bayer was funny, but went on too long, and the pick up attempt rap video featuring Beck Bennet as an ill-equipped third wasn't the best thing on the show, but had its laughs.
Weekend Update was great. There was a breezy feel to it with both Jost and Che on point. Che in particular was very solid despite his flub, with solid gags about Trump, the Oscars, and even Spike Lee. And Jost's "disrupting a lamaze class" joke was classic-style comedy. Leslie Jones's over-exaggerated routine just doesn't do it for me, and her plan to date Leonardo DiCaprio was no exception, with a desk bit that nearly killed the segment and just kept going. On the other hand, I normally don't really care for Kenan Thompson's Willie character, but something about this one made me chuckle. Maybe it was just short and punchy enough this time.
As for the other sketches, I was of two minds about Pete Davidson's courtroom bit. On the one hand, it kind of minimizes statutory rape and it's hard to imagine the show having the chutzpah to do a gender-flipped version of it, but it also had one of the better comedic rhythms of any of the sketches that night. I don't really like what it stands for, but it was a well-done sketch. I wish I could say the same for the The Good Neighbor guys' sketch in the 10-to-one spot. Their "we've never been to a party before" bit wasn't funny for a single second, and felt half-baked from the getgo.
Otherwise this was firmly a "pretty good" episode, with little that knocked my socks off, but little so bad either, which gets a 6.5/10 for the current incarnation of the show.
(Oh, and Selena Gomez has a certain stage presence about her, but her songs were pretty forgettable. Frankly, I would have liked to see her try her hand at more sketches than just her cameo in the Bland Man routine rather than sing.)