Superb episode that does all the things I like in LWT. The opening riffs on the news of the week took a fun look at the lumpier side of politics. Pointing out the Saudi Arabian cameraman's bored camera work, making fun of the London mayor's racist rhetoric, joking about Prince Phillips' driving or Prince George's silly baby robe, and the Norwegian politician's "migrant plunge," is the kind of silly minutia that opening segment laughs are made of.
The Puerto Rico segment that described not only the country's current dire economic straights, but the strange legal-loophole filled path it took to get there was great too. It's the perfect sort of mystifying, interesting, and mostly unknown (at least to me) issue that Last Week Tonight thrives on explaining. Mixing in the show's usual humorous metaphors and absurdities like no one knowing why Strom Thurmond made it so that the territory can't declare bankruptcy or the tourism video helped drive home the ridiculousness of the situation.
Then, Lin-Manuel Miranda brought the fireworks at the end with his nigh-perfect song that encapsulated everything John spent 15-20 minutes going over in about three minutes. It's pretty impressive, and helped not only convey the plight of Puerto Rico, but much less importantly, made me really want to see Hamilton.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-04-27T02:09:05Z
Superb episode that does all the things I like in LWT. The opening riffs on the news of the week took a fun look at the lumpier side of politics. Pointing out the Saudi Arabian cameraman's bored camera work, making fun of the London mayor's racist rhetoric, joking about Prince Phillips' driving or Prince George's silly baby robe, and the Norwegian politician's "migrant plunge," is the kind of silly minutia that opening segment laughs are made of.
The Puerto Rico segment that described not only the country's current dire economic straights, but the strange legal-loophole filled path it took to get there was great too. It's the perfect sort of mystifying, interesting, and mostly unknown (at least to me) issue that Last Week Tonight thrives on explaining. Mixing in the show's usual humorous metaphors and absurdities like no one knowing why Strom Thurmond made it so that the territory can't declare bankruptcy or the tourism video helped drive home the ridiculousness of the situation.
Then, Lin-Manuel Miranda brought the fireworks at the end with his nigh-perfect song that encapsulated everything John spent 15-20 minutes going over in about three minutes. It's pretty impressive, and helped not only convey the plight of Puerto Rico, but much less importantly, made me really want to see Hamilton.