43x06 Larry David and Miley Cyrus

[8.0/10] Color me surprised, but Chance the Rapper was an outstanding host. Musical Guests getting the bump up to host is a hit or miss proposition, but Chance was a big hit, bringing energy, gameness, and good comic deliveries throughout the night.

The strongest sketches of the evening were rooted in the African American community’s perspective. As a big Batman fan, I just cracked up laughing at the sketch where a steady stream of people stroll in and question his tactics and how he always seems to prowl their neighborhood. It’s a nice way to poke fun at the character and the unspoken assumptions behind him. And while it’s a bit stereotypical, the sketch about the Knicks sideline announcer having to cover hockey, while not liking/getting any of it was a hoot, with Chance doing a particularly great job at delivering his character’s disbelief and steady stream of clichés.

The weakest stuff was, once again, the political material, but it was mild rather than bad. The opening sketch about the Trump Boys meeting the Julian Assange is the same Don Jr./Eric shtick we’ve seen before, but it’s solid shtick. The Boys II Men-style tribute to Obama didn’t really have a strong take on anything, but was enjoyable enough. And Kate McKinnon reprising her Jeff Sessions impression at the Update desk is a solid bit that’s nevertheless wearing out its welcome, even when they start leaning into the absurdity of the “half-possum parentage” material.

Update itself had a good outing. Jost and Che seemed a little less assured this week, and there were fewer laugh out loud lines, but it was still a good week’s work. And the other correspondents were quite funny. I’m not a big Kyle Mooney fan, but something about his Bruce Chandling character just clicks with me. Similarly, Pete Davidson’s faux stand-up bit about how much more Jost is liked in their hometown of Staten Island was pretty incisive and hilarious.

The other sketches were very good on the whole as well. The “Family Feud” skit had an inspired premise, and Chance did a great job playing Steve Harvey’s long lost son and imitating Steve’s mannerisms. The writing was especially sharp here, finding different ways to highlight the similarities. And the monologue, with a song from chance about weird relatives you meet at Thanksgiving was hoary material, but it was done in a winning enough fashion.

The post-Update sketches were a little mild, but still good. The “history of rap” segment was funny for bridging the gap between old timers complaining about newcomers who are ignorant of their history, and revealing that the “Rapper’s Delight” era hip hop guys were not exactly infallible bastions of greatness themselves. The “General Contractor” excitement sketch was a dud, but really the only one of the night. And the “Aidy Bryant plays a guileless kid unwittingly in an adult film setting” bit is reheated, but still funny.

Overall, this was a much better outing for the show, and much of it can be owed to Chance showing off his chops and bringing energy and talent to the program.