Monday Morning Quarterback #3 - Double Feature! (10/12: Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks & 10/19: Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish)
Reviewing SNL's 50th Season
10/12: Ariana Grande & Stevie Nicks
Solid episode! Elevated by a host who had a lot more range than I expected. Another B+, but like a higher B+ than last episode (Nate Bargatze/Coldplay)—an 86-87 vs. 89 situation. We’re trying to avoid grade inflation over here.
The Good
Ariana Grande. Holy smokes, she is a legitimately talented comedian, to the degree that I think she could hold her own as a member of the cast. That shouldn’t be a surprise, I guess, because as a former Disney star, she’s been on television for much of her life, and as a musician she makes her living as a live performer.
Monologue
Charades With Mom
This is a small thing, but AG’s ability to deliver lines without making it look like she’s reading the cue cards (compare to Jane Wickline, who is obviously reading from the cards), and the way she steps into this character is really good, and much better than many other hosts the show has had.
Also, I think there’s this thing going on in this sketch where AG’s Diane character goes from being the “straight-man” of the piece against Bowen Yang’s Dave (who has the first real laugh line at about a minute into the sketch, maybe a flaw that could have been fixed with a few more edits) to the star. It’s a subtle twist (hinted at early on, sure) enabled by AG’s deadpan delivery.
Bridesmaids Speech
AG deserves a lot of credit here; I think a lot of stars would refuse to sing poorly on purpose, but she nailed it here. “They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but we didn’t go to Vegas, we went to Charleston” is so real it’s hilarious.
Maybelline
Jennifer Coolidge is kind of low-hanging fruit for impressions, but they put a fun, surreal twist on it. Click here for behind-the-scenes info on how Dana Carvey put together his Coolidge impression on Thursday for the Saturday show.
The Hotel Detective
First an I Love Lucy spoof to kick off the season, and now The Twilight Zone? Somebody seems to have made it their goal to parody as many old TV shows as they can. Love the absurdity here.
The Bad & The Ugly
Monologue
The theater-kid and election jokes at the start were pretty stock, but I’m a sucker for whenever they roll out the piano. Also, AG’s comedic timing and impressions are an early indicator that she came to play.
My Best Friend’s House
Love the talking furniture and stuff. Good use of Ariana Grande!
Castrati
With the exception of the cold open, which I disliked for reasons I’ve gone into previously and won’t repeat, none of the sketches seemed “bad” to me. However, Best Friend’s House and Castrati relied on the “dark twist” that I find amusing most of the time, but risks becoming a crutch. It’ll get a laugh if you do it once or twice, but if you keep doing it, the audience will know it’s coming, and it loses some magic. I stand behind my support for episode 2’s Water Park and Golf Tournament, but as we go deeper into the season, I hope the writers push themselves past relying on those kinds of tricks that become predictable.
10/19: Michael Keaton & Billie Eilish
Not gonna lie folks, I had high hopes for Michael Keaton. He’s got comedy in his roots, but that couldn’t rescue this episode from dud status. I think part of the problem is that the show has focused on premise-based sketches to the near-exclusion of character-based stuff. The show can mine a good character over and over, and audiences love to see them return. However in recent episodes, the closest we’ve seen to a repeat character is the cast members’ appearances as themselves on Update. The show is leaving a powerful tool in the toolbox. Sad to say it’s a C+ for this week.
The Good
Sarah Sherman on Weekend Update
I love Sarah Sherman and the chaos that she brings to everything. This bit is probably not for the squeamish—it veers a little into grossout territory—but still delightful.
Michael Keaton Cards
Cool design!
Billie Eilish Set Design
Not a huge fan of her music, but she always shows up with cool ideas for the set.
The Bad
Monologue
Pretty weak jokes; the cast fawning over the celebrity host is a tired one. The guy has lived a lifetime in Hollywood, and the best they can do is promote his latest flick? Come on. Also I find the swaying back and forth incredibly distracting.
Please Don’t Destroy - Skydiving
I had such high hopes for these guys, but Skydiving, their debut bit this season, was unfocused. I like the premise of an incompetent skydiving company, but this kind of wandered all over the place and tried to cram the romance-between-dudes (lazy) subplot into the sketch.
Tableside
Again, a promising premise (chatty tableside service-provider) that meandered and went nowhere. The ending is just brutal too—flopped like a fish, and very little laughter.
The Ugly
Tik Tok
There were a few funny bits here, but this also felt like a desperate plea for Gen Z to watch the show.
Shop TV: Halloween Cookies
It’s a premise from middle-school locker room, but Mikey Day and Heidi Gardner are pitch-perfect as lame daytime television personalities.
Rankings
Because I locked myself into an uncomfortable place by giving the good-not-great premiere an A-, I’m going to try moving away from giving grades, and instead ranking the season’s episodes. Here goes:
Episode 3 (Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks)
Episode 2 (Nate Bargatze/Coldplay)
Episode 1 (Jean Smart/Jelly Roll)
Episode 4 (Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish)
Disagree? Feel free to write. Next up is John Mulaney on November 2. Can’t wait!
The views expressed here are mine alone (and I don’t even know that I’ll stick to them, if pressed). They should not be attributed to anybody else, including (but not limited to) my employer, employer’s clients, friends, family, or pets (current, former, or future).