[4.8/10] Well, that was a rough episode. There was only one, maybe two sketches that worthwhile, and a solid-to-good Weekend Update to recommend it. The opening with Jason Aldean singing “I Won’t Back Down” was some affecting synergy after the tragedy in Las Vegas and Tom Petty’s death, but in terms of comedy, this was a weak outing. Some of that can be pinned on Gadot, who was a sport, but was too obviously reading cue cards and seemed awkward in a live comedy setting (which is odd since she was good at the comic stuff in Wonder Woman) but she was also given some pretty middling material.
The one legitimately good sketch was the “O.J. on a date” bit. Not revealing who Keenan was supposed to be until a minute into the bit was brilliant, and the gags the show squeezed out of the premise were great. The other solid one was the windshield repair ad. While I’m ho-hum on the creepy element of it, I at least appreciate when the episode takes a commercial parody and goes some place weird with it, like the Vanessa Bayer pizza roll sketches.
Weekend Update was another worthwhile bit. Jost and Che’s reflections on gun control had interesting angles (particularly Jost’s 43 cats vs. 43 guns bit), and a few of the one-liners were keepers. Kate McKinnon’s RBG impression is all quirk at this point, but it’s enjoyable quirk. And Pete Davidson talking about dealing with depression in a funny way, while being self-deprecating about his role on the show, was a nice bit as well.
That’s pretty much where the nice things to say about the episode end. The rest of the humor was pretty broad or unfunny. Gadot’s monologue with Leslie as a Times Square Wonder Woman had a decent premise and was mercifully short, but had little to it. The Kardashian parodies didn’t land with me since I don’t really watch E! and the sketch doesn’t quite work without knowing the reference. And bringing back Pete Davidson’s monosyllabic teenager Chad, this time plopping him into a fantasy story, is a case of diminishing returns.
The mirage sketch was fine, I suppose, but it was one joke that didn’t really go anywhere. The “Lesbians go to Wonder Woman’s island” was similarly a weak, easy joke stretched out to five minutes. The mice sketch feels like a variation on the dull “cobblering elves” shtick the show’s done before, but at least had a nicely weird ending with the Prince wanting to date the head mouse. Similarly, the “spy team gets wires crossed with a sexy webcam broadcast” was tepid comedy with one good, final punchline. And “The Naomi Show” parodying Jerry Springer style talk show segments, had a pleasantly strange trajectory, but was still just a dud.
Overall, this one was a disappointment. After Gadot’s good work in Wonder Woman, I was excited to see her do some straight up comedy, but between her performance and the material she was given, the results were underwhelming.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-10-09T16:43:31Z
[4.8/10] Well, that was a rough episode. There was only one, maybe two sketches that worthwhile, and a solid-to-good Weekend Update to recommend it. The opening with Jason Aldean singing “I Won’t Back Down” was some affecting synergy after the tragedy in Las Vegas and Tom Petty’s death, but in terms of comedy, this was a weak outing. Some of that can be pinned on Gadot, who was a sport, but was too obviously reading cue cards and seemed awkward in a live comedy setting (which is odd since she was good at the comic stuff in Wonder Woman) but she was also given some pretty middling material.
The one legitimately good sketch was the “O.J. on a date” bit. Not revealing who Keenan was supposed to be until a minute into the bit was brilliant, and the gags the show squeezed out of the premise were great. The other solid one was the windshield repair ad. While I’m ho-hum on the creepy element of it, I at least appreciate when the episode takes a commercial parody and goes some place weird with it, like the Vanessa Bayer pizza roll sketches.
Weekend Update was another worthwhile bit. Jost and Che’s reflections on gun control had interesting angles (particularly Jost’s 43 cats vs. 43 guns bit), and a few of the one-liners were keepers. Kate McKinnon’s RBG impression is all quirk at this point, but it’s enjoyable quirk. And Pete Davidson talking about dealing with depression in a funny way, while being self-deprecating about his role on the show, was a nice bit as well.
That’s pretty much where the nice things to say about the episode end. The rest of the humor was pretty broad or unfunny. Gadot’s monologue with Leslie as a Times Square Wonder Woman had a decent premise and was mercifully short, but had little to it. The Kardashian parodies didn’t land with me since I don’t really watch E! and the sketch doesn’t quite work without knowing the reference. And bringing back Pete Davidson’s monosyllabic teenager Chad, this time plopping him into a fantasy story, is a case of diminishing returns.
The mirage sketch was fine, I suppose, but it was one joke that didn’t really go anywhere. The “Lesbians go to Wonder Woman’s island” was similarly a weak, easy joke stretched out to five minutes. The mice sketch feels like a variation on the dull “cobblering elves” shtick the show’s done before, but at least had a nicely weird ending with the Prince wanting to date the head mouse. Similarly, the “spy team gets wires crossed with a sexy webcam broadcast” was tepid comedy with one good, final punchline. And “The Naomi Show” parodying Jerry Springer style talk show segments, had a pleasantly strange trajectory, but was still just a dud.
Overall, this one was a disappointment. After Gadot’s good work in Wonder Woman, I was excited to see her do some straight up comedy, but between her performance and the material she was given, the results were underwhelming.