6.5/10. A not terrible, but not all that great episode. Melissa McCarthy is the kind of actress who could totally be a cast member on SNL, and that means both that she can blend perfectly into the ensemble when she needs to, but that she can also play some grating, over the top character.
To the point, two of the three best sketches of the night involved McCarthy playing a more subdued character in sketches based on awkward personal interactions. The sketch featuring the inner monologues of McCarthy as a suburban mom as well as her son and husband while they watch a sex scene in Terminator was the best of the night, both for the supreme Seinfeldian humor mined from uncomfortable social situations among people, but for the way McCarthy conveyed exactly who her character was in just a few moments of dialogue. Similarly, she had a perfectly-realized character in the bus sketch, who perfectly played up the well-meaning but latently racist, vaguely midwestern lady talking to her black seatmate about how great Roots is. In both sketches, there was a subtlety to McCarthy's comedic performance and a well-observed, clever quality to the writing that allowed the sketches to shine.
But the weakest sketches of the night featured McCarthy as an over-the-top dervish of grossness. As I've said in this space previously, I'm not against gross out humor, but there wasn't much of a twist or a point to McCarthy's outsized theater patron offering extreme reactions to a horror movie. Similarly, the Pick Up Artist Sketch again featured McCarthy playing a strange, semi-obnoxious character, a tack that I sometimes even like in SNL sketches. But again, her the only joke was the grossness/obnoxiousness/randomness of it all. Or at a minimum, the weird story they were trying to tell about her character's home life was completely lost in the gross out humor, with an assist from Leslie Jones constantly corpsing.
The rest of her material was fine but forgettable. Her monologue about not quite qualifying for the 5-Timers club was a lame premise that she did her best with, and the "Cats R We" recurring sketch had a few good lines, but was superior in previous versions. (Amy Adams's take on it comes to mind.) In that same vein, the "Beyonce Is Black" horror movie trailer was one good joke that never went anywhere. It's a clever idea, but the execution was pretty flat and unimaginative.
The other best sketch of the night didn't feature McCarthy, but instead showcased standout castmember Kate McKinnon in her guise as Hillary that strikes the perfect balance between the real life politician and McKinnon's gonzo style. The entire premise of an unseen Hilary crooning "I Can't Make You Love Me" to a group of NYC brunchers who describe how Hilary is so qualified but they just love Bernie more is inspired. It had some great lines like "Bernie's an outsider, he's only been in Congress for like 30 years," "I love it when Bernie yells, but not when Hillary does," and Cecily Strong's bit on Hillary and feminism as well. Throwing in Jeb Bush was surprise, and Darrell Hammond's Bill Clinton impression is always a treat. It's a sketch that found the perfect middle ground between political commentary and goofy comedy.
Then there's Kanye. It's always hard to evaluate musical performances on a comedy show, but I'll say that I had the same reaction here that I've had to his prior performances -- he has a a great visual presentation, interesting mixes and arrangements for his backing tracks, and superb collaborators, but I just can't get into his lyrics or rapping. Whether it's an entire verse about he's so good at sex he wishes he had a Go-Pro for his penis, or trying to rhyme "equinox" with "freak or not", I wish Kanye either got an editor or just stuck to producing. To the point, the best moments in his performances where when he gave up the mic. Oddly enough, his best rapping in the entire broadcast was in the Kyle Mooney rap battle sketch, which went on a little long, but had a solidly funny idea behind it that was executed with panache from all involved.
And Weekend Update continues to be a nice bit of comedy in the middle of the show. Jost and Che had some good, mildly edgy gags (Bernie and Sharpton not tipping or OJ and CTE), a solid mini-stand up routine from Che, and some excellent conceptual weirdness with Jost and Vanessa Bayer's pitch-perfect Rachel From Friends impression and segment. The other update guests were a mixed bag. Von Miller was clearly giving it his all out there in comparing scientific discoveries to his dominance on the football field, but he fell into the usual "Athletes Aren't Actors" issues that plague them all. But he tried and it was a cute setup, so it gets a pass. Leslie Jones's update segments are what they are, and it's not my thing, but they're at least a known quantity so you can take or leave them from the word go. I actually enjoyed her bit about her perfect man better than I like most of her routines. It still had her usual mugging for the camera that I find annoying, but to go back in SNL history, there was a certain Steve Martin quality to the segment that I enjoyed.
All-in-all, this wasn't SNL's finest night, with both stars on the program (McCarthy and Kanye) offering a mixed bag, but there were some definite bright spots worth seeking out apart from the show as a whole.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-02-15T17:42:11Z
6.5/10. A not terrible, but not all that great episode. Melissa McCarthy is the kind of actress who could totally be a cast member on SNL, and that means both that she can blend perfectly into the ensemble when she needs to, but that she can also play some grating, over the top character.
To the point, two of the three best sketches of the night involved McCarthy playing a more subdued character in sketches based on awkward personal interactions. The sketch featuring the inner monologues of McCarthy as a suburban mom as well as her son and husband while they watch a sex scene in Terminator was the best of the night, both for the supreme Seinfeldian humor mined from uncomfortable social situations among people, but for the way McCarthy conveyed exactly who her character was in just a few moments of dialogue. Similarly, she had a perfectly-realized character in the bus sketch, who perfectly played up the well-meaning but latently racist, vaguely midwestern lady talking to her black seatmate about how great Roots is. In both sketches, there was a subtlety to McCarthy's comedic performance and a well-observed, clever quality to the writing that allowed the sketches to shine.
But the weakest sketches of the night featured McCarthy as an over-the-top dervish of grossness. As I've said in this space previously, I'm not against gross out humor, but there wasn't much of a twist or a point to McCarthy's outsized theater patron offering extreme reactions to a horror movie. Similarly, the Pick Up Artist Sketch again featured McCarthy playing a strange, semi-obnoxious character, a tack that I sometimes even like in SNL sketches. But again, her the only joke was the grossness/obnoxiousness/randomness of it all. Or at a minimum, the weird story they were trying to tell about her character's home life was completely lost in the gross out humor, with an assist from Leslie Jones constantly corpsing.
The rest of her material was fine but forgettable. Her monologue about not quite qualifying for the 5-Timers club was a lame premise that she did her best with, and the "Cats R We" recurring sketch had a few good lines, but was superior in previous versions. (Amy Adams's take on it comes to mind.) In that same vein, the "Beyonce Is Black" horror movie trailer was one good joke that never went anywhere. It's a clever idea, but the execution was pretty flat and unimaginative.
The other best sketch of the night didn't feature McCarthy, but instead showcased standout castmember Kate McKinnon in her guise as Hillary that strikes the perfect balance between the real life politician and McKinnon's gonzo style. The entire premise of an unseen Hilary crooning "I Can't Make You Love Me" to a group of NYC brunchers who describe how Hilary is so qualified but they just love Bernie more is inspired. It had some great lines like "Bernie's an outsider, he's only been in Congress for like 30 years," "I love it when Bernie yells, but not when Hillary does," and Cecily Strong's bit on Hillary and feminism as well. Throwing in Jeb Bush was surprise, and Darrell Hammond's Bill Clinton impression is always a treat. It's a sketch that found the perfect middle ground between political commentary and goofy comedy.
Then there's Kanye. It's always hard to evaluate musical performances on a comedy show, but I'll say that I had the same reaction here that I've had to his prior performances -- he has a a great visual presentation, interesting mixes and arrangements for his backing tracks, and superb collaborators, but I just can't get into his lyrics or rapping. Whether it's an entire verse about he's so good at sex he wishes he had a Go-Pro for his penis, or trying to rhyme "equinox" with "freak or not", I wish Kanye either got an editor or just stuck to producing. To the point, the best moments in his performances where when he gave up the mic. Oddly enough, his best rapping in the entire broadcast was in the Kyle Mooney rap battle sketch, which went on a little long, but had a solidly funny idea behind it that was executed with panache from all involved.
And Weekend Update continues to be a nice bit of comedy in the middle of the show. Jost and Che had some good, mildly edgy gags (Bernie and Sharpton not tipping or OJ and CTE), a solid mini-stand up routine from Che, and some excellent conceptual weirdness with Jost and Vanessa Bayer's pitch-perfect Rachel From Friends impression and segment. The other update guests were a mixed bag. Von Miller was clearly giving it his all out there in comparing scientific discoveries to his dominance on the football field, but he fell into the usual "Athletes Aren't Actors" issues that plague them all. But he tried and it was a cute setup, so it gets a pass. Leslie Jones's update segments are what they are, and it's not my thing, but they're at least a known quantity so you can take or leave them from the word go. I actually enjoyed her bit about her perfect man better than I like most of her routines. It still had her usual mugging for the camera that I find annoying, but to go back in SNL history, there was a certain Steve Martin quality to the segment that I enjoyed.
All-in-all, this wasn't SNL's finest night, with both stars on the program (McCarthy and Kanye) offering a mixed bag, but there were some definite bright spots worth seeking out apart from the show as a whole.