42x03 Emily Blunt with Bruno Mars

5.9/10. Sometimes SNL works best when it gives into its most dada-esque tendencies, going for the joy of random humor and the comedy of the bizarre. That proves very true in this episode, as the best sketches have a certain absurd vibe to them that keep them afloat in a weaker episode.

The best sketch of the night, a well-observed piece about the lunacy of short film made hay from admittedly easy jokes about the weirdness of the genre with touches like their being only one audience member who wasn’t a part of the crew, or one member of the crew having zero idea what she’s talking about when she asks about the weirder parts of the film. The same goes for the drive-through sketch, which was really just a parade of wacky characters and goofy performances, but worked with the quick-hit pacing of the sketch. (I have some qualms about the Burger King promotion clearly going on there, but for the most part it was unobtrusive and let the sketch flow despite it, so I’m willing to wait and see for now.) The other great sketch of the night, a pre-taped piece about the existential crisis of an overly ornate sink, is the same type of high-concept weirdness that provided the gems in this episode.

But all of this is contrasted with the times when the show thinks it’s not enough to be weird, and instead thinks it has to go really broad as well. The post-monologue escort sketch was weaker, not stronger, because of the ridiculous demands of the prostitutes, mostly because the tone of the piece felt so exaggerated from the get-go that there was little contrast to wring laughs from. The same goes for the robot caterer sketch, which had one joke (robots are malfunctioning and crazy!) and never really got out of first gear. Even the 10-to-one sketch, a high concept piece about an upper class melodrama through the lens of hamsters, which fared a little better than the other two, stumbled in places for letting the premise of the sketch sell the humor without really building on it beyond some broad notes.

It was also true of the political sketches. Maybe the debate sketch was just disappointing because it felt like there was so much material there and the show leaned back on easy jokes. I enjoy Kate McKinnon and Alec Baldwin, but their impressions have gotten so exaggerated, and the writing of these sketches so predictable, that I chuckle a little, but still can’t help feeling like this is a missed opportunity for SNL to hit a home run instead of a respectable single. The Melania-based Lemonade parody was a dutiful mash up of the Beyonce mini-movie and Trump’s current issues with women, but didn’t really get a lot of synergy out of the combination. That said, “Melania Thoughts” continues to be a favorite by finding the right balance between the absurdity of the concept of Melania as a prisoner in her own home, having poetic thoughts about her life, and the semi-straight laced vibe of the pieces.

That just leaves “Chonk,” which was an amusing and incisive take on the differences between how women and men’s clothes are marketed, the monologue, which was a tepid but palatable bit about finding corny reasons to be happy amid the bad news of the world while giving Emily Blunt (who was a game and charismatic performer) the chance to show off her pipes, and the Great British Bake Off sketch which was a dud from the word go.

Even Weekend Update felt a little off this week. Che and Jost’s back and forth came off a little less easy this week, and while the material had some bite, it too felt like the writers were leaning into standard gags rather than finding anything particularly new to say. That extended to the correspondents as well. I really enjoy Kate McKinnon’s Russian woman character, and Vanessa Bayer’s kids news anchor, but both are basically mad libs at this point. They’re still enjoyable because of the ideas behind them and the strength of the performers, but the jokes are all pretty hoary and predictable now.

Still, speaking of performers who are able to breathe life into hoary material, I actually watched the musical guest this week! Bruno Mars is a superlative entertainer, and even if his Michael Jackson-inspired music still seems pretty disposable, his delivery of it is so infectious (setting up part of his first musical number with the crowd was a great choice) that you just can’t help but enjoy it when he’s on the stage.

Overall, this one felt like a let-down between the two-for-two opening the season had over the last couple of weeks, while the cast and crew gear up for Tom Hanks next week. There’s still a little bit of good stuff, but the show went broad in too many places, and didn’t embrace the ridiculousness in a way that worked.