(Season 38, Episode 20)
WHAT THEY’RE PROMOTING:
KRISTEN WIIG: nothing
VAMPIRE WEEKEND: “Modern Vampires of the City” (album)
COLD OPENING: Benghazi Hearings (4:05)
- I actually found that this was a pretty clever mash-up in pairing this with the Jodi Arias case and Nasim was pretty good in the role.
- Hader using Jodi Arias as a ratings ploy for the Benghazi trials was a very funny way to play this and made for a more interesting than usual political opening. I also really liked Hader’s interaction with Nasim in asking about the accusations of her husband beating her and how it was all BS.
- Bobby as Ariel Castro was a perfect ending.
- So what was up with the nameplates here? Clearly, the names that were super-imposed on-screen were the correct ones. Must’ve been a last-minute mistake by the prop department. Hader also called Bobby by the wrong name at the end of the sketch. Whaaaat?
RATING: *** ½
MONOLOGUE: Kristen Wiig (4:18)
- I expected a musical type of monologue but I really enjoyed this with the whole backstage stuff. The best part of the musical monologue was Kristen getting some of the cast’s names wrong (“Will Ferrell” was the best one along with Bayer’s reaction), Kristen trying to open the fire exit, Kristen’s comment to Lincoln, and yes, the Gilly moment was amusing as well.
- Kristen’s stuff before the music was pretty amusing too, especially the bit with the picture of her aka David Spade.
- The random cameos from Jonah Hill and Maya Rudolph were funny, especially with them saying “it worked!” after figuring out that Maya was already pregnant.
- The crowd was pretty electric throughout this whole thing.
RATING: ****
COMMERCIAL: 1-800-Flowers.com (1:51)
- Terrific commercial piece.
- This was very interesting because Kristen was the daughter to McKinnon’s mother character. For those who said Kristen was hogging all the ‘funny’ roles, she was definitely the straight character in this one. It’s also funny because of all the Kristen comparisons that people made with McKinnon when she first started.
- McKinnon was hilarious as the hapless mother. I really liked all her random embarrassing comments. The best one was after she lost her debit card (“my identity’s been thieved!”)
- Hader also had a great bit at the end.
RATING: **** ½
SHOW: The Californians (6:54)
- Yep, still enjoy this sketch. The character-breaking only adds to the enjoyment for me. Now do I wish this would happen all the time? Of course not… but in this sketch, it’s excusable in my eyes. I also like how they exaggerate even more with their accents in order to MAKE the others crack up (“workin’ hard, Brad?!” was the best one).
- Kristen’s “disguise” was pretty damn funny.
- Taran’s gay Californian accent always makes me laugh but I think Maya actually made me laugh the most here (I know, right?) with her insane accent.
RATING: *** ½
COMMERCIAL: Aw Nuts! Mom’s a Ghost (2:10)
- Disney satire is always A-okay with me so I enjoyed this sketch with Kristen doing a great job as the Ring-like undead mom.
- Bobby and Cecily were also perfect as the kids. They acted pretty much exactly like any of those terrible Disney overactors including talking in unison a lot and high-fiving after everything.
- The naked guy in the background was a hilarious detail.
- The Tim Robinson bit was hilarious as well.
RATING: *** ½
SHOW: The Lawrence Welk Show (5:03)
- Yep, they brought this back… and it was pretty much exactly the same as every other time with Jason Sudeikis taking on the male singer role and doing a helluva job.
- The sketch wasn’t too great but it had its good points like Fred’s line about the fingerlakes (“there’s supposed to be a lake in there…”) and the smelly bubbles, the sand sculpture, and Kristen getting smacked with coconuts.
- Despite that, yes, the crowd reacted very strongly to the sketch and cheered upon Kristen’s appearance. Hardly anything close to non-reactions or indifference like some have suggested.
RATING: ** ½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: “Diane Young” (2:36)
- Really dug Vampire Weekend here. They haven’t had a bad appearance on SNL yet and this was yet another great performance with a fun horn section as well.
WEEKEND UPDATE with Seth Meyers (11:03)
Guests: Anthony Crispino and Garth & Kat
- Best Jokes: border security; NRA purses; boy suspended; stressful amount of children; Cops on Spike; best/worst place to be a mother
- Seth sounded a little under the weather but he still had a real solid night.
- Anthony Crispino was entertaining once again. I’ve always liked this character from Bobby and he brings these different little quirks with every performance that keeps it fresh every time. The high voice thing was silly but amusing.
- Garth & Kat? It was fun. Not particularly hilarious or anything but they had fun and it was infectious because I had fun watching it. I liked the detail about Garth’s wife and Garth and Kat just being friends. Oh, and look at that… that “oh-so-quiet crowd” exploded into applause when they showed up.
RATING: *** ½
SKETCH: Target (5:20)
- It was not much of a surprise to see Kristen bring this character back either but at least this is one where the format is usually shaken up a bit or at least it is provided with some decent supporting performances/characters.
- The beginning with Bobby as the cashier was very funny.
- Aidy being a lesbian was amusing as was Jay Pharoah as the customer that refuses to accept service from Wiig. Kenan as the customer that just buys a bunch of cards for every occasion was funny just for the moment where Kenan accused Kristen of being a hoarder.
- Target Lady got lots of recognition applause and the crowd heartily enjoyed the sketch. Darn that “quiet crowd” for enjoying the show so much!
RATING: ***
SKETCH: Acupuncture (5:01)
- Best sketch of the night. The blood gag was very well-done and the more disgusting it got, the more hilarious it was.
- Jason Sudeikis played a great victim here. Of course, Kristen and Aidy were both really good too. It was nice to see Aidy in a big comedic lead role like this and she had great chemistry with Wiig. They must’ve gotten along really well during the production week.
- So many great things about this sketch from Bobby doing the voice of the guy outside the window, them offering Jason the “medicine water” that was comprised of his own blood, Kristen doing her “Dr. Chang” impression after Armisen jumps out the window, and the big bubble of blood popping on Jason’s back.
- I also liked the continuation of the gag into the introduction for Vampire Weekend, which was done by Kristen while Aidy stood beside her.
RATING: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: “Unbelievers” (3:29)
- Another solid performance. I really like their unique indy-rock sound. Please bring them back more, SNL.
SKETCH: Double Date (4:51)
- Wow, this was really great and I can’t put my finger on too many specifics, but a few included Bobby’s root beer comment, Taran’s insane laughing, and the ending with Bobby pulling out a change jar.
- I just liked the whole idea of this not being played for perverse laughs or anything (it pretty much just so happened to be two young children on a date with two older women).
- I wonder if SNL will get any heat for this sketch.
RATING: ****
COMMERCIAL: Classy Sexy Elegnace (3:25)
- This was a pretty good parody of the Kardashians and other reality stars doing albums. I love how pretty much anytime someone sang something it was auto-tuned.
- Kenan and Nasim were solid as the host/spokespersons (“Wow! I love that that song was a list and not a song!”).
- Jay as the music producer hired by Craig T. Nelson was funny.
- I also like the detail of the CD being spelled wrong because they named it in a hurry.
RATING: ***
Goodnights
BEST PERFORMER(S) OF THE NIGHT:
- Kristen Wiig/Bobby Moynihan
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Overall, I’d probably put this episode in the lower spectrum of the season but quite honestly, I have been thoroughly enjoying the 2012-2013 year and I hope we get the same quality going into the following seasons. It was nice to have Kristen back even if not ALL her characters were slam dunks; she has a fun presence. Good show.
TONIGHT’S RATING: *** ½
