Michelle Bachman Cold Open: Apart from the first chart reveal, I didn't laugh once. This is an example of how NOT to do a repeated joke within a sketch. You have to up the ante with each return to the punchline, or things get boring fast. (Also, though this probably goes without saying, Jon Stewart's spoof on Bachman was much better.)
Monologue: I was down with Eisenberg's faux-confidence speech, mostly because he gave it his all. I also enjoyed he and Samberg comparing their Mark Zuckerberg impressions (it appealed to the conceptualist in me.) But I didn't much care for the actual Zuckerberg, mainly because his appearance was both too on the nose and overly forced. (You can watch it here.)
Estro-Maxx Commercial: I laughed at the idea of pill for pre-op trannies, and I laughed at the TSA sigh t gag, but the repeated “guys dressed up as ladies” jokes didn't land the first or the seventh time it was told.
Mr. Wizard After Dark: Okay, this is how you do a one-joke sketch; each time you return to the joke, you have to take it up a notch, to add another level, to just take it farther. And yet...I laughed most the first time it was told, maybe because Eisenberg sold it well. Maybe a little too well.
Don't Forget The Lyrics: I didn't laugh at the first iteration of this joke (seriously, if I wanted to laugh at people forgetting lyrics, I would just watch the actual show), but the second and third times around, where the wrong lyrics were wildly inappropriate (with “extra testicle,” “Saddam Hussien,” and “get a boner at the movies”) got some mild laughs/
Herb Welch: I remember laughing the first time I saw this character, but this time? Nada. If you can't add anything to a recurring character, then they shouldn't be recurring in the first place. (Though I did laugh at the “fully integrated” line. And Bill Hader's dead face.)
“The Creep” Digital Short: In order for jokes about creepers to land, a sense of that creepiness has to be transmitted to the audience. So while I thought the idea was funny, something about the glossy studio polish on the song stopped me from feeling the creepiness, and thus kept this Lonely Island song from being funny.
Weekend Update: Fred Armisen appearance as Hosni Mubarak reminded me why I like Armisen in theory more than practice. While I liked Keenan Thompson (as Tyler Perry) mocking the Oscar nominees as movie about white people problems, the rest of the jokes fell flat. And Seth Meyers kept doing his Seth Meyers thing, so to each his own there.
The Bride of Blackenstein: While I get that this sketch was supposed to be mocking the old blaxploitation films (and thus all of the racist qualities they exhibited) I couldn't help but feel that they were playing jump rope with the line between 'post-racial' and 'racist'. All of that being said, I laughed a good deal. Yeah, I'm going to call this 'post-racial.' I was also a bit dismayed that Eisenberg got a sideline role, but they gave him enough good lines here to justify.
New 'Skins' Sponsors: I'm pretty sure that the idea of Skins having to resort to second tier advertisers were born on snarky pop culture websites, not the SNL writer's room. Regardless, I didn't find any of the 'subpar' product placements to be all that funny, and thus this whole sketch was a bomb.
Spa Talk: People come it, have a bitching session, and are treated to a spa treated consisting in part of animal feces. Not-laugh. Rinse. Repeat.
El Shrinko: While the idea of a penis-shirking pill isn't inherently funny, as a fake excuse it's kind of funny, and when you combine it will (purposely) awkward acting, and wrap it up in poorly put together infomercial, it becomes pretty funny. Props to the two 'Bergs for caring this sketch.
SNL must have had the same the same doubts about Eisenberg that I did. He was strong in his first few performances, when he really had something to sink his teeth into. And yet, more often than not, it felt as if he was kept to the side lines, and I just kept wishing that he would regain the spotlight (which he did in “El Shrinko,” I guess). Overall, Eisenberg's performance was stronger than the show's writing.
Best Sketch: “Bride of Blackenstein”
Worst Sketch: “Spa Talk”
What did everybody else think?
Additional Thoughts:
“Woah, woah, watch out! Who is that freight-train of confidence?”
“All hail the Zuck!”
“Balloons make things grow.”
“Science is fun, I want to do science in the shower.”
“I'm your host Mark McGrath, and yeah, I do this now!”
You know, I DO have a day of rage every time the McRib goes away.
“...and I've been asked to read it this way: Tyler Perry presents Tyler Perry.”
“Excuse me, are you wearing Hotel Matress?”
“So that's why you had me fill those two basketballs with Jell-O.”
I'm interested in what Dr. Strange-Funk would look like....
So Dana Carvey's hosting next week. Why is that, exaclty? Regardless, five bucks The Church Lady makes an appearance. Or Kevin Nealon returns for “Hans and Franz.” One of those two.
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