Season 37, Episode 12
So this is Daniel Radcliffe's...what? This is is first time hosting? Are we sure about that? Because I've been wrong before. No, it appears that this really is his first time, and the SNL must be giddy with all the possible Harry Potter jokes they can make. But I beg of you writers, don't go down that well. Please don't.
Did they? Well, let's find out....
Cold Open: So after last week's horrid Rick Santorum opening, things improved markedly this time around, all though it's not like there was exactly a high bar to clear. The sketch did all right by playing up the “Mitt Romney is a robot” jokes – specifically by not explicitly saying that what they were doing – but then it took a wrong turn with the jokes about his lay-off comments, especially the breakfast order metaphor that went on just way too long. (I still like Sudeikis' Romney impression, however.)
Monologue: Well, who's this charming young chap? Why, isn't Daniel “Please Stop Talking about Harry Potter” Radcliffe, of course. Now, the eschewing of past careers is a common trope for SNL monologues, but again, Radcliffe was charming enough to make this work. I'm also a sucker for when the show references it's own history, so I enjoyed when the trotted out past appearances by “Harry Potter”. (Rachel Dratch's turn got the biggest applause because, well...you've seen that sketch right?) But what really made this work was the way that the show satirized itself by trotting out the worst Harry Potter sketch ideas possible.
Ricky Gervais Host Everything: Man, those are some powerful swipes SNL just took, taking out both NBC's obviously cynical decision to bring back Gervais, and the fact that Gervais' jokes aren't actually that edgy. Now, that's more of a symptom of a Hollywood society that never goes on the internet, but I'm glad that somebody pointed this out.
Target Lady: As far as I can tell, there's only been one other “Target Lady” sketch before this, and there's a good reason for that – it's not very good. It's just another Kristen Wiig-y character, and we already have enough of those. However, this one worked more often than not, as the sketch was split between Wiig's characters, Radcliffe's Bucky, and Hader's manager, and all sorts of sexual tension between. The Target Lady was still annoying, and the sketch still dragged when the character had lines, but there was less of her, and that's an improvement. (Also, Radcliffe's got a pretty good American accent. I mean, it's not Jamie Bamber good, but a considerable effort for a late night sketch show.)
You Can Do Anything: Oh, those internet users and their pathetic grasps for fleeting fame! That's still funny, right guys? No, not really it turns out. The last “talent” was weird enough to point the sketch in that direction, but most of the jokes are two dry to land. (Trust me, the irony of amateur TV critic reviewing this sketch is not lost on me. You don't have to point it out.)
Spin The Bottle: This sketch started out all right – introducing the main character as a germophobe and then having him have to kiss a hobo (sorry, “homeless bozo”) was a solid punchline, but then this sketch didn't really go anywhere, but rather just repeated the joke a few more time, without variation. And really SNL, are do you still think kissing gags are funny?
Delaware Fellas: Oh good, “knockoff Broadway” jokes over and over and over and over and over again. (But hey, that random Joe Biden bit was actually pretty good.)
Hogwarts Castle, 2020: On one level, this is just a silly little sketch about Harry peaking in his prime, and then becoming the creepy guy who stick around his alma matter in an attempt to relive the glory days. But on a second level, it was a meta-commentary on the pratfalls of childhood stardom, and that's what really pushed this sketch over the top. (Although I would be remiss if I didn't point out this error: You can't Apparate onto Hogwarts grounds. Get with it, writers.)
Weekend Update: Apart from Seth Meyer's usual shtick, we also got...Kim Jung Un's Two Best Friends From Childhood, which was obviously just an attempt to keep the “Ghadaffi's Two Best Friends From Childhood” gag, which can no longer, for obvious reason. This no iteration is no less painful...Casey Anthony's Adopted Yorkshire Terrier, played by Radcliffe. Now, this bit would have already gotten accolades for me for actually using the host in Update, and because he he threw his vanity out the window with that makeup. But his wry Britishness really helped to sell some admittedly solid jokes, making for one of the best Update bits in a long, long time.
X27B Theatre: There's a good joke here, even if it's clear that one writer really took a trip to Disney World and visited The Carousel of Progress. However, anti-comedy about such shows isn't best suited for the live sketch format, as the actual joke is a one two punch of the in-sketch play making a joke, then the in-sketch audience laughing, and only then would the actual audience get to laugh. That's just two slow for the sketch format. The sketch tried to shortcut this route by making some of the later jokes totally ridiculous (New Zealand peeled off the Earth! Women can no longer vote!) but it was too little, too late.
Glenda Okones: There's something of a good joke in the idea of and self-directed attack ad, but all of those attacks were so minute and minuscule as to be completely unfunny.
Glenda Okones, Take Two: Okay, this one was a little bit better, if the placing on the opposite end of the commercial break from the first Okones sketch was a weird choice. Here the attacks were odd and specific enough to actually engender a few laughs.
The Jay Pharoah Show: So the show's giving us not one, but TWO meta sketches tonight. Jay Pharoah has become really impressive over the past two seasons with his dead-on impressions. However, the show has failed to really use him in any other role, and this sketch seemed to make fun of that, with Pharoah only able to interact with Radcliffe through his impressions, and in no other way. It led to a funny awkwardness throughout, and Pharoah's impression still killed it, even if they were used satirically.
Glenda Okones, Take Three: ...and here they took it too far. Yes, Okones breaking into her own mother's half was weirdly specific enough, and it was a nice build from the previous two incarnations, so it should have worked. However, it was the only joke in this sketch, which robbed it of the snappy weirdness of the previous one, and I don't think this one was told with proper pacing or rythyms.
(Okay, either Lana Del Rey didn't do a costume change between performance, or she did and she changed into a very similar dress. I realize that her style doesn't really make for a wide variety of songs, but punch it up a bit, dang.)
Exit Poll: Oh, the last sketch of the night, where weird ideas go to get underserved. There was something here about a passive-aggressive poll-taker that was working, but then the sketch went in a different direction. Actually, it went in about five different directions. In fact, all of the questions/joke just felt like a bunch of random gags that were leftover from other sketches, and this just ended up a waste of a solid premise.
Headz Up: Oh look, a random commercial to fill the few remaining minutes of the night. And it's based on a years-old joke. What fun.
Best Sketch – Hogwarts Castle, 2020
Worst Sketch – Delaware Fellas
Best Surprise #1 – Two meta sketches in one night
Best Surprise #2 – Radcliffe's American Accent
In three weeks: Channing Tatum. Bon Iver. Two different kinds of douchiness vying for you annoyance.
Quotes, Etc.:
“Let me tell you, I will watch that game with my five human sons.”
“It sure beats doing chores, uh-huh. I'm just kidding, we have people for that.”
“I think we call agree Jackman came the closest.”
“I mean, 'Jersey Shore Hogwarts', how lazy can you get?”
“I have an adult doll house, and sometimes I use these as bath mats.”
“I have a funeral for my fish. He was an anchovy named Pizza. Ironic!”
“You're so self-promotional, and everyone loves that.”
“Yeah, we work here, so it's not weird.”
“She said she saw you outside playing Quidditich. By yourself. And making cheering noises.”
“He's huge!”
“'Hey, not bad', said the wrong Mormon.”
“Which is terrible for his self-esteem, but great for his drug business.”
“I mean, where was Sarah McLaughlin on that one?”
“Dogs can be sarcastic too. It's not just for cats.”
“Yes, and you have to use your hand to masturbate, because we don't have underwear that does that for us.”
“Also, I'm Tracy Morgan, and I want to get everyone here pregnant.”
“Or are you a robot?”
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