Season 37, Episode 14
Internet, are you ready for the most controversial, talked about episode in recent SNL memory? For reasons that I can't even fathom, SNL has chosen two personalities that inspire online love and hate in equal measure – Zooey Deschanel and musical duo Karmin. I have nothing against Deschanel personally (although really, Karmin is just awful), so it will be interesting to see if and how her well known twee personality either helps or hinders the show.
Cold Open - Mitt Romney Message: Wow, this feels familiar – and that's probably because we got similar jokes to this the last time we had a Mitt Romney cold open we also has jokes about him flip-flopping about his choice of football teams. Beyong that, this was a pretty listless sketch, with some half-assed jokes about Romney trailing in the past three primaries, and him trying to shake it off. The only enjoyable part was when he was trying to talk to the barking dog, and that's only because it felt partially unscripted, especially when Sudeikis was trying to get out the “Live from New York” line.
Monologue: Well, that's not a strong vote of confidence. Out comes Deschanel is a heart-decked dress, and after one brief joke, launches into a song – with a fucking ukulele of course. The show's really going to push her adorkability factor tonight, aren't they? (I feel dirty just for using that word.) Let's hope the rest of the evening won't be so lazy.
Clint Eastwood Ad: Okay, confession time – I didn't watch the Super Bowl. I know, I know, that makes me a horrible human being, but Downton Abbey was on! Anyways, I never saw the original Clint Eastwood ad that this was supposed to be spoofing – thought I obviously heard a lot about it, so I can't be sure whether this was funny or not. I have a feeling that it wasn't, since it seemed to be a fairly straightforward re-creation.
Piers Morgan Tonight: Beating up on Piers Morgan is a pretty old hat at this point, mostly because he's so bland at to mean that there's not a whole lot of mileage to mocking him. Simultaneously, the MIA “controversy” was so quickly analyzed after the actual incident, that it was pretty much impossible for SNL find anything funny to say about it. Luckily, all this was balanced out by the appearance by LMFAO, Deschanel as an overly conservative Midwesterner, Wiig as Madonna, plus Samberg as that weird tight rope walker from the half-time show. Together, it added a whole lot of weirdness that helped this sketch to be quite funny. I'm only disappointed that Thompson wasn't around to play Cee-Lo.
La Juenes De Paris: Has any sketch flagged so quickly as this one has? What was once a sketch that was so refreshing in it's ability to reject the traditional sketch format, soon became route for repeating that format with each appearance, to diminishing returns. However, I have to tip my hat to the show for finding a good twist this time out, by starting it out as a riff on The Aritst, before then throwing in nodes to a bunch of other classic French films. A pretty enjoyable three minutes, that sketch.
Clint Eastwood Ad, Take 2: Okay, now I get why the first version wasn't that funny. It was setup for this piece, and while the “three-part commercial” hasn't been a very reliable for the show – in fact, it's been down right awful in most instances. However, by building on the wierdess of the former commercial, this was fairly enjoyable, both in terms of Hader's Eastwood impression, and it's reversal of the product being shilled.
Daily Post, 1941: I've always respected SNL sketches that seek to evoke films of the 40s or 50s, as it allows the actors to show off their impressive ways with language. However, these sketches are rarely funny, perhaps because they place so much emphasis on getting the setting right over the jokes. So there was something meta about this sketch, with Deschanel's character pointing out how indecipherable the 40s speak was, and I laughed at the first line of such. Unfortunately, this was a one-note sketch, so it was only fitfully funny after that, based on the quality of any given line. Thankfully, the sketch was smart enough to keep it short.
Clint Eastwood Ad, Take 3: Well, let's hope that that's the last one of these, because that was a solid note to go out on, with two product reversals, and some even weirder Eastwood strangeness.
Weekend Update: In addition to Seth Meyer's usual shtick, we also got...Nassem Pedrad doing a fairly listless Ariana Huffington impression, with a string of jokes about various women's issues that never really seemed to gel together...In a bout of inevitability the actual Nic Cage joined Samberg's Nic Cage impression for another “In the Cage” segment. This pairing didn't give as many absurd laughs as previous “Cage” segments have, but something about the chemistry between the two cages was infectious ...
Bein' Quirky with Zooey Deschanel: And speaking of inevitability, the next sketch gives us Abby Elliot doing her Deschanel impression, while the actual Deschanel played Mary Kate Olsen. There's usally a strong bite to such sketches, and the premise would seem to suggest that such would be the case. However, the choice to have Deschanel play Olsen was just too weird (does anybody really characterize her as quirky?) that it sort of threw the whole sketch off-kilter. Luckily Elliot, Killam as Michael Cera, and Wiig as Bjork were there to even everything out.
Verizon Ad: We get it, Verizon offers a lot of phones. That's not really that funny of a topic. You know what was funny? Mocking the manic pace of their commercials. You should have done more of that.
Crab Blast 2012: Well, after a string of solid-to-great sketches, we get the first real dud of the night. Comedy of anticipation only really works if the waiting can provide some solid jokes, and that needs to be something other than “hey, let's laugh at these people waiting.” What's even worse is that the ending of this sketch didn't even try to earn all that waiting, as it went with the most obvious choice – THERE IS NO CRAB!
(Really, a screen shot? That's the best you can do with a three-hour notice to memorialize Whitney Houston's passing?)
We're Gonna make Technology Hump: Okay, I recognize that not everybody agreed with my glowing review of the first iteration of this sketch, but I found it to be a delightfully absurd of the closing slot when it premiered. So I was actually worried when this sketch popped up here again tonight, as I felt that perhaps the novelty would have worn off. Apparently the SNL writers anticipated this as well, since they offset the lack of surprise with some dead-on specific jokes about each appliance used, and that helped to keep the jokes feeling fresh.
Margaret/Bethany: Okay, and now we get to the actual Last Slot Sketch, which given the general absurdity of tonight's selection of sketches, would have to be pretty surreal in order to justify being in this spot. Instead, we got a sketch that had a somewhat surreal premise – ladies in the 1860s go through a string of imbecilic beaus – but the show never really took advantage of this and had any of the suitors be really weird. Ad while I appreciate the show standing up for the latest Prop 8 decision, that last twist was too out of left field to really stick, and the random “surfing” line didn't help things. Sometimes I think the SNL writers should go through writers workshop that's solely about writing endings.
Well, I guess I have to apologize to Deschanel for doubting what can of host she might be. In fact, I have to apologize to SNL itself, considering how many times I would be worried at the start of the sketch, only to be laughing quite strongly by the end. I DON'T, however, have to apologize to Karmin. They know why.
Best Sketch – La Juenes De Paris
Worst Sketch – Crab Blast 2012
Monologue: Well, that's not a strong vote of confidence. Out comes Deschanel is a heart-decked dress, and after one brief joke, launches into a song – with a fucking ukulele of course. The show's really going to push her adorkability factor tonight, aren't they? (I feel dirty just for using that word.) Let's hope the rest of the evening won't be so lazy.
Clint Eastwood Ad: Okay, confession time – I didn't watch the Super Bowl. I know, I know, that makes me a horrible human being, but Downton Abbey was on! Anyways, I never saw the original Clint Eastwood ad that this was supposed to be spoofing – thought I obviously heard a lot about it, so I can't be sure whether this was funny or not. I have a feeling that it wasn't, since it seemed to be a fairly straightforward re-creation.
Piers Morgan Tonight: Beating up on Piers Morgan is a pretty old hat at this point, mostly because he's so bland at to mean that there's not a whole lot of mileage to mocking him. Simultaneously, the MIA “controversy” was so quickly analyzed after the actual incident, that it was pretty much impossible for SNL find anything funny to say about it. Luckily, all this was balanced out by the appearance by LMFAO, Deschanel as an overly conservative Midwesterner, Wiig as Madonna, plus Samberg as that weird tight rope walker from the half-time show. Together, it added a whole lot of weirdness that helped this sketch to be quite funny. I'm only disappointed that Thompson wasn't around to play Cee-Lo.
La Juenes De Paris: Has any sketch flagged so quickly as this one has? What was once a sketch that was so refreshing in it's ability to reject the traditional sketch format, soon became route for repeating that format with each appearance, to diminishing returns. However, I have to tip my hat to the show for finding a good twist this time out, by starting it out as a riff on The Aritst, before then throwing in nodes to a bunch of other classic French films. A pretty enjoyable three minutes, that sketch.
Clint Eastwood Ad, Take 2: Okay, now I get why the first version wasn't that funny. It was setup for this piece, and while the “three-part commercial” hasn't been a very reliable for the show – in fact, it's been down right awful in most instances. However, by building on the wierdess of the former commercial, this was fairly enjoyable, both in terms of Hader's Eastwood impression, and it's reversal of the product being shilled.
Daily Post, 1941: I've always respected SNL sketches that seek to evoke films of the 40s or 50s, as it allows the actors to show off their impressive ways with language. However, these sketches are rarely funny, perhaps because they place so much emphasis on getting the setting right over the jokes. So there was something meta about this sketch, with Deschanel's character pointing out how indecipherable the 40s speak was, and I laughed at the first line of such. Unfortunately, this was a one-note sketch, so it was only fitfully funny after that, based on the quality of any given line. Thankfully, the sketch was smart enough to keep it short.
Clint Eastwood Ad, Take 3: Well, let's hope that that's the last one of these, because that was a solid note to go out on, with two product reversals, and some even weirder Eastwood strangeness.
Weekend Update: In addition to Seth Meyer's usual shtick, we also got...Nassem Pedrad doing a fairly listless Ariana Huffington impression, with a string of jokes about various women's issues that never really seemed to gel together...In a bout of inevitability the actual Nic Cage joined Samberg's Nic Cage impression for another “In the Cage” segment. This pairing didn't give as many absurd laughs as previous “Cage” segments have, but something about the chemistry between the two cages was infectious ...
Bein' Quirky with Zooey Deschanel: And speaking of inevitability, the next sketch gives us Abby Elliot doing her Deschanel impression, while the actual Deschanel played Mary Kate Olsen. There's usally a strong bite to such sketches, and the premise would seem to suggest that such would be the case. However, the choice to have Deschanel play Olsen was just too weird (does anybody really characterize her as quirky?) that it sort of threw the whole sketch off-kilter. Luckily Elliot, Killam as Michael Cera, and Wiig as Bjork were there to even everything out.
Verizon Ad: We get it, Verizon offers a lot of phones. That's not really that funny of a topic. You know what was funny? Mocking the manic pace of their commercials. You should have done more of that.
Crab Blast 2012: Well, after a string of solid-to-great sketches, we get the first real dud of the night. Comedy of anticipation only really works if the waiting can provide some solid jokes, and that needs to be something other than “hey, let's laugh at these people waiting.” What's even worse is that the ending of this sketch didn't even try to earn all that waiting, as it went with the most obvious choice – THERE IS NO CRAB!
(Really, a screen shot? That's the best you can do with a three-hour notice to memorialize Whitney Houston's passing?)
We're Gonna make Technology Hump: Okay, I recognize that not everybody agreed with my glowing review of the first iteration of this sketch, but I found it to be a delightfully absurd of the closing slot when it premiered. So I was actually worried when this sketch popped up here again tonight, as I felt that perhaps the novelty would have worn off. Apparently the SNL writers anticipated this as well, since they offset the lack of surprise with some dead-on specific jokes about each appliance used, and that helped to keep the jokes feeling fresh.
Margaret/Bethany: Okay, and now we get to the actual Last Slot Sketch, which given the general absurdity of tonight's selection of sketches, would have to be pretty surreal in order to justify being in this spot. Instead, we got a sketch that had a somewhat surreal premise – ladies in the 1860s go through a string of imbecilic beaus – but the show never really took advantage of this and had any of the suitors be really weird. Ad while I appreciate the show standing up for the latest Prop 8 decision, that last twist was too out of left field to really stick, and the random “surfing” line didn't help things. Sometimes I think the SNL writers should go through writers workshop that's solely about writing endings.
Well, I guess I have to apologize to Deschanel for doubting what can of host she might be. In fact, I have to apologize to SNL itself, considering how many times I would be worried at the start of the sketch, only to be laughing quite strongly by the end. I DON'T, however, have to apologize to Karmin. They know why.
Best Sketch – La Juenes De Paris
Worst Sketch – Crab Blast 2012
Next Week: Maya Rudolph brings the predictable slew of impressions, and Sleigh Bells attempts to return a little respect to the SNL musical stage
Quotes, Etc.:
“Or if Ron Paul kicks a field goal with his tiny little chicken legs.”
“And do be fooled by my British accent, because it's all I've got.”
“How dare she Piers. God gave us ten fingers, not one.”
“And once we figure out where Sri Lanka is, we're going straight they're to protest.”
“I think I saw a ghost fly out of there.”
“Well there is some padding – I have as much hair down there as I do up here. My down below fro; my below fro!”
“They're not at home, stroking it to some GoDaddy.com commercial.”
“Okay straight up, is everyone here on cocaine?”
“These Mexicans are like me pants – I've had them up to here.”
“Troubling news for women who are Catholic, but not, you know, Catholic Catholic.”
“And Smash premiered on NBC, which is like 10 gay weddings in one hour.”
“So get ready for two new NBC shows, Smash: Criminal Intent, and Smash: SVU.”
“In a related story, people in southern California have finally figured out how to smoke weed out of tubas.”
“It has the two key qualities of a classic Nicolas Cage film. Number one....” “Everything it either whispered or screamed.” “And number two...” “Everything is on fire.”
“It's time for us to ride on to our next adventure.” “What is that?” “We're going to have a three-way with the Declaration of Independence.”
“If you like screaming, make it music. If you like clouds, make them your friends.”
“Where, by all reports, he exploded.”
“Thomas was antsy to 'test out my front butt.'”
Quotes, Etc.:
“Or if Ron Paul kicks a field goal with his tiny little chicken legs.”
“And do be fooled by my British accent, because it's all I've got.”
“How dare she Piers. God gave us ten fingers, not one.”
“And once we figure out where Sri Lanka is, we're going straight they're to protest.”
“I think I saw a ghost fly out of there.”
“Well there is some padding – I have as much hair down there as I do up here. My down below fro; my below fro!”
“They're not at home, stroking it to some GoDaddy.com commercial.”
“Okay straight up, is everyone here on cocaine?”
“These Mexicans are like me pants – I've had them up to here.”
“Troubling news for women who are Catholic, but not, you know, Catholic Catholic.”
“And Smash premiered on NBC, which is like 10 gay weddings in one hour.”
“So get ready for two new NBC shows, Smash: Criminal Intent, and Smash: SVU.”
“In a related story, people in southern California have finally figured out how to smoke weed out of tubas.”
“It has the two key qualities of a classic Nicolas Cage film. Number one....” “Everything it either whispered or screamed.” “And number two...” “Everything is on fire.”
“It's time for us to ride on to our next adventure.” “What is that?” “We're going to have a three-way with the Declaration of Independence.”
“If you like screaming, make it music. If you like clouds, make them your friends.”
“Where, by all reports, he exploded.”
“Thomas was antsy to 'test out my front butt.'”
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