So how were the last two weeks of SNL? Gal Gadot and Kumail Nanjiani hosted the two weeks. How did they do?
SNL was ok these past couple of weeks. The Gal Gadot episode had some decent skits in it.
Mirage was a good one where Beck Bennett is not having the best oasis hallucination that he could have.
Most of the rest of the episode was lame, but the stand out sketch was First Date, because I did not see that one coming, and even though they’re lampshading stuff to sell the premise, it still works well.
Both weeks had some savage bits from the Weekend Update guys Colin Jost and Michael Che, so I’ll just include all the segments, like bits about gun control in the first, birth control in the second, Harvey Weinstein in the third, and Mike Ditka in the last one. Cecily Strong is wild as Ivana Trump in that last one, too.
Kumail Nanjiani had some funnier bits. His monologue was pretty good, which made up for the lame Trump open.
And of course there was the skit that went with Kate McKinnon as Kellywise:
Bank Breakers was a good take off on game shows, and contrasted Nanjiani’s vapid reasons for wanting the money with Cecily Strong’s more noble reasons. I love how she slightly breaks down when talking about what she’ll use the money for.
A look at a real issue in an absurd way in Nursing Home showed how Kate McKinnon can do a lot without even talking.
And the oddly affecting Customer Service sketch:
I won’t link to the skit, since it was too long for the amount of laughs in it, but Cecily Strong in the Halloween Party as Maleficent….
So, essentially, SNL needs to focus on Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong, and maybe use some of the sharp, stinging writing in Weekend Update in some of the other sketches.
I personally liked the Gal Gadot episode a lot more than the Kumail one. Kumail’s monologue was strong of course (usually the case when a stand-up hosts), but I thought that most of the sketches in his episode just petered out. Even “Bank Breakers,” which had a GREAT premise and no ending.
The First Date sketch was brilliant, though. Instant classic. Every sketch on SNL should end that strongly.
And HELL YES on Cecily Strong in that Halloween costume! We can’t be the only fans of her in that outfit, as I noticed that they went out of their way to have her lean forward several times in that sketch. The writing on that one was pretty “ehh,” though.
But yes, McKinnon and Strong are carrying that show right now. Even when the writing is bad, they never are. I bet they’re both going to have long careers after they leave SNL.
It also seemed telling that most of the Kumail roles were stereotypical Asians — doctor was the positive one, but hotel desk clerk and telemarketer too. Real progressive, SNL!
But I thought Gal’s episode had more clunker sketches myself, like that Themyscira (sp?) one.
Yeah, I guess Bank Breakers didn’t really end, although I’m not sure how they could have ended it well. And I’m blanking on how First Date ended, so I’ll have to watch it again!
If you want *ahem* “good” tips on how to end sketches, read the youtube comments section. HA!
I think the trio of guys they rely on most (Alex Moffatt, Mikey Day and Beck Bennett) are pretty good overall (and I can almost tell which is which now!). The new girl seems ok so far. They should find more for Melissa [blanking on her last name] to do, because she’s been good in all I see.
But yeah on Cecily and Kate (they great!).
“Jiggly” was the word I wanted to use about that costume. And I was going to use a screen shot of her leaning forward, but didn’t get a good one when I tried, so I went back to the full shot at the start of the sketch.
Hmm. Yeah, I didn’t consider the stereotypes inherent in most of the roles Kumail played, but yeah, that is not cool. I wonder if there were some more balanced roles he had that didn’t make it past dress.
Alex Moffat, Mikey Day, and Beck Bennett are all pretty bland, IMO. I really wish they hadn’t let Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah go. They were both much more versatile than this bunch.
Melissa Villasenor is just OK so far, IMO. She’s got a few good impressions, but her regular speaking voice is rather odd-sounding. It sounds like a character voice, quite frankly.