Friday, January 16, 2015

SNL 40 Review: Woody Harrelson & Kendrick Lamar

When I reviewed the last episode, it was just weak sketch after bad sketch after terrible sketch. Chris Rock had the energy and humor, but just didn't have the technical stuff to carry his hosting duties. And boy did Leslie Jones get the pain of being a new featured cast member, with that awkward pause right there during that "Couple" sketch.
But it seems the writers have rebounded in a big and surprising way possible, with an episode that aired the week after the Chris Rock episode, with each sketch being either good or great or even strong.

(some sketches don't have clips on YT or Yahoo, so here's the ep provided by Hulu. The sketches may be the dress rehearsal version.)


The Cold Open takes place after the Mid-term Elections, in which the Republican party won big with the Senate and House. Because of the win, President Obama arranged for a night of drinks with Mitch McConnell. What would happen was way off from what was planned.

This CO was funny as hell. Watching Obama and McConnell get increasingly smashed and do embarrassing things like Obama tearfully telling he believes the Repubs hate him, McConnell prank calling Hillary Clinton and screaming when she calls back, McC telling Obama in a foolish tone "You're BLACK!", and the President getting "in trouble" with wife Michelle. Watching the two getting shitfaced like teenage girls with fake IDs in a bar was hilarious and makes me call it the best CO of the season so far.


After the title sequence, Woody comes to the set for the Monologue, which is a recollection of some things he did in the year 1989, and is based on "Blank Space" the album of the same name by Taylor Swift. However, the memories are hazy for him, because of the drugs he smoked that year.

He was very energetic and ready for what the writers threw at him...like his co-stars of The Hunger Games movies, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth. They were added well into the Mono, giving Woodsman here a push to make it better. He did sound like he had fries in his mouth, but that made it much funnier, as he revealed he smoked a lot o' pot before the show.

After this, a promo for a new CBS sitcom called "The Dudleys", about a normal family who is out of control. Because of viewer complaints that the show has no diversity or gay characters or sex or daughters not doing girly stuff (because that's the requirement nowadays), the producers heard these whines--I mean, cries "loud and clear" and made some changes. Very unique changes.

This was a genius look into the world of television today. People bitching and moaning about why a certain show doesn't have a thing they would like in it. So instead of the producers/the network standing ground and defending it, they backed down and agreed to the complaints, marking changes to it. All of these complaints are spot-on, as these are from regular people who believe they have a say-so in what should and shouldn't be in a show. Then the "other" complaints came in, wanting the show back just how it is. That is also genius. This is one of the best pre-tapes of the season, bar-none.


Match'd
The Sketch After is fucking hilarious. This is a dating game show on MTV called Match'd. Three super horny guys (Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney & TKill) are vying for the attention and love of one girl, Desiree (Cecily Strong).

The big catch? The host of the show, Jerry Tremaine (Harrelson), is the girl's father.
My gosh, the guys' reaction to this revelation was so damn hilarious. And the answers/dates that they have planned to with the girl were just as funny. The downside is that two of the guys look more like grown men than guys in their mid-to-late-20s. At least they could've put in Pete Davidson in; he not only looks more believable as a 20s guy, he IS 20. Makes a lot more sense to me.

"A New Day": New Marijuana Policy
In this pre-tape, the people of New York (especially those carrying marijuana) are watching a press conference by Bill DeBlasio and a special report on TV, revealing that those who carry a small amount of marijuana will not face charges or be arrested. The people are happy.

Another funny one for ya. Especially during the end where one of the potheads (Pete Davidson) begins to smoke it. The weedies are saddened. But he believes change can happen; they can make a change to move forward. And with a new stand, people can smoke marijuana in pub--ooh, Rugrats. That was a funny end to another genius pre-tape.

Football Haftime Speech
It's game day at Newton High School and the home team is having a bad defense because of a new rule that players cannot tackle other players. The coach (Woody) has some substitutions to the rule. And an alum (Kenan Thompson) has some words of inspiration for the players.


Young Tarts & Old Farts
This was a really good pre-tape. The best came from TKill with his awesome impression of Sam Smith, channeling the sad British singer very well. (Athough, people seem to forget that he does happy, uptempo song, too. See "Money on My Mind" and "Restart".)

Old New York
Four bar guys (Harrelson & the three most used cast members; you know who they are) complain about what New York has now become.

I thought this one was really weak; the many jokes about how easy it was to get and smoke crack were wearing this one thin, but some were funny. Plus all they talk about is how they can't get good fast food anymore in town. Which explains why two of them are fat and one is husky. They all just miss good, greasy, sloppy food in the city. And the other just misses the good feeling of a withdrawl. You guys know there are other things about Old New York you could miss like the music, the shows on TV, the subway, getting mugged? You know, the best the city did offer.

Campfire Song
During a camping trip, a guy (Woody) wants to lead his friends in a sing-along, but they don't know the words to any one he sings.

I kinda like this one better than Old New York because of its unexpectedness despite its not-complex premise. Plus, the "Apples" song is kinda catchy and singing the apples part can get in your head quickly.

Kendrick Lamar is BACK!!
Seriously he is one of the best hip-hop artists today. His music is awesome, lyrics are real & powerful, his flow is phat, and just a super-mega-ultra dope guy. So it was great to see him hit the SNL stage again.
Both his performances were awesome; they were ; K-Dot had that energy that was infectious, his flow was on point, his rhymes were dope and even the dancing he did was great.
Here's "i"


Update Time
Blah, Blah, blah, Jost is still a bore; Blah, Blah, blah, Che still flubs lines; Blah, Blah, blah, still a weak segment; Blah, Blah, blah.

Leslie Jones returned for more crazy relationship stories, this time invloving a crazy lady who went into and got stuck in a guy's chimney.

It just had to happen but Harrelson and his True Detective co-star Matthew McConaughey (TKill) stopped by Update to discuss the second season. This was hilarious and TKill did great as McConaughey.

Top Three Sketches:
Drinks at The White House
Match'd
Football Halftime Speech

Worst Sketches:
Old New York

Overall, this was a really good episode. Harrelson did a great job as host, and the cast did a very fine job this time around. I enjoyed most of the sketches and all of the pre-tapes. Very fine job all around. I think this could be the second best ep of the season so far.
Well, that's it. It's finally over!! The Catch-Up Session has ended!
The SNL 40 Reviews will do back to a weekly basis starting this week with Episode 10 hosted Kevin Hart, with music from Sia.
Hope this will be good. (What am I thinking?)
See you later!!

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