Who's the guy who's mesmerized and captivated film audiences for decades?
Who's the guy who's looks have never wavered since his late teens?
Who's the guy who everyone swoon as a fresh-faced cutie-pie since he was a member of the Mickey Mouse Club in 90s, rubbing shoulders with all the other members, including Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Christina Agulera, Keri Russel and JC Chavez, and apparently no one will
ever make you forget this?
And who is also on
SNL this week?
That's right! Leon Bridges.
Welcome to the Review of Episode 7, where I give my thoughts on this, straight-up, the
second-best episode of the season so far. Let's get started.
This week's CO is fucking hilarious. Putting it out there.
Taran Killam continues to kill...am...as Trump.
The impersonation, voice and humor is still on point. And the fact that it's still political season and there's still gonna be more of him to go around, makes me even happier.
Plus, I can't get enough of that face.
It brings me joy.
And the writing is just brilliant. It's like the writers' room has it out Trump and can get their creative juices flowing just from their hatred of him, and can make an awesome sketch.
Which they did. It really shows.
Also, shout out to Cecily Strong as Melania, bringing in just as many laughs. She can make a great Melania parody: mouthy, somewhat-ditzy and almost useful. Just a much effort into thuis perfect skit from her as there was from TKill.
All in all, this was a
great CO, just as great as--if not better than--their last one from the Season Premiere, and I can't wait for the next time our favorite one-two punching bag of a couple makes their appearance.
All right, I kid. The host this week is Ryan Gosling.
After the open, he performed his first Monologue. It wasn't much; just him discussing his return to his home of New York, when a plant (Cecily, who has to be very fast in the dressing room) interjects that he's actually from Canada.
This wasn't very funny, and seemed like something that should've stayed at Dress Rehearsal.
It's like someone listening to a history buff discuss something, and they react less like "
Oh wow, I didn't know that! Fascinating." and more like "
Uhh, okay, cool. I guess."
Fortunately, it went uphill from there when
fucking MIKE MYERS makes a cameo
"
Mike Myers. Where did you come?"
"
I live backstage."
and waxes philosophical about the wonders of the holiday season in the Great White North.
This Mono was one I kinda enjoyed. The reasons Myers stated were really funny, the appearance of Bonom Denej was enjoyable, and Gosling's apology for hiding his homegrown roots--in the Canadian tongue--
Soary (
You know, like those cartoons on TV that say it in the way you cringe from and wonder as to why they say it that way...and by Michael J. Fox in Family Ties?) was hilarious. And I really enjoyed their proud Canadian song, even if the parts where two forced the "ou" sounds in the words for laughs were annoying.
Pretty good continuation here.
--
The Pre-Tape After is something else. It's an ad for a new dating service app called Settl, geared towards women wanting to have an okay.
--
This right here is the FUNNIEST sketch this week. and this
season. And maybe even this decade.
So funny, even the host and cast members couldn't make it without cracking up.
It'a about three people (Gosling, Cecily & Kate McKinnon) who talk to special agents of the NSA (Bobby Moynihan & Aidy Bryant) about an alien abduction they encountered. Just watch.
This was fucking hilarious.
This skit was all Kate McKinnon. She came in confident, she played her character like it was easy, and got everyone watching splitting their sides. My God, she was
brilliant! While the stories of her abduction are supposed to be scary yet funny, her performance of her character brought it way over the top to straight-up absurdity. It make this immediately the best.
It's clear that the entire cast couldn't keep a straight face, especially Gosling and Bryant, but that made it even
better. If anything, it's surprising that they kept it together throughout the duration of the sketch in the first place. Most times they break all the way, and the audience applauds more than once. This here's more nuance, and I give the cast props for it.
Again, this was fucking hilarious and the FUNNIEST sketch this week.
Fave Lines:
Pretty much all of Kate's lines.
--
"
Santa Baby"
Doug and Gina are one couple you do not want to talk with if you mention Santa Claus.
No, really, get the
fuck out of there when they start talking.
Seriously, their enthusiasm of meeting Ol' St. Nick, especially from Doug, is scary hilarious. (More like scary and hilarious.) What made the sketch off-the-wall was Gosling as an complete fucking psycho at the party. His creepy excitement was so side-splitting, I got scared for my life from this, and I'm a
dimension away. Their dance on the table was also hilarious, especially taking from the other party-goers' reactions. And when the host (Beck Bennett) comes down crying dressed as Santa, fearing for his life, I couldn't stop.
One user on YouTube commented so perfectly: "This might be the most well acted and well shot skit/digital short ever made. I love it."
I love it too. Everyone gave great performances--especially from Gosling, the cinematography was amazing--even too amazing at times, and the writing was awesome--it's like I'm watching a scene from a movie. In fact another user also summed it up: ""
The Purge" meets Christmas".
This is the best filmed Pre-Tape of this season so far. It's just brilliant.
Oh and at the end, the real Santa's a lucky bastard to leave out the way he did.
From the look on his face, you can tell he's like, "
Ho Ho Ho-oh fuck no. I'm getting outta here."
--
In the next sketch, some teenage girls are at the party of Taylor one of their own. And if they thought Tayor's dad was the embarrassing one, then they certainly forgot about Melanie.
Wow, another great one! Just like Kate Mc's stern alien abductor in "Close Encounter", the skit was dominated by one woman. This time Baby Aidy was the star, and she commanded (well, obviously, not as well as Kate, because no one broke here this time). Sure, she was creepy, but she made the creepiness work, especially when she tries to come on very strong to Mr. Dillham. That table crash was also funny.
Oh and halfway through the sketch, Mr. Dillham called Melanie "Morgan" a few times, when it's clearly
not Morgan; it clearly was said a few times previously. And even if her name really was Morgan, that does explain why she doesn't many friends or self esteem in the "
Girlfriends Talk Show" sketch. And why Kyra is there, too.
Also, some people have saw some similarities to "Ew!" from The
Tonight Show, especially in the set.
I'd like to say here, that I don't care.
This sketch was cringing, but still funny.
Fave Lines: All from Melanie
"What in the fat hell are you talking about?"
...
"My dad was born in 193
6?"
...
"What nooo, my mom's a bitch!"
...
"Oh yeah, I'm freakin' wet."
Ew.
--
At a bar in his hometown of Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, Ryan Gosling is being interviewed by a reporter for GQ (Cecily Strong). But some guy he used to go to high school with (Kyle Mooney) comes back into his life to torment him again.
Wow, Trevor's voice is
irritating. No wonder Gosling didn't want anything to do with him. But the corny voice seemed to make everyone borderline break.
I did really enjoy Gosling's singing and dance, and Trevor's tries to be better than Ryan were hilarious, but to me this sketch was really weak.
--
If you watched the Nespresso commercial featuring George Clooney, Danny Devito that was released recently, then you can enjoy this SNL spoof.
I'm sorry, when I meant by "you can enjoy", I meant "you can enjoy this if you're into people overreacting about some shit before getting one thing."
Seriously, I laughed at first (especially when Devito got tailored--his height looks hilarious!), but then as it continued, it ngot less funny. I get that he's wondering why he's not immediately getting coffee, but just doing some sophisticated crap to look and act sophisticated with George Clooney. But the schtick wore thin as it continued. Then the spit take made no sense. You don't guzzle coffee like that. This sketch was clearly the weakest of the Pre-Tapes this week.
--
Ahh...it can't be
SNL in December without a sketch mocking the network's latest live musical special, now would it? This time, it's
The Wiz (specifically a scene cut from production), in which our unknowingly fearsome foursome finally meet the Wiz herself...and run into a surprise visitor.
This sketch was a strange one, but it was super funny, too.
The Strange:
First: I really don't know how there can be deleted scene from a live television production if it was possible, but the network recorded rehearsed scenes for promos, so it makes sense and I'll give the producers a pass.
Second: an iPad? I never knew Emerald City was this progressive with personal computers.
Third: if Dorothy never knew what the iPad is, how the hell does she know what the Whip, the Dab and the Nae Nae are? I'll just assume that Kansas in the
Wiz Universe (at least in-sketch) is in 2015.
"It's 2015, and we can "
Fourth: The (White) Scarecrow (or any of the other characters) never rode a train in
The Wizard of Oz, so that makes no sense.
But I'll give them a pass for twisting both Oz stories around for this sketch...which was funny.
Speaking of pass, the jokes were hilarious:
about The White Scarecrow not fitting in in East Oz, the reactions from everyone else, .
Plus, for some reason, I found the tall Leslie Jones in the Wiz role amusing. It's as if height was the perfect requirement for the role. (BTW, Queen Latifah was tall in
Wiz Live!, so this was more amusing to me.)
Plus, Gosling's performance of White Scarecrow, reminiscent of Ray Bolger's iconic role,
was simply amazing; the song and dance he did of "If I Only Had a Brain" really put a smile on my face. and it was refreshing to see Michael Che again appear in a sketch away from
Weekend Update, appearing this time as Black Scarecrow. He also did a very good job, along with Jay Pharaoh as the Tin Man and Kenan Thompson as Cowardly Lion. These three were great here, keeping the performances of the three actors of the real thing.
This sketch wasn't hilarious, or the best sketch of the week, but I still really enjoyed it.
Favorite Lines:
"
Your hair is wild and wonderful...and your hair--" -White Scarecrow
"
DON'T." -Dorothy
-
"[...] Yeah, I have no idea what those words are." -WS
-
"...we did a lot of dancing." -Tin Man
"Yeah, 3 hours worth. Minus about 150 commercials!" -Lion
This is the best joke of them all.
--
The final sketch is one I'm not comfortable with...at least with the characters in it.
You may remember the Elves from the sketch spoofing the story "The Shoemaker and the Elves", where for making the rounds for him, the Shoemaker has to do disgusting sex acts for them (like spank them and fart on them).
--
Goddamn, this guy is so fucking talented.
This guy is this week's Musical Guest, Leon Bridges.
He is a relatively new artist, but in my eyes, I've never heard of him before (even with his appearance on the American Music Awards a few weeks ago). So if anything, I was excited for him to appear on SNL this year, more because of the fact that he's a new artist who needs the spotlight. If it wasn't for being announced as a musical guest, it would've been a damn shame for me...because he's so damn talented.
His classic soul sound and words should make him a star. And apparently if you heard of him for the first time without knowing him, you would've thought you were actually listening to someone like Sam Cooke, Smokey Robinson, Ray Charles and . Yep, it's that retraux (faux retro, or throwback).
So I listened to his debut album
Coming Home, and damn, it's like a love letter to classic soul, and brilliantly well-put together. Leon's vocals are perfection; rough as brick, yet smooth as silk. He certainly has the pipes to sing music like this. And as someone who loves and appreciates listening to classic R&B and soul (I have an older sister who jams to it on the radio 24/7), I can say this is an awesome record. It left me a good wreck.
And he's just a great live. Here's his performances of
"
Smooth Saillin'"
and "
River", where the background singers should get huge mention from their great voices.
These performances were fantastic. The live sound was spectacular; the live band did very awesome, and Leon himself was just spectacular. His voice is just as great live as it was recorded. I'm so in love with these performances, I just want to spend a week watching just that and nothing.
So after listening to him and watching these performances, I'm certainly a fan. I needed someone like him to listen to this year, and now that I have I can make music in 2015 more than tolerable. Thank you, Leon Bridges, for restoring my faith in music.
Leon Bridges' debut album
Coming Home is available now. Please buy this--illegaly download if you have to; even if you don't love and appreciate true-blue classic R&B/soul, this is perfect for you. I guarantee you, it's worth listening to.
--
Time for an Update:
Part 1:
Part 2:
After a few super weak jokes at the start trying to bold (seriously, I could barely laugh--apparently, so did the Audience), Jost and Che got stronger doing a joint bit discussing the recent crop of mass terrorism shootings in the US and the priority being not to combat them, but de-funding Planned Parenthood. That was a bold sketch done right, and yet another example of Colin and Michael being much better at the desk when doing a joke together.
Other bright spots this include:
Glamour Magazine reporter Jill Davenport (CecStrong), who would've been talking about the best gadgets the ladies could buy for their men this holiday season, but is too busy coming on thick to Colin. Cecily does the flight, Valley Girl-type woman very well, and made me laugh a lot, if not cringe a lot too. It also make me think.
Leslie Jones has appeared on
Update like 10 times, and came on strong like cereal on milk; nothing happened.
This chick is here once, and already had Jost's blazer. I feel like this is a funny comparison, don't you think?
Best Bits:
Ben Carson in Jordan
Kobe Bryant Retiring
Mouse Mingle
""
Kylie Jenner Kontroversy
--
How Was the CO?
Unlike Trump himself in the next election, this one wins my vote.
Best Sketches:
Close Encounter
(for sure)
The Wiz
honorable mention:
Birthday Party
Best Pre-Tape:
"
Santa Baby" (FOR SURE)
"GO!! GET!! SANTAAA!!!"
Worst Sketches:
Hometown Bar
All of them were enjoyable to watch and had more than one moment to laugh at.
This did have a good laugh or two, but this was just crap.
Wraparound:
WOW, Ryan Gosling was a damn good host. His performance and range was just perfect.
He played a Midwestern(?) dude after an alien abduction sweetly, a nut-ass doof still believing in Santa brilliantly, an embarrassed teen's dad great, and The
SCARECROW amazingly (would make Ray Bolger proud) among others. He really had that talent to do anything the SNL crew can throw at him and do so well. I really enjoyed his performance as host, and I think he should come back next season.
He's never regularly done comedy before then, but he should do more after this episode.
Also, the cast was amazing this time around, but the more noticeable standouts were Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant. It's clear that whatever sketches they were in and had the most lines they commanded them well. They
Also noticeable, some cast members either appeared in less sketches or didn't appear at all.
Starting with the King of the Ring himself, Taran Killam, who starred in only one live sketch (the Donald & Melania Trump sketch) appearing in two pre-taped ones, and it was extremely telling. Leslie Jones also did one sketch (She was in
"The Wiz") and one pre-tape, while Sasheer did two ("Birthday Party" and "Wiz"). (Not as telling)
I assume they had places to be as of late, and had to downsize to fit their schedules. Honestly, it felt really weird and...borderline uncomfortable too. I guess it makes me kinda miss him taking the show every week. Nah! I do enjoy him a lot here, but not in every sketch.
Meanwhile, sophomorer Pete Davidson and newcomer Jon Rudnitsky were nowhere to be seen.
Probably they didn't have much to write for them this week. Good; Rudnitsky hasn't prove much yet (and probably because of his ""), and Pete Dave is funny, but reaching the heights of other cast members.
I guess with the members shown here, things are more tight and free-flowing; no putting some members over others, just some of the cast we know getting equal or slightly equal time, and making really nice jokes.
ConcluSLoN:
This episode was hilarious, almost through and though.
I really enjoyed the humor, whether bizarre, gross, or tame, this episode delivered on the humor, and I think this is an episode to watch again if you loved it. I loved it, and I think this is the second-best episode of the season so far. While Episode 5--hosted by Elizabeth Banks--was a great episode itself, this one squeaked past it to get the silver. This is one best to enjoy over and over, and not just for Ryan Gosling's looks.
Next week--wow. Didn't this guy last host nine months ago?? And wasn't that episode really crappy to me??
Anyway, Chris Hemsworth returns to Studio 8H to host episode 8, with music from Chance the Rapper (aka a really good rapper with a corny rap name). Review Monday, See you then!
