Larry David, TV's favorite Larry David, returns to host SNL this week. His last hosting gig was great, giving up more Bernie Sanders and Kevin Roberts, the bitch who just wants a donut. I hope this one is as good as the last, which I named one of the best shows of season 41.
Cold Open: Paul Manafort's House:
This was fine. And that's really all. I'm still a fan of it, but Baldwin's Trump really needs to take a break. Just bring him on a little less often or something, because these are kinda getting exhausting. Maybe I'm just going through Trump fatigue right now, or maybe the damage is done at this point, but they gotta shake these up. It's formulaic. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions was great though.
My Score: 7.5/10
Larry David Monologue:
I usually like stand-up monologues, but this one felt off. There's some controversy going on about it, but my reason for disliking it isn't just that it was kinda offensive. It was icky and uncomfortable to watch, sure, but it was also pretty unfunny.
My Score: 6/10
Price Is Right Celebrity Edition:
Let's be honest, the return of Bernie Sanders is what we've all been waiting for. And that's because it's great. While the other impressions, particularly McKinnon as Tilda Swinton and Baldwin as Tony Bennett, were really entertaining, Bernie stole the show. While his bid of 8 cents was ridiculous, it was still the least ridiculous of all of them, which is hilarious.
My Score: 9/10
Press Conference:
Aidy Bryant's Sarah Huckabee Sanders is rarely a star in the sketches she's in. And that's because, like her real life counterpart, she's not all that interesting. So this worked about as well as it could have. I didn't really laugh all that much until the end, but I didn't hate it.
My Score: 7.5/10
Career Retrospective:
This was really good. I wasn't sure where it was headed at first, but soon it became clear that this ad creator has used some questionable phrases in his lengthy career. The look of horror on the faces of the other attendees was hilarious, and the fact that they just continued, with things getting somehow worse each time, was very entertaining. That ending, though, wow.
My Score: 8.5/10
The Baby Step:
This was... kinda dumb. I just didn't really "get" it. Larry David not giving two f***s about this was funny, but the rest fell flat. What he said to Kenan was really funny, but the rest did not work.
My Score: 6.5/10
Weekend Update:
Angel, Every Boxer's Girlfriend from Every Movie about Boxing Ever, is my new favorite thing. It was hilarious, easily my favorite part of this underwhelming night. That doesn't really give it much justice, because this really was genius. This was Gardner's star turn. She shined brightly in this Update bit, proving that, without a doubt, she's SNL's best new cast member this season. Now if you excuse me, I have to go take my kids to my sister's.
My Score: 9/10
Fresh Takes:
I like the premise of this sketch. It's like a high school version of Morning Joe or some other indistinguishable hot topics chat show, which is entertaining. But it kinda fell flat. It wasn't horrible, and I laughed quite a few times, but all in all, it was just a little disappointing. It had potential and it didn't really make use of that potential.
My Score: 7.5/10
New Wife:
Meh. That was my reaction to this sketch, which just fell flat for me. Nothing about it was that funny, and I don't know if anything could have been done to save it. Everything about it is just so meh. When the most entertaining part of a sketch is a performer cracking up, you've got problems.
My Score: 6/10
Beers:
This was bizarre. But in a good way. An homage to vintage sitcoms, it worked well. Larry David fit in naturally with Beck and Kyle's weirdness here, playing guitar in the kitchen and getting drunk on beers. Poor fish, though.
My Score: 8/10
Wrap-Up: This was a disappointing show, which was saved from being a complete disappointment by the Bernie Sanders reprise and the terrific Angel. Everything else was mediocre, disappointing, or just bad. The lack of Kevin Roberts is also upsetting, because that's a character I REALLY needed to see make a comeback. Grade: C Score: 6.5/10 Pass or Fail: Fail MVP of the Week: Heidi Gardner Sketch of the Night: Weekend Update
Worst of the Night: Larry David Monologue
Top 5 Hosts of the Season:
1) Kumail Nanjiani 2) Gal Gadot 3) Ryan Gosling 4) Larry David What did you think of this episode? Vote in the poll below on what your favorite sketch was, and sound off on the episode in the comments!
