Chadwick Boseman, star of 2018's highest-grossing film (no, not 7 Days in Entebbe), hosts SNL this week. Boseman is the second Black Panther actor to host the series this year, after Sterling K. Brown. I don't know Boseman's episode will be as strong as Brown's, but I hope it comes close.
Cold Open: Donald Trump Baltic States:
I've been critical of Baldwin's Trump this season, because it can get very tiring. But I will admit that I actually enjoyed this one. Yes, it was pretty much just more of the same, but I did really enjoy some of the jokes this week. It wasn't anything new, but I laughed out loud quite a few times and that's really what this is about.
Score: 8/10
Chadwick Boseman Monologue:
I actually had to go back and watch this sketch again. Not because it was good, but because it was so incredibly forgettable that I couldn't remember a single thing about it. But after watching it again, it was actually pretty funny. Things went off the rails a bit when Kenan showed up as a Thundercat, but the rest of it was really good and provided for one of the best monologues in awhile, even if I probably will forget about it by Sunday.
Score: 7.5/10
Nike Women's Ad:
This was just a hilarious sketch. I appreciate and love commercial parodies more than most people, so I was naturally gonna love this one. But it was more than that. This was really clever and made me laugh out loud quite a few times. The entire cast is great here, but Aidy Bryant was a true standout.
Score: 9/10
Black Jeopardy:
I usually love the Black Jeopardy sketches, and I still liked this one, but this was one of my least favorite in the series. I honestly didn't find it all that funny. It may be because I've never seen Black Panther, but this wasn't all that notable for me. It kinda just happened, and was certainly less memorable than previous Black Jeopardy.
Score: 8/10
Medical Breakthrough:
This was really weird. That's pretty much the only way to describe this. It wasn't really that good or bad, and it was really forgettable. However, it did deliver a few laughs, so I guess it accomplished its goal.
Score: 6/10
Aidy B & Cardi B:
This sketch has gotten a lot of attention, but I thought it was just good, not great. It certainly was fun to see Aidy Bryant act in a very non-Aidy way, but it wasn't exactly comedic genius. Of course, not everything has to be genius to be funny, or else nobody would like those Trump cold opens.
Score: 8/10
Weekend Update:
Angel's back!!! That's pretty much all that I remember liking of this edition of Update, but that's more than enough to make this a strong Update. While the Zuckerberg piece was terrible and the jokes from Che and Jost were just-okay, Angel saved this from being a rough one. Her return was just as good as the first appearance, and the Roseanne jokes were the best part by far. Now if you excuse me, I'm takin' the kids to my sisters!!!
Score: 8/10
Magic Mirror:
This was a pretty laughless sketch from start to finish. The whole premise is just really strange, and I really have no idea where it even came from. It had some funny-ish elements to it but it just never really gelled and it was incredibly mediocre.
Score: 5/10
Warehouse Fire:
This was rough. I think they may have forgotten to throw in some jokes here, because there jsut weren't any to be found. It was so boring, and that's truly one of the biggest crimes that an SNL sketch can be. Even if something doesn't land quite right, they should at least try to entertain the audience. They didn't try here.
Score: 3.5/10
Restaurant Complaint:
Okay, I will admit that this was a really weird sketch. These kind of sketches aren't really up my alley, like at all. I would usually rip something like this to pieces. But I found this weirdly delightful. I laughed quite a bit at it, and it even put me in the mood for a bit of singing. This was just what I needed to cleanse my palate after a rough couple of sketches.
Score: 8.5/10
The Game of Life: DACA Edition:
This was wonderful. I'm a big board game fan, and I especially love The Game of Life, so I was expecting this to just spoof a game night or something like that. It took a much different turn though, and somehow turned game night into political commentary. Melissa Villaseñor was great in this sketch, and is really starting to show her full potential. It's great to see her finally getting some starring roles.
Score: 9/10
Wakanda Forever:
This sketch was a great way to send the show out. Well, if their goal was to send it out on a whimper. Because that's what ended up happening. This was so boring and so dumb. I don't really expect much from the ten-to-one sketches, but this really was not good. It was really pointless and I can't recall laughing even once. Also, is this like the 400th Black Panther sketch this show has done or am I just miscounting?
Score: 4.5/10
Wrap-Up:
This was a pretty decent episode. There were quite a few sketches this week that I didn't care for, but there was also a lot of stuff that was really enjoyable. For a first-time host, Boseman did an admirable job, delivering a strong monologue (almost) solo, rocking out in a restaurant, and playing R. Kelly/a character from Mulan. Even though there were more than a few missteps and blunders along the way, I'd grade this episode of SNL as a successful one overall. Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B-
Pass or Fail: Pass MVP of the Week: Heidi Gardner Sketch of the Night: The Game of Life: DACA Edition
Worst of the Night: Warehouse Fire
Top 5 Hosts of the Season: 1) Chance the Rapper 2)Saoirse Ronan 3)Sterling K. Brown 4)Tiffany Haddish 5)Jessica Chastain
What did you think of this week's SNL? What was your favorite sketch this week? Let me know in the comments and vote in the poll below!
