It was the little things that mattered on this week’s Saturday Night Live. Which is a generous way of saying that in any given sketch, there tended to be a few seconds of amusement to be coaxed out of the material. I’m searching for ways to accentuate the positive here… ah, yes: More use was made of talented rookies such as Vanessa Bayer, Jay Pharoah, Paul Brittain, and (still too briefly) Taran Killam this week.
There was a grim cold-open sketch featuring Fred Armisen as President Obama pushing his lousy tax package. This was as sad on SNL as the bill is in real life — and in a twisted way, therefore, must be counted as a success in reproducing the material it satirized.
Host Paul Rudd came out and did a few more of the two-Paul jokes he and Paul McCartney had done for the show’s promos. Rudd and McCartney are charmers, but they couldn’t pump much humor into this already-exhausted premise.
Early on, Rudd played the prodigal son in a sketch featuring the Vogelchecks, the family prone to excessive displays of affection. These things are always good for at least one startled giggle, such as Bill Hader and Rudd lip-locking while Hader felt up Rudd. Like I said, it was the little things.
The “Digital Short” called “Stumblin’,” set to Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” featured Andy Samberg and Rudd stumbling around goofily. The short was made funnier by Paul McCartney’s cameo appearance, performing the “tiny harmonica solo” — an example of a little thing that was cleverly done.
Similarly, a scene featuring Rudd as a math teacher hosting an inner-city school’s holiday celebration was redeemed chiefly by Jay Pharoah’s wonderfully mannered speech as the school’s principal.
For the second week in a row, Bill Hader impersonated WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange, this time broadcasting from prison. Among his revenge threats were the all-too-likely-sounding notion that his minions could arrange the internet so that anyone using Amazon.com to send the gift of Mark Twain’s autobiography would actually be mailing out a copy of Everyone Poops.
Paul McCartney’s version of “Jet” wasn’t helped by a poor vocal mix and musicians whose back-up “woo-woo”s sounded like off-key hound-dogs. “Band on the Run” sounded better.
In a nervy move, McCartney reproduced the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life,” and then folded it into John Lennon’s “Give Peace A Chance,” no small effort given the challenges of live TV and his accompaniment, and a heartfelt salute to Lennon, acknowledging the anniversary of his death.
A lukewarm “Weekend Update” was rescued by an appearance from Bill Hader’s Stefon, recommending odd or downright pervy party destinations for those visiting New York City. Hader cracked himself up during his unique recitation of the “Twelve Days of Christmas,” but who could blame him?
The closest thing to a completely successful sketch was probably a late-in-the-show one with Jason Sudeikis reprising his surly stage-hand (in this case, a lighting tech) insulting Paul Rudd as the latter tried to perform “Wilkommen” from Cabaret. Sudeikis knows how to modulate his powerful voice so that his bellowed barbs became stingingly funny, and Rudd’s full-make-up M.C. was nicely done.
At the end, standing among the cast, Rudd bade farewell by saying, “Well, this won’t be topped.” I like Rudd too much to be sarcastic about his apparent sincerity. Then McCartney gave his fourth performance of the night, and it was probably his best, a quick version of “Get Back.” As I said at the top, it was the brief moments that gave the most pleasure.
Twitter: @kentucker
Bill Hader is the only reason to watch this show.
It’s just not clever or witty. The laughs are limited.
it’s just very disappointing. SNL is definitely passed it’s prime, in my opionion- which, I know isn’t worth much.
I still love this show. As long as they don’t have that orc Flabby Sidibe on again, I’m good.
Larry, you’re an idiot. If you insulted a black person for being black, you’d be a racist. If you insulted a gay person for being gay, you’d be a homophobe. Why is OK to insult a person based on how they look? How about you go find a rock to crawl under and keep your creepy comments to yourself? Moron.
Feed the troll, why don’t cha.
LMAO. So what does that make me, a lookist? It was the atrocious acting I hated. Am I an actist? Thespist? I will always give my opinion on Flabby. Worst and most incompetent host in the history of the show. Just keep trying me. Smooches.
@bringbackrocky. I think your logic is flawed. While I don’t think it’s nice to make fun of someone for their weight, it is something within a person’s control, unlike race or sexual orientation.
@bringbackrocky – you must be soooooo much fun at parties.
bringbackrocky, you’re the moron for feeding the troll.
You cant help but being black, you cant help but be gay, you can however help yourself from being overweight…not that I condone such behavior
wow people. Yes a person can control their weight, but it can be a difficult physical and psychological process depending on the person. It’s not an easy thing to control because some people gain weight for self esteem issues, grief, etc. ANYWAY… I liked this episode a lot. More Stefon please!!!
Great show and MarriageDatingSites was amazing
Its absolutely fair to make fun of people based on their looks. If you didn’t pick on the ugly ones they would gain enough confidence to think they can do anything the hot ones can do. I for one will not stand to see susan boyle as a victoria’s secret angel… nasty
Unlike sexual preference or race, being obese is usually a lifestyle choice. It’s OK to mock someone for choosing to be visually repulsive.
Making fat jokes is one of the lowest forms of humor. Defending your fat jokes by arguing that fat people are making a “lifestyle choice” is one of the lowest forms of rhetoric. I don’t actually know why I’m responding to this, except that it makes me sad to see so much contempt aimed at overweight people. I have friends who have been trying very hard to lose weight for years, have depression and low self-esteem because of it, etc. My heart hurts for them whenever I see comments like these.
Loved this show as always, like I do every week, but not sure why people have it out for Gabourey. I thought her episode was hilarious. Maybe I’m weird …
I hope Sarah Palin takes her shotgun and hunts The Flabourey down for desecrating SNL w/ her performance last year. And AGAIN, let me repeat, it’s her horrendous LACK OF TALENT which inspires me to trash her. TTFN!!!
That was a craaaazy fun episode!!!Tis the season!!!
Yes you can help being gay. Just don’t do it. It’s a choice.
And what is an orc?
Wow, people are ignorant. For the majority of overweight people, it is genetic and cannot be controlled. No amount of exercise or starving yourself can change your DNA. If you are naturally thin but happen to be obese because of eating habits or inactivity, then it is possible to change your body shape by changing your habits. But if you are hardwired to be large however, that is not a realistic option.
Who cares about weight? Gaboaray did a horrible job, period. SNL should learn its lesson – just because you’re “bubbly” and “energetic” in real life doesn’t mean you’ll make a good comic actress.
C’mon you had to laugh at the government worker skit. Goodness, it was hysterical because it was so spot on.
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I thought Bill Hader was fantastic this week as well.
As per Always!
So funny and nursedatingsite was perfect
I totally agree…Stefon sketches and just Bill in general are why i watch the show. Also, the woman who does Miley Cyrus is pretty funny.
I’m excited to see more of the featured players, but truly, Bill Hader and Kristin Wigg are the only saving grace right now. I don’t think anyone can really argue that.
I’ll argue that …
Jason Sudekis (sp?), Andy Samberg, Keenan Thompson, … all very funny. As ALWAYS, this show hits and misses. The original cast had as many clunkers as the current cast – that was always the appeal to me: “will it be a good show tonite”. The downside, the growth of the legion of profoundly unfunny people who love to lament the old days.
Stefon is one of the funniest characters going, and thankfully SNL hasnt run him into the ground week after week. An appearance 3-4 times a season is great, and it always seems fresh and hilarious. That Cabaret skit was terrible.
you’re terrible
Stefon is currently my favorite character on the show. I hope that he’s on every week. “This club finally answers the question: WHAT!?”
Agree, love Stefon!
Love Stefon, too. The breaking is fun, but Bill should try to reign that in a bit because it’s just beginning to get tired.
I’m thinking maybe the writers are having a contest to see what’s the most ridiculous thing they can make Stefon say, or maybe there’s an over/under on how many times he’ll visibly break character. It may be both. During the list of 12 things of Christmas, he seemed to be reading from a prompter (who’d want to memorize all that?), so maybe he was intentionally reading them for the first time. Who knows.
I think the breaking is cute.
Bill doesn’t normally break except in the Stefon sketches. It kind of makes me wonder if maybe he doesn’t see all of the script until the dress rehearsal or the live show. Seems that if you know what’s coming in advance, it would be less funny. Plus, Seth always looks like he’s setting Bill up during that sketch, like he knows something Bill doesn’t.
I hated Stefon the first time he did the bit, but it’s totally growing on me. And Jeremy, you’re probably right – I wonder if they certain lines from him until the last second. Either that or they write it at 4AM and don’t remember the stuff they come up with.
Erm… “I wonder if they KEEP certain lines from him until the last second.”
Hah, … and I thought Stefon was the funniest the first time – he was so into character that I wondered if he’d dropped acid during the show. He’s become progressively less in-character – agree with the posts who hope he’s able to reign in the breaks before they become cliche.
Totally agree! Stefon is a reason to watch–he is HILARIOUS!
I would go to the club where the Furkels are!!
I never thought SNL could deliver gross sketches. The only thing I was expecting it was to watch Paul McCartney but to see such a unfunny, gross sketches it was a let down.
Go to NBC.com and watch Jimmy Fallon’s excellent show with Paul McCartney, he continues to amaze me with his talent
“I never thought SNL could deliver gross sketches.”
REALLY?
@Ef2728 – 2 words: “Drool Buckets” (Season 4, EP 10, January 1979)
Oh, come ON nimrod – gross out sketches go back to season 1 w/ Dan Ackroid’s Julia Child impersonation, cutting herself & spurting blood everywhere. When done right, it’s actually funny.
I love the Beatles and Paul is still pretty cool in my book, but he needs to stick to other songs that don’t strain his voice, or change the keys. Overall decent performance of “Band on the Run” but Paul was really straining.
I was thinking that too, really sad to see him straining. The performance was awful. And he needs to quit coloring his hair.
I so agree with the hair coloring!
Both Jet and BOTR were difficult to sing when he was at his vocal peak 30 or 40 years ago. The fact that he can still do them is amazing. But I agree, it’s time to retire both songs. His voice still sounds great but not with songs that are now beyond his register. He got better and better with each song, though. Day in the Life was AWESOME and Get Back, too. Rock on, Paul. (But CL is right: Go gray.)
Saw Paul this summer in concert and he was spot on for more than 2 hrs. I think the mix was poor and he and the backup vocals could not hear themselves thus resulting in sounding flat
I’ve seen him live twice, and both times he sounded amazing. I agree the poor sound had to do with the set up. I also thought that every time he preformed the music sounded way to loud and was drowning out the vocals.
This is a 70-something year old guy, tying to sing songs he recorded over thirty years ago, who dyes his hair & has bad plastic surgery. He can’t let it go because he just gave half of his net worth to some young upper-class bimbo he stupidly married. Legacy or not, it’s typical and sad in the industry…
HALF of his net worth? Sorry, you’re wrong. He’s worth about 2 billion dollars. Heather only got $50 million. Do the math.
You’re an idiot.
Best moment was Paul’s Lennon tribute; it seemed really heartfelt and beautiful.
Wait a minute — do you only comment on sketches you can post via Hulu? I thought the “What’s The Name” sketch was pointed, well-acted, and hilarious. The highlight of the show — and not for just “the little things.”
Seriously?? Guessing peoples names was the highlight of the show?
Seriously, yes. It had a pretty devastating point to make about obsession with celebrity culture and blindness to people in the “underclass.” “You know Steve Zahn but you don’t know the name of someone who you see every day?” Pretty sharp, I thought.
It is amusing, if you stop and think about it, how normal people know the name of almost every celebrity, but have no clue of the “little people” that you’re around every day.
I liked that one as well!
Dead on. Thought it was the best, too. That and Paul could have done an hour concert. Only about 30 minutes of the show was funny.
Agreed, that was so funny. The way they’d ask, “what’s my name?” was so sharp.
I agree, best sketch of the night! I thought Kenan did a great job as Norman the Doorman. And I thought it was even funnier when the contestant couldn’t remember his name the second time around for the bonus round!
Right on David D. I liked that skit as well. I only wish it had ended better.
“What’s the Name” and the Obama open were the only two funny things all night.
What’s my name was GREAT. Definitely the highlight of the night.
I agree. What’s That Name? was so hilarious and meaningful. Best sketch of the night!!
Well written review. It’s disappointing that the show feels like it’s trying so hard.
No mention of the brilliant impression in Charles and Camilla by Seth and Paul McCartney?
i liked their impressions too! Ruffians!
Paul McCartney doing Camilla’s voice was a little gem.
Was it me? Or is Paul Rudd starting to look like John Hamm’s brother? He used to be cute, but he was downright handsome on SNL!
I thought the same thing too
I always thought that Paul was schlubby cute, but the boy has lost his baby fat and is working out. The best part of the Vogelcheck skit was seeing more of Paul’s body. Nice!
ditto!
Please retire the kissing family skit!!! Nobody needs to see ANYONE pass around chewed up gum!!!!! Not the least bit funny!
I had to change the channel when the gum started going from mouth to mouth.
same here. Thought it was unfunny the first time around. It’s unwatchable. ugh, fred armisen. It’s seriously the worst sketch SNL has ever produced.
Pay me a Not Ready For Prime Time salary and I STILL wouldn’t take chewed gum from Fred Armisen’s mouth – no telling where that thing’s been & I can only imagine the smell….
Unless they decided to replace it with a Gilly skit. If that’s the case, they can play the Vogelcheck’s all they want, each week, for each entire show.
Ditto! In fact, double ditto!!
I. HATE. THAT. SKIT. When they start kissing each other you know it’s not going to be funny – I fast-forward the entire thing.
Really i have been watching snl since day one and if this is the best skit they can do repeatedly, who the heck actually laughed enough to say, yes let’s do it again and again? Maybe the gilly goon who thinks that one is funny too?
And please, no more Obama cold openings!
Or at least get someone else to do Obama…Fred A does NOT do a good Obama. It’s never been funny.
Agree, get rid of fred altogether. Have Pharaoh do Obama. I’ve seen it on the web, and he does him bvrilliantly. Though I still do get kicks out of fred as the producer sitting in for the therapy doctor.
No, I totally disagree. I look forward to the Obama skits with Fred. Hilarious! It gets better and better.
Forgot to add, I’m disappointed they didn’t do a take off on Miley Cyrus and the bong!
Me too! Missed opportunity!
Maybe happened too late in the week?…I would anticipate something in the future.
Yes, I love Vanessa Bayer impersonating Miley as much as I hate Miley herself.
That’s… pretty cool.
What did you all think of Jay Pharoah’s principal character. It would’ve worked better if he didn’t do that weird breathing thing. At least they let him do an original character for once…
One of the few quotable new characters.
*breathing sound*Let us have a moment of silence for the skin of the infected… *breathing sound*
Flesh* sounds funnier that way
Yes. I loved the “let’s have a moment of silence for the skin of the infected” quote.
It was alright. He needs to do better.
I’m not impressed with him at all!!! He’s just totally AVERAGE.
I pretty much agree with you. Jay’s impressions are a great part of the show and I was very happy they gave him a character, but I just didn’t love it.
I could NOT get past the breathing. I only caught bits and pieces of what he was actually saying because a lot of it was unintelligible. Thought they’d come out with different people each time, not just Jay. I seem to recall them doing something similar a couple times with the mic at a wedding… Forte would wear a creepy pageboy wig and glasses, and others would come out as random characters bogarting the microphone.
Agreed. He totally overdid it. I found that it made the sketch tedious. No one has mentioned “Meryl Streep On Ice.” I love that impression and I thought it was a well-executed sketch.
HATED the breathing thing
I hated it too. Boring.
I’m mystified that SNL is still on the air. Although there are occasionally the all-too-rare funny moments, SNL show has been tediously UNfunny for a decade.
Blah blah blah. You’re the millionth person to say this.
Blah, blah, blah blah. And you’re the TEN millionth person to say THAT.
totally need more paul rudd what a disappointment. bill hader and jason sedeikis too