So, I was pretty much dreading this episode tonight, thanks to the presence of the now ubiquitous Miley Cyrus, who I never gave a single thought to before a few weeks ago, but who I'm now starting to hate with the fire of a thousand suns (is that kind of publicity really good publicity?), but the best I can say about tonight is that most of the sketches weren't too painful to sit through. Still, that doesn't mean they were good either. For me it was kind of a shrugworthy episode.
COLD OPEN: It's a post-apocalyptic America, where a homeless Kenan sits on a bench and explains to newbie Noel that the end of America started the day of the VMA's- and then we get a flashback to Vanessa's Miley impersonation confronting the actual Miley about her "new" self. This sketch goes on way too long and isn't funny, but the best part is Jay's cameo as Will Smith, which is always hilarious. But overall, yeah, this was the lame attempt to get the VMA thing out of the way.
MONOLOGUE: A surprisingly short monologue, where Miley comes out, makes a couple jokes about the VMA's again and says Hannah Montana was murdered, but extremely short and nothing special here.
50 SHADES OF GREY SCREEN TESTS: One of those reels where everyone gets to show off their celebrity impressions, these are always good for at least a few chuckles. Unlikely couples who auditioned for the roles include Seth Rogen/Emma Stone, Christoph Waltz/Scarlett Johansson, Philip Seymour Hoffman/Kristen Stewart, Steve Harvey/Rebel Wilson, Jon Cryer/Jane Lynch, Mary-Louise Parker/Aziz Ansari, Tilda Swinton/Tracy Morgan, and Kristen Chenoweth/Shaquille O'Neal. For what it's worth, my fave was Taran Killam's Christoph Waltz.
GIRLFRIENDS TALK SHOW: Ok, when I said most of the sketches weren't painful, this is the major exception. I hate, hate, HATE this sketch. HATE IT. I find myself having to mute or change the channel when this comes on- I don't know what people see in it, if it's just me or what, but I haven't hated a sketch like this since the Californians soap opera. It's just not funny, Aidy's not funny, Cecily's not funny, and neither was Miley. It makes me cringe every. single. time. Sadly, they're moving it up in the lineup, so it must have fans, but it's inexplicable to me what's funny about this. And it's SOOO long!
WE DID STOP THE GOVERNMENT: A fake music video with a hip-hop John Boehner (Taran again) and Michele Bachmann (Miley) having a house party because they succeeded in shutting down the government. It's decent, the best part is when Jay's bewildered Obama peeks in the window from outside.
PIERS MORGAN LIVE: I kinda liked this one. Taran's Piers Morgan is funny and it's about all the new Hillary Clinton movies on other networks since NBC and CNN canceled theirs. My favorite was AMC's "Running Rodham" that spoofs the Walt/Skyler scene of the Breaking Bad finale with Obama and Hillary.
WEEKEND UPDATE: Pretty good tonight- Seth and Cecily do a funny "Winners/Losers" on the government shutdown and the guests are all spot on. Kate McKinnon is a great suburban mom who's hooked on Grand Theft Auto and Vanessa comes back as Bar Mitzvah boy Jacob (although I think they've used him too much of late), but Jay steals it as NFL commentator Shannon Sharpe. He's hilarious.
CHEER SQUAD: Really bizarre skit with Miley as a head cheerleader whose team members are abducted by aliens and then Kenan as the alien leader comes down to join them in the cheer. Best thing about this one is how mercifully short it is.
MORNIN' MIAMI: Decent bit about a grumpy morning news team faking upbeat energy for their promos. Another really short one.
CLASSROOM POETRY: A rare Vanessa-centered sketch about an eccentric poetry teacher trying to get the kids excited about poems. Kenan has a funny haiku, and Miley is actually kinda funny as the kid with a crush on the teacher. Definitely needs polishing but Vanessa might have something with this character, I think. It has potential.
BACKSTAGE VIDEO: Ugh, this was awful. Worst sketch of the night next to Girlfriends Talk Show, about new guy Kyle's desire to have sex with Miley, and Bobby and Beck Bennett encouraging it backstage. Kinda creepy actually, too. Should have left this one on the cutting room floor.
Fairly lame tonight, with Jay's impressions and Weekend Update being the highlights. I give it a C-. Next week, Bruce Willis hosts for the first time since 1989, and Katy Perry performs. See you then!
