Boy, was that a slog to sit through. By far the worst episode of the season, with not a single sketch that qualifies as "good." It's not poor Josh Hutcherson's fault, but he wasn't exactly as talented as other recent hosts who've managed to elevate some bad material, so the writing was really exposed tonight for what it is. Yikes.
COLD OPEN: A Piers Morgan Live sketch opens the show tonight, with Taran interviewing a bunch of people about George Zimmerman's latest arrest for pointing his gun at his girlfriend. Kate is the girlfriend, Bobby is a Florida cop and Beck Bennett (who's featured a bunch tonight) is George "Zimmer" whose reputation has suffered. It's pretty tame and not a single joke is sharp or pointed.
MONOLOGUE: 21-year-old Josh Hutcherson comes out for a Hunger Games parody, which, even though it's not that funny, is sadly one of the better moments of the night. Josh is fine as a host (he's not January Jones bad), but he doesn't bring anything extra to the stuff tonight and is mostly plugged in as the straight man in sketches.
GIRLFRIENDS TALK SHOW: Nooooooo! Why? When I see this truly awful skit at the top of the show I'm immediately worried about the rest of the night, and that feeling was more than validated in this episode. Ugh, the unfunniness ensues as Cecily and Aidy do what I guess is their "thing," but I'm just going to say it. Aidy Bryant is NOT funny and I'm not getting why she's receiving so much air time recently. Please, make it stop.
MR. PATTERSON'S OFFICE: I spoke too soon. Josh is a guy whose boss is man who acts like a baby and if this is Beck Bennett's moment to shine, his future is in serious doubt. This horrible, painful, excruciating sketch is so bad I think it may be one of the worst the show has ever done. Wow. What on earth were they thinking?
MATCHBOX 3: Kenan, Jay and Josh are subway dancers in a pre-recorded bit that garners not one laugh from me, and yet it's still a relief from that last baby sketch. Forgettable (unfortunate, because Kenan and Jay had been on a roll lately).
WEEKEND UPDATE: Another update with only one guest, as Aidy shows up as the "Worst Lady on an Airplane," and thankfully she's mildly funnier than she was on the Girlfriends Talk Show. But only mildly. It's been a tough night.
80's: A really weird, random sketch where Josh mouths the lyrics of The Outfield's "Your Love" to a girl he likes (Vanessa). Everyone is in the 80's for some reason, which is the joke, I guess? Odd, and again not funny.
BEST BUY: Cecily and Bobby as the rude employees who think they're getting fired and insult everyone. This is never hilarious either, but it's somewhat of a relief from so many horrible skits tonight, so it gets a pass.
DANCE GUY: Unbelievably, this rivals the man-baby thing for worst sketch of the night. And unfortunately for him, it's Beck Bennett again. He and Kyle Mooney are in another pre-recorded skit about a guy who dances, but it's bizarre, surreal, and so, SO BAD. I'm serious, this Bennet guy's not going to last if this is all he's got.
ANIMAL HOSPITAL: Kate, Cecily and Josh are insensitive animal hospital workers who keep telling people their pets are dead. It's too long and it's just one joke. There was a real dearth of creativity this week apparently.
WINSTON SAM BASS: Newbie Mike O'Brien as a news reporter chasing after bugs. Why? I don't know. Funny? Nope. The new people they hired this season are not proving themselves at all, folks.
THANKSGIVING: Why does it take them until the last sketch of the night to do a Thanksgiving one? That's weird, but thankfully this skit is a little better than what came before. Josh is a college kid who brings home his new girlfriend Vanessa, who happens to be a turkey. It's another weird and random thing, but this one is at least kinda funny in a stupid sort of way.
So, yeah, this was pretty painful. I hate to give out F's, and I have actually seen worse (I'm pretty sure January Jones still takes the crown for worst host of all time who ruined everything she was in), so I'll be nice and give it a D-. But man, they better come back on the 7th with something better than this for Paul Rudd, who usually IS a good host. See you then.
