Well, it wouldn't be Saturday night without another dreadfully dull, painfully subpar SNL episode, this one seeming to get worse and worse until the very last sketch of the night, where Kate (of course) comes in to rescue the last two minutes, but until then...ugh.
COLD OPEN: Jay's Obama gets drunk with Taran's Mitch McConnell after the midterms, getting sillier as the night goes on and prank calling Hillary Clinton. It's slightly better than the other political skits they've done this year, but it's still a pretty mediocre bit.
MONOLOGUE: Woody Harrelson comes out in his usual goofy, spaced out self, joking about having smoked weed backstage, which I seriously do not doubt based on his performance tonight. He sings about the last year he hosted, which was 1989, and then the Hunger Games guys (including JLaw) come out and make him feel old, because they're all under 24. Actually they manage to screw up a lot of the dialogue and everybody collapses into giggles, which is kinda funny, but not planned or anything. It's a bit of a mess.
DUDLEYS: An ad for a family sitcom that takes aim at the political correctness whining on Twitter, forcing the show to make changes to have a gay couple, an interracial one, etc. It's on point with the complaints, but it's not exactly hilarious. Better than a lot of the night though.
MATCH'D: A dating show with three sleazy guys (Beck, Kyle and Taran) hitting on the girl choosing between them, but they change their tune when Woody, the host of the show, turns out to be her father. Lame.
A NEW DAY: This seems to be a Pete centered bit, but he doesn't get any lines or anything. He and a bunch of other New York stoners finally see the light of day after the new law that makes carrying a small amount of weed legal in the city. It's one joke pounded into the ground, really. They needed something to happen in this sketch.
HALFTIME: Woody's football coach teaches his college players the new tackling rules to prevent concussions. Kenan appears as a brain damaged retired player. This one is kind of like the family sitcom bit- making an obvious point but not hitting any punchlines.
YOUNG TARTS AND OLD FARTS: An ad for duets with old singers and newer ones that lets everybody's celebrity impressions show up. Typical SNL fare, but few laughs.
UPDATE: Colin and Michael mostly make a bunch of Kim Kardashian ass jokes, then Leslie comes on as the relationship expert, but I really just don't find her all that funny. Finally, Woody comes out with Taran as Matthew McConaughey for a True Detective reunion, but I don't think Taran's rambling McConaughey is nearly as great as say, Andy Samberg's Nic Cage was. Another bad Update, which has quickly gone from being a highlight to a consistent lowlight of each episode now. Replace Colin and Michael with Beck Bennett. I'm telling you, at least try him out here. I have a feeling he'd work it solo, even.
GUYS AT A BAR: Bobby, Taran and Kenan reminisce about New York City in the old days, while Woody is an undercover cop trying to get them to admit to smoking crack. It's okay, pretty mild.
CAMPFIRE SONG: Wow, this was AWFUL. Seriously, who the hell wrote this sketch and what on earth was the joke? Woody has the misfortune of being the center of it, as a guy who wants to sing a made up song by the campfire that nobody else knows, but then they do and someone gets splashed, and....WTF? I have no explanation for this total misfire, but I would like to know who came up with it. Was it Kyle?
DONNELLY'S: Ah, so as usual, Kate comes in with her reliably funny, gross drunk lady hooking up with an equally gross random at the local bar. Woody does okay, but the best of these was the first one with Louis C.K. Still, Kate gives me the one good laugh of the night. Why don't they use her more? Again, I ask because she's clearly the biggest talent of this group.
So there you go. Woody was alright as host, and the first half of the show was mostly meh compared the second half, which turned aggressively painful until the last minute or so. But all in all, I have to give this one a D-. Cameron Diaz is up next week, becoming the latest repeat host to try and bring some life to this abysmal 40th season. If I were on the writing staff, I think they ought to be celebrating this anniversary year by showing at least one classic sketch per week during the show- at least that would guarantee one funny bit every time out, which is a goal only occasionally reached with the original material. See you guys next time!
