A lame episode for SNL's return tonight, hampered by a bunch of very bizarre, odd skits that mostly didn't work. Which is unfortunate, because Louis CK proved a game host, just like he was the last time he was here, but that was a vastly better written episode.
COLD OPEN: The opening tonight's pretty good, with President Obama encouraged to do a bunch of random, social media stunts after the success of his Beyond Two Ferns appearance. Kate's Justin Bieber shows up again, which garners cheers from the audience on first glance.
MONOLOGUE: Louis CK comes out and gives a great monologue, as to be expected (I particularly loved his God rants). Sadly it will all be downhill from here.
BLACK JEOPARDY: A Will Ferrell-less Jeopardy sketch (the first one since that era?) with Kenan as host, Sasheer and Jay as contestants, and Louis as Mark, the white African-American studies professor who hasn't got a clue, of course. This one has some laughs in it, but is too long. Still, upon retrospect it looks way better than the rest of the night.
BOSS BABY: NOOOOOO! Why? WHY did the bring this back? Oy- Beck returns as the man baby but to zero laughter from me. It's just as painful as before, as far as I'm concerned. I'm actually stunned to see this sketch return, since it means that someone must have liked it? Who? Who are those people?
JOS A. BANK: Short ad for spills on horrible suits from JoS. A. Bank. It's alright, but nothing special.
WEEKEND UPDATE: A terrible Update tonight, which continues to prove me right about Colin Jost being an absolutely nothing performer. Seriously, this guy was a writer and that is clearly ALL that he is. He makes Cecily look a hell of a lot better by comparison, but it's like they pulled in some random Joe off the street to deliver these jokes. He's got no presence, no charisma of any kind. I fully expect them to deal with this problem when the season's over, because Weekend Update is the most important spot on SNL and he's ruining the whole segment for me now. Jay shows up as Stephen Smith to talk about the NCAA, but it's one of his rare misses, and oddly, he's the only guest tonight.
MR. BIG STUFF: Aidy, Cecily, Kate and Sasheer are a girl group on a street corner that serenades Louis when he wanders in asking for directions. He's funny, and I guess the bit is ok, but again, nothing to write home about.
DOCTOR'S OFFICE: Pre-recorded skit about Louis in the doctor's office, asking to be examined for a Darth Vader toy up his you-know-where. This one starts out funny, but the punchline to this premise kind of kills the joke.
PAJAMAS: Very strange skit that has Louis and Vanessa as detectives sing-talking to each other in what looks like a period setting (a noir maybe?) about whether to have sex after solving their mystery. I can't for the life of me figure out what this is spoofing, although Louis is funny in some of his deliveries. Weird one.
DYKE & FATS: Short taped intro to a 70's cop-style show about two female cops (Kate and Aidy) in the title roles. Really not funny enough for all the work they put into it though.
CHRIS FOR PRESIDENT: Another pre-taped bit with Kyle as a punk high schooler running for class president and promising crazy stuff. Pretty mediocre.
ROMANTIC SPEECH: The last bizarre skit of the night, with Louis as an odd duck named Dave, who's trying to win his girlfriend (Aidy) back with random, weird promises and strange, off-kilter phrases. Nope, didn't like this one either.
So that's it everybody. The night started off somewhat promising but was weighed down by a pretty abysmal second half. I'll give it a C- for Louis' monologue alone, but I would have preferred a 90-minute stand up act of just him, frankly. With any luck next week with Anna Kendrick will be better (but don't get your hopes up). See you then!
