Very happy to say tonight that with Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson back to host for the fourth time, it was a pretty good episode that actually makes a case for best of the season. And not just by default either- most of the stuff tonight was genuinely funny, at least through Weekend Update. Mostly because the Rock (I can never think of him as anything else) is such an enthusiastic and charismatic host that he makes even subpar material work somehow.
COLD OPEN: Yay, the Rock Obama is back! We kinda knew it was coming, since this entire concept has been the only angle on Obama the show has ever managed to nail, and since it originally sparked from out host's last appearance, of course they had to do it again. I have to admit, it's more satisfying than it should be to see the Rock Obama throw Taran's John Boehner through a glass window. The Rock takes out his anger on the Republican assholes in Congress while She-Rock Obama makes an appearance when Sasheer's Michelle turns into Leslie. Nice touch!
MONOLOGUE: The Rock comes out and sings a song about how he's "franchise viagra" and name drops a bunch of sequels he could give new life to. It's all right for a singing monologue.
PEP BOYS: An ad that spoofs Starbucks' "race together" campaign by having Pep Boys workers start a gender/identity conversation with customers. Pretty on point, and funny enough.
WRESTLEMANIA PROMOS: The Rock and Bobby tape some promos for wrestling and Rock nails Bobby with personal insults and "psychological" destruction instead. It's actually hilarious, not least because of Rock's energy and how into it he gets by insulting Bobby with accusations of herpes and a secret love child. Love it.
DISNEY'S BAMBI: A spoof of Disney's live action remakes with a trailer for the new Bambi, which re-imagines it as an R-rated action flick with the Fast and Furious cast. Shouldn't work, but it kinda does in spite of itself.
DATE: Rock and Cecily are assholes who crash Kenan and Vanessa's restaurant date. This only works, again due to the Rock's incredible energy and commitment to the pushy jerk he's playing, and Cecily's annoying British bimbo is funny too. I'm in shock by how much of this stuff is actually working tonight, but I'm tempted to give the Rock all of the credit.
ESCAPE FROM JUNGLE ISLAND: An Indiana Jones spoof with Rock as "Dr. Bones," and Pete and Kate as his two sidekicks, but Rock keeps getting hit with poisonous darts in sensitive areas that Pete then has to suck the poison out of. Rock once again, commits 100% and it actually features a laugh out loud moment with Pete for the final payoff, but Kate is funny too as the salivating woman who wants in on the action. Good!
BROGAINE: Quick ad for Brogaine, which helps bald frat guys to grow hair- short but funny (they ought to take the opportunity to really slam frats in general though, with all the recent news they've been making, none of it good).
UPDATE: Colin and Michael do some good political jokes and actually deliver some of their best punchlines tonight, nearly all of them sharp and on point. Nice job guys, I'm tempted to say it's their best ever night of this. Kate comes on and nails it as Olya, the suffering Russian village lady, and then Kenan comes back as poor Willie, the optimistic homeless guy with terrible memories. They're both great, and it's actually too bad that Kenan just recently came up with Willie, because he's pretty awesome and it's unlikely we'll see him again, given that it's Kenan's final season.
COOKING WITH PAUL: Kenan is a chef and sex offender who has his own cooking show, while Rock is his probation officer. This one should be funny, but it doesn't really hit the mark. At least it's quick though.
IMPROV SHOW: For some reason the Rock isn't even in this sketch about an improv group that mocks Robert Durst, who Kate plays in another great bit (boy she's on fire lately, showing more versatility in this episode alone than most of the rest of the cast has all year). But since I didn't watch The Jinx, I kinda don't get the Durst stuff.
POLICE INTERROGATION: Rock and Vanessa interrogate Taran's drug dealer suspect, and Rock is a weirdo who screams non-sequiturs at him. Rock makes it kinda funny, but the punchlines are pretty weak. Only his enthusiasm saves this one.
RINGLING BROS: A Kyle video where he interviews kids visiting the circus- mostly awkward (It's supposed to be) but I guess you get kind of a chuckle out of it.
And that's it for tonight. The Rock was a fantastic host, fits in as seamlessly as a regular cast member, and really brought everything he was in to life. And the material was above average tonight, until it fell off a bit after Update, but hey that's a coup for this show. A really good episode- I'll be extra nice and give it an A-. Next weak it's Michael Keaton, back for the first time in over twenty years, so that should be interesting. See you guys then! I'm liking the run we're having this spring, let's hope it lasts until the end of the season, which is only five episodes away.
