Late on this recap, I know, but better late than never. The same cannot be said for the episode though, which was a weak finale to a season that had a bright run for several episodes after the 40th anniversary special, before reverting back to mediocrity as it petered out. Too bad.
COLD OPEN: So, with Louis CK hosting tonight, SNL decided to move its musical number to the opening instead of the monologue, and we're subjected to a long medley of Hillary Clinton interrupting people on their vacations as they sing about summer and she tries to garner votes. This is way too long and includes the whole cast, but Kate's Hillary as always, is priceless and we get one more cameo from Darrell Hammond as Bill too, so I guess it's alright.
MONOLOGUE: Louis CK comes out for some controversial stand-up, which includes jokes about "mild racism" and child molesters, which of course will push the censors to the limit and cause major overreaction in the press, but hey- he's Louis CK, that's what he does. At least he's funny, which is more than you can say for most of the monologues.
SHOEMAKER & ELVES: A weird sketch with Vanessa and Kenan as elves with a fetish for S&M, and Louis as the boss who's kinda sort into it- this one goes on way too long as well, and it doesn't really work. Bleh.
SPRINT: Louis is a new employee for Sprint who imitates his boss Leslie's "sassy" stereotype speaking voice behind her back and gets stuck pretending it's his actual voice. Louis himself is pretty funny here just for going for it, but the skit was so riddled with technical slip-ups (Leslie stumbles over the cue cards) that it falters and doesn't find its rhythm. Too bad.
LUMBERJACK: A quick ad spoofing the single tear Indian commercial about a lumberjack who's sad we don't use paper products anymore for toothpicks. It's a mild jab.
UPDATE: A bunch of lame jokes so innocuous I can't remember any of them, then Taran comes out as Tom Brady, which is pretty good but is again ruined by some constant flubbing (what the hell, guys?), and Pete as his resident young person shtick- eh. Finally Riblet shows up to do Che's job better than him, and it all just fades out. Please, please, please tell me that this is the last Update we'll have to suffer through Jost and Che for. I maintain my stance that this is the worst Weekend Update team in the history of the show and they have got to be replaced next year, for the love of all things holy.
GEMMA: Ok, this is a repeat of that sketch the Rock did where he and his British girlfriend crash Kenan and Vanessa on a dinner date, but I honestly had no idea that that sketch was about Cecily's character. Seriously, it was the Rock who made that funny (if it even was at all last time). Tonight it's just dumb.
LINEUP: Lame skit where Pete picks people out of a lineup and the guys are treating it like an audition. Goes on too long, not funny at all. Next.
LUMBERJACK 2: Another ad bemoaning reading books on your tablet. Meh.
FORGOTTEN TV GEMS: One that looks back on an "I Love Lucy"-esque show called "I Married a Lesbian," where 50's husbands Bobby and Louis don't know their wives Aidy and Kate are gay. Weird. Also, not that funny.
So that's it everyone! Another season in the bag. The highlight of the year was that streak of decent episodes in February and March, which had they not existed, along with the memorable anniversary special, would have made for one of the worst seasons of the show. But it was there, so at least there's something to work with here. Kate McKinnon is fantastic and the crown jewel of this cast, while the Update guys must be jettisoned, and immediately so. Tonight's episode was very lame, despite Louis CK's gameness, so I give it a D- but I'm looking forward to hearing about any changes that will be made in the hiatus, before the show comes back in September for it's 41st season (which is still a thing to behold, overall). Have a great summer, everyone!
