SNL Scorecard: Rachel Brosnahan/Greta Van Fleet
It's been 4 weeks, but Saturday Night Live is back!
I came into Saturday night with a coexistence of excitement and low expectations. I was so ready for the show to be back; my Saturday nights had begun to feel cold and empty, and there were so many political headlines that this wonderful cast weren't getting to skewer. Furthermore, the host-guest combo excited me. I am yet to watch Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but have hear good things about the show, particularly its star, Brosnhan. And the young band Greta Van Fleet, one of the most divisive new bands out there, has a fan (albeit a more reserved one) in me.
At the same time, I know the first episode back from the holiday break is almost always rough, for whatever reason. Maybe it's just rust. On top of that, this already hasn't been the best season of SNL. Not the worst, by any means, but only a couple really memorable episodes.
In reality, this weekend's show came in right in between. It wasn't quite as inconsistent as Sam Rockwell's outing last year, nor nearly the disaster that the Felicity Jones and Ronda Rousey episodes were in 2017 and 2016. But it also wasn't a great episode; near the bottom end of the Season 44 spectrum.
Here's the sketch-by-sketch breakdown of the 10th episode of the season:
Sketch of the Night
“Deal Or No Deal Cold Open”: 6.5/10
This was an episode with no real standouts, and there was a clump of about 4 from which I could have selected as my Sketch of the Night. So, I'm going to pick this one since it has been rare that I have enjoyed a cold open this season. I have harped all year that the political writing has lost its razor sharpness of years past, and that Alec Baldwin's Trump needs to be retired; I still feel that way. Yet, this cold open was clever and enjoyable, and did a good job holding both sides accountable for the ridiculous shutdown situation (though, fortunately for us, they didn't let Trump's "hamberder" buffoonery slide).
The Good
“Weekend Update": 7/10
Weekend Update definitely took a little while to get rolling. Che and Jost started with a series of shutdown jokes that were essentially repeats of jokes from the cold open. But they got it together and pulled out a good performance; I loved-- and for the record, totally concurred with --Michael Che's indignation that Trump "didn't even say 'hi' or anything" when he began his shutdown address. But, not surprisingly, the real stars here were the guest appearances. A seemingly healthy Pete Davidson coming out with John Mulaney was a welcome treat, but Kate McKinnon's Elizabeth Warren was just incredible. I honestly think it may be her best political impression (don't @ me).
“Monologue": 6.5/10
Season 44 has been short on really good monologues, but this one was fun! Between the running joke of remembering real-life horrors, Cecily vowing to "find the killer," and Kyle being informed he's not a good singer, this was one of the more enjoyable monologues of the year.
"Leave Me Alurn": 6.5/10
I know I'm not the only one who actually thinks this would be a really smart product. Right? Lower back spikes, too; I think Saturday Night Live is on to something.
“Earthquake News Report": 6.5/10
It should have been a bad sign when the first skit of the night was basically one of my favorite middle school pun-jokes, in extended form. But FINE I LAUGHED THE WHOLE TIME BECAUSE I'M IMMATURE, OKAY?! Kate's self-satisfaction with her own plays on words made this especially good.
“The Raunchiest Miss Rita": 6/10
The joke here wore thin pretty quickly, but it sure was fun. I'll admit it, I lost it the first time Leslie Jones just exploded into a series of [censored]'s.
The... Less Good
“Kool-Aid": 5/10
It's not that I have a moral opposition to parodying Gillette's now-viral 'Toxic Masculinity' ad; it seemed pretty clear that what SNL was parodying was not the idea of holding men accountable, but rather the idea of corporations using social justice to sell their product. It's just that this wasn't very original. The shots and script were pretty much the exact same as Gillette, and the joke about it being Kool-Aid sure seemed to be pretty much the same as a Dane Cook gag I distinctly remember from middle school.
“Ken Instagram”: 5/10
The focus group that can't come up with a good caption for Instagram photos of Ken (of Barbie fame) is back for a 2nd time, and not without some very funny moments. But on the whole, this didn't work as well as it did the first time with Donald Glover in Brosnahan's role.
“Millenial Millions": 4.5/10
Having a game show where Boomers come out to lecture Millenials on how poorly they're spending their money is more frustrating than funny. Kenan Thompson's Gen X host was a great asset, but this felt more like a cathartic rant than a good comedy bit.
"Tabitha": 4.5/10
This was a funny idea-- video-shaming your significant other the way you would your dog --that resulted in a pretty tiresome sketch. But the payoff, courtesy of Cecily Strong's character, did make it a little more worthwhile at least.
Musical Performances
Greta Van Fleet: 5/10
I was very interested to see how well Led Zeppelin Lite- sorry, Greta Van Fleet's sound would translate to the live, small stage at 30 Rock. Some nerves were perhaps to be expected for the young group, although their body language did not convey any. The first song, the Grammy-nominated "Black Smoke Rising," sounded good, though lead singer Josh Kiszka was a bit wobbly, appearing to be more interested in prancing like a hobbit than hitting the ambitious high notes. Things did not improve with the second song "You're The One," as Kiszka sounded even more inconsistent and did not have the rock n' roll energy to support him this time around. Overall, not a calamitous performance, but one that probably did very little to improve the band's standing.
OVERALL SCORE: 5.73 (Comedy Only score: 5.8)