SNL Scorecard: James McAvoy/Meek Mill
James McAvoy was an exciting and interesting choice as host for this week's Saturday Night Live. The actor has a fairly impressive filmography already, but he's made his bread and butter in dramatic acting, without much of a comedy history at all. Still, he's clearly extremely multitalented, and it was an enticing opportunity to see whether his character play from Split could translate to the various roles required of an SNL host.
Energy-wise, there was no question McAvoy was up to the task. He threw himself into just about every character, and had a different accent seemingly every time. Unfortunately, the writing didn't seem equal to that level. It was yet another fairly unimpressive episode, mimicking a similarly slow start to the year that 2018 also had. It was not without plenty of good moments, but the good skits were sprinkled amidst the less funny ones to the extent that there was no real sustained momentum.
Here's the sketch-by-sketch breakdown of the 11th episode of the season:
Sketch of the Night
“Charmin”: 7/10
I'm not really sure what McAvoy's accent is here, to be honest. He's wearing an Eagles t-shirt, so I'm going to guess he's supposed to be from Philadelphia. Regardless, his character is disgusting in the most enjoyable way: "he has no idea that his lady just deuced it, because the booty is clean! 'Charmin.'" was probably the line of the night. SNL seems to be perfecting the "infuriating focus group" skits.
The Good
“Air Traffic Control": 7/10
This was low-hanging fruit, maybe, but a great use of the host. And it's true, Scottish is one of those accents that makes you think "I'm pretty sure they're speaking English, but I actually have no clue."
“Mr. H": 6.5/10
It was pretty clear this 'Teacher helps Student realize his full potential' trope was going to have a twist, but in reality, it had multiple. This felt like it could have been funnier than it ended up being, but I still enjoyed Chris Redd's and McAvoy's interplay a lot.
"New Orleans Vacation": 6/10
This was 2nd installment of the obnoxious vacationers, the first being Seth Meyers' couple returning from "Coo-ba." This time, it's Heidi Gardner again, but this time McAvoy is her fellow vacationer, but they're returning from "N'awlins." This wasn't quite as effective as the first time, but still hilariously frustrating to watch.
“The U.E.S.": 6/10
The first of pre-recorded Raps on the night, this was essentially Leslie Jones rapping about her everyday life. A New York neophyte, I found this as much informational as entertaining, and perhaps if I were a resident, I'd pick up on some more of the humor. Regardless, this was fun, and Kate McKinnon's feature as Lady Who Stays In With Her Cat was nonsensical and wonderful.
“I Love My Dog": 6/10
The second of the pre-recorded Raps, Redd, Kenan Thompson and Pete Davidson declare their love for their bitches. Trust me, I don't feel bad for saying that, given the context of what the song is about. The best part, though, belongs to Ego Nwodim, who stole the scene with her bars.
“Tucker Carlson Cold Open": 5.5/10
The inevitably-political cold open this week was one of the few Fox News figures SNL has not spoofed yet (that I know of, at least). The skit wasn't uproarious, Alex Moffat did a pretty great job emulating how obnoxious Tucker Carlson is. It was fun to see Steve Martin as well, and Kate McKinnon...goodness gracious. Is there a political impression she can't do? Just let her play Trump.
“Another Brothers": 5.5/10
I have mixed emotions about this one. Beck and Kyle's Brothers' first appearance was one of my favorite skits of 2018, and I am not opposed to them being recurring characters. But to them make a 2nd appearance so shortly after their first felt forced, and though, I still laughed probably harder than I should have throughout, it essentially recycled all the same jokes from the first time.
The... Less Good
“Virgin Hunk”: 5/10
Yet another recurring sketch: what's becoming an annual tradition, of SNL parodying "The Bachelor." I still laugh every time at the revolving door of overly dramatic women cutting in with "Can I steal him for a sec?", as well as the obligatory nod to how poorly the show handles any non-white contestants. But the skit has felt a little stale the last few iterations, and this go-round felt no different.
“Weekend Update": 5/10
Weekend Update wasn't bad, but compared to how consistently solid Che and Jost have become, this week felt like a letdown. The jokes got better gradually, but on the whole, were fairly lazy writing, and Jost's delivery in particular felt more forced than usual. Redd's Soulja Boy and the return of Cecily Strong's Cathy Anne led to some laughs, but were far from the best WU guest appearances this season.
"Mr. Tumnus": 4/10
My childhood self is horrified. Mr. Tumnus was never supposed to be objectified in this manner. In all seriousness, this had its moments (I take back what I said earlier-- McKinnon's "thumbnus in your bumnus" was the line of the night), but was pretty weak on the whole.
"Monologue": 3.5/10
In contrast to the Air Traffic Control sketch, this was the worst use of the host on the night. McAvoy certainly is an engaging presence, and addressing his cue card slipup was funny and endearing. But pretty much all he was given to work with was addressing Scottish stereotypes by wearing a kilt and mentioning he gets confused for Ewan McGregor. Short, but not very sweet.
Musical Performances
Meek Mill (feat. Fabolous): 7.5/10
Meek Mill has returned from prison and hit the ground running. After being released near the end of April, he spent the rest of 2018 in the public's eye, discussing prison reform and releasing absurd amounts of music. Even though his demeanor was understated, his performance last night felt like a triumph of sorts. In particular, the first performance of his stood out: beginning with "Going Bad," which was low-key one of the better songs of the year, he transitioned into "Uptown Vibes," and brought out Fabolous, who turned into an energetic appearance as well.
OVERALL SCORE: 5.73 (Comedy Only score: 5.58)