SNL Scorecard: Don Cheadle/Gary Clark, Jr.
Don Cheadle is a very, very talented actor. In his extensive, award-winning filmography, he's played just about every kind of character there can be. Dramatic, comedic, American, British, Rwandan...you name it. With that in mind, it's almost shocking he had never hosted SNL before. After seeing what a natural he was on the 30 Rockefeller stage, I'm ready to say it's a downright travesty he hasn't hosted before this week.
The first couple writeups I've seen in the wake of this particular show panned the episode, which I find absolutely confounding. Was it the best episode in recent history? Of course not. And it did, to be fair, pull in the lowest ratings of 2019 thus far. But this was a downright good week, and in a season short on consistently good episodes, that's not to be taken for granted. As a result, for just the second time in Season 44, we'll do a Scorecard with no "Less-Good" designations.
Here's the sketch-by-sketch breakdown of the 13th episode of the season:
Sketch of the Night
“Extreme Baking Championship”: 7.5/10
This was nothing like any game show skit I've seen SNL do before, and it was a riot. Honestly, I would have killed to just keep seeing deformed cartoon cakes. Cheadle was terrific here, as a peppy dad, ultimately with a good amount of self-awareness. One of the only missteps was the bizarre 'cake coming to life' joke, but that was rescued with Kyle Mooney’s understanding of what Yoda’s famous feature is.
The Good
“Monologue": 8/10
Just like Weekend Update, a monologue can't win sketch of the night (blog rules!), otherwise this would have taken the title. Cheadle's monologue was easily the best of the season to date: short, sweet, and energetic, packed full of funny one-liners. The Tito Fuente joke especially stood out here.
“Fresh Takes": 7/10
This was another great blend of clever adult jokes with very real high school pain, and, you guessed it, Cheadle stole the show. Bonus points for all the failed winter formal proposals. That brought back memories of my Senior year’s extensive prom drama, or as I coined it, “Prama” (™).
"Bar Fight": 6.5/10
I mean, this was pretty simple, but it was a hell of a good time. Energy like this had been missing from the show in 2019 so far.
“Trump Press Conference Cold Open": 6.5/10
I still don't like relying on Baldwin's Trump impression for cheap laughs and applause. That being said, he's been used more sparingly this season, and done more sparingly, the humor in it has been better. In this skit in particular, the writing is solid, and though Baldwin's vocal impression has gotten gradually worse, he's picking up on the mannerisms better and better. I especially liked the threats to "do the voice."
“Family Feud: Oscar Nominees": 6.5/10
I should be a good, objective critic and say that I am tired of seeing Celebrity Family Feud skits. But personally, I am always intrigued by which celebrity impressions they're going to roll out. This sketch was not the strongest iteration of them all, but was still thoroughly enjoyable. Melissa’s over-the-top Lady Gaga is great, as was McKinnon’s intense Glenn Close. But the winner of the bunch was the pleasant surprise of Cecily’s delightful interpretation of the delightful Olivia Colman.
“Roach-Ex": 6/10
Not laugh out loud funny, but good lord, what a premise. This gets credit for doing the impossible: getting me to sympathize with cockroaches.
“Wedding Venue Ad": 6/10
Classic 10-to-1 sketch. Not the best one of the night, but reliably bizarre and enjoyable. Did anyone else get the feeling there was something(s) about this ad specific to someone at SNL's life?
“Weekend Update”: 5.5/10
Maybe the upcoming layoff will be good for Colin Jost and Michael Che, who seem to just be running out of steam a bit. Some of the featured guests didn't help render this anything but serviceable, but an otherwise pedestrian effort was saved by the return of Jules, who is simultaneously the worst and best thing to grace the Update desk in a while.
“Pound Puppy": 5/10
The first of the animal-and-sex-related fake ads was a humorous take on a real-life award situation, but after such a good start and amidst a hilarious episode, felt too reliant on cheap laughs.
Musical Performances
Gary Clark, Jr.: 9/10
Gary Clark, Jr. is one of the best-kept secrets in the music industry. Hopefully for him, that secret's been ruined after these performances. The soulful rocker absolutely lit up the stage on Saturday night, following his pitch-perfect crooning on "Pearl Cadillac" with a riproaring rendition of his political throwdown "This Land." I wasn't sure Travis Scott or Anderson .Paak could be contested for best musical performances of the year, but they've got some extremely stiff competition.
OVERALL SCORE: 6.68 (Comedy Only score: 6.45)
Heading into the two-week layoff before the next episode, here are the standings for Season 44:
1. Don Cheadle/Gary Clark, Jr. - 6.68
2. Matt Damon/Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus - 6.58
3. Liev Schreiber/Li'l Wayne - 6.54
4. Claire Foy/Anderson.Paak - 6.46
5. Seth Meyers/Paul Simon - 6.08
6. Halsey - 6.00
7. Awkwafina/Travis Scott - 5.92
8. Jason Momoa/Mumford And Sons - 5.91
9. Jonah Hill/Maggie Rogers - 5.86
10. Steve Carell/Ella Mai - 5.81
11. James McAvoy/Meek Mill - 5.73
12. Rachel Brosnahan/Greta Van Fleet - 5.73
13. Adam Driver/Kanye West - 5.55