SNL Scorecard: Will Ferrell / King Princess
Will Ferrell. You might have heard of him. The man whose 21st Century Comedy dominance has no rival famously launched his career as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Thus, it is unsurprising that the alum has been no stranger to the SNL stage even in the seasons after his departure from the show, popping up with many surprise cameos over the years, and of course, playing the role of guest host. Last night marked his 5th time hosting the program, officially indoctrinating him into the vaunted "Five Timers Club."
Interestingly enough, there was no mention of the Five Timers Club. Maybe they don't always plan a "Five Timers Monologue" for the host in question, but I feel like in my years of viewing, there's always been at least some mention of it, or an appearance of the 5 Timers Club Robe. But perhaps the break with SNL tradition should have been an indication of how the night was going to go: the program got away from what it does best, which is leaning on the talented cast and original writing. The good news is, Ferrell is so brilliant at what he does, that there were several memorable sketches all the same. The bad news is, everyone involved with last night's episode seemed to know how good Ferrell was, and defaulted to just letting him take over sinking ships, to varying success.
Here's the sketch-by-sketch breakdown of the 7th episode of the season:
Sketch of the Night
“Party Song”: 7.5/10
Catchy, hilarious, strange and original. This was one of the few times all night that we saw SNL at its best, and one of the strongest pre-taped bits all year.
The Good
“Weekend Update": 7.5/10
One of my favorite horrible figures in SNL history made a sadly uneven return (but who am I kidding, Alex Moffat’s “Guy Who Bought A Boat” could completely bomb and I’d still eat up every second of it….then hate myself for doing so). But apart from that, amidst Jost’s opening sequence on the impeachment hearings and Che’s joke about getting pulled over, this was the strongest Update in a while.
“Monologue": 7/10
This definitely felt like the writing staff realized early on Saturday that they hadn’t written a monologue, so they asked Ryan Reynolds and Tracy Morgan to show up and make that be the joke. But hey, when you have a host that can make literally any situation funny, it works. Morgan and Reynolds are both delightful, too. It’s been too long since either one of those guys has hosted.
"Heinz": 6.5/10
I love that this mock ad was the first sketch after the monologue…it definitely felt like something that would typically air later on. Am I a little bummed that this wasn’t just one long flatulence joke? Sure, I suppose. But I still giggled through the whole thing, and the self-righteous dad’s “That’s not the kind of person I am” was hilarious.
“First Thanksgiving": 6.5/10
Even if the point this skit was making pretty on the nose, it was clever regardless. And I for one loved that this veered into increasingly ridiculous territory, culminating in a hilarious, fourth-wall-breaking sendoff from Ferrell.
“2020 Democratic Debate": 6/10
This was good on the whole, but it felt like it could have been a lot better. All the impressions, from cast members and guest appearances alike, were delightful, but the writing itself failed to take advantage of the potential for terrific comedy. The only truly memorable line was Biden’s memory “from his youth.”
“Cinema Classics: The Wizard of Oz": 6/10
Even if he was onscreen for just 30 seconds or so, Kenan Thompson proved his unique brilliance. Who else can get an uproar from the audience by just stating his character’s name (and one that has made an appearance before, at that). Apart from that, this was decently funny— I’m not gonna lie, it’s been too long since I’ve seen Wizard of Oz for me to be in on the joke, but I got the gist.
“Pizza Ad”: 5.5/10
This was, strangely, ultimately too sweet to be labelled a “bad” sketch. But it sure was bizarre, and felt like there could have been humor than what was actually there.
The...Less-Good
“Ventriloquist”: 5/10
This wasn’t really bad, per se, but ultimately fizzled out after a brief window of looking like it would be really funny. Thompson and Cecily Strong brought good energy, but I get the sense this would have been absolutely nothing if not for Ferrell.
“Trump Impeachment Press Conference Cold Open”: 3.5/10
I know I sound like a broken record, but Alec Baldwin’s Trump has absolutely run its course, and this was the latest episode of it. It’s long seemed like the writers’ ideas for Trump sketches are “throw Alec out there and have him repeat Trump’s words verbatim,” but there’s nothing Baldwin can do to make the President seem like any more of a cartoon than he already is. Throw in the weird sloppiness amidst Will Ferrell’s cameo, and the only thing interesting about this open was the background reporter’s notepad that said “live like a lost boy.” Why?!? I MUST know!!!
Musical Performances
King Princess: 7.5/10
Once upon a time, not too long ago, it was common of SNL to invite lesser-known, more “indie” musical guests. By contrast, this was the first time in a long time that I had never heard of the musical guest prior to their performance. The only other time I can recall that happening in recent memory was Maggie Rogers around this time last year, and one year later, it seems crazy that I didn't know who Maggie Rogers was. When week after week seems to be another big name from the pop or hip-hop world as musical guest, having 20-year old indie pop/rock artist King Princess on felt like a throwback to an era that ended maybe a decade ago.
Coming in with no knowledge of King Princess, I was left very impressed by her set! The first song of hers, "1950" is undeniably catchy, and her performance of it showed that not only is she a really talented guitarist, she possesses very impressive vocal quality for a 20-year old. I was a little less interested in her more-repetitive 2nd song, “Hit The Back," but she still clearly showed her dynamism as a performer.
OVERALL SCORE: 6.23 (Comedy Only score: 6.1)
Heading into Thanksgiving Break, here's how the episodes stand:
1. Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Taylor Swift - 6.6
2. Woody Harrelson/Billie Eilish - 6.45
3. David Harbour/Camila Cabello - 6.44
4. Chance The Rapper - 6.42
5. Kristen Stewart/Coldplay - 6.29
6. Will Ferrell/King Princess - 6.23
7. Harry Styles - 6.13