Sunday, January 17, 2010

SNL: I call it quits after Update

So based on the title of this post, my review of this week's SNL will not cover the entirety of the night. This may or may not be a good thing, since often the show becomes a vast wasteland of crap after update, but last week with Sir Charles there were some good moments after the fake news.
Anyway, i found tonight's episode to be fair. It was middle of the road, maintaining a balance that kept me smiling, but never made me really laugh or really made me mad.
Here are my thoughts, in order:
1. The cold open was wildly erratic. Fred Armisen was great as Larry King, but Bill Hader was useless as Conan. He should have done some hair movements or something. For a guy who prides himself on his impersonations, this one was weak. The best part of the sketch was Larry King spelling out a website's URL and Jason Sudekis silently capturing David Letterman.
2. THe monologue was boring. I should have realized this would be indicative of the night, where Sigourney fails to captivate.

3. Keenan Thompson is great. He plays an old guy better than most old guys. Sigourney tried to ruin the skit, but it is saved when the two share the scene to act out strange sex acts. Ultimately, the highlight is watching Keenan in his oversized boxers and dress socks. It doesn't matter what he says or does, since that visual is amazing.
4. Hated the disco sketch. I wonder if someone besides Kristen Wigg could have done a better job. WE'll never know, since she apparently has to be in every sketch. Speaking of which....
5. Would have liked a break from Wigg in the ESPN classic sketch. She didn't bring anything that one of the featured girls couldn't have brought. The focus of this skit is Sudekis and Forte, who have perfected these characters that I love.
6. The Ting Tings are great. That song is eh, but the way they perform it is great. Really exciting, like a toned down version of Lady Gaga. Actually, it would be more appropriate to say a heavily sedated version if she was forced to adhere to some sort of dress code. Still pretty cool.
7. Digital short was cool, if only to see James Cameron letting loose like he did on Entourage. The pop culture references were fun, although my enjoyment usually comes down to how much time Lorne Michaels gets in these skits, which was plenty this time and made it good.
8. Update sucked. The Meryl Streep impersonation was good and the critique was correct, but it wasn't worth a whole bit. Loved Larry the Goose. The rest of Update was just, eh. So i guess it didn't suck.

What did you think? Did you watch it? Did you think Leno was taking over SNL?

No comments: