S45.E12: JJ Watt/Luke Combs

[Princess Sparkle]

The yearly athlete host is JJ Watt; musical guest is Luke Combs

[Pete Martell]

 

[JZL]

This looks encouraging.  JJ has a little game, a sense of timing.  The promos are funny.

[Lantern7]

Predictions:

1. We get a “Pilot Hunk” sketch
2. JJ will do well for the first 20-25 minutes, but then get destroyed for the rest of the game show.

[Pete Martell]

2 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Predictions:

1. We get a “Pilot Hunk” sketch
2. JJ will do well for the first 20-25 minutes, but then get destroyed for the rest of the game show.

I think we may be seeing Gemma or that annoying football wife sketch Heidi did in the season premiere too (just my guesses).

At least Watt did a lot of promo for the episode:

 

[vb68]

He's definitely affable enough.  We will see what he can do.

It's funny. If I had to guess who would be the NFL player to host, I would had been strangely confident about Drew Brees, who fits that Brady-Peyton-Eli prototype to a tee. You never know.

Hope we have a good show.

[Ms Blue Jay]

So far this episode is horrible.  

[MerBearHou]

I’m from Houston.  I love JJ Watt.  I watched for JJ but OMG, I had to change the channel after 30 minutes.  It was so bad.  Poor JJ — sucky material.

[Galileo908]

Cold Open: "The Trial You Wish Happened." Siiiiiiiiigh. Kenan showed up as Judge Mathis and it kept going up from there. Cecily as john Bolton! Pete as Hunter Biden! Kate McKinnon as Lindsey Graham with the vapors! Trump pulling out a Weinstein Walker (and a Phil Spector wig)! My Cousin Vinny for no reason whatsoever!

Monologue: Well, I had low expectations, but JJ Watt impressed me here. For a non-actor, having ZERO cast members helping him out at all was surprising, but definitely a plus.

Frozen II Deleted Scenes: “Kristoff? Anne? Olaf? I’m gay.” Oh boy it’s a whole sketch about THAT. Also, Olaf with a carrot penis. Sven looking on in horror was the best part.

Robbie: Okay, JJ was great here. And here I thought the punchline would be Robbie would be the ONLY player in the game. And not be realistically terrible.

Sex Talk: Never expected JJ Watt to say "clap them cheeks" but I was here for it. 

Olay Eye Black: MANLY skin care for football players. I loved this.

"This isn't gay, right?"
"Just gay enough."

Okay, that gave me the hardest laugh I've had in a while.

WU: The world is getting stupider and stupider. And Bowen Yang is the character talking about the Coronavirus. Who didn't see THAT coming?

"I've never seen a bigger overconfident, self-entitled white guy, and I'm ME." - Colin Jost on Jared Kushner.

I always like a good Tootsie Pop reference. The "Leave It Inn" joke was great, and that got such a huge groan from the audience, which made it better. And loved Ego's character. IT was nice to see her in the show.

Pilot Hunk: Why was the Bachelor sketch AFTER Update?! "Hi, I'm Mike. I make the plane hurry up." I loved that all the women were named Hannah. My favorite was Ego's Hannah that died last week, but came back to life, and the one who got dragged out for turning 30.

Madden: This was fun. "CAPTAIN CLUMSY STRIKES AGAIN!" 

Food Dudes: Apparently this was cut for time? Either way, this was funny. I know lots of people who would want these, despite that delivery people are the least judgy people on Earth.

Bigfoot: Bigfoot in 1918 England. This is a 10-1 sketch if there ever was one. I didn't like that all Bigfoot did was stand there and pretend he didn't crap on the floor. It's disappointing that my favorite part of the sketch were the background extras.

Big Willy's Pizza: Okay, the actual aftermath of a pizza guy porn is a great idea for a sketch, and Kenan was perfect as the manager. "You smell like shellfish and karate class."

So, I had zero expectations for tonight, and JJ Watt impressed me. The material on the other hand...well, you know they spent all the good stuff last week. And hopefully RuPaul's turn takes the show to some delightfully weird places

[Ms Blue Jay]

I know that JJ Watt did his little Kobe tribute at the end, but I thought that the show would have done something significant.

59 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

So far this episode is horrible.  

It did not get any better.

[vb68]

I thought it was mostly OK. It had it's moments. Not the best, but I have seen much, much worse.

JJ did what he could. I agree for a non-actor, he was more than good. He seemed game and honestly had more energy than a lot of first time hosts. I was impressed he did an actual monologue. And even tried his hand at singing a little in the Frozen sketch.

I didn't care for the Cold Open. As absurd as the actual events are, this felt like they are just throwing up their hands and sobbing they have no idea what to do.

Really liked the Frozen ,Robbie, and Food Dudes sketches, and Ego's character on Update. Is that her first character on there? Either way, Ego had a great night.

JJ seems like a great guy. And a good sport.

Edited February 2, 2020 by vb68

[Lantern7]

I had fun. I'm,surprised JJ would come for the pre-Super Bowl hosting gig. Three weeks ago, his Texans blew a 24-point lead in the second quarter . . . and the Chiefs wound up making it to the big game. Ouch.

When I read this recap of the latest premiere of The Bachelor, I immediately figured there would be a "Pilot Hunk" sketch. My mistake was thinking SNL would run it immediately. With a lot of A-material for Adam Driver, I should have expected JJ would get this. And he did. And it was good, because it's barely more stupid than The Bachelor.

Wait, so the thing stored in the Food Dude's posterior wasn't a Dutch Oven? #Rimshot #TipYourWaitress

ETA: Of course Pete can ride a Hoverboard. And I'm thinking a few people were disappointed Jim Bruer didn't return to play My Cousin Vinny.

Edited February 2, 2020 by Lantern7

[Mystery]

20 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Cold Open: "The Trial You Wish Happened." Siiiiiiiiigh. Kenan showed up as Judge Mathis and it kept going up from there. Cecily as john Bolton! Pete as Hunter Biden! Kate McKinnon as Lindsey Graham with the vapors! Trump pulling out a Weinstein Walker (and a Phil Spector wig)! My Cousin Vinny for no reason whatsoever!

Robbie: Okay, JJ was great here. And here I thought the punchline would be Robbie would be the ONLY player in the game. And not be realistically terrible.

Sex Talk: Never expected JJ Watt to say "clap them cheeks" but I was here for it. 

WU: The world is getting stupider and stupider. And Bowen Yang is the character talking about the Coronavirus. Who didn't see THAT coming?

"I've never seen a bigger overconfident, self-entitled white guy, and I'm ME." - Colin Jost on Jared Kushner.

Madden: This was fun. "CAPTAIN CLUMSY STRIKES AGAIN!" 

I was glad to see Pete looking pretty healthy in the open, without those big dark circles under his eyes. 

In Robbie, I too was sure that everyone would give him their jerseys and he'd be the only one playing. 

Sex Talk: I was too mad that some writer let "What you just saw in the bedroom between your mother and I" go by, instead of "your mother and ME," that I couldn't really concentrate on the rest of it. 

WU: Loved Bowen ragging on American Airlines. And Colin making fun of himself. 

Madden: I thought JJ did a really good job with the lines, pretty natural. 

Overall: a big letdown from last week's material, but I thought that JJ did the best that he could with it. 

 

[madpsych78]

I feel like I missed JJ's character in Food Dude. Which one was he?

[opus]

37 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Monologue: Well, I had low expectations, but JJ Watt impressed me here. For a non-actor, having ZERO cast members helping him out at all was surprising, but definitely a plus

I liked “ JJ, TJ, and for some reason, Derek”

[Steph J]

26 minutes ago, Mystery said:

Sex Talk: I was too mad that some writer let "What you just saw in the bedroom between your mother and I" go by, instead of "your mother and ME," that I couldn't really concentrate on the rest of it. 

Then you missed the part where they had the dad say, "Little boys have sex and me?  I'm a big dog" which was... a choice.

[SomeTameGazelle]

13 minutes ago, Steph J said:

Then you missed the part where they had the dad say, "Little boys have sex and me?  I'm a big dog" which was... a choice.

Yeah, I was disturbed about where that was going, especially since I wasn't sure how young Kyle was supposed to be.

It seemed like almost every sketch went either scatological or sexual. I will admit I laughed at the Duke joke in My Fair Bigfoot and the part where he picked up both Cecily and the harp. I also liked the twist in the pizza sketch that Kenan's pizza parlor wasn't making any money because the delivery man was accepting all payment in sex (although I wanted to tell him that if he takes the payment in sex then really it's on him to pony up the cash for the restaurant).

[MrWhyt]

it was... fine. Nothing stood out and JJ made the bottom tier sketches work ok.

[Pete Martell]

Cold open - Positives: Had more energy than I expected; Pete Davidson was perfect as Hunter Biden; no cameos Negatives: Trumpwin; lazy; 5 minutes too long. There have been some dog rough cold opens this season and a few pleasant surprises; I'd put this in the middle.

Monologue - Generally I prefer bits that just let the host talk and don't have Q&As or the cast, so I'm glad that's what they went with. JJ was a little nervous but came across well.

Frozen - Lots of singing for a sports host episode. Watchable - I got a few laughs over Elsa's sexuality and the cheap joke about Olaf. At times it reminded me of season 20's Munchkinland, just not as dead. I wonder if this was meant to air closer to when Frozen 2 came out.

Football - Another that reminded me of '90s SNL, for some reason. Chris Redd did well but it could have lost 2-3 minutes and had a better punchline than...well, shit.

Bedroom - A pretty cheap sex sketch which I found amusing in places. Watt gave it a pretty good try. Kyle still playing teens after 7 years deserves a prize. The casual way Kyle came out as bi was nicely done. This would have been improved with several minutes cut.

Brolay - another pretty obvious idea that makes sense in the night's running theme (trying to get a bro audience that have little time for SNL these days). The gay jokes were not where I thought they'd go, fortunately. Too long, again, but Alex Moffat gave a good ending.

Update #1 - another familiar night with Che and Jost, although they seemed slightly more animated than usual over impeachment. Jost's self-own over being an arrogant white guy is a joke that lands more on Twitter than live. I'm ashamed to admit I laughed at the Crispy Creme joke.

Update #2 - initially I wasn't sure about Bowen Yang bringing Chen back, but this was easily my favorite of the 3 appearances. Good energy, jokes, and I liked that he wore a lab coat and glasses for the occasion.

Update #3 - Finally Ego Nwodim gets on after being cut over and over. She's a natural - great confidence, even when they put her in Sasheer Zamata's old wig. I really loved the idea of this, and about 80% of it worked for me - I would've trimmed the part about her twin.

Bachelor - Best of night so far. JJ Watt seemed very comfortable and most of the 'turns' from the ladies were funny - I especially enjoyed Ego saying she'd died the previous week, and Chloe Fineman finally appearing to kill that whole bit about having a "twin" on her back.

Voiceover - A decent enough sketch goofing on JJ's career and the usual "someone has to say something awful." Considering this seemed to be designed to get some headlines I'm surprised it wasn't put earlier in the show (the Bachelor sketch also should have aired earlier).

Food Dudes - Cut from last week's show. I'm half-surprised it ever got through as it is more flat out absurdity than any comedy, but I enjoyed most of it (the Kenan part could have gone). A great use of the very specific talents Beck and Melissa bring to the cast.

Bigfoot - If earlier parts of the night seemed to be trying to recapture the spirit of SNL '90s, this and the 10 to 1 felt more like an attempt at the early to mid '00s. Pretty much a slog, didn't get anything out of it.

Pizza - I was glad they didn't just do the "Aidy doesn't understand that porn is being made" routine again and went for a looser vibe than the show tends to do now. Also a good use of JJ, and a genuinely funny ending. Good way to end the night and good use of the 10-to-1 spot. 

JJ Watt was a likeable host; not sure we'll see him again, but he didn't let himself down. I enjoyed Update, and there were some good to good-ish moments (10-to-1; Bachelor; voiceover; Food Dudes). Also lots of padded pieces and one I outright disliked (Bigfoot). I think the main goal of the night was to try to bring back some of the Chris Farley or Will Ferrell era viewers. I'm not sure if that will happen - I think too much has changed, but then I'm not an exec, so who am I to say. So, anyway...I wouldn't say it was the worst of the season (that would be JLo or Woody's episode for me). I guess I'll put it on the pile of some of the other 'middle' episodes this season I have mixed feelings about and overthink more than anyone at the show likely did.

[vb68]

11 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

Kyle still playing teens after 7 years deserves a prize.

I know he's not everyone's cup of tea, but Kyle has become one of the more reliable cast members for me. It seemed like he spent years trying and not succeeding to get most of his stuff on, but he's hit a nice groove. He does what he does very well. I also liked the complexity of him being bi in the bedroom sketch and how he layered it.

 

  

Edited February 2, 2020 by vb68

[Pete Martell]

3 minutes ago, vb68 said:

I know he's not everyone's cup of tea, but Kyle has become one of the more reliable cast members for me. It seemed like he spent years trying and not succeeding to get most of his stuff on, but he's hit a nice groove. He doves what he does very well. I also liked the complexity of him being bi in the bedroom sketch and how he layered it.

I liked that too. I was nervous they might decide to have a few homophobic jokes through the night but they were all mostly subverted. 

I know Kyle is polarizing for many but I agree that he's become very reliable. He can be slotted into various roles, leading or supporting, and always adds a certain presence. 

[Ottis]

Wow, I was not feeling this one. JJ was fine, the material was uninteresting. Aside from Che’s comment about how this is the perfect way to start Black History Month, and the football helmets with Olay on them, I didn’t crack a smile. And that country music makes me want to hurl. Johnny Cash or nothing. EDIT: Just saw the voiceover skit, OK, that was funny. “This other team is good!”

I didn’t understand “Food Dudes.”

Edited February 2, 2020 by Ottis

[Caseysgirl]

I have no idea who JJ Watts is but I thought he did a pretty good job with the material he was given.  Now can I ask, how do they choose the football person ? The only person that I’ve heard about this season ( as I am not a fan) is Gronk.

[SomeTameGazelle]

7 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

I wonder if this was meant to air closer to when Frozen 2 came out.

I thought perhaps they were inspired by having a physically big host to play what's-his-name. Disney bits don't need to be super-topical. I will say I felt some irony that they thought they were making a clever point about having a black character in Frozen ... and then having Kenan as the host of the party in My Fair Bigfoot.

[SomeTameGazelle]

2 hours ago, Ottis said:

I didn’t understand “Food Dudes.”

The premise was that a single person ordering food for delivery must be anxious that the delivery person will judge them for ordering more than one person should eat for one meal. So the Food Dudes are supposed to make the delivery person believe that the order is for multiple people and therefore proportionate! Everything else was just extending the premise to absurd lengths.

[SFoster21]

Pete Davidson really makes me smile!

[ICantDoThatDave]

If I didn't know Luke Combs was the musical guest I'd have thought it was an SNL parody of a country music band.  Those songs were like country music Mad Libs.

[vb68]

4 hours ago, Caseysgirl said:

Now can I ask, how do they choose the football person ?

I'm guessing they put out feelers, and he's the one that said yes? Otherwise I have no idea. To host this show it had to be a player who didn't have such a stellar season because there was also the annual awards gala last night where the NFL hands out MVP, Man of the Year, etc.

BTW JJ didn't play much this season. He got injured at the beginning of the season and didn't play until the playoffs three or so weeks ago where his team lost. So this was pretty late host booking relatively speaking. Sometimes we know them months ahead like with Eddie Murphy.

4 hours ago, Caseysgirl said:

The only person that I’ve heard about this season ( as I am not a fan) is Gronk.

Gronk retired after the SuperBowl last year.

 

Quote

If I didn't know Luke Combs was the musical guest I'd have thought it was an SNL parody of a country music band.  Those songs were like country music Mad Libs.

I had even less interest in the music this week than I usually do. 

Edited February 2, 2020 by vb68

[ebk57]

I found JJ Watt charming.  He did really well with the not-so-great material he was given.  I laughed several times during the show, although the only line the pops into my head at the moment was about his mom wanting to have a kicker so she could dress him up.  

I like country music and I hated Luke Combs.  I love your observation @ICantDoThatDave - Country Music Mad Libs! 

Overall, I didn't hate the show.  I didn't love the show.  I was there and amusing for 90 minutes, then promptly forgotten.  I wouldn't mind JJ coming back to host, although I'm not sure how likely that would be. 

[Peace 47]

3 hours ago, Caseysgirl said:

I have no idea who JJ Watts is but I thought he did a pretty good job with the material he was given.  Now can I ask, how do they choose the football person ? The only person that I’ve heard about this season ( as I am not a fan) is Gronk.

I think that he was a natural choice if you are looking for an NFL star to host.  When Hurricane Harvey decimated Houston with flooding, he started a fundraiser that I think he originally envisioned to contribute in a small way to the relief efforts, but with his charisma and drive, his crowdfunding plea ended up raising around $40 million.  The foundation he created rebuilt hundreds of homes and child-focused public services and distributed meals.  It was really remarkable.  He won the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2017.

And he was having a bit of a moment again this year.  Like @vb68 said, he was injured for part of this season, had to have surgery and was thought to be out for the rest of the season, but he came back for the Texans’ first playoff game, and made a play that really turned the game around for them, momentum-wise, and they won again the Bills, before losing to the Chiefs.

I thought the show was fine.  I would probably enjoy Bowen expanding on his roast of American Airlines for even longer, heh.  And I’d like Food Dudes for sure.  I read here about that one being cut from a prior episode, and I was hoping that it would resurface because it sounded super relatable to me.  I was not disappointed.

[opus]

2 hours ago, ICantDoThatDave said:

 Those songs were like country music Mad Libs.

Coincidentally, the Entertainment Weekly review I just read called the cold open an MSNBC Mad Lib.

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, vb68 said:

Gronk retired after the SuperBowl last year.

Why would it matter if an athlete's retired or not though…… if someone really wants to host SNL don't they do it even without something to promote?

Actually you said JJ Watt hardly played this year -- and he's an athlete -- they don't promote themselves anyway.  Even more reason why a retired athlete could host.

Edited February 2, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[DanaMB]

I dread when I hear athletes are hosting, but I thought overall JJ did a great job all things considered  

[vb68]

16 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Why would it matter if an athlete's retired or not though…… if someone really wants to host SNL don't they do it even without something to promote?

It doesn't at all. I was just responding to the poster who said the only other player they heard about THIS season was Gronk. That's all. I was in no way saying Gronk couldn't host. I'm sorry for the confusion. I agree with your point.

25 minutes ago, opus said:

Coincidentally, the Entertainment Weekly review I just read called the cold open an MSNBC Mad Lib.

I agree with this as well.  Throwing in Judge Mathis and My Cousin Vinny didn't work for me at all. It was just a big mess.

[helenamonster]

I loved getting to see Ego do a bit on Update--she was great!

Overall a weaker show than last week, but I thought JJ did a good job, especially for a non-actor. The monologue and the Madden sketch were particular standouts.

The overall tone of the episode was very bro-y, and I just didn't feel like I could connect to it. Which is fine--given that SNL covers a variety of topics in their sketches, I'm not always going to be the targeted demographic. But this one in particular was very much not written for me.

[Pete Martell]

Cut sketches. I'm guessing we'll be seeing the Baskin Johns piece this week.

https://www.reddit.com/r/LiveFromNewYork/comments/extlh0/sketches_cut_from_dress_february_1_2020_jj/

[peeayebee]

Woof. That was bad.

I don't really blame JJ Watt. He seems like a decent guy. I'm sure he had fun. But he wasn't good. BTW, I didn't really know of him before, but when I heard he was going to be on, I was picturing JC Watts.

I liked Bowen as the Chinese Health Minister. His sarcastic response to American Airlines not flying to China was hilarious. And I liked Ego's bit at first, but it didn't sustain.

Too many scatalogical and prurient sketches.

14 hours ago, vb68 said:

I thought it was mostly OK. It had it's moments. Not the best, but I have seen much, much worse.

I'm so sorry.

[vb68]

8 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I'm so sorry

Do the words "January Jones" mean anything in this context?

That's where my mind goes when someone says a show was really bad, and I always think for a second and conclude it could have been so much worse. LOL 

I'll gladly take JJ over most other athletes who have hosted, too.  

[Bulldog]

Watt was much better than I expected.  If the writers had given him even halfway decent material, the show would have been great.

[nittany cougar]

I think that the enjoyment of the episode kind of depends on whether you like the NFL and /or JJ Watt.  Watt is not only an great player but also has an amazing heart, as evidenced by his charity efforts in Houston.  Plus the man is hot as hell (shallow).

Even though I am a Watt fan, I was expecting him to trip through the show because he's not an actor.  I laughed at a lot of the sketches, especially "Pilot Hunk" and "Madden."  He showed decent timing and made it fun.  That's all I expect of a non-actor host.

[Ottis]

7 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

The premise was that a single person ordering food for delivery must be anxious that the delivery person will judge them for ordering more than one person should eat for one meal. So the Food Dudes are supposed to make the delivery person believe that the order is for multiple people and therefore proportionate! Everything else was just extending the premise to absurd lengths.

Thanks. I understood that was the premise, I didn’t understand the premise. Who cares what a delivery person thinks about your order? You could be saving some for the next day because you work and don’t like to cook, for all they know. On any case, who pays attention to the delivery person’s perspective?

Edited February 2, 2020 by Ottis

[possibilities]

Well I laughed a lot and thought this was one of the better episodes this season!

 

[Robert Lynch]

Damn, I was getting use to Alec Baldwin not showing up. He just takes the funny out of the Trump character.

[Thumper]

I forgot to watch!  As a Wisconsin Badger fan, I wanted to see JJ host.  He is/was a great player, and I am proud of his humanitarian activities, too.

[Tachi Rocinante]

20 hours ago, ICantDoThatDave said:

If I didn't know Luke Combs was the musical guest I'd have thought it was an SNL parody of a country music band.  Those songs were like country music Mad Libs.

Luke Combs' first song was atrocious. How sad is it that I understood more of what Shakira was saying during her Super Bowl performance?  Is bro-country mumble rap now a thing?

Bowen Yang is a one-note comedian.  And the note is pitchy, dawg.

JJ was good in the monologue and Robbie.

Edited February 3, 2020 by Tachi Rocinante

[Hanahope]

JJ did a fine job. 

the skits were ok, I never much care for the Bachelor skits and SNL relies on sex jokes way too much.

I liked Ego's Weekend update sketch, nice change of pace.

 

[Scout Finch]

19 hours ago, DanaMB said:

I dread when I hear athletes are hosting, but I thought overall JJ did a great job all things considered  

Same with me. I could not care less about sports and I had no idea who JJ Watts is until he said he was a football player during the monologue. So I was surprised at how well he did and most of the time it wasn't glaringly obvious that he was reading from cue cards like it is a lot of the time even among the show's cast. There were several times that it seemed like he had memorized his lines. I thought he was great.

[TV Diva Queen]

JJ was great - he had shitty material, but his timing was good.   He was good with his lines too, so many times we see the athletes just staring at cue cards, he seemed well prepared.  I was not a fan of the cold open, first time in a long time, I ff'd through it.  

[rmontro]

I think I enjoyed Weekend Update the most.  And if you hear me say that, it is NOT a good sign.  Worse episode of the season IMO.

Can't even think of anything to say about the musical guest, other than to agree with Tachi above, I couldn't understand what he was saying.  Which is odd for country.

Edited February 3, 2020 by rmontro

[Cornhusker12]

On 2/2/2020 at 1:01 PM, helenamonster said:

The overall tone of the episode was very bro-y, and I just didn't feel like I could connect to it. Which is fine--given that SNL covers a variety of topics in their sketches, I'm not always going to be the targeted demographic. But this one in particular was very much not written for me.

I kinda felt the same way, it wasn't BAD and JJ did pretty well, but you could really feel a sense of "hell yeah tonight you're hangin with the brother in law's side of the family and we're stocked up on Busch Light and country tunes!" It was all good fun and I like when the host seems to be having a blast, but the comedy just seemed to be coming from slightly different angles than my sweet spot.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Cornhusker12