S40.E04: Jim Carrey / Iggy Azalea

[formerlyfreedom]

Host Jim Carrey; musical guest Iggy Azalea

[Primetimer]

Finally, he gets his chance to play Rick Scott!

Read the story

[Kay]

I would absolutely love to see that Guy Fieri sketch. Make it happen, Tara!

[nowandlater]

 

[Brattinella]

Wow.  What a steaming pile that was.  I expected far better; are the writers on strike again?  The only remotely funny spots were the Lincoln Ads.  Yikes.

Edited October 26, 2014 by Brattinella

[Galileo908]

Cold Open: Yeah, what Ebola's done best is move all of Obama's "scandals" out of the news, so win for him. Always good to bring in Al Sharpton to spout his usual nonsense in a political sketch. "Brush your teeth with Purell!"

 

Monologue: As soon as Jim Carrey stepped out in his Helvis costume, I knew everything was going to be okay. The guy who writes the songs for the show must have some clout, it seems that EVERY monologue lately requires a song. But Jim Carrey just sells it.

 

Matthew McCaughney for Lincoln: Another spoof of these dumb commercials (South Park did their take on it last week). Jim Carrey was spot on.

 

Carrey Family Reunion: Just like that Walken Family Reunion sketch a few years back, it gave everyone a chance to do their best Jim Carrey impression. Also a good way to get all of Jim Carrey's old catchphrases out of the way at once. Nice to see Leslie Jones in her first official sketch. Hey, Jeff Daniels cameo! This sketch was better executed not only from the Walken sketch but also that time Mark McKinney was Jim Carrey while Jim was Jimmy Stewart on the Joe Pesci Show.

 

Matthew McCaughney for Lincoln 2: This one was great. "You're going five miles an hour."

 

Graveyard: I'm with the inanimate objects, I got tired of Paul & Phil quite quickly.

 

Allstate: The second they set up the Allstate ad, totally called Matthew running him over. Still very satisfying and awesome.

 

WU: It's official, New York City has ALL the diseases. Vanessa Bayer as the ditzy RomCom girl was kinda awkward, but I love seeing Michael Che just react to characters like this. Like, he ain't putting up with this bullcrap like the other anchors would. I liked how he looked around to see where the RomCom music was coming from. I love seeing recurring anchors like Drunk Uncle react to the new anchors. "Yes, I went to the corn maze. I'm sorry, Native American Maze."

 

Secret Billionaire: Obviously Jim Carrey was the best part of this. "It serves as both a gift and a warning."

 

Ghosts: Fact or Fiction: Putting Leslie Jones in a Ghost Hunters sketch is a formula for gold. Why was this so far into the show?

 

Zombies: Dumb sketch, but I liked Jim's character.

 

Costume Contest: "Todd, it looks like you're some kind of butt or vagina?" "I'm a peach." Jim as the Weird Kinda Nude Girl from Sia's "Chandelier" music video, then re-enacting that music video was something I won't be able to unsee for a while. But I loved how the whole contest broke the fourth wall and went through the entire soundstage.

 

Geoffs Halloween Emporium: Another opportunity for Jim Carrey to mug to the camera. I like how the women were disinterested by Galadriel the Demon.

 

A few good sketches aside, this one was totally disappointing. I'm hoping Chris Rock's episode next week is good.

[Shoppergal]

Was it just my market or was the timing all over the place?

And Iggy....you are wearing out your welcome real quick. And that chick that 'sang' with her during Work.....I really thought she was an snl'er when she first appeared. Terrible.

[pythonite]

There certainly wasn't a lack of commitment on Jim Carrey's part. 

[Brattinella]

Too bad his talents were wasted.

 

And since when do musical guests have to grab and scratch their crotches non-stop?  YUCK.

[vb68]

I hated the cold open.  That was typical Jim Downey fare.  They really need to get a new writer to give a fresh prospective on the political sketches.  And I'll say it.  They go to Kenan's Al Sharpton (so-called) impression too much.  It's overdone and really not very good.

 

I don't know that I really got the monologue song (pecan pie? Ok. Whatever), but I thought the show got better as it went along.  The Lincoln ads were good.  It's about time he got busted for winning an Oscar only to do commercials.  Nice fakeout with All-State.

 

 I did laugh at Drunk Uncle switching sides during Update.  It seemed so true to that character.

 

I loved Jim Carrey and Kate going all over the studio.  That was awesome.  Probably the sketch of the year so far.

 

And yeah, I can't say Big Jim didn't have enough to do.

Edited October 26, 2014 by vb68

[opus]

Morbid note-- If something happens to Jim or Kate, I know which sketch they're replaying.

[helenamonster]

Cold Open: I loved the bit about Latinos in red states being perfectly fine to go vote, but otherwise this was yet another lackluster cold open.

 

Monologue: I want whoever keeps suggesting musical monologues to be fired immediately. Four shows so far this season and only one has been a non-musical monologue, and it was from the host's own stand-up routines so the show writers had nothing to do with it and can take zero credit. I loved the idea of Helvis when Jim Carrey first came out but it went south way quick. And went on for too damn long. And I could barely make out a word he was saying. Gah!

 

Matthew McConaughey for Lincoln: Lol the other day I was thinking how much I missed Taran's MM impression, but I thought Jim did a great job. And I'm glad they made it into a recurring-throughout-the-night-bit like Bill Hader as Clint Eastwood awhile back. All three segments were hilarious. "Should I eat this booger I've been rolling up or throw it out the window?"

 

Carrey Family Reunion: Everyone was awesome with their impressions. This was fun!

 

Paul and Phil: I was into it for about 30 seconds then just got irritated.

 

Weekend Update: Colin gets worse every week. I didn't mind him at first but he's really not cut out for this job. Michael's doing pretty well, though. I loved his bit with Vanessa. And Drunk Uncle! He reacted to Michael exactly as he should have and I'm so glad they didn't shy away from it.

 

Secret Billionaire: Puppy in a suit. PUPPY IN A SUIT. Yeah that's all I got.

 

Ghosts: Fact or Fiction?: God bless you, Leslie Jones. I think this answered the question of "is she just gonna be loud and one-note in every sketch" with a definite no. She could have gone for that, but except for a couple instances, she was on the quieter side and it really worked. I wished it would have been longer, though.

 

Zombie Apocalypse: Gah, next. I thought Pete did a great job as the zombie, though. And Cecily doing an accent is always great.

 

Chandelier: Just as I was preparing to go on a long rant about how criminally underused Kate has been so far this season, this happened. Oh my God this was fantastic. Jim and Kate got all the moves of that quasi-creepy girl so right. Aidy was pretty good too. "I'm just a woman who's trying!"

 

Geoff's Halloween Emporium: Last sketch of the night, Cecily and Vanessa selling stuff...and it wasn't the porn stars? Oh well, it was ok. Again, Cecily's accent was great; my dad's from the Midwest and he has a big family and they all sound like that.

 

Not too bad of a show, but when it fell flat it really fell flat. I'm not afraid to admit it, Iggy Azalea is catchy as hell. Too bad she's a bigoted asshole. It was cool they got Rita Ora to come on, but I didn't know who the girl in the second song was. For a hot second I thought it was Sporty Spice but then I remembered it's not 1997.

 

Morbid note-- If something happens to Jim or Kate, I know which sketch they're replaying.

 

It was very Steve Martin and Gilda Radner, wasn't it?

[Jonathan Seagull]

I got a good laugh out of Drunk Uncle uncomfortably rolling away from Michael Che and over to Colin Jost.

 

The monologue lost me a little. It was well done but I honestly didn't really know what the comedy in the song was, if it was supposed to be comic.

 

Taran and Kyle were by far the best Jim Carrey impersonators.

 

The Lincoln spots were pretty great.

[Bees]

If I come across a show where the punchlines in my head are far better than what SNL puts out, then it's easily a terrible show. And what sucks is that Jim Carrey gave it his all and it STILL sucked. I wanted to like this episode, but very little worked for me. Though I do appreciate Carrey's effort. SNL seriously needs a new writing crew that actually takes risks and doesn't take the easy way out. 

 

Cold Opening: I gotta say that the cold openings have gotten to a point where I just half pay attention to them these days. It's always the same damn thing. Let's mix it up a little. 

 

Monologue: I rolled my eyes the moment I heard the music starting. However, I have to say that this actually wasn't half bad. I liked Bobby Moynihan's character in it. Then again, anything where he has a pop in moment with a funny face is always guaranteed to give me at least a little smirk. 

 

McConaughey Lincoln I: This was fairly funny. It didn't get me rolling on the floor with laughter but I did enjoy it. Especially the whole "How do you go from an Oscar to this?" monologue part. 

 

Carey Family Reunion: Ehhh. I had a feeling this was coming. Feels like they basically copy and pasted the Walken Family sketch from a few years back but added in appropriate Jim Carrey references. I did like the Jeff Daniels cameo (though it was half-expected). I also liked Jim as the sane one.

 

McConaughey Lincoln II: Back to this ad. At first I was just like "okay, where are they going with this?" and then the kids popping in really brought it to the funny level. 

 

Graveyard: This sketch had some potential but was straight up obnoxious and I felt that the others could've carried that sketch with something more complicated and fun. Also, Come on, you didn't use Jim Carrey as a statue?! Come on! Though this sketch is made funnier in my head when I think of it as a metaphor for SNL during the Kristen Wiig era. Anytime she (or Fred Armisen) would could on the screen, the whole sketch pretty much grinded to a halt and got infuriating.

 

All State: I called it. I knew that it'd segue into the McConaughey Lincoln ad. Still worth a smirk though. 

 

Weekend Update: Everybody loves Drunk Uncle. I was surprised they didn't get Jim Carrey to be like Amphetamine Steve or something like that. I applaud their restraint. Also, I couldn't have been the only one thinking Che was going to go the AIDS route with that Ebola joke, right? I really thought he was going to go there. But once again, I'm glad he didn't because that was too obvious. The RomCom Expert correspondent just felt completely off to me. Bayer completely nails the stereotype of the leading lady in a romcom. However, what I think would've been so much better is if by the time she is saying her big speech, she then break from that romcom persona and is completely normal and says something to the tune of "Yeah, so that's basically a look into the prototypical romcom leading lady" then Che would be all like "So...it was all an act? What you were feeling wasn't real?" and she says "Nope. Besides, I just met you. Anyways, I gotta go and study up what the typical leading man is like..." and she walks away and Che is like "No! Don't gooo!" then a beat and he goes back into his professional mode and says her name. I don't know, something like that would've worked so much better. At least with me.

 

Secret Billionaire: Cute puppy, but god this sketch was dull. Though it's interesting that they cut it off as just the showing of a segment rather than the end of the show. 

 

Ghosts: Leslie was pretty much the best thing about this. But once again, I can't help but be concerned if she's going to be pigeonholed as extremely expressive black woman stereotype. I don't really want to see that. I want to see if she has more to her than that. I hope so. Also nice touch on her eye makeup all smudged in the nightvision look. 

 

Zombies: First off, I'm sick of zombies to begin with. Can't we move onto something else? And second, this was dull as fuck. I knew that it'd end with Carrey being bitten. I was just hoping they'd end it soon. 

 

Costume Party: This was pretty fun. A nice performance artsy piece with Kate and Jim. Sure I saw a little more of Jim Carrey than I wanted to, but it was still fun and the breaking of the fourth wall was lovely. And I loved how they decided that Debbie would win, despite the fact that she wasn't dressed up. "I'm just a woman who's doing the best she can!"

 

Halloween Emporium: This wasn't very good but it was at least quick. So I give them that. Could've been better but I'm glad it was quick. 

[Actionmage]

It was very Steve Martin and Gilda Radner, wasn't it?

 

Yes and no. It was very close, though. Kate and Jim were selling it, and, to me, that was what makes Gilda and Steve better- they didn't sell it. Steve and Gilda were in the moment.

[junemeatcleaver]

The Cold Opening didn't work for me because every American who has been infected by ebola, and has gotten treatment very early, has lived.  I understand they wanted to poke fun at the ebola panic, but their take on it fell flat.

[SFoster21]

Brain cells die as I try to watch this dreck.

[ruby24]

Way to endorse the ebola "panic," which is totally and completely phony in the first place. See, smart satire would be to ridicule the hysteria itself. Too bad SNL doesn't have any smart writers.

Edited October 26, 2014 by ruby24

[nowandlater]

The funniest moment of the show -- or the only moment that I rewinded 5 times to see -- was Lorne's reaction to the Chandelier bit.

 

Lorne turns 70 on Nov. 17...I think he'll be around for Season 50.

 

 

 

But, yes, that was a mess...just off. Easily the worst episode of the season.

 

 

Anyways, it was a "1990" night:

 

Vintage SNL was from Feb. 17, 1990,

Jim Carey became famous on In Living Color, which debuted April 15, 1990.

Iggy Azalea was born June 7, 1990.

Edited October 26, 2014 by nowandlater

[tomsmom]

The funniest moment of the show -- or the only moment that I rewinded 5 times to see -- was Lorne's reaction to the Chandelier bit.

.

The fact that Lorne broke was amazing considering how much he hates when they do that!

My husband actually asked "So who was the Secret Billionaire?" I don't know if that shows how dumb he is or the sketch was!!

[Racj82]

Way to endorse the ebola "panic," which is totally and completely phony in the first place. See, smart satire would be to ridicule the hysteria itself. Too bad SNL doesn't have any smart writers.

Are you being sarcastic? I can't tell.

[stonehaven]

Yeah I wasn't impressed..the only thing that I liked was the random shoave ut out to "Truman Show" in the Carrey Reunion..I love that movie...but am not a fan of Carrey's shtick...so to have that in therewas way cool...and if SNL really were brave, they could have done a parody of The Truman Show with today's "reality" genre but I think the writers are unimaginitve in every way...

[Toaster Strudel]

But once again, I can't help but be concerned if she's going to be pigeonholed as extremely expressive black woman stereotype

 

I don't see a stereotype here; I think she's on par with Bobby Moynihan in her ability to communicate something at once hilariously funny and genuinely felt to her audience.  It's a gift that shouldn't be squandered on playing the "straight guy" ever.  As soon as she's on my screen, she lights it up, and I know she'll come and grab me.  She can do comedy with all those crazy faces, and yet project sincerity and humanity... unlike Jim Carrey who comes up as plastic and cartoony.

 

Leslie Jones has got IT.

 

[Galileo908]

Jim Carrey became famous on In Living Color, which debuted April 15, 1990.

 

 

In the Carrey Family Reunion sketch, I kept waiting for a Fire Marshall Bill to show up. They had a hell of an opportunity for one to put out Bobby (as The Mask)'s cigarette!

[vb68]

Apparently they cut Iggy Azalea from Drunk Uncle's commentary.  I read elsewhere that she was brutally awkward in dress rehearsal. 

 

ETA:  

 

I kept waiting for a Fire Marshall Bill to show up. They had a hell of an opportunity for one to put out Bobby (as The Mask)'s cigarette!

Wasn't that Cecily's character?

Edited October 26, 2014 by vb68

[peeayebee]

In the Carrey Family Reunion sketch, I kept waiting for a Fire Marshall Bill to show up. They had a hell of an opportunity for one to put out Bobby (as The Mask)'s cigarette!

Cecily was Fire Marshall Bill. 

 

The only funny parts in the Cold Open were Al Sharpton saying "C-zar/Caesar" and Taran's performance. I hated all the rest.

 

I liked the costume for Helvis, but that song was terrible. I did like Bobby popping up twice.

 

I loved the Matthew McConaughey Lincoln commercials. Carrey was really good, and the parodies had great lines. These were the highlights of the show for me.

 

I also liked the Carrey Family Reunion, particularly Taran's impression.

 

I kind of liked Paul & Phil in the graveyard, but the skit itself wasn't that good.

 

I loved Che's interaction with Vanessa. I think she's one of the strongest performers, and his reactions were great.

 

Secret Billionaire was good. Not only was Carrey creepy funny, but Cecily was funny, too.

 

Loved Leslie in Ghosts, Fact or Fiction. She was the only thing funny in that skit, which I suppose was the point. She's such a charismatic bundle of energy.

 

The zombie apocalypse was a big dud.

 

I liked the office costume contest skit. The start of it with Vanessa misidentifying what everybody was wearing was great, and Kate & Jim were fun. However, I haven't seen Chandelier, so I guess I need to head to YouTube.

 

The Halloween Store commercial did nothing for me.

 

I don't know what it is about Jay Pharaoh, but he's lacking in comedic skills. I find him pretty good in filmed bits, but there's something about his line delivery or something that makes his jokes land with a thud.

Edited October 26, 2014 by peeayebee

[vb68]

Here's another cut sketch.  It's a Mike O'Brien short film.

[Galileo908]

Cecily was Fire Marshall Bill.

 

Wow, I didn't catch that.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I actually thought the episode was amazing.  There were a lot of great moments and I was laughing a lot.

 

I thought the dynamic between Vanessa Bayer as the Rom Com expert and Michael Che as the WU anchor was great.  They brought out the best in each other's humour.  I don't always get Vanessa but she's perfect as this delusional/oblivious character and then Michael was perfect as this annoyed guy who's not getting it.  He's getting better -- it's best when he downplays this and does this subtly.  I thought it was great and I was laughing through the whole thing.

 

I thought Paul and Phil was kind of funny and I thought Leslie was extremely well used -- great at everything she did.  I'm getting more and more into Colin Jost.  He was perfect last night.

 

I thought Secret Billionaire was great.  I loved the bit about all the Dennises and the one Bryan.  I thought the writing for that was quite inspirational, kind of genius.  And I loved Jim's commitment to that character and every other.

 

And to top it off the Sia - Chandelier spoof was beyond incredible.  On a live show that choreography without mistakes was beyond.  And Jim wore a Leafs jersey and referenced Scarborough.  Just wow.

[VillaVillekulla]

For some reason, in the Paul and Phil sketch, Kenan as the crankiest tree ever made me laugh out loud. I don't know why, just him as this tree that's pissed off at Paul and Phil...it was great.

 

Also, I agree with others who have said the Chandelier spoof was great. It looks like they must've gotten the rights to that song because the sketch is available online now, on the official SNL YouTube account.

[vb68]

 

I actually thought the episode was amazing.  There were a lot of great moments and I was laughing a lot.

 

I would agree.  It was still uneven, as the show always is, but I thought it was clearly the best show of the season so far.

[theatremouse]

I'm OK with the musical monologue because it was not a musical monologue about the fact that he was hosting.

 

I'm weirdly on the fence about the rom-com character. On the one hand, it didn't come close to making me laugh out loud, and I'd really like to do more of that when watching a comedy show. However, she did hit the right notes with the tropes they were trying to poke fun at, so I sort of...appreciated it more than enjoyed it? Like it made me think "mm, spot on" rather than laugh, and I can't decide if that's a good thing, or a better-than-nothing thing.

 

I had high hopes for the graveyard scene and Bobby and Kate as the busts, but then it sort of went downhill. Turned into a basic Kristin-Wiig-Character-Interrupting-Distracting-the-moment style sketch. Same basic formula, but with two instead of one.

 

Drunk Uncle, however, was in fine form.

Edited October 26, 2014 by theatremouse

[Lakewood27]

Leslie Jones freaking out at the haunted house was one of my favourite moments of the episode. "I thought this was supposed to be about flipping houses?!".

[Katmai]

I had really high hopes Jim Carrey's epi would be hilarious, but my chuckles were very few and far between, unfortunately.

My favorites were the Matthew McConaughey/Lincoln spoofs.

I still think it looks like Leslie is going to be used for the same type of character over and over...

Was that really Iggy's ass? It looked like it could have been padded, what with it's shape and her sticking in the camera repeatedly.

[wmdekooning]

God bless you, Leslie Jones. I think this answered the question of "is she just gonna be loud and one-note in every sketch" with a definite no.

 

Maybe not in the future, but I was not impressed by her in the "Ghost Hunter" sketch. Playing the obstinate/scared Black person shouting, "I'm not made for this!" seemed way hokey, un-inspired, and as stereotypical as I was expecting.

Foo!

[helenamonster]

I was surprised they didn't get Jim Carrey to be like Amphetamine Steve or something like that. I applaud their restraint. 

 

Well, they had Aaron Paul as "Meth Nephew" last season so that joke's already been done. (Insert comment about something already being done not stopping SNL before here.)

 

Also, I agree with others who have said the Chandelier spoof was great. It looks like they must've gotten the rights to that song because the sketch is available online now, on the official SNL YouTube account.

 

We have reached the promised land, friends.

[xander874]

I really wanted someone to come out as Vera De Milo in the family reunion sketch. But it was fun seeing the other characters.

 

Liked the dance, although I had to go watch the Sia video first because I have never seen it (or actually heard the song). And yay to securing rights to use it online!

 

The rest...meh.

[cpcathy]

I didn't love it, didn't hate it. It still seems something is missing and I can't figure out what. Even my husband asked me "What do you think the problem is?" I liked the Carrey Reunion, I liked the dance sketch (even though it sort of borrowed from when Carrey did the Black Swan sketch on his last show). Loved Drunk Uncle as usual, and the Lincoln commercials were funny. I wish the Mike O'Brien Kids film hadn't been cut (just like I wish Gossipy Coal Miner was not cut on the Bill Hader Show). And yay, Colin Jost is getting more comfortable....but just a little.

[editorgrrl]

I didn't love it, didn't hate it. It still seems something is missing and I can't figure out what. Even my husband asked me "What do you think the problem is?"

 

Vulture's SNL Recap: Jim Carrey Goes Even Dumber (with Hulu sketch links):

[T]he episode after a week off tends to be less solid, and last night's was no exception. In fact, it was so abysmal it became perversely exciting to see how bad things could get.

 

[vb68]

Wow, I find that very harsh.  Most of the reviews that I saw, ranging from EW and TVLine to Mike Ryan, and general comments across the internet were more positive than that. 

[ktwo]

I knew as soon as they flashed Peyton's picture on Weekend Update that there was going to be a Favre dick pic joke. But it was still funny.

I HATED the cold open. Way to totally miss the mark, show.

[Milburn Stone]

I skipped the cold open and the musical guest, but enjoyed the rest of the show quite a lot.

 

Really liked Carrey as the old billionaire.

 

And also really liked Colin Jost. (Minority opinion perhaps. But after not liking him much last year, I'm liking him more and more this year. He's found his groove.)

[Inquisitionist]

That Halloween costume sketch highlighted the fact that Kate McKinnon has a very nice body and Jim Carrey.... does not.  Was he padded or is that gut real?

[Traveller519]

I liked this one again because a lot felt original. The Lincoln spoofs were like the second part of the Brad Pitt cologne spoofs from a couple years ago.  Carrey's McConaghey was good, but it couldn't quite touch Taran's in my opinion.

 

I really like Che's interviewing persona of IDGAF about your shit. Mixing it up between Colin's more earnest style will be good. I also thought this was Colins strongest week. He opened with a longer bit, which plays into him a little more than Seth's quick hitters.

[Princess Sparkle]

That Halloween costume sketch highlighted the fact that Kate McKinnon has a very nice body and Jim Carrey.... does not. Was he padded or is that gut real?

He mentioned on Stern today that he was apprehensive about that sketch because he's out of shape (and, apparently, making sure his junk stayed tucked in), so I think the gut was real. I do give him credit for throwing vanity out the window and doing the skit, and it ended up being my favorite of the night. The Jim Carrey family reunion sketch was a close second - though, I didn't think anyone nailed the impression (Taran got the closest).

For some reason, Jim Carrey as Helvis looked like Johnny Knoxville to me. And because Jim Carrey movies (especially Dumb and Dumber) are so closely tied to my childhood, part of me feels sad to see him (and Jeff Daniels) looking old. I like to think they never age.

Loved Leslie Jones; I'm so happy she's part of the cast now.

I have been waiting for Drunk Uncle, and I was not disappointed. I think over the past few years, Bobby has taken reign as my SNL boyfriend.

Michael Che's reactions to the WU characters just kill me. Love his addition to the Update desk.

Edited October 29, 2014 by Princess Sparkle

[Miss Scarlet]

Cold Open - I don't have much to say about this one. Kenan's line about his mustache was really funny to me.

 

Monologue - I did not get why Jim Carrey was doing a monologue as/about "Helvis" at all. I read that this was based on a video he produced a few years where he sings the Pecan Pie song. I'm sure most people were like me and were totally lost with this one. Did like Bobby as the devil, though.

 

Lincoln Commercials - I think Taran does the better Matthew impression, but these were pretty funny. I liked the parts about the booger, the kids that weren't his and the question about why he was doing this after winning an Oscar. Uh, yeah, why is he doing these ads?

 

Carrey Family Reunion - I thought this was a funny premise, but didn't remember that it was taken from a Christopher Walken show. As I watched these impressions I realized how unfamiliar with Jim Carrey's work I actually am, since the only one I understood was the one from The Mask. Despite that, the sketch was still pretty amusing to me. Taran does a pretty good Jim Carrey.

 

Graveyard - Bobby and Kate were good in this, but overall, I wasn't really a fan.

 

WU - The way Michael Che scrunches up his face when he's reading the teleprompter is distracting to me. Not sure about his anchor character being annoyed and off-put with everything, although I do like that he is developing some sort of role with it. I thought Vanessa's Daisy Rose character was a good idea. It was funny and has potential if they ever choose to bring her back. I must have been really tired when I was watching this (or uninformed) because there were some jokes I didn't get. I was like "Huh?" about the Brett Favre one. Liked Drunk Uncle's line about the goji berries in the dropbox. So Colin Jost is Seth-lite and I never though Seth did a good job as anchor. Too smarmy. Colin seems less smarmy than Seth though, which is good.

 

Secret Billionaire - This had some amazingly funny and creative lines. The part about the 250 Dennises and 1 Brian was one of the funniest things I've heard in a long time. I liked the part about eating with dullards at Applebee's. I think this sketch would have worked better in a different context other than a game show. Like maybe having him be a weird co-worker at an office or weird relative at a family dinner. The sketch ended abruptly too.

 

Ghosts - Taran was great as the host in this. I liked the shot of Leslie Jones's makeup running in the dark, but not being able to see that when the lights were on. The premise seemed a bit incomplete or something.

 

Zombies - This was awful.

 

Costume Contest - The dancing was funny, although is there some rule that Jim Carrey has to do a crazy dance sketch whenever he hosts? He did one parodying the Black Swan the last time he was on SNL. Like many people, I hadn't seen the video for Chandelier, but I still found this funny. I was worried about Kate having a wardrobe malfunction. She kept having the pull up her leotard. Some people mentioned Jim Carrey being out of shape, but I didn't notice that at all. I was actually pretty impressed at how agile he was and how he wasn't totally out of breath at the end. I liked how they involved the other characters in this sketch and had a real ending, which was funny and unexpected (Aidy winning the costume contest). Not sure if their guess that Aidy was a meatball had to do with the colours of her outfit or her weight. If it was the second one, then that was unnecessarily mean.

 

Geoffs Halloween Emporium - This just seemed like they wanted to do a Former Porn Stars sketch, but either couldn't come up with anything, felt like doing Wisconsin accents that day or were worried people were too sick of the Porn Stars. This wasn't funny to me.

 

I know I've said this after every episode this season, but what is the deal with so little screen time for Kate? Is she just not able to write sketches for herself this season? Did one of the writers she worked with a lot leave or has she not been able to establish a relationship with any of the writers? Or did she kills one of their dogs? Or maybe she's just conscious about being overused and then having backlash? I don't get it.

[helenamonster]

I must have been really tired when I was watching this (or uninformed) because there were some jokes I didn't get. I was like "Huh?" about the Brett Favre one.

 

Costume Contest - The dancing was funny, although is there some rule that Jim Carrey has to do a crazy dance sketch whenever he hosts? He did one parodying the Black Swan the last time he was on SNL. Like many people, I hadn't seen the video for Chandelier, but I still found this funny. I was worried about Kate having a wardrobe malfunction. She kept having the pull up her leotard. Some people mentioned Jim Carrey being out of shape, but I didn't notice that at all. I was actually pretty impressed at how agile he was and how he wasn't totally out of breath at the end. I liked how they involved the other characters in this sketch and had a real ending, which was funny and unexpected (Aidy winning the costume contest). Not sure if their guess that Aidy was a meatball had to do with the colours of her outfit or her weight. If it was the second one, then that was unnecessarily mean.

 

I know I've said this after every episode this season, but what is the deal with so little screen time for Kate? Is she just not able to write sketches for herself this season? Did one of the writers she worked with a lot leave or has she not been able to establish a relationship with any of the writers? Or did she kills one of their dogs? Or maybe she's just conscious about being overused and then having backlash? I don't get it.

 

Brett Favre was accused of sending a dick pic to a woman a few years back. SNL did this fake commercial making fun of it.

 

The Chandelier sketch definitely reminded me of the Black Swan sketch from a few years back. Not sure if they were doing an intentional follow-up or not, but I think this one still worked. And yeah, I noticed Kate kept pulling up her leotard as well. No double-sided tape in the wardrobe department? I also didn't think Jim looked distractingly out of shape. I mean, a six-pack and trim figure are not something I associate with him, and I was too busy laughing to really notice anything. As for Aidy, I think the joke about her being a meatball or a marble was meant to be framed in the context where they were really making fun of Vanessa for assuming that a woman in all red was dressed as one of those things simply because she's fat. I mean, right before that they did the bit with asking if Sasheer was dressed as someone black (Beyonce or Rihanna) when she was dressed as Vanna White. I thought it was a clever send-up of stereotypes and the notion that your physical appearance affects how people perceive you when you put on a costume. And I think if Aidy had had a problem with it, she would have said so and they wouldn't have made the joke. She seems like the type of woman who acknowledges that she's fat (calling herself "Fats" which led to "Dyke and Fats") but doesn't think, and rightly so, that it's a bad thing. However, she also understands that we live in a society where women who are fat are generally considered less attractive than women who are skinny, and I think she tries to skewer that notion when she appears in sketches that have something to do with her size.

 

As for Kate, I was getting really worried about her until the Chandelier sketch, but it's definitely weird that her screentime has been so limited this season. Hopefully that changes soon, I miss that little nut.

[nowandlater]

[BatmanBeatles]

I am so out of the loop. I finally got around to watching Sia's Chandelier and now I get why that skit was so funny.