S40.E07: Cameron Diaz / Bruno Mars & Mark Ronson

[Princess Sparkle]

I loved Vanessa's "I'd rather not say" when Keenan asked who her daughter was.

[peeayebee]

I was wondering if the relatives in the Ballers video were actually the parents and relatives of Cecily, et al.

[Miss Scarlet]

Cold Open - This was okay, but it was nice that they tried something different. Thought Bobby was especially good in this. He seems like such a nice guy too, pointing at Kyle to acknowledge that it was Kyle's first time getting to yell "Live from New York, it's Saturday night". Bobby also does that during the goodbyes to acknowledge new cast members.

 

Monologue - They must have spent 10 minutes on this. There was no content there. It's good that it was short though because otherwise it really would have been a waste of time.

 

Black Annie - My favourite part of this sketch was "Black Annie". I love the song Black Betty. Lol why was Cecily doing the chicken dance during Black Annie? Does orphan dancing = chicken dance?

 

Back Home Baller -  They must have put this so early in the show because they thought it was going to be a huge hit. The outfits were hilarious. Loved the callback to Jean and yes, I've totally been there with the awkward neighbour questions that you don't want to answer at all and are just thinking "leave me alone". Also the part when Cecily's grandma tell her that she looks taller and measures her. The song wasn't that catchy though. They've been trying to recreate the magic of Twin Bed, but I don't think the attempts have really come close.

 

Nest-Spresso - I also thought Mike O'Brien must have written this and that it was in the same vein as that Bird Bible pre-tape from last year. I didn't really care for it because it was just the same "joke" over and over again. It kind of dragged by the end.

 

Whispers of America - I thought this was hilarious. It was so true to the pretentious stuff that high school students (and older) really do come up with, that they use to be self-aggrandizing with (like look at me, I'm so smart/progressive/interesting/artsy), when there's really no substance there. I loved when Aidy (with her artsy/goth look) said a line and then there was a chorus of "you're beautiful, you're beautiful" because of course this represents rejecting societal standards of beauty and conformity and these students think that putting that in their play really is social activism. I thought it was great when Vanessa didn't want to admit which one was her daughter and Kenan's focus on the boxes. It's weird that I liked this so much, but tend not to like the Good Neighbor pieces. I guess it's because this is the type of satire is what Good Neighbor tries to do, but I find it more enjoyable because it's more innovative and doesn't feel like something anyone could come up with.

 

WU - I can't comment on Michael Che's part because he disgusts me and so I don't listen to him anymore. There were a lot of jokes that had weak punchlines and had pretty obvious ones that would have been funnier. I don't think the writing team for Update is very strong right now. Loved Merkel and her crush on Obama. I still giggle every time I remember her appearance where she called Putin the "bad boy" who takes you in his car and goes for "boob touches". She did loosen Colin up a bit, but that would have been so much funnier with someone else. The Manson stuff was okay. I also liked the part where he stopped Colin from letting his fiancee know the real reason he was in jail. This is the 3rd or 4th show where either Colin or Michael got all of the guests. I wonder why they've decided to start doing it this way.

 

Baby Boss - I didn't like this sketch the first 2 times they did it, but I liked it this time. The change of setting helped and it seemed like it didn't drag on as much. Or maybe it was because the most hilarious parts of the sketch weren't dependent on what were basically food fights. I like Sasheer's line where she said "Yeah, I have a lot of questions about your relationship". Beck Bennett must borrow a friend's baby for the weekend before he has to do this sketch because his mannerisms are on-point. He's probably just like "I'll do some free babysitting for you!"

 

Dr. Dave and Buggles' Animal Hour - This was probably the worst sketch of the night for me. It just wasn't funny and dragged on too long. Cameron Diaz was pretty brave to have a lemur crawling around on her head. I probably would have been freaking out.

 

Good Neighbor - Not feeling it. I feel like a broken record, but if you're going to aim for "ironic" humour or pieces that are funny because they're "not funny", they can't seem like something a 12 year old would come up with. They can have the production values of something a 12 year old would record, but the humour should be better than that. I get what Beck brings to the show (although he's not going to have a lot of air-time until after Taran leaves), but I'm not feeling it with Kyle. He uses the same Chris Kirkpatrick delivery in every sketch. It's crazy to think that he has remained on the show, but Brooks, Noel and John Milhiser all got fired. I really think that the 3 of them had potential and they would have been able to show it if they had been given more time or had writers with more of a willingness to work with them.

 

Miss Meadows - The part about Friends was funny. Like Baby Boss, I didn't like the previous editions of this sketch, but I thought this one was pretty good. Thought Cameron really sold the UPS guy poem.

 

Night Murmurs - The recent 10-to-1 sketches have resembled the Porn Stars sketches too closely, but I liked the way this one differentiated itself with the women wanting favours from callers. The part where Kate's character talking about losing bets because she can't tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi was really funny and I liked the vendetta that Cecily's character had against her grandmother. It seems like every episode they find at least one sketch to stick Cecily in something that is either practically lingerie or an extremely tight/revealing dress. I get that people think she's pretty, but people also think that Tina, Nasim, Kristen, Sasheer, Vanessa, etc. are attractive and it doesn't seem like that show goes out of its way to exploit their attractiveness. I think it's sad that SNL is using this as a tactic to gain viewers or keep them interested right now.

 

Overall, I thought it was a good show. I don't care for Cameron Diaz one way or another, but she seemed game for everything they gave her (although maybe that was because they didn't give her that much to do). It's interesting that the 2 most consistent shows this year (this one and Woody Harrelson) were shows where the hosts sort of faded into the background and the sketches were more of a group effort. Oh and I was pleasantly surprised that there was no Girlfriends Talk Show! Please let this mean that they have retired that sketch.

 

I don't get Cecily leaving WU so that she could play more characters. She's had less sketch time this season than when she anchored WU and doesn't make that WU character appearances anyway. It's still early in the season, but she's only done Girl at the Party and now Manson's girlfriend. Before she anchored WU the only characters she did were the Girl at the Party and that one-time Get Out the Vote character. So I'm still not sure how much I buy that as the reason for her leaving WU. Then again, maybe she'll end up doing tons of WU characters the rest of the season.

 

Not looking forward to the next show. James Franco can be good on SNL, but I'm extremely off-put by him on a personal level. Plus, does SNL really want a host that has tried to seduce several underage girls?

Edited November 24, 2014 by wudpixie

[izabella]

I loved Vanessa's "I'd rather not say" when Keenan asked who her daughter was.

 

I thought that was the best line of the night.  It still cracks me up.

 

Miss Meadows - The part about Friends was funny. Like Baby Boss, I didn't like the previous editions of this sketch, but I thought this one was pretty good. Thought Cameron really sold the UPS guy poem.

 

Cameron was great during that sketch, and of course, Miss Meadows would know someone like her from her poetry slam group.  It was a great way to build out her character as well as being hilarious.  Now do the FedEx guy!

[BatmanBeatles]

I loved Vanessa's "I'd rather not say" when Keenan asked who her daughter was.

Besides that one, I like when she said why they think they can teach us anything.

[vb68]

I just realized that we didn't get Another Girlfriend's Talk Show.  I thought that was coming for sure.  Good for them for resisting it.  Cameron Diaz  seemed like  the go-to host for one of those.  

Edited November 25, 2014 by vb68

[helenamonster]

Not looking forward to the next show. James Franco can be good on SNL, but I'm extremely off-put by him on a personal level. Plus, does SNL really want a host that has tried to seduce several underage girls?

 

I don't think this show really cares what kind of creepy-ass behavior their hosts (or, hell, their cast members) get up to in their personal lives, tbh, unless it results in an arrest (but they even had Mystikal on this week, and he served time for sexual battery). I also find James Franco very off-putting. But I do like Nicki Minaj and hope she gets to do a sketch.

[Princess Sparkle]

Black Annie - My favourite part of this sketch was "Black Annie". I love the song Black Betty. Lol why was Cecily doing the chicken dance during Black Annie? Does orphan dancing = chicken dance?

 

 

I loved the Black Annie song at the end as well.  And rewatching the sketch this morning, I loved Annie's line that she thought her parents must be Wyclef Jean and Bonnie Raitt.  

[Bruinsfan]

As a conservative (don't throw anything at me), I am glad that SNL is finally calling the Obama administration on some of it's crap.  I've been laughing along at the jokes on Republicans for years, so it's only fair that we get a few too :-)

The problem is, the Obama administration's crap tends not to make for good comedy. This wasn't the case with the Clinton Administration, which was comedy gold. If they want to even up the political skewering they ought to move away from Obama himself and do sketches like Senate Democrats as characters from the Wizard of Oz (you'd need multiple Cowardly Lions, though) or NSA surveillance team members popping out of an average family's dishwasher and kitchen cabinets.

Edited November 25, 2014 by Bruinsfan

[izabella]

I'm wishing they would branch out, politically, too.  Maybe Taran or Beck could try being John Boehner, and Kyle could do Mitch McConnell.  Vanessa could be Nancy Pelosi.  Something other than just Obama would mix it up a little.

Edited November 25, 2014 by izabella

[vb68]

Here's a cut sketch from the show.

[Princess Sparkle]

I can kind of see why they cut that one out - the best parts were from Bobby and Leslie.  I get where they were going, but something was off on the execution, and I can't figure out exactly what it was.

[Traveller519]

Yeah, I liked the concept. I mean White People LOVE Ted Talks, so finding a good way to skewer them was ideal. But it didn't come off great.

 

Rewatching the sketches, The High School Theatre prodcution was probably one of the best live sketches they've done in a long time. Probably my favorite since "Your Love" and "Boss Baby 1."

 

As much as I'm not a musical fan, I have to respect the fact that they can write these songs, learn them, and present them all within one week. All the Your Girls songs have been catchy as hell too.

 

Bowls..bowls..

[helenamonster]

Yeah, I felt like something was missing in the exposition. Like I didn't understand exactly what they were going for until about three "talks" in. It's too bad, cuz even though I love TED Talks, there's definitely a lot of humor to mine from them.

[vb68]

Aidy says she and two of the writers came up with the theater sketch.

[helenamonster]

Those are the writers that she and Kate also wrote Twin Bed with (and, I'm assuming, Back Home Ballers). I think the four of them make a really great team.