S40.E11: Kevin Hart / Sia

[formerlyfreedom]

Kevin Hart hosts; musical performer Sia

 

[topanga]

Looking forward to this ep. Kevin Hart consistently cracks me up despite people's criticism that he tells stories, not jokes. So what?

 

I'd never heard of Sia until I saw "Annie" (2014), and her name prominent on the movie soundtrack. And now that I recognize Sia's voice, I hear her everywhere.  She is all over my radio.

[Maverick]

I'm not sure anything can top "is it a C-shirt?!?!"

[Primetimer]

Will he host like a lady but Think Like A Man?

Read the story

[Misanthrope]

Is it wrong I want this sketch to come back?

 

http://youtu.be/Hc5-6B6XVRM

 

Probably my second favorite running gag in recent memory (after the Galifanakis cable access one).

Edited January 16, 2015 by Misanthrope

[vb68]

I really like the idea of Agent Carter teaming up with Dyke and Fats.

 

Those two characters are good choices to expand into larger segments.

[auntieminem]

Sia, really?  Can't your songs stand on their own without a repeat of dancing blonds?  It is really distracting and repetitive.  

[prican58]

Sia is doing nothing for me. The dancing blonds were annoying as is the mime right now. He seems to be doing sign language so I will let him slide.

 

Kevin was on fire for most of the show. The monologue was comedy gold and his James Brown skit was  crazy. This is is the first time in years that I have actually sat through an entire SNL. I love Kevin.

[Galileo908]

Cold Open: MLK sketch! We're still climbing that mountain, especially with the academy awards. This would be funnier if it wasn't all true.

 

Monologue: At least we have an actual stand-up hosting again. I like Kevin Hart, he really earned his success, but he really did not say "no" to any role, did he?

 

Justin Bieber by Calvin Klein: Kate McKinnon as Justin Bieber will never not be gold. "Hey, my peepee's in there."

 

Why'd You Post That?: Oh man, technical issues in the first 30 seconds of the sketch, not a good sign. I do at least like the premise: Kevin Hart yells at people who suck at Instagram. And apparently the people he banishes to the wall go into an actual dungeon.

 

Bushwick: I really liked this one. Martha's Mayonnaise seems like a store that really exists in Brooklyn.

 

James Brown: I ended up enjoying this one. "How come you're the only one who gets a cape?!" If this sketch would've led to Kevin Hart as James Brown getting into a hot tub, I would've stood up on my chair and declared this the best SNL ever, regardless of the quality of the rest of the show.

 

Fairwood Manor: Vanessa's character was the Meg Griffin of the group. Sigh. Just did not like this, especially with Kevin's character claiming to not be able to understand English.

 

Calvin Klein Bieber 2: "Yo, all this underwear is making me tired." Again, gold.

 

WU: Update was pretty good this week!

 

Romney to run for president again in 2016. In a related story, Charlie Brown will try to finally kick that football. I wish there was more to Michael Che's rant about the lack of diversity at the Oscars. We've seen Kate's Mrs. Santini character before, right? Because she's great.

 

We Must Move On: This was funny, but then it felt like it was starting to drag (but that seemed to be the point)...and then Leslie Jones showed up and made it funny again.

 

Kevin's Son: I like sketches where castmembers do impressions of celebs in front of the real celebs, especially one so spot on like Jay Pharaoh's. Leslie Jones just made this one worth it.

 

Secrets: Was this the first sketch with Bobby tonight? I wasn't feeling this one until the Weekend At Bernie's part.

 

Aside from a few duds, this one was really, really good! Call me surprised by this one. Blake Shelton hosts next time, I don't know how that one's gonna turn out.

[MrWhyt]

I don't know if it is actually true, but it sure felt like each sketch was shorter than normal, which i liked. Pretty solid and funny show IMO.

 

And as for Sia, I prefer Puddles the Clown:

 

Edited January 18, 2015 by MrWhyt

[Lantern7]

So . . . Sia is Lady Gaga's more artistic and kooky sister? Okay, then. And Kevin Hart is still short. Entertaining, yet in a small package.

 

ETA: No kidding about the technical difficulties. Kevin rolled with it like a pro.

[vb68]

Despite some very obvious technical gaffes, I thought this one was pretty good.  And It's been awhile since I laughed as hard as I did at the Bieber  commercials. I think I needed that.  Thank you, Kate.   I will never believe that the cast didn't come away from the show he hosted just despising the little brat.

 

I also loved Leslie picking up Kevin and carrying him. 

 

Pete shared the cold open and and the "Live From NY..."   That's a sure sign they like him, and he's sticking around.

 

West Coasters, I highly doubt you'll see the same Why'd You Post That sketch that we did.  I especially felt for Vanessa.  She was stumbling there for a bit.

Edited January 18, 2015 by vb68

[Trini]

Well, the monologue (basically his stand-up routine) was worth the price of admission.

 

It was great that Hart was able to roll with the technical difficulties.

 

Sia? Thank goodness for fast forwarding.

[Galileo908]

I don't know if it is actually true, but it sure felt like each sketch was shorter than normal, which i liked. Pretty solid and funny show IMO.

 

And as for Sia, I prefer Puddles the Clown:

 

 

I was going to bring that up, I didn't think anyone else knew of that one. His version is much better.

[scrambled eggs]

I did not get Sia's performances at all. Just look at the damn audience and stop with this freaking pretension. 

 

Never seen a Kevin Hart movie, but I laughed a lot at the monologue. It's all too rare to have the host come out and just talk, no ridiculous song and dance numbers or fake audience questions. I felt the episode overall was kind of meh, but he was really entertaining. 

[OpieTaylor]

I thought Sia's Chandelier was awesome! I just love when she hit those high notes and her voice gets kinda rough.  

 

Kevin Hart's opening monologue was hilarious. The We Must Move On skit was really funny, cuz I just don't enjoy musicals because they seem so silly with people singing everything. An all around enjoyable episode IMO.

[lulee]

Secrets: Was this the first sketch with Bobby tonight? I wasn't feeling this one until the Weekend At Bernie's part.

He was in the James Brown sketch - I think with a trumpet, but maybe that was it.

 

I thought Kevin Hart was a great host. Sign him up the next time he has a movie (that I won't see) coming out.

The soap opera reunion was probably the weakest sketch.

WU seemed tight and economical - quite a contrast from how overstuffed it seems some weeks.

 

The Bushwick, CK undies, and Kevin's Son (with Jay and Leslie towering over Kevin and Jay getting Kevin's manicness down) sketches were all great stuff.

[hendersonrocks]

My god, I wish I had just half the energy of Kevin Hart. That he was still as hyped as he was in the last sketch of the night was impressive as hell.

 

This one was kind of meh for me--some ups, some downs in the sketches even though I really thought Kevin himself was consistently great. Random reflections:

• The cold open had a lot of promise, but Pete (who I generally adore) was waaaayyyy too dependent on those cue cards. It was also distracting to see their reflections in one of the frames on the bedroom wall. Kenan was great.
• I'm friends with a number of the protest & movement leaders in St. Louis, so personally was annoyed about the reference to $*&@ Macklemore. At the same time, I get that it's commentary on the way most people see it and how easy it is to say you're part the movement by using a few hashtags--but yeah. The protests ARE being led by young black leaders, and we need to lift them up!
• Michael Che's line about THIS is the work ethic that's leading us to fall behind China genuinely made me laugh. I thought WU was the strongest it's been in a while, maybe because it was shorter and felt more focused.
• Sia, I don't understand you, but I admire that you do you.
• Relatedly, my immediate question as the first song started: is that Kate McKinnon and Jim Carrey?! That's AWESOME! And then, sadness.

[Fostersmom]

Monologue: At least we have an actual stand-up hosting again. I like Kevin Hart, he really earned his success, but he really did not say "no" to any role, did he?

 

 

As long as the character isn't gay, no. He's too insecure to fully commit to such a role. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/16/kevin-hart-gay-role-_n_6490424.html He should have turned Tropic Thunder down because it was god awful all around. Seriously, everyone RAVED about it and I left literally saying it was 2 hours of my life I would never get back. 

 

Sia aside, because really, WTF is with her, this was a really strong episode. I loved the cold open. They really should use Pete more with the slightly clueless/cocky kid routine, he nails it every time. Kate as Bieber was awesome as usual. I'd love to know what Vanessa's character did to deserve the fart music. 

 

I can't say I remember seeing a Kevin Hart movie, I might have, if I did it's certainly not sticking with me, but I would see The Wedding Ringer. I saw the preview at the last movie I saw and it was really funny. Maybe it  seemed funnier since we got every preview known to man for some really random movies (American Sniper, the Jolie POW movie, Big Eyes, the Joaquin Phoenix movie, and the horrific looking Mortdecai), but I would catch it on demand at some point. 

[peeayebee]

Pretty good ep.

 

I haven't seen Hart's standup, but I loved it here in the monologue. Man, that was hilarious.

 

The Cold Open didn't quite work for me. Neither the performances nor the writing was all that great. BTW, when Kate as the mom came out, the audience applauded, which made her stop for a moment. (I'm on the West Coast.) I wonder if the audience thought it was Kristin Wiig. With the … wig Kate kind of looked like her from a distance.

 

The Bieber Calvin Klein ads were fantastic. It's absolutely amazing how much Kate looks and moves like him. I haven't seen the real commercials yet.

 

I didn't care for Why'd You Post That? I can guess what the technical difficulties were -- Something to do with the couch? In the airing I saw, the first time the couch was being pulled behind the wall, it got hung up.

 

Bushwick, Brooklyn was great. Loved it. I also loved the James Brown bit. Hart did a terrific impression, but all the background players were so funny. The first one I really noticed was Beck when we could just see him at the edge of the screen. But each one of them had a personality and was a character. That is so important to adding to the success of a sketch.

 

The soap opera reunion thing was not so successful. I liked the premise, but it didn't go anywhere. I like bizarre, but it got too bizarre with no one but Kevin and Vanessa hearing the different music and Kevin not speaking English. I don't know how the sketch could have worked better. One thing I wanted was to see why Kevin, the sound engineer, didn't like Vanessa's character. Anyway, this needed a rewrite.

 

WU was pretty good, though I still wish Jost and Che wouldn't follow punchlines with staring at the camera to let it land. I particularly dislike Jost's staring blankly at the camera. But I liked Che's joke about the Al Sharpton Diversity Task Force sounding like a Saturday morning cartoon. I LOVED Mrs Santini. I don't remember seeing her before. Her notes to her neighbors were hilarious. The Elephant Family. Just great.

 

The medieval musical sketch was not a great success, though I enjoyed their voices, particularly Taran's. Oh, and the first time Kevin said, "Hey, is this your shirt?" I cracked up. That was it.

 

It was fun seeing Jay do his Kevin Hart impression. I also liked Leslie picking Kevin up. But this one wasn't much.

 

Then the rapper -- Chocolate Dropper -- sketch. Again, I think this needed a rewrite. The best part for me was when Dropper did the "Pwew! Pwew! Pwew!" sounds.

 

Sia. Ugh. I guess the songs are ok. I started watching the dancers, but I couldn't stop thinking they were ridiculous. Sia later.

 

All in all a good show.

[Trini]

 

I can guess what the technical difficulties were -- Something to do with the couch? In the airing I saw, the first time the couch was being pulled behind the wall, it got hung up.

That, and they couldn't get the first photo up on the screen in time.

[VCRTracking]

I loved the "It's a Weekend a Bernie's situation!" bit in the last sketch.

 

Also Kate back as Justin Bieber.

[vb68]

 

I didn't care for Why'd You Post That? I can guess what the technical difficulties were -- Something to do with the couch?

 

 

And the TV/Monitor didn't work for Vanessa's part.  It was kinda funny how he kept beating on it and saying her character's name over and over, "Kim! Kim! Kim!". Eventually he just said it didn't matter and moved on.  Poor Vanessa got tongue-tied and had the deer in the headlights look. 

Edited January 18, 2015 by vb68

[Toaster Strudel]

This SNL installment was the bomb.  Loved it!  Every sketch was good, Kevin Hart delivered the goods, what can I say?  The guy has talent, energy, and work ethic.

[lulee]

Hart's energy level for the final couple sketches was a thing to behold.

 

Not saying he was under the influence of any substances, but it makes me wonder: those of you who are more knowledgeable than me about the long history of drug use by castmembers, did they talk about wanting to be "up" and energetic through to 1AM as a motivation?

[futurechemist]

I'm on the west coast.  Were the technical difficulties that the screen went blank at the beginning.  It seemed they were ad-libbing the jokes about needing to hit the screen to fix it.  The sketch was funny, but they really should send Graham Norton a check for stealing his idea...

 

It was a funny episode, Kevin Hart brings a ton of energy.  I liked Kenan's disappointment as MLK.  And Kevin and Jay bouncing off each other was very fun.

 

There were a few negatives.  Weekend Update still isn't working for me, even if it was slightly improved.  And as funny as I find Leslie with her stand-up bits, she seems to have trouble delivering lines in sketches.

[Lakewood27]

I LOVED Mrs Santini. I don't remember seeing her before. Her notes to her neighbors were hilarious. The Elephant Family. Just great.

"Dear Mario Batali of hot garbage. I'm so sorry your pots are diapers and your spices are dookie."

 

Then the rapper -- Chocolate Dropper -- sketch. Again, I think this needed a rewrite. The best part for me was when Dropper did the "Pwew! Pwew! Pwew!" sounds.

 I've been doing this all day. Pwew, pwew, pop, pop, gunshot sounds!

[Galileo908]

As long as the character isn't gay, no. He's too insecure to fully commit to such a role. http://www.huffingto..._n_6490424.html He should have turned Tropic Thunder down because it was god awful all around. Seriously, everyone RAVED about it and I left literally saying it was 2 hours of my life I would never get back.

 

Kevin Hart wasn't in Tropic Thunder. And every review of The Wedding Ringer I've read said it's pretty much an overly long gay joke masquerading as a buddy comedy.

[DowntonStabby]

 

• I'm friends with a number of the protest & movement leaders in St. Louis, so personally was annoyed about the reference to $*&@ Macklemore. At the same time, I get that it's commentary on the way most people see it and how easy it is to say you're part the movement by using a few hashtags--but yeah. The protests ARE being led by young black leaders, and we need to lift them up!

 

 

Word. I'm also from St. Louis, and while I haven't been a part of the protests, a few of my friends have (off and on), and while I don't know the leaders personally myself, at least one of them is a friend of a friend of mine (who, among other relevant accounts, I've been following on Twitter), so I can verify this. (In short? Suck it, Oprah.) As for the hashtag thing...I didn't tune into the episode until the James Brown sketch, so I can't really offer up an opinion on the hashtag stuff.

 

As for the mayonnaise store...I think there actually is one in Brooklyn. Wyatt Cenac mentioned one in his latest standup special, entitled Brooklyn (which talks about the Brooklyn he grew up with, as well as modern-day Brooklyn--hence the title, lol), which I highly recommend watching. 

 

I liked the Sia performances. First of all, unlike some past guests, she seemed to be doing her own thing, and could actually, you know, sing (which is a sad bar, I know, but yeah...). Second, I feel like SNL could use more weirdness from its musical guests--not the Lady Gaga humped (or was it being humped?) by R. Kelly brand of weirdness, but the sort of weird, you truly don't know what will happen next (and not in a clickbait manner) sort of weirdness. Obviously, I don't expect (nor even want!) this every week, otherwise you and I would watch stuff like this and be like, "Seen it!", then move on. But to give you an example of some of the weirdness SNL used to air from its musical guests, I give you--who else?--Mr. David Bowie. (Video in link NSFW.)

 

Update continues to be two different WUs within one, though at least Che seemed not to have as much a problem with the cue cards this week. Meanwhile, Jost is nearly a year into his run in the Update desk, and he still doesn't seem to have a personal take on it, other than "Let Me Imitate The Other White Guy At The Desk I Replaced." That's not to say I didn't laugh at a couple things he said, but the problem is, I can't tell you what they were! Whereas Che--while I truly have a problem with his misogynistic comments--I thought his bit about how Al Sharpton's Diversity Task Force would make a great Saturday morning cartoon (combined with the accompanied animated caption) was hilarious (though, again, doesn't mean I still don't find other things he says misogynistic). People bash Colin Quinn, but at least he had a fleshed-out point of view. Other than the one comment Colin Jost made about Staten Island in the wake of the Eric Garner verdict, I really don't have a handle on him.

[prican58]

Kevin is a guy who is just plain funny. He is very funny and very driven. My friends and I talk about how he is everywhere but we all just love him. He was  good in About Last Night and I thought really funny in Think Like a Man. His stand up film Let Me Explain is def worth watching if you really do not want to see his other films. 

 

Kate McKinnon is just so very talented.

 

Re next weeks Blake Shelton, Blake is very funny and has a good sense of humor so I am intrigued. I'm into Country but not so much Blake's music. Crossing my fingers that Miranda Lambert shows up for her boo.  

Edited January 18, 2015 by prican58

[peeayebee]

Kevin Hart wasn't in Tropic Thunder. And every review of The Wedding Ringer I've read said it's pretty much an overly long gay joke masquerading as a buddy comedy.

I think the OP was saying that he should have turned it down because it was bad, not because he didn't want to play a gay character. 

[Fostersmom]

I think the OP was saying that he should have turned it down because it was bad, not because he didn't want to play a gay character. 

 

Yep. He said he turned Tropic Thunder down because the character was gay, but that should have been the least of his worries with the movie. 

 

Did anyone else think Cecily was Kristen Wiig when she walked out of the soap opera sketch? She looked so much like Wiig doing her Kathy Lee character, I got terrified for a second. I completely don't "get" Sia and think her "music" barely qualifies as music and is horrible, but I was thankful we only got the kid from Dance Moms and not Shia Lebeouf too. 

[anyanka323]

I knew that the Bieber Calvin Klein commericial would be parodied.  McKinnon is just comedy gold as Bieber and whoever was playing Lara Stone got her exasperation at his antics and immaturity down.  It would have been better if they had included her alleged response to him hitting on her.

[peeayebee]

OMG. What a douche move. That is so funny, anyanka323.

 

Did anyone else think Cecily was Kristen Wiig when she walked out of the soap opera sketch? She looked so much like Wiig doing her Kathy Lee character, I got terrified for a second. 

 

No, but I thought Kate was Kristen when she first walked out in the Cold Open.

[Bees]

Cold Open: This was alright. I kind of liked the little meta joke about how Pete Davidson looks racially ambiguous (he said something like "I might be black...kinda"). 

 

Monologue: I'm so glad about the monologue just being standup material. No singing, no dancing, no stupid guest appearances. Just a straight up monologue. I usually don't like Kevin Hart's stuff but I kind of liked that raccoon bit. 

 

Bieber Calvin Klein: Kate's Bieber is lovely. I liked the childishness of his character while trying to look all badassed. I half expected seeing JK Simmons go out there and berate the crap out of Bieber but then I remembered that Funny or Die did that already.

 

Why'd You Post That?!: I didn't mind the concept. There's a lot of stuff people post on Instagram that you wonder WTF they're on. I just think that they used some rather mundane examples. It didn't really hit with me.

 

Bushwick: This was just fantastic. I loved every minute of this. Nothing amuses me more than juxtapositions and subversive humor. And then the twist at the end just made things even better (though did he really have to cap that guy in front of the bitches?!)

 

James Brown: This was a concept that could've gone so wrong but everything just hit. I think it was because of Hart. He just had so much energy and it really brought the sketch to another level. 

 

Soap Opera Reunion: This was kind of frustrating. There were two great sketch concepts that could've worked brilliantly if they were separate sketches (a soap opera reunion which plays like a soap opera would've been great and the idea of someone who speaks perfect English but yet doesn't understand a word of it would make an interesting Abbott & Costello-y sketch) but yet they tie them together with the lamest concept yet. Once again, this could've been more in the right hands.

 

Weekend Update: I'm at a point where I just basically go up and get a snack during Update. I want to like Che and Jost but they just aren't working. I thought they could've worked through everything. It's at a point where they need couples therapy or something (speaking of which, another hilarious sketch idea where the Update anchors end up in couples therapy, pretty much making fun of their lack of chemistry). I liked Kate at the passive aggressive neighbor. Those notes are lovely. 

 

Medieval Sketch: I wanted to like this. I enjoyed the singing and I enjoy those fourth wall breaking sketches where they're like "LET'S GTFO!" but I think I enjoyed Leslie at the end who is the one who finally gets them to go. Also, I loved the physical comedy of Kevin jumping into Taran's arms. That was great. 

 

Kevin's Son: Tired concept of impressionist meeting the impressionee, but I liked Leslie in this sketch. Also, speaking of physical comedy, her carrying Kevin Hart was lovely. And Jay's Kevin Hart was pretty good too. It was okay but nothing worth writing home about.

 

Rapper Secrets: Loved this one. The secrets were pretty fun and I loved how much Kevin Hart was into it. Throw in the Weekend at Bernies situation and the dark ending and you have a lovely 10-to-1 sketch. 

 

I liked this show a lot more than I thought I would. So there's that.

[Trini]

 

Cold Open: This was alright. I kind of liked the little meta joke about how Pete Davidson looks racially ambiguous (he said something like "I might be black...kinda").

 

"I'm a white kid... probably."

[mizkat]

Did anyone else think Cecily was Kristen Wiig when she walked out of the soap opera sketch?

 

I did...and immediately went "oh no". Then I saw it was Cecily and everything was good again. 

 

I liked the show, but agree that the soap opera thing didn't work. The instagram pictures could have been better, too. Loved the James Brown sketch. Kevin Hart's monologue was also good--I liked how it rambled and went on so many different tangents, but still worked. I'm not familiar with his work, just him because as it's been said he's EVERYWHERE. I also think he got a lot of time outs and detentions as a kid for ants-in-the-pants syndrome. Nice to see him channeling his super power into something good. 

[Princess Sparkle]

This might have been my favorite episode this season. The cold open killed me, especially every time Keenan kept mentioning the mountain. And I damn near died laughing during the monologue once Kevin started in on the shoulder parts.

I watch the episodes on Hulu, so I must've seen the dress version of the Instagram sketch, which I did enjoy. The rappers secrets sketch was hysterical, and I loved how upset Pete was that no one told him that he couldn't eat gummy bears because gelatin came from pork. I thought the James Brown sketch was only ok, but I did laugh when Ciecily's character changed her first name because she got married.

Honestly, the sketch that didn't work as well for me was Jay as Kevin's son. The premise was funny, and Jay had the mannerisms down, but the voice never really for there for me.

[ratgirlagogo]

Another solid episode.  I think the Bushwick sketch  and the Bieber one were my favorites, but overall this and the Martin Freeman episodes have been my favorites this year.  Kevin Hart was awfully good at keeping things going even when they weren't going well (Instagram sketch) and I appreciated that he was allowed to do his standup act without lame shit with song and dance or "awkward" audience questions.  Funny stuff.

[helenamonster]

Cold Open: I liked this. I thought it made a lot of good points and covered a lot of bases.

 

Monologue: Meh, Kevin Hart's stand-up just doesn't seem to be my thing. Yeah, it's nice not to have to sit through a dumb song or random guest appearances or audience questions, but it's not like we can give the show any credit on monologues like these. I guarantee the read-through goes something like "and Kevin will just do whatever bit he wants from his stand-up, NEXT!" Idk, I just didn't find it funny. In theory, I preferred it to the alternative(s), but it's just not my cup of tea.

 

My Calvins: Kate McKinnon is magical. Honest to God.

 

Why'd You Post That?: Good in theory (though whoops on the snafu with Vanessa on the couch). I liked the one with Kyle posting a shirtless selfie and making the caption about Paris, I see shit like that all the time on Instagram. But I feel like it just barely scratched the surface of the dumb things people post.

 

Bushwick: I really really liked this. I'm not really familiar with the Brooklyn neighborhoods but it's kind of the trendy borough right now, so I guess this was making fun of how weird stereotypical white girl stuff (painting parties, mayonnaise stores) would be popping up there.

 

James Brown: Funny I guess.

 

Nancy: This had potential. I thought Aidy really had the talk-show persona down, and the music they used to introduce the soap opera stars reminded me of Desperate Housewives for some reason, so I had high hopes. But then it kind of turned into one big fart joke with a side of nonsense re: Kevin speaking English but not understanding it (a gag that I've already seen on Family Guy) and it was just ugh.

 

Weekend Update: I don't think I'll ever warm to Michael "Why Can't I Harass Women In The Street?" Che and Colin "Did I Leave The Stove On?" Jost. They had some good jokes and I like that the segment was shorter, but they just don't have "it." Colin is starting to frighten me with his deadpan stares after each punchline, like he's trying to absorb my life force through the television or something. Kate was awesome. The woman that lives below my mom is passive-aggressive like that, leaving weird notes and everything. I could definitely relate.

 

Dragon: I got what they were going for but meh.

 

Kevin's Son: We get it, Jay can do a Kevin Hart impression. Jay can do pretty much any impression. He's been on the show for awhile now and his legacy will probably be his impressions. I did like Leslie picking Kevin up though, that got a chuckle from me.

 

Rap: This was good, wish it had been longer and more in-depth.

 

Kevin Hart may not be my thing, but I applaud him for his energy and commitment to the material. I really didn't think the show was anything special, though. A lot of the sketches just seemed to scratch the surface of what they wanted to say, which seems to be a recurring problem lately. The writers don't seem to want to go in-depth with an idea. So many times I feel like I'm left wanting more, and not in a good way.

 

I don't know enough about Sia to comment on why she doesn't show her face, but she's got a damn good voice. Wish they hadn't passed up the opportunity to have Kate do her dance again. Maybe Sia takes her work too seriously to actively endorse a parody? Idk. The mime bothered me, though. I mean, mimes in general do, but at some points it seemed like he was doing sign language and then at others I was just like "Ok I only know the alphabet, numbers, and a few words in ASL but that is definitely not a legit sign." Like it almost came off as that guy from, was it Mandela's funeral, who wasn't doing real sign language but tried to pass it off like he was.

[possibilities]

There were a lot of funny things this week, but those Calvin Klein ads were sublime. I don't know whether to feel sorry for Bieber or to hate his little guts, and I haven't seen the real ads yet, but Kate's impression is soooo amazing, and it really outdid itself this time. Cecily played her role fabulously, also. Kudos to all involved.

 

Kevin Hart's stand up is in regular rotation on Comedy Central, for anyone who wants to check it out. He's not my favorite comic ever, but he's pretty funny. He's always high energy like that. He even talks about his son being that way and how they were asked by the schools to treat him for hyperactivity and... how that turned out. He talks a lot about his kids and his father. I think being short has been a big deal for him and he also talks quite a bit about issues related to his size.

 

Racoons are very adept at using their fingers and can definitely open latches. I've never seen one walk on two legs, but I've seen them stand up on their back legs and reach for things. And yes, they are very bold.

 

Sia was amusing in the promos for this episode, but I couldn't get through her performances. I suppose she wants to be anonymous in her daily life, so she can move through the world without being recognized, and I respect that. But I still find her look and the dancers off-putting. I can't judge her singing because I couldn't understand a word she was saying and the captioner couldn't keep up. I'm pretty sure that was my ears, though, as it happens with a lot of music, and she didn't seem like someone with no actual voice.

 

I think they need to give up on Jost/Che. It's just not working. Usually, the writing is at fault when something on this show fails, but right now with WU it's the delivery. Sometimes I think the jokes might be funny but for some reason I'm not laughing. And I always thought WU was the best part of SNL, until now.

 

I agree with everyone who's saying there were some great concepts tonight, not all of which were well-enough developed. And, too, that some of the skits were terrific. None of the failures seemed lazy, which is not how I always feel. It was like they went to air on an early draft, but there was a lot going on, rather than that the whole thing was phoned in. I wonder how many of the concepts came from Hart.

[peeayebee]

Racoons are very adept at using their fingers and can definitely open latches. I've never seen one walk on two legs, but I've seen them stand up on their back legs and reach for things. And yes, they are very bold.

When he said that the raccoon mimed shooting him, I thought OK, funny exaggeration, obviously not true, so I loved that when his wife said that wasn't possible, he admitted that maybe the raccoon just wiggled his fingers at him. Very clever setup. I might check out one of his stand ups on Comedy Central.

[JTMacc99]

Kevin Hart was a very good host, and the whole episode felt better to me because of it.  I really enjoyed the monologue. That stuff about shooting down the lights for the driveway because he thought the contractor was taking advantage of him because he had money, and then "I was wrong. I needed the lights!" made me laugh.

 

And I hate that I no longer look forward to Weekend Update.  However, if we're going to get some version of Kate visiting the news every once in a while, I'll be okay. “Dear elephant family in in 6H, I am very sorry you is elephants and every step you take ruins my life”  Heh.  Not quite at the ::Russian lady who wanted to be burned to ashes by an exploding meteor and then eaten by a goat so she would finally be warm:: level, but still wonderfully silly and funny.

Edited January 20, 2015 by JTMacc99

[Miss Scarlet]

Cold Open - I thought this was fine. I liked when Pete Davidson said he was an activist and showed MLK the hashtags he uses on Twitter. I was glad Kenan attempted an impression. 

 

Monologue - Yes, this was definitely a step up from the musical monologues. I liked the part where Kevin Hart was talking about how his wife said a raccoon couldn't have attacked him because raccoons don't have thumbs and Kevin Hart said something like "you don't need thumbs to hate me!"

 

My Calvins - Heheheheheeeeeee. Any sketch with Kate imitating Bieber as a whiny little brat is good to me! You just know that he's standing in his mansion right now, watching these parodies on a loop and yelling at the TV "How could they do this? I'm the best Calvin Klein spokesperson eva, bro! I was the best SNL host ever, man!" and asking his legal team about ways to sue NBC. I could also see him sending threatening messages to Lorne being like "Yo Lauren! You dissed me! I ain't eva coming back to host SNL again!" and Lorne being like "....Okay!" I loved when Kate as Bieber said "this tattoo made me say owwie" and when he fell off the scooter and started crying. I thought the height disparity between Bieber and the model made it extra hilarious. I wonder why there were only two of these. (Although I do have to say, I hope that Bieber really is just a brat and that this isn't an Amanda Bynes situation, where everyone makes fun of him and then it turns out that he actually has mental health issues. I do worry about that sometimes because he does seem like he's headed for some in-patient time.)

 

Why'd You Post That - I feel like this subject has been covered ad nauseum. I guess SNL figured it was time for their turn to do it. There was nothing that exciting here for me. Most of the jokes I'd heard before. I did like Kyle and shirtless France post because that is what people actually do and the selfies online are just out of control. Even not taking selfies can turn people into narcissists because I'm ridiculous proud of myself for never taking them! It was interesting that this sketch really exemplified the way SNL typecasts the current female cast members. Vanessa is cutesy, sometimes boring and suburban, Aidy is weird and Cecily is hot. 

 

Bushwick - I thought this was funny, but it dragged on too long.

 

James Brown - I didn't really get this one at first, then I did, but like Bushwick it felt like it dragged on for too long and the ending was really abrupt. I think I would like this better on a re-watch. I think that this coming on so early in the show probably meant that they really ran out of ideas for sketches last week. I would have put this post-Update. Beck's expression was hilarious though. I noticed it in the corner of the frame before he even said his line. 

 

Housewives - This was awful. From the played out fart joke to Kevin not speaking English. Blah.

 

WU - Did Michael Che finally get through the segment without stumbling over the lines? I don't even remember because I hardly pay attention when he speaks. I really have no idea why everyone was so excited when he got moved over from the Daily Show. He's not bringing anything to SNL. Colin Jost's New Jersey impression was awful, but at least he tried (I guess)? He brings so little personality to WU that I've started giving him props for any little shimmers of humour that he shows. Kate's neighbour was hilarious and could be a good recurring guest. Her voice sounded a lot like the Italian woman who painted that portrait of Jesus (or whatever it was), but that's okay. The earring hole smell did make me go ewwwww. I've been there. Loved the notes to the neighbours.

 

Dragons - I liked the idea of this, because it's totally true in Disney/in musicals, but the execution was boring. Taran's sustained note was funny.

 

Kevin's Son - I feel like whoever wrote this sketch was just like "Yes, impressions are hilarious when the person being impersonated is right there! Plus, the height disparity between Kevin Hart and Leslie Jones will be so hilarious!" but really, those things weren't enough to carry this sketch. I don't think Jay Pharaoh's impression of Kevin Hart was good enough to warrant this sketch. 

 

Rap - This was pretty funny, but they could have pushed it further. Again, Beck was hilarious in this and so was the Weekend at Bernie's situation. 

 

I wasn't sure why they asked Kevin Hart back because I remember his last time hosting as being pretty bad. I wasn't crazy about this episode, but Kevin did a pretty good job. He was committed and energetic. It seemed like the cast members were barely in the sketches at all this week, with a lot of them getting basically no lines, and Kevin really got most of the airtime. I guess the writers thought it was better to put his energy front and centre, as opposed to trying to blend him in more with the rest of the cast. I don't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. 

Edited January 19, 2015 by wudpixie

[izabella]

It seemed like the cast members were barely in the sketches at all this week, with a lot of them getting basically no lines, and Kevin really got most of the airtime.

 

 

Yes, I was really noticing what seemed like a lack of cast members, but if you think about it, they were there in plenty of sketches.  It just seemed like the Kevin Hart show because of his energy and he was the central character in many of the sketches. 

[cpcathy]

If you watch the online version of the Calvin Klein ads, there is one more ad.

[goodbyeglittergirl]

I was not really familiar with Kevin Hart, but I enjoyed his performance and thought he handled the problems early on in the show with great professionalism and had great energy throughout. 

 

I DVRed this episode with the hopes that since Maddie Ziegler was there to dance with Sia, maybe they would use her in a sketch like Dance Moms. But they did not. Lost opportunity!!!

[Traveller519]

One of the biggest turnarounds for the show has been the quality of the Cold Opens. They used to be so predictable as a news segment or White House press conference, they've really shaken them up, and that's great. They're finding good premises to still carry the pervasive news story of the week without us feeling like we're being talked to.

 

I'm definitely coming around on this Weekend Update pairing, but they didn't play off one another in this one. That's what flushes out Colin's nerdy-guy persona and gives the show something to go on.

 

The best sketches were when Kevin's energy took over. It's why the Soap Opera sketch didn't work (obviously in addition to the farting...did we learn nothing from the January Jones incident?), and what made an otherwise lame concept in Kevin meeting his son work so well.

[vb68]

Here's a cut sketch.  Eh, it was Ok, I guess.  I think that's the same character that Kyle has played on Update.   I kinda wanted to hear more of Pete's act in the background at the beginning.

 

I also heard from a podcast that Sasheer had a cut commentary from Update called "How to Talk With Your Black Friends About Selma."   I know there was one joke about actually watching the movie and not watching her for her reactions to everything.  I think that would have been a good commentary.

[BatmanBeatles]

 

Here's a cut sketch.  Eh, it was Ok, I guess.  I think that's the same character that Kyle has played on Update.   I kinda wanted to hear more of Pete's act in the background at the beginning.

I thought it was kind of depressing.