S40.E16: Dwayne Johnson / George Ezra

[formerlyfreedom]

Host Dwayne Johnson, musical guest George Ezra.

 

 

[Trini]

The Rock Obama -- I'd love to see that again.

[LADreamr]

They just have to do that. Especially now that it's near the end of his term, and so much has happened since they first did it, there's a lot to play with.

[mtlchick]

I love that he's simply game for anything.  I still crack up when I think of his Mr Peepers sketch. 

[vb68]

I would love for The Rock Obama to maybe kick some crap out of ISIS.  That would be good.

 

I also hope they have some with Ted Cruz since he's officially in the race now.

[Princess Sparkle]

Yeah, the Rock is just delightful when he hosts.  I have always loved the skit where he's trying to hide that he's Superman, and he was in one of my favorite Brian Fellow's sketches (the one where Brian thinks the parrot is going to steal his identity - "That bird had better PRAY he don't screw up my credit!")  I can't wait.

[helenamonster]

Promos:

 

[MrWhyt]

 I have always loved the skit where he's trying to hide that he's Superman...

I bet Superman's gay

No I'm not! I mean....

 

Definitely one of my favorites. A host who is willing to just go with whatever the writers throw at them almost always makes for an entertaining show.

[helenamonster]

More promos:

 

 

I just love how calm and comfortable the Rock is, and I think that's what makes him such a good host. He's cool as a cucumber and totally looks like he's enjoying himself.

 

Also, George Ezra is adorable and I'm going to marry him.

[LADreamr]

LOL, work it, Aidy!

[formerlyfreedom]

I am SOOOO jealous of Aidy Bryant right now...

[Primetimer]

Other than that he'll charm the pants off everyone watching, obviously.

Read the story

[ratgirlagogo]

I love him. I even loved him in WWE during that early period when the crowd just DESPISED him - when he was struggling with awful gimmicks like The Blue Chipper. He is awesome. Now if I could only get everyone to understand the awesomeness of Mick Foley and Chris Jericho.

[punkypower]

Need some help, ratgirl? ;)

A few of my favorite things..

The Rock &Mankind: This is Your Life

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qIy4naMn2LA

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bq267LJrWVc

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QyBvkyENyrQ

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aGbaqwovUM4

Rock & Y2J vs Steph McMahon:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ExJdfKXDj3M

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pZU1r9xuppc

I miss Rock hair..

[nowandlater]

Guess the sketch...

 

[Nannchez]

The Rock came to talk at my friend's film school last year. He talked about movies for about 15 minutes, and then they brought out weights and he worked out in front of them for the remaining 45 minutes.

[SFoster21]

Finally, a decent opening skit.

[Galileo908]

Cold Open: Of course they open with The Rock Obama. And of course it's awesome. I've said before that Ted Cruz is a real-life Bobby Moynihan character, and Bobby knocks it out of the park. And Leslie as She Rock Obama? Freaking amazing.

 

Monologue: Another goddamn song monologue, but since it's The Rock, I'll give it a pass.

 

#Genderflect: A parody of that Starbucks #RaceTogether thing with Pep Boys? Now that's great.

 

Wrestlemania Promo: Dwayne can still cut a promo like a pro, and Bobby would make a great heel. "It's so intricate!"

 

Bambi: Freaking awesome. Live-Action Bambi with The Rock as Bambi and Vin Diesel as Thumper?! Someone's been reading my dream journal.

 

Date: The Rock and Cecily as a-holes? Great, although I still miss Jason Sudeikis and Wiig's a-holes.

 

Escape From Jungle Island: The requisite sketch to appeal to the ladies. This is not a complaint. Kate is so great, as was Pete. All of them just sold their roles in this.

 

Brogaine: I relate to this so much, I got just about everything in this sketch. I know of a few bald guys in my fraternity that I'll be sharing this sketch with tomorrow. Also nice of them to take the obvious SAE potshot (seriously, those guys are terrible).

 

WU: Mich McConnell as the Senate Bad Boy is just a great image. And I love Kim's Russian character and Kenan's super-positive neighbor character. The OJ joke was great, as was the whole bit on The Jinx.

 

Cooking With Paul: This got uncomfortable. It's the "I'm not sure I should be laughing at this, but I am" level of uncomfortable.

 

Improv: Robert Durst at an improv show. This was...a premise. I haven't been following the Robert Durst case, so I'm hoping Kate nailed that impression. Didn't really go anywhere.

 

Good Cop, Bad Cop: Dwayne as a bad cop in an interrogation? It was great.

 

Circus: Kyle's man on the street character! Awkward, but funny.

 

Man, this was a good one. And next week's Michael Keaton!

[vb68]

I would say that was one of the best shows of the season easy.  Dwayne just has  such an easy chemistry with the cast that  everything just kept moving along very smoothly.  it's almost like he was an ex-cast member.  I thought even the weaker segments were mostly okay.  Kate did yeoman's work in that Indiana Jones gay spoof and made it better than it had any right to be.

 

But boy this one had some real hits.  Leslie as She Rock Obama  (how did none of us of think of that?  It seems so obvious.), The Bambi parody, the whole visual of Kate as Robert Durst.  I'm also going to say on the record that Colin's breakdown of The Jinx credits is the best thing he has done on the show.  Ever.  More of that type of thing please.

 

And Dwayne was a natural.   It maybe heresy, but I think I like what he brings more than Timberlake.  Well, Justin has gotten rather predictable in his sketches IMO.  I never knew what was coming tonight.

 

And as somebody totally unfamiliar with George Ezra, dude has some pipes.

[helenamonster]

Cold Open: Aw yis, a revist to The Rock Obama. And Leslie as She Rock Obama? Inspired.

 

Monolgue: I believe my exact (out-loud, in a room by myself) words when a stangehand gave him the microphone were "HOE DON'T DO IT." Stop it with the song monologues, Show. Just stop it. Stop it now.

 

Genderflect: Genius. "It's so great that they have Ellen Degeneres on TV when she used to be a guy." "She wasn't a guy." "I'm pretty sure she was." "Can I have my car, please?"

 

Wrestling: I should not have laughed at the whole "you've been jerking it to the daughter you didn't know you had" thing but shit, this got me.

 

Bambi: This kind of bothered me, idk why. It went on for too long, for starters. And idk, it was just kind of off in terms of parody. The live-action Disney films are practically word-for-word reimaginations of the originals (Maleficent just told the same story from a different perspective with only one super huge plot change), they're not sequels. Idk, the concept was just off. But Taran as Vin Diesel tickled me.

 

Jury Duty: This was funnier than it had any right to be.

 

Dr. Bones: This seemed like it was written five minutes before it was performed, but it still kind of worked.

 

Brogaine: Lol, loved it. I'm in college now and there are totally guys who are already going bald. Also, nice burn of that racist frat.

 

Weekend Update: Is it just me, or was this...good? Ugh, I feel dirty even just suggesting it. I still hate Michael's guts. And for the love of all that is holy, stop introducing the segment with "What's up?" Stopstopstopstop. Kate as Olya gives me life. And I loved Colin's riff on The Jinx opening credits (dude still needs to find a personality with a quickness, though). Kenan's Willy just reminds me that he has totally overstayed his welcome and is very much out of place on the show at this point.

 

Cooking With Paul: Lol, sex offenders, amirite?!

 

Improv: Kate McKinnon is my queen. I also loved the whole "Noah, you're crazy!" Seeing as how pretty much all of the cast members were probably theater kids, that part came from some place deep and shameful. I've been there, you guys.

 

Interrogation: This kind of just seemed like a retread of the WWE sketch. I did laugh when he started busting out the Friends theme song though, complete with the clapping.

 

The Circus with Kyle: "Kyle's" inability to get out a sentence got me all twitchy. Not your best, Good Neighbor.

 

I actually really enjoyed this episode, and I'd put it as one of the best of the season.

 

George Ezra is the bae.

[Bees]

Cold Opening: The Rock Obama AND She Rock Obama? Sold! Plus the fact that The Rock does have the same kind of tone as Obama is always a plus. Man how excited were Leslie Jones and The Rock saying "Live from New York..." though?

 

Monologue: I hate singing monologues but this wasn't so bad. It worked pretty well. I'll give it a pass but if Keaton does a fucking singing monologue, goddammit. Even though I love Keaton dearly, I'm tired of singing monologues. I want a singing Cold Open for once ala I'm Not Gonna Phone It In Tonight. 

 

Genderflect: This was great. Usually, I roll my eyes at any sort of sketches that are like "LOL RACE AMIRIGHT" or "LOL GENDER AMIRIGHT" but this hit the right notes. It wasn't mean spirited either. Like the folks asking the questions were well meaning but kind of dumb about things. 

 

Wrestling: I wasn't really feeling it at first but then came the final part about the Catfishing and the daughter picture...then Taran's announcer going "TOO FAR, COCO!" was what sold me. 

 

Bambi Movie: Don't give Disney any ideas! I loved this sketch and it was just great. The idea of Bambi as a Fast & Furious type movie does sound kind of awesome in a "what the fuck?" kind of way. 

 

Restaurant Douchebags: I loved Cecily's Trashy Brit. I also loved Vanessa's character saying "Do you have a boner right now?!" to her husband. This worked well enough for me. 

 

Escape from Jungle Island: I loved this solely for Kate's character just wanting a piece of The Rock's character and just getting rebuffed every time. Gotta give it up for Pete and Dwayne though. They really went all out for this sketch. Kate being all like "I can hold up the butt for you" and all that other stuff. This just worked for me just for Kate's character alone. 

 

Brogaine: I liked it. It worked well. I knew a lot of balding college dudes. Liked the whole burn on Oklahoma. Not much else to say about this one. 

 

Weekend Update: It had it's moments of very good. I'm liking Jost a bit more these days. I chuckled at Jinx with the theme music being "Oops I Did It Again" quite a bit. This was also the first time I really liked Kate's Russian lady character. Usually I just roll my eyes but somehow, this one worked for me. Can't explain it. Kenan's character was okay. Not my favorite but it gave me a sensible chuckle. 

 

Cooking with Paul: How the balls did they get away with this? We're gonna hear a lot of shit about this sketch I'm sure. It wasn't necessarily funny in a ha-ha way but more in a "How the fuck did they let this air?!" way. 

 

Improv: This was really really really short. Ridiculously short. If I was following the whole Jinx and Robert Durst thing, I'd probably like it more but I'm not. 

 

Interrogation: I liked it enough. The Rock sucking at interrogating is funny. Plus his obsession with his partner's boyfriend was pretty damn amusing. 

 

Kyle Being Awkward: Some of the kids were cute. Otherwise, I could take it or leave it. 

 

Overall a pretty damn good show. Episodes hosted by The Rock is usually always worth a watch, so it's not surprising that this was a good one. Next week should be interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing Michael Keaton host. By the way, is it just me or do they seem to be contacting hosts who haven't hosted in ages? Kind of interesting. I wonder if there'll be a sketch with Taran as Keaton in some point. 

[benteen]

That was one of the best shows I've seen in a long time.  Props to Dwayne Johnson!

 

I remember the Superman is gay skit from his first appearance...still one that makes me laugh.

[Chit Chat]

Rock Obama?  If only.

 

For accuracies sake - not something always known to this show,  the letter  they referenced in the opening was never “sent” to the leaders of Iran. It was posted openly on U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton’s website.  Granted, it was there for the world to see, but it was never sent directly to the Iranian leaders.

Edited March 29, 2015 by ChitChat

[JennyMominFL]

So glad to see George Ezra. Budapest is my favorite song right now. It was all over the radio when I was in Europe last fall.  The regular version is awesome. Give it a listen.

Edited March 29, 2015 by JennyMominFL

[vb68]

It's time to consider Dwayne one of the best hosts ever.  Pretty good recap of the episode.

[nowandlater]

It's time to consider Dwayne one of the best hosts ever.  Pretty good recap of the episode.

 

Hope he joins the Five Timers Club sooner rather than later. It's great to have a host who's first time was 15 years ago. Then again, next week, we get a host who's first time was 33 years ago.

[Trini]

Yay! She Rock Obama was a great surprise! And even though the last 3 or so sketches were so-so for me, I thought the episode overall was good, and of course The Rock is awesome.

 

And as somebody totally unfamiliar with George Ezra, dude has some pipes.

 

Still trying to wrap my mind around that voice coming out of that babyface. Not a complaint.

[mtlchick]

"Cartwheel into me!"  Ladies and gentlemen I think we've found our Ace and Gary for the live action Ambiguously Gay Duo.  

 

My only major issue was the monologue.  Not because it was a singing one, it's because he didn't sing it!  I mean, if you can sing Elvis Christmas tunes in a onesie, surely they can do better than that. 

[LADreamr]

Man how excited were Leslie Jones and The Rock saying "Live from New York..." though?

Very :).

Great show, but really hoping for changes to WU next season. Jost and Che continue to look like they are doing solo bits, just sitting next to each other. Am I misremembering, or did Cecily get a lot less time than this to see if she'd work out at the desk?

Edited March 29, 2015 by LADreamr

[cpcathy]

Good show.

 

I knew Bobby was Ted Cruz from the moment I saw him.

 

Pep Boys was very funny.  Bambi-awesome. I loved Cecily's British accent in the A holes sketch, I want to start saying "Nibbles!" now.  Laughed out loud at WU--look, Che and Jost acting like they know each other!  I really would have turned the cop interrogation sketch into Rock going on and on about Jeff, I think it would have had more focus. Robert Durst went nowhere, and I was really hoping it would. Cooking sketch was only funny due to Kenan's acting. I like Kyle's awkward interviews, aren't they usually internet bits?

 

I think the cast was better used tonight, everyone got something to do, not just Taran.

Edited March 29, 2015 by cpcathy

[vb68]

 

I like Kyle's awkward interviews, aren't they usually internet bits?

 

I'm pretty sure they only used this one at the last second because the show was a little short.   And then we got the truncated goodbye.  I wish it had been a little longer because the cast hasn't seemed that enthusiastic about a host in awhile.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

I like The Rock and I agree his energy is great, but I tried to watch the first half of the show and I found it torturous.  I just thought the writing behind it, and the sets and everything, seemed incredibly on the cheap and lacklustre.  A lot of it seemed like "last sketch of the night" material.

 

I'll catch up on the second part of the show, but I'm not hopeful.  I didn't find it a great episode at all!  

Edited March 29, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay

[ratgirlagogo]

 

And Dwayne was a natural.   It maybe heresy, but I think I like what he brings more than Timberlake

Part of it is that compared to the kind of improv work he did for years as a wrestler, SNL is a breeze.  He has a whole week to prepare the performance, it's only 90 minutes long, he spends that whole week in one town without having to travel, he isn't called upon to work with performers whose strength is exhibition fighting and aren't very good at at talking but have to be made to look good at talking - etc., etc., etc.  Plenty of pro-wrestlers wouldn't be as good as Dwayne - but the big stars like him who do carry the shows (because they're not just good at the physical wrestling, but at the verbal performance work as well) would all be very good at hosting SNL.  I always wish the late Eddie Guerrero had lived long enough to do it - he would have killed.

[helenamonster]

I also loved Vanessa's character saying "Do you have a boner right now?!" to her husband. This worked well enough for me. 

 

Oh God, that killed me. I go back and forth on Vanessa, but she does the deadpan stuff really well.

 

Great show, but really hoping for changes to WU next season. Jost and Che continue to look like they are doing solo bits, just sitting next to each other. Am I misremembering, or did Cecily get a lot less time than this to see if she'd work out at the desk?

 

Cecily got a season. At the end of this year, Colin will have had a season and a half and Michael will have had a season. I'm hoping for changes too. While they've both vastly improved, I don't see this combo as ever being anything other than adequate.

 

Also forgot to mention that I loved how Taran's announcer in the WWE sketch was on his phone right up until they said action and immediately went back to it when they said cut, except the last time when even he was skeeved out by the Rock's intricate burnage.

[DXD526]

Great show. Dwayne is one of my top-five favorite hosts of all time, he's such a comedy natural. The obvious fun he has every time he hosts is infectious.

 

All the sketches before WU were great. The wrestling promo and the restaurant sketch in particular were hilarious. I had to keep rewinding so I wouldn't miss anything while laughing. Can't remember the last time that happened with this show. 

 

I loved when The Rock Obama threw something at the trash can, then said all disappointed, "Brick!" It seemed improved, and it was great. 

[VCRTracking]

Another great job hosting from Dwayne/The Rock.

 

I knew as Sasheer as Michelle Obama started hulking out she'd turn into Leslie!

 

Even though I get tired of musical monologues the idea of the Rock being the "Musical Viagra" of a franchise was good.

 

The Wrestlemania sketch was definitely the best of the night for me. The ending where Dwayne's character revealed he was 'catfishing' Bobby by pretending to be a girl over the internet and using a picture of his long lost daughter was twisted and hilarious. Also liked Taram's announcer constantly checking during the breaks.

 

Live action 'Bambi' was okay. Best part was Taram as Vin Diesel as Thumper.

 

If anyone watches British reality shows like "The Only Way is Essex", you'd know that Cecily Strong was dead on with that personality type. Hope to see it again.

 

As a unabashed fan of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom from childhood(yeah I know it's racist and sexist, but the mine car chase was AWESOME) I loved the skit.

 

Never heard of this Ezra kid, but it's nice to see a young male singer with a baritone voice.

 

Good Weekend Update. I thought Colin hit it on with the models in those American Apparel ads looking like Liam Neeson should rescue them! Good to see Kate as Olya again.

 

Rest of the night was alright. Kate was creepy as Durst and Dwayne as the weird cop interrogator was funny.

 

I was uncomfortable as Kyle was during the circus bit where the dad kept badgering the kid.

Edited March 29, 2015 by VCRTracking

[Latverian Diplomat]

Pep Boys was funny, but off target. The problem with the problem with Howard Schulz's "Race Together" idea is not that baristas are ignorant or insensitive, but that nobody wants to engage in a complex and fraught subject in the middle of time-limited service interaction. It also puts the baristas on the spot dealing with people who react negatively, for no real benefit to themselves, the company, or society.

 

The Pep Boys skit was mostly, "Can you imagine discussing a touchy subject with a bunch of ignorant, working class mooks?" Like I said, I think that was off target.

Edited March 29, 2015 by Latverian Diplomat

[possibilities]

It's too bad when a mistake like that messes up what would otherwise be a terrific sketch. If they had made it a more broad initiative, and mixed in at least an equal number of dimwits from other types of businesses, sprinkling the idiocy around instead of just making it focus on the auto guys, I think that would have worked even better, and avoided the insulting class bias. I do think that besides the "not wanting to engage a touchy subject" issue, there is the issue that a lot of people just don't have the insight to say anything you really want to hear. I actually found the "well-meaning doofus" angle to be more optimistic than what I hear people actually saying off the cuff in a lot of situations. They were wrong, but not hostile, if you know what I mean.

 

I had the same problem with the "suck out the poison" sketch, because of the use of the stereotypical "native enemy" set up. They could have avoided the racism and come up with some other angle-- scorpion? poisonous snake? spider bite? A very easy fix for the premise.

[Samsnee]

The first half of the show was the strongest skits I've seen in a while. The onion rings skit was hysterical, especially the banana song. I didn't even mind the singing monologue since it was creative and Dwayne has a good singing voice. And "Cartwheel up to me" is ambiguously gay duo worthy.

[Irlandesa]

Pep Boys was funny, but off target. The problem with the problem with Howard Schulz's "Race Together" idea is not that baristas are ignorant or insensitive, but that nobody wants to engage in a complex and fraught subject in the middle of time-limited service interaction. It also puts the baristas on the spot dealing with people who react negatively, for no real benefit to themselves, the company, or society.

 

The Pep Boys skit was mostly, "Can you imagine discussing a touchy subject with a bunch of ignorant, working class mooks?" Like I said, I think that was off target.

I disagree. I think the Pep Boys skit was dead on.  It did cover the fact that clients didn't want to talk about gender and/or sexuality but rather get info on their cars.  ("Do I need a brake job?")  So it touched on that problem with the Starbucks idea.

 

But I don't think the "ignorance" of the Pep Boys employees was an attack on the "ignorance" of blue collar workers.  For one, most seemed supportive.  And I can't recall something that was said that was truly wrong (I've only watched the skit once so it's possible I don't recall it)  It was just highlighting the fact that even people who are supportive of equal rights may be ill prepared to lead a meaningful discussion on the topic.  Race is complex.  And gender issues...I've been trained on gender issues and just today I came across a term (binary lesbian) that I had never heard of.  There are just so many shades out there that very few are equipped to lead a discussion.  It boils down to the fact that most people have a superficial knowledge of these issues, even if they're supportive, regardless of their education level.

So the fact that the workers were so inept struck me as perfect. 

Edited March 30, 2015 by Irlandesa

[Toaster Strudel]

I received it as, "Can you imagine discussing a touchy subject with the people you hired to change your muffler?" especially when they were obviously well-meaning, but didn't appear to have thought about gender issues for more than 2 minutes - because they don't need to in their profession.  Like the baristas.

[helenamonster]

I had the same problem with the "suck out the poison" sketch, because of the use of the stereotypical "native enemy" set up. They could have avoided the racism and come up with some other angle-- scorpion? poisonous snake? spider bite? A very easy fix for the premise.

 

Not to mention that you could clearly see the darts in Pete's and the Rock's pockets. I mean, I know they wouldn't have really been shooting the darts, but sometimes it's nice to have the illusion, ya know?

 

But I don't think the "ignorance" of the Pep Boys employees was an attack on the "ignorance" of blue collar workers.  For one, most seemed supportive.  And I can't recall something that was said that was truly wrong (I've only watched the skit once so it's possible I don't recall it)  It was just highlighting the fact that even people who are supportive of equal rights may be ill prepared to lead a meaningful discussion on the topic.  Race is complex.  And gender issues...I've been trained on gender issues and just today I came across a term (binary lesbian) that I had never heard of.  There are just so many shades out there that very few are equipped to lead a discussion.  It boils down to the fact that most people have a superficial knowledge of these issues, even if they're supportive, regardless of their education level.

So the fact that the workers were so inept struck me as perfect. 

 

The one that I can remember that was wrong was one of the mechanics (Jay?) saying that Ellen Degeneres used to be a man. But other than that I agree with the rest of your post.

[Latverian Diplomat]

  And I can't recall something that was said that was truly wrong (I've only watched the skit once so it's possible I don't recall it) 

Here's what was said. Sorry about the uppercase, but I cut this from a subtitle file that had it that way.

IF YOU'RE A GUY, AND YOU WANT TO BE A GIRL, THAT'S GREAT. ME PERSONALLY, I COULD NEVER CUT OFF MY [ BLEEP ].

 

I GOT A QUESTION FOR YOU,   YOU'RE GAY, RIGHT?             

>> YES, I AM.                        

ARE YOU ALLOWED TO SAY LIKE, THAT'S GAY?

>> I GUESS I CAN.

OH, MAN, YOU ARE SO LUCKY.  HE GETS TO SAY THAT'S SO GAY.  

 

IF YOU HAVE BOTH PARTS DOWN THERE, BE PROUD. IF I HAD BOTH, I'D BE DOING MYSELF ALL DAY LONG.

 

YOU KNOW WHAT MY FAVORITE SHOW IS? ELLEN. THAT'S IMPORTANT, BECAUSE SHE  USED TO BE A MAN.

[back and forth with the customer on this]

 

I THINK MY COUSIN'S KID GOT BORN WRONG. WELL, THAT'S THE THING, IT'S NOT BORN WRONG. IF IT'S RIGHT TO HIM.

 

PEP BOYS, FOR BOYS OR GIRLS. OR THE THIRD WHERE YOU'RE BOTH.

 

Most of that's pretty obnoxious, I think the cast's delivery did a lot to defuse the offensiveness, but the remarks were clearly intended to be ignorant and socially uncomfortable.

 

You can say that ordinary people aren't qualified to speak on these things, I think that does vary widely with life experience and plenty of working class people could be quite eloquent and sensitive about it, and many could not or would not want to. The real problem is that the customer service relationship is not a place for these sorts of discussions.

 

It might have been funnier if the employees had actually been eloquent on the subject, and the customers still just wanted to get their damn car. That also would have been more on point because it's just a dumb idea And whose dumb idea? the CEO, the only really laughable idiot in the Starbucks "Race Together" situation. That's why I'm saying it was off target.

[Irlandesa]

It might have been funnier if the employees had actually been eloquent on the subject, and the customers still just wanted to get their damn car.

 

Maybe.  But it worked for me because it was awkward.  Obnoxious?  Yes.  But an exaggeration of how awkward and accidentally obnoxious these conversations would go.  And I rather felt empathetic with those employees who clearly weren't prepared for those conversations. 

[benteen]

Hope he joins the Five Timers Club sooner rather than later. It's great to have a host who's first time was 15 years ago. Then again, next week, we get a host who's first time was 33 years ago.

 

I'd be fun to do a Five Timers Club skit with him alpha maling all of the previous hosts.

[topanga]

 

Great show. Dwayne is one of my top-five favorite hosts of all time, he's such a comedy natural. The obvious fun he has every time he hosts is infectious.

Word. I enjoyed this episode very much. The writing was strong, and the Rock is so darn talented--I never saw the previous episode he hosted, so I had no idea his comedy chops were so strong. The other reason I enjoyed the ep is that the entire cast was more energized and enthusiastic than usual. Even the WU anchors--I think that's what made WU better than usual. It seems Dwayne Johnson's enthusiasm affected the entire show--the writers, the actors, and probably the crew.

 

Favorite sketches: Cold Opening (The Rock Obama), Bambi, and Genderflect.

[mtlchick]

 

The writing was strong, and the Rock is so darn talented--I never saw the previous episode he hosted, so I had no idea his comedy chops were so strong.

 You need to look some of them up if they're on Hulu or the SNL app.  The Superman sketch mentioned before is a highlight.

[hendersonrocks]

This episode felt...different, but in a good way. The first half was packed with laughs from my usually stoic partner, but then things really hit the skids when they got to Cooking with Paul. What I appreciated, though, was that it felt like they were trying new and original stuff--no talk shows, no game shows. It felt creative in a refreshing way, even when there were some misfires.

 

Misc. nibbles:

• She Rock Obama was such a treat. (And then I missed Leslie Jones for the next 87 minutes.)
• The pre-taped Genderflect & Bambi pieces were both so on point. 
• I'm clearly a teenager/college student of the 90s, because This Is How We Do It and Ooops I Did It Again re: The Jinx was absolutely the highlight of the night for me. And Colin was good overall! He emoted!
• Related: Kate's Robert Durst was a thing of beauty, but it seemed like a) a tiny fraction of the studio audience knew who he was and it sucked the air right out of it, and b) the end game for that skit needed a little work.
• I get Kyle's mumblecore thing is HIS THING, but when I can't understand 50% of what he's saying I just get ragey.
• I'd like to smell what The Rock is cooking again soon. He was a fantastic host.

[questionfear]

I totally dreamt last night that The Rock Obama and I were hanging in the White House having a whiskey tasting. It was awesome. 

[Lakewood27]

"Can I have my car, please?"

For some reason, this was the funniest part of the Genderflect sketch for me.

 

•I'm clearly a teenager/college student of the 90s, because This Is How We Do It and Ooops I Did It Again re: The Jinx was absolutely the highlight of the night for me. And Colin was good overall! He emoted!

I'm right there with you on that.

 

Also forgot to mention that I loved how Taran's announcer in the WWE sketch was on his phone right up until they said action and immediately went back to it when they said cut, except the last time when even he was skeeved out by the Rock's intricate burnage.

Loved that! This sketch and the interrogation were my favourites of the night.