S41.E07: Ryan Gosling / Leon Bridges

[formerlyfreedom]

Ryan Gosling hosts; musical guest Leon Bridges

[vb68]

I had totally forgotten this was on tonight.  I was thinking there was a two week break between shows.

[Galileo908]

Seems Ryan Gosling forgot, too. Did he have any emotion other than "what have I gotten myself in to?"

 

Cold Open: More fun with Trump and Melinda.

 

Monologue: Oh thank god, Mike Myers is here to save the monologue. Ryan Gosling looks SO excited to be here, he seemed as wooden as a toy soldier. I kind of knew that a song was coming. About Canadian Christmas. This is gonna be a long night.

 

Settl: This is my greatest nightmare. That I'd be one of the guys in this sketch. I'm also surprised that the dates were only portrayed one way. Would it have been in bad taste to see the male version of Settl, too?

 

Alien Abduction: We have a sketch about people getting abducted by aliens, and the main bit was a piss joke. Aidy breaking (and therefore, making everyone else break) made this sketch bearable. It meant something finally happened.

 

Santa: I liked this one. It was a funny premise...and then it got weird. I truly believe Ryan Gosling believes in Santa. Like, exactly as much as he does in that sketch.

 

Birthday Party: This one was...weird. This seems like a sketch that seemed to have been written for Kristen Wiig.

 

WU: The Isis Cosby bit made me laugh. And I loved seeing Secondhand News Guy again. I missed him. Thirdhand News Guy, however, might mean that this bit has reached its logical conclusion. And Secondhand News Guy only repeated what Thirdhand News Guy kept saying! You'd think that someone who got news second hand from someone who also got their news second hand would've twisted the story even further.

 

Trevor: This was terrible.

 

Nespresso: Why did we wait this far into the show for a parody of those dumb Nespresso ads with Clooney & Danny DeVito?! And yeah, those ads are weird and pointless.

 

The Wiz: I was all set to watch a great parody of The Wiz Live, but that special just HAD to be good and now we have Ryan Gosling show up to awkwardly play the Ray Bulger Scarecrow and ruin everything. At the very least, those had to have been the real costumes from the live show, so that was great to see.

 

Santa & The Magical Elves: We've seen these elves before, right? I feel like we've seen them before. The ones that wanted to be "punished" by Santa. Either way, this was tough to sit through.

 

I don't want to say that this episode was worse than The Episode That Shall Not Be Named, but I feel like it was on the same level. We all knew THAT episode was gonna be lousy. This one was just disappointing on every level. Ryan Gosling just seemed to act like he'd rather be anywhere but here.

Edited December 6, 2015 by Galileo908

[vb68]

I read him very differently.  He kept breaking, so I thought he was into it and having fun. And he broke a lot.

 

 

I thought it was ok.  Certainly didn't think it was Trump bad at all. It did start out very slow, but steadily got better. In fact, the last half hour after Update was one of the stronger episodes this season IMO.  I thought his Roy Bolger was pretty damn good.   

 

Santa Baby was killer.

 

But one thing.  For me Mike Myers is one of the most overrated castmembers ever when he's not doing Wayne.  I find his shtick boring.  And I think he proved that in the monologue.

Edited December 6, 2015 by vb68

[Bees]

Cold Open: I got to this pretty late. By the time I changed it onto NBC, they were doing the Live from New York. So I can't say either way about this one.

 

Monologue: This wasn't half bad. A singing monologue but I half expected it. Kind of nice to see Mike Myers again. 

 

Settl: I fear that this will be me in a few years. I liked this though. I would've liked to have seen it go both ways. 

 

NSA: This was possibly funny? I mean I was amused but I'm not sure if it was more by the sketch itself or the fact that nobody really had a straight face during it.

 

Santa: I love when it goes off the rails. Also I like that the lead female was Vanessa. It's kind of nice to see her get a lead part like this. She really brought it. And also Beck as Santa was funny with his whole uneasiness.

 

Birthday Party: They did this in the Drake episode of SNL as well. Why is this recurring? Regardless, it could've worked under the right circumstances but this just didn't really do much for me. Gosling had a case of the giggles here too.

 

Weekend Update: This was good. Not sure what else to say about it. The jokes were good and I'm liking the trading off rants aspect of things with Update these days. I like Secondhand News Guy but I think he's run his course...though I'll admit they're very good with spacing out his appearances. I knew a girl like Cecily's character who would pull this shit. It was infuriating to watch because she was a smart girl but decided to make herself look dumb in front of others.

 

Trevor: Was this just a whole "Let's showcase Ryan Gosling's talents!" and that's it? It kind of felt like that.

 

Nespresso: Loved this sketch. I loved Danny DeVito being the voice of reason. It's kind of hard to take him as a voice of reason anymore thanks to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia where he's just absolutely insane. I think that's why it works so well.

 

The Wiz: I dunno about you guys but I liked this sketch. Though I'm seriously wondering what the hell was up with the Ed Wynn voice that Ryan Gosling was doing. If he was going for Ray Bolger, he completely missed. I enjoyed this sketch but I'm possibly in the minority here. Also, the set and the costumes were amazing. I'm assuming they're from the show itself?

 

Santa & the Elves: Really dude? This again? Well I guess get the Christmas crap out of the way to make way for the next couple of weeks. But really?

 

This was kind of disappointing. I think Gosling was having fun but man he is not built for live television. He was on the verge of cracking up too many times to count. Next week should be interesting.

[methodwriter85]

I honestly thought Ryan's live comedy skills were going to be stronger because the other Mickey Mouse Club people who did this show were actually really good, but maybe he's just rusty?

 

I did enjoy his Scarecrow though.

[lou ann b]

Well, heck. I find I'm mostly in the minority. I really enjoyed the show. I have never seen a Ryan Gosling film(Hey, I am too a girl)so I had no preconceived ideas about how he would do and I enjoyed it. 

I have to say it, I  LMAO at the ailen sketch. Kate just kept adding to it and adding to it and I loved it. Kate is truly funny and talented.Props to Bobby for mostly holding it together when Aidy and Ryan were losing it.

Santa Baby was awesome, after I realized where it was going. Vanessa really brought the character.

Update continues to get better every week.These guys have found their voices and rhythm. "Isis Cosby". Wow.Uncomfortable laughter is my favorite kind.

I didn't see The Wiz,but everyone did well and I didn't have a problem with Ryan's Ray Bolger,and he sold the dancing and singing and was into it, as he was with everything.

Taran, I love you, but your He Who Shall Not Be Named impression? Needs work. Or maybe it's just because I DETEST He Who Shall Not Be Named..nah..needs work.

Had not heard of Leon Bridges until tonight. I'm very much impressed. Two weeks in a row of people who can actually SING. About time.

[vb68]

 

This seems like a sketch that seemed to have been written for Kristen Wiig.

 I expected her to go straight through the wall like Wiig's Surprise Sue use to do, but she bounced back and crashed the table a la Matt Foley.  I think Chris would have been proud.

 

 

I have never seen a Ryan Gosling film(Hey, I am too a girl)so I had no preconceived ideas about how he would do and I enjoyed it.

 

Not even The Notebook?   

 

 

 

Taran, I love you, but your He Who Shall Not Be Named impression? Needs work.

 

 

It does.  They also need to find their angle on him because it just comes across as very tame compared to what really comes out of his mouth.  There has to be a way to nail him.  I feel like they are still experimenting with it.

 

Good to see you Lou Ann.  :) 

Edited December 6, 2015 by vb68

[lou ann b]

Good to see you too. No.Not even The Notebook.

[VCRTracking]

At the first half hour mark and the alien abduction sketch is already in my "Best of season" list. Kate was just killing it on every line reading(while calmly smoking a cigarette). Ryan Gosling trying to hide his laughing and Aidy nearly breaking was great.

 

Loved the "Santa Baby" short. Ryan and Vanessa's characters gave a Tarantino film couple vibe like "Honey Bunny" and "Pumpkin" from Pulp Fiction or "Mickey and Mallery" from Natural Born Killers.

 

I have never seen a Ryan Gosling film(Hey, I am too a girl)so I had no preconceived ideas about how he would do and I enjoyed it

 

I always remember him as the dweeby guy from the late 90s teen show Breaker High, so I'm always amused whenever people say how hunky he is now.

 

Birthday Party: This one was...weird. This seems like a sketch that seemed to have been written for Kristen Wiig.

 

Actually I don't recall Wiig ever playing a child before(or someone who is supposed to be a child since the last sketch Aidy's character is revealed to be in her twenties).

 

*ETA (Okay she did briefly play that girl with the braces crying over Sanjaya on American Idol during a Weekend Update bit).

 

Oh and according to Leslie Jones' Twitter Ryan's fellow Mickey Mouse Club alum Justin Timberlake visited:

Edited December 6, 2015 by VCRTracking

[Former Nun]

At the first half hour mark and the alien abduction sketch is already in my "Best of season" list. Kate was just killing it on every line reading(while calmly smoking a cigarette).

 

 

• I had the impression the group rehearsed without MOST of Kate's lines and they had to try to keep it together while she improvised.  It was great!
• Having cast members break up is NOT approved by Lorne Michaels, but audiences like it.
• I, too, wondered about the Bert Lahr voice...but eventually he was Ray Bolger-enough for me.
• I haven't seen The Notebook (definitely NOT my style), but I've seen enough Gosling films to know he's a good actor--and I like him.

Edited December 7, 2015 by Former Nun

[absnow54]

I honestly thought Ryan's live comedy skills were going to be stronger because the other Mickey Mouse Club people who did this show were actually really good, but maybe he's just rusty?

Me too! The other kids from the MMC who have hosted, did it in the late-90's early 00's, not too long after their stint with Disney ended in the mid-90's. Ryan's displaced two decades. Plus, as musicians, Justin, Britney, and Christina are all used to live performances, while Ryan, apparently is not. I was kind of hoping that JT would drop in on his monologue instead of Mike Meyers, but they're probably saving him for Tina and Amy's Christmas show.

 

Ryan was pretty weak, and he was slow on his lines, which really held up the pacing of all the sketches, yet there was something so strangely endearing about the way he was breaking. It looked like he found the cast so genuinely hilarious that he couldn't help it.

[tomsmom]

Wth was that voice Kyle Mooney was doing in the Trevor sketch? It ruined what ever they were getting at for me!

[Fostersmom]

Wth was that voice Kyle Mooney was doing in the Trevor sketch? It ruined what ever they were getting at for me!

 

The voice and sketch were horrible. Trevor was basically the equivalent of teen boys calling each other gay as an insult. It's ugly then and even uglier with adults. 

 

I loved Ryan's continual breaks, but I have a feeling he won't be invited back because of it. 

[cpcathy]

Please do not bring out Justin Timberlake during Amy and Tina. Please.

 

I thought it was okay, not great. Is it that Gosling seems so serious all the time? I do enjoy his movies, he's great in Crazy Stupid Love and The Ides of March is a powerhouse of talent (see if for Philip Seymour Hoffman if nothing else). I know he's talented (and purdy!) but I started having doubts about him hosting after the initial promos.

 

I may be  a silly person, but I always, always laugh when someone says "aboot."

[bamlou]

I'm surprised there's a bit of a lukewarm reaction to this episode - I thought it was the best one so far this season. The alien abduction sketch and Santa Baby short film were the highlights, but I found something funny in pretty much every sketch, and it was refreshing to be spared any talk show or game show skits - everything was pretty much situational in concept.

 

I get why some would be put off by the birthday party sketch, but I enjoyed this one, purely based on Aidy's performance. I found her her coy, playful line delivery hilarious, and loved that ridiculous bit about her mom still making her sit in a car seat ("And it faces backwards, so I never know where we’re going!").

 

I agree that Ryan started off a little stilted, but I thought he was having fun. He seems like a reserved guy, so it might not have fully translated on the screen. Normally I'm against the cast breaking into a giggle fit, but this was one of those rare occasions for me where the host's own amusement was somehow infectious and the laughter helped add to a few of the scenes.

[Shibori]

Who played the non-Gosling scarecrow?

I thought the first few sketches (aliens, Settl, and Santa) killed, but the show went downhill from there.

[hendersonrocks]

Ryan was pretty weak, and he was slow on his lines, which really held up the pacing of all the sketches, yet there was something so strangely endearing about the way he was breaking. It looked like he found the cast so genuinely hilarious that he couldn't help it.

 

Endearing is a great word to describe it. I mean, he looked like he was having such a $*@&% good time as that naughty elf at the end that it kind of made me love him. (Granted, I'd have also loved him if he took his shirt off in that Trevor sketch...I both hated and loved that we missed out on that.)

 

Santa Baby was just incredible. Perfect interplay between Gosling & Bayer, with everyone else standing back in abject horror/admiration. SO good.

 

Other random thoughts:

• Trump is terrible. Melania is mostly terrible. Time to re-boot or abandon ship.
• Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant can basically do no wrong for me. I just flove them.
• I love seeing Michael Che pop up in skits every once in a while. He didn't do much, but he looked like a great scarecrow (and I was waiting for someone to go off on Gosling's scarecrow for reaching out to touch hair, so it was great when Dorothy did).
• I like Leon Bridges's stuff on the radio, but ehhhhh. He was pretty bad live.
• And what's with Danny DeVito making an appearance two weeks in a row? I'll take all the Bobby I can get, but goodness.

 

I'd be really excited if next week was just a great episode on its own merits and not an endless parade of guest stars. I'm not holding my breath.

[TimWil]

I think the alien abduction sketch should have been held back for Amy Poehler on the 19th. She would have knocked it out of the park. McKinnon just hit a double, in my opinion.

[SomeTameGazelle]

Actually I don't recall Wiig ever playing a child before(or someone who is supposed to be a child since the last sketch Aidy's character is revealed to be in her twenties).

What was Gilly if not a child?

I noticed Ryan Gosling called Aidy "Morgan" once during that sketch. I wonder if they also worked on a Girlfriends sketch as well.

[bmoore4026]

I must be in the minority, because the Alien Abduction sketch made me laugh so hard, I almost passed out.

 

Kate McKinnon is the greatest woman ever!

[Ms Blue Jay]

Ryan is a talented actor, but it's very hard for him to pull off live stuff; he just needs a lot more practice.  His stuff in Santa Baby was perfect.

 

The alien abduction skit was great.  Even without the breaking -- which I found funny -- I was still laughing really hard at Kate's lines.  The writing plus her delivery.

 

I have read that Lorne DOES like the cast breaking.  Also, how do you explain the success and his endorsement of both Fallon and Hader?  

 

And yes, Kristen Wiig has played children.  What about Gilly?

 

I liked Taran's Clooney impression.  He may not look a lot like him -- though they gave him dark brown contacts, right? -- but the mannerisms were great!  

Edited December 6, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay

[Thinbalina]

I must be easily amused because I enjoyed this show..especially the Santa Baby, The Birthday Party and the Alien abduction..something about the way she was puffing that cigarette made it even more hilarious for me.

[BatmanBeatles]

 

Having cast members break up is NOT approved by Lorne Michaels, but audiences always enjoy like it.

It seems he lets it slide these days.

[absnow54]

I think Lorne gave up on his "cast members shouldn't break" stance during the Jimmy Fallon era.

[mtlchick]

 

Me too! The other kids from the MMC who have hosted, did it in the late-90's early 00's, not too long after their stint with Disney ended in the mid-90's. Ryan's displaced two decades. Plus, as musicians, Justin, Britney, and Christina are all used to live performances, while Ryan, apparently is not. I was kind of hoping that JT would drop in on his monologue instead of Mike Meyers, but they're probably saving him for Tina and Amy's Christmas show.

 

I would agree with most of this.  Justin, Britney and Christina also had to deal with a lot of public perception about this so this show was an outlet to poke fun at themselves and roll with it (I still think Christina's take of Samantha from Sex In the City is one of the best impressions a celeb has ever done on the show.)  Other than who Ryan has dated (and that he's kept pretty private) he's low key. He was having fun but it was a bit jarring on how often he was breaking.  But I also think Justin could have been used last night.  Instead of that lame Trevor sketch, they could have easily built a Mickey Mouse Club sketch around them since they were also roommates back then.  

[BatmanBeatles]

I think Bobby should have been the main protagonist in the Trevor skit. I think he would have improved it.

[Primetimer]

Yes, Kyle Mooney's bare torso was among them, but not for the reasons he might have liked.

Read the story

[sheetmoss]

 

Loved the "Santa Baby" short. Ryan and Vanessa's characters gave a Tarantino film couple vibe like "Honey Bunny" and "Pumpkin" from Pulp Fiction or "Mickey and Mallery" from Natural Born Killers.

 

I channelled Kalifornia with Brad Pitt & Juliette Lewis.

Edited December 6, 2015 by sheetmoss

[VCRTracking]

What was Gilly if not a child?

 

 

  

  And yes, Kristen Wiig has played children.  What about Gilly?

 

Oh right. I always try to block Gilly out of my head. Her memory is like a trauma I want to forget.  I can take "Target Lady" and I can take "Secret Word actress" but that one is over the line. Whenever people who hate Kristen bring that up I have no justifiable defense for it.

Having cast members break up is NOT approved by Lorne Michaels, but audiences always enjoy like it.

 

It's why Lorne never liked the old Carol Burnett Show but the majority of their sketches(the ones where the cast didn't break) were so solid as a rock in terms of writing, which a lot of SNL isn't.

 

Rewatching the alien abduction sketch, it would still be funny even if there was no breaking. The way Kate went "What?!" like when Cecilly  talked about seeing God while her experience was sitting on a stool as a line of aliens took turns "batting her knockers"! It's relatable to anybody who got the raw deal compared with somebody else.

 

That Nespresso ad with Clooney and DeVito has me going "WTF?" for the past couple of weeks and I'm glad they made fun of it.

Edited December 6, 2015 by VCRTracking

[lou ann b]

I really am not all that into continuous cameos by former cast members.which usually happens on the last show prior to Christmas. But at least I know it's coming by now.just saying. Watched the alien sketch..I laughed harder.

[vb68]

I'm shocked there wasn't any type of Notebook parody along with a Mickey Mouse sketch.  The Notebook is the one movie he did that most people know, and from Leslie's instagram, we know that Timberlake was backstage.

 

I was a little confused by Aidy's character in the Birthday sketch.  They didn't re-establish that she was older and had been in a coma or whatever like the first time they did it.  And then as someone mentioned, she was called Morgan which did make me wonder for a second if it was a tweak on her Girlfriends' Talkshow character.   She really worked hard to sell it, though.  Aidy in general continues to show her versatility IMO.  

 

Mike Ryan says it was the new guy in the costume during the monologue.   I think he's having a rough time breaking through as I noted in another thread.

[Ms Blue Jay]

This is the article I read where Bill Hader said Lorne doesn't mind breaking:

 

http://splitsider.com/2012/09/talking-with-bill-hader-about-snl-impressions-breaking-lorne-michaels-and-more/

 

So when you’re breaking and it’s live, what goes through your head?

 

“Ah, shit. Fuck.” In the “Stefons” and other stuff it legitimately is “Fuck.” And now, people tell me, “Aw, you’re doing that on purpose, right?” I’ll have people stop me on the street and go, “You’re laughing on purpose.” And I’m like, “No. Why? Why would I do that? [laughs] Why would I do that to myself?” I think some people think me breaking is actually doing the character of Stefon, in how I’ll put my hands over my mouth. That’s kind of part of the character. It’s not me not trying to laugh. But usually I start to break towards the end and that’s because John [Mulaney] has changed the words or people are just laughing around me. Everyone’s laughing and I just can’t keep it together. But usually, if the camera followed me back to my dressing booth after Stefon, the majority of the time I’m pissed. I’m thinking, “Fuck.” And John’s going, “Bill that was great.” And people are going, “That was hilarious.” And I get mad.

 

I did the same thing in “Californians.” I apologized to Lorne after “Californians.” I was like, “I’m so sorry.” Because I laughed during dress, too. And I was like, “I’m so sorry. I just can’t do it.” And he was like, “Who fuckin’ cares?” His attitude is if what you’re saying and what’s happening isn’t funny and you’re laughing, then we have a problem. But what Fred was doing was hilarious. And what Stefon says sometimes is really hilarious.

 

I’m a soft touch. If you were at the table reads on Wednesday, you’d see I break constantly. John Solomon and, I think, Mike O’Brien wrote a sketch with this eagle-head guy? It was with Will Ferrell and Jason Sudekis and I were in it. He was this guy who owned a manor and there was basically a mannequin’s body but the head was an eagle. And there was a drawing of it in the sketch, and I just couldn’t — I was laughing so hard. Will Ferrell was making me laugh so hard. We were saying, “Well we want to come to you to get some money for a hospital.” Because he’s this really rich man, with an eagle. [laughs] And Will Ferrell was doing this thing where he was like, [as Will Ferrell, as the rich eagle man] “Mister Pennyworth would love to — Oh, what’s that sir? I’m sorry, he he’s a… he sees a rat that’s actually 500 yards outside the window.” And I would cry laughing every time. Because he would keep interrupting us going “Ah, I’m sorry, he thought he, he heard a herring about…” Because eagles have really good perception. And so I was just losing my mind and I apologized to the writers afterward. I was like, “Um, I totally ruined that.” I was just laughing through the whole thing.

 

[SomeTameGazelle]

I was a little confused by Aidy's character in the Birthday sketch.  They didn't re-establish that she was older and had been in a coma or whatever like the first time they did it.  And then as someone mentioned, she was called Morgan which did make me wonder for a second if it was a tweak on her Girlfriends' Talkshow character.   She really worked hard to sell it, though.  Aidy in general continues to show her versatility IMO.  

 

 

I don't think Aidy's character in the birthday sketch was called Morgan -- I think that was one slip by Ryan Gosling and the rest of the time she was called Madeleine.

[peeayebee]

I thought this show was great. I laughed a lot.

 

I didn't care for the Cold Open. I think Taran's Trump impression is fine, but the jokes are toothless.

 

I loved the Canadian Christmas song. Very clever lyrics, catchy tune too. I like Mike Myers and loved when Ryan asked him where he came from -- "I live backstage."

 

The Settl dating app commercial was fantastic. Vanessa just nails this sort of character. (And I thought she was outstanding thruout the ep.) I also froze the one profile that Sasheer was trying to left-swipe. His hobbies were "Playing catch, laundry, eating, games, lying down, laughing."

 

The alien abduction sketch was hilarious. Kate was just perfect. Such a great performance. The breaking was fun, too. But the best part was Kate and her stories about what the aliens did. 

 

The Santa Baby bit was also good. I was wondering why it was filmed instead of done live. I wonder if it was because Ryan couldn't get thru it without breaking. Anyway, this was terrific. I loved Beck. Man, he was great.

 

Aidy was the star of the girl's birthday party sketch. I think I liked her character more this time than the first one. 

 

WU was good. Loved Che's bit about how Fox News recapped The Wiz. I also cracked up when he was doing the story about men and women's brains and said, "Women always be shoppin'! Am I right?" But my favorite part of WU was Anthony Crespino and his... cousin? friend? Angelo. That high voice always makes me laugh, and having two guys doing it together was great. Plus there are funny mixups. Star Wars and the Four Jamacians directed by JarJar Abrams. Charlie Sheen's got the HBO. The Dell Dude is breaking every record.

 

The sketch where Ryan's getting interviewed and his old friend Trevor comes up was the weakest one, but I still liked it for some reason. I thought Kyle's voice was funny. Sometimes he was sounding gay, but not always. It was just a weird, insinuating, annoying voice that made me laugh.

 

Loved the Nespresso ad. Taran did a good Clooney impression. He had the mannerisms and facial expressions down pat.

 

I have The Wiz recorded but haven't watched it yet. In this sketch I loved how terrific Ryan's Ray Bolger impression was. 

 

Santa and his Magic Elves was amusing. I was wondering what happened that was causing the three elves to start to break. Because the camera stayed off Santa for a while, I'm guessing Bobby was having some kind of issue with his costume. Maybe his mustache fell off.

 

I hadn't heard of Leon Bridges before, but I enjoyed his performances, esp the first one.

 

I thought Ryan did well. He did take too long to start his lines, but he did well in everything.

 

One of the season's top eps.

[JakeyJokes]

Settl was great. Leslie Jones' face at the end when Kyle Mooney says he should be in bed by now was everything.

 

I thought this was one of the stronger Updates of the season. The jokes were biting and the characters were funny and didn't go on too long. I still liked Cecily Strong's character better when Kristen Wiig played her opposite Seth Meyers. She only did it once, but it was a "flirting coach" or something who ended up acting ridiculous. In the skit right after that, Ryan Gosling sang "I Am Telling You I Am Not Going" which is also the song they had heartthrob Jake Gyllenhaal sing ten years ago and then I just felt old and stabby.

 

The pratfall in the Hot Dad sketch made the whole thing for me.

[VCRTracking]

The Santa Baby bit was also good. I was wondering why it was filmed instead of done live. I wonder if it was because Ryan couldn't get thru it without breaking. Anyway, this was terrific. I loved Beck. Man, he was great.

 

I think it was because of the closeup shots of Ryan and Vanessa dancing sexily together on the coffee table and the lighting was like something out of Natural Born Killers but then it cuts to a wide shot with the other guests aghast and the lighting is normal.

[Galileo908]

I've come to warm up to a few of the sketches since watching it last night. The Wiz sketch was one of my favorites, and I was wondering where THAT Ryan Gosling had been all night, he was pretty good in it.

 

I love Kate, and she was going all-in for the alien abduction sketch but I just wasn't feeling it so well at the time.

[Princess Sparkle]

I am actually not a huge Ryan Gosling person, so I was going in expecting not to like this, but I was really pleasantly surprised. He seems like a pretty reserved guy, but I did find him very funny, and his breaking was very endearing. The Alien sketch was probably my favorite, and I give a lot of credit to Kate for delivering those lines with a (mostly) straight face, and kudos to Cecily and Bobby for keeping it together while Aidy and Ryan were breaking. Santa Baby was a close second, all for the line delivery on "Then how the FUCK did Santa get here??"

WU was strong once again. The Isis Cosby line was great, but my personal favorite was Michael's "You know what they say - dress for the job you want." I always enjoy Bobbys second hand news guy, and he looked like he was having extra fun with it last night, first when he careened straight into Colin, and then smacking him harder than intended (Colin's 'You hurt me' sounded genuine and cracked me up).

I'd never heard of Leon Bridges before and really enjoyed him.

Edited December 7, 2015 by Princess Sparkle

[JTMacc99]

"It felt super off the books." Hee!

[Ms Blue Jay]

"I don't think I got their Top Brass"

[absnow54]

The Alien sketch was probably my favorite, and I give a lot of credit to Kate for delivering those lines with a (mostly) straight face, and kudos to Cecily and Bobby for keeping it together while Aidy and Ryan were breaking.

Did Bobby keep it together though? He was the first one I noticed when everything was going to hell because it looked like he was crying, he was laughing so hard. Cecily Strong was the MVP when it came to keeping a straight face in that sketch. Everyone else, even Kate, lost it at one point.

[Traveller519]

Leslie did some awesome work with some more subtle characters tonight. In the Settl sketch, and as the exasperated Wiz. But there's very little talk of that, and guaranteed when she next shows up on Update or has an over-the-top character the usual "She only does Loud Black Lady" comments will come back.  Well Leslie, here's at least one voice appreciating what you did tonight.

 

I enjoyed the breaking tonight, it showed off someone who was relaxed enough not to be nervous and totally pleased by his surroundings, and it seemed to infect the rest of the cast as well.

 

The cast is incredibly balanced right now. A couple years back it seemed like it was going to be the Taran and Cecily show, but everyone really brings their own pieces. Save, Mr. Rudnitsky, who looks to be on the Brooks Whelan path if he doesn't find something to contribute other than a passable Anderson Cooper and fitting into a Bonhomme costume.

[possibilities]

Leslie did some awesome work with some more subtle characters tonight. In the Settl sketch, and as the exasperated Wiz. But there's very little talk of that, and guaranteed when she next shows up on Update or has an over-the-top character the usual "She only does Loud Black Lady" comments will come back.  Well Leslie, here's at least one voice appreciating what you did tonight.

Leslie and Kate can take over the show as far as I'm concerned. I can't wait to see them in the Amy/Tina show, because those two really like to write for the female players. I like the rest of the cast, too (mostly) but Kate can do no wrong and Leslie makes me happy.

 

I was put off by Gosling breaking so much. I did take it as him having a good time, but it happened in every single sketch, didn't it (except maybe the Wiz)? Enough, pull it together, and stop ruining everyone else's concentration (except Cecily-- she was solid as a rock when everyone else was falling apart during Aliens).

 

A gosling is a baby goose. I never really thought about it til tonight.

 

I wasn't too fond of tonight's material. Most of it just didn't land with me. I thought Vanessa was great in the Santa sketch. I liked Settl but thought it was strange that they only showed what was "wrong with" their dates, and not why they themselves were having to settle. Though I admit:

His hobbies were "Playing catch, laundry, eating, games, lying down, laughing."

actually sounds pretty good to me-- real, you know? I'm not a professional loser, I'm just not looking for a partner who puts resume polishing over hanging out with me in the everyday. Maybe I need a dating app for people who like life without drama and are not putting on airs.

 

Overall, I had a meh reaction to the show, but it wasn't terrible, just not as funny to me as some of the other stuff they've done recently. I've been laughing a lot this season.

[JTMacc99]

I am fairly confident that I heard Cecily laugh out loud when she was off camera and Kate was in the middle of the part where she was explaining how there was one alien acting as the lookout.  

 

Nobody was safe from Kate's awesomeness.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I love lying down and laughing.  So little in life that is better

[peeayebee]

Leslie did some awesome work with some more subtle characters tonight. In the Settl sketch, and as the exasperated Wiz. But there's very little talk of that, and guaranteed when she next shows up on Update or has an over-the-top character the usual "She only does Loud Black Lady" comments will come back.  Well Leslie, here's at least one voice appreciating what you did tonight.

Another appreciating voice. I thought she was great in Settl and The Wiz. I'm glad she's in the cast.

 

The cast is incredibly balanced right now. A couple years back it seemed like it was going to be the Taran and Cecily show, but everyone really brings their own pieces. 

That is something I noticed with this particular ep: Everyone shone. No one was on the sidelines.

[mtlchick]

 

Leslie did some awesome work with some more subtle characters tonight. In the Settl sketch, and as the exasperated Wiz. But there's very little talk of that, and guaranteed when she next shows up on Update or has an over-the-top character the usual "She only does Loud Black Lady" comments will come back.  Well Leslie, here's at least one voice appreciating what you did tonight.

 

I think she has really come into her own this calendar year.  She's certainly a lot less awkward when she's in a live sketch and she's a hoot in the taped bits.  She's a big reason I am looking forward to Ghostbusters next year. 

[Ottis]

I was put off by Gosling breaking so much.

 

 

I can understand that, but his breaking was the only thing that made me laugh in most sketches, aside from the alien sketch which felt like Kate was making stuff up as she went along. 

 

I had no idea who Gosling was, aside from an actor. I have never seen one of his movies, after looking him up on IMDB. That's saying something, given how many movies I've seen. He must do movies that don't interest me.

[vb68]

 

Leslie did some awesome work with some more subtle characters tonight. In the Settl sketch, and as the exasperated Wiz. But there's very little talk of that, and guaranteed when she next shows up on Update or has an over-the-top character the usual "She only does Loud Black Lady" comments will come back.  Well Leslie, here's at least one voice appreciating what you did tonight.

 

I also agree with this, but then I always think she's awesome.

 

 

That is something I noticed with this particular ep: Everyone shone. No one was on the sidelines.

 

Well Pete and the new guy (still have to look up his name to spell it right) didn't have much to do, but I  know what you mean.