S41.E12: Larry David / The 1975

[formerlyfreedom]

Host Larry David; musical guest The 1975

 

 

[Gemma Violet]

Bern Your Enthusiasm was hilarious.  

[Galileo908]

Cold Open: We open with Ted Cruz! Looking like a Far Side cartoon from the side was such a great bit. I also loved that they covered that "Bad touch" video that was going around with Ted trying to kiss his daughter. Man, Ted Cruz is lame. And awful. Like, really awful. This sketch made a very good case for that.

 

Monologue: Larry David on stage! Still can't believe it. "You're going to be very disappointed." I like those odds, Larry! This was a hell of a great monologue.

 

FBI Training: At first I thought this was going to be about using excessive force on people of color, but this took such a weird, silly turn.

 

Bern Your Enthusiasm: Here's the race sketch. But man, this was perfect.

 

Titanic: What I love about Larry David hosting SNL is that it's like George Costanza hosting SNL. And Bernie showed up! This was totally perfect for him. And the cameo was short and sweet, perfect for both of them. And I loved them introducing The 1975 together!

 

Totino's: This is not a repeat of the one from last year, where they had the Totino's Activity Kit for Wives.The twist was so weird and great, we were getting into "Too Many Cooks" territory and the capper that it was for the X-Files? Delightfully weird.

 

WU: Once again, just staring at actual footage of GOP candidates means you don't need to write jokes anymore. It's become just that stupid. Kate McKinnon Barbie was again, another fantastic character. Obvious butch woman stereotypes, but she just makes it work. Man, lots of the jokes were great this week. And speaking of cameos, Derek Zoolander and Hansel came in! Loved them.

 

Songwriting: Pete was the perfect person to run the class. Larry made this weird material work.

 

Cam Newton & Peyton Manning: Heh, Ebony & Ivory parody. It's been a while. And of course they point out the media's hypocrisy about covering them.

 

Sheila: Larry David finally meets this character. I think they sparred rather well. Kenan was, again, great. He's truly the king of the "Nope."

 

So...Larry didn't disappoint. I'd say that this was pretty good. Pretty, pretty, pretty good. Next week is Melissa McCarthy. Should be good. (EDIT: Not looking forward to Kanye. I hope they make lots of jokes at his expense, especially since Beyonce is performing at the Super Bowl tomorrow. EDIT 2: This is the part where I remember that Beyonce is married to Jay Z.)

Edited February 7, 2016 by Galileo908

[vb68]

This one was excellent.  Even the weaker sketches, like the FBI one and the  song lyrics class, were really better than average.

 

Bern Your Enthusiasm is probably just about the best sketch of the year.

 

Update was also pretty great .  For all the crap Che gives Colin, Colin got him back him back tonight with a pretty epic burn.  "It's his month."   Che played that perfectly as if he didn't know that was coming.  And then Derek Zoolander called him Lester Holt.  Ouch.

 

New guy Jon finally gets a segment on Update.  It wasn't hilarious like I think he thought it was, but it was alright.  I can be charitable and say it reminded me a little of Will Forte.

 

Loved Pete's wig in the lyrics sketch.  Is that the first time he's the utility/straight lead in a sketch?    Little Petey is growing up.

 

Probably the weakest part was the cold open.  I wish they would let Bobby play Cruz.

 

"They use to call me Garfield in high school.  I hated Mondays, and I had a tail."

 

I swear the lead singer in The 1975 looks like Joseph Gordon- Leavitt playing a character in a bad wig. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I thought I would be annoyed by the Zoolander cameo because they've been promoting the movie almost as much as Jerry Seinfeld promoted Bee Movie but then I really enjoyed the jokes.  

 

Hansel:  (Referencing everything in the 1990s being remade) And I don't know if you heard the news but O.J. killed again.

 

And then Derek referencing Jerry Maguire as an insult to Ted/Tom Cruz/Cruise.

 

I can't be objective about Larry David, so let's just say I loved it.  I love his energy and demeanor, I love how he shared so much with Bernie Sanders.  I'm happy.  I love how he did stand-up for his monologue.  And it was funny.  Very happy.  (Also, I'll mention that I've liked every episode and host this year - Adam Driver, Ronda Rousey, and now this -- one of my absolute heroes).

 

I never wanted to be one of those people who acts old and grumpy about the musical guest.  So this is a real milestone for me because this is one of my first times.  How is The 1975 any different from any pop hit you heard on the radio in the 1980s?   I'll take my answer off the air.  Thanks.

Edited February 7, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Bees]

Cold Open: This was fairly boring, to be honest. I mean there were some fun lines but compared to the rest of the episode, this was fairly weak. 

 

Monologue: I like Larry David. He's funny. I can't really go into any longer synopsis other than he's great and I love the whole "You're gonna be disappointed" especially since I was far from disappointed.

 

FBI Training: Man this was such a goofy sketch. I loved the "CAN A BITCH GET A DONUT?!" line and then Bobby's character and Kenan wondering why he had a friend. I thought they were going to go into something more about police brutality as well, but I'm glad they didn't. This was just goofy in all the right ways.

 

Bern Your Enthusiasm: We all saw a sketch like this coming and man did it not disappoint. Cecily's character was awesome. And the tying together of everything went perfectly. I honestly thought that Bernie was going to meet Larry David being played by Bernie but that would've been too much. 

 

Shipwreck: Not sure if it was Titanic related or not. Anyways, I enjoyed this sketch since it gave serious shades of George Costanza. Maybe not the strongest sketch of the night though. And here we get the Bernie cameo. Not sure if it really had any point other than "Dude, that's Bernie Sanders" but hey, it was still enjoyable. 

 

Totino's: When I first saw this, I honestly thought they were just gonna rehash the sketch from last year. I was getting annoyed, then I saw it was going to go in another direction but it wasn't until I saw the blank TV before I realized where it was going. And man did it go off the rails in the best way possible. I loved how it turned out to be an ad for The X Files. Man, the sketches this week have been seriously inspired.

 

Music Guest: I never really comment about the musical guest but man, that first song from The 1975 is amazing. It's called "The Sound" and it's got the 80s sound that I love, not the super annoying 80s sound. Anyways, yeah I'm hoping this song catches on but the songs I always want to see become a hit never do. I had heard "Love Me" (their second song) before and it just sounds really annoying to me. I mean it's good but not as good as "The Sound" IMO. 

 

Weekend Update: I know I've said it every episode but I'm really loving the chemistry between Michael and Colin these days. It's just so much fun to watch Update now. I think Colin ad-libbed the "It's his month" line about Michael making fun of Colin calling him Vegan Mayonnaise. And the jokes were pretty fantastic. And then we have the segments. Kate as Sturdy Barbie was awesome and she brought it as usual. Then we had Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson coming on as Zoolander and Hansel and that was great too. However, the best segment for me was Jon Rudnitsky re-enacting Dirty Dancing and taking a far darker turn than any of us could imagine. His pantomiming was spot on and that was just an absolute clinic of physical comedy. When I was watching it, I realized "Oohhh THAT'S why they hired him...." I just loved this bit so much. I hope he rides off this momentum. Also loved the little joke about how nobody even knows that he's on SNL. 

 

Songwriting Class: This was pretty good too. I mean this could've gone down a much worse road but I think the whole world building of the Frogs, Toads and Iguanas just really brought it to a bigger level. Also Pete came off as that right mixture of douchebag and sensitive to head a class like this. 

 

Cam Newton and Peyton Manning: I liked the back and forth between them. It never went into full "X, amirite?!" territory which is something I absolutely hate. It toed the line in the best way possible. And the whole making fun of Peyton for having like 3 touchdowns was great and how Cam Newton shouldn't even be threatening on account of making yogurt commercials and then taking shots at Papa John. There was a lot to love about this. 

 

Last Call: This was great but I'll say it once and I'll say it again -- the real star of this sketch for me is Kenan as the exasperated bartender. His facial expressions and little props really make this sketch so much better than it is. Not that Kate isn't awesome and Larry David wasn't the perfect dude for a sketch like this. It's just that I find Kenan far more funny in this sketch. I guess I'm just a fan of reactions to moments of "Nope!" than the "Nope!" itself. 

 

This was definitely the best show of the season. Larry David was game, the sketches were inspired as hell, the musical guest was fantastic, and everything just worked. The Tracy Morgan episode is the only one that comes close for me. I hope they build off this momentum next week.

Edited February 7, 2016 by Bees

[helenamonster]

Cold Open: I agree that this was the weakest bit of the night but still pretty strong. Whoever in the makeup department made Taran as shiny as Cruz did an awesome job.

 

Monologue: Aw man, I just love Larry David. And I love that they just let him stand up there and do his thing instead of throwing him into a silly song and dance routine.

 

FBI: I had no idea where any of this was going but I loved it. Oh my God Leslie. "I'm high on bath salts!"

 

Bern Your Enthusiasm: I never watched Curb but this was still excellent. Cecily was amazing.

 

Titanic: I dislike sketches where everyone is just yelling at each other, but the real Bernie coming out to save the day was nice (I had seen a headline somewhere that he was going to be on so I was wondering when he would show up).

 

Totino's: I too thought this was just going to be a beat-for-beat remake of the last Totino's parody they did, so color me shocked when it started going in like 3 different directions. When the title card for The X-Files came up at the end I was cackling.

 

Weekend Update: Damn this shit was tight, and I am never eager to compliment these goobers. Loved Zoolander coming on. "Did you see the news Tuesday? OJ has killed again." Only thing...Jon Rudnitsky. What are we thinking? Remember when they did that "Celebrity Family Feud" sketch where Brooks Wheelan played himself and said he was on SNL but Kenan's Steve Harvey didn't believe him? And then he was gone at the end of the season? This...felt like that, acknowledging that he hadn't really done much on the show. Idk, it just felt like a last-ditch effort to justify writing him a paycheck. I guess it was funny? I feel like it would have been better if he'd had more time and could have slowed it down. He's not a great mime and the speed didn't help. Was he jumproping with her intestines at one point? Just...#yikes

 

Songwriting: This could have been stupid but it actually built up a nice momentum. I loved Vanessa in the beginning. We've alllll known someone like that.

 

Super Bowl: Football is a foreign language to me but I understood enough. Pretty funny.

 

Last Call: "The letters switched around almost spell Vagisil."

 

This was easily, far-and-away the best episode of the season. Larry is an excellent performer and I'm guessing he contributed a lot to the writing too...everything just felt fresh. The 1975 were good too. Even the weaker sketches still worked for the most part. I'm cautiously optimistic for next week...I thought Melissa McCarthy's first two shows were excellent but the last one was a trainwreck, and Kanye annoys me, so we'll see.

[Peace 47]

Cecily as Suzie made my night, and I'm not even the most diehard Curb fan (just one by osmosis, because my mom was). Someone in one of the other show threads noted that Cecily doesn't get enough credit as an impressionist. She really does do a good job.

That shipwreck sketch wasn't really doing it for me until Bernie showed up. Bernie's line about changing the surname to sound less Jewish and Larry giving an "eh, whatever" reaction was really funny, as was the stuff about the 1% and democratic socialism.

As a Carolinian, I am geographically obligated to appreciate the Peyton-Cam sketch. Go Panthers; go SuperCam. Haters gonna hate.

I like that Larry is becoming a Friend of the Show (the seeds of which were planted during that SNL 40th anniversary special, I think). When you have that kind of alumni talent, you should to exploit the hell out of it. I'm a little surprised he mentioned only his audition in the monologue and not his writing work there. Wasn't his quitting and then coming back to work as if nothing had happened the inspiration for his Seinfeld episode where George did the same, or did I imagine that? On the other hand, why joke about that anymore when he's already written the perfect joke on that in the form of that Seinfeld episode.

[Trini]

New guy Jon finally gets a segment on Update.  ...

 

"You're already in the cast."

"Nobody knows that."

 

Someone is going to have to transcribe his 'dance', 'cause I got most, but not all of it. Did he cut her up in pieces??

But yeah, cool to see New Guy featured.

[Spartan Girl]

The two Bernie Sanders skits were the best parts of the night. And the Zoolander cameo was hilarious! I almost missed it because I changed the channel during the Dirty Dancing part (didn't need to see that, ew). I especially loved them talking about Donald Trump's "signature looks". LMAO!

[topanga]

 

However, the best segment for me was Jon Rudnitsky re-enacting Dirty Dancing and taking a far darker turn than any of us could imagine. His pantomiming was spot on and that was just an absolute clinic of physical comedy. When I was watching it, I realized "Oohhh THAT'S why they hired him...." I just loved this bit so much. I hope he rides off this momentum. Also loved the little joke about how nobody even knows that he's on SNL.

Yes. For me, that was he most entertaining sketch in a amazing episode. I loved his dancing, and I loved his miming, which I followed from the beginning to the grissly end. 

 

Larry David brought great energy, acting skills, and comedic timing. I think what helped is that he never seemed nervous or clueless, as some guests do. I think his improv expertise was on display here. 

[Fisher King]

When WU can show an actual goofy debate clip from moments earlier....well, that's gold, Jerry, GOLD!

 

Did we see Jon Rudnitsky reenacting his SNL audition routine? I thought he was great, but I also felt like he won't be back next season.

 

Good, entertaining show overall.

 

[Princess Sparkle]

While "It's his month!" was great (and I'm on the fence as to whether or not it was adlibbed based on Michaels reaction), my favorite WU line was during the weed suppository joke:

Michael: It's a thinker.

Colin: It's not a thinker!

I've only had a chance to watch WU so far (it's now to the point where WU is my favorite part of the show, and is therefore the first thing I watch the day after), but it sounds like the rest of the show was great, so I can't wait to watch.

In the media thread, I had guessed that Ben Stiller might host, due to all the SNL Zoolander 2 connections, so I was half right that he showed up for WU. However, I think Owen Wilson was my favorite part - "I don't know if you saw, but this week, OJ killed again" made me bust a gut.

[AriAu]

All I got to say, stepping away from all of the Larry David love (not me) is that Kate McKinnon is seriously dementedly funny. The last sketch was  over the top funny and I am not sure there has ever been a female cast member quite that nuts with that much manic energy.

Thought Larry David was good, but not exceptionally.

Thought update was strong-I would have loved to have been backstage when they saw the debate footage and knew, absolutely knew they had to get it into the show. I wonder if there was a fight over whether they could actually get a sketch together in that little time, with Jay Pharoah, Darrell Hammond  and Beck fighting to get it in!

[blueray]

I actually watched the whole episode. Normally I either turn it off because it's to dumb or I fall asleep. I actually stayed awake and liked it :).

 

The best was Larry's monologue, perfect. I love when they let the host basically do stand-up.

 

I liked Bern the enthusiasm.

 

The titanic one only because Bernie appeared which was awesome!

 

Weekend update was good too. I surprisingly wasn't annoyed by Zoolander coming on.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I like that Larry is becoming a Friend of the Show (the seeds of which were planted during that SNL 40th anniversary special, I think). When you have that kind of alumni talent, you should to exploit the hell out of it. I'm a little surprised he mentioned only his audition in the monologue and not his writing work there. Wasn't his quitting and then coming back to work as if nothing had happened the inspiration for his Seinfeld episode where George did the same, or did I imagine that? On the other hand, why joke about that anymore when he's already written the perfect joke on that in the form of that Seinfeld episode.

 

Yes, that's right.  I think Larry worked at SNL for one season and only had one of his written sketches make it to air.

 

David then became a writer for and cast member of ABC's Fridays from 1980 to 1982, and a writer for NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) from 1984 to 1985.[12] During his time at SNL, he was able to get only one sketch on the show, which aired at 12:50 AM, the last time slot on the show.[13]

 

David quit his writing job at SNL on the first episode, only to show up to work a few days later acting as though nothing had happened. That event inspired a second-season episode of Seinfeld entitled "The Revenge".[14] David met his future Seinfeld stars during that early stage of his career: he worked with Michael Richards (Kramer) on Fridays[12] and with Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine)[13] on SNL.[15][16] He can be heard heckling Michael McKean when McKean hosted SNL in 1984, and he can be seen in the sketch "The Run, Throw, and Catch Like a Girl Olympics" when Howard Cosell hosted the season finale in 1985.[17][18]

Edited February 7, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Mya Stone]

Warning: I am a Larry David nut. I love the guy. I can't help it. With that said...

The monologue was GOLD. My god, I didn't stop laughing. It harkens back to the days when stand up comedians just did their thing on SNL.

The first sketch...full disclosure. I wasn't laughing. Until Kevin Roberts showed up. Then I couldn't stop laughing. You see, Kevin Roberts is my actual brother in law's name. It was the most absurd turn, and hilarious real life connection. And I kept watching Jimmy Fallon, I mean Pete Davidson, trying to not laugh on camera.

Bern Your Enthusiasm was inspired. And it made me want to rewatch Curb.

Loved Bernie's cameo. And his Larry David impersonation.

Weekend Update...I laughed. A LOT. "It's his month." Kate as Sturdy Baltimore Barbie. And then Jon R's entire pantomime Dirty Dancing sketch. As someone who has the entire movie memorized, that really was funnier to me than it maybe should have been. As someone else said, it was a class on physical comedy. And I kept watching Che's face in the background, which also made me laugh.

Then to have Hansel and Zoolander show up? The line about OJ made me pause the TV. It's been awhile since that's happened.

Without running down the whole show, this really was inspired. The Totinos sketch took an amazing turn. The cast brought their A game. Larry was pretttttttty good. Pretty good indeed.

It will be hard to top this episode for me.

[Mya Stone]

"You're already in the cast."

"Nobody knows that."

Someone is going to have to transcribe his 'dance', 'cause I got most, but not all of it. Did he cut her up in pieces??

But yeah, cool to see New Guy featured.

He cut her up, and jump roped with her intestines.

I'm pretty sick, because just typing that made me giggle.

[VCRTracking]

Okay, now I get Jon. He's the new Chris Kattan(and I mean that as a good thing).

 

The whole "Bern Your Enthusiasm" sketch was great but Cecily Strong as Susie, Jay Pharoah's impressio of Leon/J.B. Smoove(who used to be an SNL writer) and Taram Killam's impression of Marty/Bob Einstein aka "Super Dave Osborne" made my night!

 

The lead singer of the 1975 is like an douchier version of Jean-Ralphio Saperstein from Parks and Recreation.

Edited February 7, 2016 by VCRTracking

[peeayebee]

Yup. Very good ep.

 

The Cold Open was probably the weakest part, though I enjoyed the bit where Cruz tries to kiss his daughter, though that wasn't as cringeworthy as the real thing. Seems like the Cold Opens are lately always the person/people talking to the camera. No skits. Maybe I'm misremembering, but I wish they'd mix it up.

 

I was laughing or grinning thruout the monologue. 

 

The FBI skit was great with Kevin Roberts, but I also thought Cecily was excellent as the instructor. She's really been doing some great character work lately. Suits her better than being a WU anchor.

 

Bern Your Enthusiasm was just fantastic. I've only seen a few eps of the original, but that was enough to help appreciate Cecily's impression. Anyway, the whole thing was so much fun.

 

The Titanic skit was ok and then elevated by the appearance of Bernie, who acquitted himself very well. "YUUUUUGE!"

 

Loved the weirdness of the Totino ad. I just love Vanessa.

 

WU was great. Sturdy Barbie was great. I loved that Kate held her hands like one of those dolls -- fingers together, thumb apart. I loved the bit about Black History Month. "Who is so racist that when they watch 30 seconds of I Have a Dream, they're thinking 'Play a white speech!'" I tell you who: My BIL. Ugh. The "statement from Kit Kat" was very clever. I kind of liked Jon Rudnitsky's bit, though it went on too long. It may have been his swan song. Anyway, I thought he was a very good mime, and I was enjoying his dancing. Zoolander was fun. The Iowa Couscous. Hee.

 

BTW, how did the GOP debate intros end? Did Trump and Carson walk out together? That was so bizarre. The oneupmanship being played out is hysterical.

 

The song writing skit was pretty good. My favorite part was when we see Larry's character actually winning the other student over to his song story.

 

Love Cam Newton and Peyton Manning. Taran does a pretty good Manning impression. It's great to see the hypocrisy of this whole thing pointed out. I'm sure there are many people who don't see any.

 

I always love those Last Call sketches. The lines are so good. I see that Kenan is many people's favorite part. Not mine. He's ok. Unnecessary if you ask me. I just love all the gross and weird and hilarious things the man and woman say.

[Primetimer]

If nothing else, we all got to feel the Bern.

Read the story

[Kromm]

SNL sucks so hard these days for the most part, but this was worth it if just for Bern Your Enthusiasm, which was brilliant.

[teebax]

Sturdy Barbie hit way too close to home for me.

I am a butch chick who lives in a ranch house in a marginal school district. I no longer have it, but I had a Mitsubishi at one point as well. Kate was totally channeling me, and it was hilarious. Just call me a Sturdy Teebax.

[Joseph Finn]

I had kind of forgotten the original Totino's sketch from last year, which I think helped in that I had zero idea where the hell last night's was going. (And this and the Santa Claus sketch with Gosling this season prove my case that Bayer should be the go-to when they need to film these really out there videos; she's great as the straight man and as the weirdo.)

And teebax, take consolation in this; I found Sturdy Barbie weirdly hot.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I like Jost and Che on Weekend Update now. They've hit a really strong back and forth. Also, the Scottie Pippen joke was gold.

[TimWil]

Check out the extra on the far right of the screen at 4:12 in Bern Your Enthusiasm. He’s obviously getting off his phone because someone off-camera told him to.

[Trini]

Jon Rudnitsky's Dirty Dancing audition:

• Dances with Baby,
• Lifts her, spins her around, throws her up in the air again...
• Fails to catch her,
• Tries resusitation,
• Grabs an axe(?), cuts her open,
• Pulls out her intestines and jumps rope with them,
• Covers her with gasoline(?) and lights the body up with a cigarette,
• Gets in his car, cries,
• Gets out of car, composes himself,
• Goes into his home, greets his wife(?) and child(?),
• Answers the door, grabs shotgun, tries to run,
• Gets into shootout with the cops,
• Gets riddled with bullets and dies.

 

Is that a lot of choreography/pantomime for 2 1/2 minutes?

Anyway, SNL doesn't do a lot of strictly physical comedy, does it? So that was an interesting change of pace.

[Ms Blue Jay]

That skit wasn't really my thing; but thank you for the recap.

[avecsans]

Larry David is the best. The best, Jerry. His monologue was effortlessly funny and it brought me back to my favorite Costanza quote: "I have never had an appointment where I wanted the other guy to show up." Probably not the funniest thing ever, but it kind of sums up my life.

I hate to sound like an old lady, but what was up with the preening, hair-flipping, eye-rolling singer in The 1975? What a douche. I could totally see Andy Samberg doing a character just like that guy.

[cpcathy]

My go-to alt radio station plays the 1975, on record they have a really cool Peter Gabriel thing going on, and I like that second song.

 

Really fun show. I thought Larry got sent to the background a bit, but not as much as Ronda Roussey had.

As soon as I saw Rudnitsky dancing I thought, Chris Kattan!  Enjoyed the bit, thanks for the breakdown.

WU is getting to be my favorite part of the show, once again. Love that Che and Jost rib each other and really enjoyed Derek and Hansel. Zoolander is one freaken funny movie.

[Jessi]

Born and bred in Baltimore...and having been made fun of for my (relatively mild) accent for four years at Princeton (yeah, they're as bad as you think), I feel absolutely vindicated to pronounce: McKinnon's accent: *eye roll*. Those who can't, please don't. It doesn't look good on you. [Also, our crab cakes ARE the best.]

[represent]

 

SNL sucks so hard these days for the most part, but this was worth it if just for Bern Your Enthusiasm, which was brilliant.

Ditto, just brilliant.

 

Suzie and Leon were on point, I forgot that it wasn't really Susie Essman or JB Smoove playing them.

Edited February 7, 2016 by represent

[Ms Blue Jay]

It seems that nobody has mentioned Bobby Moynihan playing Jeff Green/Jeff Garlin in the Curb Your Enthusiasm sketch.

 

His, "Bernie, what's this I hear about --" was a very accurate impression.  Snapped me awake, made me think of Jeff.

Edited February 8, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Katmai]

I hate to sound like an old lady, but what was up with the preening, hair-flipping, eye-rolling singer in The 1975? What a douche. I could totally see Andy Samberg doing a character just like that guy.

I listen to an Alt Rock satellite channel 90% of the time and love their "Love Me" song. But after seeing the lead singer in person, doing was is noted in the quote above, I turned to my hubby and said I prefer to listen to them but don't want to see them perform again. Dude was trying way too hard for attention and he's the freaking lead singer...

 

Great episode and loved Bernie showing up for some laughs.

[Miss Scarlet]

The sketches where they have political cameos are usually really bad. It's like they think "we have the cameo and that's all that matters" so the writing of the sketch falls by the wayside.

 

Totino's was boring me a bit in the beginning because it seemed the same as the last Totino's sketch with a mashup of "Ooh Child" sketch from the Lena Dunham episode where every time she tries to sing the GPS cuts her off. But they brought me back with the X-files endings. That was great.

 

I found the "going to synagogue for producers" joke on WU very stale and unoriginal. I also don't understand their point of view with jokes like that. Is it because they think it's true or are they mocking the "Jews run Hollywood/media" psychos? 

 

Sometimes I laugh at the "Colin is so bland" jokes, but I don't know. I'm not really into the WU chemistry of Michael and Colin being Michael crapping on him all the time. I don't find it that funny overall.

 

At first I thought Jon came out in the wig solely to differentiate himself from Colin because they look so alike. I was entertained by his dance. It's hard to believe this is his first piece on WU. I saw similar potential in Jon Milhiser a couple seasons ago when he did that dance scene with Lady Gaga and well, we all know how he turned out on the show. 

 

The songwriting sketch I didn't really like, but think I would like it better if I watched it a second time.

 

Last call was great, as always.

[avecsans]

I was disappointed in Taran Killam's Ted Cruz impression. He didn't come close to nailing the slimy, humorless, cold, sneaky, inhumane evilness of that pig.

[Latverian Diplomat]

I was disappointed in Taran Killam's Ted Cruz impression. He didn't come close to nailing the slimy, humorless, cold, sneaky, inhumane evilness of that pig.

One obvious mistake...his smile still looks like a real smile. The way Ted Cruz smiles is one of the offputting things about him that would really establish the impression. 

[Judois]

Jon Rudnitsky's Dirty Dancing audition:

• Dances with Baby,
• Lifts her, spins her around, throws her up in the air again...
• Fails to catch her,
• Tries resusitation,
• Grabs an axe(?), cuts her open,
• Pulls out her intestines and jumps rope with them,
• Covers her with gasoline(?) and lights the body up with a cigarette,
• Gets in his car, cries,
• Gets out of car, composes himself,
• Goes into his home, greets his wife(?) and child(?),
• Answers the door, grabs shotgun, tries to run,
• Gets into shootout with the cops,
• Gets riddled with bullets and dies.

 

Is that a lot of choreography/pantomime for 2 1/2 minutes?

Anyway, SNL doesn't do a lot of strictly physical comedy, does it? So that was an interesting change of pace.

Thanks for that recap!

One of my favorite parts was the jumping rope. He looked so gleeful. I thought that whole thing was inspired.

[ivygirl]

Very funny episode!

To me, The 1975 dude looked like Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan, circa Songs of Faith and Devotion. Skinny, longish hair, cocky and preening, kinda unwashed.

[justjen]

Am I the only person on the planet who doesn't find Larry David funny? Like, at all?? I want to find him funny because everyone always talks about how great he is, but he just reminds me of my relatives I only see sporadically For A Reason. I liked Weekend Update so that was refreshing! :)

[Traveller519]

This and the Tracy Morgan episode are the easily the strongest episodes of the season, for having wall to wall cohesion, pacing, and laughs. 

 

The FBI Training skit was my highlight, it took a simple premise we've all seen in Men In Black and Kingsment, and put a great sketch comedy spin on it. When Bobby showed up with the donut I was done. This was one of the stronger "first post-monologue" skits there's been in a while. I laughed at the abduction one, but that was as much due to everyone breaking as the content of the skit.

 

Weekend Update has gotten strong enough that I hope they start scaling back the correspondent pieces. Three is just too many and disrupts the flow of the banter between the two of them. The fucking glee on Colin's face during the Carson sketches was fantastic.

 

The "candidate talks directly to camera" Cold opens are getting just as tired as the hijacked news segment pieces. I know they want to be topical with these, but let's mix up the format a bit, Jim. The Obama and McConnell sharing drinks skit from last season probably stands out as one of the better examples of this, or The Rock Obama. Cold Open was the only weak part of the comedy aspect of this show for me. I paid loose attention to the 1975.

[lou ann b]

"Jon, have you SEEN Dirty Dancing?

"I have not".

Finished me.Rethinking you,Jon.

Edited February 8, 2016 by lou ann b

[Ottis]

EVERY skit with Larry David felt like he was channeling George Costanza.

 

Special props for the FBI skit, which was just silly and amusing. Keenan is so good at being a combination of puzzled and annoyed.

 

The WU dancing thing went on, and on, and on ... I finally FF'd through it. Why so long?

 

Nothing about Ted Cruz is funny.

[BoogieBurns]

Nothing about Ted Cruz is funny.

 

Truth. Only part that made me crack a smile was seeing his daughter reject his hug. Hahaha.

[VCRTracking]

The FBI Training skit was my highlight, it took a simple premise we've all seen in Men In Black and Kingsment, and put a great sketch comedy spin on it. When Bobby showed up with the donut I was done. This was one of the stronger "first post-monologue" skits there's been in a while. I laughed at the abduction one, but that was as much due to everyone breaking as the content of the skit.

 

It gets funnier every time I watch it. Just how Larry David is dressed and how he says:

-"I'm Kevin Roberts and I'm the coolest bitch in town!",

-"I'm Kevin Roberts and I've got a very important question! Can a bitch get a donut? Now lets dance!"

and

"Breaking news! Kevin Roberts just got to second base with a lady!"

 

Keenan's reactions were just as funny "In my defense I'm pretty confident that type of man does not exist in society!" and "“He said he got to second base and I was like, ‘Who would do that with Kevin Roberts?”

If being in the field means dealing with human puzzles like Kevin Roberts, I'll stay behind a desk!"

 

Also Cecily's instructor(which is similar to the skits she does with Bobby where they're two employees who get fired and start insulting their co-workers) and Leslie Jones' brief bit as an animatronic target where she's carrying a shotgun, yelling "I'm high on bath salts!"

Edited February 8, 2016 by VCRTracking

[represent]

 

EVERY skit with Larry David felt like he was channeling George Costanza.

Well he's said many times that he created the Costanza character and modeled him after himself.

[AdorkableSars]

 

This one was excellent.  Even the weaker sketches, like the FBI one and the song lyrics class, were really better than average.

 

Totally agree with this! I laughed heartily out loud at least once during every sketch tonight. Larry David just crushed it! I think the FBI sketch may have actually been one of my faves. 

 

 

However, the best segment for me was Jon Rudnitsky re-enacting Dirty Dancing and taking a far darker turn than any of us could imagine. His pantomiming was spot on and that was just an absolute clinic of physical comedy. When I was watching it, I realized "Oohhh THAT'S why they hired him...." I just loved this bit so much. I hope he rides off this momentum. Also loved the little joke about how nobody even knows that he's on SNL.

 

 

Weekend Update...I laughed. A LOT. "It's his month." Kate as Sturdy Baltimore Barbie. And then Jon R's entire pantomime Dirty Dancing sketch. As someone who has the entire movie memorized, that really was funnier to me than it maybe should have been. As someone else said, it was a class on physical comedy. And I kept watching Che's face in the background, which also made me laugh.

 

I'm seeing a lot of mixed reviews on Jon Rudnitsky's "Dirty Dancing" re-enactment. I personally was crying, I was laughing so hard. I found it brilliant, and while yes, it may have gone on a bit long, I laughed the whole way through. And I have re-watched it a couple times already, and Jost and Che's reaction shots in the background cracked me up as well. Hope this means we'll be seeing more Jon, and soon!

 

 

 

While "It's his month!" was great (and I'm on the fence as to whether or not it was adlibbed based on Michaels reaction), my favorite WU line was during the weed suppository joke:

Michael: It's a thinker.

Colin: It's not a thinker!

 

I couldn't tell if the "It's his month" was ad-libbed or not either, but hilarious nonetheless. I am VERY ashamed to say that weed suppository joke was a thinker for me...BUT I got it before Michael said "It's a thinker". And I laughed HARD. 

[Judois]

I forgot to say that at the goodnights,a bunch of the cast were gathered around Jon obviously very happy for him. That was sweet.

[VCRTracking]

The part where he mimed jumping rope with intestines is where I laughed and thought "Okay this guy is funny."

Edited February 8, 2016 by VCRTracking

[Katmai]

I didn't like Rudnitsky's Dirty Dancing routine at all. Besides it going on for way too long, I kept wondering why it was for a movie from 1987? That just meant to me that Jon isn't too funny or current.

 

A poster above mentioned that 3 correspondents are too many during WU and I totally agree. To have that many still showing up when Colin & Che have been working together for almost 2 seasons now, makes me think they don't have enough strong material for a WU. I miss Seth, Amy & Tina, Tina & Jimmy, etc. behind that desk. 

[formerlyfreedom]

I'm seeing a lot of mixed reviews on Jon Rudnitsky's "Dirty Dancing" re-enactment. I personally was crying, I was laughing so hard. I found it brilliant, and while yes, it may have gone on a bit long, I laughed the whole way through. And I have re-watched it a couple times already, and Jost and Che's reaction shots in the background cracked me up as well. Hope this means we'll be seeing more Jon, and soon!

 

I'm definitely with you on this - - I was dying, and even though part of me was thinking, "This is very juvenile, why are you laughing at this!?!?", I just laughed and laughed, and found Jon's performance infectious. This is one I'll be playing for the siblings the next time we get together!