S41.E18: Julia Louis-Dreyfus / Nick Jonas

[formerlyfreedom]

Hosted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus; musical guest is Nick Jonas

 

 

 

[teebax]

I am ridiculously excited for this episode. I think JLD is one of the best comedic actresses ever. Veep is one of my favorite shows, and I still watch reruns of Old Christine and Seinfeld fairly regularly.

 

I can't remember the last time I was this excited about an SNL episode.

[vb68]

Larry David almost has to be there this week so he and Julia can have a least one moment together.  At least I hope so.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I am ridiculously excited for this episode. I think JLD is one of the best comedic actresses ever. Veep is one of my favorite shows, and I still watch reruns of Old Christine 

 

I love that you watch Old Christine!!!!!!  One of my top 5 shows!

[Galileo908]

Cold Open: Yay, Larry David is back as Bernie! Yeah, this was pretty much what that debate was about. The first time this could've been a shitshow. The cameo from Elaine Benes calling out Bernie/Larry himself was by far the best part. Vanessa's Rachel from Friends impression getting a quick cameo was great, too. The show could only go downhill from here. (post episode edit: I was right)

 

Monologue: JLD was in Troll?! Man, I was hoping for Christmas Vacation, but I'll take it and Soul Man. And holy crap, it's Tony Hale! Can he host, too?

 

Heroin AM: This was great. Sad, ugly, but great. (as was Cocaine PM) "Side effects include: It's heroin. So all that stuff..."

 

Yuge Jewlery: As someone from Long Island, these characters were completely dead on. Yeah, this was all accurate. I'm right near Massapequa, that location it perfect for it.

 

The Poolboy: I liked this. Pete did a great job as the clueless pool guy.

 

Cinema Classics: Stupid but funny as all hell.

 

Mercedes AA Class: This one actually looked real. The only way to get a car fully electric is with over 9000 AA batteries, and the could all be dumped at once. Loved that.

 

WU: Bernie really IS Opposite Trump. The face Jay uses for Shaq is the absolute best.

 

Who Works Here?: CVS game show! I'm a CVS survivor myself, and once again, this was pretty dead-on. They really got the vagrants down, at least.

 

Match.com Night: Okay, this got WEIRD. Kate & Julia were total pros for going so in to this, though.

 

God is A Boob Man: Just in time for crap like God Not's Dead 2. This was great.

 

I think I found the answer to how to make these more enjoyable: Booze! Being buzzed the whole way through may have made this episode better than it was for me. It started out great, and lost steam after Update. Also, seemed like the show was half pre-taped material, right? God is a Boob Man didn't even feature the host, it could've been plugged in anywhere.

 

We return May 7th with Brie Larson.

[Peace 47]

Julia Louis-Dreyfus had a great energy throughout. And I want the secret to her fountain of youth, because in her Elaine getup, there's not much difference in 20 years.

I found it absolutely delightful to see Elaine interacting with "Bernie," and all the Seinfeld-isms that went with that, even if the writing of that debate sketch was not the absolute sharpest political writing I've seen on the show this season. I'm so glad Larry David and JLD could do an SNL sketch together and go back to their start like that.

Nice surprise to see Tony Hale, too.

I think my favorite sketch was Mercedes AA+. That was rather clever, absurd and unexpected.

Lastly, I know that CVS: that spoke to my soul. Took me right back to my days living in downtown D.C. when that was the only place walkable from my apartment to get cheap sundry/ grocery items. And there were some characters around for sure. I know I saw a ghost or two.

Edited April 17, 2016 by Peace 47

[SFoster21]

I thought it was a pretty good show. JLD is always funny and the skits actually came to a point.

The religious movie thing was just great, I thought and I even liked the singer.

Hillary had Bernie in a hammerlock. Spoke to me.

[helenamonster]

Cold Open: Ok, admittedly, I never got into Seinfeld (it ended before I turned 4, what do you want me to do?) but I still got a thrill out of Julia putting on her Elaine Benes get-up and acting opposite Larry as Bernie. Lol that they both wanted to throw in the towel when Cliff Huxtable came up. And I loved when they both just started slapping at each other like 5-year-olds.

 

Monologue: Didn't they just do this last week, the "sorting through old roles" thing? Eh whatever. Tony Hale!

 

Heroin AM: "It's heroin. So, all that stuff..." And Julia was a bus driver lmao.

 

Huge Jewelry: "Earlobes are like livers. You don't need them." Kate is from Long Island so I'm sure she enjoyed doing this sketch.

 

The Pool Boy: Eh, it was ok. I laughed at the end when Julia saw the new lawnmower. "I'm gonna f*** that kid."

 

Cinema Classics: Ok, not gonna lie, I was rolling. This was just basic, classic sketch stuff, and sometimes that's what really works. Julia committed and it was hilarious. "Made in China."

 

Mercedes AA Class: I wonder what this show's budget is sometimes. Like damn this was some professional business. Also hilarious when she opened the flaps and all those batteries just came pouring out.

 

Weekend Update: Man, a lot of jokes fell flat tonight. I'll admit it took me about a minute to get the Kasich joke, and it wasn't even worth the minute it took. The Barkley/Shaq thing they do bores me to tears, and I can't look at Jay when his eyes are like that. Also I thought Aidy's character started in on the crazy too soon. And weirdly enough, this iteration of Cecily's character that has a name too long for me to type was actually it's sharpest/strongest imo.

 

Who Works Here?: Aw man, we've all had that CVS moment.

 

Match.com: What. The fuck. This seemed like another "we have this new technology and we're gonna use it god damn it" like the Henry VIII sketch from last week.

 

God is a Boob Man: Perfect. I loved when "Fight Song" started playing.

 

An ok show I guess. Much better than last week, not that that was too difficult. I love Julia and I thought she did a great job. I actually laughed a lot, but I've been binge-watching Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt all day so I'm a bit giddy.

 

Monologue: JLD was in Troll?! Man, I was hoping for Christmas Vacation, but I'll take it and Soul Man.

 

Aw man, how could I forget Christmas Vacation? She's easily my favorite part of that movie. Ok maybe not easily cuz it's a great movie but definitely in the top 5.

[Mumbles]

It may get tired at some point, but for now I love Vanessa's Rachel Green.

Nice to see Shaq and Charles Barkley on WU. And loved Cecily's objectified female character in a male-oriented comedy. Very sharp even if it didn't seem to get much audience support.

Really like Julia's work tonight and actually found her monologue inspiring. Her SNL stint was by her admission underwhelming, and it took her a few years for her to find her groove. And now thirty years later, in her 50s, she's still doing great work, maybe even her best.

Edited April 17, 2016 by Mumbles

[vb68]

Now there's a host...

 

Julia completely owned the episode and was hilarious with everything.  I swear I think she did more in the first 20 minutes than Russell Crowe did  the whole show last week.

 

I loved that both candidates in the debate sketch were like "hell no!" on Dr. Huxtable.

 

I also liked seeing the Ed Grimley clip because yeah that's pretty on point about her tenure.   I was hoping for a Mary Gross joke/appearance.  (I know I'm probably the only one.)

 

Cinema Classics and the car ad were both different levels of mad genius.   I bet Lucille Ball would have given Julia her seal of approval on cinema classics.  

 

  Have to admit I didn't really pay attention to the music, but Nick Jonas seems to have a sense of humor about himself, so that's cool.   

Edited April 17, 2016 by vb68

[VCRTracking]

I wish Julia as Elaine had done the "little kicks" dance.

 

Kate legit looked scary as hell in the alien sketch!

 

Cecily said she based the "One dimension female character in a comedy" on movie scripts she had been sent. The scenario she described in this episode must have been close to a real one she read.

 

My favorites sketches were the classic movie one and the AA battery Mercedes commercial.

Edited April 17, 2016 by VCRTracking

[tomsmom]

I loved the jewelry sketch when they said to Nick Jonas "When did you get so hot?!" He said "Last May!" Yep that's about right!

[whatsatool]

The hostess was great but I'd love to see her with other SNL greats from other eras like Walken and Murray.

[teebax]

Great episode for me. I loved the Seinfeld stuff in the monologue, the Mercedes ad, God is a Boob Man, Ciinema Classics, and the cold open. It's so fun when they have a host with improv experience and enthusiasm.

I wasn't feeling Weekend Update, but I still think Che and Jost have melded into a pretty good anchor team. I do like Barkley and Shaq when they're on, so that was funny for me.

[Fabricationary]

For once I vehemently disagree with Mike Ryan's SNL scorecard.  I thought this was one of the best shows of the season.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Well he's already not a fan of JLD before the episode, so it makes sense what he rated it as.  Whatever

[absnow54]

Colin Jost pitched the "Who works here?" CVS sketch during his stand up last year, so it was fun to see it come to fruition. JLD as the completely-over-it game show host really elevated it though.

 

Not going to lie, I was pretty meh on this show when I watched it, but thinking back on all the sketches, it was a pretty strong episode. The AA powered car was hilarious, shades of Colon Blow as the batteries spilled out the sides. And the "God's a Boob Man" was pretty strong too. Especially when Vanessa was whining about Christians being the most oppressed group in America while Sasheer was like "Okaaaaaaaaaaay...."

[vb68]

 

For once I vehemently disagree with Mike Ryan's SNL scorecard.  I thought this was one of the best shows of the season.

Yeah, I'm with you.  He doesn't usually miss this badly, but boy he did this week.

 

The AV Club even liked it, which almost never happens.

Edited April 17, 2016 by vb68

[Fostersmom]

I'm pretty much over the political cold opens, but this one at least didn't make me hate it. The rest of the show, I loved. There wasn't a single sketch that I found just plain stupid or horrible, and the majority were really good IMO. AA Mercedes was spot on and when the warning for the first battery triggered a battery warning storm, I was dying. The beginning to "God's a Boob Man" was so strong I actually thought it wasn't a sketch, but a real movie promo until I saw John Radinski (sorry, John). The little sprinkles of Nick Jonas in the sketches were fun too, even though all week I was hearing his name but picturing Joe Jonas in my mind and expecting to hear "Cake by the Ocean" and was kinda bummed when I realized my mistake. As stupid as that song is, it's damn catchy! LOL! Nick seemed like he could pull off the host/guest combo at some time. 

[peeayebee]

And loved Cecily's objectified female character in a male-oriented comedy. Very sharp even if it didn't seem to get much audience support.

The audience seemed oddly quiet at times that I thought were funny. Like in the Pool Guy sketch, the audience didn't really react when Pete first says "OK." I thought it was hysterical. I wonder if the audience was a lot of young Nick Jonas fans.

 

My favorite sketch might be The Pool Guy because Pete Davidson was so funny. That's high praise (high praise indeed) when he's working with JLD.

 

I also really liked the Cinema Classics one. It was like a sketch out of The Carol Burnett Show. I like Reese De'What also, but I think he made just about the same joke the last time about not listening to his wife.

 

I thought JLD was really good in the Mercedes commercial, which in itself was good, and the Huge Jewelry sketch. Heck, she was good in everything.

 

I didn't really like the aliens one. I think it was a mistake to go with such creepy eyes. The voice altering technology was also unnecessary. I mean, the Coneheads did great stuff with nothing high-tech. Anyway, the creepy eyes took away from the funny, imo. Actually, there wasn't much funny in this one. JLD and Kate were great at the characters -- duh -- but the whole concept wasn't very interesting, unique, or funny.

 

I liked the Cold Open, particularly every time Kate as Hillary mumbled and jumbled her words. I still love Vanessa's Jennifer Anniston impression.

 

God's a Boob Man was great. I've heard about God's Not Dead 2, and SNL's version doesn't sound like much of an exaggeration at all.

[Primetimer]

When you see the cameos, you'll be bustin', Jerry! Bustin'!

Read the story

[Bruinsfan]

I loved just about every minute except for the Pool Boy sketch. Can Pete do ANYTHING except play an idiot kid who's getting it on with older women?

[possibilities]

I thought it was a great show.

 

I wonder if Jonas will look back on his career and be embarrassed, when he's 40. Or if his kids will, some day, make fun of him.

 

ETA: Bobby did a cartwheel this week. Leslie did one last week. I wonder if they're going to have one cast member do a cartwheel every week this season. That might be a random bit of fun.

Edited April 17, 2016 by possibilities

[vb68]

I also noticed that Jon Rudnitsky lost the Wolf Blitzer role to Beck.  Not surprised, and Beck did much better with it. it's probably further evidence that Jon's days are likely numbered.

 

I  thought Darrell Hammond pronounced Sasheer's name  as "Sheer Zamata".  Even if they call that, and they might for all I know, it seemed like an oops moment. 

Edited April 17, 2016 by vb68

[SomeTameGazelle]

Who was the woman who came and stood next to Tony Hale during the goodnights? Should I have recognized her?

[BetterButter]

 

Who was the woman who came and stood next to Tony Hale during the goodnights?

Tove Lo.She sang with Nick Jonas

[SomeTameGazelle]

Tove Lo.She sang with Nick Jonas

 

Thanks. I almost always skip the musical numbers so had no context.

[whyjoshua]

I loved the jewelry sketch when they said to Nick Jonas "When did you get so hot?!" He said "Last May!" Yep that's about right!

Was this a reference to something specific? He winked when he said it, so I thought it must be. I didn't get it.

[Fabricationary]

Did anyone else pick up that Nick Jonas' character in the jewelry sketch was named after Italian sausage (=mortadella)?  

[VCRTracking]

I loved just about every minute except for the Pool Boy sketch. Can Pete do ANYTHING except play an idiot kid who's getting it on with older women?

 

I liked him in this one. In the other sketches where it's in court, he's cocky, but here he's just dim. I loved everytime he cheerfully said "Okay!" after each of JLD's overdramatic lines.

 

The movies "God is a Boob Man" parodies are just as ridiculous. You can tell some of the other actors in them are devout Christians but for some it's just a paycheck like they're doing a Sharknado movie. Ray Wise in God is Dead 2 I think did it as a gig but also got the camp value in saying "We're going to prove once and for all that God is dead!"

Edited April 18, 2016 by VCRTracking

[vb68]

Here's a Paul Ryan ad that was cut for time.

[Princess Sparkle]

Was this a reference to something specific? He winked when he said it, so I thought it must be. I didn't get it.

Around May of last year was when he really buffed up and started getting attention for it, so I believe it was referring to that.  I do actually kind of wish he could've done a dual hosting/musical guest gig (not instead of JLD, just in general) because he is fairly competent in sketches, and I actually thought he was really funny when he was in sketches when the Jonas Brothers were the musical guest for Alec Baldwin a few years ago - it always bums me out that the digital short from that episode isn't available anywhere.

 

JLD was a fantastic host, but I don't think there was any doubt that she would be.  I think my favorite sketches of the night were Cinema Classics, God is a Boob Man (Angel in Denim: The Kim Davis Story was a hilarious throwaway joke), and Who Works Here.  I was laughing uncontrollably at Bobby singing "I don't work here!" while cartwheeling around.  I did also like Pete's "aww, my bad" in the pool boy sketch, Keenan's "How can you say that, you have twive children!", and Michael's Malaysian flight joke during WU, even if it fell flat with the audience.

 

 

 

For once I vehemently disagree with Mike Ryan's SNL scorecard.  I thought this was one of the best shows of the season.

 

This is the first time I looked at his scorecard ratings for the season, and I am actually baffled.  Ariana Grande as the best episode of the season (a good one sure, but I wouldn't say the best) and he barely ranked this one above the Russell Crowe episode?  Ryan Gosling better than Adam Driver episode?  Huh....

Edited April 18, 2016 by Princess Sparkle

[Gimmick Genius]

During the Match.com sketch I wondered, WHERE are Dan Aykroyd and Steve Martin's wild-and-crazy Festrunk Brothers when you need them?!?

[AdorkableSars]

 

Michael's Malaysian flight joke during WU, even if it fell flat with the audience

 

Probably my fave Update joke. I guess I like dark humor...

 

I though JLD was great in the episode. Even if some the sketches were kind of shoddily written, she (and the cast) elevated the material. I especially enjoyed the Classic Cinema, and the Car that runs on batteries commercial. That one really cracked me up...

[Traveller519]

I'm starting to wonder if the live audience reflects the target demographic that is watching at home. I know SNL tickets are insanely difficult to come by, so I wonder how much of the live audience are regular SNL viewers, vs. people who get tickets because they think it's something they "should" do as part of their New York experience.

 

This felt like the third week in a row where the audience simply could not get into the sketches. And I felt this episode was notably better than the last two.

 

The Match.com Alien Date Night sketch was the only one that truly fell flat for me. the other subtle things that were going on at the event had more interest to me than the aliens.

 

Weekend Update was pretty routine with the jokes, no real good riffs or burns, but the jokes hit. One Dimensional Female in a Male Driven Comedy really hit hard this week. I echo the AV club's sentiments and would love to see her get out into some sketch work.

[kennyab]

Gotta say, I didn't hate it when JLD ripped Taran's shirt open.

[helenamonster]

I'm starting to wonder if the live audience reflects the target demographic that is watching at home. I know SNL tickets are insanely difficult to come by, so I wonder how much of the live audience are regular SNL viewers, vs. people who get tickets because they think it's something they "should" do as part of their New York experience.

 

The fact is that SNL tickets are so hard to come by that they're not really part of a New York experience, and most tourists would probably consider waiting for them to be a huge waste of time. When the line starts depends upon the popularity of the host/musical guest, but if you don't pitch camp on 48th Street sometime before Friday evening and sleep on the sidewalk overnight, you pretty much have no chance. I could see some tourists swinging by at 7am on Saturday just to try, but the likelihood of them getting in is infinitesimally slim.

 

I've seen people speculate elsewhere that the reason for the silence might have been that most of the people who got standby tickets were Nick Jonas fans, who couldn't care less about the comedy bits (unless he showed up) and were only there to see him perform a couple songs. Those are the kind of people who would sleep on the street overnight (no judgement, I did it for Lady Gaga and I'd do it again, weather depending).