S41.E19: Brie Larson / Alicia Keys

[Traveller519]

Pretty vanilla, middle of the road episode for me. It wasn't as bad as some of the real clunkers (and one absolute Monorail wreck), but nothing particularly noteworthy.

But at least we are at a point now where we can rely on Weekend Update to be good if the rest of show is dragging.

[fastiller]

I feel I have to say this to clarify my comment above: I don't think Shake it Off as a song has a bad message.  I just cannot stand Taylor Swift

[Mumbles]

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 I freaking love Vanessa's Laura Parsons character. The delivery just gets me every time. 

I think Vanessa, while not flashy, is one of the MVPs of the cast. I love her WU characters - the Bar Mitzvah boy, Laura Parsons, and of course her awesome Rachel Green bit. (I think she used to do a "heroine from a romantic comedy" bit too....not to be confused with Cecily's excellent one-dimenstional female character from a male oriented comedy). 

Vanessa reminds me of Bill Hader in that she is great when she is the main character, but also great as a supporting character (doesn't phone it in, but doesn't mug for attention cough cough Kristen Wiig...)

[BatmanBeatles]

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 This is the second time that a bit of Sasheer's has fallen flat at the WU desk, so maybe that just isn't her forte.  

What is her forte?

[AdorkableSars]

1 hour ago, Mumbles said:

I think Vanessa, while not flashy, is one of the MVPs of the cast. I love her WU characters - the Bar Mitzvah boy, Laura Parsons, and of course her awesome Rachel Green bit. (I think she used to do a "heroine from a romantic comedy" bit too....not to be confused with Cecily's excellent one-dimenstional female character from a male oriented comedy). 

Vanessa reminds me of Bill Hader in that she is great when she is the main character, but also great as a supporting character (doesn't phone it in, but doesn't mug for attention cough cough Kristen Wiig...)

I think Vanessa is one of the most underrated cast members right now, and one of my favorites...like you said, when she's the main character in a skit (Santa Baby, anyone?), she's incredible, but also great in smaller parts (the mom in the audience of the High School Theatre Sketches, for example) . And she plays such a wide variety of characters, and does them all well. Maybe it's because she's not flashy, I feel lik she flies under the radar sometimes.

[Traveller519]

1 hour ago, AdorkableSars said:

I think Vanessa is one of the most underrated cast members right now, and one of my favorites...like you said, when she's the main character in a skit (Santa Baby, anyone?), she's incredible, but also great in smaller parts (the mom in the audience of the High School Theatre Sketches, for example) . And she plays such a wide variety of characters, and does them all well. Maybe it's because she's not flashy, I feel lik she flies under the radar sometimes.

She definitely does some of the best character work on the show. The fact that she can go from the straight character put upon housewife in commercials (Nestpresso, Totinos, and Aron's List all come to mind) to her Kids characters, to something like Santa Baby is great.

Between Laura and her Ivanka she hit some good beats this episode.

Sasheer, poor Sasheer. For someone who's a proper stand up she's always seemed a little off at the Update Desk doing her bits. Here's hoping Drake can get the best out of her like he did with her first episode.

[VCRTracking]

The "mom cut" is also known online as the "I'd like to speak to the manager" haircut.

[Ottis]

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The baby shower sketch was lame.

Thought it was one of the best parts of the episode. I've often wondered at what point do women decide to get that "mom cut," and the long hair goes away. It was a bonus that the skit added the bathroom ocean and kitchen farm. All of that has forever been a mystery to me.

The irony of the GoT skit is that, this season, GoT has moved along pretty well. That skit was about 2 seasons too late.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Watch The Most Notable Moments from Brie Larson's Saturday Night Live Hosting Debut

But blink and you'll miss Brie Larson.

[cpcathy]

SNL is losing its magic for me, and I am a real SNL apologist--"Nooo, it's still funny sometimes!" Brie Larson is adorable but they barely used her. Something is just off with the sketches, and the need to throw Kate in as a recurring character merely because she cracked everyone up--pretty lame. Sasheer, oh my goodness, Sasheer. I didn't think she was funny when she first got on the show, and she is still not funny. No more leeway, Lorne, dismiss her. Please.

[vb68]

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I think the entire point of Near Death was to try and play off of the cast breaking on the Abduction skit.  The first time it was lightning in a bottle. Serendipity. Now it's just an excuse to see folks break character.

 

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Kind of like 'Stefon'?

I think a better example is Debbie Downer.  The follow up sketches could never come close to matching the one where they all broke.

 

I wonder about Taran and Update myself.  Taran seems like he holds back some in general to me sometimes.  I mean like he's wary of pulling too much focus and that he's more a team player.  But that's just an observation.

I enjoyed the episode more on a second run through, but I still thought it was an average show for the season.  Church Chat could have had some extra bite and really stinging commentary to it if they had put forth the effort.

I do like how many vets, Dana Carvey, Larry David, Sudeikis, etc have been showing up to make contributions lately.

Edited May 10, 2016 by vb68

[BennyB]

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I wonder about Taran and Update myself.  Taran seems like he holds back

Where IS Jebediah anyways?  I miss him. :-(

[Bruinsfan]

Vanessa is a superb utility player who often gets lost in the shuffle. I think Miley Cyrus becoming a friend of the show has kind of hamstrung her most visible starring effort, though. I think they retired the Miley Cyrus Show sketches after Miley hosted and played Justin Bieber that one time.

[JZL]

If nothing else this episode sparked some interesting comments/obervations/debate in this thread.