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S42.E10: Casey Affleck / Chance the Rapper

formerlyfreedom

By formerlyfreedom
in Saturday Night Live

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JZL

JZL

(edited)

This should be interesting.  IMHO, Casey Affleck is the most underrated screen actor of his generation.  I can't think of any comedy he's done, though.

Chance the Rapper is OK, but I find his voice slightly annoying.  It seems SNL books rap, hip-hop, or fluff, and continues its denial of the existence of rock music.  After 10 eps, The xx is the only band I'd consider rock, and then just barely.   Of all the new and interesting rock and indie bands, that's the one they come up with?  Maybe the bookers can go hang out at bandcamp.com or something.

Edited by JZL
Phishbulb

Phishbulb

On 12/11/2016 at 9:25 PM, JZL said:

This should be interesting.  IMHO, Casey Affleck is the most underrated screen actor of his generation.  I can't think of any comedy he's done, though.

IMDB says he had a small role in the first 2 "American Pie" movies (which I don't remember at all), but this movie I think is the only comedy where he's had a lead role.

Oh, also he was in "Tower Heist" which was sort of a comedy I guess.

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fastiller

fastiller

On 12/11/2016 at 9:25 PM, JZL said:

This should be interesting.  IMHO, Casey Affleck is the most underrated screen actor of his generation.  I can't think of any comedy he's done, though.

<snip>

 

10 minutes ago, Phishbulb said:

IMDB says he had a small role in the first 2 "American Pie" movies (which I don't remember at all), but this movie I think is the only comedy where he's had a lead role.

Oh, also he was in "Tower Heist" which was sort of a comedy I guess.

Not a lead role for Affleck, but the Oceans movies were comedic.

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Princess Sparkle

Princess Sparkle

2 hours ago, Phishbulb said:

IMDB says he had a small role in the first 2 "American Pie" movies (which I don't remember at all), but this movie I think is the only comedy where he's had a lead role.

Oh, also he was in "Tower Heist" which was sort of a comedy I guess.

I absolutely hate that I remember this, but he's Kevin's older brother in American Pie, so he's in maybe 3 minutes combined from American Pie 1 and 2.  I have seen him be funny in things before, so I'm sure he has the ability to be fine on the show, but as I mentioned in the media thread, it really doesn't sit right with me that he's hosting period. I know right now he's the presumptive Best Actor Oscar winner, which is probably why they got him, but with sexual assault allegations surrounding him, I don't like him being given the platform to host.  I'd prefer if they just got Ben to host again. 

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Fostersmom

Fostersmom

Well, that was awkward. The whole show was just awkward. I'm not familiar with Chance the Rapper and I liked the first song okay enough, but the second veered into the just awkward category too. How was that a song? It was like the same 2 phrases over and over. And I get Casey apparently can't change his look for a role, but is showering and grooming off limits too? He looked dirty. 

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Galileo908

Galileo908

NY was about 15 minutes behind, SNL apparently aired at the usual time everywhere else.

Cold Open: It's a Trump Christmas, with Putin Claus in tow. Was Cecily channeling Scotty for her Melania voice? Also, loved seeing John Goodman in any capacity, especially bro-ing around with Putin. 

Monologue: If this show was actually hosted by John Goodman & Alec Baldwin and little of Casey Affleck, I'd be fine with that. And once again, liked how the host said that they WON'T sing. Not much of a monologue, though. Took forever to get to the end.

Dunkin Donuts: Yay, sponsored content! But I liked it. Now this was funny.

Helix 900: Fred Armisen! That's 3 cameos so far. Yeah, this was if a Portlandia sketch was presented to the rest of the country. Microsoft is making gay robots...for some reason. "Why not?"

Barack's Last Christmas: Oh this was good. They actually got what's left of Run DMC to show up, too! Well, DMC anyway.

Santa Encounter: Yeah, Kate's abduction character is back. Actually thought it was kinda funny, and I didn't even like it the first time.

WU: Che & Colin give zero fucks about Trump at this point, I love it. Kanye meeting Trump being like Scooby-Doo meeting the Harlem Globetrotters was great and apt. I wasn't a fan of the "Friends of Putin growing up" characters again...until Che joined in. The cut jokes montage is always killer, and this go around was no exception.

Silent Night, Hilarious Night: Ha, "Jen Jen Binks." Yeah, they totall nailed "Long Islanders trying too hard to be funny." It's as painful as the real thing, I know from experience.

Door to Door Hillary: This was freaking great and needed to be earlier. "I have literally never seen a movie." Love how they were able to pull off Hillary's "laugh" in cue card form.

Mrs. Claus & The Christmas Feast: Oh, it's the weird, perverted elves again. I was hoping John Goodman was gonna barge in as Santa, imagine my dismay when it turned out to be Bobby.

Tony & Jerry: Meh. EVERYONE talking like Tony was funny, but Kate & Kenan were the best.

I think Fred Armisen had more screentime than Casey Affleck did. I know the Christmas episode tends to be phoned in, but I really wish John Goodman & Alec stuck around for a bit more.

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vb68

vb68

(edited)

Well did Trump tweet  yet? I'm sure he loved that cold open.  I really appreciate how barbed and on point this one was opposed to last week's. And John Goodman in the house! Hopefully that's a recurring character.

Poor Casey trying to do an actual monologue. Yeah, thankfully Alec and John came back out.  It didn't inspire me that he was going to be great. He ended up OK, but honestly he didn't have to do that much IMHO.  They didn't hide him per se, but kinda gave him secondary or straight parts. It was probably the best idea.

In the Dunkin Donuts short, was I the only one who half expected Sully and Denise to show up? Seemed like their type of thing. Or some callback to Good Will Hunting with a "do you like donuts" line.  Eh.  Surprised Ben and/or Matt weren't there at all.

Agreed that the Encounter sketch didn't pop this time. It's starting to remind me of Debbie Downer the way it was great exactly ONCE because of all the breaking.

I did love the Obama sequel to Christmastime in Hollis, Queens (one of my favorite xmas songs)! And I thought Che and Jost were on FIRE. Update was fantastic except for the Two Friends which was exhausting and took forever.

The Hillary sketch was also great and actually a little poignant.  Glad they are still doubling down on the political sketches and jokes on Update.  That was the best part of the whole show.

Didn't love or hate Casey. Couldn't really tell if he was having fun or not.   He's obviously just campaigning for his Oscar.

For the second week in a row, I don't think Pete was there at all. Wasn't in the goodbyes.  Wonder what's going on? 

Edited by vb68
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Lantern7

Lantern7

"Dear Jay . . . we got Fred on, but he's not playing Obama. That's my Christmas present to you. Love, Lorne."

Next episode takes place before January 20. That means one last chance for Alec to don the wig while Obama is still in office. After that, I don't know where he'll be going.

John Goodman's mind: "I have a career. I do stuff. But I do like the show, and I wouldn't have to wear women's makeup and a skirt. Man, what happened to Linda Tripp, anyway? I feel like I owe her money or something."

Kate-as-Hillary for the win. And I never saw Say Anything.

ETA: Love Actually, actually. Thanks, @DrScottie!

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Mumbles

Mumbles

A fantastic opening sketch ("the best candidate...the smartest candidate....the Manchurian candidate") had me laughing out loud, but nothing lived up to that, except the Christmas in Hollis sketch.  Okay I liked the one about the community theater because I've seen enough folks like this on the local news.

The gay robots....wtf....the writing team of the past few years has had a very juvenile and unenlightened take on male gayness. 

I heard a little Bruce Chandling in Kyle's shy Brooklynite. I would have preferred a sketch involving Bruce! (I don't mean that as a slam, I actually love the Bruce Chandling character.)

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Bees

Bees

Cold Open: I missed the first part of this sketch, but the part I saw from it was okay. 

Monologue: Mehh, I liked the dig at the singing monologues and the first "enter then swiftly exit" from Baldwin and Goodman. John Goodman looks good these days.

Dunkin Donuts: As someone who lives in New England and worked at a Dunkin Donuts throughout high school and college, this is pretty damn accurate. The workers with the thick accents (though it'd be Rhode Island here) with the juvenile humor is spot on. I liked when Mikey Day popped in as Casey's buddy. Also it's clear that Casey has run into many folks like this too.

Helix 900: I kind of liked this in that strange way. It seems like a Portlandia sketch but somehow doesn't draw itself out to be way too long. I liked the confusion of Casey and the way everybody else was equally as confused by were like "Yeah, I'm not getting involved". Also, I feel like there's a bit of a social commentary here but I can't put my finger on it entirely.

Christmas in Hollis 2 - Electric Barackaloo: Okay not the actual title, I forgot what it was. I enjoyed the crap out of this. Breakdancing Jesus! Also second sketch in a row where Beck and Kyle are gay, only this time being a couple. Enjoyed Chance the Rapper and DMC getting into the mix. And Leslie's verse about the sexiness of Joe Biden was pretty fantastic.

Santa Encounter: This is fine. I mean I'm not as big of a fan as everybody else is, but it's enjoyable and there's some funny lines in it and I like that Casey and Cecily kept their composure. 

Weekend Update: Update was going so damn well but then Fred Armisen came on with Vanessa Bayer and his penchant for drawing stuff out to be way too long just put update to a screeching halt. Thankfully, it picked up again at the end but man that middle was awful.

Silent Night, Hilarious Night: Ehhh...I enjoyed Chance the Rapper as the Three Wise Men, but other than that mehh. 

Hillary Actually: This was pretty nice. I almost expected see Harambe on her cue cards as other options. Though that would've been too dumb. I enjoyed this though but knowing the way people are way too tied to their party allegiances, it won't happen :(

Pervy Elves: Ugh....why is this a thing?!

Tony and Jerry: This went really nowhere. Seemed like it would've worked better if developed more. 

Overall, some really good stuff, but that second half wasn't great. I loved Chance the Rapper and I like how he infuses a lot of positivity and gospel into his music.

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helenamonster

helenamonster

Donnie hasn't tweeted about the cold open yet (yes, I checked, and yes, I'm ashamed) but I really enjoyed it. We've talked before about how the show goes a little too easy on Kellyanne Conway but I did love the "I'll be chained to you for the rest of history" line. When this whole thing goes pear-shaped, we the people will never forget the role she played. I actually almost felt a little bad for Donnie when they were portraying him as pathetic and uninformed next to Putin and Tillerson, because it felt so painfully accurate. But I got over it pretty quickly.

Donnie might have been the best thing to happen to the Colin/Michael Update. I suddenly find myself wishing for the days when they were terrible.

The Clinton/Love Actually sketch was my favorite of the night. It was a little bit sentimental, very hilarious ("I've literally never seen a movie") and honestly hurt my soul a little bit in a semi-good way.

Was anyone asking for the return of the kinky elves, seriously?

I realize Casey Affleck is on his big "give me an Oscar for my mediocre-looking movie" tour but yikes was this episode mostly a snooze. It didn't seem like the writers even tried to give him any substantial material, which might have been for the best.

6 minutes ago, Bees said:

Helix 900: I kind of liked this in that strange way. It seems like a Portlandia sketch but somehow doesn't draw itself out to be way too long. I liked the confusion of Casey and the way everybody else was equally as confused by were like "Yeah, I'm not getting involved". Also, I feel like there's a bit of a social commentary here but I can't put my finger on it entirely.

I think the social commentary was supposed to be in the fact that neither of the robots had to be gay or have any explicit sexuality at all. They were only supposed to make workplaces more efficient. It seemed to be lambasting the trend diversity/inclusion/"political correctness" for the sake of diversity/inclusion/"political correctness" but didn't quite hit the mark, imo.

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wknt3

wknt3

Have to agree with everyone that Casey Affleck was pretty much useless. I get that they wanted to have a lead from one of the big award season movies host and he has connections, but if you're not going to bring Ben and Matt or throw yourself into it why bother? There are other nominees that I'm sure could have done better. Did think this Trump sketch was better than the last one even if it solely motivated by the desire to troll Trump. Maybe because it had a punchline  and a point or because John Goodman showed up at the end to play the disgusting Trump minion so it worked (and proved me right!). And loved Dunkin Donuts (I can't believe companies pay them for this), the Hillary sketch, and Chance the Rapper surprisingly enough. He showed far more personality and charm than Affleck.

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Peace 47

Peace 47

(edited)

Casey was so wooden during the monologue that it actually surprised me.  Not that I'm familiar with his work, but he had no sense of delivery in front of a live audience.  He was good in the pretaped Dunkin sketch, though.  Even though it was sponsored content, that was one sketch that made me laugh out loud.

It was so nice to see John Goodman during the  Cold Open.  I had read 3-5 years ago that he was not well for a time, but he looked great last night.  I thought the whole sketch was very well done, and Beck as shirtless Putin giving the Elf on the Shelf listening device was nicely cutting.

I assume the Microsoft robots sketch was sponsored content, too.  Point 1:  why do they think that robots are a hilarious go-to for their sponsored content sketches?  (See also the Honda robots sketch).  Point 2:  That sketch was walking a very fine line with respect to offensiveness (in that gayness was almost the joke, even though discomfort with gayness was also the joke), and I don't really know what to think of it.  All I can say is that it walked that line.

Agree with the comments upthread that Update was very sharp, and Jingle Barack was fab.  The costume department really outdid themselves on the Christmas rap:  I loved Vanessa's whole look and Leslie's jacket.

Edited by Peace 47
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Lizzing

Lizzing

1 hour ago, Peace 47 said:

It was so nice to see John Goodman during the  Cold Open.  I had read 3-5 years ago that he was not well for a time, but he looked great last night.

Goodman is looking healthy these days.  I was impressed he showed up with gusto to do this after 2 performances of The Front Page earlier in the day. 

The pretaped stuff (Obama's last Christmas, Dunkin Donuts, Hill Actually) were the best parts.  Seems like the good writers got to leave early for the holiday.

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hendersonrocks

hendersonrocks

Quote

 

The Clinton/Love Actually sketch was my favorite of the night. It was a little bit sentimental, very hilarious ("I've literally never seen a movie") and honestly hurt my soul a little bit in a semi-good way.

Was anyone asking for the return of the kinky elves, seriously?

 

Clinton Actually hurt my spirit as well, but it was also my favorite bit of the night. It was so spot on in terms of tone, and using the Love Actually premise was gold. I liked the Dunkin video, but also felt it was a little TOO on the nose. Like, if you've ever spent time in New England this really isn't all that creative. It was just a chance for Casey Affleck to use his Boston accent.

Re: the elves, Kenan and Vanessa's elves are generally okay with me BUT (and this is a big but) I didn't really need to see Casey Affleck, with sexual assault allegations in the air, getting into the spirit. It was uncomfortable and took away from the silliness that Kenan and Vanessa can usually pull off.

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Princess Sparkle

Princess Sparkle

I know they couldn't because it's live tv, but it seems like such a missed opportunity to have John Goodman in proximity with Donald Trump and not have him yell "Shut the fuck up Donnie!"  

This was a bit of a letdown for the Christmas episode, especially when you consider the great Christmas episodes we've had over the past few years (Amy/Tina, Fallon, Martin Short).  The pretaped pieces were excellent, as were the Cold Open and WU, but the rest of the sketches ranged from "mildly funny" to "eh".  I can normally get what a sketch is going for, even if it misses the mark, but I still don't know wtf the point of the Brooklyn Bar sketch was. 

As for Pete not being there the second week in a row - I wonder if it's possible that he's sick?  I know he has Crohn's Disease (that he uses weed to help manage), and I had a former co-worker with Crohn's - on days it was managed, she was fine, but if she had times when the pain was bad, she would be out for awhile. 

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Bruinsfan

Bruinsfan

I liked the cold open, but the show literally put me to sleep around the time of the Santa Encounter sketch, and when I woke up my DVR wouldn't rewind as far as Weekend Update. helenamonster's characterization of Affleck as human Ambien was all too accurate. Couldn't they have gotten Ryan Gosling or Taraji P. Henson back if they wanted to promote an Oscar season movie?

9 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Next episode takes place before January 20. That means one last chance for Alec to don the wig while Obama is still in office. After that, I don't know where he'll be going.

I just hope it's not Guantanamo.

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VCRTracking

VCRTracking

(edited)

Favorite sketches were the homage to Run DMC's "Christmas in Hollis" and the "Love Actually" parody with Hillary Clinton and the elector. Cecily looked a lot like Keira Knightley surprisingly.

Loved seeing Kate as Mrs. Rafferty again. The best part again were her euphemisms "Hog taker and Log maker" and "Grassy Knoll and Gassy Hole"! Also "If you think you can't run as fast as a dog....you're right." and "Dammit Colleen your becoming your mother!"

Pleasantly surprised to see Fred Armisen appear for a few sketches. I always like when he and Vanessa play the "best friends" of dictators who talk quietly behind their backs. Vanessa looked cute in the Russian fur hat.

Wow, John Goodman lost weight. I mean, it's good for his health, but wow, it was startling to see.

Edited by VCRTracking
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vb68

vb68

(edited)
Quote

Re: the elves, Kenan and Vanessa's elves are generally okay with me BUT (and this is a big but) I didn't really need to see Casey Affleck, with sexual assault allegations in the air, getting into the spirit. It was uncomfortable and took away from the silliness that Kenan and Vanessa can usually pull off.

You're right.  They really didn't think that one through. It wasn't a good call. I don't remember the previous sketches being particularly charming to begin with , but this one was  cringeworthy while also being boring. I guess that was a feat in itself.

Quote

As for Pete not being there the second week in a row - I wonder if it's possible that he's sick?  I know he has Crohn's Disease (that he uses weed to help manage), and I had a former co-worker with Crohn's - on days it was managed, she was fine, but if she had times when the pain was bad, she would be out for awhile. 

Now I am worried about him.  Just hope he's OK!

 

Quote

Kind of an eh episode which is strange since it was the Last Eposode of 2016.

Well 2016 has been that type of year all the way around. Just saying.

ETA: Forgot to note that there were some pretty bad technical miscues.  I guess they mistimed the opening because stagehands were still running around putting plants out and getting home base ready when Casey walked out for the monologue. I think it threw him a little too.  Then later you could see a camera when Kate entered that bar sketch near the end.  

Edited by vb68
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Princess Sparkle

Princess Sparkle

20 minutes ago, vb68 said:

 

ETA: Forgot to note that there were some pretty bad technical miscues.  I guess they mistimed the opening because stagehands were still running around putting plants out and getting home base ready when Casey walked out for the monologue. I think it threw him a little too.  Then later you could see a camera when Kate entered that bar sketch near the end.  

You could also hear Colin and Che talking during the WU opening before it cut over to them - which is probably more on them, but they seemed to be laughing and talking about something that went wrong.  Weird for everything technically to be so sloppy at the end of the year. 

I meant to mention this in my last post, but I'm really shocked Ben Affleck didn't show up for some kind of cameo, or even a "5-time host giving his brother some hosting advice during the monologue" type sketch, especially considering he has a movie coming out in less than a month.  

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DollEyes

DollEyes

Meh. The Cold Open was good, "Hillary, Actually" was great and "Christmas In Hollis 2016" was awesome. I especially liked "Hillary, Actually" because it was not only topical, IMO it was a vast improvement on the original scene, which pissed me off.  Macking on your best friend's wife while said best friend is still alive and is a great guy is a bitch move, as far as I'm concerned.

  Casey Affleck was the weakest link. Alec Baldwin, John Goodman and Casey's not singing saved the opening monologue. What I think would have made it even better would have been if Casey's brother Ben and Matt Damon did a cameo, gave Casey a double-knuckle noogie on his head and called it his "initiation." 

  Hosting-wise, Ben was better. Matt was better. Even Chance the Rapper would have been better, I believe. 

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theatremouse

theatremouse

13 hours ago, hendersonrocks said:

The last Obama Christmas short was inspired, Che's white feminist joke was hot like fire (this white feminist could not agree more), and Chance the Rapper & Kate McKinnon's very existence make me happy. 

I appreciated the white feminist joke, but then immediately thought about the actual layout of the logo...she's only in the front if the women are theoretically moving left to right. Since they're in silhouette, given the angle, the pink one is in the front, or else the other two would be blocked. Like if it were a photo, the pink one is closest to the camera.

  • Love 6
hendersonrocks

hendersonrocks

Quote

I appreciated the white feminist joke, but then immediately thought about the actual layout of the logo...she's only in the front if the women are theoretically moving left to right. Since they're in silhouette, given the angle, the pink one is in the front, or else the other two would be blocked. Like if it were a photo, the pink one is closest to the camera.

Yeah, I caught that as well - but honestly, I think the joke is good because it is more about the underlying issue than the actual graphic design of the logo. (I mean, no matter what, visually, the white one is further "ahead" if you're looking at it left to right which is basically how we're all programmed to read things. If I were to nitpick the logo I'd wonder why they included a white silhouette at all. It is pretty stark in comparison to the rest of the colors.)

But I digress, because it's Weekend Update and I'm waaayyyyy over thinking this.  

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KerleyQ

KerleyQ

5 hours ago, Princess Sparkle said:

As for Pete not being there the second week in a row - I wonder if it's possible that he's sick?  I know he has Crohn's Disease (that he uses weed to help manage), and I had a former co-worker with Crohn's - on days it was managed, she was fine, but if she had times when the pain was bad, she would be out for awhile. 

You're probably right.  I saw that he missed some scheduled appearance over the past week.  (I think it was last Sunday.)  So, it seems like his absence must be due to either personal or health reasons, and not some issue with SNL.  

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Ottis

Ottis

No less than THREE skits featuring those horrible northeastern accents and self-centered attitudes (donuts, the local play and whatever the hell that was at the end in the bar). All were grating, none were funny. The NY stuff is rarely funny to anyone outside NY (I think those inside NY just like the attention ... is it funny to them?).

WU was OK. Overall, a pretty lame episode. Expected more for just before Christmas... a dick in the box, or a holiday tune on synthesizer, or a cynical reading of a Christmas story. But nope.

ChromaKelly

ChromaKelly

My husband is from a town in MA that is one square mile and has eight Dunkin Donuts. That skit was pretty accurate. 
Last Christmas with Barack was by far the funniest of the night. 
Really didn't need the Two Friends WU thing. It always goes on way too long.
I felt like Casey Affleck was meh as a host. I liked Chance the Rapper, he seemed game.

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