S42.E13: Kristen Stewart / Alessia Cara

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Hosted by Kristen Stewart; musical performance by Alessia Cara

[JZL]

Had to use The-Google and The-Youtube for Alessia Cara.   Not my cup of tea, but she seems to have some talent and her videos are well done. 

I can see the arrow zooming right by the target demographic with this show, but it might be interesting.  There'll be plenty of political fodder.  I wonder if they'll continue to use the Grim Reaper for Steve Bannon or have an actual impression. 

[vb68]

 I wonder who gets the Sean Spicer impression as well.  Maybe Bobby?

Edited February 5, 2017 by vb68

[87penguins]

Did anyone catch what Kristen said at the end of her monologue? Curious why everyone seemed shocked. 

[Valny]

Ha ha! F-bomb from Kristen!

Those Trump tweets about Robert Pattison/Stewart were disturbing... and funny the way she was commenting on them. Those were real? Good lord!

[jcin617]

6 minutes ago, 87penguins said:

Did anyone catch what Kristen said at the end of her monologue? Curious why everyone seemed shocked. 

She dropped a big ol' F bomb.    "...greatest fucking job!  Oh!   I'm so sorry!  I'm never coming back!"  

[Valny]

21 minutes ago, 87penguins said:

Did anyone catch what Kristen said at the end of her monologue? Curious why everyone seemed shocked. 

Loved it!

Melissa McCarthy! Took me a seconds to recognize her, great makeup job! Her voice was the thing that made the light bulb go off..and then it was like... is that?... oh yeah! Thought she was very funny as Press Secretary Spicer.

Edited February 5, 2017 by Valny

[rollacoaster]

Ah! I kept trying to figure out who was playing Spicer. I thought it was Kathy Bates.  

[vb68]

Oh Boy!  This one was awesome in a few ways. 

Between...

(1)The end of Kristin's monologue,

(2)Melissa McCarthy completely destroying Sean Spicer in such a devastating way (Please find a way to give her an Emmy for this),

(3) Che messing up and saying your dog went to a "state up farm"and trying to recover with several "Shut up Colin!"s afterward, and

(4) Colin almost ending Update too soon and saying " I wanna quote our host from the monologue" along with Che's "You just saved my job"...

...this one really was a hot mess in several spots yet freaking hilarious.  I probably missed some.  It's definitely one to rewatch and may be a keeper.

Kristin was largely irrelevant, especially in the live sketches.

Again give Melissa an Emmy!  That will be a classic at least until she does it another 50 times.   

Edited February 5, 2017 by vb68

[Lantern7]

Alec's there! Guess he wasn't in the shower trying to wash the pain away.

Melissa McCarthy for the win. Took about a minute for it to register. I'm guessing she'll be busy for the rest of the season.

I think the writers saw this Honest Trailer and used it to abuse Grandpa Joe, a.k.a. "Joe Biden His Time." Was that Pete Davidson? Not my first choice to play a geezer.

Leslie Jones as Samuel L. Jackson? Not bad, but having Michael Che seemingly behind the WU desk does limit the show's option. But at least he knows when his segment ends, Colin.

ETA: Obvious question . . . did Larry David play Bernie Sanders right before he hosted last season?

[Galileo908]

Cold Open: We're starting with Alec Baldwin! Steve Bannon, of course, is the Grim Reaper again (no idea who's playing him). And where to start? The Australia call, the Mexico call, Germany, with the Bowling Green Massacre and the Apprentice crap tossed in for good measure. Kenan bitching out Trump was so cathartic.

Monologue: I missed the rest of the Annie Awards for this, I'm hoping this episode doesn't make me regret making the choice. But talking about Trump freaking out on her breakup with Robert Pattinson? That was great. Dropped the F bomb, too, apparently. I missed it.

Customs: Oh this was great. SNL was due for some much needed social commentary.

Dry Fridays: Kristen Stewart actually comes off as the kind of person who would've done the things her character said she did. This definitely brings me back to my college years. "What is your story?" indeed.

Totino: Does Vanessa's wife character now count as a recurring character? This is the third super bowl show in a row to have a sketch with her.

"What's your name?"
"I've never had one."

"But what about my hungry guys?"
"What are you hungry for?"

This one turned out great. No, amazing.

Sean Spicer: Holy shit, who had money on Melissa McCarthy playing him?! This was great, now THIS is how you spoof him. We need to stop radical moose lambs. She was just relentless, it was so amazing. The capper going into "Live from New York" and being pointed out it already happened? Perfect. It makes me wonder if this was the original cold open if Alec hadn't shown up.

WU: Che & Colin wasting no time laying down smack on Trump. Even covered the Killers remark. And hey, I like any excuse to bring back Big Papi. Although confusing a Sikh for a Muslim was odd, though. 

Family Feud: Kate as Bieber! Leslie Jones as Samuel L. Jackson! Man, I liked it, especially since they covered Roger Gooddell and Bill Bellichick. And Leslie broke, too.

Meet Cute: This was great. Man, I know that feeling with Pete. It's a fear of mine.

Willie Wonka: What a weird note to end on, a spoof of the scene where Grandpa Joe stands and sings. Everyone except the one Grandma could stand the whle time? Fun, but odd.

What an unecpectedly good episode. Can't wait for Alec Baldwin next week!

[Galileo908]

3 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Question . . . did Larry David play Bernie Sanders right before he hosted last season?

Yep. He was around so many times, I felt like they should've just asked him to host. And they did.

[mortonsalt]

It was great until WU, but then it was just alright. I liked the spoof of rom-coms which seemed timely after recent news about how young actresses nowadays no longer are making them, and I always felt similar to the way Charlie did tonight about his Grandpa Joe, but Celebrity Family Feud wasn't very good despite Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones giving it their all.

Kristin Stewart did a great job though. I'm not sure if it was because I was expecting her to be like Felicity Jones, but I was pleasantly surprised that she was actually funny and not as awkward as I imagined.

Edited February 5, 2017 by mortonsalt

[Ms Blue Jay]

Melissa McCarthy invented comedy tonight.  That was God-like.

The monologue was great.  I found the entire monologue legendary.

I agree, Kristen was better than I had expected as a host.  She brought the perfect energy required to each sketch.  She balanced the acting and the comedy well.

Anyway, let the raves for Melissa ring loud and clear forever and ever Amen.

Edited February 5, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[vb68]

Quote

 It makes me wonder if this was the original cold open if Alec hadn't shown up.

I didn't even think about that.  To me, It was Melissa putting her exclamation point on it in a joking "Step aside Alec, I got this!" type of way.  

Edited February 5, 2017 by vb68

[Lantern7]

8 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Yep. He was around so many times, I felt like they should've just asked him to host. And they did.

I meant if Larry played Bernie the week before he hosted.

Forgot in the first post . . . when Kenan popped up as David Ortiz, did anybody else expect the real Big Papi to bust his chops? When he retired, I predicted he'd do that. Maybe the show reached the Surprise Sports Stars quota with the three Cubs.

ETA: I predicted that on the MLB thread. I know Ortiz didn't play for a New York team, but it seemed like an obvious thing. Maybe closer to Opening Day?

[Galileo908]

3 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I meant if Larry played Bernie the week before he hosted.

Forgot in the first post . . . when Kenan popped up as David Ortiz, did anybody else expect the real Big Papi to bust his chops? When he retired, I predicted he'd do that. Maybe the show reached the Surprise Sports Stars quota with the three Cubs.

Oh. I don't think so.

And I'm surprised they brought back Big Papi at all.

[MakeMeLaugh]

Melissa McCarthy not only nailed Spicer, she never broke character or a smile the whole time. She is just amazing.

So pathetic, weird, and creepy that an old man was tweeting about Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. I was hoping that was fake, but no. Ick ick ick.

[JakeyJokes]

Poor Vanessa in that last sketch said her line too early ("I really do have polio!"). It was still funny, but it was up there with Jenny Slate reading Bill Hader's line in their high school sketch when Taylor Lautner hosted. Maybe the Twilight cast brings a tiny curse.

F-bomb be damned, I thought Kristen Stewart really brought it as a host. Please don't ban her, Lorne.

[TimWil]

And Melissa McCarthy, it must be noted, made this appearance on one of her days off from playing the lead of a film currently shooting in NYC called Can You Ever Forgive Me? Good God, she was fantastic as Spicer and I can't remember the last time I actually belly laughed watching a sketch.

Fun fact: one of the sketches which was cut when Alec Baldwin hosted back in 2011 concerned the reunion of the child actors from a film suspiciously similar to Willie Wonka... and Baldwin played the equivalent to the Augustus Gloop portrayer all grown up. I vaguely remember the gist of it was that the German kid actor had been stalking the American kid actor for years. Baldwin's German accent was hilarious.

[Dee]

Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer was fantastic.

By the time she began attacking people with the podium, I was howling

[pennben]

Moose lambs!!!  Everything about that sketch was perfection. Melissa McCarthy!!

[hoosier80]

I had to check out what is online from tonight's show.  Saw the Alec cold open and that was good. 

Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer was online as well.  OMG.  She was relentless, and pitch perfect.  The props had me dying.  Moose lambs!  And he won't be de-turd.  Then, charging people with the podium - I was gone.

In some of the movies that Melissa's made, I am always seeing the same character from her, but not this evening.  While the character was off the rails, she did have a kind of restraint in the madness.  A+++

Cannot wait for the tweets.  Y'all know they're coming........

[Galileo908]

Just now, hoosier80 said:

Cannot wait for the tweets.  Y'all know they're coming........

I think SNL ran that commercial for Alec Baldwin hosting next week JUST for him.

[ruby24]

Alec should host AS Trump the entire night.

[Galileo908]

2 minutes ago, ruby24 said:

Alec should host AS Trump the entire night.

Someone on Reddit suggested that Alec should remake Trump's 2015 ep shot for shot just to spite him. THAT would be awesome, but I'm betting against it.

And as for WU...Colin trying to end early was a flub?! I didn't even pick up on that!

Edited February 5, 2017 by Galileo908

[VCRTracking]

Best Totinos commercial EVER!

[vb68]

FWIW Kate also nailed Betsy DeVos in the shadow of Melissa's Spicer.   I love her eyes getting really big. "I know nothing about school." And of course mocking the guns for grizzlies line. 

[futurechemist]

This episode was fun. I thought the "my struggle" joke in the cold open was very biting. And I'm glad they didn't feel the need to explain the joke, just relying on Kate's facial expressions.

If I had 1 concern it's that lately snl is dipping into the famous guest star to be a political impersonator. Alec Baldwin, John Goodman, Larry David, and now Melissa McCarthy. 

[oakville]

5 hours ago, Dee said:

Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer was fantastic.

By the time she began attacking people with the podium, I was howling

That the best political skit I have seen in years.

[LizDC]

I just rewatched the cold open on my tiny phone screen and I can't be positive but I think Merkel has a bust  of Obama sitting behind her. 

[Spartan Girl]

I never thought I'd ever write this, but BRAVO KRISTEN! Shaking the dust from Twilight has done her so much good. My mom had a feeling she'd monologue about Trump dissing her. Good god, he is the biggest hypocrite in the world, and she busted him so beautifully. I gasped when she dropped the f-bomb. God I love live TV.

The cold opening was hilarious, especially when Kenan's Zimbabwe leader ripped Trump a new one. But that was nothing compared to the surprise skit with Melissa McCarthy appearing as Sean Spicer. That was GLORIOUS! I hope she does it again.

If SNL keeps giving the Hair Administration the finger, I think we'll be able to get through the next four years.

[Tiggertoo]

1 hour ago, LizDC said:

I just rewatched the cold open on my tiny phone screen and I can't be positive but I think Merkel has a bust  of Obama sitting behind her. 

Yes, I saw that too!

[Ottis]

Melissa McCarthy was brilliant. Just brilliant. 

I still don't understand why Kristen  Bell is famous. She seems half asleep and unsure of her lines. And what was that accent for Gisele? Edit: Sorry, Stewart. Who is she again? Oh, Twilight. Right.

I would be fine with a ban on people who like Lalaland.

Meet Cute should have been subtitled "Idiots."

Edited February 6, 2017 by Ottis

[absnow54]

This episode was a mess. The Trump administration should be credited on the writing staff, since their verbatim statements come off as straight satire. 

[Kimmmmmm]

12 minutes ago, Ottis said:

I still don't understand why Kristen  Bell is famous. She seems half asleep and unsure of her lines. 

It was Kristen Stewart

[wknt3]

Have to add my love for the Spicer sketch. Brilliant from start to finish. It made up for the unevenness of the rest of the show. I thought the Trump bits in the cold opening were great, and much of the foreign leaders stuff too (and kudos for not feeling the need to explain "my struggle" line)  but the Bannon as Death still doesn't land for me. It just feels like that the show has too many generic young white guys and if you don't fit into that box they need to bring in a friend of the show to do the impression or resort to stunts. And I thought the Kenan bit was pretty generic and not really as an on point as the rest and it sort of ran out of steam. It would have been funnier and sharper if they ended with him sucking up to Putin or calling Saudi Arabia and telling them they can keep supporting terrorists as long as he can keep his property there and they keep financing his company. As far as the rest of the show is concerned it was better than I expected, but still uneven both in content and execution. Kristen Stewart was certainly game, but she couldn't overcome her blandness and there were a lot of flubs. But you really only need a few home runs to have a successful show and they did have that.

[jcin617]

I was rewatching the cold open, and just noticed Trump is wearing a Russian flag pin.  Ha!

[Gemma Violet]

I thought the writing in the Spicer sketch was great but it wasn't my favorite because Melissa McCarthy grates on my nerves.  Not a fan.  The sketch reminded me of when she was in the sketch in the bar on how to approach guys and she was sticking her hands in the guys' mouths.  I just think she's massively overrated.  If anyone else would have done the Spicer sketch, I would have probably loved it.

Edited February 5, 2017 by Gemma Violet

[absnow54]

I'm generally not a fan of Melissa McCarthy's loud, obnoxious characters either, but I feel like Sean Spicer is the embodiment of an over the top Melissa McCarthy character, which is why the sketch worked for me.

[fastiller]

22 minutes ago, jcin617 said:

I was rewatching the cold open, and just noticed Trump is wearing a Russian flag pin.  Ha!

I think this isn't the first time that they've had him wearing the Russian flag pin.

[AriAu]

See what happens when they get to take a week off-brilliance! Hard to believe it was the best of season when the host was only meeh.

The Melissa McCarthy/Sean Spicer goes into the pantheon of the greatest SNL sketches of all time. Moose lambs and d turd! I have been watching since the beginning and it is definitely up there with Word Association, Killer Bees, the Stevie Wonder Experience etc...

 

Quote

Alec should host AS Trump the entire night.

I have been begging for this. It would be amazing. Have him do Pete Schweaty as Trump.

[Princess Sparkle]

9 hours ago, vb68 said:

 

(3) Che messing up and saying your dog went to a "state up farm"and trying to recover with several "Shut up Colin!"s afterward, and

(4) Colin almost ending Update too soon and saying " I wanna quote our host from the monologue" along with Che's "You just saved my job"...

 

So, I watched the episode on Hulu and while they left in Colin ending WU too early and Kristen Stewart swearing in the monologue, they cut out Che flubbing a joke and "You just saved my job".  There was a hard cut from Colin ending WU early and Che's groundhog day joke; did it happen there?  With Colin ending WU early, it did make me wonder if they originally planned on ending with the David Ortiz bit, since Che's Super Bowl joke was a weird one to end it - I was thinking that Che's joke was the original lead in to the David Ortiz piece and then they'd end with that.  

What can I say about Melissa McCarthy's Sean Spicer that hasn't already been said?  She nailed it and that was just masterful to watch.

When Casey Affleck hosted, how did they not exploit the fact that Alex Moffet has a pitch-perfect Casey Affleck impression?  

[greekmom]

9 hours ago, MakeMeLaugh said:

Melissa McCarthy not only nailed Spicer, she never broke character or a smile the whole time. She is just amazing.

So pathetic, weird, and creepy that an old man was tweeting about Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. I was hoping that was fake, but no. Ick ick ick.

I came on here to see if it was real. Are you guys kidding me?!?!? Cheeto tweeted about KS &C RP? lmao.

Loved the Trump cold open.  Another classic. But I am not understanding your comments.  Was it not a for sure thing Baldwin was going to show?

Saw Melissa's performance this morning. Excellent. I agree with you all. She nailed it.

[PatternRec]

This was a fun episode, if a bit messy. I've always heard good things about Stewart post-Twilight and she didn't disappoint. Comedy obviously isn't her thing but the monologue was amazing and she seemed game for whatever the writers threw at her like the reverse mohawk wig. 

[87penguins]

I just re-watched the cold open and realized that Trump is wearing a Russian flag pin, instead of the United States. So many gems in this sketch!

[SoSueMe]

1 hour ago, absnow54 said:

I'm generally not a fan of Melissa McCarthy's loud, obnoxious characters either, but I feel like Sean Spicer is the embodiment of an over the top Melissa McCarthy character, which is why the sketch worked for me.

Exactly. Never cared for her brand of comedy, but she was born to play Spicer. Bravo to the writers also.

[annewithaneee]

Melissa McCarthy's Sean Spicer was maybe the best thing SNL has pulled off since Tina Fey's Sarah Palin. Except in this case, it wasn't expected at all -- we were all, as a country, kinda waiting/hoping for Tina to spoof her evil doppleganger. McCarthy's timing on that was incredible, never a hint of breaking, not a single line flub.

They still have a long way to go to redeem normalizing #45 last year, but that masterpiece of a sketch was a step in the right direction. I want to see more of Trump's almost-entirely white male staff being skewered to hell and back by women cast members and guests. It'll get under #45's skin so damn badly, and after years of having to put male cast members in drag (especially Keenan, when they had no women of color on the cast), it'd be a nice well-overdue reversal.

Also, when are they finally going to get rid of Jost and Che? Weekend Update is basically unwatchable, and has been since they arrived. It's just not working, and it's such a wasted opportunity to have subpar talent right now. Again, they have the power to help drive our despot-wannabe even crazier until maybe he just resigns (I know, not realistic, but....the past several months have proven anything is possible). Even if they rotated in past cast members to guest for a while before they found the right person or duo to replace full-time, they need to get them outta there imo. 

[WhineandCheez]

Spicer sketch was the best thing I've seen in 10 years.  The Homeland Security edited video has superb, really LOL stuff. Alex Moffat as Casey Affleck--perfect intonation!

[hypnotoad]

Quote

It was great until WU

WU used to be one of my favorite things about this show, but my gosh these two guys haven't improved a bit. They are awful in my opinion. Not remotely natural and still I feel no co-anchor type chemistry from them. I have no idea how either of these two stay on this skit.

I thought Kristen Stewart did a good job.  Honestly, I was shocked that I liked her so much. Completely unexpected. And yes, President Trumplethinskin really did tweet about her and Robert Pattinson.

Melissa McCarthy gave me life! Her Sean Spicer was perfect. I loved it from the ill fitting suit all the way to using the podium to attack the members of the press.

The cold open was excellent too. However, isn't the Bannon as death kind of like the whole Dick Cheney as death stuff back in the day?

Edited February 5, 2017 by hypnotoad