November 19, 2011 – Jason Segel / Florence + The Machine (S37 E7)

Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars

MITT ROMNEY RAW & UNLEASHED
even the “raw & unleashed” Mitt Romney (JAS) is stiff & uncontroversial

— Good premise with Sudeikis’ Mitt Romney desperately trying to shed his reputation as someone boring by unsuccessfully coming off “raw & unleashed”.
— During his interaction with Kristen’s character, I like Sudeikis’ Romney saying to the camera in a monotone voice, “I’m a real dog – bark, bark.”
— The head-shaking facial expression that Taran and Jay each make at the camera at the end of their respective scene got a laugh from me.
STARS: ***½

MONOLOGUE
host tells Muppets that, despite their SNL heritage, this is his solo gig

— Almost right out of the gate, Jason Segel’s already letting us know we’re in for (yet another) musical monologue. At least they’re open about it.
— It goes without saying that it’s very fun seeing the Muppets.
— Funny how clear it’s gradually becoming that the Muppets are under the wrong impression that they’re hosting SNL with Segel.
— A solid turn with the Muppets bitterly acting sarcastic towards Segel after he breaks the news to them that he’s hosting the show alone.
— Funny bit with Kermit’s “impression” of Ray Romano.
— Ooh, I love the fact that they actually mention that the Muppets were part of SNL since 1975, accompanied by a photo of forgotten SNL Muppet Scred, in a bee costume, with Gilda Radner. I love how seeing this photo takes me back to when I was reviewing season 1 all the way back at the beginning of this SNL project of mine.
— And now we have a Statler and Waldorf cameo at the end to put this over the top.
STARS: ****

RED FLAG
Rerun from 9/24/11

KELLY AUDITIONS
Kelly Ripa (NAP) auditions potential replacements for Regis Philbin

— A successor to the Regis Auditions sketch from many years earlier, in a season 25 episode hosted by Joshua Jackson.
— I like how Kenan’s Charles Barkley, when finding out the show starts at 9 a.m., immediately says “Okay, bye” and leaves.
— Garrison Keillor is a nice, out-of-the-ordinary choice for an SNL impression, and Bill is killing it in his impression of him.
— I love Bobby’s jolly Rosie O’Donnell suddenly telling Nasim’s Kelly Ripa a threatening “I will absorb you!”
— The debut of Abby’s Zooey Deschanel impression, which SNL will be getting some mileage out of this season in general.
— Taran’s Ashton Kutcher impression is absolutely hilarious.
— Jay’s mere facial expressions as Denzel Washington are slaying the audience.
— An overall fun impression showcase, much like the original Regis Auditions sketch.
STARS: ****

KEMPER-PEDIC ME TIME MATTRESS
(host)’s Kemper-Pedic mattress is for isolation of masturbation vibration

— A lot of laughs from the various masturbation-like innocent actions that Segel is demonstrating on the mattress being advertised. Segel is executing this really well.
STARS: ****

AFFECTIONATE FAMILY
Austin Vogelcheck joins his brother (host) & family for Thanksgiving

— (*groooooooaaaaaaaaaaan*)
— Did SNL forget that Vanessa already played the outsider girlfriend role in the last Vogelchecks sketch prior to this?
— At least we get a little something right now that’s kinda different for this recurring sketch, albeit brief, where Jay comes in as a second homeless guy and, upon realizing he’s at the Vogelchecks’ house, immediately reacts negatively and exits. One of the very few (if not the ONLY) laughs I ever got from a Vogelchecks sketch.
— Boy, do I hate the increasingly exaggerated mock-sentimental way Fred says “I guess we’re just….Vogelcheks” in each passing installment of this sketch.
— Paul Rudd cameo, where he and Segel IMMEDIATELY go all out and suck face with each other in the most exaggerated way possible.
— We end with a family photo of the Vogelchecks, which includes every SNL host who previously played a Vogelcheck son.
— On the bright side, this ends up being the final Vogelchecks sketch, not counting the revival that appears a few years later when Andy hosts the season 39 finale.
STARS: *½

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Shake It Out”

WEEKEND UPDATE
Jon Huntsman [real] butters up voters from New Hampshire, like SEM

incredulous SEM & Kermit say “Really!?!” to school pizza as a vegetable

— Jon Hunstman cameo. And with it, we get an odd technical gaffe during his entrance.
— Huntsman’s commentary is just generic “Politician tries to prove they have a sense of humor” comedy.
— A “Really?!?” segment with Kermit joining Seth.
— Mm, it turns out that the material in tonight’s “Really?!?” is very blah, but Kermit is at least adding fun energy.
STARS: ***

RETIREMENT PARTY
at (FRA)’s retirement party, (host) hints at a big secret to be revealed

— Even in just a silent cutaway, Vanessa’s so good at comically playing a shy character.
— Ugh, Kristen’s various “I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY!” screaming rants are unfunny and annoying as all hell.
— Segel’s been given nothing material in this, but he’s selling it as best as he can.
— I finally got an actual big laugh just now, from the cutaway to a handlebar mustache-having Bobby making a shocked face into the camera.
— What the hell is this sketch going for?!? And what’s with all the bizarre, unfunny, random turns?
— Oh, are you kidding me?!? They end this sketch with YET ANOTHER one of Kristen’s unbearable “I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY!” screaming rants. Get the fuck outta here with that. Even the easy-to-please audience had no idea how to react to it, as there’s a very awkward stretch of silence between the end of Kristen’s rant and the sketch-ending audience applause.
— An overall mostly awful sketch.
STARS: *½

A NEW JACK THANKSGIVING
obscure artists fuse hip-hop with R&B

— A sketch in the vein of the preceding season’s The Worst Of Soul Train sketch.
— Meh, so far, this is nowhere near as funny as the aforementioned Soul Train sketch. Most of the scenes here aren’t doing much for me.
— When this originally aired, some online SNL fans bashed Vanessa for how extremely stiff she came off in her singing and dancing during the TLC-esque scene she’s in with Nasim and Abby. Just one of several examples of how heavily criticized and disliked Vanessa was among some online SNL fans when this season originally aired, which is worth pointing out given how well-liked she’d later go on to become, particularly in her final two seasons.
— Kenan’s song right now is at least one part of this sketch I’m finally liking.
— While I’m not caring much for the lyrics to Florence Welch’s song, she’s singing the hell out of them.
— A chuckle from the photo of the “Toni, Tone, Tony Shaloub” singing group.
— There’s Triangle Sally to give me some much-needed amusement after how much this sketch has been falling a little flat for me.
STARS: **

SEDUCING WOMEN THROUGH CHESS
(Olivia Wilde) & other women prove (ANS) has no game

— Another Digital Short that does a good job making the video look like it genuinely comes from an old, worn-out 1980s VHS tape.
— Very funny how the first scene abruptly ends with the rapid-fire “Checkmate!” “DAMMIT!” exchange between Nasim and Andy.
— I like Kristen’s little “Hey!” and raised-eyebrows facial expression when Andy rudely gives her a light shove.
— An Olivia Wilde cameo out of nowhere. Is this how she and her future hubby Jason Sudeikis met?
— I’m really enjoying the escalation to Andy’s character’s desperation, especially how he’s resorting to simpler and simpler games in his attempts to beat his female opponents. The glass-eating scene is particularly funny.
— Very good ending.
— Overall, a strong short, and a huge turnaround for the Digital Shorts the week after they had their absolute worst Digital Short up to this point (Wish It Would Rain).
STARS: ****

ANDRÉ THE GIANT CHOOSES AN ICE CREAM FLAVOR
in an ice cream parlor, André The Giant (host) does what the title above says

— A sketch in the tradition of “Celebrity performs a very simple task” sketches that these late 2000s/early 2010 seasons like occasionally doing.
— Fantastic André The Giant voice from Segel.
— Wow, and it’s over already. Short and very sweet. Segel did a great job in his execution of this.
STARS: ****

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “No Light, No Light”

THE BLUE JEAN COMMITTEE
local band charms townsfolk with rendition of “Massachusetts Afternoon”

— I’m usually not a fan of these “Fred as the lead singer of a band” sketches from Fred’s later seasons, but I’m liking this sketch so far. It has an enjoyable, laid-back, charming, feel-good atmosphere, which is a very fitting way to close an episode.
— Did I just see Paul Rudd in the background sneaking into the scene during a close-up of Fred?
— Yep, there’s Rudd now seen sitting at the bar, enjoying the band’s performance.
— Now more and more of SNL’s guests from tonight’s episode are popping up at the bar, jamming out to the band. This is only adding to the fun, entertaining vibe to this sketch. I’m also starting to find the band’s song really damn catchy.
— A great over-the-top excited look on Bill’s face while bopping back and forth behind the Muppets.
— More and more, I am absolutely loving this sketch. I really underrated this in my past viewing of it back when it originally aired.
— Ah, there’s a shot of Taran dancing wildly, a little Taran Killam trademark that’s always a comedy favorite of mine.
— Overall, probably one of the most pure, feel-good things this era has ever done.
STARS: ****½

GOODNIGHTS

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IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A much better episode than I remembered it being. I’m pleasantly surprised by the impressive number of segments I gave a high rating to in this episode. The really bad segments that were hard for me to get through (Affectionate Family and Retirement Party, I’m lookin’ at you) will hurt this great episode’s rating average a little bit, but not too much, given the high number of strong segments.

MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS

RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
The Blue Jean Committee
Seducing Women Through Chess
André The Giant Chooses An Ice Cream Flavor
Kemper-Pedic Me Time Mattress
Monologue
Kelly Auditions
Mitt Romney Raw & Unleashed
Weekend Update
A New Jack Thanksgiving
Retirement Party
Affectionate Family

HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Emma Stone)
a step up

My full set of screencaps for this episode is here

TOMORROW
Steve Buscemi