NOTE: For anyone who didn’t read my post from yesterday, this is going to be my final review. And, as you’ll notice throughout the review, there isn’t a finality to the tone of this review, because it was written over a week ago, before I came to the decision to end this project.
Segments are rated on a scale of 1-5 stars
PAUL MANAFORT’S APARTMENT
Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) visits house-arrested Paul Manafort (ALM)
— A pretty funny cutaway to Cecily’s Melania communicating with a Donald Trump inflatable lookalike.
— Yikes, after the aforementioned Melania scene, what the hell happened? The camera cuts back to Alec, who’s seen awkwardly rushing out of the shot while looking off-camera as if he realized he wasn’t supposed to be in the current scene, but then, after a long pause as the camera just holds on a shot of nobody onscreen, Alec (or someone else) is heard off-camera saying “Wait, wait”, then Alec re-enters the shot with Alex. What in the world went wrong?
— Not caring much for anything happening during the shower scene. It’s resulting in me having the usual reaction I have to Trump-era political cold openings.
STARS: *½
MONOLOGUE
host does stand-up about dating as Quasimodo & in a concentration camp
— Already a good laugh right from the start, with Larry David opening this monologue by telling the cheering audience a Sally Field-esque “You tolerate me! You really, really tolerate me!”
— Larry’s whole bit about Quasimodo is hilarious, especially the voice and gestures he uses as Quasimodo.
— I’m cracking up so much at Larry’s very drawn-out hesitance when bringing up the fact that a lot of the men who have been Me Too’ed are Jewish.
— IIRC, Larry’s bit about picking up women at a concentration camp, which is definitely making me laugh, would end up receiving complaints, which is possibly what prevented this episode from receiving an NBC rerun.
STARS: ****½
THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Bernie Sanders (host) wins; Liam Hemsworth cameo
— Chris is hilarious as Lil Wayne.
— A fun Chris Hemsworth impression from Alex.
— A decent way to work in Larry’s Bernie Sanders impression.
— Mixed feelings on Alec’s appearance here, as I always love his Tony Bennett impression, but all of the Trumpwin stuff from both this and the preceding season has made me burned out on Alec’s sketch appearances.
— Boy, Beck’s Drew Carey impression is really off. I have no idea what he’s going for.
— A funny description Larry’s Bernie gives on how he washes his suit.
STARS: ***½
CONFIDENT
“Confident” & dismissive Sarah Huckabee Sanders (AIB) sidelines reporters
— I was about to say that I’m not caring for the recurrent musical cutaways in this short, but the humor in those cutaways and the press conference scenes have gotten better after a while.
— This feels a bit like a precursor to Aidy’s “Aidy B” short from later this season.
— I love the “Bruce?” “There’s no Bruce here” exchange between Aidy and Cecily, as well as how Cecily nonchalantly goes on with her next question immediately after that line.
— Aidy is performing really well in this, which is helping to make this work.
STARS: ***½
AD COUNCIL AWARDS DINNER
in retrospect, directing honoree’s (host) old PSAs are rather offensive
— I’m enjoying the 80s aesthetic in the PSAs. Speaking of which, Mikey looks like he’s wearing the same shirt that Josh Hutcherson wore in the 80’s Song sketch (e.g. the Outfield “Your Love” sketch) from his season 39 hosting stint.
— The increasingly un-PC-by-today’s-standards taglines of the PSAs are hilarious, as is how uncomfortable everybody at this awards dinner is becoming over that.
— The very casual, unacknowledged reveal of Larry’s character having a big ponytail was a bit surprising to me.
STARS: ****
THE BABY STEP
host refuses to participate in infant-themed rap video
— I love Larry getting angry at the camera for repeatedly cutting back to him for his rap solo, after he made it clear that he wants no part of this.
— I absolutely LOVE the bit with Kenan being animated as a Rugrat, especially given his Nickelodeon history.
— After the aforementioned bit with Larry getting angry at the camera for repeatedly cutting back to him, his continued objections to participating in this music video aren’t quite as hilarious as I remembered, but they’re still funny.
— Larry, to Kenan, when calling each of the performers out on doing this ridiculous music video: “You??? How long do ya have to be here not to do this kind of stuff?” Kenan: “……..I wish I knew.”
STARS: ***½
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Bad Mood”
WEEKEND UPDATE
Donald Jr. (MID) & Eric (ALM) defend pa Trump from suggestions of guilt
archetypal movie boxer’s girlfriend Angel (HEG) has had enough
Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, George Springer [real] give Astros swag to LEJ
— Great to see another Trump Brothers Update commentary, which are usually very funny.
— A hilarious facial expression from Alex’s Eric Trump after tasting the sugar in the Fun Dip candy (the seventh above screencap for this Weekend Update).
— The debut of Heidi’s Angel character, a.k.a. every boxer’s girlfriend from every movie about boxing ever.
— Heidi is absolutely spot-on as this movie archetype.
— The comedy in Heidi’s Angel piece wasn’t doing all that much for me at first, despite her solid performance, but the comedy has become increasingly funny the more ridiculous her rants have become with each passing topic, especially the phone bit.
— A lot of laughs from Leslie’s talk about baseball.
— Ohho, NO. The Houston Astros. Even though I don’t know much about baseball (I’m much more of a football and basketball viewer), I’m certainly well aware of the Astros’ notorious cheating scandal. This is the season that they later got busted for cheating during, right? If so, oof, this SNL appearance of theirs has aged like milk.
— It’s a shame that this Astros appearance is souring my enjoyment of Leslie’s commentary, though she still does have a few funny comments during the Astros appearance, and is still coming off as her usual likable self.
STARS: ***½
FRESH TAKES WITH DUSTIN PURCELL
teacher (host) shares improper gossip on high school show
— If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear that was the no-longer-on-the-show Vanessa Bayer doing the opening announcement for this sketch. After several seconds, though, the announcer’s voice has started to sound a bit like Cecily.
— Nice to see yet another display of the fun and charming chemistry that Mikey and Alex usually have together.
— Mikey’s professional delivery of and emphasis of the word “beefed” when saying “Someone BEEFED in first period gym” tickled me so much.
— A funny low-budget ad with Pete and Chris.
— The way Larry’s character is delivering gossip about high schoolers is funny just because it’s Larry David, of all people, dishing that gossip.
— Sad that this is the closest that Luke has gotten to a comedic role so far in his SNL tenure, and it’s just a small role with a predictable (to me, at least) punchline.
— Good bit with Leslie making announcements of which students have scoliosis. I can also relate to that, having had scoliosis when I was younger.
STARS: ***½
NEW WIFE
at a party, (host)’s gay-famous new wife (CES) performs her club routine
— This sketch is SO stupid, and has some of James Anderson’s worst tendencies as a writer, but Larry David is probably the only person in existence who could sell this material. Similar to what I said about him in the preceding Fresh Takes sketch, these lines of his are only funny because it’s Larry David, of all people, delivering them.
— Now this has gotten even funnier with Larry starting to break towards the end of the sketch, causing him to laugh his way through the rest of his lines. His speaking-while-laughing-hysterically voice is absolutely priceless, as also seen in the rehearsal footage of the Kevin Roberts sketch from Larry’s previous episode.
STARS: ****
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “I Would Die For You”
BEERS
in a sitcom, (KYM) & (BEB) realize that (host) has a drinking problem
— Ah, I always love this recurring nameless 80s/90s sitcom pastiche of Beck and Kyle’s. The humor in these shorts really speaks to me, and these shorts are what I consider to be among Beck and Kyle’s best pre-taped work.
— I’m surprised to realize that this pre-taped short is Kyle’s first and ONLY appearance all night. Coincidentally, he didn’t make any live appearances in the previous Larry David-hosted episode, either.
— Kyle’s intentionally horrible non-verbal overacting whenever Larry smashes a chair is hilarious.
— Like the previous installments of this short, I love the increasingly random and out-of-place establishing shots shown between scenes.
— A good laugh from the extreme brevity of the scene that only consists of Beck saying “Alright, let’s go on our bike ride.”
— Ha, holy hell at the out-of-nowhere turn with Larry stabbing Kyle in the gut.
STARS: *****
GOODNIGHTS
IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— While not as strong or memorable as the previous episode Larry David hosted, this was still a fairly solid episode. Aside from the cold opening, I enjoyed every segment, there were a few great overall highlights, and Larry did yet another strong job hosting.
MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS
RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Beers
Monologue
Ad Council Awards Dinner
New Wife
Weekend Update
Fresh Takes with Dustin Purcell
The Baby Step
Confident
The Price is Right
Paul Manafort’s Apartment
HOW THIS EPISODE STACKS UP AGAINST THE PRECEDING ONE (Kumail Nanjiani)
a slight step up
My full set of screencaps for this episode is here
TOMORROW
That’s it. No more reviews from me. On the bright side, it appears that this One SNL A Day project will continue on another blog, with reviews being written by commenters from my blog who are graciously willing to cover the remaining episodes that I will no longer be reviewing. (Read more about that plan here.) After this Larry David review I just posted, the only thing left for me to do now is a big, special farewell extravaganza post to officially wrap up my part of this project (but not officially wrap up this project altogether, because, as I said, it appears that others will continue this project on another blog). Because of how long and extensive my farewell post will be, it will most likely take me a few days to complete, so don’t expect it to be posted by tomorrow. Hopefully, I’ll have it ready the day after that, but don’t be surprised if it takes me even longer. As for what kind of content the post will contain, you can expect review stats, a collection of some of the lists (of things like rating averages) that people have kindly provided in the comments sections of my reviews, new lists made by me, and various other things.
Pour one out. Thanks for all the great work Stooge. And glad the project will continue in some form or another, even if it will obviously feel a little less special without your involvement (though the fact that the commenters are keeping things going IS very special).
Pour one out indeed. Or in the words of Kyle Mooney, from the final line of Stooge’s final sketch… “Let’s drink.”
If nothing else, the Astros segment helps you end this blog with a….
BANG
(I am perfectly content having that be the last comment on a new ep I make, no matter how lame that is.)
Anyone who enjoys my quips and trivia, BTdubs, I do this on other blogs too, like MeBlogWriteGood and Bomb Report (to avoid confusion, that focuses on box office “bombs”.)
Basically, whenever you see the name Hello Floreda, that’s me.
Ironic enough, this was when I stopped being an avid watcher as well. Same reasons, nothing to do with the quality, but I had other stuff going on, and I just wasn’t that interested in continuing at such a constant pace. I still watch from time to time, but not really paying that much attention, especially with the, ahem, Baldwin imitation sketches up to January.
But, I’m going on too much.
Best of luck, Stooge, in your future endeavors. Your blog has helped me get through a very tough period, for me and for, I can imagine, everyone in the last year.
Peace, dude.
Well stooge, I realized that doing this project has taken a lot of time away from your life. Making content for the internet is a time-consuming chore. You missed out on a lot of things you could have been doing just to make us happy. At first I was a sad and disappointed. But now after seeing what you have done for us all these past few years, You really worked really hard on this but it was very time consuming and had you continued to finish it, you would have gotten bored. This was a passion project of yours but as time went on the passion went away and I feel you. Why continue to do this when you don’t want to anymore? You definitely without a doubt made the right decision to end this project at 43 seasons. I will still be coming back to the site every once in a while to look back at all the hard work you did. If you ever get around to watching seasons 44-46 I hope you enjoy them. Maybe you could a quick review on those episodes. But it might not happen. Either way, you did a fantastic. I did not think you would get this far. This was an amazing ride through SNL’s history. Thanks for the memories. Good luck on your next endeavor in the future. Enjoy your second and permanent retirement.
RIP One SNL a day
2018-2021
We will miss you
Hopefully whoever continues this will do it with the same joy you did it.
…aaand that’s that (well, for our host, anyway). Thanks again for all of sticking this out for so long, Stooge. You deserve a rest, and I can’t wait to see who picks up the mantle.
The inflatable fake Trump in the CO is Otto from “Airplane!”
Forgot how fucking funny “Beers” was until reading this review. Glad you could go out on a high note.
“Wait, what was I supposed to do today? … Oh, yeah, have a blast.” (goes back to rocking out on guitar)
Ending on Beers is such a great way to go out. One of Beck’s and Kyle’s best, not to mention your first sketch review was Wolverines (another absurd-off kilter sketch) 🙂
Fin
truly appreciated your hard work over the years, man. just making it to 2008, when i started watching, was awesome enough for me. i am excited for the people in the next several years or so who stumble onto this site and start cracking back episode logs from the very beginning.
thank you. hope your next endeavor makes you as happy as this made you at its height.
Thanks for all the hard work and reviews.
“Wait, what was I supposed to do today? Oh yeah…have a blast!” (guitar solo and knock over fishbowl) – Larry David
Stooge! I rarely commented on this website and I regret it. Your blog is one of my favorite places ever; I looked forward to your reviews every single night since the day that I discovered it. And even though I’m only well-acquainted with the modern era of the show (S31 onwards), I’ve found myself reading write-ups for episodes far before my time almost every night, just scrolling and enjoying all of your opinions whether or not I always agreed! I was gutted to hear that you’re ending your project early, but I fully understand; this was a spectacular endeavor, and ending it before reaching this current season is in no way a mark against the past 43 seasons of daily coverage. I hope that you can look back on everything that you’ve done with a sense of pride, and like a ghost resolved of his unfinished business, ascend to the great beyond of some sweet R&R.
This was an episode that I wasn’t immediately fond of when it came out, though time has proven it to be a pretty fun one, all things considered. At the time, I was feeling rather iffy with S43, and I remember considering this episode to be incredibly disappointing given my adoration of David’s previous hosting bit; I actually shared a lot of the opinions that the notorious Dennis Perkins did at the AV Club. But pieces like “New Wife” and “Fresh Takes” grew on me overtime, and the episode as a whole has a pretty great combination of crowd-pleasing sketches and oddball fun. “Beers,” at the very least, is a piece I have always loved, and no matter what way you feel about the episode, it’s a perfect 10-to-1 to lay the night to rest.
When I heard about these plans to continue the project through guest writers, my interest was incredibly piqued! I know that I was never a notable commenter on this website but I would love to be able to participate in it to both reflect my love of the show, my reverence for all of your work, and to become more acquainted with some of the familiar faces of this comment section who I was too scared to interact with in the past! Compared to a lot of commenters here, I feel that I have a lot more leniency towards this recent era even if I am acutely aware of all of its issues (I’ve generally enjoyed the past two seasons, even though I recognize how long overdue the cast is for a rehaul and, as a sane person, abhor the cold opens), so that might be some interesting and controversial energy. Plus, although not about SNL, I have written television reviews online for the past four years (mattalamode.com), and I would adore the chance to take a crack at this one. Hopefully I can be kept in consideration!
And just one last time: thank you for everything, Stooge, you beautiful, sketch comedy-ridden madman. Live a happy life.
–30–
Thanks again Stooge! So much fun. A hell of a ride
Hats off to the mystery man known simply as “Stooge.” Nearly 850 reviews. Incidentally, David/Cyrus was the last time I posted a review of any kind on TV.com before *I* realized I don’t have time for elaborate yet pro bono writing projects. Bear in mind, that was after less than 300 shows.
Suffice to say, there’s (again) not much to disagree with here. The Trump shower cold open was supposed to spoof “Gone Girl,” I think, and for a post-election Trumpwin sketch it’s tolerable. Melissa just disappeared into Ariana Grande in the “Price is Right” sketch. I don’t think there was a single bad sketch all night, but only the “Beers” short film really stood out.
Once this fan blog launches, I’d love to read it.
Cant wait for the fan blog either. I cant wait to see whats in store
This episode was widely panned at the time, probably because of fans or press who expected more from the Bernie impression or after Larry’s last episode. The monologue was the main takeaway, drowning out any positive moments.
I think there are some pretty good pieces in this episode – I enjoy Fresh Takes and seeing the cast in that dorky high school setting (some of Mikey’s best straight man work), and the ad awards tribute is a perfect use of Larry, with some very funny work from the cast (and I’m glad to get our second and last look at Beck in acid wash). I also enjoy the sitcom piece – it may be my least favorite of the 5 installments, but that is a VERY high bar as they are all wonderful. This is also one of only two sitcom homage sketches with Beck and Kyle that actually made it to air.
The last of these, with Claire Foy, helped convince me to get back into SNL outside of Mulaney episodes, so they will always hold a special place in my SNL fan heart. It’s fitting that your last episode ends with this sketch series in the spotlight.
Promos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LikHoZv8GW8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XvybwqDtDo
And finally, I don’t want to keep saying my pained goodbyes and thank yous, so I will leave with this:
https://streamable.com/pljbz
This is a little dishy I know, but…
https://tonyortega.org/2021/04/02/snl-produced-the-best-parody-of-scientology-ever-and-then-hired-a-scientologist/
Forgot what thread we were talking about the current cast, but honestly, this doesn’t really surprise me at all. There’s always been something a little robotic about Fineman’s performances.
Oh man that’s like seriously depressing news
So far, I’ve been watching tonight’s episode for 37 minutes and I have not been caring for it.
Okay, right now, Chris Redd is doing an Obama impression. Not bad.
Anne Beats got a graphic post Update
Just finished tonight’s episode. Overall, in a word: oof. Not a good episode AT ALL. I don’t even know where to begin.
First off, the monologue seemed to be dragged down by Carey’s delivery, but it picked up once Marcus Mumford got involved. He actually came off more likable than Carey.
Not sure if we needed another installment of What’s Wrong With This Picture, but there were still some funny moments.
Didn’t care for that sketch where Kate plays a nerdy boy. To me, that sketch was laughless. The only laughs I got were from the sketches playing inside my head.
I think I like Pete’s music videos more than most people, and I kinda enjoyed this one. Kid Cudi seemed game for it, and it was cool that Timothee got involved.
As I mentioned before, I did like Chris Redd’s Obama impression during Weekend Update. I also liked how Punkie finally got a character to play. But I have to ask, what was Michael saying at the end?
Didn’t care for that Star Trek sketch at all. It was kinda dreadful and Carey clearly isn’t meant for this type of comedy.
Not sure if we needed another installment of The War In Words, but this was still funny.
I have no idea what that last sketch was going for. And did we really need that twist ending?
In case you couldn’t tell, I did not care for Carey’s performances that much throughout this episode. An overall step down from the solid Daniel Kaluuya episode from last week.
One more thing I’d like to add: this is the second consecutive episode to not feature any appearances from Melissa at all. The writing’s clearly on the wall for her and I don’t like it. If she does get fired after this season, it will cause a mass death sequence where everyone kills themselves in shock, because we as a group like Melissa more than Aidy.
Your final review is the final time I went to dress rehearsal. Infinite thanks, Stooge, for opening up this community
DRESS CUTS
Racist Raisins
~ In 1986, Larry & Aidy host Leslie & Kenan in their home. Kenan notices a giant bowl of raisins on the table. Larry says it’s his inspiration for marketing ideas, leading him to show the guests his new pitch for raisins, despite Aidy’s protests. Leslie & Kenan are eager to see the sketches until Larry unveils The California Raisins. Leslie & Kenan instantly call out the racist nature of the characters. Larry tries to justify his approach but digs himself deeper with drawings of Raisins playing basketball, breakdancing, pimping, ruining a movie for white raisins…. I forget how it ended, except that the exterior house shot cut it off (another pet peeve of modern SNL)
~ solid performances (especially Larry & Kenan), plus good audience reaction; should’ve made it to air. Probably cut because the PSA awards sketch absolutely killed, and 2 “un-PC advertisement” sketches in the same episode may have seemed redundant. Maybe they could’ve made this character the same as in the awards sketch & tie them together. Larry was the perfect host for this character, so hopefully it emerges from the vault someday, or try it again if he hosts during Curb season 11
Kevin Roberts Is Top Bitch
~ copy-&-paste retread of Kevin Roberts #1: military simulator this time, but exact staging as the first sketch. Cecily is the instructor. Kevin’s new obsession is being “the top bitch in this town!” Beck can’t shoot any assailants because he’s asking questions about Kevin Roberts. Mikey is Kevin Roberts Jr. with a red suit & says the same shit
~ Luke, Heidi, Moffat, & Kenan were the simulated assailants. Heidi was especially funny as a crazy haggard lady. Pete was the other recruit. In the beginning of the sketch, his military-style shouting responses to Cecily’s questions were really over the top but did make me laugh. After that, he just stood & smirked the rest of the time
~ crowd was mostly indifferent despite the first sketch’s popularity. Many people were clamoring for a new Kevin Roberts sketch but this just further proved that not every hit character needs to come back
Space Collars
~ written by James Anderson & Julio Torres; Anderson posted a pic from the set on his Instagram sometime after this ep
~ on a spaceship, captain (Larry) is surrounded by crew members (Kate, Pete, Cecily, Mooney, Moffat) all sitting in close proximity with giant cuff collars around their necks. Someone (Kyle? Alex?) complains about the collars, but is instantly shushed by the others as they say the captain designed them. Lots of whispered conversations about the collars follow, with Larry asking what everyone is whispering about. Kate tries to reach a lever to save the ship, but of course the collar prevents that from happening. Another crew member (Kenan) comes in & says something mildly funny. Spaceship explodes
~ Pretty goofy, but amusing enough for a “10-to-10” sketch (dress time). Julio Torres always elevates James Anderson scripts
TIDS & BITS
open: first Melania scene wasn’t in dress, probably why Alec tried to walk off early to the shower set. Also, they didn’t wear Hawaiian leis in dress ** Trump pectorals featured swoopy hair patches in the shower
monologue: more jokes after the concentration camp stuff, but wisely ended it there for the live show
Ad Council Awards: cut PSA with Mikey & Villaseñor drinking beer, then throwing the can on the ground. Mooney plays an Indian asking the camera “HOW? How could we let this happen?” Larry admits casting a white man as a Native American was a bad choice, then Aidy leaves her table to go on stage and call Larry a racist ** to break the tension, Larry asks when the food was coming. They dump it in his lap ** Cosby ending added for live
Price Is Right: Carey’s introduction: “Don’t forget to have sex with your pets. Sorry, I meant to say remember to spay & neuter your pets, so they don’t get pregnant when you have sex with them.”
Baby Step: another cutaway with Larry grumbling about how “Lorne hates it. Why is it in the show?”
gay famous: “I can’t tell if she’s 55 with a lot of work done, or 18 with a lot of work done.” ** Larry laughed his way through this in dress as well, probably the only reason it made it to air, because crowd response was pretty mild until he started giggling
Update: Heidi didn’t have the name Angel in dress, just the long character description ** “Holiday spending” in live was originally “the DOW” in dress (“I’ve been here with the DOW before. First it’s up, & it’s great…” etc.); DOW makes much more sense; I don’t understand these live changes sometimes ** Leslie stayed in her seat the whole time when the players came out, felt a bit awkward until José Altuve sat down
DRESS RUNDOWN
Manafort/Trump
monologue
Price Is Right
BABY STEP
California Raisins (CUT)
CONFIDENT
Miley Cyrus #1
Update
Trump sons
boxer girlfriend
Leslie Jones
Kevin Roberts again (CUT)
Fresh Takes
Miley Cyrus #2
gay famous
Ad Council Awards
BEERS
space collars (CUT)
goodnights
@FeaturingEmilyPrager, I can’t thank you enough for the dress cut and Yahoo screen information you’ve shared with us through this project. I would have had no idea of any of this without your posts. It’s been nice knowing you on here.
Yes, thank you!
you are the man
Thanks for the reviews, Stooge. Maybe we should sing “To Sir, With Love” for you now.
Thank you so much, Stooge. Your reviews and this community have taught me so much about SNL. I’ve stayed up for nights on end reading reviews from eras I didn’t even exist during! I’m so grateful for the months of entertainment you have given me and I will continue to read and comment. If only I had started commenting sooner! Anyway, good luck in your future endeavors. So long, farewell.
It’s really too bad this blog is now discontinued as I was really looking forward to the Eddie Murphy/Lizzo review that would have happened maybe a month after this review!