Cold Opening – The Ingraham Angle
Donald Trump (JAJ) rambles using Wordle format
- Meh, this tired impression is not what I want to see first in a Will Forte-hosted episode.
- By the way, this is Kate’s 800th sketch, an outstanding milestone.
- Kate’s vocal impression, is as always solid & nails Laura’s smugness and indifference to other’s suffering. but, hell, it should be used in a better place than a meandering, unfocused, and meme checklist open.
- Already, I’m zoning the fuck out with all this bullshit Kate’s Laura spews, where are the jokes in this? Am I supposed to be laughing right now? This open and many others, that are aimless and just there to put checks next to the week’s biggest news are infuriating and a big reason why the show needs an even bigger overhaul in the writers room.
- Ugh, the return of Aidy’s self-amused Ted Cruz ”impression”. Fuck this I’m not gonna waste space ranting about this self-indulgent shit.
- VERY groanworthy series of sponsors from Kate’s Laura just now, even more so than usual.
- (*groan*) Wow at that “edgy” white pizza joke, fucking kill me now!
- Blaaah! Pete appears for a sec as Novak Djokovic, talking about a week or so old news. ANOTHER example of dumping Pete and others into these opens for headlines and maximum YouTube profit.
- No comment from me regarding that random & unnecessary Candace Owens bit by Ego, just another box to check from the list.
- That Bible belt bit was very lame, even more than the white pizza one. What is happening SNL?!?! you are DESTROYING ME with this open!!
- James’ Trump returns once again.
- The checklist continues when James’ Trump brings up Wordle, for no fucking good reason other than to put a simple check next to a box in their cold open list.
- James’ Trump is still uncanny & MILES better than the show previously did, but even James’ commitment isn’t doing anything for me here.
- What a start to the episode, this was just downright unwatchable.
Rating: *
Monologue
relative to his SNL cohort, WLF is aggrieved; KRW & Willem Dafoe cameos
- As I said in Jason’s episode, it’s so great to see Will enter the host stage, a place where he truly belongs to now.
- Lovely applause for Will at the beginning of this.
- Funny comments from Will regarding how that pretty much every other casemate from his era hosted instead of him.
- A harsh, yet funny dig at Seth Meyers.
- An obligatory cameo from Kristen Wiig, obviously here for a certain recurring character bits that were filmed & to be aired soon.
- Funny interruption of Will’s emotional speech.
- Lovely to see Lorne here, and holy fuck WILLEM DAFOE!!!!!
- Funny auto-correct comment from Lorne, I always forget how naturally funny he is.
- Great poll bit at the end.
- Great monologue overall, and my second favorite after Jason’s.
Rating: ****
MacGruber
anti-mask behavior dismays Piper (Ryan Phillippe) & Vicki
- Ah, the return of the always-fun and very strong MacGruber pieces. This fantastic character is what Will is most remembered for.
- Thanks to Imalive for letting me know that Will Ferrell’s Heinz pretape is the latest one to air after the monologue, this makes this the one after it, thanks again Imalive for that trivia.
- Very funny and random inclusion of Ryan Philippe in this.
- A topical piece, with the covid pandemic raging throughout the world.
- WTF at MacGruber being anti-mask? I guess I shouldn’t be shocked at this.
- Kristen is always an underrated straight man in these pieces.
- Funny Pfizer bit & what the hell with MacGruber being anti-vaxx?! this felt weird, even for his standards.
- Hilarious & so wrong bit with MacGruber admitting to being an anti-semite.
Rating: ***1/2
Kid Klash
young contestant (AIB) flails & fails in a giant cream pie
- Great to see Will playing a game show host, as I always thought of him as an underrated utility-player.
- I’m loving the set design and general tone of this piece, it feels very vintage & yet lived-in.
- Weird usage of Bowen, Kyle, and Heidi in this.
- I’m liking some of the dark undertones in this, and the challenge to find the object is interesting.
- Solid & genuinely unsettling bit with Will’s character ordering Aidy to find the object.
- That’s it? This is over? This feels so underwritten from a premise perspective and buildup, despite Will giving a great performance as the creepy authoritative game show host.
Rating: **1/2
MacGruber
pseudoscientific Covid remedies are an unhelpful distraction
- Great to see another one of these.
- Is this Aristotle’s only role tonight? I’m so sorry to say this, but it seems that the writing is nearly on the wall regarding his tenure.
- Good laugh from MacGruber’s look with that mask.
- Solid bit with MacGruber listing the various illnesses that he has, Kristen has a great reaction to it.
- Okay, so is MacGruber anti-Biden? This feels somewhat convoluted at parts.
- Funny ending with MacGruber wanting to talk about Qanon.
Rating: ***1/2
Cinema Classics: Gaslight
Ingrid Bergman (KAM) suspects mendacity in Gaslight
- Ah, another connection to the Ferrell episode, these are always very solid. Not to mention both hosts have the same name!
- Love Kenan’s Reese usual ”worst ever” stories.
- So this is parodying the movie Gaslight, I did not watch it, as I’m sadly not that familiar with movies pre-1970s and I’ll be rectifying that ASAP.
- I Wanted another cast member beside Kate to star in these pieces, but I did like her in previous ones a lot, even when Mulaney’s latest one was the weakest of them, it was still four-stars worthy.
- So far, this feels very hollow & not as multilayered as these pieces generally are.
- So, the whole piece is Kate getting fooled and not being able to see reality???
- Fantastic Cockney accent from Chloe, who’s sadly still struggling for stardom, a position she would’ve had if the cast was down by five or so.
- Meh at the Pineapple reveal, and Kate is not even trying to sound like Bergman now.
- This is now devolving into Kate just doing her usual shtick starting with that book reveal, am I supposed to be laughing now?? Why is this turning into a vanity piece for her to mug and vamp with Will Forte, of all fucking people playing second fiddle to her wackiness?!
- Blah at that desperate dick joke from Kate, this skit is now purely series of lines that turn into white noise, and a vanity piece for Kate to suck up airtime while mugging the camera.
Rating: *1/2
Threesome
on her birthday, (MID)’s wife (HEG) requests threesome with selfish (WLF)
- From the looks of this, it looks like our inevitable ”Forte plays a creep” skit of the night.
- Hilarious look on Will here, and boy he’s showing a lot of skin, not that I’m complaining much.
- So far, this again, feels very hollow & dead at times, what is happening SNL??!
- Okay bit with Will demonstrating his rules with the wife on the bed, and Mikey isn’t as annoying here as I thought.
- WTF with that ending? Can I even call it that, this skit feel SO underwritten.
- Overall, ANOTHER waste of Will Forte, what the fuck is wrong with the writers this week??!! You cannot write actual unique pieces for Will motherfucking Forte??!! You’re destroying me tonight’s episode SNL.
Rating: *1/2
Musical Performance – “Beggin”
Weekend Update
world’s non-embrace of 2022 Winter Olympics leaves Chen Biao unbothered
scandalmongerer SRS cancels COJ by twisting his innocuous comments
Guy Who Just Bought A Boat feels kinship with new ferry owners COJ & PED
- A number of groanworthy lines at the beginning of Update.
- Good to see Chen Biao back, reminding me of how much Bowen Killed so early into his tenure.
- Some okay comments so far from Chen, elevated by Bowen’s always-reliable delivery.
- Meh, at the anal swab bit.
- Good turn with Chen talking about human rights in China, there’s some actual sharpness in writing here that feels welcome in such a dire episode so far.
- Ah, Sarah returns to the Update desk after how massively successful her debut was. By the way, yaaaay for me in the Reddit prediction game!
- Sad that Aristotle is barely in the show anymore, despite killing it in both of his showcases. I guess I should be happy that Sarah’s season is going really well for her.
- On that topic, Melissa & Punkie are NOWHERE to be seen tonight. It’s boggling how both of them are still cast members.
- Aha, so this is taking the same route as her first one.
- Man, that lady in the audience is sure loving Sarah’s commentary, that laugh after her diaper line was too much. At least she’s having a good time.
- I love Sarah, and I’m so happy her tenure is becoming successful, yet I fear that she might move on to be an audience-pandering performer and abandon her absurdist roots, knowing that a bizarre sketch of hers got cut at the last minute gives me hope that she is committing to being a Forte-esque cast member.
- Funny bit regarding Che and Colin kissing and a good laugh from the last graphic.
- As always, Sarah is great here and is killing it particularly more with the audience tonight. Yet, I hope that she’ll do more character bits next time, seeing her trajectory so far, I’m hoping for that five-star worthy bizarre skit.
- Great to see Alex on Update, considering that I just reviewed a GWJBAB commentary.
- Meh at the turn this commentary took, with it focusing on the lame story regarding Colin and Pete buying a ferry, a waste of this character & Alex’s talents.
- WTF at Pete’s laughing? Did have a joint backstage & got wasted or is he laughing in-character?
- Overall, an average Update and a big step down from last week’s incredible one.
Rating: ***
Clancy T. Bachleratt and Jackie Snad Sing Songs about Spaceships, Toddlers, Model T. Cars & Jars of Beer Again
more songs highlight spaceships, toddlers, Model T cars, jars of beer
- YES! The return of this great bizarre series of commercials from the days of Will’s tenure!
- The episode is slowly becoming The Kristen Wiig show as we speak.
- I always love it when Will and Kristen are paired together, a truly underrated duo back in the day.
- Kristen looks fantastic in this, and seeing her here reminds me of how much I loved her in her first three seasons.
- Some funny lyrics regarding aliens and drinking with a toddler, performed expertly by Will & Kristen.
- I’m loving The Eyes of God song so far.
- Hell Yeah! LOVED the toddler hell part!
- I’m loving how random & absurdist these lyrics are getting.
- Ah, here comes the always-epic and hilarious part with both of them singing wildly in unison.
- Great sketch overall, so sad that the only strong sketch of the night was an old recurring piece.
Rating: ****1/2
Musical Performance – “I Wanna Be Your Slave”
MacGruber
QAnon Shaman outfit befits a complete turn to the alt-right
- Guilty laugh from Will’s look as the Qanon shaman guy.
- Great bit about the remains of America’s soul, and I LOVE Will’s delivery of ”Welcome to the real world”.
- Will: ”Not my clock”
- Funny & random plugging of Peacock.
- Overall, a good & fun run, even when some might feel it was of poor taste to bring up those nutjobs and conspiracy theorists, but this is MacGruber.
Rating: ***1/2
Goodnights:-
- Aristotle is receiving more airtime here than in the past three episodes combined.
- Cute to see Sarah & Chloe dancing with each other.
- Why is Will not interacting with the cast? aside from Colin and Aristotle? Boy, either he is awkward in real life, or some drama happened before the show.
Segments Ranked From Best to Worst
Clancy T. Bachleratt and Jackie Snad Sing Songs about Spaceships, Toddlers, Model T. Cars & Jars of Beer Again
Monologue
Macgruber 1-3 (tie)
Weekend Update
Kid Klash
Threesome
Cinema Classics: Gaslight
The Ingraham Angle
Final Thoughts:-
- A disappointing & very mediocre episode in general, that aside the monologue, the MacGruber runner, and one live sketch (Clancy & Jackie) had a dead, quiet atmosphere and generally underwritten material. This episode feels so off to me to an uncomfortable degree, depressing, uninspired, and basically limping through the finish line.
- I truly cannot write more regarding this episode, as it has some vanity pieces and some horribly underwritten skits that ANGER me. Other than Kate’s vanity piece, shit cold open, underwritten hotel skit, the-very-promising-but-obviously-unrevised Kid Klash skit, that one would’ve been a very strong highlight for this season with some further tinkering, but alas. (*sigh*)
- The great Will Forte was basically wasted tonight, aside from his roles as Clancy and MacGruber, all of his other roles weren’t much to write home about, emptiness and sloppiness filled the skits of the night, and the shockingly low number of skits post-Update further contributed to that hollow feel. Obviously, there was a skit cut at the last minute, as we get our usual band shot similar to the Kim Kardashian episode. If it was that very bizarre Sarah skit, than it’s a real shame, because I did hear that it received warm reception in dress, and it’s supposedly very strong. If so, it may have gotten a 4.5/5 or even 5/5 from me if done properly.
My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:
Next Week:-
- Legendary actor Willem Dafoe hosts SNL with musical guest Katy Perry. I won’t be predicting anything for that one, after how massively disappointed I’m that one of my all-time favorite cast members gets to host one of the laziest & most uninspired and unoriginal episodes of the season. A real shame.
My full set of screencaps from this episode is here.
Hello Again
My ratings
Cold Open *** – I liked the sponsors part and James bumped up a star for me but other than that this was ok but congrats on Kate
Monologue ****½ z what CAN’T I say about this I loved forte’s comments about the, Kristen hilariously coming in in the beginning and end Lorne coming on which I always a shocker for and William DeFoe coming in due to auto correct oh and loved the poll
MacGruber – ***½ (you’re welcome) typical hilarious macgruber and a very welcome return
Kid Klash – **½ Practically everything you said I agree on I feel like they should’ve given that role to Chloe or Sarah but I hate that i thought that period joke was funny but Will did a solid job
Macgruber 2 – **** why do they keep giving Aristotle pointless brief non speaking roles in pretapes I’m starting to forget he’s in that cast and when this aired I didn’t even notice Aristotle but anyway I liked this one a little bit more but both were good
Cinema Classics – **½ Besides Kenan this didn’t work for me
Threesome ***½ – I actually enjoyed this with Wacky Forte and Straight Man Mikey him rocking the bed was funny as well as the demonstration with the pillow
Weekend Update – ****½ Solid jokes good chen baio great Sarah commentary and Awesome guy who bought a boat (small penis)
Jackie & Clancy – ****½ awesome its probably noted they gave Kenan the role for probably nostalgia for 2000s snl
Macgruber – ***½ his that outfit was hilarious and it was still funny
For me how this episode stacks up against the preceding one (Ariana DeBose):
A big step up
Favorite episodes this season from best to worst
Sudeikis
Culkin
Malek
Forte
Liu
Wilson
Rudd
Eilish
DeBose
Majors
West
Great to see you again Imalive, I simply cannot understand the praise for Culkin’s episode, I mean it was VERY average, couple of decent skits, some middling, horrible Update and one or two mediocre pieces, it sill got a 6.5 average so that’s ok. The DeBose episode was the strongest this season, even when In hindsight I think overrated one or two pieces in it, it will still get the highest average of the season, mostly solid pieces and a fantastic Update. Yes, the Malek & Sudeikis episodes were great, with nothing getting a below-average from me. Malek’s episode was very original & creative, and I wished Forte’s episode had a couple of unique pieces instead of getting bombarded by underwritten material & an Update that went on endlessly. We will have our disagreements & agreements as always Imalive, but you are always welcomed to comment anytime & much appreciated!
INGRAHAM COLD OPEN
**
I get Blood’s quibbles here but IMO it could have been much worse. We’ve found a near-perfect Trump, which is a good thing; JAJ could’ve done some real damage when Donnie was relevant. If nothing else, I’m always a sucker for the bullshit sponsors, of which I don’t recall ever seeing a bad example.
Fake Sponsor Hall of Fame:
Moist Books! Who left these books out in the rain? WE DID! Moist Books!
Schroder’s Fake Rape Whistles! Help is NOT on the way!
Reverse Mortgage: We’ll Take That House Now, Thanks!
MONOLOGUE
***1/2
Very Will vibes here, which is always a great thing. Right off the bat this monologue is whiny, petty, and very Forte. You might even say this energy is Will’s……. thing!!
Didn’t care much for the Lorne/Dafoe bit, which went nowhere, but it was harmless enough.
Kristen: “…I flew in for this…” Man, Kristen is OUTSTANDING at selling “this isn’t a joke, I’m really hurt here” to jostle with our expectations of a joke. Blood is right about the Forte-Wiig duo. They’re truly great together (as we’ll see again at ten-to-one).
MACGRUBERS 1-3
***1/2
Easily the weakest Macgruber ever put up. Of course, that’s not too damning – a bad Macgruber is still exponentially better than the best Judy Grimes, for example. (What would that even look like? She just doesn’t show up?)
Look, Macgruber is an escalatingly absurd concept that suffers when it’s made topical and preachy. Nobody wanted to see the Ditka Superfans tackle Desert Storm, or Chad learning all about childhood illteracy, and we don’t need Macgruber to embody internet punching bags. To borrow Blood’s cold open expression: this was just SNL checking off boxes.
STAFF: We HAVE to do a “COVIDiots” sketch or three tonight.
OTHER STAFF: Well, we’re slammed this week – just fold ’em into the Macgrubers.
STAFF: Perfect! Macgruber can just be a Reddit caricature, done and done.
INTERN: I’ll start copy-pasting “masks” and “Ivermectim” into the Macgrubers we’ve already started!
At least Macgruber himself remains unchanged. There’s something to be said about the timelessness of this character, who can be a tornado of stupid nonsense in any era, any medium, any sketch/movie/show length.
KID KLASH
**1/2
Decent concept – particularly the hot nacho cheese monkey bars (“OK… I hope it’s not TOO hot!” / “It is.”) But disappointing to see it go no further than Aidy sloshing around while Will goes Will from the sideline. And as Blood pointed out: do we still need Aidy in every kid role? She’s a natural at it, the best since Nasim just embodied children on this show. But it’s beyond time to work in some of the other VERY capable members of this cast of hundreds.
I do LOVE the reveal that Aidy was expected to find a tiny, whipped cream-colored toy flag in what looked like pure marshmallow goop. Still, this could have gone 14 funnier ways than it ultimately did.
GASLIGHT
**
M’eh, not much here. These are always hit-or-miss for me, as I can only take so many identical iterations of “Kate mugs to fluff a 45-second idea into four minutes.” They’re only ever as good as their best individual lines. “The Birds” with Kate & Mulaney was outstanding, thanks mostly to John’s incredulous one-liners. But this one has very few – I did like “I’ve been reading rats all these years?!” – and isn’t much of a showcase for Will.
THREESOME
***
Finally a live, full-on showcase for Will! Could be better, but at least there’s commitment here. Will kills it as the disgusting creep, nothing shocking there.. My second-biggest laugh of the night (keep reading) came from his request of 11 clean towels and 24 lemon-lime Powerades – “I promise, you are not prepared for how much I sweat.”
As Blood pointed out, Mikey does tend to over-narrate sketches as they go more and more absurd, and it doesn’t always fit. Sometimes we need to be pulled in and out of the absurdity to illustrate why the situation is absurd. We don’t need that when Will Forte is here. The Tate/Taint jokes aren’t adding much and are somewhat keeping Will in a box.
I also don’t love the tired trope of “the wife, who’s supposed to play it straight, is weirdly into it.” Just old and beaten-down. It seems to be the default for the SNL wife character in anything sexual – going all the way back to (at least) the Zimmermans, which were the definition of hit-or-miss 90s SNL content. In any event, it comes off very strangely when a zany character comedian like Heidi or Cecily is pushed into something so broad and nonsensical. I did like this exchange: “It’s a three-way, not a me-way.” / “I really like the way you put that!”
CLANCY T. BACHLERATT & JACKIE SNAD SING SONGS…
*****
Yes, that’s five stars, and rightfully so. I’m a Macgruber fanboy of the highest degree, but in terms of recurring Forte, even Macgruber pales next to Clancy & Jackie for me. This has been a top-five (hell, top-three) runner for me for quite some time, and while I knew Macgruber was a given tonight, I was nervous this one would be overlooked.
Kenan is a natural introducing the insanity. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was the gold standard here, while Seth Rogen was so-so in a CFT and Jonah Hill couldn’t keep a straight face (hard to blame him). Kenan slots in right behind JGL, even pirating one of my favorite small SNL gags ever. (“…so they decided to join forces! Excuse me, foin jorces… nope, had it right the first time!) This character is asked to look ridiculous and speak even worse, and Kenan is always game for that.
Hoo, boy. There go Clancy & Jackie just belting out the most absurd shit they were able to dream up with FULL commitment. Between their looks, their facial expressions, their lyrics, and their deep devotion to the material, they are absolutely killing it as always. “Toddler hell” is truly the new “turkey prom.”
Whenever my wife and I watch Clancy & Jackie, we always wipe the tears from our faces and comment on what a giant waste of time these sketches are – in the best way, of course. The idea that Will, Kristen, Kenan, and an extensive crew devoted HOURS AND HOURS to this nonsense is what makes me love this show.
WEEKEND UPDATE
**1/2 as a WU segment
Wow, relatively weak jokes tonight. At least this was only a 15-minute WU, ha!
Sarah kicked ass again, though not quite as much as her debut, which brought me the profound joy of COLIN JOST KEEPING TRACK OF NUMBER OF JEWS ON SNL STAFF! She works nicely for me, though I would like to see something else next time she’s on WU. And mayyyybe a sketch or two.. ?
GWJBAB is a recent favorite of mine, and I didn’t need to see him cut in half by (a) more “Colin sucks” jokes and (b) Pete Davidson. After a truly awesome start to his segment (“If you wanna touchdown-there, here are some just-the-tips to turn her tight end into a wide receiver!”) it gets quickly hijacked for a Colin/Pete vanity project.
As always, since media image seems to be all that fuels him, Pete feels the need to emphasize just what a bad boy he is. A beer in a bag?! BAD BOY! Looking like you just crawled out of a gutter even though we just saw you well-groomed and energetic in the cold open?! BAAAD BOYY!!! Jesus Christ on a cracker, when are we done with this dude? In fact, he’s the real issue I have with this segment. Colin actually made me genuinely laugh here (“Yes, we’re very excited… We thought this whole thing through.”)
Great commentary! I do think we are both on the same page regarding the episode’s quality overall, as both of our averages are nearly the same. I did not come to this episode expecting it to get an 8.0 average which will make it the season’s strongest, but expected Sen. Calhoun, MacGruber, and possibly the conclusion of the Falconer’s tale. What did we get instead? Two very underwritten skits that go nowhere (Kid Klash, Threesome) and an unwatchable cold open that goes on endlessly with a checklist for maximum YouTube profit/headlines, and a huge bomb in the form of the shockingly awful Cinema Classics skit. This episode basically was a whole bunch of nothingness, just nothing, and with some of the laziest & weakest attempts of humor possible. I’m asking all of you: WHAT THE FUCK happened the week of writing this episode?? We get a strong Clancy & Jackie sequel that lives to the hype, and decent MacGruber runner & solid monologue, and that’s IT. Reading the dress report angers me, and watching the very strong ESPN skit makes me even more frustrated.
This reminds of the Daniel Kaluuya episode from 46, while overall a strong episode, with only one bad piece in form an inside joke vanity piece starring Cecily(Shocker) that one had three cut pieces that ranged from good (Salt Bae) to absolutely phenomenal 5/5 worthy (Beanie Babies & The Hero). This episode had two cut sketches that sound insane & in Forte’s wheelhouse, the church skit where he goes crazy and starts destroying a model city & the Sarah/PDD skit which was supposedly to end the live episode, those two, if they lived to the hype would’ve gotten possibly 4.5/5 or 5/5, as I’m sure that they were very solid. I cannot wait for the past-their-prime players to leave for the transition to finally happen. Great to see you comment here Fyodoren, and I hope to read your thoughts on my other review, thanks!
For me reason Culkin is my second favorite was mainly do to the nostalgic monologue and I loved the callback but for the sketches I like were Spectrum, Wake Up Rhode Island (I believe when I commented my ratings on Jesse reviews I gave it ****½ I would probably give it now ***½) as DeBose I was VERY disappointed by the episode it started out solid with the cold Open and Monologue but other than Urkel after that for me everything and Eric Adam’s was one of those sketches that I really wanted to like but didn’t as I gave that a surprising *½ and the ½ was for me wanting to like it practically everything else I also gave *½ or ** except the NBA and Formal which I gave **½ and *** respectively
Interesting comment regarding the Eric Adams skit, as EVERYBODY, well, aside from Jesse, absolutely loved it, even some of SNL’s harshest critics in the community, so I saw the ***** as the very easy choice to make, I’d still rank one or two live skits above it, as Angelo is probably my favorite live piece so far this season. But, we still have 10 more episodes. I do believe that I’ll probably have around 30+ skits with ****1/2 and ***** as I have now 21 skits so far, which shouldn’t be surprising, as current SNL tends to have high highs, as well as low lows. And yes that ESPN skit will probably get ****1/2 from me as I had a blast watching it, and like the NFL cold open, had a sharp take on sports culture & discourse. I’ll review the CFT pieces immediately after the finale, and after that I’ll post the big Wrap-Up Extravaganza post of the season with data and opinions. Thanks again Imalive!
“I believe when I commented my ratings on Jesse reviews…” You didn’t for the Culkin episode.
Oh I must’ve been on something else then
CFT: Please Don’t Destroy **** (it apparently was cut from this episode AND the DeBose episode)
CFT: Architect Presentation **½