October 13, 2018 – Seth Meyers / Paul Simon (S44 E3)

Cold Opening – Kanye & Trump

Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) welcomes Kanye West (CRR) to the Oval Office

• After two very solid, fun cold openings in a row, we now return to SNL’s very tired, attention-seeking Trumpwin cold opens.
• It is especially desperate to do a parody of the real-life meeting between Kanye & Trump, as it is much funnier than whatever parody SNL would come up. I understand it had to happen, but a few Update jokes would’ve been the much-preferred option to me.
• Back to the cold opening, Chris is doing an absolutely fantastic impression of Kanye West here. Absolutely uncanny. While Chris is not much of an impressionist, the impressions he does nail are always excellent.
• Why is Pete in this cold open when he ends up doing and saying nothing at all? Yet another example of the show trying to cash in on his fame outside SNL.
• The interior monologues bit is dragging on way too long, alongside having no comedic twists or anything remotely funny being said in them.
• Very cringey to hear Trumpwin say that Kanye is the black version of himself.

Rating: *1/2

Monologue

meeting Donald Trump & Kanye West are among SEM’s memorable SNL moments

• Nice to see our second consecutive monologue being an actual monologue and not unfunny walk-ons or wacky antics on stage.
• Seth is getting decent laughs from his usual self-deprecation, and showing how much this season continues to try and profit from the Kanye debacle, we get a mention of him here, and right after a full cold open about him.
• While I certainly didn’t need to be reminded of that season 29 Donald Trump episode, Seth’s joke about it made me laugh.

Rating: ***

Movie Talkback

director (SEM) fields oddball audience questions following film screening

• Yet another parade of idiots sketch from this SNL era. I am usually higher on these pieces than some of my fellow reviewers, but they do at times feel redundant. So, I am getting into this one with caution.
• Ugh at the joke with Kenan being named Malcolm Seats. I never cared for this running SNL gag with these “funny” surnames of gameshow hosts or anchors. Yet another hacky James Anderson tradition, though he didn’t write this sketch, but still….
• Beck’s whole bit about being supposedly Seth’s dad and then turning out to be some crazy worker is pretty funny.
• Great appearance from Heidi as Adele Dazeem, especially her line about eventually becoming a writer after years of being an actress when getting old.
• Cecily’s characterization here reminds me of Cathy Anne, which is certainly a character of hers I wanted to block out around this time. By the way, this ends up being Cecily’s only appearance all night; very surprising, to say the least.
• Didn’t care for the ending, but the Beck & Heidi parts were especially fun and this whole sketch was pretty good.

Rating: ***1/2

Beta Force

Maxxx & Beta Force raise & lower (SEM)’s testosterone, respectively

• Seth is doing a really solid job portraying this low-on-testosterone commercial actor. Although, maybe because I know in hindsight where this commercial is going.
• Great voice-over work from Beck, especially his tone when talking about men’s low testosterone levels and his semi-mocking tone about the product increasing your testosterone working due to it being in both a giant black canister as well as being endorsed by Kenan as a former athlete.
• Hilarious look and montage of a high-on-testosterone Seth, especially love his look with the bald head and goatee.
• Great turn with Beck’s admonishment of Seth, especially his “you monster!” rant regarding Seth’s character having sex with his wife aggressively; the revelation of her having osteoporosis gave me a big laugh.
• Another great twist with the commercial now turning to be about the supplement that decreases testosterone levels; the product being named Beta Force is hilarious.
• All-in-all, another great fake ad from this season.

Rating: ****

Thirsty Cops

Thirsty Cops (LEJ) & (EGN) sexually harass driver (SEM) at traffic stop

• Ego Nwodim in her very first starring role!
• I remember the Baltimore police force, which is being portrayed here, getting really upset at what they perceived as an offensive portrayal of them. I’m currently watching this sketch and I do not find it that offensive; they could’ve portrayed said police force doing much worse things than flirting with a citizen.
• Ego & Leslie are fun here, but man, Seth’s flat, bland delivery of his lines is really hurting my enjoyment of this sketch.
• I know some are pretty tired of her around this time in her run (I certainly am), but Kate’s walk-on is especially funny; her always-sharp delivery is perfect for such a concept.

Rating: ***1/2

A Frightening Tale

(SEM) is cursed with young aspiring filmmaker (KYM)

• Wow, I completely memory-holed this short from this season. I recall this one featuring Kyle playing against type.
• Great turn with Seth’s frightening tale revolving around having to deal with a pretentious, aspiring filmmaker, played by Kyle.
• Solid transitions between the flashbacks to Seth’s tale and the reactions from the other people around him in present-day.
• The more and more over-the-top reactions from the others are pretty funny, especially how Beck freaks out when Kyle shows up in present-day.
• An overall very solid, underrated short. I greatly appreciated this one’s tone and style of direction.

Rating: ****

Cosby in Jail

(SEM) is distressed that Bill Cosby (KET) is his unduly chipper cellmate

• I love the audience’s reaction as they recognize that Kenan is reprising his Bill Cosby impression, with this time being behind bars.
• I remember finding this sketch to be extremely overrated back when this season aired, especially coming off hypocritical from both SNL & Kenan’s part, considering how much the latter continued to defend Cosby till he finally stopped.
• While this premise could’ve been a potential daring piece or even a classic, the decision to portray Cosby, this convicted serial rapist, being wholesome and goofy while in prison is both misdirected and unfunny.
• The sketch continues to go on and on and on….
• WTF at that ending with the Quincy Jones turtle delivering an inner monologue? I would’ve appreciated this offbeat turn had it happened in a better sketch.

Rating: **

Musical Performance – “Can’t Run But”

Weekend Update

prospect of Gwyneth Paltrow’s scrutiny unnerves new Goop employee (HEG)

incredulous COJ, SEM, MIC say “Really!?!” to Kanye West & Donald Trump

• I am loving the whole climate change rant; there’s so many great bits throughout Colin & Che’s lines. This has always been on my favorites of Colin & Che’s patented rants; the confederate monuments bit is especially hilarious and memorable.
• Heidi debuts another one of her desk characters. This Goop employee character I remember really feeling mixed on: greatly enjoying Heidi’s lived-in characterization, but feeling lukewarm due to the lack of material when being broken down. I especially got tired of that catchphrase she keeps throwing around right now.
• I am about two minutes into this commentary and yep, what I said above completely holds up. There’s barely anything in this piece, but Heidi’s commitment is always admired. However, the second (and last) appearance of this character later in the year, alongside a certain movie star/former SNL host, I remember being really poorly-received.
• I was never that big a fan of Seth’s Update tenure, but I’ve always enjoyed his “Really!?!” segment, and it is a very fun novelty seeing it in this Update era.
• The Kanye/Trump news is a perfect topic for this edition of “Really!?!”
• The four N’s bit is absolutely priceless and bumps up the rating of this Update edition by half-a-star.

Rating: ***1/2

Bayou Benny’s Liberal lagniappe

leftist Louisianians talk politics

• I remember finding this sketch featuring a wild, over-the-top, yet hilarious lead performance from Beck.
• I believe this is yet another sketch written by Andrew Dismukes, as it certainly feels like his patented sense of humor.
• Right out of the gate, Beck is slaying with the initial reveal of his character; his look, delivery, and characterization are really elevating this sketch.
• Fun absurdist touch with an alligator and a chili pepper being amongst the panelists of the show.
• Yet another sketch tonight with Seth being his affable boring self; he’s really going to be basically himself all night, isn’t he?
• While this sketch feels a tad derivative of Maine Justice, I am certainly getting my share of laughs, even when I feel this isn’t as strong as I remember it being.
• Ok, the Alex-as-a-biscuit sequence is hilarious, as was Beck’s reaction afterwards.

Rating: ***1/2

Musical Performance – “Bridge Over Troubled Water”

Cuban Vacation

clueless (SEM) & Deirdre (HEG) annoy friends with talk of their Cuba trip

• Great to see so much of Heidi tonight, considering how invisible she’s been so far this season. Even when I was slightly underwhelmed by Heidi’s previous showcase, I continue to appreciate her commitment and genuine performance of her pieces.
• The debut of this character of Heidi’s; a one-note, yet harmless enough a character for me. Heidi already feels like she’s a good handle on this character right from the start.
• The repetitive, pretentious nature of Heidi & Seth’s talk about their vacation is giving me decent laughs, and it is good, at least back then, to see Heidi get such a big sketch showcase with the host.
• Boy, Kate’s reaction to flubbing that line of hers has stuck with me ever since this episode aired. I feel so bad for her for messing up, and you can tell she’s probably damning herself for such a rare flub from her.

Rating: ***

Trees

environmentally-aware CRR & PED rap about arboreal admiration

• Yet another Pete Raps! short from this era. The topic of rapping about trees is inherently dull and I cannot see myself getting much enjoyment from this piece.
• Something about the direction of this short, especially the color grading, feels incredibly nauseating to me.
• The sequence at the hospital is the only amusing thing happening in this short so far; I’m so glazing over the endless “rapping” portions in this.
• I’d say, however, that Alex is a solid straight man and pretty fun throughout this short. Considering how poorly utilized he has been so far this season in general (and it only gets even worse the very next season), it feels like such a breath of fresh air seeing utilized well and be a bit loose and fun.
• Hey, at least we get a fun cameo from Al Gore at the end. It reminds me of how much I loved his Christmas episode from season 28.

Rating: **

Halloween Gig

affliction of electric piccolo player (SEM) leaks into Treece’s gig

• Yet another Treece Henderson sketch. I feel in the minority in seeing these sketches of his as harmless & enjoyable enough.
• I understand some dislike how very by-the-numbers these sketches are, but their simplicity I feel is what makes them strangely tolerable to me.
• Funny look on Seth‘s character and good to see him loosen up a bit in contrast to how very Meyers-y almost all of his other roles tonight were.
• The sketch got cut due to the show running long, but it was the usual decent fare.

Rating: ***

Side Note:

• Making it even more obvious that the last sketch was cut in such a rush is the post-sketch bumper of Seth still has the NBC logo intact which never happens as far as I’m concerned (side-by-side screencap comparison below).

Goodnights

Segments Ranked From Best to Worst

Beta Force / A Frightening Tale (tie)

Bayou Benny’s Liberal lagniappe

Movie Talkback

Weekend Update

Thirsty Cops

Cuban Vacation

Halloween Gig

Monologue

Cosby in Jail

Trees

Kanye & Trump

Final Thoughts:

• A quietly-decent episode. While not too much stood out to me in this episode, barely anything was flat-out bad. We did, however, get some solid highlights and fun showcases for the cast members I felt were barely utilized so far this season: Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, and (surprisingly) Beck Bennett. Seth Meyers was basically playing Seth Meyers almost all night long, though he was fun in Beta Force. He wasn’t that impressive nor brought down the night; passable enough, I guess.

My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:

Up Next:

• Jonah Hill / Maggie Rogers.