November 3, 2018 – Jonah Hill / Maggie Rogers (S44 E4)

Cold Opening – The Ingraham Angle

Jeanine Pirro (CES) doomsays migrant caravan

• The first of quite a number of Kate-as-Laura-Ingraham cold opens over the next few seasons.
• Kate’s solid here, but I am not caring for these very self-aware lines she’s given; basically telling us again and again why she’s here and how she sounds, how horrible, bigoted, and proud of such she is. I cannot stand this type of hypocritical & cowardly writing of these cold opens; the “how’s Trump a racist?” bit is especially pathetic and self-congratulating.
• Cecily gives me my first few chuckles in this cold open as her Jeanine Pirro impression is hilarious, especially when paired with Kate’s Ingraham.
• The fake sponsors bit isn’t mostly working for me, though the White Castle part was pretty funny, as was Kate’s delivery of “a castle for whites? Yes, please!”
• The interview with Kenan is not working. There was really no need for this part of the cold opening, in my view.
• All-in-all, a rough first third with Kate’s Ingraham very self-aware lines, then a good second third with Cecily’s Pirro and a few laughs from her and the sponsors bit, before this whole cold opening died out as soon as that last third with Kenan’s interview started.

Rating: **

Monologue

TIF, Drew Barrymore, Candice Bergen [real] welcome new 5er host

• Right out of the gate, Jonah has that “I rather be anywhere than here” aura surrounding him. Not a good thing.
• Not even a minute into this monologue and Jonah gets “interrupted” by Tina Fey, as the monologue turns into another variation of the famous Five-Timers Club monologue with Tom Hanks. Probably a good thing that Jonah got “interrupted” here, considering how veering-on-a-disaster he’s been so far this episode.
• This monologue feels very dead to me; maybe due to Jonah’s lack-of-energy or probably the sheer smugness from Tina, but something is very off here.
• Nice to see Candice Bergen and Drew Barrymore back, at least. Candice seems to be very fixed on those cue cards, but it’s been ages since she’s been on SNL, so I can understand that.
• The whole #MeToo spin to this version of the Five-Timers Club monologue is not working that much for me. It doesn’t also help that I’m not caring too for a lot of Tina’s lines about the whole issue; her jokes aren’t funny to me, as they are in the typical cringey, self-congratulating Tina Fey fashion.
• I’ll admit that the Justin Timberlake line was funny and the best line in this whole seemingly-endless monologue. Although, I am surprised that I didn’t hate this quite as much as I used to.

Rating: **

Six Year Old

6 year-old Adam lovingly roasts nanny (LEJ) in return trip to Benihana

• The return of this staple of Jonah’s episodes. I’m not crazy about this character as some appear to be, but at least Jonah usually seems to be a bit energetic in this role than he usually is in other sketches in his shows.
• Good lord, having Leslie in this role instead of Bill Hader or Vanessa Bayer feels like a recipe for disaster. Leslie certainly does not have their strengths nor most definitely Vanessa’s utmost professionalism.
• And here comes the obligatory giggling from Jonah in these sketches and of course Leslie is also giggling next to him as expected.

Rating: ***

Midterm Ad

Democrats unconvincingly evince confidence in midterm election blue wave

• I love the opening scene with Heidi, especially as her voice cracks when saying “confident.”
• The main joke of this ad is clear as soon as the scene with Kate is done, but there are fun visuals here and a decent take on the Dems’ fears just before the midterms around that time to make it come off pretty well.
• Ok, the ending with Kate’s scream shattering the glass was too silly for my liking, but I overall enjoyed this short. Solid length as well.

Rating: ***1/2

KCR News

(host) makes unsolicited on-air marriage proposal to meteorologist (CES)

• Oh, I remember this sketch being a bit of a disaster on the air back when this episode originally aired.
• This sketch is our obligatory Jonah Hill humiliation sketch of the night. Considering how these usually end up being, I am a bit worried how this one will play out.
• Cecily is doing a solid job per usual displaying how embarrassed she is of the situation, but Jonah’s delivery and how he seems like he’s on the verge of cracking up after every single line is doing nothing for me.
• Do we need the commentary from the peanuts gallery after every single action that’s happening? The green shirt/green screen part feels especially tacked-on and unnecessary. Yet another example of modern-day SNL treating its audience like a bunch of brain-dead zombies.
• Aidy’s walk-on feels very self-indulgent and makes this piece even more bloated than it already is; she’s also clearly trying to make Cecily break character, which almost worked.
• I don’t even know what to make of that odd ending with Cecily finally accepting Jonah’s proposal. Cecily’s performing this quite well, as she always does, but this whole sketch remains baffling to me and epitomizes a lot of my issues with how the show nowadays is written.

Rating: *1/2

Divided We Stand

tone-deaf off-Broadway musical is socially-irrelevant

• I remember absolutely loving this piece when I first saw it. It’s been ages since the last time I’ve seen it, so I am excited for this rewatch.
• The premise of a terribly-written Off-Broadway political musical is great, and is such a solid and fun way to parody those “resist” pieces around that time in a way that doesn’t feel like it’s going through the tepid “LOL liberals!” route SNL has gone through before.
• The #MeToo part of the musical is both priceless and strangely catchy.
• Terrific voice-over work from Beck per usual; his readings of the critics’ reviews (always great at those) are providing me with many laughs; the very brief review of the New York Times being just “Jesus Christ” especially slayed me.
• Melissa’s part is both very well-performed and sexy in a way that feels more confident than flat-out “look how hot I am!” She steals this whole short for me.
• The testimonials are very solid and not overdone like some other shorts of this type tend to be; the Chris & Alex testimonies are the best here, especially the latter’s solid delivery of realizing he’s done with his girlfriend, who’s played by Melissa.
• Fantastic & brilliant piece overall; a one that I always felt should’ve had much more appreciation than it did.

Rating: ****1/2

Teacher Fell Down

fallen-to-the-floor high school teacher (KAM) overdramatizes her plight

• Here comes a sketch that I remember being quite divisive when this episode aired, with some loathing it, seeing it as a bad imitation of a typical late era Wiig sketch and some loving it. I do not know what the sketch’s reputation is nowadays, but I was always in the “love it” camp.
• Kate’s doing a very solid job navigating this strange sketch concept; her always-flawless delivery is so perfect for such a very dialogue-driven sketch.
• While I understand the uncommitted performances from Jonah, Pete (of course), and Aidy hurt this sketch for some, it is Kate’s performance and how captivating it is here that really holds my entire attention. In fact, not until I read the post-episode discussion threads online did I realize that they weren’t committed much and breaking character occasionally as Kate delivers her lines.
• The “Say honey what now?!” delivery from Kate is excellent and always stuck with me from this sketch, in addition to being genuinely hilarious.
• I love the ending of the sketch, especially the part where Kate dramatically has her hand stretched out for someone to grab it and hold her up to an entirely empty classroom.

Rating: ****1/2

Musical Performance – “Light On”

Weekend Update

PED gives his first impressions of midterm election candidates

archetypal Law & Order teen suspect (MEV) gradually incriminates herself

David Ortiz (KET) celebrates Red Sox World Series win & does endorsements

• I didn’t laugh at Faithful Patriot joke at the start, but Colin’s line that “faithful patriot” is what Mike Pence yells out during sex caught me by surprise and had me laughing so hard.
• Great GOP/Dems midterm slogans bit from Colin, especially his whole part about not making eye contact with a guy taking a dump in the subway by reading a poster declaring how the subway is improving.
• Oh god, another Pete Davidson commentary. I remember this one causing tons of controversy due to his joke about Dan Crenshaw looking like a hitman in a porn movie. I don’t remember that joke being funny back then and certainly not now. To see nothing of mocking a person who lost an eye during war.
• Aaaand there’s the joke. The controversy afterwards I still recall finding ridiculous, especially inviting and normalizing this radical conservative. I have the utmost respect for Crenshaw’s service, but this whole thing could’ve been avoided since the start.
• At least Pete makes fun of himself by the end of the commentary. Still didn’t care for this as a whole.
• Ah, thank goodness Melissa came to save Update! This has always been one of my absolute favorite things she ever did on SNL, and a big example of how generally strong and memorable her Update commentaries are, as sadly scarce as they were.
• Melissa is terrific throughout this commentary; she’s doing both a very dead-on impression of a typical teen, and at the same time, nailing the cliches of Law & Order and other similar shows, especially how the accused victims tend to act. This piece, on concept alone, is beyond brilliant to me.
• Even the ending of Melissa’s commentary is the right type of silly and a great way to conclude her piece. Glad to see this piece is as strong as I remember it being.
• Great Megyn Kelly/spa joke regarding her firing from The Today Show after her blackface comments.
• This David Ortiz commentary of Kenan’s is nowhere near as funny as some of the previous ones. This feels overlong and self-indulgent, which was rare back in these seasons, before the incredibly self-indulgent, too comfortable, unfunny Kenan that we have nowadays on the show. What a way to end this Update after the solid upswing with Melissa’s commentary and the string of jokes after it.

Rating: ***1/2

America’s Got Talent: Wait, They’re Good?

sandbagging contestants repeatedly wow judges

• We are still doing these types of parodies in freakin’ 2018?! This sketch feels like something written at least eight seasons earlier.
• Melissa is pretty funny during her part in this sketch, especially showcasing her endearing goofiness and strong vocals. This has been a great night in general for her.
• Kyle’a Howie Mandell is very funny, even with how over-the-top it gets.
• Once the “joke” of the sketch is exposed, there’s really nothing else to see here. Hey, at least Beck feels like perfect casting for Simon Cowell, even when Jason’s version remains my favorite.

Rating: **

Musical Performance – “Fallingwater”

HuckaPM

strong sedative lets Sarah Huckabee Sanders (AIB) sleep at night

• It feels like it’s been a while since we last saw Aidy’s Sarah Huckabee Sanders; a pretape starring her is a certainly unique way of bringing her back.
• A decent concept for a fake ad, with Aidy’s Sarah Huckabee Sanders using a specific brand of sleeping pills to sleep at night.
• A big laugh from Aidy’s first pratfall. I remember how this moment caught me by surprise when I first saw this short years ago and had me laughing so hard.
• Ok, after the initial laugh, this is getting old very fast, as none of the subsequent, endless pratfalls are eliciting more than a smirk from me. I remember some saying the repetitive nature of this short feels like the typical tacked-on pratfall/screaming Chris Farley used to do in his last season. I cannot really disagree much.
• This short has been going and on for something with such a thin, one-note joke. Just end this short, SNL, and be done with it.

Rating: **

Pug Wigs

(host) & (CES) sell tiny celebrity hairpieces for small dogs

• Already from the exaggerated haircut on Cecily, as well as the “hilarious” last names, we now get our James Anderson-written sketch of the night. Another staple of Jonah Hill’s episodes much like the humiliation pieces, such as that incredibly wretched Silver Star Catering sketch from Jonah’s previous hosting stint.
• These types of sketches are the ones I hate to see such a talented, likable performer such as Cecily Strong continuously do: hacky, poorly-written, inside-joke drecks that kill episodes dead.
• We now get the performers trying to keep a straight face due to the actions of the pugs all over their bodies; getting right now a flashback to the also-horrible Dog Acting School from the back half of the Ana de Armas episode. And, if you remind me of that episode’s horrendous post-Update half (one of the worst I’ve ever seen in SNL’s history), that’s not a good thing.
• Man, as this sketch keeps going on and on and on, I just cannot fathom how such a weak, incredibly-thin piece such as this even made it past the pitch meeting.
• Kenan has been in practically every single sketch tonight. Although, he doesn’t feel surprisingly that dominant. That’s probably due to a lot of the roles he’s given being rather minor.
• You probably noticed I didn’t mention that much of the sketch in this review. Well, because, there’s NOTHING here to be discussed. You know, please end this episode, SNL, before I shatter into a million pieces.

Rating: *1/2

Goodnights

Segments Ranked From Best to Worst

Divided We Stand

Teacher Fell Down

Midterm Ad

Weekend Update

Six Year Old

The Ingraham Angle

Monologue

America’s Got Talent: Wait, They’re Good?

HuckaPM

KCR News

Pug Wigs

Final Thoughts:

• A very mixed episode. In fact, I remember this one getting incredibly polarized reactions from the online fan community back in 2018, with some either thinking of it as a fun, creative episode or a complete dud. Looking back at my ratings, I am just as mixed, as the failing ratings I gave to segments are almost equal to those I enjoyed (two of which [Divided We Stand & Teacher Fell Down] are some of my favorite pieces from this entire season). While I admire the episode’s more conceptual effort, I’d say that it sadly failed it more than helped it. It also didn’t help that Jonah Hill was a very flat, dull host. Well, it’s a good thing this one will probably be his last hosting stint or at least for a good, long while.

My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:

Up Next:

• Liev Schreiber / Lil Wayne. I’ll be re-posting my old throwback review of the episode with some edits.

My full set of screencaps from this episode is here