Cold Opening – Trump Brothers Bedtime
- A good & different setting for a cold opening, and it also helps that I’m a big fan of Mikey & Alex’s Don Jr and Eric Trump impressions, respectively.
- You Know, as much as I hate to say it, the routine of Eric saying dumb things is slowly starting to not make me laugh as it used to before doing these reviews. I am still laughing at the moment, but I know these will eventually start to get old for me.
- Oh no, the whole closet thing between Don Jr and Eric is leading up to the return of You Know Who for the billionth time…
- Aaaaand there he is: Robert De Niro as Robert Mueller. Now getting welcomed with wild applause from the audience. Oh, so you’re telling me De Niro never cameoed before? It sure feels like it from the audience’s reaction to his appearance here.
- Man, this back-and-forth between De Niro and Alex’s Eric is mostly laughless and killing an otherwise intially-decent cold opening. De Niro’s been stumbling and flubbing his lines left and right. Not also helping is how smug and unfunny his dialogue is, though it’s a billion times better than the total trash he spewed in the Meet the Parents cold open he first appeared in.
- I do like Eric mispronouncing “live” in his LFNY, which fits his impression perfectly.
- Here’s a great article I remember reading the day after this episode aired, if you want more fun shitting on De Niro’s lousy cameos as Mueller.
Rating: **
Monologue
- Right from his entrance, you can tell Jason is going to be such a fun host. He’s also doing a good job bringing up the energy levels, considering the black hole of charisma that I suffered through just before Jason came along.
- The Saturday Night Huge joke is such a groaner, but somehow Jason made it funny for me.
- I’m sure I didn’t need the return of the Aidy-flirts-with-the-host routine, but Jason, once again, made it work. It also helped that it was brief for what it was.
- This monologue is such an endearing but very fun mess, especially with the turn with Chris (where has he BEEN this season?!), Leslie, and Kenan suggesting a new theme song for Aquaman.
- Very fun and infectious part with the suggested theme song.
Rating: ***1/2
Elf on the Shelf
- Melissa being cast as an elf is a no-brainer decision, in my eyes. Mikey is also fittingly cast as well.
- Even though I know the dirty turn this sketch would take, with Jason’s dislike of monitoring a recently starting-to-masturbate 13-year-old, it never fails to make me laugh.
- Other than the endless number of funny lines delivered flawlessly by Jason, the high-pitched vocal modifier on Jason’s voice is adding to the humor a lot. Jason’s having me in complete stitches here.
- Great line from Jason, saying the kid’s masturbating activity is solo.
- An overall hilarious, silly sketch. Jason was priceless here.
Rating: ****
GE Big Boy Appliances
- A bit of a cheesy premise using Jason’s manly image, but I know he’ll make it fun with his sheer charm.
- Great direction and color grading throughout this commercial; Heidi and Alex especially feel authentically old-timey at the beginning.
- Decent montage with Jason’s manly activities throughout the piece, and while nothing outright hilarious, Jason’s likability is making this fine enough.
Rating: ***
Khal Drogo’s Ghost Dojo
- Our obligatory Game of Thrones sketch of the night. I know we would’ve gotten a return of Jason’s character, but did it really have to be stuck in this tired talk show format?
- Jason’s sure still got it as Khal Drogo, especially nailing his Dothraki shouts flawlessly. The same cannot be said about the other performers here, sadly.
- The casting of Kate as King Joffrey is absolutely dead-on. Too bad the lines given to her were so lousy, especially the lame “cash me outside” reference.
- And this now turns into some bizarre Maury parody, complete with Aidy’s Olenna Tyrell calling Joffrey “Justin Bieber”?
- That’s one extremely awkward, overlong moment of dead air after the whole Olenna/Joffrey Maury bit. The hell happened that a freakin’ sixteen-years vet like Kenan had to stand around awkwardly while Jason ad-libs with those Dothraki yells?
- An overall very weak, bloated sketch. A waste of Jason’s talents in particular.
Rating: *1/2
Them Trumps
- The debut of these memorable series of shorts.
- A funny concept of a black version of the First Family. Kenan’s characterization here is especially excellent; he’s absolutely nailing this premise. The names of said family is also a nice touch.
- Solid blackout gag ending with the FBI. I do remember the second instalment being stronger and with a funnier blackout gag ending. I’m having a very hard time remembering the third one, though.
Rating: ****
Weekend Update
- Some really tepid reaction to the jokes tonight, especially Colin’s stock market joke. I still laughed, though.
- Ok, after a while, the jokes have improved and the audience is more responsive.
- Nice to see the debut of Aidy’s Carrie Krum, though I honestly almost forgot about her till she popped up here.
- Aidy’s both very believable and adorable as this 7-year old character of hers. She’s having some really solid lines here and her interactions with Che are fun & charming.
- Great bit about Carrie’s Aunt Nancy’s bra still being on the couch.
- Cool to see a mention of Mumford & Sons on Update, considering the fan I am of their work and how much I enjoyed their musical performance just before this Update began.
- Oh, I love this unique change of pace with Che leaving his chair and heading next to Colin to deliver a whole bit about his love of bidets. Stuff like this really epitomizes why this is my all-time favorite era of Update.
- Che’s bit is a lot of fun, and reminds me of how strong a stand-up he generally is; his whole part about wanting Colin to shut up was especially hilarious.
- A strong & very fun Update edition in general.
Rating: ****
An Extra Christmas Carol
- And season 44’s weekly habit of having a cringey, lame sketch at least once a night continues…
- A pretty laughable premise of Jason as an “extra” Christmas spirit, instead of being one of the three well-known ghosts Scrooge encounters. I have a strong feeling this is the handiwork of James Anderson & Kent Sublette, as it would feel right at home with their Gay Scrooge & Gay Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde sketches, but I’m not too sure of that.
- It’s awkward seeing this parody of A Christmas Carol not a full year after the fantastic, very memorable, and brilliantly dark one with Martin Short & Steve Martin, but I’ll try not to compare both of them here.
- I’ve been so positive regarding Jason’s performances tonight, but not even he can do anything to elevate this sketch. Not with those surprisingly lame dancing sessions he’s doing around the bed.
- I’ll say something positive here: Mikey’s (who’s been so dominant so far tonight) straight man reactions as Scrooge are the best thing happening here.
- Much like King Joffrey, Kate’s casting as Tiny Tim is spot-on, and she at least gave me a chuckle with that voice’s she using.
- At least we got an energetic ending, but overall this should’ve been cut.
Rating: *1/2
Day Of The Dorks
- A Revenge of the Nerds parody? And, in the year 2018? Maybe as a big comedy buff I should be happy, but this feels so unnecessary to me.
- Not really caring for this sketch so far, though Mikey’s (whom I assume had a hand in writing this sketch, considering his penchant for parodying classic shows/movies) performance is decent enough.
- I guess Jason’s perfect for such a parody, though his characterization feels a bit like how he plays Khal Drogo.
- And this sketch just ended, with me barely saying anything about it. As I said before, with dullness, there’s NOTHING for me to say.
Rating: **
Sleigh Ride
- Ugh, not the return of this terrible Cecily character. Man, this episode really has fallen off a cliff ever since Update ended.
- It feels like Cecily’s been having one terrible showcase on a weekly basis these last few episodes. At least with HSN, I can see what she’s going for, but certainly not with THIS character of hers.
- I really have nothing else to say, but that Jason’s fitting in well as the boyfriend and the other performers are performing this adequately. This got to count in my rating, I guess.
Rating: *1/2
First Impression
- This has always been one of my favorite Beck Bennett performances of all-time. I am beyond thrilled to rewatch this short for this review.
- Jason is surprisingly believable as a middle-aged dad. I especially love his look with the sweater, glasses and graying hair.
- A fantastic concept with Beck’s character wanting to play hide and seek with his fiancee’s parents; Jason’s eagerness to immediately play along makes me always smile.
- Beck’s taunting, baby-voiced remarks throughout the short are great.
- This is such a terrific absurdist concept that’s being played so straight with no explaining or reacting to how “odd” it is; just letting the short speak about its absurdity for itself. I love that.
- Jason’s so fantastic throughout this short, especially as he more and more gets eager to catch the hiding Beck. This short is easily one of my favorite host performances of the season so far.
- Great bit with the Booby Trap Beck installed working much later than it supposed to.
- I love the ending between Beck & Jason, especially the joy-filled bizarre smile Beck gives him after getting caught.
Rating: *****
Rudolph’s Big Night
- Mikey has been in almost every single sketch all night, with several of these roles having him showcasing his range as a performer; this has to be, hands down, the biggest night of his entire tenure.
- Fun seeing Jason as Santa, considering that Beck played him earlier in the night.
- Pete’s pretty solid and is coming off quite likable as Rudolph; his tone-change after Santa leaves was flawlessly pulled off. The smug lines after he gets to ride with Santa are great, though I cannot think of some to quote here.
- An overall great and underrated sketch; one of Pete’s best as well.
- I remember an equally silly, strong sketch Pete would do later in the Halsey episode from this season (an episode filled, wall-to-wall, with silly, fun sketches that are really strong) that also featured him giving a standout performance like this. I look forward to revisiting it.
Rating: ****
Segments Ranked From Best to Worst
First Impression
Elf on the Shelf
Rudolph’s Big Night
Them Trumps
Weekend Update
Monologue
GE Big Boy Appliances
Trump Brothers Bedtime
Day Of The Dorks
Sleigh Ride
An Extra Christmas Carol
Khal Drogo’s Ghost Dojo
Final Thoughts:
- A good and underrated episode, despite a few flops scattered throughout it, especially in the post-Update half of the night (which are surely to sadly hurt this episode’s rating average). However, there was A LOT of great sketches throughout the night to make up for that. Jason Momoa was also a very solid, committed host, who came off likable, game, and gave it all, even in the weaker sketches of the night. I remain surprised he hasn’t hosted once since this episode.
Up Next:
- The Christmas episode with Matt Damon / Mark Ronson & Miley Cyrus.
Your review made me more interested in the episode than I generally would have been otherwise. Momoa did have a very strong energy – as he went on to do cameos for the next two seasons, I wonder if he would have hosted again if he’d had a chance.
First Impressions is such a wonderful Beck showcase. That was a Tim Robinson/Zach Kanin piece. I don’t know if Beck is in the newest SYTYCL season, but he’d be a natural for the boisterous, loud mania.
I forgot this was the debut of Them Trumps.
Even though I wish Pete had left the summer prior, he still had a few decent moments this year, with Rudolph’s Big Night being one of them (I think there’s also one when Halsey hosts). You could tell over the second half of his tenure when there were shows where he would commit and come off as a team player, and others where it would be Pete showing up as himself. And by no surprise, the ones people remember positively are ones like that sketch.
Also a huge fan of M&S; in fact, it was these performances that got me into them (Delta being my favorite album of theirs).
If this season is remembered for one theme, I think it’s having lots of excellent one-time hosts who made the season better than it had to be. Jason, like many others this year, probably would’ve benefited more had he hosted in a better year, but nonetheless committed himself enough to make a good impact.
Perhaps it’s because I simply don’t do comic book movies, but I’m not under the Jason Momoa spell everyone else is. He seems likeable enough, sure, but not like the Unstoppable Hollywood Powerhouse he’s made out to be. Frankly, I think it’s Margot Robbie/Channing Tatum syndrome – we’re so relieved that a really hot person is likeable AT ALL that we grade everything they do on a curve. Sorry, but I don’t think I’ll ever view this episode as better than average.
I’m puzzled as to why the Santa elves sketches (particularly Gosling’s) are universally hated, yet this one-note jack-off joke is beloved. It’s not bad, but you can certainly see each joke and pun before it’s even laid out. And at least the elves were making some kind of comedic effort, giving some kind of performance. Hearing Momoa half-groan these puns at this annoyingly high pitch grates my ears, and it feels obvious that he’s barely trying.
Mamoa being a fan of SNL prior to all this certainly helped carry this episode alot. And the Rudolph Reindeer sketch is one of the better Pete outings at the time