October 3 - Ryan Reynolds/Lady GaGa (35.2)

[The Doc]

• What the hell? Is Fred even TRYING anymore??? His Obama impression was never great to begin with, but at least before, you could tell he attempted to sound like him, even as recent as the Obama cold opening from last Thursday’s episode. But tonight, he literally just sounded like Fred Armisen. Did he just give up completely? How does Lorne not see how much Fred is struggling with this? I’m wondering just how many hints does Lorne need before he FINALLY hires somebody new to play Obama.

While I agree with you on your disdain, I should probably remind you that Chevy never really tried when he was playing Gerald Ford (Other than falling down all over the place). Maybe that equals some sort of Carte Blanche rule where Fred doesn't have to try on his "Impression" (Other than to look similar to Obama).

[The Doc]

. It almost makes me sad that they decided to cancel the rest of the "Weekend Update Thursday" shows....

Actually they're doing three more in January. Although, I read somewhere the network wanted thirteen!

Must've missed the memo on that one, but I thought they were going to do at least two more for this time period.

[Mike (Male)]

Cold Open: Very nice. Only time will tell how often SNL and other TV writers will be able to satirize Obama as opposed to inserting him in a sketch that satirizes someone else, but this was excellent proof that yes, there is humor to mine from this president. Great start to the show.

Monologue: This was OK. Reynolds simply couldn't do a whole lot--I mean, nobody could, when you're limited to the topic of differentiating action thrillers and romantic comedies. This was worth a few chuckles.

Mostly Garbage Dog Food: And this definitely a stronger fake ad than last week. Even though we've seen other recession-related fake ads in the past couple of seasons, this made up for it with some great visuals. Sudeikis is once again a good pitchman.

Celebrity Family Feud: Yes, "Feud," not "Fued." I'll give Jason a B for effort; he saw Richard Dawson's folksy manner, but he still needed to be a little less Southern and a little more British. Liked his comfy swagger, and he did kiss Marie Osmond. And by the way, what an awesome premise. The writers pitted two very cozy families against eachother, which is fine, but they didn't need to treat the Osmonds as such foils. They're both strange! One in an awkward closed-door way, and one in a chipper out-there way. Finally, COULDN'T THEY HAVE FOLLOWED THE RULES OF THE SHOW? Am I right, people?

Digital Short: Funny in spots, but still too similar to other Andy pieces, right down to the Manhattan sidewalk location, slo-mo effects, and surprise celebrity cameos. At least one Digital Short from last week was better.

Mike's Fountainry: It all comes down to this-- which of these is funnier to say in an exaggerated Long Island accent? "Porcelain fountains," or "Mawwwble caahhlumns"? Yeah, so this was fine but not as appropriately silly as the last Mike's sketch.

Deep House Dish: What a weird sketch this suddenly became. It was right around the time Lady Gaga showed up that this week's SNL seemed to enter the Twilight Zone. And to be honest, I couldn't make out half of the lines that she and Madonna had for their "song," and we know now that Madonna dropped a line, so I can't tell if this was awkward brilliance or an unfortunate train wreck. Let me just say "pass."

"Paparazzi": Here's a story. Stefani Germanotta and I went to the same school for a couple years, before she ran out of money and dropped out, and we were actually assigned to the same large residential building our freshman year. This was the Fall of 2004. The building held a meet-and-greet/talent show the first week, where Stef performs a lovely song on the piano in between all the crappy dancers and one terrible standup comic. And rumor has it she'd run around her floor naked some nights. Long story short, she hasn't sacrificed her creativity much, she's only a lot richer, and good for her.

Update: Seth's material was a little weak this time, and in fact his last show on Thursday wasn't any better. But props to Darrell for trying a different spin on Gov. Arnold (the smile-to-frown-to-smile motions). And Kenan's Charles Barkley was definitely his best yet; I'd like to see his take on other topics on which he is not any kind of expert. Finally, I can't say I loved Nasim as Mrs. Ahmadinejad. She put on a pretty generic accent, and was given some comparatively weak writing. I'd have to think the consensus would not be as positive if any other lady (certainly Wiig) had taken that role.

So You Committed a Crime & You Think You Can Dance: I can't believe they didn't lead off the show with this. Best sketch of the night, a good use of everyone's talents (though I wanted to hear more from Hader as Phil Spector), and I think the incorporation of both live and pre-taped elements all fit together really well. I was actually reminded of the synchronized swimming practice from the classic Christopher Guest sketch.

International Masterworks: Funny, not as hilarious as I think it could have been. It may have been the nationality they chose-- watching SNL, even the casual viewer could be immediately reminded of the superior Festrunk Brothers sketches, which had cultural humor in both the accents and the sleazebag mannerisms of single European men. This week's sketch just rode on funny voices.

"LoveGame," "Bad Romance," and "Poker Face": Again, kind of horrible, kind of fantastic. Knowing that the struggle with the "Orbit" was entirely intentional, I'm leaning towards fantastic.

Backstage with Lady Gaga: She's going on my Hosting Predictions list either next season or the one after. The joke with Lorne was too much, but she and Andy tackled the premise perfectly, and you can get far acting in a comically melodramatic fashion with good timing.

Grade: B. Ryan Reynolds didn't do too much as host, but there were plenty of clever moments, and outside of the Digital Short I don't think anything really failed. Of course, I still have to abstain from trying to comment on Deep House Dish. Regardless, this was a better show than last week's, with a better host. My hopes aren't sky-high for Drew Barrymore, who has helmed a few disappointing shows before.

[John George Peppers]

Where was it said Lady Gaga's difficulties with the "hula hoops" was intentional? Pretty much guessed it was. Curious though. Thanks.

[Mike (Male)]

Read it online somewhere-- I'll send the link if I can't find it. There wasn't any "malfunction" apparently, it wasn't like the Saturn was built or fitted in a way that should've helped her move around more easily.

[Casey Killingsworth]

Okay, sorry for the lateness, but here is my review anyway. This show was definitely very solid if not just a little unstable and divisive. Good to see the entire cast get a fairly even amount of airtime tonight, although I’m probably not alone in wishing we’d have seen more Forte. It didn't feel like one single person dominated the show and that is refereshing. I think it's safe to say that Ryan Reynolds was a better than expected host, even though all the cameos kind of distracted us from his performance. Still, you could tell the writers really weren't slacking off this week and were trying to write strong sketches for him. Lady Gaga certainly surprised us. She seems to have a sense of humor about herself and was adecent sketch preformer as far as I could tell. Her second performance was...well, interesting. I can't really tolerate most of her sonngs, but I guess she has some talent in there somewhere. I personally don't see why she needs to rely so heavily on bizzare, flahsy fashion gimmicks and make herself look like SUCH a DESPERATE ATTENTION WHORE to stay in the public eye. Anyway, lets' just get right to this weeks' sketches. Shall we?

Obama Cold Open - Well, even though its' clear that both Lorne and Fred have both completely given up on effectively impersonating Barack Obama (at least vocally) the writing staff has shown us they can at least satirize and poke fun at him effectively. Armisen goint through the check list of non-accomplishments was really funny. Still, first we had casual fans and conservative critics complaining that SNL was too blatantly "in the tank" for the democratic party and now we're starting to get quite a few liberals saying the show is now TOO mean spirited in their political satire? Oh, well...I guess you can't please everyone. A-

Monolouge - Ryan Reynolds pointing out the subtle differences and similarities between romantic comedies and super hero flicks was a clever idea and he executed it well. It was very funny and I liked seeing the first straight solo monolouge of this season. I hope they keep those coming like they did last year. A-

Mostly Garbage Brand Dog Food - A very funny premise and Sudekis shined once again as a pitchman. This cracked me up. A+

Family Feud - Even though this was a little dark, it was still executed well enough. I did like seeing SNL attempt to do another vintage game show sketch and Sudekis had some pretty funny moments belittling certain answers (although he could've tried a little harder to nail down the voice.) Hader and Wiig also had some pretty funny lines and Abby was looking the most gorgeous I've seen her so far. The writers knew exactly how and when to end this one. B+

Digital Short: On the Ground - LOVED IT!!!!!! Best Digital Short of this season so far. I know I'm a little in the minority here and I'm calling it WAY too early, but this was better than BOTH of last weeks' digital shorts put together. Every minute of this cracked me up hard. Andy's sanctimonius intensity in his increasingly needless ground throwing was hysterical. I especially liked the lines "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GROOOOOUUND!!!! I THREW THE REST OF TEH CAKE TOO!!!!" and "MY DADS' NOT A PHONE...DUUHH" as well as his calling the birthday kid a poser and saying "Welcome to the real world, jackass!" Reynolds and Elijah Wood tasing Andy in the butthole was a silly twist I didn't see coming, and it made me laugh hard. Good effort from the Lonely Island. A+

Porcelain Fountains - hmm...smells like another by the numbers rewrite to me...I didn't see why they needed to recurr this one at first...I mean, Scarlett Johansen was just an okay host so I don't really see her being asked back any time soon...then, I didn't learn untill later that Scarlett and Ryan were an item...so I guess they just figured, what the hell...Ryans' panicked delivery as the installation guy really made this for me,though. C+

Deep House Dish - ooooooweeeee...y'know, I'm not crazy about these sketches either, but I don't exactly despise them (there's occasionally a good fake song and interview afterwards) I guess I can tolerate them if they're kept to just once a year like this. These sketches always bomb, but this one had its' moments. I did like Sambergs' "rumor alert" and Wiigs' "low self esteem" bits and thought the idea of writing an entier song based on Facebook statues was actually funny. Reynolds played this bit well in the interview. I guess I should've seen this coming as an excuse for Lady Gaga to be in a sketch, but I never expected them to get Madonna involved. I had to watch this sketch at least three times in order to understand what the two overrated pop divas were actually saying. I guess both the writers and the performers could've tried a little harder to make the ending a little more coherent and lessed rushed at the last minute. The whole thing felt just a little ad-libbed and just ended with a loud uninteresting thud. C-

Update killed once again. This time, it was the commentaries that outshined most of Seth's jokes. It's nice to see the chraminglly adorable Nassim get an early character/speaking role so early in her first season. She shined as Mrs. Ahmedinijad and her emasculating insults crakced me up. Hammonds' Arnold Schwarzenegger had some pretty funny lines, too (especially "champagne and qualudes" as well as the bits about fires in California.) I guess I'm a little confused, too since he's no longer officially "in the cast," but I wouldn't mind if he became the male Jan Hooks and made an appearance when they could use an impression of his. Kenan's disjointed ramblings as Charles Barkely were definitely my favorite bit of the night. I especially liked his bit about bulls stabbing people and repeatedly calling Seth "Screech". His voice even sounds like it has improved since last time. Honestly, that might not have made a difference since the dialougue made me laugh so hard. A++

So You Comitted a Crime...And You Think You Can Dance? - This was another very funny premise that was executed very well. I definitely laughed at this. I do wish we'd seen more of Hader, Elliot and Moynihans' impressions, but Andy had some pretty funny lines as Kevin Federline introducing the contestants. Reynolds played his part well and all the convicts "dancing" routines cracked me up (especially Forte.) Even Kenan was funny and entertaining in this. Maybe it helped that he didn't have any lines, but still. Even what some would consider to be the biggest bomb of the night worked pretty well in this show. B+

International Masterworks - Norweigan actors trying to imitate American accents and culture may sound like a weak premise on paper, but Armisen, Samberg and Wiig executed this flawlessly. All the overly goofy accents and strange plays on gritty crime drama dialouge cracked me up hard. Armisen definitely killed it just because he had the most lines and Hader was a decent host even though he tripped over the cuecards a lot, but still...probably the second funniest sketch of the night. A-

Andy & Gaga Backstage - A little over the top for both preformers in a ten-to-one sketch (and that's saying a lot) but still, this worked because they kept it short, sweet and didn't hit you over the head with the joke. I wasn't cracking up as much at this as much as certain other sketches, but I did like Andy's line about makind his outfit out of garbage and the bit with Kristen and Lorne really ended it with a bang. A-

Well, that was just...wow...a strong, consistently hilarious show that delivered way more than we all expected. I can't wait to see what Drew Barrymore brings to the table next week. Her last hosting stint in 2007 was terrific and the writing will probably be a little more stable and consistent. See ya then!

[Shaq Plaque]

I feel like I have the complete reverse opinion on Lady GaGa's motivations. She's not wearing ridiculous bizarre clothes on a stage to be famous, she got famous so that she could wear ridiculous bizarre clothes on a stage. It's what she wants to do anyway.

[Conner]

Now that Weekend Update Thursday is over, SNL will have more focus on it's original hour and a half variety show, so I'm hoping for above average episodes appearing more frequently. Granted, last week was a premiere week on the knees, but hopefully, this week will be back on a surge. This week's WUT was more weak than the last 2 WUTs, which really proves burn-out for the Update set.

Our host tonight is Ryan Reynolds with musical guest Lady GaGa. Ryan Reynolds is more of a left field choice than not, but, left field choices for hosts usually tend to be a in for a good show. Jon Hamm is a spectacular example of that. Who hasn't heard Lady GaGa? And, more importantly, who hasn't said in their minds "Okay. That's enough. I've heard this song plenty of times"? I'll give Ms. Stefani her credit though: She is not a one-hit wonder, and, infact, a bunch of songs from her debut album have hit the top of the charts.

Presidential Message: This was a change of pace. It's taken 9 months, but we finally have our first anti-Obama sketch. As a supporter of Obama I'm still going to say this was a nice breeze. Complaints about SNL sucking up to Obama have been circulating too much, and this will have to seriously put an end to that. There was really no support for Obama in this sketch. Many are probably saying to this "Come on, it's been 9 months. He's doing his job", but remember, it's just SNL people. 7.0

Opening Montage: Just a few changes: Kristen's intro to her credit changed, so she has more screen time on the credits than she did last week, and I'm glad to see that we changed up the host and musical guest intros. They looked exactly like last season's last week, so this was a nice change.

Monologue: This was a funny real monologue by Mr. Reynolds about the differences between doing a superhero scene and doing a love scene. It was pretty good. 7.0

Mostly Garbage: So far we're 0 for 2 on the commercial parodies this season. It wasn't bad... but it wasn't good. I'm going to assume that this season will be just as inconsistant with commercial parodies as last season. 6.0

Family Feud: This was a very raunchy sketch about the Phillips family's new secret, but it was still a pretty well written sketch that was really funny. A few things I noticed was that Nasim didn't have one line, and did Jason's wig turn from blonde to gray in the middle of the sketch? 7.5

SNL Digital Short: I'm An Adult: Oh boy. Another musical Andy Samberg DS. Not anywhere as bad as last year's Samberg musical DSes, though, so I'll give him credit. It was good for a chuckle, and the Elijah Wood cameo was pretty cool. 6.5

Mike's Fountainry: Before I start this, I had no idea that Ryan Reynolds was married to Scarlett Johansson, so to have her come into this was completely random and puzzling to me. But, now I get it, so I'm all good. Anyways, this was a fun bring-back, because I actually enjoy these. I gotta say though, it would be pretty cool if Rachel Dratch came back to do that wife. 7.0

Deep House Dish: Was this the most puzzling Deep House Dish ever? The first two acts were just Kristen and Ryan singing random songs, and, just like any other DHD, there was really no chuckles here. Then all of a sudden we had Madonna and Lady GaGa perform, and it was more of a confusing little appearance than something funny. They were doing a cat fight, but, it almost felt like they were out of control at times. It was weird. But, I guess it was nice seeing Madonna on. BTW, did anybody realize that Madonna was in talks with hosting/performing sometime this season for her compilation CD "Celebration"? Talks broke down (I don't know how you break down talks with hosting SNL, but that's okay), so i guess it isn't happening now, but I just found that random. 6.0

Musical Performance: Lady GaGa performs "Paparazzi". I think some of GaGa's music is okay as long as it's not overkilled (like it usually is), but, man, I give her props for this performance. I've heard Paparazzi before and thought it was okay, but this performance was really good, and the SNL effects like the flames, smoke, and sparklers in the back were superb.

Weekend Update: A few good jokes here and there, and then there was Darrell appearing as Arnold Schwarzenegger, which was an okay commentary. Then we had Charles Barkley on to talk about China's 60th year anniversary, which was pretty funny. But, the funniest part was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his wife's commentary. As Fred's Mahmoud didn't say anything, and just stared blank ahead, Nasim pulled off a great peppy Ahmadinejad wife. 7.0

So You Commited A Crime & You Think You Can Dance: This was actually a really funny sketch, and almost seemed like something UCB would do, which is a good thing. It was interesting seeing Abby Elliott's Nancy Grace. When K-Fed was introducing Nancy Grace, I really thought Amy would be on as her, but, nope. Abby did good with it though. But, anyways, this was a funny sketch. 7.5

International Masterworks: This sketch was pretty one-premise, but I still laughed at the performances at times. 6.5

Musical Performance: In what seems to be a medly from the start with "LoveGame" playing to the base part of "Boys Boys Boys" (I only know that because of a friend), Lady GaGa performs the refrain of LoveGame and then goes into her new single "Bad Romance" which she doodles on the piano for a while, and eventually segueways into a piano ballad version of "Poker Face" and back into "Bad Romance". I gotta give her credit. She can play the piano, and even though there was that awkward moment of her trying to fit on the piano seat and stuff because of her wardrobe choice, she pulled it off well.

Fashion: Andy and Lady GaGa realize they're wearing the same outfit (bubbles) and try making out but physically can't do it. This was pretty silly, and a good way to end the show. 6.0

That's our show. Ryan demonstrated great versitality, and did a great job, and, even though the cameo choies were really random (Madonna?) it was still a decent show. Lady GaGa actually did a great job. She was a weird musical guest (just her outfit choice for that second song has people scratch their heads), but she was really awesome. I did find it weird, however, that Ryan just kind of disappeared into the episode. By the second half, he did a few things here and there, but disappeared for the last 15 minutes, which, by that time, Lady GaGa took up hosting the show.

As for Jenny Slate, she was not fired, and she'll be fine. She didn't appear in WUT, but I'm sure that was just a huge coincidence. But, meanwhile, she really didn't have a speaking part tonight, but still, I'm sure it'll all work out.

7.0

Next week: Drew Barrymore hosts with musical guest Regina Sepktor. This should be a good show.

[RedSwanTheatre]

The rerun last night featured the Dress Rehearsal of the Lady Gaga/Madonna segment from Deep House Dish. They managed to get their lyrics out and it went a little something like this:


Madonna: What's your look?
Lady Gaga: Watch me walk
Madonna: Work your walk
Lady Gaga: Watch my look. What's wrong Madonna? Can't get into the groove?
Madonna: I have hundreds of hits, you only have two.
Lady Gaga: I got five. Watch me work I'll show you tricks.
Madonna: Hold on Miss Thang, looks like your wig needs a fix
Lady Gaga: NO NO NO
Madonna: You are such a little bitch
Lady Gaga: So so so
Madonna: What the hell's a Disco Stick
Lady Gaga: I think you know.

Their acting was better in the scene after with a nice booty shot from Stephanie!

btw, did the commercials cut in at wrong times everywhere or just in my town?