It probably doesn’t bode well for an SNL episode when the thing that excites me the most is the news of next week’s host. It’s actually two weeks away, and it’s Louis C.K., and I couldn’t be more excited. But based on the last couple of efforts, maybe I should moderate my expectations a little. Not that this was an abysmal effort. But it started slow, had a couple of real head-scratching sketches that never got around to being funny, and I can’t even really blame it on their decision to have Bruno Mars host and sing. I mean, he wasn’t great, but he was pretty much what I expected: shoehorned into a couple of skits that let him sing, otherwise largely left alone.
The political cold open struggled to find something to spoof outside of Obama and Romney’s generally ornery attitudes. There were some amusing aggressive turns of phrase, and Pharoah’s Obama impression definitely does better when he’s not just standing behind a podium speechifying, but for such a long sketch, there wasn’t any one big moment to hang a hat on. Probably the biggest laugh of the night came from Tom Hanks, and that’s mostly because he was Tom Hanks (although he sure did sell the hell out of his question: “Libya”). The whole thing felt a little toothless too, with only the answer on gun control having any real insight or bite.
Unsurprisingly, Bruno Mars was handed a big musical number for his monologue, and it was one of those things that was so well-staged and long, eventually it kinda won you over, even though it completely lacked a concept past “I’m nervous to host SNL!” I’ll say this for Mars: I get why Lorne Michaels thought of having him host. He’s certainly very game and happy to be silly. That’s about the end of his sketch comedy skill list, though.
Taran Killam spoofing Brad Pitt’s Chanel ads was an obvious, and necessary choice, and often I like the video bits that SNL keeps coming back to through the episode. But this one didn’t build satisfyingly at all, just petered out (to the point that its fourth appearance was pretty surprising). Like a lot of material tonight, there just wasn’t something solid at the center of this sketch—just a bunch of random jokes, some funnier than others.
The Pitt ads were well-executed masterpieces compared to “Haters,” which has to be one of the strangest picks for lead-off live sketch I’ve ever seen on this show. Put it back in, guys, this one’s not done yet. Cecily Strong hosts a Springer-esque shouty talk show featuring a bunch of crazy hick guests and a constantly booing audience. A lot of people shake their butts at the camera. This thing didn’t really end, it just…stopped. I honestly don’t know if this was an effort to start a recurring thing, but if it was, back to the drawing board. Bobby Moynihan in drag isn’t always going to rescue you.
The Pandora HQ sketch was Bruno’s big chance to shine, and he…did fine. He was fine. I guess. He certainly did a lot of impressions, and aside from Katy Perry, they sounded reasonably like who they were supposed to be. More in a karaoke way than a skilled performer way, but that’s alright, I guess. The “control room” concept was kind of tiresome, though Sudeikis and Moynihan et al did their best to sell it.
The night was almost saved by “Sad Mouse,” which is the first video sketch of the year that kind of felt like a digital short. It also seemed to be shot on digital video, although I’m not the kind of nerd that can confirm that. The concept was extremely simple, and the happy ending was a little pat (though necessary), but I liked Sudeikis as the baffled boss and the manic waving. If this is the future of SNL’s pre-taped pieces, that’s not bad to me. There certainly was a lot of pre-taped material this week, but most of it was in the stale commercial parody style they’ve been doing for centuries.
Weekend Update was a lot of fun, as long as you like Stefon and the increasingly ridiculous, fourth-wall breaking territory the show takes him in. Which I do, very much so! There was some classic material (Nick Nolte & Gabbana), a digression on his evening routine that was hilarious and refreshing, and a complete Hader breakdown when he said the “Jewish Dracula” was called Sidney Applebaum. Even though the Stefon routine is pretty solid no matter what, it’s good to see him messing with his formula a little bit with every new appearance.