TVSquad

(S32E10) Even though I'm no expert on his career, I didn't have many worries about Jake Gyllenhaal's comedy abilities. I remember listening to Gyllenhaal on the Donnie Darko DVD audio commentary and finding him surprisingly funny. I definitely didn't expect it... After all, Donnie Darko wasn't a particularly goofy film. Then, I saw Bubble Boy and, although I wouldn't consider it one of the greater films of our time, I thought Gyllenhaal did a pretty good job (with what he was given).

This episode wasn't spectacular -- in fact, it was pretty unremarkable -- but I enjoyed watching it, simply because of Gyllenhaal's enthusiasm.

Cold Open (Message from the President): The idea of Catholic schoolgirls wreaking havoc in Iraq made me smile. That was about it.

Monologue: Heh, I thought this was rather sweet and worth sharing. A little something for Gyllenhaal's more flamboyant fans, yeah? He gave a hilarious performance and seemed to have fun with the song. However, seeing Jake in drag only further supported my opinion that he and sister Maggie look nothing alike. By the way, that man has some really nice arms. Geez. No wonder it's not only the ladies swooning.


"Deep House Dish": Whoa, the first sketch was one about house music? More love for the flamboyant fans. Anyway, this was okay, I suppose. This week's songs didn't seem quite as funny to me. However, I think Gyllenhaal did well in this... All fifty seconds of his appearance.

"Bronx Beat": This was mildly funny, but I'm sure it was much more enjoyable for New Yorkers.


"The Apprentice Press Conference": Ah, the ever-so pointless Trump/O'Donnell feud. This was a pretty spot-on joke on the way that Trump has been handling the situation. I watched him on Conan O'Brien's show a few nights ago and was pretty surprised by his behavior. I felt like I was back in middle school again, listening to the high-pitched squeals of the girls at the popular table. The only thing separating the two events was the fact that the girls had better hair.


"Cool Food": I think this was a sketch that would have been more funny to watch live. The audience kept cracking up before the TV-viewers could get the joke, probably because they were watching all the green screen goings-on with the meatballs and Chicken Parmesan. "We should stop doing mushrooms and going to restaurants"... Hmm. Replace "going to restaurants" with "writing sketches". Oh, and here's something to ponder: Do all cool foods wear Mickey Mouse shoes, or only dishes containing marinara?

"Laser Cats 2": This was pretty funny and definitely better than the first Laser Cats. I have yet to decide whether or not this is only because of Gyllenhaal's mustachioed Dr. Claw-esque character. Did I hear correctly? Did he keep screaming "JENGA!"? Oh, I also liked the sci-fi-tastic use of the copy machine and white board.


"Stock Footage Awards": This was a very cool idea and I had a good laugh at the names of all the footage.

"Weekend Update": This week's WU was all right. I must commend them for not doing a "Scooby begins his words with 'R'" joke like everyone else I've heard and instead, going for "G-g-ghost!" I also liked Fred Armisen's iPhone presentation as Steve Jobs. Someone's been studying the keynote. Oh, what an age we live in, when we laugh at jokes about battery life. By the way, if anyone ever invents a pocket-sized MP3-player with a built-in Starbucks, I will be first in line.

"Law & Order: Master Class": Yeah, this was pretty spot-on. I liked Gyllenhaal's various reactions to the dead bodies.

"The Wheelchair Sketch": I liked this sketch, but, of course, I'm a sucker for comedy based around people desperately trying to be politically correct (hence, my love for the original The Office).

"Kaplan, Liebowitz, and Dolemite": I will say one thing... I think "Sweet like bear meat" is only funny when it's said by Tracy Morgan.

The Shins: Wow, they sounded great. I'm not a super-obsessed fan, but I like The Shins' music and own a few of their albums. I thought they did very well, but I was a bit disappointed to hear them sing a super-old song for their second set.

Next time: Jeremy Piven, one of Jay Black's mancrushes, and AFI, one of my most loathed bands. Gee. And I usually like guys in eyeliner (see: Captain Jack Sparrow; Damon Albarn in "The Universal" music video).