(S35E02) After that Jenny Slate f-bomb nonsense and Megan Fox's not terribly original hot girl material from the season premiere, it was exciting to see a really solid episode (and a star-studded one, at that). Ryan Reynolds did a fantastic job as host (snaps for his wavering voice during the porcelain fountains sketch and accent in SYTYCD), though he didn't have any major stand-out roles. Did I miss the memo that Lady Gaga wasn't just musical guest but co-host as well? Such a role is normally left up to Ryan Reynolds' giant biceps.
It's been a while since we've seen such consistently enjoyable writing in an episode. Usually, there's a distinct lull during the course of the 90 minutes, but I didn't feel it this time. Hopefully, this is a good indication of the rest of the season.
All right, first things first: Why so much Gaga? It wasn't terrible, just strange. After a while, I felt like I had seen more on-screen minutes of her than Ryan Reynolds. But, despite the generally attention whore-y behavior, there's no denying that Lady Gaga puts on a show. I loved her intergalactic backbrace thing, and her "Deephouse Dish" with Madonna was weird/fun/awkward. Was this a filthy little dream that Kenan Thompson or one of the writers once had, and they just had to bring it to life?
An appearance by Mrs. Ryan Reynolds, Scarlett Johansson, was also fun. I mean, if Justin Timberlake can bring around Jessica Biel whenever he feels like it, then a little bit of ScarJo was inevitable. It was a nice touch bringing her in to reprise an old character.
As for Elijah Wood ... I have no idea why he was there, but I will not complain. "On the Ground" was hilarious, though formulaic (not sure if it was because it actually was very formulaic or because I've had so much Lonely Island stuff ingrained in my head). "Happy birthday to the ground!" has yet to fail to make me laugh.
Does Darrell Hammond count as a special guest? I liked that his appearance as Schwarzenegger didn't get big "Oh my God, an SNL alum!" applause. It was just ol' Darrell, coming back to hang out in the studio. Hey, SNL, you know you guys can't keep bringing him back, right? You gotta move on. Find another guy that can do voices.
Speaking of "Weekend Update," this week's was particularly strong. Seth Meyers is really wearing solo well. Strangely, that Eeyore joke got a bigger reaction than Lady Gaga's shenanigans, and I include her intentionally belting out the word "shit" during one of her songs. Also, Thompson's Charles Barkley needs to become a permanent correspondent for "WU."
And finally, I think one of my new favorite things is Bobby Moynihan's face. Hilarious.
Here are some video highlights from the evening:
Next week: Drew Barrymore, Regina Spektor.
[Watch episodes and clips of Saturday Night Live and other shows over at SlashControl.]
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on 'Faces of America' and the Beer Summit
Six Reasons Why '24' Has Jumped the You-Know-What
The Super Bowl Commercials: The Best
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-04-2009 @ 3:10PM
Christopher said...
Yes this was a very good episode for SNL. After that disaster last week with Megan Fox, this was 10x better. Hammond's smile as Arnold was hilarious.
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10-04-2009 @ 3:26PM
Bill said...
I hate deep house dish every time. I had been hoping they'd quit, cause it seems like it's been while since the last one.
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10-04-2009 @ 3:29PM
Pingles said...
I look forward to Annie's write-up every week.
Too familiar? Sorry...Ms. Wu's write-up.
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10-04-2009 @ 3:31PM
Val said...
Strong episode. I think they should have utilized Ryan Reynolds more. I think he could have done alot more. Hes a funny guy.
Didn't realize Lady Gaga Had such a beautiful voice. The Acoustic versions of her songs were really nice.. I would buy that cd if she released it.
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10-05-2009 @ 3:04AM
Alon said...
I thought the funniest sketch of the night was the Norwegian actors doing "Law and Order". It was well-written.
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10-04-2009 @ 4:47PM
chaosrain said...
Seriously?!? You didn't even cover the cluster f*#k that was Lady Gaga's second performance. The Saturn-ring device was neat, until it became hilarious. First, it clocked her in the head during the performance (the recoil when it caught her forehead was priceless). Then, she couldn't even sit down to the piano with it on. It's like nobody actually tried the thing out to see if she could actually play piano with it on. It kept hitting the microphone and covering her face. I know that she's supposed to be outlandish and out there, but that outfit took it from weird to downright comical. Too funny...by far the best part of the show.
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10-04-2009 @ 7:24PM
Jojee said...
I missed that! I re-watched and it was pretty funny. No rehearsal? I respect her that she has a beautiful voice, original and talented...but it was a STRANGE second performance.
The whole show fell flat for me.
10-05-2009 @ 12:53PM
makb said...
I agree - Lady Gaga's 2nd song number was the funniest thing in the whole episode - we could not stop laughing at that outfit - how does she expect anyone to take her music (which is pretty good) seriously after appearing on national tv in that getup.
10-04-2009 @ 6:48PM
scourge said...
Haters. I can honestly say that I've never had any interest in Lady Gaga, none what so ever. It's just not my type of music. But damn, after watching her on SNL I was impressed. That little woman puts on a hell of a performance. Super crazy and an amazing voice. I was really knocked back.
She's great and the piano bit was wild, she's really talented. Great voice.
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10-05-2009 @ 1:41AM
shadowracer said...
I was impressed by Gaga's showmanship, reminded me a bit of Prince...not as talented of course.
See what a difference it makes when you get someone that can act to host? Ryan Reynolds won me over after picking so many diverse roles...even if the director of Wolverine is crap.
That might have been the best Lonely Island video/song yet. I watched it 6 times in a row and couldn't stop laughing. I wish it would have kept going with him throwing more specific things on the ground.
Every skit was solid. I love Keenan, he's hilarious and this isn't a knock against him...I think it's actually funny, but every accent he does still sounds like Keenan.
Oh and the Arnie impersonation was terrible, half the audience probably could have done better.
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10-05-2009 @ 11:07AM
Martin said...
Did you happen to notice they still gave Slate roles, just not lines :D... guess thats what happens when you drop an f-bomb. She was pretty great though and glad even though the biker chick sketch was lame, they took it easy on her.
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10-05-2009 @ 11:39AM
Jimmy said...
Ryan really impressed me. I had never seen him in anything before, so I was pleasantly surprised.
I'm also surprised no one has mentioned the cold open. It was A+ writing and refreshing to see after the fellating Obama received week in and week out last season.
I wouldn't give the rest of the episode an A -- Deep House Dish, really? -- but it was better than most of what we were served last year.
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10-05-2009 @ 4:53PM
tingrin87 said...
imo, the Family Feud was a horrific sketch.
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10-05-2009 @ 6:44PM
Daune said...
I thought the Family Feud was a great idea. Made me so uncomfortable. Heder was suitably creepy. Just might have been too soon, but that's the kind of stuff SNL should be throwing out there! Was really hard to get past not even attempting an English accent for Richard Dawson, though! Come on!
SNL on the GROUUUND was the highlight for me.
And, the Eeyore story made me cry. That's not EVEN funny.
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10-09-2009 @ 5:23PM
Ford said...
What happened to the old format where you reviewed each individual sketch? I feel like this blog has gotten progressively lazier as it goes along (first all the sketches were rated, then all the sketches were just reviewed, then just the hulu sketches were reviewed, now it's just general impressions....). Sorry, I just miss the old format--it was a lot more fun to read.
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11-10-2009 @ 1:03PM
Shauna Brookman said...
What a hot man you are. I would have given thousands of dollars to have you run naked into me in your movie with Sandra Bullock. Why is Real Men Love 2 Cuddle asking Ms, Bullock to be a spokesperson for there tee shirts? I understand that they are raising monies for the homeless but Ryan, should be the first choice. (He is ALL MAN) I picture it now you on the couch with your Real Men Love 2 Cuddle tee with dinner on the stove for me and a glass of wine. Wow, what a vision that would be. Trey Noran sign this man up ASAP
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