Taylor Swift Sketch-by-Sketch Review

This week saw country starlet Taylor Swift take to the stage as both host & musical guest. Let's see how she fared.



Cold Open - Finally! A Fox News sketch! How the folks at Fox News aren't the subject of the cold open every week is beyond me, but we did get to see them this week & it was fitfully hilarious! Kristen Wiig played Greta Van Susteren impeccably well, while Bobby Moynihan, Will Forte, Bill Hader & Fred Armisen played Karl Rove, Britt Hume, Shepard Smith and the lone Democrat respectively. The topic for discussion? The end of the Obama era, of course. It was all very funny, but what really upped the ante of hilarity was Jason Sudeikis as Glenn Beck. The resemblance is almost uncanny and Jason does a terrific job as Beck particularly the walking off camera while nodding incessantly bit. Great start to the show.

8/10



Monologue - So, the adorable Taylor Swift opened her show with an adorable monologue song entitled "Monologue Song (La La La)". So, while it wasn't hilarious, it was so ridiculously catchy that all is forgiven. I did like the mentions of Joe Jonas and Taylor Lautner, and rejoiced at the fact that Kanye West was barely mentioned at all. Nice start.

8/10



Swine Fever - Finally, a commercial parody that made me laugh. I really liked the premise of the sketch and I thought that it was realistic yet ridiculous enough to laugh at (unlike say the ghetto champagne thing from a few weeks ago).

7.5/10



The View - So, this was yet another installment of The View starring Taylor Swift as Kate Gosselin and introducing Nasim Pedrad's impression of Barbara Walters. Not a lot to say on this one. I usually enjoy these ones, but the presence of Kate Gosselin kinda ruined it for me and the fact that Taylor's impression was pretty weak only served to further stilt it. However, props to Nasim who along with Kenan anchored the sketch. Was her Walters as good as Michaela Watkins'? No, but she did a decent enough job and had some of the best lines.

6/10



SNL Digital Short - Loved it! Best Twilight parody yet? I think so. Shot brilliantly and the make-up was terrific. Bill Hader did an awesome job (first of many awesome jobs tonight) and I definitely think this was the best digital short of the season.

8/10



Hollywood Dish - So this was sort of a take-off of shows like E! and Access Hollywood, and starred Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig as vapid celebrity reporters chatting to Taylor Swift. As someone who lists these shows as a guilty pleasure, I thought this sketch was dead-on. Bill Hader, in particular was hilarious and his spit-take was perhaps the best spit-take I've ever borne witness to. I can testify that Ellen joining the judging panel of American Idol is at the epicentre of these presenters' minds. Taylor did a good job here, and I particularly loved the end where they showed her laughing maniacally.

8/10



TRAAAPD - So this was another commercial or PSA, this time about dangerous parent drivers. Taylor Swift played a headgear-wearing teenager Samantha Samuels who wants to raise awareness about irresponsible drivers. The sketch basically featured tons of scenarios in which parents can drive dangerously i.e driving while lecturing, driving while getting a tissue from the back seat. While I could relate to some of the scenarios, I thought that the sketch was a little lame on the whole.
6/10

Weekend Update - So here's something weird. I don't remember a single joke from Weekend Update. Usually I remember like three ones that made me laugh a lot. Maybe it's because it's Monday or maybe it's the calibre of the jokes, but I remember exactly zero. I remember laughing, but I don't remember at what. The one thing that really stands out for me is Abby Elliott's appearance as the insufferable Sarah McLachlan, and of course Really!?!, which by Really?!?'s standards was kinda weak. Not good WU. Not good.
6/10

Penelope - So here's a Wiig character that I am over. Penelope's at a wedding reception, Penelope gets uber-competitive, turns out Penelope is telling the truth - you get the gist. One moment I did laugh at was when Penelope ran in between the groom and bride and held both their hands. Other than that, pretty weak.
5.5/10

Scared Straight - So this was a complete deja-vu for me, down to the cast breaking at the end. They broke at all the same moments as the Tracy Morgan one (which was funnier), and the jokes were all pretty much the same. ("I'm pretty sure that's a movie!" "Sit yo' ass down!") This was probably the worst sketch for Taylor in that she could not play a man. The jail rape innuendos are kinda growing old now too. I will say that Kenan always does a great job here, but maybe it's time to put this sketch to sleep?
5.5/10

Roommates - So this was nice and refreshing, and a really nice vehicle for Nasim & Taylor. They played roommates who are pretty much obsessed with one another, much to the detriment of Nasim's boyfriend, played by Andy Samberg. The thing I loved was the big spiel that the word "hey" inspired. "BRACKABRACKABRACKABRACKABRACK". The girls did really well here, particularly Nasim, and Andy did well as the exasperated boyfriend.
7.5/10

Bunny Business - Is it weird that this was my absolute favourite of the night? I love impression-oriented sketches and this made my night. From Fred Armisen's Randy Newman, to Taylor Swift's Shakira (high-larious!), to Abby Elliott's Christina Aguilera and Bill Hader's Eddie Vedder (which actually made me howl! Anyone with an Into The Wild soundtrack will no how uncanny it was!) to Samberg's Adam Duritz to Kenan's Jennifer Hudson - everyone brought their a-game and for a final sketch, this one was pretty darned good.
9/10

Overall -
So, do I think that Taylor Swift is a terrifically talented comic actress? No. But do I think she did the best job of anyone this season? Yes! She brought an infectious enthusiasm and overall game-ness which has been absent from the other hosts this season, and which improved the quality of the show and the cast's performances. One thing I have to remember is that Taylor Swift is NINETEEN and NOT an actress by day, and she fit in so seamlessly with the cast and was a complete pro.
I feel like all the cast did a great job, but MVP of the episode has to go to Bill Hader who was just hysterical in all the sketches and elevated them to a higher level. More of this every week, writers!
Props to Nasim Pedrad too, who showed me why she's there. After her Charlyne Yi impression sounded the exact same as her Kathy Griffin impression, I was beginning to have my doubts, but girl proved me wrong!
A conspicuous lack of Jenny Slate here - was she sick or just not included?
Overall, best show of the season thus far (just ahead of Ryan Reynolds') and hopefully it signals an improvement for the rest of the season to come.

7.5/10

NEXT WEEK - Mad Men's January Jones takes to the stage. Should be interesting!