Blake Lively/Rihanna - Review

Cold Open - This saw the Salahis (not the real Salahis) interrupt Obama's speech on the economy in Philadelphia. The entire sketch was basically Bobby & Kristen posing for pictures with the secret service, Joe Biden etc. Pretty one-note & went on a little too long for what it was. Also, Fred - have you just given up with the Obama impression?
6/10

Monologue: Out comes Blake Lively in a pretty red dress talking about how she met the Muppets - cue The Muppets. I really liked Jason's Fozzy Bear impression and Kristen's rendition of Hark, The Herald Angels Sing as Beaker. Aside from that though, it really seemed like an attempt to overshadow Blake Lively.
6/10

Swine Fever: I don't care what people say - I love Swine Fever. Not so keen on repeating commercials, but at least it wasn't Grand Hoochie Skank Rose, right?
n/a


ESPN Ladies Bowling - I wasn't too into this one the first time during Drew Barrymore's show, but at least it was new then. This time it played really lame. Maybe it's just me, but I just don't find Vagisil puns that funny. I will say that I do enjoy Jason Sudeikis and Will Forte working together. They share a really nice rapport that elevates even lame, gross-out sketches like this one. Side note - is SNL obsessed with Gene Rayburn?! You might remember in that Grease sketch from the Christopher Walken show a while back, they changed the lyric "Greased Lightning" to "Gene Rayburn". In this sketch, one of the bowlers surnames was Rayburn-Gene. What is it with Gene Rayburn?
5.5/10


The Situation Room (Tiger Woods): To be honest, it just seemed like a wasted opportunity. You have the biggest story of the week, and this is the best you can do with it? Not only was Kenan's impression terrible (sorry, Kenan) but what was Blake Lively's accent? I did enjoy Jason's impression of Wolf Blitzer complete with mumbling and Tiger's written statement that had pleas for help written on the back, but all in all it was a disappointing take on the week's big story.
6/10


Digital Short - Rihanna and Shy Ronnie: So I actually enjoyed this one. It was Rihanna singing a song with Shy Ronnie who, you guessed it, is shy & won't rap in front of her. It doesn't sound so good written down, but Andy's mannerisms and uber-quiet voice killed me, and Rihanna killed also, especially for someone who was completely silent in the promos. Does anyone else think that Andy Samberg should just bite the bullet and pursue a career in rap? It seems like it's his life goal.
7/10

Gossip Girl - Staten Island: As a concept it was funny, but it was so poorly executed, I don't think I laughed once. I smirked when I heard the Gossip Girl voiceover but aside from that, it was awful. I'll give props to Blake Lively for a convincing accent, but accents alone weren't enough to salvage this.
4/10

Underground Rock Festival: One of the highlights of the night for me, and a diamond in the rough for sure. So it was basically a commercial for a super-underground rock festival mocking this actual infomercial. It featured Jason Sudeikis & Nasim Pedrad, both of whom did terrific jobs. The band names made me laugh as did the Ass Dan memorial picture, and the super cheap-looking graphics. All in all, great work on the part of everyone involved.

"And you know that there are gonna be mimes running all around this bitch!" Quote of my life?
8/10



Weekend Update: Another definite highlight. Sharp jokes from Meyers, and great guest appearances from Abby Elliott as Brittany Murphy and Kenan Thompson as Bill Cosby. Abby's impression skills rival Bill Hader's and her Brittany Murphy was actually uncanny.
"Hi Seth, it's great to be he-uh, hosting Saturday Night Live!"
Kenan redeemed himself from his earlier Tiger Wood impersonation with a top-notch Cosby impression, where we were treated to a sampling of Bill Cosby rapping.
8/10

Virginiaca and Daughter Shopping: Oh lord, not Virginiaca! I have no words.
n/a


UPS Commercial 1: Another great commercial! This was a take-off of those UPS commercials with the guy in the "lady wig". Bill killed as per usual and it was great send-up of those ubiquitous commercials.
8/10

Late Night w/ Chris Hansen: Another one of those botched executions - see what I did there, eh? The premise was there, the impressions were there, but the writing/jokes were completely AWOL. Tip to writers - don't depend on an impression/beloved character to save a sketch. If a general idea/jokes aren't there, don't write it!
5/10


UPS Commercial 2: I think I actually liked this one better than the first one. A basic continuation in the series, and another great send-up of the UPS ads.
8/10

NASA - Potato Chips: I read a Ken Tucker review of the show in which he likened this sketch to There Will Be Blood, and I can't help but agree. The sketch was completely absurd and screamed Will Forte, with the premise being a guy being interviewed for a position as an astronaut at NASA. The interviewer urges him not to eat a potato chip while he's gone, but of course the interviewee does & all hell breaks loose as a result. Not only were Jason Sudeikis, Blake Lively & Will Forte completely committed to their parts and the bizarre premise, but it was hilarious as a result, and was by far the best live sketch of the night. It culminated in Jason Sudeikis' character regurgitating the potato chip, and normally I'm not one for gross-out humour, but it was executed and timed so well, that it was really funny.
9/10

Overall -
Overall, this was a show dominated by cast performances. Blake Lively was required to do very little but what she did, she did respectably well. She didn't seem out of her comfort zone like January Jones but nor was she completely at home like Taylor Swift or Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It's kinda telling though that the musical guest was given more to do in the digital short, and killed, while Blake Lively was given very little to do in the whole show. In general, the writing was lazy and sub-par and not much better than that of the January Jones show, redeemed only by Weekend Update, taped sketches & that final sketch. With the influx of new writers this season - Hannibal Buress, Christine Nangle, Jillian Bell, Jessi Klein, Ryan Perez, Michael Patrick O'Brien - you would think that they would depend less on old characters/premises (Virginiaca, CNN, talk shows), but it seems like these are becoming the very foundations of this season. Sketches like NASA - Potato Chips are what the writers should be aiming for and also, the cold opens do not always have to be political, particularly if it's been a relatively uneventful week. Remember when SNL would open with a Will Ferrell/Cheri Oteri cheerleaders sketch? I want to see a variety of cold opens!

MVP of the show - I have to say Jason Sudeikis. From his Fozzy Bear in the monologue to the ESPN sketch to Wolf Blitzer to Philip Seymour Hoffman to Kickspit Underground Rock Festival to that final sketch, he killed pretty much everything he was given to do. Close second - Will Forte.

Overall score - 6.5/10

Stray Observations -

• No Jenny Slate?
• Has anybody else noticed that Bill Hader mouths "Hi Maggie & Hannah" at the goodbyes? It is the most lovely thing ever.
• Next week - Taylor Lautner. Let's hope he shares the same enthusiasm as Taylor Swift.

Thoughts on Blake Lively

Post your thoughts on what you thought of the show after it's aired!

Good, bad, ugly? Best sketch, worst sketch? Did Blake Lively exceed my inital expectations (i.e that she would bomb)?

Comment, comment, comment!

Maya Rudolph Welcomes Baby Girl

Congrats to SNL alum Maya Rudolph who gave birth to a baby girl, Lucille, on November 6! This is Maya's second daughter with director Paul Thomas Anderson.
Congrats!

Tareq & Michelle Salahi to Appear on SNL?

You know that couple, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, who gatecrashed a White House party and have allegedly been cast in Real Housewives of DC? They might just be appearing on SNL tonight as themselves in the cold open!

The Washington Post is reporting that the cold open tonight will feature President Obama giving a speech to his cabinet when he's interrupted by the Salahis who have gatecrashed the speech.

Not a bad premise, I guess? What do you guys think?

Blake Lively/Rihanna Promo

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

I'm On A Boat - Grammy Nominated?!?

What!

The Lonely Island and T-Pain have been nominated for a mother____in' Grammy, y'all! In the Best Rap Collaboration category!

While I'm so glad that the Grammy Academy (or whoever is responsible for the Grammys) have chosen to h0nour The Lonely Island in this way, I can't help but majorly smirk while writing this post!

Congrats, dudes!

Blake Lively Promos

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Jenny Slate Joins Twitter!

Hey SNL/Twitter fans, guess what!?

Jenny Slate has jumped on the Twitter bandwagon! You can check out what she's thinking here at -

www.twitter.com/jennyslate25

Here's a sampling of her Twitter thoughts -

"I love nasim pedrad! Ladies for ladies! Bras! Tampons! Big huge pads! "

"Waiting for a bikini wax is like waiting to get slapped in the face. It's also just super annoying¬ something I should be sharing online"

"Dear Jenny Slate: spacing out about whether or not Muppets wear underpants is a waste of time. Go to sleep & wake up when u r a grown up. "

Go ahead & follow Jenny!

SNL Hires Jessi Klein

Well-regarded NY comedian Jessi Klein (or Janeane Garofalo's doppelganger) has been hired mid-season by SNL to join the writing staff! You may know Klein from her appearances on The Showbiz Show with David Spade, Best Week Ever & Michael and Michael Have Issues. A quick browse through her IMDb credits shows that girl has worked as a writer on Samantha Who, The Showbiz Show & M&MHI. She also worked as "executive in charge of production" on shows like Chapelle's Show and Stella. In other words, Jessi Klein has a lot of street cred.
This brings to 6 the number of female writers on SNL - with Jessi Klein joining Emily Spivey, Jessica Conrad, Marika Sawyer, Christine Nangle and Jillian Bell to form the most oestrogenic writing staff on late-night television!

Good luck, Klein!

Bill Hader Discusses What's Up With That & Taylor Swift

Maybe "discuss" is an exaggeration, but he explains how Mindy Kaling came to be on the show & describes James Franco as a friend of the show!
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/12/01/snls-bill-hader-on-working-with-taylor-swift-on-firelight-scoring-james-franco/

Abby Elliott NY Times Article

Check out this neat article profiling the Elliott comedy dynasty (Bob Elliott, Chris Elliott & Abby Elliott).
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/magazine/29Elliott-t.html?ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=all

Enjoy!

Fred Armisen on Late Night!

Tune into Late Night tonight where Fred Armisen will join Jimmy Fallon for some chat and laughs! (Do I sound like an announcer or what?)

Video posted here tomorrow.

Live From New York It's...

Not surprisingly, it's not Jon Bon Jovi & Derek Jeter per Entertainment2U's suggestions!

Instead it's... (drumroll please)


December 12 - Taylor Lautner/Bon Jovi
Decmber 19- James Franco/Muse

Not getting off that teeny-bopper wagon, no Sir! Yes, New Moon's Jacob Black or Taylor Lautner as he's known in real life (bleurgh real life, yay New Moon!) will host December 12. Why? I'm guessing 'cause Robert Pattinson refused.

December 19 will see James Franco host for the second time in as many seasons. He must have made a hell of an impression on them if he's been invited back so soon, don't forget he appeared on What's Up With That? already this season. Did anyone think he was THAT good a host last time around? I mean, I love me a bit of James Franco, and he's a terrific actor, but I didn't think he was so phenomenal that he should merit being invited back so soon.

Pretty excited for Muse though, should be an interesting Christmas show!

What do you think? Excited for these shows? Think Lorne & co. could have selected better hosts? Comment, comment, comment!

JGL/DMB Review

This week saw an energetic puppy host Saturday Night Live. Oh sorry, I mean this week Joseph Gordon-Levitt of GI Joe & (500) Days of Summer fame host. He certainly wasn't short of energy, enthusiasm & excitement but how did he really fare? Let's check it out.

Cold Open - So, this was a press conference with President Barack Obama & Chinese President Hu Jintao. The first section was a little yawn-worthy as basically Fred Armisen was saying things that Barack Obama would say i.e not funny things. However once Nasim Pedrad began interpreting Hu Jintao (Will Forte), it began to get much funnier. "Will you kiss me? Not as good as the Fox Cold Open from a few weeks ago, but pretty entertaining as far it goes.
7/10

Monologue - Well, best monologue of the season and actually as far as the season goes, we've had some pretty decent monologues. Here, Joseph Gordon-Levitt recreates the classic "Make 'Em Laugh" dance number from Singin' In The Rain. Now, I know some people were like "Boo! It's not as good as Donald O'Connor!" and it wasn't, but what is? But JGL did all of this LIVE and in ONE TAKE. It's a pretty amazing feat & the boy can dance for sure! I know it left me with a big stupid grin and pumped me up for the rest of the show. Only gripe - why was Bobby Moynihan even there? Unnecessary!
9/10

Palin 2012 - What can I say? Loved it! Anything that incorporates the dumbest movie ever with Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck is awesome. Not saying that Sarah Palin as president would cause an apocalypse, but y'know. Also, the clip of Glenn Beck they used was the most Glenn Beck clip ever.
8/10

Secret Word - What, really? You had to go all SNL Season 35 on us again, and have a super lame game show sketch. Okay, it wasn't awful. Kristen Wiig's character did make me laugh, at least initially and I liked what Jenny Slate was doing. JGL's character was kinda creepy, and not in a funny way, just a South American way. The concept was two contestants didn't understand a game where people had to guess a word. Looks even worse when I see it written down.
5/10

Digital Short - Okay, so this was a digital short in the bizarre vein. Kenan plays a guy with a red wig, who Andy thinks is Reba McEntire, despite all the signs pointing to the fact that "Reba" is a man. I literally don't even know how they come up with this stuff. So, it wasn't hilarious but the song was ridiculously catchy and Kenan's facial expressions and Andy's general obliviousness made me laugh. I actually really like the chemistry between Kenan and Andy, so I guess any sketch that highlights that is good, or at least okay.
6.5/10

The Mellow Show- So, we've seen this one done before. Jack Johnson (Andy Samberg hosts a mellow show with other mellow artists such as Dave Matthews (Bill Hader) and Jason Mraz (JGL). First half felt very old, though the "freaky fiddle player" from DMB made me laugh and JGL did a great impression of Jason Mraz. Who really surprised me though was the real Dave Matthews who did a super impression of Ozzy Osbourne and made fun of himself in the process.
7/10

What's Up With That? - This seems to be the star sketch of Season 35. There is something about What's Up With That that is so joyous and hilarious that I can actually overlook the fact that there's not tons of comedy going on. This edition saw Al Gore, Mindy Kaling and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsay Buckingham (Bill Hader) join DeAndre Cole to discuss the issues of the day. Mindy Kaling was left silent but pretty for the sketch, but Al Gore managed to get a line or two and a few bewildered gazes in there. JGL came out as Klaus armed with a keytar and Bobby Moynihan came out as a tap-dancing wrestler. Will Forte also came out and danced with a clown wig on. In short, the whole spectacle makes me super happy and Kenan kills every time.
9/10

Weekend Update - Very short this week, I'm guessing to make room for What's Up With That? Jokes were decent. I enjoyed the one about the pardoned turkey and the kosher soup kitchen. Al Gore dropped by to announce that he's trying a new method of getting people to care about the environment - being crazy. Gore has a pretty decent comedy timing and manages to make me feel guilty for not caring about the environment! Nice job!
7.5/10

Thanksgiving Dinner - Remember when this was on the Hugh Laurie episode and it was about Christmas dinner, and I reviewed it by saying "This seemed to run on a such a flat premise, it had me a little confused." Well, they brought it back! Basically, it's a dysfunctional family sitting down to dinner and being super angry with one another. It's more uncomfortable than funny. The one part I did laugh at was "Lot of traffic on the way here. There must be a concert". Other than that, it fell completely flat. How did it even make it out of dress rehearsal?
4/10

Woman To Woman - Yet another talk show sketch where Fred Armisen played the producer forced to take over for a female-oriented talk show due to the regular host being sick. Thing is, he's basically deaf and in no position to be dispensing advice to women. Okay, so thinking about it, I actually kind of enjoyed it. Fred did a great job as the obnoxious replacement host, and the girls did a good job too, particularly Jenny Slate who was wonderfully endearing as the girl who couldn't achieve an orgasm with her boyfriend. "Go to the flower store, get a bunch of flowers, give them to your husband and you say 'I'm sorry!"
7/10

Say Anything - Another delightfully random sketch to close the show. Here JGL plays the John Cusack character from Say Anything and Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Wiig play his ex's neighbours who are curious as to why he's standing on her front lawn playing Peter Gabriel. It was a nice premise and pretty well-executed. Jason did a great job.
7/10

OVERALL -
Like Taylor Swift, Joseph Gordon-Levitt came to SNL with an uncanny level of enthusiasm which served him well. He didn't get as many starring roles as I would have liked, but he fit in seamlessly with the cast and seemed to get on well with them. He might not have had an enormous capacity for comedy, but the guy is an out-and-out performer, and someone needs to put him in a musical pronto. I'm pretty sure everyone was aware of how badly last week's show sucked and that's why the pulled out all the stops. From getting Al Gore to appear, to having possibly the liveliest sketch ever - it's okay SNL, we forgive you. Just don't let it happen again.

I'm gonna give MVP of the show to Kenan Thompson for anchoring What's Up With That? In a season where SNL is not achieving the levels of greatness it once reached, Kenan along with Jason Sudiekis has been consistently bringing his A-game, and I feel like both of their contributions can sometimes go unnoticed. Rest assured guys, I recognise and appreciate your level of performance and commitment each week.

Overall - 7.5/10

Next week - Repeat of Gerard Butler/Shakira
December 5 - Blake Lively/Rihanna - oi.

Blake Lively/Rihanna

So, I knew that Entertainment2U Twitter-er was totes lying about the upcoming hosts (the fact that there was no other info whatsoever was a giveaway.)
So, instead of Jake Gyllenhaal, we get ... Blake Lively?

What?!

For those of you who don't even know who Blake Lively is (and I'm assuming a number of you don't) she's from Gossip Girl. Yeah, Gossip Girl. And as a former Gossip Girl fan, let me tell you, she's not even the best person in Gossip Girl. (That would be Leighton Meester).
You might remember that she appeared in a digital short with James Franco last year, where she said the word "penis". Edgy!




I don't know guys. I just don't hold out high hopes for her.
What do you guys think? Comic potential or bomb potential?