Seth Rogen/Phoenix - Review

I'll start this review by saying that I had high expectations for the show, given that it's Seth Rogen and that we hadn't had a show in quite some time. Were my expectations reached? Not quite.

Cold Open : This basically had Barack Obama (Armisen) picking and choosing what companies would survive in the economic crisis. e.g Colgate - you're okay. Crest - no. Got a few giggles from me for the sheer randomness of some of the products, but it was a thin concept to begin with that couldn't really sustain an entire sketch.
5/10

Monologue: In comparison to other monologues we've had this season e.g Dwayne Johnson's sing & dance, Jack McBrayer's appearance in Alec Baldwin's, cast of Entourage at NPH's - this one sucked. The comparisons between Paul Blart: Mall Cop & Observe and Report have been done to death, as has the questions from the audience format.
5/10

The Fast and the Bi-Curious - Yes it may have been immature and silly, but it made me laugh. Everything from Rogen & Samberg's pitch-perfect breathy voices to Abby Elliott's hot girl on the sidelines.
7/10

Save The Funnies - Just wasn't working for me. Save Broadway was hilarious. Save The Funnies was about as funny as the comic strips they were parodying. Fred Armisen's personification of Sudoku made me laugh, as did Bill Hader's impression of Archie. Other than that, I was pretty bored and bemused.

"Cuff you" - that did make me laugh.
5/10

La Rivista Della Televisione - One of my favourite recurring sketches. And anytime Bill gets to incorporate his impressions into a sketch, it's fine by me. Favourite parts of this sketch:
-Bearman references
-Will Forte catching Rogen in a net at the end
-Armisen taking off his glasses when Rogen referred to him
-Bobby Moynihan's questions about how Rogen's parentage
9/10

Like A Boss - I loved this song when I got Incredibad, but I don't think the short really brought out the funny. I get that they probably didn't have a lot of time to make it, but perhaps they should have left this one on the CD instead of bringing it to TV. Also, the song doesn't work with the cussing bleeped out.
6/10

Different Voices - Best of the night for me. Simple concept but the three guys really brought it. The sketch was filled with impressions as obscure as the lead singer of B-52's (which was SPOT-ON) and Gizmo. Also, props to Samberg who I would not associate with impressions or accents, but was pretty awesome and did a killer Scottish accent.
9/10

Weekend Update - WU had been pretty weak by WU's standards in the past few episodes. To my relief, it was back where it should be this week. Strong jokes, including an extended one about Barack Obama & The Queen. Blagojevich was a little tired though, although I loved The Undercovernor idea. Jean K. Jean is a favourite of mine, but the European references just weren't up to scratch this week. "Bitches from Belgium.." - any sentences that begins with those three words will always make me laugh though.
Angelina Jolie & Madonna's baby-off was enjoyable AND topical, the same of which can't be said for Jolie's previous appearances.
Favourite joke? The one about Kosher tequila in time for cinco de mayo. "'Finally!' said Pablo Goldberg."
8/10

You're The One That I Want: Hearing such a joyful song play while people look like they want to murder you, was funny initially. But then it kept going. And then it transpired that You're The One That I Want was the boss' favourite song. Sketch did not live up to it's seeming potential and had a cop-out ending.
5/10

Milestone High: I gotta say, I liked it. It was spot-on in its mockery of ABC Family style shows where the school basketball captain won't be able to play if he doesn't pass his exam. Samberg was pitch-perfect as the nerd, who simplifies history by putting it into a language that the basketball captain would understand. The pay-off at the end was funny also, where it emerged that the boy was in fact not the captain, and was just very dumb. Also writer John Mulaney narrated this one.
7/10

Clancy T. Baccleratt & Jackie Snad : This sketch basically left me in awe of Will Forte & Kristen Wiig's seemingly boundless energy and dedication. This wasn't as funny as the previous one from the Jonah Hill episode last season, but it had its moments.
"It's like Elvis having sex with Conway Twitty while Dolly Parton watches!"
Also was it just me, or was the sound kinda bad for the vocals?
7/10

The Muppet Bus : Fun sketch that didn't bring as many laughs as it ought to have. I would have liked to have heard more from Fozzy & Michaela Watkins' character whose elaborate costume and make-up seemed like a waste given that she had about four words to say. Perhaps it would have been funnier if there were less Muppets' and the writers didn't focus so much on finding stuff for individual muppets to say.
7/10

Overall: I found this episode to be quite a disappointment. There wasn't enough airtime for every cast member, and Seth Rogen seemed to be playing secondary characters and wasn't given a whole lot of funny stuff to do. We got an overload of Andy Samberg & Bill Hader, while Casey Wilson & Michaela Watkins each got about two lines in the entire episode. I gotta give credit to Abby Elliott though, who is really proving herself as a worthy cast member, and consistently bringing the funny every week.
In conclusion, too many dud sketches this week, and the good ones weren't spectacular.
Phoenix meanwhile knocked it out of the ballpark, and were effin' awesome.
6.5/10

Stray Observations :
-Comedian Dan Mintz wrote an additional sketch. Ooh, I wonder which one?
-Phoenix - best live performance on SNL this year.
-More John Mulaney cameos! That dude needs to be upgraded to featured player next season.