Gerard Butler/Shakira - Review

Cold Open - Vast improvement on the last few weeks. Here Dwayne Johnson reprised his The Rock Obama character & finally we saw a semblance of comedy in the cold open. Of course the premise was that Obama was very mad with the Senators namely Olympia Snowe, Max Baucus & someone else. I liked seeing Jenny Slate with a starring role - note the resemblance between Senator Snow & Slate is uncanny. Perhaps the caveman shtick got a little old, but nice open.

8/10



Monologue - Nice open. Love seeing an old song & dance in the monologue. Lot of fun & Gerard Butler really highlighted his lack of singing ability!

7.5/10



Grand Hoochie Skank Rose - Oh dear, are we in 1995? Because if we're not, then a sketch called Grand Hoochie Skank Rose has no place on the show.

4/10



ESPN: Randy & Greg -So I know a lot of people really liked the character of Greg. I'm not really feeling this one, but nobody can deny what a tour-de-force performance Bill Hader gives as Greg the sports host who so is an alien, no matter what his co-host Randy says. I did like the ending with Greg charging the camera, but overall not really my thing.

6/10



Beauty And The Beast - I liked this one a lot & thought it was far better and funnier than the Aladdin/Jasmine sketch from the Rosario Dawson-hosted show. The premise was that The Beast (Butler) thought that he was the Beauty because Belle (Wiig) didn't have a big enough booty. I loved Belle's nasally singing voice and the household objects, particularly Lumiere who despite being a candelabra does menorahs sometimes. Nicely executed & original.

7.5/10



Weekend Update - I loved WU if only for Two Gays Guys from New Jersey which killed. Major kudos to Fred Armisen & Bill Hader who are naturally stationed at Fort Dix - oh! I have to admit that I did like the Colorado Balloon talking to Seth, and the little bit with Gerard Butler speaking Scottish lingo was pretty well-done. With jokes this week, I thought they were really sharp and hilarious.

Favourites -

"I think we've finally reached the point in our society where 'celebrity' just means 'mammal.'"

"Jokes on them, we don't have $2 million."

Snow warned Thursday that while she crossed party lines to vote for the new health care bill in committee, that doesn't mean that she will vote for it when it reaches the Senate floor, adding 'Come on guys, chase me!'"



Kristen Wiig's bit made me laugh but the premise was a little too thin. Also, did she lose it about half way through when she was turning her head? And "Thanks for coming." Yeah, I'm immature.



8/10



300 - Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Wow SNL really surprised me with a sketch suggesting how truly gay 300 was. (In case you can't tell I'm being sarcastic). The only words that spring to mind are "obvious" and "easy". Only person who made me laugh at all was Jason Sudeikis and that was down to his delivery not what he was saying.

Best line - "Are you asking for yourself or a friend?"

5.5/10



What Up With That? - So this was hilarious if only for Jason Sudeikis dancing (boy has some major dancing skills - anyone else remember The First Person in The History of The World to Dance?) The premise was that Kenan Thompson was the host of a current affairs/issues show but he was a soul singer that could not stop singing - ooh wee! Now that song is one of the most catchy songs I've ever heard and has been in my head ever since. Jenny Slate & Nasim Pedrad were back-up singers while Bill Hader, Abby Elliott & James Franco (OMG, hi James Franco - those pants are weird but your hair is mighty fine!) were the guests. Gerard Butler played Kenan's white counterpart and Kristen Wiig came in dancing with a tennis racket, I think? But this was all about Jason Sudeikis & his fly dancing, and Kenan Thompson for a tour-de-force musical performance.
8/10



"Thomas!" - I don't know what this was. Admittedly, something about the way Wiig says "Thomas" as she's exiting a room is hilarious to me but this sketch must have been written at 4am. The cottage cheese. the bit with the pen? I don't even know.
4/10

Daveheart - Wow, really playing up to Butler's Scottishness. Typical last sketch of the night. This was Braveheart's cowardly brother Daveheart who is basically a major wuss. And that's hilarious? I don't know.
5/10

OVERALL -
Gerard Butler exceeded my expectations, and he seemed like a really good sport. I would have liked to have seen him as the star of more sketches - kinda felt like a Ryan Reynolds situation again. I feel the show was more grounded this week and so I'm hoping that this means the writers are getting back into the flow of things. Glad to see Bill Hader get more airtime this week as with and I have to give credit to Kenan Thompson who successfully anchored two of the better sketches of the night. People complain about Kenan - indeed I have - but he is a consummate performer and a career in hosting surely awaits after his tenure on SNL.
Not seeing enough of Slate, Pedrad & Elliott, so I'm really hoping that they get their chance to shine sometime soon.

Better show than last week's but still a way to go until we reach the heights of last season.
7/10

Stray Observations -

• It's really great seeing you James Franco, but umm, why are you here?
• The blooper with Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon & Sean Hayes - hilarious! Bloopers every week!
• No Andy Samberg!
• If Beauty and The Beast is ever revived on Broadway, Bill Hader needs to play Lumiere.
• Umm, you've got some enormous man thighs Gerard Butler.