‘Saturday Night Live’ review: ‘The Hobbit: Middle Earth,’ Sump’n Claus, Martin Freeman highlights
Tonight’s episode of “Saturday Night Live” was something that brought quite a bit to the table in terms of potential. We love Martin Freeman, and have for ages. We also knew that he could go comedy … but live comedy?
While there were not too many huge laughs during the early going this weekend, one of the reasons we did still enjoy this show was because at least the majority of the sketches were mildly funny. We had no serious duds, and that is hard to achieve.
CIA Cold Open – Well, we all saw this one coming. Another political cold open set at a talk show. This was weak, mostly because it’s just getting so tired to see a current-events sketch in this spot. It would have needed to be a home run to work.
Martin Freeman monologue – Charming, not entirely hilarious, but a good way to see Kate McKinnon’s take on Maggie Smith. We were hoping for a Benedict Cumberbatch cameo, and maybe it is thanks to that we felt slightly let down.
Sump’n Claus – Really ridiculous, but also really enjoyable. While we’re not going to say that it was particularly hilarious, we found ourselves smiling the entire time that Kenan Thompson was giving money to everyone at Christmastime.
Wedding Objections – Mostly in the same vein of the rest of the show to this date. There were some funny lines in this sketch, but once again, McKinnon completely stole the show as an old woman who came in off of the street.
The Office: Middle Earth – Maybe it did last for a little bit too long, but for the most part, we really enjoyed everything that the sketch did. A great idea for one, amplified further by great bits from Freeman and a scene-stealing turn by Taran Killam as Gollum.
Right Side of the Bed – We don’t really get this sketch, since the whole point of it seemed to be watching Freeman dance at inappropriate times. Okay…
Christmas Mass Spectacular – Both very funny, and also for the most part true to what happens at a Christmas mass. Ever little moment of this made us laugh, even if Freeman was not even remotely the focus of it.
Weekend Update – For the most part, we laughed a good bit through this week’s edition. The Sasheer Zamata segment was a little flat at times, but Cecily Strong’s big as a stereotypical woman in a male-driven comedy was pretty much perfect. It was a slight twist on the Daisy Rose character. As for Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy character, he was funny this time … mostly because it’s been a while since we have seen him.
Ketchup assembly – Probably the weakest sketch of the night, mostly because it didn’t really go anywhere … and had a pretty disappointing ending to go along with it.
Sax player – Once again, strange. It definitely felt tonight that most of the good sketches were used during the early portion of the show.
Waterbed warehouse – Not a bad conclusion to the show by any means! If nothing else, Aidy Bryant really sold this with her performance of some various “jingles” about these waterbeds.
Overall, this show was certainly uneven. It was a heck of a lot funnier at the start than the conclusion, and we do with that it was a little more involved for Freeman. Also, no “Sherlock” mention at all? Seriously? Episode Grade: B-.
What did you think about this episode? Share with a comment, and head over here to see and read about some other highlights from this season! Also, sign up now to get some further TV updates on all we cover via our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: NBC.)