‘Saturday Night Live’ review: The Fault in Our Stars 2, Joan Rivers, Garage and Her, and Sarah Silverman
Tonight, “Saturday Night Live” aired its latest episode, which brought to the table one of the best comedians out there in Sarah Silverman. With that being said, would that translate into a good episode of the show? We’re going to have updates throughout the night, so stay tuned.
Also, come back tomorrow for full videos of everything that happened on the show this weekend, regardless of whether or not they were any good.
The good
The Fault in Our Stars 2 – This was a very funny parody, and one of the show’s best given that it contained a series of great jokes about something that is very hard to spoof in the end: Ebola.
Sarah Silverman monologue – There were times where we were slightly concerned about where this was going, but she for the most part pulled it off. We laughed mostly when Sarah was in some woman’s lap in the audience, and when she sort-of mocked what she was asked to do on the show back when she was a featured player. Still, we wish that she wasn’t quite so muzzled by the show.
Whites – Another funny pre-tape video, even if its point was a little on the silly side. It’s a little edgy (good for late-night), and we liked seeing the cameo from Mike O’Brien as a reminder that the guy is not necessarily gone from the show forever.
Vitamix – This sketch was probably the only real saving grace of the second half of the show. It was a lot like the dog food commercial from last season, at least in that it was completely random, and showed a traditional infomercial-like scene that went downhill very quickly. Silverman and Vanessa Bayer, though, had great chemistry in it.
The bad
Joan Rivers sketch – This was all on Sarah. She flubbed way too many lines, and we feel like this probably was way better in dress rehearsal than it was on the show. As for if this was a particularly kosher sketch for “SNL” to do given Joan’s death, she would have loved it. We just feel like Sarah botched it.
Obama cold open – This was … cute? This is really the only way we know how to describe it. There was quite a bit that worked in here for a light chuckle or two, but to be honest, we really have not found a single Obama sketch hilarious. Regardless of if you like the guy as President, he’s just not ripe for parody.
Supportive Women – Pretty awful, at least in comparison to some other stuff the show has done with this format. Most of these “sketches” were just predictable, and while we’re not going to say they were sexist, they did perpetuate stereotypes.
Weekend Update – There were some funny moments in here, such as the Garage and Her “performance” and also some of the individual jokes. However, that “what words can I say?” bit was terrible, and this felt awfully forced.
Car sketch – There were some funny ideas, like having Adam Levine on board and some good jokes about Sarah’s character as a cheater. Unfortunately, there were once again flubs, but pacing, and an ending that went nowhere.
Obligatory Beck Bennett / Kyle Mooney sketch – Yawn. Not to sound dismissive, but we just don’t get the point of this one. Sometimes, we really love these; we did last week, for example. However, this was just one of the dullest ones we’ve seen.
Overall, hardly a great night for “SNL.” The only thing that gives it a passing grade was the Vitamix bit at the end. Grade: C-.
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Photo: NBC