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amy-schumer-kate-mckinnon-last-call.jpg

Amy Schumer Hosts an Exceptionally Mediocre Mother's Day Episode of 'SNL'

By Dustin Rowles | TV | May 13, 2018 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | May 13, 2018 |


amy-schumer-kate-mckinnon-last-call.jpg

Cold Open — In lieu of a political cold open, the cast of SNL brings out their mothers and they very good-naturedly make fun of their children and talk about how annoying all the political cold opens are. It’s not that funny, but it is sweet and appropriate to the Mother’s Day episode. (Score: 6 out of 10)

Amy Schumer — Having recently gotten married, Amy Schumer’s stand-up comedy evolves from bits about dating to bits about weddings and being newly married. It feels a lot like material she’s working out for the first time with an SNL audience. It’s fine, but it reminds me of that line in Almost Famous about meeting a famous person on his way down to the middle. Schumer’s journey from the peak of her career back down to the middle took all of three years. She’s about a year away from playing opposite Adam Sandler in a family film. (Score: 5 out of 10)

Mother Knows Best — Schumer hosts a game show that pits mom-and-kid teams together, including one mom (Kate McKinnon) and her son (Mikey Day) who have an uncomfortably close relationship. They kiss and it’s creepy, and that’s the joke. (Watch Here) (Score: 4 out of 10)

Handmaids in the CitySex and the City plus The Handmaid’s Tale = morbid comey that’s fitfully amusing, wants t be shocking, but is never quite funny. (Score: 5 out of 10)

The Day You Were Born — Amy Schumer tells her young son about the most beautiful day of her life — the day he was born — which is spliced together from actual footage of her traumatizing childbirth experience. This is finally a sketch that would’ve been good enough for The Amy Schumer Show. (Watch Here) (Score: 7.5 out of 10)

Gospel Brunch — A cooking show hosted by Kenan and Leslie, a Deacon (Chris Redd) and a gospel choir. This sketch is a situation without a premise — there’s no hook here, although Kenan’s enthusiasm and goofiness makes it watchable. (Watch Here) (Score: 4 out of 10)

Weekend Update — An unusually mediocre, uninspired “Weekend Update,” that not even an extended Melissa McCarthy cameo can save (she plays Che’s step-mom, but also basically her character from Life of the Party). I think maybe SNL saved all their good material for Tina Fey in next week’s season finale, or blew it all in last week’s Donald Glover ep. (Score: 5 out of 10)



Li’l Rent — Cecily Strong plays a reporter interviewing the director and cast of Li’l Rent, an adaptation of Rent with little kids where all the mentions of HIV and AIDs are replaced by “Diabetes.” This sketch is awfully reminiscent of the storyline in this week’s episode of Rise. It was funnier on Rise (where it wasn’t funny). (Watch Here) (Score: 3 out of 10)

Last Call — Here’s a first for Kate McKinnon’s recurring Last Call sketch: Two disgusting women (the characters, not the actresses, obv.) licking all over each other. It’s so gross. There’s still a little life left in this sketch, after all. (Score: 6.5 out of 10)

Graduation Commercial — Amusing, but not that amusing. (Watch Here) (Score: 5 out of 10)