By Dustin Rowles | Saturday Night Live | December 4, 2016 |
By Dustin Rowles | Saturday Night Live | December 4, 2016 |
Cold Open — Alec Baldwin clearly got the message that Donald Trump thinks he’s unfair to him on SNL because Baldwin is going low with a series of jokes designed to provoke the President-elect: Trump’s propensity for retweeting randos; Steve Bannon depicted as an evil, skeleton-like figure (accurate); Trump’s disdain for unflattering photos; and his complete indifference to security briefings. Oh, and that he’s dumb. Just straight-up dead-hair dumb. They are taunting Trump, and Trump absolutely look the bait on Twitter about 20 minutes after this aired. Watch here. (Score: 7 out of 10)
Emma Stone Monologue — Stone’s monologue has her touring the SNL set as though it were a high-school reunion (she hasn’t hosted in 5 years), and it ends with the revelation that she had a fling with Bobby Moynihan. She’s likable, in only the way that Stone can be, but it’s not much of a monologue. It feels like something they threw together when the original monologue fell through. Watch here. (Score: 4 out of 10)
High School Experimental Theater — Oh God! It’s not only a recurring sketch now, it’s being moved to the top of the show. Why? It’s twice as long now, and obnoxious to the point of trolling. This does not bode well for the rest of the show. Watch here. (Score: 3 out of 10)
“It’s a Candle” — A horrible 80’s-like song — complete with terrible 80’s infomercial fashion — about re-gifting a candle. It’s terrible, but at least that’s the point of it. I hate it, but I also completely appreciate it. Thank you, candle. (Score: 6 out of 10)
Math Fantasy — A high-school kid (Pete Davidson) has a bizarre exchange with all of his posters about the importance of math. This sketch is garbage, save for Emma Stone’s surreal (but oddly sexy) cheerleader-eating-a-hot-dog voice. Watch here. (Score: 3 out of 10)
The Hunt for Hill — In the style of a sensationalist TV documentary series where “believers” search for beings from the folklore (like Bigfoot), this pre-taped sketch sees people trying to search for Hillary Clinton deep in the Chappaqua woods. It’s a funny idea, although it’s execution leaves something to be desired. (Score: 5 out of 10)
Weekend Update — Che, Jost, and Leslie Jones are loopy as hell tonight, which is probably the best thing about “Weekend Update” besides Jost’s pretty great Nickelback joke in the second segment. Otherwise, the jokes are … fine. The delivery is … not fine. And Leslie Jones goes on at lengthy about confidence and penis size and hits on Colin Jost and then Vanessa Bayer’s “Rachel from Friends shows up … and then so does Jennifer Aniston to ask her to stop and also to get over Friends. It’s unexpectedly delightful. (Score: 6 out of 10)
Watch “Weekend Update” Part 1. Watch Part 2. Watch Leslie Jones.
Santa’s a Bad Boy — The Russian (?) cleaning crew in an office building sing naughty songs about sleeping with “fun, sexy Santa.” It, uh, does not redeem a bad show. Emma Stone is terrific. This sketch is not. Watch here. (Score: 3 out of 10)
Women in Film Roundtable — Emma Stone, Jennifer Aniston, and Leslie Jones all show up as themselves to talk about the difficulties of working in film as women and they are all one-upped by Kate McKinnon’s old-school actress Debette Goldry, who is absolutely fantastic. This gets sketch of the night. Watch here. (9 out of 10)
Wells for Boys — A commercial for a new boys’ toy: A well! It’s for that that thoughtful sensitive boy to have a place to sit and contemplate. This turns out to be an unexpectedly great little commercial. (Score: 8 out of 10)
Nativity Scene: Emma Stone plays Mary, who is annoyed that people continue rolling in for visits right after she had a baby in a barn. She’s tired, she’s not looking her best, and she doesn’t understand why no one would pony up for a hotel room for the birth of Jesus. I may be in the minority, but I loved this sketch. Watch here. (Score: 7 out of 10)