By Dustin Rowles | TV | March 31, 2019 |
By Dustin Rowles | TV | March 31, 2019 |
Cold Open — We haven’t seen the last of DeNiro’s Mueller impression yet. Here, Mueller summarizes the report, which Barr “summarizes” for Trump, who “summarizes” his conclusions on Twitter. I don’t know if I’d call it funny, but I would call it hella accurate. And depressing as hell. (Score: 5.5 out of 10)
Sandra Oh Monologue — How long has Sandra Oh been around now? 14 or 15 years since the debut of Grey’s Anatomy? And now Killing Eve. And I feel like I’ve never seen Oh as herself, an energetic, hilarious Canadian-American Asian who doesn’t like to brag. She’s great! This monologue is not. (Watch Here) (Score: 4 out of 10)
Discover Ad — This Discover commercial is a parody of Jordan Peele’s Us where a customer calls in to find her “shadow” self as the customer service rep. And holy shit! Ego Nwodim does a great Lupita, and while the ad is short, it still echoes Us enough to be slightly terrifying while also amusing. (Score: 7 out of 10)
Network Meeting — Chris Redd plays Jussee Smollett — attending a meeting with his manager (Oh) and Empire creator Lee Daniels to discuss whether he will stay another season. He shows up having been beat up again, and this time he has a “bag of clues” with him. Everyone reacts with disbelief. That’s the skit, and as part of my efforts never to comment on this story again (because whatever I say will invariably be proven wrong a week from now), I will simply give this one a (Score: 5 out of 10) and never speak of it again. (Watch Here)
Future Self — Mikey Day plays a depressed high schooler in a conversation with his future self (Alex Moffat), where he discovers that 10 years from now, he’ll be jacked, have a great job, and be married to … Tishy (Oh), and insane woman who, drinks Four Loco, beats him up and burns down his house. First off: It’s crazy how believable Alex Moffat is as older Mikey Day (and Beck Bennett as much older Mikey Day), and also, it takes a minute, but the absurdity of the sketch eventually kicks in and it’s pretty funny. (Score: 6.5 out of 10)
Kremlin Meeting — Putin’s staff expresses disappointment upon reading the Mueller Report, having learned that their boss didn’t actually turn Trump into a KGB asset. “Then why is he so nice to you?” “I don’t know!” says Putin. “He’s in my head!” Meh. Trump will like this sketch. Watch here. (Score: 4 out of 10)
Cheques — An ad for “checks,” as an alternative to Venmo, Paypal, credit cards, etc., because it’s cool to rip off a check for various reasons. Dumb sketch, but not without its absurd moments. I kind of loved it. (Score: 7 out of 10)
Weekend Update — The Trump celebration news is hard to watch, even if Che and Jost manage to take the piss out of Trump, while Che delivers one great groaner after another. Also, Aidy Bryant plays Astronaut Anne McClain, who tries to hide her disappointment about not being able to go on a spacewalk because she didn’t have a space suit. (Watch that one here) (Score: 6 out of 10)
Meanwhile, Cecily Strong’s Jeanine Pirro is so good that she’s being graded separately from the rest of “Weekend Update” and also, I need a cigarette after watching this. (Score: 8 out of 10)
Electric Shoes — PBS’s “Roots of Rock” looks at an unsung pioneer of the blues. It’s basically a Kenan Thompson song-and-dance sketch that starts out amusing, then gets annoying, and then swings back around to absurdly hilarious. (Score: 7.5 out of 10)
Test Prep — During a high-school test prep, all the kids offer deep, emotional speeches as answers to multiple choice questions. (Watch Here) (Score: 4 out of 10)
Louise’s Birthday — During an office meeting, an 80-year-old woman only wants one wish for her birthday: That everyone at the meeting kiss each other, but, like, in a hot way. (Watch here) (Score: 3.5 out of 10)
The Duel — During one of those old-timey duels, two men fighting over a woman repeatedly accidentally shoot … the woman. It’s amazing and I love it. (Score: 8 out of 10)