If you missed Saturday Night Live this week with host Aziz Ansari, but you still want to know what you missed, we’ve got you covered. Some weeks are instant classics, others weeks are a collective miss. Most weeks, like this one, fall somewhere in the middle with some hits and some misses. Beck Bennett continues to be given prominent placement throughout the show, after years of not getting the spotlight, along with SNL star Kate McKinnon who has long secured her place in SNL history as one of the greats, and Aziz had a pretty good week hosting SNL for the first time.
Vladimir Putin Cold Open (hit)
This week’s cold open was surprisingly both Alec Baldwin-less and without any reference to Bane and some of the other big memes that emerged from inaugural weekend. Although the open touched on some aspects of this week’s headlines, the bulk of the open did not rely on specific references to the past two days events. Beck Bennett delivered a shirtless speech to the American public as Putin, letting everyone know there is no reason to protest. “Pooty” says he will make everything okay and take good care of America. “It’s the most expensive thing we’ve ever bought.” Kate McKinnon makes an appearance as Russian woman Olya who comes out to reassure everyone that life is good under Russian rule, especially for women. She reads from a note about how happy she is, and how life is so good that she sleeps in a bed, and not in “carcass of dog.” But there were references to the inauguration– even Putin is a little disappointed in Trump’s first day in office, addressing the poor turnout at his inauguration, the gigantic turnout at the women’s marches, Trump’s speech which he called “bleak”, and his multiple references to God. Watch the cold open below. We’ll call it a hit, but not a smash hit.
Aziz Ansari Monologue (miss)
Everyone was expecting a killer monologue from Aziz Ansari, something sharp, smart and surprising like the one Louis C.K. delivered last year. He’s been working it out doing stand up sets all over the city this week, and he wanted to make a good impression because he knew that the President would be watching the first post-inauguration live show. That fact may have weighed too heavily over Ansari’s head because the monologue seemed too serious, too preachy, and a little too middle of the road. Ansari urged Americans to treat each other with respect, and not to judge people too harshly based on how they voted, comparing voting for Trump to listening to Chris Brown music. Aziz also had a message to all the racists who used to pretend they weren’t racists, but now felt like they have free reign to come out and be racist again. “No, no. If you’re one of these people, please go back to pretending,” Ansari said. Finally, he addressed Islamophobia, suggesting that the news could help by reporting on regular “brown people” who aren’t doing terrible things, and he blamed the “scary-ass music from Homeland” as one of the reasons people have a fear of Islam. Change the music, he said, and you’ll end the phobia. Ansari requested that Trump take a page from George Bush’s book, and write a speech denouncing hate.
Ansari wrapped strong with this thought– “If you look at our country’s history, change doesn’t come from Presidents. Change comes from large groups of angry people. And if day one is any indication, you are part of the largest group of angry people I have ever seen.” But overall we’re calling it a moderate message to President Trump. We’re also calling it a mostly missed opportunity to do so much more.
Attorney Ad (Hit), Bedroom (Hit), Pizza Town (Miss), Bookworm (Miss)
Ansari fared better in the sketch department, scoring a few great bits. The highlights of the night included a parody ad for a law office where Ansari played the role of a client who thought he was happy with his settlement, but slowly realized he got stuck with the loser partner of the firm (played by Bobby Moynihan), and a dirty talk sketch where Ansari and cast member Melissa Villaseñor just couldn’t connect in bed. (Both hits) A sketch about a man brought in for interrogation because he admitted that he didn’t totally love La La Land was funny in concept if not in delivery (miss), and the pure silliness sketch this week which took place in a Chuck-E-Cheese-esque restaurant with Ansari leading an animatronic band that keeps turning on during a police raid was also a miss, but worth watching just to see Bobby Moynihan’s pretty amazing portrayal of an animatronic drummer (so miss-ish). The biggest miss of the night goes to the first sketch, Beat The Bookworm, which just went nowhere.
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Five Stars (split)
We were divided about an Uber car sketch in which an Uber rider (Ansari) and an Uber driver (Bobby Moynihan), both very much in need of upping their Uber ratings, come together for a bizarre ride, where both rider and driver will do anything to get a five star rating. Maybe it was just a little too close for comfort, which is why some of us loved it and some of us hated it.
Kellyanne Conway (hit)
Kate McKinnon appears as Kellyanne Conway in a smart digital short comparing the election to the musical Chicago. “Hey know what’s weird? This time last year I was supporting Ted Cruz. I said Donald Trump acted unpresidential. It’s on tape. But hey, that’s showbiz. Kid.” Definite hit.
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SNL is off next week, but will return live in February with host Kristen Stewart.
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The post SNL This Week: The Hits and Misses appeared first on The Interrobang.