The 4th show in as many weeks, I had more than a few questions leading in to this episode. Namely, I questioned Gerard Butler as a true comedic force. While watching the episode live, I realized why presuppositions sometimes prove incorrect. Here is my sketch-by-sketch review of the Gerard Butler/Shakira show.
Cold Opening: The Rock Obama--This is exactly the kind of opening I like to see. Albeit political, it finds a crack in the age-old, mind-dulling structure where SNL cold openings have to be the president sitting at a desk. It brings back a character from last season, Dwayne Johnson's "The Rock Obama" and it works perfectly. Although I question why Dwayne Johnson chose this episode to do a big cameo in, I still thought it was very enjoyable and a much better-than-average opening to the show.
Monologue--Ha, this was good as well. I liked Gerard Butler singing, that kind of surprised me. Good premise, funny lines and acting from the cast. So far a very good opening to the show.
Commercial-"Fuquay Satin" Well, this wasn't too bad. I mean its an ok premise, wine simply used for...other...purposes. It wasn't too funny, but I'll take it. Now let's get back to the live skits.
Game Time with Randy and Greg--Dwayne Johnson cameos in the cold opening and then fails to fulfil his role in this sketch? Too weird. Kenan fills in for him, and although I didn't prefer this version as much (the audience already knew what was going to happen) I still liked it overall. Watching Bill do that character is never going to be a bad thing. It's a genius role.
Beauty and the Beast--My favorite of the night. Beautifully played by Kristen, Bobby, Bill, and Gerard Butler. Maybe one of the top 10 sketches of the year.
Shakira 1--Not a fan of her. Just a lame performance, too, in my opinion. As usual, I'm, just waiting for Update to start.
Weekend Update--Seth does a solid job, as expected. The guest highlight for me was Gerard Butler playing homage to Scotland with Seth translating. Now, ladies and gentlemen, that was funny.
300--The second round of sketches begins with a cross-parody of the film 300 and the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in the military. Very clever, and well played by the cast. This is the kind of writing I like to see in an episode: Use what you have and make a good idea out of something going on in the world. Great job.
What Up With That?--This sketch baffles me. It shouldn't work, it's just nonsense. But you know what? I love it. Even though I know what's coming every time, its just a hoot to watch take place. This one, I believe the first in the series, was quite funny.
Thomas--Eh, not my favorite. This character of Kristen's is probably my least favorite of hers. It plays on the awkward factor of the plot, and it gets to be a little too much for me. Every episode has that one sketch you wish you could get rid of, and this is that sketch.
Shakira 2--Eh, what can I really say? Same as her first performance.
Daveheart--A scared version of Braveheart, huh? Well....it was ok. For the "5-to-1" sketch it worked out just fine. Didn't go out like a lion but it was doable.
Overall Review: What a solid episode. This was packed with good stuff and I was pleasantly surprised by Gerard Butler's good hosting job. Shakira wasn't good, but that was to be expected. The winners were the Monologue, Beauty and the Beast, 300, and What Up With That. Not much to complain about, it was a consistent episode. It might not go down as the most flashy, but it got the funny stuff in there, and that's worth something to me. Comparing it to the last 3 episodes, I'd have to say this was the most consistent and grades out the best overall. Four weeks in a row is a lot to put the cast and crew of SNL though. It says a lot that their last show of the 4 is the best.
Agree? Disagree? If you want to leave your thoughts and opinions about this episode, feel free to do so. Next up, I will be reviewing the Taylor Swift episode, oh goody.
LiveFromNY
No comments:
Post a Comment