The last few episodes of Saturday Night Live have been a roller coaster ride. We got the Donald Trump trainwreck followed by a truly stellar Elizabeth Banks episodes which, in turn, was followed by a ho-hum Matthew McConaughey outing. On this weekend's penultimate holiday episode, we get Ryan Gosling – award-winning actor, cereal eater and professional handsome person. We also have Leon Bridges.
I have to admit, I’m not sure who Leon Bridges is. I’m also not sure how Gosling will fare on SNL. He’s a good actor and, if Crazy Stupid Love is any indication, can do comedy. But I don’t think he’s done sketch comedy since the Mickey Mouse Club, so we’ll see if the new form comes back naturally.
Like I always do, I’ll be writing the recaps “live,” meaning I’ll watch a sketch and immediately write a short blurb reviewing and recapping it. For each segment, I’ll rate it on a scale of 0-5 stars. At the end of the piece, I’ll share some quick overall thoughts and the best/worst sketch of the night.
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Christmas Message From Donald and Melania Trump: * ½
Making fun of Trump at this point is like shooting fish in a barrel and you’d think SNL's version would be fairly biting given his… shall we say, poor track record with the show. But this sketch was so lazy and dull and unfunny. Just search Trump on Twitter and you’d get better jokes. Yikes.
Opening Monologue: * * *
Gosling looked super nervous right off the bat and the monologue seemed to run a bit long. However, having Mike Meyers ease him into the world of SNL was a very smart one. Who doesn’t love Mike Meyers? I mean, if you forget The Love Guru.
Settl: * * *
There was nothing wrong with this sketch, per se, it just felt rather safe. It was an OK riff on online dating but that’s about it. Fine, but I’ll forget about this by the end of the episode.
NSA Interview: * * * * ½
Kate McKinnon is a treasure and this new character – something like if Barb Kellner picked up Anthony Peter Coleman’s chain smoking habit – is a real winner. I could listen to her explain her alien experience for a good hour. And, of course, everyone loves when SNL performers break. This wasn’t a Debby Downer level five-car-pile-up of hilariousness, but there was some really great fun and spontaneous moments here. This is a sketch I can’t wait to watch again.
Santa Baby: * * * * *
During the first half of this sketch, I wrote down, “Yeah, this was really funny back when it was called Elf." But then, this sketch took a seriously weird turn and I just loved it. From the strange sexual tension to Gosling’s sudden bursts of anger, this was a dark holiday sketch I can get behind.
Birthday Party: * *
The first time Aidy Bryant played Morgan back when Drake hosted, I gave the sketch four stars. While a lot of other reviewers panned it, I applauded Bryant for her gutsy performance and the skit’s off-kilter sense of humor. But, despite the fact that Bryant still brings humor to just about any line, the second fell very flat. There just wasn’t enough payoff. Unfortunately, I think Gosling is the only one laughing here.
Weekend Update: * *
This has been a largely uneven show overall – a few very high points and a few low ones too. Tonight’s Update is a good microcosm of that. There are some high points – That The Wiz joke was great, along with much of Michael Che and Colin Jost’s interactions. But the guests didn’t quite work in that iteration. Cecily Strong’s flirt of a character seem fairly pointless and one-note while, personally, Anthony Crispino has never been my comedy cup of tea. I get why some people really like him, but it’s just not for me.
Hometown Bar: * * *
On paper, this sketch might have worked. The idea of a dorky high school friend upstaging Gosling at his own interview clearly has potential. But it seems that, while the cast surely found Kyle Mooney’s character funny, I just found him annoying.
Nespresso: * * * *
Not the most substantive of sketches, but boy did Bobby Moynihan’s Danny DeVito make me laugh. Where has that impression been all my life? No, this didn’t reinvent the wheel of commercial parodies but it was a very solid exercise with two very solid impressions.
The Wiz: * * *
The individual pieces of this sketch were on-point. Gosling does a killer Ray Bolger impression (who knew?) and the “flying monkeys” jokes was great. Let’s face it, after all the hoopla surrounding diversity on SNL a few years ago, it’s still amazes me in the best possible way that they even do a sketch like this with all cast members. However, it felt like something was missing. Perhaps it a bit too safe, perhaps it was missing one last great punchline. This was another sketch that was fine but could have been great.
Santa & the Elves: * *
The first time SNL did a naughty elves sketch was with Louis CK, the master of looking uncomfortable and out of place. While that sketch wasn’t my favorite, it at least had shock value on its side. Now, even that is gone. Beyond the initial joke, which is the exact same as the previous one, there’s not much here.
Best Sketch: Santa Baby
Worst Sketch: Trump cold open
Musical Guest: Leon Bridges
I must admit that, before tonight, I wasn’t acquainted with Leon Bridges, but he had a really solid one-two punch of performances, each brimming with soul and charisma.
Overall Thoughts:
As I said earlier, this was a hit-or-miss show. While Gosling did fine work, especially in the pre-taped stuff, SNL seemed a bit unsure how to use him. He seemed to work better as a straight man (albeit one who had a little trouble not breaking out in laughter) but then again he really showed good range playing the Scarecrow. So much so that I wish the writing team had giving him more character work. Oh well.