On the grand Ferris wheel that is Saturday Night Live, the last episode, helmed by Ariana Grande, was a huge upswing. There were a lot of reasons the Ariana Grande episode was so great.
First of all, it was funny. Really funny. I’m still laughing at Kate McKinnon’s sea slug lady. But it also succeeded because the writers were able to utilize Grande’s many talents. The Tidal sketch (although a blatant retread of a Bruno Mars skit) perfectly showed off Grande’s uncanny impressions and the Kids Choice Awards one played nicely to her comedic timing. While playing to a host's skills should be par for the course on SNL, that has not always been the case.
Who knows how SNL will play to Peter Dinklage’s strengths? We know he’s a great actor and a charismatic badass, but that’s about it. Will he be a good host? Will we get another great night of SNL or are we headed towards an unfunny mess like the previous week with Jonah Hill? Let’s see.
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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Trump Cold Open: * ½
We get it. Trump is sexist. This sketch was so slight and unfunny, it’s hard to remember a worse cold open this season. Despite so much talent, how is this tired material all they can come up with?
https://screen.yahoo.com/snl/hour-cold-open-070243406.html
Opening Monologue: * *
Let’s be clear, Dinklage’s monologue was a total mess. Like the cold open, it made the most obvious jokes, felt incredibly quick (as if a longer monologue were hastily cut down) and even the execution was lax and sloppy. I’m not sure what’s going on tonight, but I’m not a fan.
Winnie the Pooh: * * *
What a strange fever dream of a sketch. In fact, I’m not 100 percent sure I didn’t fall asleep on the couch mid-commercial. I will say this: Peter Dinklage’s Winnie the Pooh (a sentence I never thought I’d write) was surprisingly great and Jay Pharoah’s line readings are always fantastic. I feel like I need to rewatch this at least once more before giving it a real grade, but I guess this’ll have to do.
Naked and Afraid Celebrity Edition: * * * *
This is just a great sketch idea that didn’t overstay its welcome. The concept of doing a meta Naked and Afraid parody with Dinklage and Leslie Jones is such a fantastic one and the two make a great pair. Seriously, I’d watch a whole hour-long episode with these two.
Space Pants: * * * * ½
So this is 10 out of 10 on the stupid scale, yet I can’t say I didn’t laugh quite loudly at every new verse of the Space Pants song. Dinklage played it so seriously (in a move that reminded me a touch of vintage Will Ferrell) and the song was so on-the-nose weird, I couldn’t look away. I can’t say this is a capital G Great SNL skit, but it’s definitely a big, stupid and pretty hilarious one.
Glory Hole Restaurant: * * ½
Sometimes SNL does skits purely based on gross out or boundary pushing physical humor. Think the kissing Vogelchecks or that one with Chris Kattan who needed all his food chewed for him. This was similar. While I might admit to giggling at Aidy Bryant eating that baguette, this was a one-note sketch based on a shocking premise that wasn’t all that shocking.
First Look Game of Thrones: * *
“Let’s let Bobby Moynihan mug in front of the camera while wearing a motion capture suit?”
“Great idea, let’s grab lunch!”
Weekend Update: * * * ½
There were some bright spots in this otherwise ho-hum Weekend Update. Pete Davidson delivered a strong section of his own material and that Face Swap joke was just A+. Otherwise, we got some tepid jokes and a whole segment built around Kenan Thompson saying the word “mofungo” in an accent.
Honeymoon Suite: * * * ½
This was a deliciously dark idea for a sketch that almost succeeded. The performances were great and there was a high level of technical difficulty here, but somehow it never quite came together. Maybe it needed a stronger ending or maybe there needed to be more explanation for the multiple deaths. I don’t know, but this one never fully worked.
Vacation Nightmares: * ½
I think we learned during Weekend Update that funny accents do not equal good comedy. This entire thing rested on the idea that McKinnon and Bryant’s wacky accents would be funny. They were not.
Magic Show: * ½
I will say this: Peter Dinklage really tried to save this dire sketch based on somebody crapping their pants. He didn’t succeed, but it was a valiant effort.
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Best Sketch: Space Pants! Space Pants!
Worst Sketch: I gotta say the cold open or maybe the magic show one.
Musical Guest: Gwen Stefani
For a judge on The Voice, she isn’t the greatest singer. But then again, maybe I’m just crabby from a subpar episode.
Overall Thoughts:
This was a pretty hit or miss SNL but not for lack of trying on Peter Dinklage’s part. He was a game host and the show did a pretty good job of using him (despite the fact he largely played the straight man in sketches). Writing-wise, though, the show never fully came together.