Sunday, October 21, 2012

SNL: Bruno Mars(10/20/12)

Well, that was an episode.  Tom Hanks showed up, for some reason, and Bruno Mars sang a lot.


Let’s look at the sketches from Saturday in…

The Good

Pandora break down(7)-The concept was good, if not terribly funny until the end, but it went on for a song or two too long.  We had Bruno doing covers of Green Day, Aerosmith, Katy Perry, Bieber, Louie Armstrong, and Michael Jackson, so the sketch was super long.  I don’t think it is on the NBC site, but you can probably find it on YouTube if you are so inclined.

Weekend Update: Headlines(8)-There were a ton of funny jokes tonight, and even the political ones were funny, for the most part, which is highly unusual for a SNL sketch.  I don’t actually remember any of them off the top of my head, but they were good for a quick laugh, at least.




The Meh

Monologue(5)-This was basically another instance of Bruno Mars singing, and attempting to be the next JT.  As if that will ever happen.  Frankly, I kind of think JT won’t be the same, either, because his two main sketchmates, Andy Samberg and Kristin Wiig, are both gone.  Anyway, Bruno sang about how we should be gentle, since it’s his first time acting, basically.  Not very funny, but the good song saved it a bit.

Commercial: Brad Pitt for Chanel(6)-The only reason I even knew what this was parodying is because I am such a techno-whore.  If you don’t spend every waking minute watching the pop culture news sites, like I do, you wouldn’t know that Brad Pitt made a weird set of commercials for Chanel to be aired in a different country.  And that was the whole joke.  Though I did get a laugh out of “is it just me, or do I look super homeless?”

Haters(4)-This was sad.  I think the concept was there, but the execution flopped miserably.  Also, is it just me, or are three of the brunette girls interchangeable?  We got new girl, vaguely ethnic girl, and Vanessa, and honest-to-God, I have no idea which one played the host.  But whatever, the sketch doesn’t deserve a second look anyway.

Commercial: Brad Pitt for Taco Bell(5)-Second verse, same as the first, except this time, with 100% less funny.

Short: Sad Mouse(6)-This verged on being good, but then it went on for like, 20 minutes, and the breakdown that should have came turned into a sappy love story thing.  The ending was cute, but mot funny, which is unfortunate on a comedy show.

Weekend Update: Stefon(6)-I love that Bill Hader has this character that breaks every single time he play him.  I love the concept(my usually refrain), but the execution, again, was lacking.  I think this may be a once or twice a year sketch, and they should be coming up with new ‘things’ throughout the year, and only use the best ones on the actual show.  Just my two cents, but what do I know?  Oh, his dog’s name is Bark Ruffalo, for cute.

Carnival(5)-The weird animatronic robots strike again, and not even Tom Hanks could save this sketch.  Why the writers think this would be a good recurring sketch baffles me.  The sketch was funny enough, I suppose, but it’s the same joke over and over, which gets old FAST.

Commercial: Brad Pitt for Dog Condoms(4)-See Carnival sketch for analysis of this one.

Underunderground Records(5)-This is where a recurring sketch can work, especially if you can do different things with it.  This time it was the ‘Donkey Punch the ballot’ festival, taking place in a KFC in Syria, of course.  It’s not actually my kind of humor, but there were some funny bits.  Nasim Pedrad did take me out of it just a bit, though, with her lack of enthusiasm, which I don’t recal being an issue on previous installments.     

The Ugly

Cold Open: Debate(3)-This one hurt to watch.  There was very little redeeming qualities to it, and at one point, I just wanted to punch the screen.  Did no one bother to mention to SNL that Candy Crowley said she was wrong after she called Mitt on one of his statements?  Oh, and not in that she was wrong to call him out, in that she was wrong in her FACTS.  You can go ahead and pick that mike back up Obama.

Wilderness Lodge(3)-This started out amusingly enough, with funny faces and things, but it quickly devolved into a rape joke.  Which, for the record?  Not funny, ever, kthxbai.

Commercial: Brad Pitt for Tattoo Removal(3)-Fourth times the punch in the face, show.

The Rest

Tom Hanks was all over this show, and it was very strange.  It almost felt like the Betty White show, when they brought back a whole bunch of former lady cast members to take some of the load off.  Bruno Mars did an admirable, if forgettable, job, and his singing was fine, I guess.  Next week, we have a break, and then Louie C.K., who I’ve heard is hilarious, but don’t know from personal experience.

Overall, we have a score of 5, so let’s see how this episode stacks up

1. 9/22 Joseph Gordon Levitt/Mumford & Sons (5.71)
2. 9/15 Seth McFarlane/Frank Ocean (5.38)
3. 10/13 Christina Applegate/Passion Pit (5.09)
4. 10/20 Bruno Mars (5)
5. 10/6 Daniel Craig/Muse (4)

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