I have been pleasantly surprised at the high quality of SNL episodes this season - - clever writing, laugh-out-loud sketches, and several new cast members who are really talented and have terrific timing. Until this fall, I fell squarely into the camp of "SNL hasn't been the same since the cast from the late 80s - mid 90s"; I thought many seasons were outright unwatchable after 1996. Last night's episode made me wonder if I hadn't rushed to judgment in irrational exuberance. The live audience must have agreed, since they were barely detectable other than the usual responsive laughs during Seth Meyer's Weekend Update.
The opening sketch featured Jay Pharaoh in his increasingly apt portrayal of Obama and Bill Hader as the beleaguered Speaker of the House, John Boehner. "Obama" described all the various ways in which Boehner had been subjected to schoolyard torture by the other Republicans anytime he tentatively mentioned a budget that included tax increases. Mild smiles at best, and far below the sharp wit and spot-on characterizations of the campaign sketches. However, this was literally the only skit that didn't aggressively feature/mock/highlight urban black culture. It's tiresome when any subject overpowers the show, but even worse when the sketches just aren't funny. I even saw my dog yawn while Jamie repeated for 5 minutes "b****, you don' know what you talking' about" to whites wearing Christmas sweaters in one of SNL's worst game show skits ever. Humor seemed to have been replaced by an underlying tone of nastiness and undisguised racism throughout the episode, including an extremely off-putting monologue in which Jamie bragged about the number of white people he killed in his latest film.
The women members of the cast were barely in evidence, other than a mildly amusing appearance by Mrs. Claus during Weekend Update and two porn stars selling Swarovski crystals with Jamie as the bling huckster. The cast was disengaged and clearly knew it was an off night; during the traditional goodbye hugs, the long-term regulars acted as if they had just watched an elementary school play and politely clapped while giving each other sideway glances of "Wow, that was even worse than I thought it would be." I'm praying that next week will reveal this show was a momentary glitch in SNL's newfound success.
The opening sketch featured Jay Pharaoh in his increasingly apt portrayal of Obama and Bill Hader as the beleaguered Speaker of the House, John Boehner. "Obama" described all the various ways in which Boehner had been subjected to schoolyard torture by the other Republicans anytime he tentatively mentioned a budget that included tax increases. Mild smiles at best, and far below the sharp wit and spot-on characterizations of the campaign sketches. However, this was literally the only skit that didn't aggressively feature/mock/highlight urban black culture. It's tiresome when any subject overpowers the show, but even worse when the sketches just aren't funny. I even saw my dog yawn while Jamie repeated for 5 minutes "b****, you don' know what you talking' about" to whites wearing Christmas sweaters in one of SNL's worst game show skits ever. Humor seemed to have been replaced by an underlying tone of nastiness and undisguised racism throughout the episode, including an extremely off-putting monologue in which Jamie bragged about the number of white people he killed in his latest film.
The women members of the cast were barely in evidence, other than a mildly amusing appearance by Mrs. Claus during Weekend Update and two porn stars selling Swarovski crystals with Jamie as the bling huckster. The cast was disengaged and clearly knew it was an off night; during the traditional goodbye hugs, the long-term regulars acted as if they had just watched an elementary school play and politely clapped while giving each other sideway glances of "Wow, that was even worse than I thought it would be." I'm praying that next week will reveal this show was a momentary glitch in SNL's newfound success.