Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Emmy Episodes: Saturday Night Live

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the second year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Saturday Night Live: Season 42, Episode 20 “Melissa McCarthy/HAIM” (B)

I skipped a handful of episodes here to finish out the season with its final two nominated episodes. Melissa McCarthy has been nominated previously four times for guest-hosting this show, and it seems almost like a default reflex at this point. There’s no denying that McCarthy is skilled at physical comedy. I didn’t count, but I’d estimate that she got pied in the face about twenty times during the Just Desserts game show, and that’s a lot to have to take and then keep on going. I wasn’t all that fond of the weird animal sketch and the Lighthouse Features opening, and the film center talk was a bit stronger. The new recipient of the five-timers jacket earns the most points, however, for her appearance as Sean Spicer in this episode. Making out with Alec Baldwin’s Trump wasn’t the most memorable part even if it was the most outrageous, and watching this episode after Spicer has been fired makes his antics all the more absurd. Baldwin also submitted this episode as his Emmy sampler, and honestly I think he’d win for just about anything because of the hilarious commitment of his parody performance. I really enjoyed the opening sketch with its narrative – “Did I get him? Is this all over? Wait, nothing matters?” Baldwin’s delivery of “I sit on every chair like it’s a toilet” was particularly terrific. As usual, Weekend Update was one of my favorite parts, with picking apart everything Trump tweets as a great highlight.

No comments: