Emily Blunt is the third guest host we have on Saturday Night Live’s season 42. She has a new movie out and what better way to do so than host SNL. While we’re only three eps in, we can definitely state that this week was one of the sloppiest episodes we’ve seen so far. There were some great ideas but the execution seemed off. The Trump/Clinton cold open was good but didn’t seem to match or exceed the craziness the real debate put forth.
Because of the election, this season is kicking off with 4 straight episodes, outside the norm of 3 episodes before a break. From a writing perspective it could get tiresome, and hopefully this week will not be indicative of next week.
Cold Open: Trump vs Hillary Town Hall Debate
It’s a pretty safe bet that for the next 3 weeks at least we’re going to see Alec Baldwin’s take on Donald Trump happen a lot on Saturday Night Live. SNL’s cold open this weekend was dominated by great performances by both Baldwin and Kate McKinnon as the two Presidential candidates but the show was stolen (as in real life) when Ken Bone appeared.
When the Ken Bone phenomenon became a thing in real life, it was said aloud in the office “so we’re going to see Bobby Moynihan as Ken Bone next week on SNL aren’t we?” And, as sure a shit, that’s what we got. SNL’s Bone is a bit more grabby of the spotlight than he did during the debate but we went to the Bone Zone nontheless.
Trump responded on Twitter that SNL performed a “hit job” on him and that the show is no longer funny and should be canceled. So much musta happened since he hosted the show like a year ago.
Monologue Host Emily Blunt clearly has a bit of song and dance chops as she opted for some song and dance during her monologue, taking the opportunity to gain some of the good graces of the audience with cookies, cakes, puppies, and massages.
Escorts Blunt and Leslie Jones are two people trying to make a deal for sex, but they have some serious stipulations including wearing Oakley sunglasses and doing impersonations of Stewie from Family Guy. Perhaps the most exciting part of this sketch is watching Blunt crack when she takes a pratfall behind the couch, luckily she has a lampshade to hide the laughs.
Melanianade Well, The Donald is learning something pretty valuable this election, and that is to not mess with women. The women of SNL gathered around the Bey Hive and took a formation around the queen Beyonce and delivered a Lemonade-inspired takedown. Cecily Strong, who’s portrayed Melania Trump this entire election cycle, was joined by Kate McKinnon as Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway (and in the terrific “Day Off” sketch from last week). Emily Blunt took on daughter Ivanka Trump (who was also portrayed by Margot Robbie this season). Sasheer Zamata took on Omarosa Manigault from The Apprentice and Vanessa Bayer as the oft overshadowed Tiffany Trump.
Short Film There was a time once when we found ourselves in a situation where we had to ask questions for a panel as we were the only person in the room with knowledge of the subject. Maybe this sketch hit so close to home because it brought up that memory.
Chonk This could be the sketch of the night. A total send up of how women are portrayed in clothes commercials. They celebrate women of all body sizes but then do it in a dickish and condescending way. This is one of the most memorable sketches of the season thus far.
Bruno Mars “24K Magic” Bruno Mars is here to deliver some 90s-inspired dance jams.
Weekend Update Weekend Update took another bite of the same apple it had for the last few episodes, and why not? It’s been on such a groove since the new season kicked off. Last night Jost and Che seemed to suffered a bit from pacing but for the most part, Update was still as solid as it had been the last few weeks. If there’s an issue with Russian Hackers, bring out Oly Povlatsky to let us know what’s going on over there. Laura Parsons probably made some of the brass at NBC a bit antsy by tossing a jab or two. Parsons might know more than she should for a young girl.
Drive Thru-Window This sketch wins because it is so incredibly weird and out there. Why not just continue to introduce weirdos at a stretch limo at a Burger King drive-thru?
The Sink A sink tries to contemplate life, but that contemplation gets interrupted when its job calls.
Honda Robotics What if technology really screwed us in a big way? Can a phone call really crash a plain. This sketch was an attempt to try to see how that would happen. While it coulda been a fun sketch in its general hokiness, the execution of it was a bit lacking. A while back, SNL announced that it would be performing a few branded content sketches this year. While they going to be in every episode, maybe this Honda and the Burger King one a sketch or two earlier are part of it?
Melania Moments Cecily Strong has been great as Milania Trump in these
Bruno Mars “Chunky” Bruno returns. Here’s a new jam for ya.
Great British Bake Off This sketch appeared to exist solely to remind us that Emily Blunt has an English accent.
Hamsters The 10-to-1 sketch puts Hamsters in the center of a soap opera. Did it work? Nope, but this is the sketch where the weirdness should happen. Next week we have Tom Hanks and Lady Gaga to bring the month of October all home for us.
