'Saturday Night Live' Recap - Louis CK & Rihanna

We’re now at the end of a really great season for Saturday Night Live. Even though the massive SNL 40 show caused a dip in quality during the winter, we were treated to some really top notch SNL this year. I’ll be back in a few days to post my best and worst sketches of the year soon.

But before we get to that, let’s talk about Louis CK making his third appearance as SNL host. His last show was really great – Black Jeopardy, Last Call, Dyke & Fats! – and CK is one of the best comics of our generation with his own hilarious and no-holds-barred show. So let’s hope he continues that trend with a great season finale.

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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Summertime with Hillary Clinton Cold Open: * * *

It’s nice to see SNL do a political cold open that doesn’t take place behind a desk or in the oval office. While I applaud that, and the ensemble nature of this sketch, the actual material wasn’t that funny and that “Summertime” song had one too many iterations. Swing and a miss for me, but a genial one at least.

Opening Monologue: * * * * *

Louis CK is one of my favorite stand-ups and he delivered some classic CK observations on a few of his favorite topics. Fans of Louie know that racism, sex and food are key staples of his stand-up and CK delivers a fascinating, hysterical Best-Of stand-up set that had me laughing out loud. I know this set – especially the pedophilia material, which did a remarkable job of walking a very fine line – isn’t for everyone’s taste, but it’s the single funniest monologue I can remember since the last time CK hosted. I will say that I feel slightly ambivalent giving this a five-star since it’s less of an SNL sketch and more straightforward CK stand-up. But anything that makes me laugh this hard deserves a perfect score.

Shoemaker & the Elves: * * * ½

This sketch is like if CK wrote an episode of Faerie Tale Theatre. (Remember that show ‘90s kids?) Anywho, this is an incredibly strange sketch, which combines CK’s interest in finding humor in sexual boundaries (Blueberries, anyone?) with a childlike fairy tale esthetic. But while there was some funny material here, it felt both too icky and too safe. If SNL wants to do a sketch based on the Christian Greys of the elf world, that’s fine, but I’m not sure the writers knew how to attack it. If this was on CK’s show or something like Inside Amy Schumer, where the boundaries are non-existent, perhaps a kinky elves sketch would have worked. Perhaps they also would have cut the lazy, tacked-on ending.

This Is How I Talk: * * * * ½

Specifics of this sketch aside, I would watch an entire movie of CK and Leslie Jones trying to out-sass each other, especially if it involves CK using the word “on fleek.” Unlike the previous sketch, this is the perfect marriage of CK’s talents and sensibility (on Louie, a common theme is people struggling to communicate in their “real voice”) within SNL’s framework. It had a great build – every time jump full screen just killed me – and killer energy from the two leads.

Weekend Update: * * * *

The big winner of tonight’s Update was the chemistry between Che and Jost, who are finally starting to act like a comedy team. The way they played off each other, especially in the deflate-gate segment, was really great and showed promise for the upcoming year. Killam’s Tom Brady, while funny at times, was very forgettable in the long run, as was Riblet, a character I really want to like but just haven’t taken cotton to. I was happy to see Pete Davidson back, though, for a hilarious bit about turning 21. While SNL hasn’t figured out how to really make him shine in sketches, his Update bits feel really fresh and needed in this current cast.

Cabana: * *

A sort-of sequel to the Jemma sketch during The Rock’s episode, this iteration doesn’t work nearly as well as the first. I don’t know if it’s that Jemma gets old fast – she’s sort of The-Woman-You-Wish-You-Hadn’t-Started-A-Conversation-With mixed with the ex-porn star lady – or that CK’s a fantastic comedy but not that great of a sketch actor. I never thought I’d say this, but CK is no Dwayne Johnson.

Police Lineup: * * *

The idea of this sketch is really strong, in fact it’s one of those timeless set-ups I’m surprised SNL hasn’t tried it before. But while the idea of egotistical actors using a police lineup as a pseudo audition was really funny, the sketch never quite went anywhere.

Wood PSA * * ½

Umm. OK. It feels like there was at least two more of these that got cut last minute.

Forgotten TV Gems: * * * ½

I was dreading this sketch when it started but it actually won me over with it’s infectious energy and pitch-perfect performances from McKinnon, CK, Bryant and Moynihan. It wasn’t quite Dyke & Fats, but it was a pretty fun way to end the season.

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Best Sketch: How I Talk was the best actual sketch but the monologue was the best part of this episode hands down.

Worst Sketch: Cabana

Musical Guest: Rihanna

I don’t think I’ll ever love a song with the word “bitch” in the title (except for “Bitch of Living” – yes, I’m that nerdy) but you gotta love an artist who takes their SNL performances so seriously and attacks it with such artistry. I might not like the songs but those performances was moody and pretty fierce.

Overall Thoughts:

CK is a great host and, while his third outing wasn’t as strong as his second, it was a consistent show nonetheless. There was no Black Jeopardy tonight but no Mountain Call either, although we did get the funniest and more outrageous monologue of the season. A pretty good way to end a really great season.