Cold Opening – Politics Nation
As far as I know, Al Sharpton has had only one recent major verbal gaffe, but that one gaffe has been enough to inspire a steady stream of malapropisms from Kenan Thompson’s Al Sharpton. That graph (or “grapha”) was ridiculous, but it was also kind of meaningful. Also, that Tea Party fellow deserved to be called out that way – the Founding Fathers don’t need people to dress up like them to honor them. B
Ben Affleck’s Monologue
The five-timers bit was essentially clever, but rather disappointing (for Ben’s sake). Ben and Jen really seem to love each other. B-
HBO First Look: Bengo F#*@ Yourself
“Pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd” – this is all so silly. B
Xanax for Gay Summer Weddings
This wasn’t very Xanax-y. B-
New York 1933
Was Ben doing a Jimmy Stewart impression? C+
New Beginnings
Gay conversion camps are surely a good topic for satire. But instead this sketch focused on gay stereotypes and Ben Affleck almost kissing another man, which isn’t offensive so much as tired. C+
Kanye West performs “Black Skinhead”
“This is terrifying.” – my sister A-
Weekend Update
-The Jokes: It’s so nice to have Amy around since her delivery is so strong, which helps when the punchlines aren’t all that much. Case in point: This Week’s Story That Was Funnier Than The Punchline: the senior center prostitution – not much of a joke, but then Amy put her elbow on the desk and her chin on her hand and smiled. She also seemed to inspire better delivery from Seth. B+
-The Segments: -Really!?!: Not the best Really!?!, or maybe I just feel that way because I don’t think the IRS’s actions were so bad as to be deserving of a Really!?! B
-Stefon: With Bill Hader leaving, it was mandatory that Stefon would appear, and it seemed like it was going to be like any other sort of Stefon appearance, which would have been fine because, miraculously, Stefon has remained hilarious over the course of nearly 20 appearances. But then we were treated to Stefon’s wedding, and this segment became as emotionally satisfying as the best season finales, because this wedding had everything: human traffic cone groomsmen, furkels, ALF in a trenchcoat, Menorah the Explorer, Germfs, Wario Batali, hobocops, Gizblo the coked-up Mogwai, Jewish vampire Sydney Applebaum, DJ Baby Bok Choy, and even Stefon’s brother David (Ben Affleck)! A
Greg Pulino’s Funeral
Some jerk attending his own funeral: clever-cool concept. It always works for me when a scheme unwinds due to obviously sloppy lies – “My dad’s not dead. When I call his cell phone, he picks up and says, ‘Oops.’” B
Hermès Handbags
I still love Brooky and the one in Witness Protection, and they provide memorable stories and malapropisms during all of their appearances, but they’ve got to mix it up if they want to remain relevant. B
Kanye West performs “New Slaves”
Yikes. B+
Engagement Party
I especially liked grandpa’s speech. B-
Ian Rubbish and the Bizarros
What a delightfully idiosyncratic farewell sketch for Fred. B+
Overall
This episode featured two delightful cast goodbyes – and a bunch of other stuff. Nothing was horrible, and there were a few other memorable moments, but nothing to write home about. Kanye was great, though, in ways I don’t fully understand yet. Ben is certainly likeable, and it would have been nice to see him getting more five-timer love, but alas this was not the best episode for that.
STEFON! STEFON!
