"Am I still your bitch?"
Cold Open: Hillary Moves Out
Cold Open: Hillary Moves Out
2 Stars
Hillary starts packing for New York
Hillary is packing her things to move from the White House to New York City as she's running for Senator. Hillary and Bill fight over certain items and squabble. This was a big 'meh' when it comes to the comedy but it was interesting as to how eerily timely it's become 20 years later. Bill calls Vladimer Putin to congratulate him on his victory, acts all chummy with him and even eludes to Putin murdering his enemies through his KGB ties.
Jamie Foxx Monologue
Hillary is packing her things to move from the White House to New York City as she's running for Senator. Hillary and Bill fight over certain items and squabble. This was a big 'meh' when it comes to the comedy but it was interesting as to how eerily timely it's become 20 years later. Bill calls Vladimer Putin to congratulate him on his victory, acts all chummy with him and even eludes to Putin murdering his enemies through his KGB ties.
Jamie Foxx Monologue
3 Stars
Oliver Stone directs Jamie's monologue
Jamie is happy to be back to comedy after doing some dramatic acting in Oliver Stone's latest film, Any Given Sunday. As he starts his monologue he is interrupted by Stone himself (played by Will) who wants him to try it differently, with stories about Vietnam and helicopters. Kattan comes out as Al Pacino to help as well. Jamie's stories about Pacino spitting when he talks and Cameron Diaz checking him out naked were amusing enough that it didn't feel like he needed help in the monologue but this was still fun.
Hamburger Helper Antibacterial
Jamie is happy to be back to comedy after doing some dramatic acting in Oliver Stone's latest film, Any Given Sunday. As he starts his monologue he is interrupted by Stone himself (played by Will) who wants him to try it differently, with stories about Vietnam and helicopters. Kattan comes out as Al Pacino to help as well. Jamie's stories about Pacino spitting when he talks and Cameron Diaz checking him out naked were amusing enough that it didn't feel like he needed help in the monologue but this was still fun.
Hamburger Helper Antibacterial
2 Stars
Hamburger Helper now includes a powerful antibacterial agent
Now you can feel safe to cook with rancid meat. Parnell demonstrates by using Hamburger Helper Antibacterial with meat that he been in the trunk of his car for over a week. Customers try it and enjoy the taste, even though it stings a little at first. This one didn't do much for me. I like Chris as a commercial pitchman but this almost seemed like a real commercial. There weren't enough exaggerations to make this fun. It actually seemed like something I might want to buy.
Couples Counseling
Now you can feel safe to cook with rancid meat. Parnell demonstrates by using Hamburger Helper Antibacterial with meat that he been in the trunk of his car for over a week. Customers try it and enjoy the taste, even though it stings a little at first. This one didn't do much for me. I like Chris as a commercial pitchman but this almost seemed like a real commercial. There weren't enough exaggerations to make this fun. It actually seemed like something I might want to buy.
Couples Counseling
1 Star
Puff Daddy and Jennifer Lopez seek relationship help
None of this worked for me. Jamie plays Puff Daddy and Cheri plays J. Lo as they talk to their therapist. Puffy keeps pulling random guns out of his coat. I smiled slightly when Jennifer said she won an MTV Video Award for Best New Ass, but this was a dud.
Pillow Talk
None of this worked for me. Jamie plays Puff Daddy and Cheri plays J. Lo as they talk to their therapist. Puffy keeps pulling random guns out of his coat. I smiled slightly when Jennifer said she won an MTV Video Award for Best New Ass, but this was a dud.
Pillow Talk
3 Stars
A prison bitch wants to feel wanted
Will wakes Jamie up to ask him a question that's been on his mind for some time. He wants to make sure that he's still his bitch. Jamie insists that Will will always be his bitch, now and forever, until he kills him. The cellmates (Tim and Horatio) back him up. The premise of this is pretty straightforward but once you get past it, they just seem to like saying 'bitch' a lot. A couple of good jokes here. This reminded me of a sketch from season 10 where Christopher Guest took Martin Short on a walk to court him into becoming his bitch.
A Message from John Goodman
Will wakes Jamie up to ask him a question that's been on his mind for some time. He wants to make sure that he's still his bitch. Jamie insists that Will will always be his bitch, now and forever, until he kills him. The cellmates (Tim and Horatio) back him up. The premise of this is pretty straightforward but once you get past it, they just seem to like saying 'bitch' a lot. A couple of good jokes here. This reminded me of a sketch from season 10 where Christopher Guest took Martin Short on a walk to court him into becoming his bitch.
A Message from John Goodman
1 Star
John Goodman will continue to play Linda Tripp
John Goodman played Linda Tripp 5 times last season but announces that he may no longer be able to. Ms. Tripp recently got plastic surgery, dyed her hair and lost 40 pounds. Goodman is not willing to lose the weight but he is still gonna play her, and he might even gain some weight for the next time. This seemed a tad mean spirited. I mean, I know she wasn't the nicest woman and she did help start a scandal that changed the face of modern politics, but this is just making fun of a woman for how she looks.
Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy
John Goodman played Linda Tripp 5 times last season but announces that he may no longer be able to. Ms. Tripp recently got plastic surgery, dyed her hair and lost 40 pounds. Goodman is not willing to lose the weight but he is still gonna play her, and he might even gain some weight for the next time. This seemed a tad mean spirited. I mean, I know she wasn't the nicest woman and she did help start a scandal that changed the face of modern politics, but this is just making fun of a woman for how she looks.
Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy
2 Stars
Nick Burns fixes computers and makes fun of people
The 2nd appearance of Nick Burns is more of the same. He fixes computers and then mocks people for not being tech savvy, just like his theme song says. They give him a rival in this sketch as Jamie appears to know about computers and starts to usurp Nick's authority. Nick eventually wins in the end and signs off with his beloved catchphrase. The one good thing about these recurring sketches is that I don't feel the need to write about them in too much detail.
Backstage
The 2nd appearance of Nick Burns is more of the same. He fixes computers and then mocks people for not being tech savvy, just like his theme song says. They give him a rival in this sketch as Jamie appears to know about computers and starts to usurp Nick's authority. Nick eventually wins in the end and signs off with his beloved catchphrase. The one good thing about these recurring sketches is that I don't feel the need to write about them in too much detail.
Backstage
2 Stars
Tracy talks to Jamie backstage
Tracy is excited that Jamie's hosting because the show only has one black host per year, which turned out to be true this season. He's tired of pitching his ideas to white dudes like Kelsey Grammar and Dylan McDermott. Eventually Lorne interrupts and Tracy yells at him, "Go get me a soda, bitch!". This is my favorite use of Tracy, when they just have him be himself, but I could have used a different punchline than the last time we saw this in the Garth Brooks episode. The first one was a classic, this just a retread.
Weekend Update
Tracy is excited that Jamie's hosting because the show only has one black host per year, which turned out to be true this season. He's tired of pitching his ideas to white dudes like Kelsey Grammar and Dylan McDermott. Eventually Lorne interrupts and Tracy yells at him, "Go get me a soda, bitch!". This is my favorite use of Tracy, when they just have him be himself, but I could have used a different punchline than the last time we saw this in the Garth Brooks episode. The first one was a classic, this just a retread.
Weekend Update
"If a redneck billionaire megalomaniac and an ultra liberal communist sympathizer can't make it work, what chance do the rest of us have?"
We get yet another joke where Chris Gaines is the punchline. I should be keeping a running tally but I'll just guess that this is the 17th time Colin has used that joke this season. Ya'll should know how I feel about Colin Quinn as an Update anchor at this point, so on to the desk pieces.
Stevie Wonder shows up after undergoing surgery to regain his sight. He falls as he goes to sit in his chair. He removes his sunglasses only to be shocked when he sees what he's wearing, his hair and his wife, played by Tracy. Much like the Linda Tripp sketch from earlier, this one also seemed a little mean spirited. It also seemed ad-libbed as Jamie didn't seem to be following any kind of script.
Comic strip artist Jasper Hahn hopes to fill the void on the funny pages now that Charles Schultz has retired his Peanuts strip. He introduces his new characters, The Fuzzy Buddies. The first one is a dog but he starts drawing a woman's naked body only to later turn it into a dog. The second creature is a moose whose antlers resemble a penis. Juvenile but funny.
Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker is here with a message of peace and love. Rocker was a media sensation at the time due to a few racist and homophobic interviews he gave in the press. Will starts to purposefully bait the audience by calling them "Homo Mexicans" and calls for the murder of the black baby that that Jews and the Pope had together. He says that the Statue Of Liberty has a dong and that he eats rat poison because he can't read the box. Then he climbs on the desk and threatens to piss all over New York. All of this while a smooth jazz version of 'Greatest Love Of All' plays behind him. You can tell Will loves doing this and hearing the boos, like a professional wrestler shouting at a crowd. This was hilarious but sad at the same time knowing that this type of person exists and is able to get elected President.
Blink-182
Comic strip artist Jasper Hahn hopes to fill the void on the funny pages now that Charles Schultz has retired his Peanuts strip. He introduces his new characters, The Fuzzy Buddies. The first one is a dog but he starts drawing a woman's naked body only to later turn it into a dog. The second creature is a moose whose antlers resemble a penis. Juvenile but funny.
Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker is here with a message of peace and love. Rocker was a media sensation at the time due to a few racist and homophobic interviews he gave in the press. Will starts to purposefully bait the audience by calling them "Homo Mexicans" and calls for the murder of the black baby that that Jews and the Pope had together. He says that the Statue Of Liberty has a dong and that he eats rat poison because he can't read the box. Then he climbs on the desk and threatens to piss all over New York. All of this while a smooth jazz version of 'Greatest Love Of All' plays behind him. You can tell Will loves doing this and hearing the boos, like a professional wrestler shouting at a crowd. This was hilarious but sad at the same time knowing that this type of person exists and is able to get elected President.
Blink-182
"All The Small Things"
I wonder what I would think of Blink-182 with fresh eyes. The 37 year old me thinks this kinda sucks. But 17 year old me thought it was rad. I listen to this song and instantly think back to my High School days, watching MTV after school and loving this band. Watching it now makes me think, what the hell was I listening to? Still, I tapped my toes and bopped my head during this performance.
Showtime at the Apollo
2 Stars
Amateurs compete at the Apollo
Speaking of going back to my childhood, I remember so many Saturday nights spent watching SNL and then realizing it was time to go to bed once the theme song to Showtime At The Apollo came on. Tracy plays Steve Harvey, proving that impressions are not his strong suit. Tim comes out with a ventriloquist dummy, Kattan and Parnell do a lame white guy dance, Cheri and 2 backup dancers do an explicit rap song, Jamie takes the stage to sing Somewhere Over The Rainbow dressed as a nerd with his hand down his pants. The winner however is a hot girl who took her top off to a Parliament song.
Stereotypically Jeffrey
Speaking of going back to my childhood, I remember so many Saturday nights spent watching SNL and then realizing it was time to go to bed once the theme song to Showtime At The Apollo came on. Tracy plays Steve Harvey, proving that impressions are not his strong suit. Tim comes out with a ventriloquist dummy, Kattan and Parnell do a lame white guy dance, Cheri and 2 backup dancers do an explicit rap song, Jamie takes the stage to sing Somewhere Over The Rainbow dressed as a nerd with his hand down his pants. The winner however is a hot girl who took her top off to a Parliament song.
Stereotypically Jeffrey
4 Stars
A black employee wants people to see more than just race
When Tracy leaves an office meeting, Horatio refers to him as 'the black guy' which offends Jamie.
"So skin is the only thing you see when you him, huh? You see Jeffrey, the black guy. Not Jeffrey, the guy with the great smile or Jeffrey, the guy who loves movie trivia."
Jamie goes on to describe more of Jeffrey's interests like how he likes to play basketball, run fast, eat fried chicken and steal cars. He also has 15 kids, smokes crack, wants to kidnap white women and has a large penis. Horatio realizes his error and asks that everyone come back to his adobe hut and have tacos with Pepe and the 50 other guys that hang out in his hatchback. I detest racism but I love pointing out our differences for comedic effect. As long as it's done smartly and the joke is never on someone's race as a negative. Sketches like these walk a fine line but this one pulled it off.
Blink-182 returns with "What's My Age Again?" and if my age was 17, I would be loving this. A 37 year old man thinks, these guys should learn another song as these all sound exactly the same.
A Martin Luther King Day Moment
When Tracy leaves an office meeting, Horatio refers to him as 'the black guy' which offends Jamie.
"So skin is the only thing you see when you him, huh? You see Jeffrey, the black guy. Not Jeffrey, the guy with the great smile or Jeffrey, the guy who loves movie trivia."
Jamie goes on to describe more of Jeffrey's interests like how he likes to play basketball, run fast, eat fried chicken and steal cars. He also has 15 kids, smokes crack, wants to kidnap white women and has a large penis. Horatio realizes his error and asks that everyone come back to his adobe hut and have tacos with Pepe and the 50 other guys that hang out in his hatchback. I detest racism but I love pointing out our differences for comedic effect. As long as it's done smartly and the joke is never on someone's race as a negative. Sketches like these walk a fine line but this one pulled it off.
Blink-182 returns with "What's My Age Again?" and if my age was 17, I would be loving this. A 37 year old man thinks, these guys should learn another song as these all sound exactly the same.
A Martin Luther King Day Moment
3 Stars
Martin Luther King Jr. talks about another dream
2 weeks before Dr. King's famous speech he gave a less famous speech where he talked about a dream where he was naked in High School taking a test he didn't study for and ended up riding a fish with his friend who was missing his face. Jamie gives a very solid performance here, being able to nail the comedy while still treating the character with respect.
FINAL ANALYSIS
2 weeks before Dr. King's famous speech he gave a less famous speech where he talked about a dream where he was naked in High School taking a test he didn't study for and ended up riding a fish with his friend who was missing his face. Jamie gives a very solid performance here, being able to nail the comedy while still treating the character with respect.
FINAL ANALYSIS
"You drink my piss you filthy hobo gypsies"
Average
Average
2.3 Stars
MVP
Will Ferrell
Hillary Moves Out, Monologue, Hamburger Helper Antibacterial, Pillow Talk, Weekend Update
Best Sketch
Hillary Moves Out, Monologue, Hamburger Helper Antibacterial, Pillow Talk, Weekend Update
Best Sketch
Stereotypically Jeffrey
Worst Sketch
Couples Counseling
Couples Counseling
How I Would Have Lorne Michaels-ed It
The show started slow and built. Usually I would advocate for a stronger lead off sketch but the reason I liked this as much as I did was because it got better as it went along. By the end of the episode I had forgotten about sketches like Puff Daddy, John Goodman and Nick Burns and I was only remembering the good stuff. So, no changes this week. Sometimes it's better to end strong.
Host Analysis
Host Analysis
Jamie Foxx was a little hammy at times but solid. That's probably to be expected seeing that he actually has a sketch comedy background and he was probably trying to prove that he was meant to be there. I liked him. He was able to take the lead in a sketch, which is not something I can say for about half of the people that have hosted the show.
Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
An enjoyable but sometimes weak episode. There are a few really high highs that outweigh the lows. For the first time in maybe ever my favorite moment came from Weekend Update. That's definitely the first time in the Colin Quinn era that's been true.
Up Next
Freddie Prinze Jr. hosts with musical guest Macy Gray. I'm more excited for the latter but hopefully the comedic presence of a teen movie star can surprise me.
Up Next
Freddie Prinze Jr. hosts with musical guest Macy Gray. I'm more excited for the latter but hopefully the comedic presence of a teen movie star can surprise me.
Jay Pharoah does a great impression of him in a Annie sketch.
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