BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) EPISODE 2: Bryan Cranston/Kanye West
This is the dark horse episode of the season. After it aired I didn’t think too much of it. The more I think back about it the better it was. It had that really weird “What Up With That?” that was hilarious and at least two mullet sightings. Cranston wasn’t the best host, but he was solid and did a good job blending in with the cast. He didn’t make it about him and sometimes that’s enough to be a good host. This and the fact that Kanye rocked it is why this one sneaks in here. I’m not a huge Kanye fan anymore. He’s talented and I like him, but he’s just a bit too overbearing and clingy for attention. He tries too hard to be above everything and is just a douche 99% of the time anymore. That aside, on this night he stole the show. He did an MTV or Grammy or some other big award show a little while before this and it blew folks minds. I thought his SNL performance was even better. I don’t care how much it reminded me of that seasons when Cosby opened up with an all out family dance number.
(THREE) EPISODE 16: Miley Cyrus/The Strokes
The Strokes are one of my favorite bands from the 00’s. On this episode they came in and did a good job with their songs. They’re nothing too crazy on stage, but I just dig their music. I never liked Miley Cyrus. I’m just not a fan of the Disney crap, her daddy issues, and the overexposure of her. I’m sure she’s a cool person, but I’m obviously not her demographic as I’m not a 13 year old or a creepy old man. The episode ended up being solid. She didn’t hold back on anything. She had no problem referencing her bong hits, her dad stuff, and her overall image. I really like Vanessa Bayer’s impression of her on “The Miley Cyrus Show” and for her to show up and play along was cool. I turns out she has a sense of humor about herself and that pretty much instantly gave her “street cred” with me. I’m not going to go out and buy her CDs or watch any of her movies, but I can at least respectfully ignore her.
(TWO) EPISODE 11: Jim Carrey/The Black Keys
Jim Carrey should have been a cast member of SNL instead of In Living Color. I enjoyed In Living Color, but Jim Carrey would have been one of the best cast members of all time on SNL. I have no doubts about it. The man is charisma defined. His early comedy stuff would have rocked on SNL. In Living Color started in 1990 and he would be on the cast list until 94. Imagine if Carrey would have came in to SNL in 1990, the same year as Farley, Sandler, Spade, and Tim Meadows came in. Talk about an insane “Freshman Class”. Add them to Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Kevin Nealon, etc. Jim Carrey doing sketches with Chris Farley or Adam Sandler or Dana Carvey literally blows my mind. LITERALLY. Anywho, Carrey is awesome. He has matured, but on this episode he stepped back into his slap-shtick/over the top comedy roots. It was just a solid episode. Then we get The Black Keys too? Greatness!
(ONE) EPISODE 21: Ed Helms/Paul Simon
This episode came out of nowhere and surprised the hell out of me. I like Ed Helms a lot and I’ve come to terms that Paul Simon is awesome, especially when he’s with Art Garfunkel. The main three sketches on this show to me was “What Up With That?”, “The Ambiguously Gay Duo”, and the Obama sketch. First the Obama sketch. Fred Armisen does an okay Obama, but always a little flat. The “Kill Osama!” stand up speech FINALLY gave the Obama persona some character. The thing about the Bush and Clinton impressions was that it puts the character in an almost larger than life persona. They FINALLY did that here and it was hilarious. “What Up With That?” was a welcomed treat. I thought it was done for, but they brought it back. If that’s the last appearance of the sketch at least they ended it with class. The real Lindsey Buckingham showing up was pretty awesome despite him being a little hammy. The highlight was the surprise appearance and return of TV Funhouse. We got a live action version of The Ambiguously Gay Duo that will most likely go down as the best clip of the year. Ed Helms was a good host. He didn’t come in and overshadow anyone, but rather blended in and was part of the team. To me, those are the best hosts.
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