Saturday Night Live: Chris Pine (host), LCD Soundsystem (Musical Guest)
Host: Chris Pine
I have a generally positive view on Chris Pine. I remember seeing him for the first time in Star Trek and thinking, “This kid is a star!” And then… not really seeing all that much of him. I thought we were looking at the next Tom Cruise, but he’s been mostly under the radar.
But, when I did see him, he impressed. He was incredible in both Into the Woods and Hell or High Water. He has all the tools to be a top leading man in Hollywood and potentially a good showing on SNL could show a wider audience that he is the leading man they’ve all been waiting for.
Fortunately, Chris Pine really delivers. All of his singing and dancing abilities (that he exhibited in Into the Woods) are in full effect and he really throws himself into each scene whole heartedly. He really felt like one of the gang in the best way. He is basically everything you could ask for in a host.
Sketch of the Night: The House
The House is a parody of modern Reality TV and its over reliance on “confessionals” to explain motivations. A simple misunderstanding about who was going to make frozen drinks and who was going to drink them is turned into high drama with the use of dramatic confessionals and music cues. The comedy comes from the high drama being spun from the most low stakes of incidents and the whole thing is turned on its head at the end when an actual dramatic incident breaks out and the confessionals make the drama seem silly instead of more serious.
Worst Sketch of the Night: World Peace Rap
Jerry Seinfeld once told Mike Meyers that the thing that made Meyers great was that he was able to parody topics that no one knew and still keep people laughing. However, the Beck Bennett and the others in the World Peace Rap weren’t able to pull off this magic trick. I didn’t know what they were parodying and the jokes they put in the sketch weren’t enough to jump that hurtle. Maybe if you are someone who is familiar with European rap videos, this is a totally different experience. But, it didn’t hit me.
Musical Guest: LCD Soundsytem
I know for certain that I watched it, but I can’t remember a single thing that happened or what either song sounded like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA852O3Yz_k
