Saturday Night Live: Tina Fey (host), Nicki Minaj (Musical Guest).
Host – Tina Fey
I have long thought that there are two components to SNL that make it the biggest sketch comedy show in America. Those two components are comedy and spectacle. I think both components are important and when they are both present in the show, the show can produce something incredible. For example, the David S. Pumpkins sketch combines good comedy with the spectacle of superstar Tom Hanks being incredibly silly.
However, if one of those components is missing, then the show feels like a bit of a dud. I
I feel like this episode was all spectacle, and no comedic substance. For the season finale, the show throws a ton of celebrity cameos at the audience very quickly, but it just feels like they are there to be there.
They thought it would be a good for the finale to have appearances from Robert DeNiro, Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, John Goodman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anne Hathaway and more, but they didn’t really have any great bits for them to play out. They had some mediocre bits that were certainly elevated by them being there, but overall I don’t think I will remember any of these cameos a few weeks from now.
Maybe, since it is the end of the season, the writers are mostly out of produceable ideas and the cameos really dressed up an already dull show.
Tina Fey did a fine job as host. The episode was nothing special, but not because she failed to perform.
Lately, I’ve been listing a few sketches that I thought were worth showing your friends and family, but there aren’t really any that are worth spotlighting. If you really want to watch something, the Royal Wedding sketch (where Prince Harry does an MTV style tour of his wedding) has some laughs and Kate McKinnon’s performance in the Morning Joe sketch is very funny, but I wouldn’t advise you make other people watch them with you.
Musical Guest: Nicki Minaj
Say what you want about Nicki Minaj, she owns a stage. Underneath all of the outlandish costumes and background dancers, there is a performer who has real charisma and can form a real connection with the audience. Her first performance of the night was the only performance of the entire season that I didn’t zone out during.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDHSskZ44XU
