I can only remember one SNL episode that the musical guest was also the host. I loved it. Then again, it was Mick Jagger, and Mick Jagger is Mick Jagger; and being Mick Jagger is a good thing. We'll see how Bruno did.
SNL starts very wisely by making fun of the second Presidential Debate that was held in Hempstead, New York. I saw the debate for myself, and I was hoping SNL would spoof the debate because the actual debate was hilarious, especially involving Candy, the moderator. SNL covers everything to make fun of including the candidates, Candy, and the seemingly undecided voters who asked the candidates questions. Also, Tom Hanks was a special guest in this skit! That's right, Tom Hanks!
Bruno Mars kicks off his monologue by admitting that he has never acted or done comedy. He then sings a made up song asking to himself what he is doing hosting SNL. He has obviously been preparing for at least a week like every host, but it was a kind gesture being honest.
SNL's first skit worth mentioning features the Pandora Internet Radio Headquarters. The headquarters is about to lose signal on the Green Day radio and relies on an intern played by Bruno Mars to sing like Green Day. What's really funny about this skit is that he can sound like Green Day while making fun of them at the same time. Everything seems fine at Pandora until the Aerosmith vocals break down. The "intern" sings it perfectly. Right after, Katy Perry's station broke down mid-Firework so he has to fill in again. Then Bieber's station is next to go during his song 'Boyfriend' I'm guessing. Pandora then lost one of my favorite artists, Louis Armstrong's station during 'What a Wonderful World'. Unfortunately the intern butchered it. Michael Jackson's radio becomes broken which the intern again fills in. Once Pandora became fully operational, sadly the intern died. SNL was very smart in this episode to utilize Bruno's skill set.
Later, Bruno starts off his musical performance with his new song, 'Locked Out of Heaven'. It had a nice beat, but he sure said, "Aw yeah yeah" for about half of the song.
Weekend Update Rip List:
Obama, Romney, rural Americans, Honey Boo Boo, Kirstin Gillibrand, Wendy Long, Florida, The Winter Olympics.
I had to stop the Rip List short because my all time favorite character, Stefon, played by Bill Hader, was on Weekend Update. I just wanted to throw that out there because he is hilarious. So that's enough for
Weekend Update.
Bruno Mars later sings his next new song 'Young Girls'. I don't know whether he wrote this song, or whether the lyrics were from his heart. If so, then I enjoyed it very much. It seemed like he opened up his life to the world and I respected him for it. It was a brilliant song.
I wasn't expecting much from Bruno Mars, but he did a fantastic job. SNL played to his strengths, and the end result was very successful.
Positives: Political satire, great skits, Stefon on Weekend Update, Tom Hanks,
Negatives: Weak monologue
Overall Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Feel free to comment your thoughts, and thanks for reading.
I think Bruno Mars was one of the best hosts this season! In addition to his musical greatness, I hope to see him hosting SNL again soon. I was unable to see the show the other night since I was working late at DISH, so I set my Hopper to automatically record the show to the huge hard drive so I could watch it the next morning. I like that I can have the entire season on my DVR, and still have plenty of space left over. Bruno Mars is one of my favorite artists and I am really excited to get his album this December!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been fortunate enough to watch this season, but your reviews definitely keep me in the loop. I think the writing style is fantastic and I look forward to reading it each week. I also agree that the cast is probably weaker now that some of the talent has left. I also prefer the older skits, but I feel like they're probably doing the best with what they have.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, I appreciate it. I think SNL was lucky to have a great supporting cast during Samberg and Wiig's last season, but they don't quite fill the void that Samberg and Wiig left this season. I think SNL will slowly get better during the next seasons,hopefully.
ReplyDelete