"Agent 420" (Grade: F)
Agent 420, as in 4:20. Get it? That's the whole joke. James Bond as a pot-head. This is the kind of immature sketch they really shouldn't do. I suppose for some people pot humor never gets old (no matter how lame it is).
"O.J. Simpson Jury Selection" (Grade: B)
In the first funny sketch of the show, lawyers attempt to find an "impartial" jury in the new O.J. Simpson trial. Despite finding people who were not from earth, who had been in a coma for thirty years, who had lived in a cave, and who had been raised by wolves, everyone still had their opinion on Simpson (and it wasn't the opinion Simpson's lawyer was looking for). Wil Forte was particularly funny as the coma patient who remembered Simpson as the Heisman Trophy winning college student, and then was worried that he might actually be "O.J. Simpson that murderer."
SNL Digital Short: "Hey! (Murray Hill)" (Grade: C)
This had a somewhat funny beginning, with Franco playing a man who was worried his date didn't like him because he had a "small ding-dong." Unfortunately the film's only humor from that point on, was to have Franco say "small ding-dong" as many times as possible. Gossip Girl Blake Lively made a cameo as the girl who shared something in common with Franco's character.
"TNT Promo: The Looker" (Grade: C-)
Penny Marshall is The Looker. Fred Armisen did a great job with Marshall's facial expression. Other than that the concecpt was fairly lame. Marshall as a detective who gets criminals to confess by staring them down over he glasses. Jason Sudeikis was funny as one of the confessors.
Musical Performance: Kings Of Leon - "Sex On Fire"
"Weekend Update" (Grade: C)
"Weekend Update" has become the most stale part of SNL. It's always the same. The anchors (Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers) take tibits out of real news and make sarcastic comments about them. Usually they bring out a guest of some kind, this week it was Lehman employee and some guy who is getting sued for sexual harassment by his employees. "Weekend Update" is never that good, it's not horrible (occasionally there are a few good laughs), it's just that same old fake news sketch that marks the mid-point of the show.
"The New York Times Covers Alaska" (Grade B-)
The New York Times wants to find out everything about Sarah Palin's background and decides it must send its city slicker reporters on location. There are quite a few funny moments in this sketch with the reporters being worried about polar bear attacks and not being able to order Thai take-out. Franco, as the boss, tells anyone who thinks they won't be comfortable going to Alaska that "they will understand." Eventually only three reporters are up to the task. On the negative side, the bit about uncovering incest in Palin's family was not funny at all. It didn't really make sense, even in the context of the reporters ignorance about Palin and Alaska.
Article comments
1 - Dick Cheney
Oh, come on. The opening McCain commercial bit was hilarious and you know it. Try watching it again without your political agenda blinders on.
It was an excellent satire of the sleazy, dishonest commercials coming from the McCain/Bush team that even Karl Rove has said were lies.
"Barack Obama wants to give tax cuts to pedophiles." "I'm John McCain and I approve this message."
2 - Carl Rove
Hey, "Dick Cheney", if that is your real name. How dare you accuse the writer, Sherry Lipp (if that is her real name), of being a biased Republican. Maybe she lives in an area where they aren't showing those offensive, lying McCain campaign commercials. If you haven't seen the commercials, then you wouldn't understand how funny the sketch was.
"Barack Obama has fathered two black children, in wedlock." "I'm John McCain and I approve this message."
3 - John McCane
Hold on, you two. This is John McCain and I've been assured by the Bush team that is writing my commercials attacking Barack Obama that they are all true.
My new commercial is about how Barack Obama wants to enslave the white race & take away our Bibles and guns. I'm John McCain and I approve this message.
4 - Brad Laidman
Don't get me wrong - the show sucks - but why exactly is pot humor too immature to do? Especially, given the fact that Franco is essentially reprising his latest role in Pineapple Express, which was both fairly immature and extremely funny.