"Ledge Jumper" (Grade C+)
In this sketch two cops (Will Forte and Bill Hader) attempt to talk down a suicidal man (Rudd) on a ledge. Forte says he has the perfect solution – he yells “don’t” over and over. Forte has been doing the "repeat the same word to the point of annoyance" bit for many years and I have never personally been a fan of it. The jokes about suicide were somewhat distasteful, particularly the complaints that the jumper would create a messy “splashback” if he didn’t zip his jacket.
Musical Performance: Beyonce – “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
"Parking Lot Workers Discuss Prop. 8" (Grade C-)
Amidst protest concerning California’s Prop 8 a couple of seemingly tough guy blue collar workers discuss how “hilarious” it would be if they were homosexual. In a punchline I saw coming as soon the sketch started, it turns out they are. I’m not sure if there was any larger point this sketch, but the jokes were all too obvious and not funny.
Film: “Clearing The Air” (Grade D)
Over the years SNL has showcased short films on the show. In fact Albert Brooks got his start making short films for SNL. In my experience watching these films, I have never really seen many that were that good (including those of Brooks). This one is no exception. The credits said the film was by "Fred, Bill and Noah." I can assume that Fred and Bill refer to Fred Armisen and Bill Hader, who were featured in the film along with Paul Rudd. Even as a student film this short wouldn’t spark much attention. It revolved around a few guy friends who have all dated the same girl and they all want to know if everyone is "cool" with the situation. The conversation devolves into them repeating the same words rapidly over and over - "no, no, no, no" or "good, good, good, good" in lieu of being able to articulate what they really want to say to each other. It pretty much just ends there. There just wasn't enough to it to make it interesting. The only thing it really had going for it was decent acting.
All in all this episode exceeded my expectations. I thought perhaps the pressure of needing to come up with good material after the election would be too much for them. I was pleasantly surprised to mind myself at least chuckling at several of the sketches. With the exception of the short film at the end, I didn't think anything was really bad. My main complaint is we didn't get to see much of the Abby Elliott or Michaela Watkins. They only had brief appearances in a couple of sketches and really may well have been extras as far as anyone knew. Instead of throwing the short film on during the last five minutes they would have been better off with a sketch that featured their new cast members.
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