Saturday Night Live
“Blake Shelton”
(NBC)
B-
In the midst of its 40th season, Saturday Night Live has consistently pulled out all the shops to make it a special one. Still saddled by a cast that has yet to find its breakout star or collective identity, the institution is slowly finding a groove by angling for a diverse collection of hosts and star-powered cameos. Unexpected but encouraging is the fact that two of this season’s hosts have roots in Oklahoma. Already-legendary former cast member and Tulsa ex-pat Bill Hader returned to 30 Rock in October, and now comes Ada’s native son Blake Shelton.
The choice is a bit of corporate synergy, no doubt indebted to Shelton’s presence on NBC’s ratings juggernaut The Voice, but it’s a good one. Comedians and A-listers are just fine (the former preferred), but the country crooner brought something a little different to the plate and gave writers a chance to walk on new terrain, even if they forced a few non-starters along the way.
As far as country artists go, Shelton is one of the more tolerable names. Sturgill Simpson he is not, but he’s more Garth Brooks than Mr. Boot In Your Ass Toby Keith, at least. In a lot of ways, Shelton is the quintessential good ol’ boy you can actually find common ground with: You might come from different social circles, but at least you can carry on a conversation and laugh a little with the guy. He’s affable, candid and unguarded, traits that occasionally land him in hot water, but also add a lot to his charisma. Those also happen to be the traits of a good host, and while he wasn’t Justin Timberlake (or even Bruno Mars), Shelton was a perfectly game and natural performer who carried the show more often than he let it down.
After a requisite Deflategate cold opener that floundered (Beck Bennett’s gruff Bill Belichick was fine, Taran Killam’s dumb Tom Brady and toothless jokes surrounding it less so), Shelton entered into fray with an opening monologue centered on his love of Hee Haw and tried-and-true country gags about bad cooking and incest. It was uneven and hampered by some miscues, but the “troublemakin’ cutie” kept it trucking along just fine. It’s still better than another goddamned musical number, and Leslie Jones in blonde pigtails is hard to turn down.
Then came The Bachelor sendup Farm Hunk. It was tonally exceptional, nailing the rote dialogue (“I love that.” “Hi, can I steal him for a second?”), the contestant’s ambivalence to it all and the typecast characters that inevitably bubble out of casting — the traumatized one, the inordinately sexualized elementary school teacher, and the semi-normal one all bonded together by being far too eager to please.
The cast doubled down on that momentum with “Wishin’ Boot,” a pitch-perfect parody of sappy-country-ballad music videos that managed to touch on all the tropes and introduce a nice bit of surreal moments (a knife-wielding boot is a special sight). Shelton giddily playing what seemed to be a C-grade Alan Jackson — mustached and all — was giggle-worthy in and of itself. “My Darlin’ Joan” treaded similar territory later in the episode, a heartfelt eulogy by means of song that quickly turned grim with increasingly dark (and hilarious) revelations.
A requisite edition of Celebrity Family Feud trotted in with the very-expected setup of The Voice judges versus American Idol, but without an even-more-expected Adam Levine cameo. The impersonations were hit or miss (Kyle Mooney’s Steven Tyler and Sasheer Zamata’s Nicki Minaj had little zip). Kenan Thompson’s take on Steve Harvey is something, though. Like Will Ferrell’s George Bush, it transcends beyond imitation into a character of its very own, and he delivered a consistent barrage of searing one-liners, even if the crowd’s response to them was muted by an otherwise flat setup and conclusion.
Weekend Update took a messy turn, a letdown given that Colin Jost and Michael Ché’s chemistry had vastly improved over the course of the season. Their interactions were practically nonexistent, and the jokes — especially the instant replay bit — were lazy. Pete Davidson’s standup piece about testing his sexuality with a barrage of gay porn was an improvement, as was Bobby Monahan’s’ cocky, job-stealing, mic-dropping Riblet who zapped a great deal of energy into an otherwise flatlining installment.
Post-Update we got the Shawshank Redemption-turned-defiant cannibal sketch “Parole Board” and “Magician.” Each were little more than adequate, though Shelton’s magic skeptic-turned-believer in the latter was the most untethered we found him all night. He came ready to play, but the writing often didn’t take advantage of the leash he was willing to give them. Regardless, Hader’s stint as host stands as an artistic best this season, and Shelton’s is one of the highest-rated (second only to Chris Rock’s vaunted return). Oklahoma is one of SNL 40′s biggest winners so far.
LOL Moments
“Hell, man, we even have a kook with a jug”
“I call this my giggle juice”
“There’s so many beautiful girls here, but tonight I have to send three of them home. Probably the two black girls, plus one of the curly haired ones.”
“It’s the first suit made by Hennessy.”
“Any man who starts his day dressing from his hat down is OK with me.” – Harvey on Pharrell
“Excuse me, but I think this Bratz doll is possessed.” – Harvey on Nicki Minaj
“You look like a dreamcatcher came to life.” – Harvey on Steven Tyler
“This Wednesday was National Hug Day … Dad.”
“I’m a straight 5 and a gay 1.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re a straight 8 and a gay 10.”
“Activate guns for hands.”
