January 23, 2016 – Ronda Rousey / Selena Gomez (S41 E11)

Cold Opening – Trump Rally

• Here comes our first solo Trump open with Darrell’s own take on the future president.
• Didn’t we just have Tina as Palin like two episodes ago? I’m not complaining here though, as her impression is always reliable for laughs even when it was a mere stunt casting, and the one that opened the flood gates for Trumpwin & others in this era as it progressed.
• Bah, I’m not caring for this unfunny running bit with Darrell’s Trump commenting on how crazy Palin sounds here. It is not only unfunny, but aged like milk when knowing in hindsight how the Trump presidency will go on to be, and what his movement will cause to this nation and bring up some of the most insane, unhinged ghouls that will dominate in the years during & following his presidency. This era in general, starting really with next season will act as a comedy show and a history book in general.
• Why not have Tina take over this cold open? Her line deliveries remain as sharp as ever. It seems like a big waste of her impression to have her be in the background droning on and on while Darrell’s Trump is rambling about how “crazy” she is.
• That bit with Tina’s Palin doing an aside to the camera came off lame, even though Tina performed it as solid as usual.

Rating: *1/2

Monologue

• Very good energy and nice enthusiasm from Ronda early on.
• Oh, I love the idea with this monologue suddenly turning into a boxing match; a very elaborate and fun concept, and it also reminds me of the Natalie Portman monologue two seasons from now.
• Kenan is perfect as the typical boxing coach, he’s just excellent here as usual.
• For a person with no professional training in acting, Ronda is executing this concept perfectly and displaying natural likability and energy.
• Funny cutaway to Kyle, he steals monologues in general with his brief appearances.
• I love the running bit with Cecily’s walk-ons as the typical ring girl.
• A great monologue in general, I’m a bit surprised that I do not remember it being this elaborate and fun.

Rating: ****

Screen Guild Awards

• I recall liking this sketch a lot back when this episode aired, and considered it a very sharp satirical take by SNL in regards to the lack of black nominees in that year’s Oscars.
• I’m loving the slow reveal of this sketch’s conceit, and it’s being done pretty well.
• I LOVE how more and more these white actors are getting nominated over the most pointless and useless roles, as Pete’s whole scene showcases that hilariously.
• Surprisingly very strong dramatic acting from Michael here, he really should consider doing some dramatic work after SNL. I did hear that his sketch show contains some semi-dramatic pieces, so I’ll give it a watch soon.
• Beck’s whole brief, pointless scene & his look towards the camera are hilarious, as well as Michael’s reaction to him.
• Leslie’s scene was pretty solid too, who knew she could act this dramatic and serious? She’s been impressing me in these reviews, when given the right roles that is.
• A great sketch overall, with a biting take on the issue of under-representing black performers, and performers of color in general.

Rating: ****

Love Struck

• I’m loving the visual aesthetic to this short so far, it feels like a real movie that would be screened in cinemas.
• A great reveal of the elaborate, cruel prank that Vanessa’s mean girl archetype pulled on Ronda, and the latter’s reaction was solid.
• By the way, Vanessa’s been KILLING IT this season so far, both behind the desk and in these shorts, this the third excellent showcase of her playing against type, and knowing what the next episode has for me, it will only get better for her.
• Kate’s delivery of her “Say hi… to the whole school!” was excellent, as per usual of Kate.
• A big laugh from the first well-deserved punch that Vanessa’s character receives from Ronda; a great utilization of Ronda’s fighting skills.
• I’m enjoying how Vanessa’s character is trying to stay in her mean mode while getting beaten up badly by Ronda. This sketch could’ve been made to be very mean-spirited like that AWFUL Champ short later on in this season, and without getting anywhere else, with no twist and no escalation to an interesting point, yet the decision to have the bully getting beaten up makes this short work, and Vanessa’s excellent & cruel characterization, as well as Ronda’s performance sells the hell out of this short, and makes it avoid being a useless & unnecessary one.
• Overall, a major season highlight, and one of Vanessa’s finest performances of her tenure so far.

Rating: ****1/2

Bland Man

• And now it is time for our annual bachelor sketch of the season.
• Kate’s bringing up good energy to this sketch with her fun performance.
• Taran’s selling his bland character very well here, as well as his various reactions.
• Aidy’s whole part with her family almost steals this entire sketch and makes it up for me.
• Selena’s blending very well here, and feels much like a cast member. It is sure weird for me to review her in a sketch after just recently reviewing her hosting stint in season 47.
• A good reveal that Selena’s playing herself, although it feels like a carbon copy of the reveal that Leslie was playing herself in the first sketch.

Rating: ***

Musical Performance – “Good For You” / “Same Old Love”

• Jesse Nathan: I find it kinda funny that SNL would book all three Disney “pop princesses” as musical guests this season. First Miley Cyrus, then Demi Lovato, and now Selena Gomez. And to put this over the top, we also get Ariana Grande performing four episodes from now. The circle is complete.
• By the way, given how long Selena has been in the entertainment industry (about 20 years as of this writing), it’s kinda shocking that she still hasn’t reached 30 (again, as of this writing). Hell, she was only 23 when this episode aired.
• Neat intro.
• That’s a rather…appealing outfit that Selena’s wearing.
• Cool in-sync snapping from the men around Selena, but I can’t shake the feeling that they’re not really snapping and that we’re hearing pre-recorded audio.
• I like Selena’s smile after she first says “so don’t”.
• “Gonna wear that dress you like…” But you already are.
• “Do my hair up real nice.” Again, you already are.
• There’s something about Selena’s presence and involvement in this song that kinda bugs me. I think it has something to do with the fact that she still looks like a teen, so her begging for sex isn’t very believable for me, especially when you’re trying to pull that off live.
• The chorus fell kinda flat.
• Oh yeah, both “Good for You” and “Same Old Love” had snapping in them. Talk about lazy, huh?
• Oof, Selena’s attempt at singing the opening line of “Same Old Love” fell flat, and I’m 95% sure she wasn’t on key.
• Oops, I spoke too soon, as Selena was pretty much off-key for the entire opening verse.
• I kinda like Selena’s facial expressions.
• The chorus was really poorly-executed.
• Boy, Selena’s attempt at interacting with the snappers didn’t even look real. I assume she realized how bad it went, given her genuine smile after it happened.
• I like Selena’s smile when the song ends.
• Overall, the first subpar musical performance of the season.

Rating: **

Weekend Update

• A very solid Oscars rant from Michael, his whole bit about the movie Brooklyn was great (and it also reminded me of how much I loved Saoirse Ronan’s episode later in this era).
• Good to see a rare outdoors Update bit! Bobby is perfect for this role.
• Wow, and now Bobby’s whole bit just ended.
• It feels like Leslie’s on Update every two episodes this season, while I’m not that big of a fan of her comedy style (despite her giving me good laughs in almost every episode), I understand why she’s behind the desk this frequently, as her commentaries always kill with the audience.
• This commentary is the usual Leslie talking about sex one, yet her whole demeanor and energy here are very infectious. I’ve been surprised that my dislike of Leslie slightly softened with these reviews. I never disliked her as a person, I absolutely adore her personally, but I never felt that she fit into SNL with her MANY line flubs, awkward pauses, and character breaks, and doing these reviews affirmed that for me once more, but I still look forward to reviewing some of her highlights.
• A hilarious demonstration from Leslie of what a “laugh-gasm” is.
• And now we return to Bobby’s character, and the visual of his frozen body is hilarious.
• Love Colin’s natural compliment joke, amongst my favorites of his.
• Willie! Happy to see him again.
• I love Willie’s final line “You should’ve saved your brother Willie!”

Rating: ****

Teacher Trial

• Wait, why are we getting a sequel to the sketch from last season’s Taraji P. Henson episode?
• Man, seeing Pete here never fails in making me remember the classic Za sketch in two seasons from now.
• Kate’s getting some solid laughs from her various reactions here; she’s so good at getting laughs without much effort.
• I’m not liking that this sketch is copying the same formula as the first one, especially the one-liners being delivered by Ronda are in the same vein as the ones delivered by Cecily in the previous installment.
• That whole video of Pete is easily the best part of this rehash, and actually bumped up my rating by half-a-star.

Rating: ***

Super Crew

• Some great costume designs in this sketch, making these character feel like they are from an actual superhero movie or show.
• While this sketch has some good energy, and the cast seems to be having fun in it, the material is quite not there, it feels hollow and the audience is eerily quiet so far.
• Ronda actually feels like she could do very well as a superhero character in either the MCU or DC.
• God bless Aidy, as her whole scene is easily the funniest in this sketch so far.
• Blah at the “Fire Butt” bit with Jon, and we now get a fart gag? How old is whomever wrote this sketch?
• Overall, a weak sketch, despite the good energy and commitment by the performers.

Rating: **

At the Club

• Great direction and visuals to this short, especially the color grading which is done quite well here.
• I’m enjoying the contrast between Taran & Jay and Beck’s incompetent attempts at flirting.
• Very fun rapping from Beck, as well as the fun visuals accompanying it.
• Ronda’s straight man reactions here are solid, and providing some good laughs.
• Love the sudden tone shift with everybody’s very negative reactions when Beck rudely shoves Kate.
• An overall solid rap short, and very good display of Beck’s natural goofiness and fun commitment as a performer.

Rating: ***1/2

Citizens Forum

• Didn’t we do this sketch in the Amy Schumer episode? I guess the writers found it hard to write to Ronda, as she is a non-actor, so they went through the easy choice of rehashing various sketches.
• Leslie steals this sketch with how brief her segment went, another good usage of Leslie’s energy as a performer. Her delivery of her “Bye!” gave me a solid laugh.
• Aidy’s Jan Krang is always good for a couple of quick laughs.
• The audience is a bit quiet so far, barely any chuckles during Aidy’s whole scene.
• Kyle’s whole scene is doing nothing for me, despite Kyle’s usual energy and fun performance.
• Cecily’s a solid straight man here, and this episode in general, much like Adam Driver & Amy Adams’, serve as an alternate universe where Cecily’s great utility player talents are used more instead of her mostly awful solo work.

Rating: ***

Musical Performance – “Hands To Myself”

• Jesse Nathan: Neat staging. I hope that’s not the only interesting thing about this performance.
• Not caring for Selena’s breathy vocals. They’re fine in the studio version, but it doesn’t really work live.
• Selena’s attempt at singing the chorus again fell flat.
• The instrumental doesn’t sound too good here.
• Selena’s interaction with the male dancer here is better than when she tried doing that in the live version, I’ll give her that.
• Okay, that interaction fell flat at the end.
• No idea what to make of this bit with Selena and two other people.
• Boy, Selena’s vocals during the bridge are falling very flat.
• Overall, despite the presentation, the song was poorly executed, and Selena’s vocals didn’t help.

Rating: **1/2 (the latter for the presentation)

Football Party

• Ah, it feels so good to see Beck in so many sketches tonight, considering that both several of his Good Neighbor shorts were unjustifiably cut this season AND that he’s been generally underused for several episodes this season.
• This sketch kinda reminds me of a cut sketch from the upcoming Ariana Grande episode (that episode had some bafflingly bad cut sketches that I’ll get to upon review), even though I don’t recall disliking that version, and this one seems promising, considering that it has Beck & Kyle, the two most reliable performers in the cast.
• It also feels great to see a live Beck & Kyle sketch, although NONE will ever reach the classic status of Brothers & particularly Del Taco Shoot.
• A simple, almost old-school premise to this sketch, with the increasing revelations of Beck & Kyle’s cluelessness, being played to perfection and charm by both performers, and a sketch that acts as a solid closure to tonight’s show (not counting the rerun ad).
• Ronda’s a good straight man here, much like her reactions in the At the Club pretape too.
• A solid, calm sketch in general.

Rating: ***1/2

Settl

• A rerun from 12/5/15.
• By the way, this re-airing turns out to be the FINAL time a traditional fake ad has ever been re-run in SNL history. Why did SNL refrain from traditionally re-airing its fake ads after this one? Is it because of YouTube & SNL’s availability elsewhere? I recall that is also the reason that this era scaled back on recurring characters too.

Segments Ranked From Best to Worst

Love Struck

Screen Actors Guild

Monologue

Weekend Update

Football Party

At the Club

Citizens Forum

Bland Man

Teacher Trial

Super Crew

Trump Rally

Final Thoughts:-

• A pretty good, mostly consistent episode tonight, even with it having too many rehashed sketches, which is understandable as Ronda didn’t have any acting experience. As for Ronda, she did a fine job tonight, particularly in the monologue and the pretapes, and came off likable, energetic, and pretty fun. One of the better athlete hosts (I also recall being very impressed with J.J. Watt a few seasons from now, and it will be fun for me to eventually review his episode).

Up Next:-

• Comedy legend Larry David hosts with musical guest The 1975. This episode has always been a huge favorite of mine, so stay tuned!