February 8, 2020 – RuPaul / Justin Bieber (S45 E13)

by Kabir

NEW HAMPSHIRE DEMOCRATIC DEBATE
Bernie Sanders (Larry David) & other candidates debate in New Hampshire

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— I don’t recall this actual debate or who moderated, but I knew immediately when I saw Mikey that he was supposed to be George Stephanopoulos. The man has been on the international political stage for 30 years, and I just now realized he has had the same, easy-to-spot “look” that entire time. Otherwise, how would I have known who it was supposed to be so quickly?
— “Joining me for optics.” Nice. The writing here is a lot sharper than I’m used to in these cameo-fests.
— Great facial expression from Bowen when he enters.
— Okay, now this is just going the same way all of these sketches go. Yawn.
— A few chuckles from Larry David as Bernie Sanders, channeling the Billy Crystal weatherman character (which Larry helped write back in season 10).
STARS: **

MONOLOGUE
host alludes to wild experiences in ’80s NYC & describes his philosophy

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— This episode aired during NYC Fashion Week, so I predict the crowd is going to be pumped to see a legend like RuPaul.
— RuPaul seems so comfortable on SNL. This will sound weird, and maybe it’s the glasses, but this totally reminds me of Jack Benny’s monologues on his show. RuPaul is a little more animated, but has Benny’s excellent timing, some of his mannerisms, and some nice material.
— Nothing Earth-shattering in this monologue, but it was very enjoyable.
STARS: ****

FAMILY CHARADES
(host), (CRR), (KET), (EGN) play charades differently than white family

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— Good exposition here so we can get to RuPaul’s family’s turn.
— “I didn’t interrupt you.”
— Now this is becoming a hot mess, like everyone is rushing to get the sketch in on time… which makes no sense because the show just started.
— Great miming from RuPaul and then the 12 Years a Slave punchline.
— Some more funny lines with the Arsenio Hall portion.
— “How come they just keep going?”
— This hit a rocky patch in the middle—with the rushing—but ended up fine.
STARS: ***½

THE QUEEN
host tries making pool boy Chad into the next drag superstar

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— Nice camera work to reveal Chad (though I’ve never been a fan of this character).
— This is quickly paced, but it’s working here.
— RuPaul’s energy is completely making this sketch. Otherwise, it would just be the same Chad “beats” as usual.
— Wow, Chad’s dance is much more disturbing than I expected.
— His mispronunciation of “RuPaul” was a nice touch.
— This felt short, but that was probably just because it moved along so well.
STARS: ***

CHECK SPLITTING
(CES) & (host) loudly & self-righteously contest check-splitting proposal

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— Cecily’s voice is like a Southern take on her Judge Jeanine Pirro.
— The energy from Cecily and RuPaul is carrying this, too, but there’s not much to it.
— Matt points out this is a reference to Designing Women. I remember the show well but didn’t watch it that often. It explains the ‘80s outfits, which I just thought were there as an unexplained bit of humor.
— It just keeps going with the non sequiturs and bizarre list of traits. They’re humorous enough, but this is poorly constructed.
— The lines about the temps were promising, but then this just ended. Weak.
STARS: **½

BOOP-IT
divorced dad (BEB) becomes obsessed with mastering Boop-It dexterity game

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— Beck’s look and demeanor are perfect for this.
— Beck abruptly jumping into the game again was too… abrupt. They needed to build. I didn’t get what they were going for with the exposition: will he be jealous of the game? Is he secretly glad his daughter is losing?
— Now this has just become uncomfortable. I’m not sure we needed a weird, melodramatic twist.
— Blah—wasted opportunity.
STARS: *½

READING
at the library, host “reads” books by insulting kid-lit characters

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— This has a similar vibe to the Michael Keaton / Easter candy sketch from season 40 (as well as the one with Ed Norton on Halloween candy from the season before).  I wonder if they have the same writer.
— RuPaul is killing it here.
— There are too many quotable lines here. RuPaul looks like he’s about to break a couple times here.
— Matt notes that the live version of this had some very messy technical direction (camera cuts) with close-ups on the books. That’s been fixed in the online version I’m viewing.
— “BMW… body made wrong.”
— I liked that they wanted to include the little girl, but it kind of threw the momentum. I would have preferred reaction/commentary from her to keeping this going.
— Abrupt ending, but such a simple concept didn’t need much of a button.
STARS: ****

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Yummy”

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— Blue: Oh god, this song.
— I like the boxy set that Justin and the instrumentalists are performing in. Doesn’t hurt that it’s my favorite shade of green.
— The sound engineer is really coming through for the instrumentalists here, probably because there are only three of them. I particularly like the way the bass sounds.
— A quick shift is accomplished to get the instrumentalists out of the way and introduce Justin’s backup dancers.
— I like the way the lights have dimmed, so that the dancers’ shadows are projected on the wall. I should be watching this with the sound off.
— Justin is skipping lines and letting the pre-recorded vocals take over, which is surprising given that at this point in his career, I’d expect him to be used to conserving his breath while performing choreography like this. Though I heard that he was having some health issues around this time so I’m not going to be too hard on him.
— I will say… I do think Justin is a good singer, and this performance is proving it. Shame the material he performs is not up to the same standard.
— I just want this song to end already.
— The held pose at the end is kind of cool.
— As much as I dislike this song, I have to give this performance an extra star because I liked the very beginning with the instrumentalists, and the dancing.
STARS: **

WEEKEND UPDATE
CLF celebrates the Oscars by doing impressions of actresses’ performances

Cathy Anne is unimpressed with the Senate’s trial of Donald Trump

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— These jokes, as usual, are just a time capsule BUT, Che and Jost seem more energized than usual. And a few (like the one about the Kansas City Chiefs, and then Che’s about Rush Limbaugh) were well-written and well-constructed.
— Silly but effective “hamburger grease” joke.
— This is the first episode I’ve reviewed where Chloe does a WU commentary as herself. She’s doing really well.
— “Is she laughing or crying?” “Neither, she’s acting!”
— Chloe has some good lines when imitating Colin’s wife, Scarlett Johansson. She’s really connecting with the audience with all these impressions… which is also the kind of thing Melissa Villaseñor excels at. Speaking of which… where has Melissa been all night?
— Now Cecily is back as Cathy Anne. This character is grating as usual.
— Cecily’s performance is fine, but the material is kind of hacky.
— This went on way too long and is going to cost WU a full star.
STARS: ***

THIRSTY COPS
Miranda & fellow Thirsty Cop (host) are hot for texting driver (PED)

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— A sequel to a sketch from the Seth Meyers episode of last season. Pete replaces Seth, and RuPaul replaces Leslie.
— This is moving along nicely, and the theme song was funny; very early 90s SNL.
— Good lines from RuPaul and Ego.
— This sketch could have been filled with overused double-entendre, but it’s well-written and everyone is giving a good performance.
— “Equity, sis!” Small throwaway line that made me laugh.
— Kate’s short scene was good, too.
— Ha, now Pete is getting in on it. This is hitting all the same beats as the Meyers version, but this installment is doing a better job.
— Very well done. Let that be a lesson to the “Good Day Denver”s (from season 44) of the world.
STARS: ****

THE OLD NEW YORK SHOW
eccentric shut-ins (AIB) & (KAM) pine for ’90s NYC

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— And now this sketch is giving me a late ’90s “Leg Up” vibe.
— On paper, I would have said this was going to be an indulgent mess. But it’s actually a nice, quirky 10-to-1 sketch.
— RuPaul sporting a very unexpected and interesting look.
— His lines remind me a bit of something Bill Hader would do.
— I forgot to mention that when they said the ’90s were “Old New York,” it was both funny and accurate.
— Maybe I missed something, but the prank phone call didn’t do anything for me. I didn’t understand it.  The audience loved it, though.
— The short song about the subway was good.
STARS: ***

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest & Quavo [real] perform “Intentions”

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— Blue: Justin is already displaying more energy here than in the last song.
— I love the visual effects in this performance so much already! The lights are so pretty.
— Once again, Justin is skipping lines here and there.
— The random sound effects in this song (the phone beeping, the soda can opening) are… certainly a choice.
— There are so many effects on Quavo’s voice, it sounds like he’s lip-syncing. In fact… maybe he is lip-syncing?
— This is the reverse opinion from my previous review, but I feel like I would like this song better if it were performed by someone else, whereas I don’t mind Justin’s singing on “Yummy,” I just think it’s a bad song. “Intentions” is still a boring, generic love song, but I feel it might be improved if it wasn’t Justin singing it.
STARS: **

GOODNIGHTS

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— Excellent, iconic bumper photo of RuPaul, going to the goodnights.
— Per SNL tradition, Mikey and Ego point at Chloe in the goodnights to celebrate her big breakout Update piece.

CUT FOR TIME: COAL MINERS FACE-OFF
melodramatic coal miners (host) & (BOY) encounter in the mines

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— Hilarious entrance from RuPaul.
— Mikey just flubbed a line, or said it too early.
— This has taken an interesting turn with the melodramatic, Dynasty-like dialogue.
— The comments from the other coal miners seem unnecessary. RuPaul and Bowen could have carried this.
— Okay, now I see they needed to cut away to the others so Bowen and RuPaul could quickly change positions. And they’re having some funny lines now.
— Good turn at the end. I would have preferred this in the live show over the blase check-splitting sketch.
STARS: ***½

CUT FOR TIME: BABY DOCTOR
new Quiboo show swaps doctor (host) with baby

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— “One of those babies was switched again…” Funny concept.
— They’re using a real baby—nice.
— Nice visual design, but there’s not many jokes here.
— Good Lord, the cheap urination joke was… cheap.
— Mild laughs from the penis jokes.
— Briefcase of cash? Motorcycle? This has fallen apart and the filmmakers are just throwing in anything they can, with poor results.
— “Shows that audiences are quick to boo.” Yes, agree.
STARS: **

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— A fun episode which did best when they played to RuPaul’s sense of humor or  on his iconic status. The weak stuff didn’t involve the host and was mostly just retreading the same (often political) ground as before.
— On a personal note, I should mention that I was on the NBC tour during the afternoon leading up to this show. So, I got to see Aidy Bryant (who looked annoyed to see “tourists”), Kyle Mooney (who seemed very cool), and Heidi Gardner (who couldn’t have been sweeter to a starstruck lady in our group) roaming the halls of 30 Rock. I also think I spied Steve Higgins at home base among a throng of people as they blocked the cold open.  This was not as informative as actually seeing dress or the live show, and I know some of my fellow reviewers have been to 8H numerous times, but it’s an interesting side note as to why I volunteered for this episode.

MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS

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RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Thirsty Cops
Reading
Monologue
(CFT: Coal Miners Face-Off)
Family Charades
The Queen
The Old New York Show
Weekend Update
Check Splitting
New Hampshire Democratic Debate
(CFT: Baby Doctor)
Boop-It

TOMORROW
John Mulaney returns for the penultimate pre-coronavirus SNL, covered by Vax Novier