Scores are on a 10 point scale
Opening:
Hilary Clinton sketch does not bode well for the evening. If she wins, does this mean that the
Children’s Hope Foundation Sketch
Penelope was slightly amusing in one sketch. Having her appear in every other episode simply seems lazy. Wiig is capable of better, and the character is nowhere near as amusing as Jon Lovitz’s similar Tommy Flanagan. LeBron seemed nervous and rushed.
Score: 4
High School Musical Spoof
LeBron starts to relax a bit here and the skit is funnier because of it. And I admire the director’s skill at getting everyone in the frame. He had to back out to somewhere in Jersey. The Vanessa Hudgens bit was obvious, but funny. They had sense to end the skit while it was still amusing, but given what Mad TV can do with a show parody, you have to wonder why they couldn’t fill a few more minutes. Please, less Andy Samberg.
Score: 7
Digital Short — Mahmood
NBA PSA — Read to Achieve
Jason Sudeikis proves to be the most amusing male member of the cast. In the first funny skit of the evening, LeBron actually shows some real comedic tension with Jason. The “it’s a book” line and the basketball game were hysterical.
Score: 8
Weekend Update
With the exception of the Armisen impersonation of Iran President Mahmoud, there wasn’t much to laugh about here. Is it really that hard to get more than four or five jokes about what essentially is a whole summer of news?
Score: 4
Best of Solid Gold
At this point in the show, it’s clear that the funniest thing is putting a large NBA player into goofy situations. The line about the dancers dancing to the least danceable song on the planet was amusing, however. I remember Solid Gold, but why in the heck is SNL doing a parody of a show that went off the air over 20 years ago? I’m guessing half the cast barely remembers it.
Score: 4
Saturday TV Fun House
Funny choice to parody the Senator Craig scandal, but it seemed like a cheap attempt to see how much they could get away with visually. I laughed, but felt bad about it.
Score: 6
106 and Park
Kanye’s not as funny as LeBron. Too bad he was given one of the more amusing skits of the night. It’s good to see that he’s not afraid to make fun of himself.
Score: 7
Great Moments in Guidance Counseling
Amusing premise, with a Guidance Counseler telling LeBron he should skip college, but they could have done more with it. I smiled, but didn’t laugh.
Score: 6
OVERALL
A very disappointing opening. SNL would have been better off getting a former cast member or someone else they could have used to do some familiar stuff for the opener. LeBron James wasn’t the best athlete host, but he was certainly willing to play along. Too bad the writers called in sick this week. After last year’s mostly amusing season, this was a huge disapointment.
Score: 4
Score: 7
