This week’s episode started out promising, but it ended off in the traditional SNL way, with sketches that are either outright not funny or just come out as “meh.” It was strange that the episode actually ran a little longer than usual, and with what I think might have been a pre-recorded sketch. No post-episode goodbyes!
Cold Open: Lawrence Welk — This is one recurring character of Wiig’s that just cracks me up every time. Way to hit the show off on a high note with the creepy baby arms!
Monologue: James Franco — I’ve gotta say, his monologue made me smile. Maybe it’s with Christmas in the air and I’m just a sucker for SNL during the holidays, or maybe Franco was just charming. Eh, let’s go with the holidays.
What Up With That? — Dear lord, Mike Tyson couldn’t keep a straight face at all and had to keep his face in his hand. Who can blame him, though? This is one of the funnier recurring sketches on SNL in a while, mostly because it’s just filled with so much ridiculousness that you can’t help but laugh. Then of course you have Bill Hader’s Lindsey Buckingham and the random, recognizable guest like Jack McBrayer of 30 Rock, who gets zero lines and just serves to make the sketch all the more awesomely preposterous.
Here’s the “dress rehearsal version” that’s worth checking out just for Tyson:
Overly-affectionate Family –I think everyone’s had an experience with a friend or girlfriend/boyfriend’s family where they’re just a tad uncomfortable with their … comfortableness with each other. What made this sketch was the kiss that went on WAY too long and the WAY uncomfortable kiss-with-tongue.
SNL Digital Short: The Tizzle Wizzle Show — Oh so wrong, but in some ways it hit home with the ultra-creepy kids shows these days, like the Teletubbies or The Wiggles.
Manuel Ortiz Show — Uh, I don’t have much to go on about this skit. I pretty much just wanted it to end.
Musical Guest: Muse — Wow, this was a little surprising. A musical guest that plays a song that fans actually want to hear and non-fans have actually heard before.
Weekend Update — Best part of the segment was definitely Nicole “Snookie” Polizzi. Also, the dig at iPhone’s call problems.
Mini Dildos — Almost forgot this one (this was added Sunday morning) because, well, I guess it was pretty forgettable.
The SLO Fraternity — I dunno, this one was just too much. Poking fun at dopey frat guys can be funny, but this one went too far to be funny. IT was more silly, really.
Vincent Price’s Christmas Special — They already did something similar to this with the Halloween Special last year. Wasn’t very good.
The Christmas Tree Talker — At this point I’m thinking James Franco has a spit problem. It seems in every skit he’s got spittle flying way too much. This sketch would have been a lot funnier if we saw the two women who took “Beth” netted up with the other trees in the background at the end.
Mark Wahlberg Talks to Christmas Animals — Alright, this is still a little funny, but nothing can beat the time Mark Wahlberg actually came on the set for this sketch. Now THAT was epic.
Clacked by Keith McDuffee 
on Dec 20, 2009 @ 01:03 EST5EDT
James Franco from Freaks and Geeks was the host and the show still sucked?!
This was hands down the best episode of the season. I laughed more in 10 minutes than I did in previous whole episodes. James Franco actually did pretty well, so I have to disagree with about 90% of this synopsis/review.
You forgot the mini dildos sketch.
The open was fantastic! “Baby Hands Judy” as she’s known around my house is always hilarious. Manny Ortiz, the Fart Face guys, and the Christmas tree skit were bombs in my book. But the Digital Short had us on the floor, and the SLO Frat had me cracking up too. Not sure how you can say SLO went “too far” when the best part of the episode was kids in jammies taking pills and killing each other with knives. I’m pretty sure that crossed way more lines than implying most frat boys are illiterate and can’t tie their own shoes.
*POST AUTHOR*
OK “too far” was probably the wrong choice of words. I didn’t mean it was offensive or crossed the line, just that it was overboard with how dumb the guys were. You’d have thought they wouldn’t know how to put on their own clothes with how stupid they were.
Fair enough. :) All in all though I still enjoyed the skit. And in no small part due to the fact I didn’t realize the fraternity letters spelled SLO until my wife pointed it out at the end. :)
Despite the last couple of bits (and the fact that they ran over and the DVR missed the closing – did they say good night?), I thought this was the best episode of the season so far. Love the opening (and surprised you didn’t mention that it was finally a non-political cold open) and the end of Franco’s monolog when he said something about making this “the best Christmas show ever…not a chance.” I love “What Up With That” because it’s getting more and more elaborate and who doesn’t love to watch Sudeikis dance around (and did you notice he didn’t have his gold chain on at first in the actual episode version?). Bobby Moynihan finally won me over with his Snookie performance, and Fred and Kristin’s bit was funny because it seemed like she had no idea what Fred was going to sing and kept cracking up (you don’t ever see Kristin lose it). And I also look forward to the Vincent Price sketch. They haul this one out for just about any holiday and I always look forward to Kristin Wiig impersonating an old movie star. The rabid Katherine Hepburn rivals her Gloria Swanson from the first time they did that bit. The affectionate family, the Digital Short, Muse and even the Mark Wahlberg piece were funny, so with the frat guys being a little amusing and the dildo bit just being weird, it was a pretty awesome Christmas show at that! And, Franco’s over-active salivary glands….ooooooooooeeeeeeeeeeee, what up with that?
I don’t even know who James Franco is but he is my new hero with that “affectionate family” kiss at the end!! I never laughed so hard!! People get so weirded out by male on male kissing (as evidenced by the uproar over Adam Lambert in the AMA’s). Franco just went for it – I laughed until my stomach hurt. I love that in your face type of comedy that pokes fun of all the provincial thinkers.
My DVR lost sound after Weekend Update so I missed alot. Though I was impressed they were able to get the real Snookie to show up before the sound went out.
Also why didn’t they let Tyson dance when the show actually aired?
Jammies was so funny!!! & thanks for showing the rehearsal of “What Up With That?”. I love that skit but with Tyson dancing throughout the whole thing was even funnier!
Great episode to end the decade.
A very good episode. Nothing but the Fart Faces Mini Dildos sketch was forgettable. The very best part of the night was The Manuel Ortiz Show. The fact that they dance between every pause, in some dramatic moments, is collector in my book.
I’m starting to think the “guest who doesn’t talk” on “What’s up with that?” could be a future host. Isn’t McBrayer nominated for a Golden Globe? James Franco was the non-talking guest a couple of weeks ago.
Anyway: I love Muse and it’s awesome that they played something people like instead of something they want to sell. On the other hand: Lady Gaga did a medley of her songs so she basically did play what people want to hear and she did it in the Cherryhouse Tree Recordings version instead of the charts BS – showing off where she really came from instead of the dumbed down stuff that really sells.
But back to this episode. I think it was the best of the season so far. Franco may have a spit problem but that made it all the while more tongue in cheek then guest like Chris Walking reading cue cards like instructions for connecting your TV set. I don’t think there was a single real low-point in this episode, even the frat guy stuff was funny and not at all long in my book. There were horrible, horrible shows this year which made me cringe all the way through, this one was one enjoyable piece of funny. I hope James comes back soon. I mean look at the guy, he’s on General Hospital and they bring him on because he does the trick. I wish they’d to that more.
Wow. I don’t think I ever differed with so many opinions on a show. SNL has not only become not relevant it’s not close to being funny. I remember when SNL used to have actual writers who wrote funny skits. Now everything is a giant ensemble piece where people dance around to fill time. Muse was the best part of the show. The rest was either rehashed skits from previous episodes that weren’t good the first time they aired or garbage. Snookie was the only decent bit of acting on the show.
If this was the best episode of the season, I remember why I stopped watching SNL for a long time.