SNL -- Saturday Night Live -- Josh Brolin / Adele -- Featuring Sarah Palin -- Sketch by Sketch Review -- 10/18/08

I find it incredibly distressing that a show that used to take great pride in taking on the establishment completely wussed out when presented with the real Governor Sarah Palin. Perhaps Lorne should have gone back and watched the time he had Ron Nessen, Gerald Ford's press secretary on. In that episode, the show served up some of its raunchiest content to date. The saddest part about the opening was that the funniest bit was not Palin's cameo, but Mark Wahlberg's. If only they'd have shown him beating up Andy Samberg. I'm docking this points for using Palin solely as a publicity stunt and not humiliating her. But I did think some of Tina Fey's lines during her fake press conference, including, "I'm looking forward to a portion of your questions" were funny. Alec Baldwin's cameo, where he thought Palin was Fey was somewhat funny, but I got the sense that Baldwin truly was repulsed by Palin. (Watch this to see what I mean.)

Josh Brolin Monologue -- 7

Funny impression of W by Brolin and a wasted cameo by Oliver Stone.

MacGruber -- 9

Okay, it's another MacGruber, which means we all know what's going to go down, but the whole, "MacGruber checks his stocks" thing made me laugh, especially Will Forte's final, "What the..." before the inevitable explosion.

Marriage Proposal at a Sushi Bar -- Sue, the "I Love Suprises" Girl -- 1

When did Kristin Wiig go from being the funny girl to this cast's answer to Molly Shannon and Cheri Oteri? The loud and obnoxious comedy that she seems to be dealing in these days probably makes some people laugh, but seems like a waste of talent to me. We even got crashing through a breakaway wall... TWICE by Wiig. Depressing. Even the cast seems a bit put off by the sketch.

MacGruber -- Part 2 -- 8

Okay, the bit could be played out by now, but I love having MacGruber robbing his cohorts of their belongings because he lost his shirt in the market, and THEN realizing that the watches he stole were how he was keeping track of how much time he had before the.... BOOOM! Funny.

Suze Orman Show -- 8

Josh Brolin's very funny here as a destitute investor who is trying to make it clear to Suze that he's in deep doo doo. The "Master Pussies" book at the end was funny, as was Suze's line, "I especially had a good time with Dick, and that's the first time I've ever said that phrase." This is the type of thing that Wiig should be doing.

Mark Wahlberg Meets Andy Samberg -- 8

So, was Mark Wahlberg's anger over Andy Samberg's imitation of him (in an absolutely stupid sketch a few weeks ago) real, or merely a chance to drum up some publicity for himself and create this moment? Who cares? It made me laugh.

I'm No Angel Cologne -- 9

Okay, this was so gloriously silly that I had to laugh. The costumes, the sets, and a gloriously trashy looking pregnant Amy Poehler strutting her stuff in front of every male cast member (decked out in redneck attire and facial hair) while I'm No Angel by Gregg Allman plays in the background. It had me laughing at the sheer silliness of it all.

MacGruber -- Part 3 -- 3

Hmmmmm....... Pushed that button once too often. The only funny thing was the reactions of the people trapped with MacGruber.

Adele -- 5

Lorne, can we get some decent classic rockers on here? The music guests have been putting me to sleep recently.

Weekend Update -- 8

Starting off slow this week, the opening jokes fell flat. Will Forte's Tim Calhoun, who always makes me laugh, makes an appearance. His ridiculous jokes (Sample: Sirens are loud. I propose we make sirens quieter for library fires) had me chuckling. Keenan's Jean K Jean is another in a long line of unfunny variations on the same thing. Lorne. Turn on Mad TV and notice how they manage to find FUNNY people of color. I know there are hundreds to chose from. Why do you continue on with Keenan?

Another Sarah Palin cameo, with Amy Poehler doing the rap that Sarah Palin was supposed to do (yeah, right) that made the whole sketch. The rap was funny, with Poehler going all out rapping some very funny lyrics about Palin. It would have been funnier had they NOT had Palin on Weekend Update and had Amy explain that she chickened out. Lorne.... we need to talk about what the show USED to be.

Fartface and the Business Meeting -- 3

Josh Brolin gets the only laughs with his childish meltdown. The continual shouts of fartface will probably play well among high school and college kids within a week, but the sketch seemed pretty pointless.

I'm guessing Lorne will trot it out again before the end of the season.

Narc School -- 7

A whole school full of narcotic officers. What sounds like a really dumb premise is actually pretty funny. And they ended it quickly. WTF did Darrell Hammond come from?

ReadiTrade.com -- 3

An entire website devoted to selling (and only selling) ever investment you own. Well shot, and the easy to use website (featuring only a giant SELL button) was funny, but overall the fake commercial was flat.

New York Underground -- 2

Pointless. The only funny thing was the pictures of the other fake bands.

Adele -- 7

She's like a healthier Amy Winehouse. I think. Her eyes look a bit heavy. But so does everything else. Nice voice. Better than the last song.

Fall Foliage -- 1

A business meeting where a man appears and asks the others if they want to go see the fall foliage. PAINFUL.

Overall -- 6

A really hit or miss show where the funny killed and the not so funny got crickets. Sarah Palin's appearance on the episode was a waste of time and opportunity. What I find sad is that Josh Brolin seemed very comfortable up there and they had next to nothing funny for him to do. SNL's had a hard time involving the guests fully this year, which is a shame. Some of the best episodes of the show are the ones where the guest is allowed to shine in the episode.