'SNL Recap': J.K. Simmons Isn't Just Kidding Around
J.K. Simmons is the least-famous person to host Saturday Night Live so far this year. That's not a criticism, by the way. For one thing, the show frequently fares better when it hands the emcee spot to an actor and/or comic with a less high-profile public persona. For another, while Simmons may not be super-famous, he is super-awesome — a veteran character actor whose face you almost certainly recognize, even if you don't necessarily know his name. OZ, Law & Order, and The Closer are just some of the popular shows he's been a part of, and he's also stolen scenes on the big screen in the first Spider-Man movies as well as Whiplash, the Sundance hit that's netted him an Oscar nomination and likely win.
All those roles have showcased his remarkable range, but if there's one thing that Simmons is best known for, it's probably his flair with insults. In Whiplash in particular, he unleashes torrents of verbal abuse that would leave even the most muscle-bound hero quivering in the corner. That particular skill is the primary thing the SNL writers chose to exploit throughout the episode, starting off with Simmons's monologue, which found him upbraiding various cast members with PG-13 rated versions of the NC-17 insults he hurls at Miles Teller in Whiplash. (The best of the bunch had to be his abrupt dismissal of Pete Davidson: "You know what is not cute? Sucking at the drums!") With a few exceptions, Simmons mostly remained in that mode all night and while he was great fun to watch, the sameness of the material he was asked to play wore thin. Still, maybe more people will actually remember his name now instead of referring to him as, "That guy from OZ."
Best Sketch: "Teacher Snow Day"
Not quite Lonely Island level, but pretty close, "Teacher Snow Day" is the hilarious party-centric music video that "Office Christmas Party" (which aired on the Amy Adams episode in December) desperately wanted to be. When school shuts down thanks to the inclement weather, the teaching staff turns up the heat indoors, having 50 Shades sex in the classroom and roaming the hallways pantsless. This is the best thing to come out of the recent non-Snowpocalypse.
Worst Sketch: "Pushy"
Check the date on the script pages for this sketch, because it feels like something that was written in 1998 when complaints about Microsoft Word's animated Office Assistant were a thing. Poor Bobby Moynihan was forced to don a bright-red pushpin outfit to play Clippy's replacement Pushy, who thwarted the technology-challenged Simmons's attempts to write a simple letter at every turn. Frankly, a skit about modem speed would feel more timely.
Best Use of Simmons: "Cinema Classics"
Give whichever writer who dreamed up the idea of casting Simmons as Humphrey Bogart an immediate raise. Even though his scene partner — the usually on-point Kate McKinnon — botched her Ingrid Bergman impression, Simmons fully inhabited Bogie's wardrobe and attitude. You can greenlight that Treasure of the Sierra Madre remake now, Hollywood.
Episode MVP: Cecily Strong
Weekend Update has been struggling to find great recurring characters (as well as great anchors… but that's another story) since Stefon departed in grand fashion. So far, Strong's "One Dimensional Female Character From a Male-Driven Comedy" is the best in their current arsenal, a high-concept comic creation who doesn't always generate big laughs, but brilliantly nails an ultra-specific personality type. If only she had someone funnier than Colin Joost to play off of.
Best Silent Protest: D'Angelo
For his second performance of the evening, "The Charade," the R&B artist had his backup singers and band don "Black Lives Matter" and "I Can't Breathe" T-shirts in reference to the ongoing protests around the Michael Brown case. It was a great song and a powerful statement.
Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays at 11:35 p.m. on NBC.
