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Videos: Dakota Johnson Brings Mom And Dad To <em>Saturday Night Live</em>

Ben Yakas

Published Mar 1, 2015

Modified Mar 2, 2015

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Ben Yakas

Published Mar 1, 2015

Modified Mar 2, 2015

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After a few weeks off the air to focus on the SNL 40th Anniversary Special (and subsequent hangover), Saturday Night Live returned to its proper time slot last night with host Dakota Johnson and musical guest Alabama Shakes.

After all the effort and talent that was poured into the anniversary, it's no surprise that this episode was a bit of a let down (not helped by Johnson's obvious nervousness). But despite some dud sketches, it's still a marker of how well the cast had gelled that there were plenty of great moments and a few great sketches, even in a weaker episode. So let's appreciate the good and the bad with some awards.

Best Sketch Of The Night: Winter Office had great stuff from Aidy Bryant, Weekend Update had some very good guests, but the best sketch of the night by far was Brave, the pre-taped segment that used the Sara Bareilles song to hilarious effect, by letting the characters get more and more inane and selfishly honest. Definitely watch this one first.

The Honorary Jimmy Fallon Award For Achievements In Giggling: The three most notable things about Johnson as host. One: there's a fine line between adorable and annoying when people break in sketches, and she walked that tightrope all night, coming off as nervous (but somewhat charming) in the monologue but terrible in the Worf M.D. sketch. Two: she really seems embarrassed by 50 Shades Of Grey, with lots of material gently mocking the film and its fans. Three: Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson have aged unbelievably well.

50 Shades Of References: They didn't get 50 references in, but this was a night when the movie star's film really dominated the material. The Fifty Shades Of Grey Press Room was pretty good (even if Kyle Mooney's fourth grader isn't the most compelling recurring character in recent seasons); the monologue was almost a mea culpa about the film; and there were punchlines in other sketches including Net Neutrality.

Least Worst Cold Open Of The Season: This award could alternatively be called Most Unexpected Cold Open Of The Season, Best Throwback Cold Open Of The Season, or At Least We Didn't Watch This Sketch While Cringing And Covering Our Eyes. A mashup of Birdman and Rudy Giuliani's anti-Obama public breakdown was a nice touch, steering away from the usual staid political cold opens (no podiums! only about a minute of a talk show!).

Most Controversial Sketch Of The Night: The ISIS commercial is basically just one (great) punchline, but apparently, people were very offended. It must feel good for the cast to know they can still offend people.

Worst Sketch Of The Night: We have a few contenders for the biggest dud of the evening: Net Effect was a boring mess, the monologue was very forgettable, and Worf M.D. almost wasted a fantastic Kenan Thompson performance thanks to the breaking. But the worst by far was Cinderella, which brought back Cecily Strong's character from Troll Bridge, one of the worst sketches of the season. Put it like this: this character really made us miss Tanker Bell.

The Social Experiment 10-To-1 Sketch Gone Right Award: After a few notably weak 10-to-1 sketches in 2015, SNL bounced back this week by letting Mooney/Beck Bennett unleash one of their patented stoner Bro pre-taped segments, this one dealing with bullying and social experiments (as well as the plight of people who dress up as dogs). As good as it was, make sure you check out the even better Mooney sketch cut from the 40th Anniversary.

The Three Questions Of The Week: Can SNL find a way to bring back Thompson's superb Worf impression with a better host/sketch? Is there any chance we could declare a moratorium on the monologue Q&A? And who will join us in our campaign to make Riblet the new Weekend Update host?

The Honorary Really? What The Hell Is Going On With Weekend Update? Award: The good: all three guests were great this week, with Kate McKinnon doing her usual thing (aka being the best cast member) as Ruth Bader Ginsberg ('Ginsburned' may be one-note, but her dancing contains multitudes), Jay Pharoah doing a truly impressive rap apology as Kanye West, and Bobby Moyniham bringing back our beloved Riblet. The bad: it's nice that Colin Jost and Michael Che seem to like each other, but just because they are laughing at each other's jokes doesn't mean everyone else is as charmed by them. The segments in-between guests are still falling flat. Let Riblet host! Join the movement!

Click through for all those sketches plus music from Alabama Shakes. Chris Hemsworth hosts next week with musical guest Zac Brown Band.

Tagged

Alabama Shakes

dakota johnson

saturday night live

snl

Ben Yakas

Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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