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The whole point of this series is to present SNL reviews that are less snarky than all the other reviews by writers who tear at each episode with such venom that we can only wonder when they were turned down for a job at the show. (Or, in some cases, by people who confuse “anti-comedy” with intelligence.)
It’s not that these reviews will be completely deferential. It’s just that a cultural institution that means this much to so many people, particularly those of us in Gen X, that we’re going to treat it with a bit of respect.
So while we’ll mention the things that don’t work, we won’t dwell on them.
With all that in mind, here’s the review of the Oct. 10 episode featuring Bill Burr.
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Well, Weekend Update and Jack White were good, right?
The big problem is Burr. Whether his monologue was “offensive” is a red herring. The problem is that his “hey, isn’t political correctness silly?” routine wore thin sometime during the Bush administration.
Some hosts get a chance to show greater range than we would have expected. The best recent example is Adam Driver, who has become one of the most respected film actors today but has surely raised his star power several orders…
