The Best & Worst Sketches From Melissa McCarthy's 'Saturday Night Live'

Last night, Melissa McCarthy returned to Saturday Night Live for her fifth time as host, which makes her part of the five-timers club. Well, at least that's what she thought. But her little appearance during the SNL 40th anniversary special where she recreated Chris Farley's iconic character of motivational speaker Matt Foley didn't count. You can see how that realization pans out below along with our recap of the best and worst sketches from this Melissa McCarthy Saturday Night Live episode.

The Best

The Day Beyoncé Turned Black – This kind of comedy is what made Saturday Night Live so bold to begin with, and it's great when they bring relevant and timely satire into the equation outside of the political sketches (especially since those have been falling flat nearly every time). This was smart, hilarious and very well-done.

Test Screening – This is a very silly sketch, but it's Melissa McCarthy's gift for physical comedy that had me laughing so hard. Her facial expressions and body flailing just killed me, not to mention her reaction to the night vision footage afterwards. Plus, the bit part from Leslie Jones was especially hilarious as well.

Whiskers R We – This recurring sketch doesn't always land this well, but Kate McKinnon and Melissa McCarthy make a great cat lady team. That wig on McCarthy by itself is funny enough, but throw some great cat puns and inappropriate petting into the mix, and you've got a truly funny sketch.snl-mccarthy-bumper2

The Average

Kyle vs Kanye – It's the serious documentary lead-up to the rap battle that makes this amusing, but at the same time, the payoff doesn't quite seem to be worth the wait. Sure, it's funny seeing how awkward Kyle Mooney is when finally confronting Kanye West, and the old footage and photos of Mooney have to be real, but again, the ending could have been a little better.

Bus – Initially I thought that this sketch was going to be another stellar social satire sketch tackling race, but then it just took a turn to Melissa McCarthy being an annoying bus passenger. While I liked the touch of Taran Killam indicating that she's just an awful woman in general and not only with this woman because she's black, it just didn't quite pack the comedic punch that I hoped. It was still rather enjoyable though.

Pick-Up Artist – Melissa McCarthy made this sketch work better than it should have, but it still suffered from some awkward pacing and timing. I don't know how they settled on that wig and glasses for McCarthy, but it worked pretty well. And I feel like I could watch her put her hands and fingers in Kyle Mooney's mouth for a long time and still find it funny. Plus, seeing Leslie Jones break a few times was pretty funny.

The Worst

Movie Night – We've all had this experience when watching a movie with our parents, and the concept itself makes for a funny idea. But the execution just felt weak. For some reason Pete Davidson just didn't really seem to fit in this character well despite being the youngest person on the cast.

Hillary for President – It seems like SNL can't win with their political satire this season. If they try to just lampoon the debates, media or presidential campaigning, it's not as silly as the real thing. If they try to go the more crazy, fantastical route like this, it still doesn't land. I'm not sure there is anything they can do to recover their political comedy this season.snl-mccarthy-bumper3

Weekend Update

The commentary on the presidential debates on Weekend Update has been better than any of the sketches SNL is done, so they should certainly keep that up. But again, I'll never understand why Colin Jost and Michael Che don't interact more or try to do something together as co-anchors for each segment. The best Weekend Updates with these two shows their chemistry and friendship. Otherwise, the jokes this time were solid.

Rachel from Friends – Wow. Vanessa Bayer's impression of Jennifer Aniston's character from Friends is right on the money. It's a bit of a one-note joke, but the impression is so good that I hope there's something more they can do with it another time. Bringing in the Friends transitions and end credits was a great touch though.

Von Miller – This just seemed like an obligatory inclusion of the Super Bowl MVP for no good reason other than maybe there's a sports fan on the writing staff of SNL. It wasn't particularly funny, but it was quick, so whatever.

Leslie Jones on Her Perfect Man – Every now and then these Leslie Jones bits don't work very well for me, if only because they happen too often when SNL has time to kill on Weekend Update. But this particular installment was extremely funny, right down to Jones' aggressive flirting with Jost.

The Host

Melissa McCarthy has a gift for comedy. While sometimes her film choices don't turn out for the best (Tammy being one of the worst), she knows what she's doing. She's great at improv, her physical comedy prowess is incredible, and her comedic timing is outstanding. She made a couple sketches that could have been bad work better than they should have. I look forward to when McCarthy actually joins the five-timers club.

The MVP

snl-lesliejones-weekendupdate-vdayLeslie Jones – It's a rarity for Leslie Jones to do so well across the board. Between her Weekend Update appearance, her short turn in the Test Screening sketch, and holding her own against McCarthy in the Bus sketch, Jones just made me laugh a lot this episode. Plus, seeing her crack in the Pick-Up Artist sketch was really funny, because she doesn't seem like she does that very often at all.

The Final Word

Melissa McCarthy is undoubtedly one of the best recurring hosts for Saturday Night Live. You could easily see her being part of this cast if she didn't already have a successful career in both film and television. She's a comedian through and through, and her legitimate acting experience only helps her be that much funnier.

We'll be back with another recap after Jonah Hill hosts on March 5th.