Saturday Night Live - Season 44, Episode 21: Paul Rudd / DJ Khaled
Trailer
On Saturday night, a new season, a late-night comedy show featuring several short plays, simulations of television commercials, and a live band. There is a new team of award-winning celebrities performing comics and popular music stars. It is a new display of a wide range of music and graphics that seem to be the most famous and have won the admiration of many.
[Paul] Rudd was good as always and there weren't any real low points outside the cold open. But the only thing that really made it feel like a finale were the celebrity appearances. All told, it was a fitting end to a middling season.
Though there aren't any memorable sketches to set [Paul] Rudd's hosting gig apart from his others, there really aren't any clunkers, either. It's just in Rudd's genes: He is reliably funny.
Nothing special at all... which, unfortunately, kind of describes this season finale. It's not Paul Rudd's fault though, because Paul Rudd is a man who can make a spectacle out of something mundane like going on Conan.
While the lack of surprise guests, especially for a season finale, was a bit of a disappointment, the episode as a whole was still immensely satisfying.
The fact that the season went out with something of a whimper is a function of the show's creative DNA rather than a failure to sum up the narrative themes of the season.
Some of the episode was a great deal of fun, which is to be expected with Internet boyfriend and fourth-time host Paul Rudd leading the charge. Some of it was a reminder of just how inconsistent the season has been.
While there were no emotional cast member farewells and surprisingly few celebrity cameos in the low-key season-ender, the show brought a few hilarious moments and one affecting Weekend Update appearance.
[Paul] Rudd was at his most Rudd: charming, silly, utterly committed to the bit. And while his commitment never flagged, the sketches he got were either warmed over hash, or sleepily mediocre.
[Paul] Rudd does his monologue as a Best Man's speech, and he accomplishes exactly what a Best Man speech should: It's a little funny, a little bit from the heart, it's short, and it stands out of the way for the main event.
Paul Rudd returned to host, comparing the SNL monologue to a best man speech and delivering a short, sweet, somewhat non-sensical one about his history with the show, which somehow involved him working as a "vomit boy" at Studio 54 in the '70s.
