Melissa McCarthy air-fights on Seth Meyers’ final ‘SNL’ episode

No one could ever accuse Melissa McCarthy of being too egotistical when it comes to her appearances on “Saturday Night Live.� If you’ve seen the three-time host even once on the show, you’ve gotten a good idea of what her other appearances are like, as the actress tends to play variations on a few parts: the aggressive “butch� woman; the batty middle-aged housewife; and the borderline mentally disabled weirdo.

She certainly gives it her all with each performance. Last night she took part in an acrobatic battle-on-wires for her monologue, engaged in a slap-fight with Nasim Pedrad, and ate a rack of ribs while wearing a wig of crimped hair. The effort/spirit she puts into her appearances is admirable, but while designed to please her fans, the performances don’t offer much else for viewers who aren’t partial to her well-established style of humor.

There were moments in last night’s episode, though, when McCarthy wasn’t playing a larger-than-life fish-out-of-water. The “SNL� writers seemed to declare that they are not huge football fans, based on their two Super Bowl-related sketches. The cold open featured an ersatz halftime show featuring over-the-top Broadway actors in sparkling jerseys not quite getting it (“I hope I score a tackle for my team!� sang one actor.) The episode was bookended with another bizarro-Super Bowl scene, as an under-prepared Kyle Mooney took a video camera out to Times Square to mumble his way through a Super Bowl fan fest.

Also in celebration of the season was a Black History Month video wherein Jay Pharoah, Kenan Thompson and Sasheer Zamata sang a little ditty to a high school class about 28 reasons to hug a black guy, with No. 1 being, “We deserve a chance!� and Nos. 2 through 28 being “slavery.� While the principals sang and danced, the white class they were performing to shrank back in their seats, both ashamed and semi-annoyed by this reminder of their white guilt. “Very cool, very sorry and very cool,� said Kate McKinnon as the teacher at the end of the song.

Of course, the big news of the episode was Seth Meyers’ farewell during “Weekend Update.� After over a decade with the show as a performer and writer, it was clear that his absence would be felt. Cecily Strong choked up while bidding adieu to her co-anchor, although she was chided with “You barely know him!� by Bill Hader as Stefon, who stopped by along with Andy Samberg, Fred Armisen and Amy Poehler (Meyers’ first guest when he begins hosting “Late Night� later this month) to say goodbye. “You’re like the Sting of ‘SNL,’� said Hader. “Because it takes you 12 years to finish.�

“SNL� returns March 1, post-Olympics, with yet another change: head writer Colin Jost will join Strong at the “Update� desk.

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