Season 48 overview

While we’ll never really know exactly what Season 48’s final plan was, the episodes that did air do not paint a bright picture of the future. Despite all of the fresh blood being hired, the show was way more focused on pushing the same few veterans on us. Let’s take a look and see how each cast member fared…

Repertory Players

Mikey Day: Mikey had one of his best seasons in quite a while…when they bothered using him, that is. He got a lot of airtime in the first few shows, but then it was up and down for him. A lot of other fans have theorized that this might be his last season, and given the lack of focus he had in several episodes, I’m beginning to see what they mean. Still, the good stuff he did this season (the Black Heaven sketch with Chappelle and that film with Jake from State Farm) is more than enough to call this a strong season for him. And, hey, he had a lot less explaining roles this year!

Andrew Dismukes: Despite being promoted to a repertory player, Dismukes’ airtime is just as bad as ever, being forced to play second fiddle to less talented players such as Chloe and Bowen. On the nights they actually remembered to use him, though, he did amazing. He has a delightful bizarre streak that I’d love to see more of, provided that they don’t fire him over the summer.

Chloe Fineman: Blecch!!! Chloe is just as annoying as ever. I’m glad other people are starting to catch on to her flaws, because it’s something that needs to be addressed. Her constant staring at the camera and chipmunk voices irritate me more than they amuse me. If she does come back, I hope she reins those annoying habits in.

Heidi Gardner: What the hell happened, Heidi? Despite now being the senior member of the female cast, she has inexplicably taken a turn for the worse. There were so many sketches this year of Heidi playing a “wacky” new character, like that godawful mother character on Update. But despite her new annoying habits, I still like Heidi, and I wish she would go back to what she excels at, instead of trying to be a “star” like Kate McKinnon or, ugh, Kristen Wiig.

Punkie Johnson: Oh, that’s right, Punkie got promoted. I’d forgive you for not knowing that because she had the least amount of screen time of any cast member this season.

Ego Nwodim: After a couple of really strong years, this season was a bit of a step back of Ego. She returned to the “sassy black woman” cliche a little too often, and don’t get me started on those awful Lisa sketches.

Cecily Strong: In her final half-season, Cecily was even more out of place than ever, but she still got a shit ton of focus for some reason. In fact, she had more screen time than any of the four newbies. Let that sink in…

Kenan Thompson: This is the season where I finally reached my breaking point with Kenan’s eternal presence on the show. He had way too many sketches this season where the only joke is him yelling, to say nothing about his constant giggling and unprofessional moments. It’s gotten to the point where I cannot stand anything Kenan does anymore, and just wish he would leave already.

Bowen Yang: Ugh, I can’t believe how bad Bowen was this year. He gets way too much time to mug and act like a campy gay stereotype. Whatever happened to the more absurd stuff from his first couple seasons? I guess we’ve got no time for that now that the media is eating his inanimate object impressions up.

Featured Players

Marcello Hernandez: I really like this guy and I can’t wait to see what he has planned in Season 49. The fact that we have a Hispanic dude in the cast again really came in handy this year with all of the Hispanic hosts that appeared, and we usually got a sketch in those episodes where he plays off them in Spanish. Mad respect, bro. Hopefully we can get an Italian cast member hired next.

James Austin Johnson: James gets the award for the biggest growth arc this season. He moved away from doing nothing but impressions and started doing a lot of really solid character work, my personal favorite being the cucked father from the Travis Kelce episode. The only problem I have is the overuse of his Trump impression, and not a lot of use of his Biden. You know, the President?!? Why are there so few sketches about the fucking President in this season?!!?? But I digress.

Molly Kearney: Molly who? Despite making such a big deal in the press about hiring a non-binary cast member, SNL proceeds to treat them like shit and only cast them as fat male celebrities. 

Michael Longfellow: Out of all the newbies, this guy was the standout, despite not getting as much airtime as Marcello. He quickly found a niche for himself on Update doing commentaries, some as himself, and others as goofy oddball characters like the Statue of David. 

Sarah Sherman: Sarah is still a welcome presence on the show with her patented bizarre sketches, such as the woman with googly eyes and the news reporters with deformed mouths. She’s also unafraid to be different on Update with her Sarah News segments, which are better than Che and Jost at this point. However, I have noticed a troubling trend where they’ve been starting to put her in cheap drag roles as old men. 

Devon Walker: Essentially a replacement for Chris Redd, Walker sadly hasn’t gotten as much screen time as him. You generally only saw him when there was a black host. This is a shame, because I like Devon and want to see him succeed on the show. But, as we saw with Redd, he tends to suffer because Kenan automatically gets all the black roles.

Michael Che and Colin Jost: I am beyond sick of these two chuckleheads. They are the longest running Update anchors (for some reason), and they were only funny for about the first four years or so. Just let Sarah take over the desk!

Now it’s time to rank the episodes. This is gonna be hard because most of them were just blandly average.

Best episodes: Dave Chappelle/Black Star, Steve Martin, Martin Short/Brandi Carlile, Austin Butler/Lizzo, Michael B. Jordan/Lil Baby, Travis Kelce/Kelsey Ballerini

Worst episodes: Megan Thee Stallion, Aubrey Plaza/Sam Smith, Woody Harrelson/Jack White, Ana de Armas/Karol G

Now it’s time for us to rank the sketches. This should be easy…

Best sketches: Monologue (from Teller), New Cast Advice (from Gleeson), Headshots (from Gleeson), Eyes (from Gleeson), Drunk Uncle commentary (from Harlow), JNCO Longs (Cut), COVID (from Schumer), The Looker (from Schumer), Monologue (from Chappelle), Barber Shop (from Chappelle), both Sarah News commentaries, Black Heaven (from Chappelle), Election Night (from Chappelle), Big Boys (from Palmer), United Tingz of Aubrey (from Palmer), Kenan & Kelly (from Palmer), Monologue (from Martin), The Science Room (from Martin), A Christmas Carol (from Martin), Christmas Epiphany (from Butler), Jewish Elvis (from Butler), Plirts (from Butler), Blue Christmas (from Butler), Good Morning Today (from Jordan), Towel Guys (from Jordan), State Farm (from Jordan), Falling Down (from Jordan), Mario Kart (from Pascal), Protective Mom (from Pascal), Cologuard (from Harrelson), The Hippo (from Harrelson), American Girl Café (from Kelce), Self-Defense (from Kelce), Mama’s Funeral (from Kelce), Straight Male Friend (from Kelce), Family Meeting (from Kelce), School vs. School (from Ortega), Road Trip (from Ortega), Waffle House (from Ortega), James’ impressions commentary (from Ortega), Jingle Pitch (from Ortega), Drug Dealer (from Brunson), Street Eats (from Brunson), Monologue (from Shannon), Shannon 2K23 (from Shannon), American Girl (from de Armas), Spanish Class (from de Armas)

Worst sketches: Charmin Bears (from Teller), Grimace (from Teller), Blood Oath (from Gleeson), Hot Girl Hospital (from Megan Thee Stallion), Deer (from Megan Thee Stallion), Hole and Bussy commentary (from Megan Thee Stallion), Cold Open (from Harlow), Joker (from Harlow), Bartenders (from Harlow), Monologue (from Schumer), Jurors (from Schumer), Tammy the Trucker commentary (from Schumer), Jets Fans (from Schumer), WKTVN News (from Schumer), Cold Open (from Palmer), Ultrasound (from Palmer), Marzipan (from Butler), Miss America (from Plaza), Avatar (from Plaza), Party In Palm Springs (from Jordan), Waking Up (from Pascal), both Lisa from Temecula sketches, Jail Call (from Harrelson), Slingshot (from Harrelson), Beautiful Gym (from Harrelson), Garrett From Hinge (from Kelce), Too Hot To Handle (from Kelce), The Parent Trap (from Ortega), Midwife (from Brunson), Fart Baby (from Shannon), New Choreographer (from Shannon), Nails (from de Armas)

SNL Reviews: Ana de Armas/Karol G (4/

Cold Open: First Warm Day Of The Year Arrivals Show

Two reporters interview random people in Central Park.

• A variation on that Halloween red carpet sketch from the Jack Harlow episode.

• Perfect casting of James and Michael as pervs. For some reason, this is the only time we see James tonight, which is a sad way for his great season to end.

• Nice pratfall from Molly, continuing the Chris Farley similarities. We’ll get another example of this later on…

• Ego gets some good use out of her usual “bitch” routine. 

• Kenan once again comes off as out of place in this sketch with his overused shouting routine.

• Nice fakeout with the LFNY at the end.

• I didn’t think this was as good as the Halloween version. I guess I need to be a regular visitor of Central Park to get it.

Monologue 

Ana talks about learning English and reflects on her amazing year.

• I must admit that I have no idea who this gal is.

• Seems like we’ve had a lot of Hispanic hosts lately. In fact, for the first time, both the host and the musical guest are Hispanic.

• I wonder if her story about learning English from Friends is true, or if it’s just some sweet NBC synergy.

• Not too much to say about this monologue, but I found her charming enough.

Sketch: The Dome

Matt Schatt competes on a game show with his new wife.

• For once, the game show host has a normal name, instead of a “funny” pun or sexual reference.

• Sudden return of Matt Schatt for the first time since Season 45. 

• No matter how many different settings this guy appears in, the joke is always the same: the host of some show (usually Kenan) is puzzled as to why someone as lame as Matt Schatt is married to a hot woman.

• This probably goes without saying, but Kenan has reached the point where I am actively rooting against him in sketches. That line he screams about Matt eating dog food was particularly cringeworthy.

• No comment on the reveal of Matt’s many nipples. I also definitely could have gone without seeing Kenan pinch one of them.

• This sketch was thankfully kept at a short enough length. Can you imagine how much lower I’d be ranking it if it was ten minutes of Kenan screaming?

Film: American Girl

American Girl dolls travel to the present day.

• What’s with all the American Girl product placement lately?

• The reveal of Ego’s slave girl character was good for a laugh.

• Nice awkward silence after Ego reveals that she doesn’t know when her birthday is because she’s a slave.

• Sarah: “Look what I can do!” *coughs up blood, and the scene cuts to her getting covered by a tarp*

• I’m surprised at how much I’m enjoying this despite not being a little girl. 

• We end on a funny callback to Sarah’s death from earlier when Heidi announces that she’s going to cure cholera, before coughing up blood herself, and getting thrown out the back of the wagon.

Sketch: Recording Session

Two voice actors help a music producer with his new album.

• Uh-oh, there’s Kenan again. I hope we’re not in for more shouty shenanigans.

• I’m about halfway through this, and Kenan’s goofy voice shtick is ruining this otherwise blandly average sketch.

• Between the American Girl film and this, Ego’s been having one of her best nights in quite a while.

• Not too much to say about this one, other than the fact that I’m extremely tired of Kenan.

Sketch: Spanish Class

Spanish class gets interrupted by two new students. 

• The exterior shot of the school looks very familiar. I can’t remember where I’ve seen that school before, but it must have been in some movie or sitcom.

• Mikey’s hilariously badly-pronounced Spanish immediately got a laugh from me.

• Marcello, naturally, has a big role in this sketch. He has pretty good chemistry with Ana.

• As good as Marcello and Ana are, Mikey steals the show with his awkward teacher character. 

• Nice appearance from Karol G at the end, and even the cliche dance party that follows is pretty fun.

Please Don’t Destroy: Hangxiety

The guys overthink everything they did at the SNL afterparty.

• Sixth episode in a row with PDD.

• There appears to be a cue card from Megan Thee Stallion’s episode on Ben’s desk.

• Nice interaction between Ben and Michael.

• I love the scene of John getting hit in the eye by his phone.

• I’m surprised it’s taken this long for Ego to show up in one of these shorts.

• Nice ending with Mikey chastising the three for their rude behavior at the party, only for the camera to reveal that he has no pants on.

• I know I had very little to say about that one, but I think I‘m finally burned out on these guys. If they come back for the next season, try to space out their appearances more.

Musical Performance: “Mientras Me Curo del Cora”

Weekend Update (featuring Funky Kong, Genesis Fry, and Molly Kearney)

• Can Che go through a single Update without laughing at his awful jokes? That Clarence Thomas joke was particularly bad. And it’s the second episode in a row to have a bad Clarence Thomas joke.

• Oh shit, now it’s time for another horrendous Kenan commentary. Here, he’s playing Donkey Kong’s relative, Funky Kong, in yet another awful example of Mario movie shilling. 

• Am I the only one who thinks it’s kind of offensive that they’re having Kenan play a monkey?

• I could really do without the return of the Jean K. Jean dance break routine.

• So far, this commentary is pure cancer. I’ve said it time and time again this season, but Kenan needs to get the fuck off the show.

• What in the world is the “Monkey Kong/he’s a donkey” joke about? Did he flub a line and they just decided to leave it in to be “funny”?

• What frustrates me the most is all of the idiots in the comment section eating this shit up. Should I start compiling retarded fan comments on this blog?

• Overall, one of the worst commentaries I’ve ever seen.

• Ah, thank goodness Sarah is here to liven things up, playing a meditation guru named Genesis Fry.

• This really seems like a character that Heidi would play, but Sarah is making it work.

• We’ve gone back to the “roasting Colin” routine. I always keep expecting it to get old, but it never does. Why is that?

• Sarah briefly corpses during her line about nobody at the NBC Store recognizing who Colin is.

• Not the funniest Sarah commentary, but she’s the only person in the world who could make this material work.

• Now, Molly finally gets a commentary as themself, after being forced to play another fat guy a few episodes ago. 

• After being pleased about how SNL has wisely not made it a big deal that Molly is non-binary, they unfortunately throw that out the window with the “super special” introduction they give Molly here, where they get lowered onto the stage with wires.

• While I certainly admire the message Molly is trying to convey here, is a comedy show the right place for it? This gets me thinking about what some other reviewers have accused SNL of doing lately, by using certain female performers (like Kate, Cecily, Molly, etc.) as a “security blanket” for the audience. 

• Lots of cringeworthy clapter here. But Molly’s eternal likability is making it work.

• Molly rising from the desk with the help of wires is very Bennett Brauer-esque, and yet another example of Molly’s similarities to Chris Farley.

Sketch: Lisa From Temecula

Lisa disrupts a wedding her sister invited her to.

• Fuck, not this again. The first installment with Pedro Pascal was only a “hit” because of all the breaking. As we’ve seen in the past with Debbie Downer, trying to make a sketch recurring solely because of breaking will spell disaster. 

• I like all the airtime Molly has gotten in this episode.

• This sketch is so far just a lame rewrite of the already lame original. Oh, but she’s got a salad this time instead of a steak! Such a big difference!!!

• I kinda laughed at the line about the piece of meat looking like a Fruit Roll-Up.

• Ana is starting to smirk a little bit, but this sketch has thankfully not degenerated the same way the original one did.

• Mikey has been in almost every sketch tonight. Here he has one of his typical reacting/explaining roles.

• Ego’s line about being gay is just a worse version of her line about being black in the first one.

• Overall, this sketch is a perfect example of why certain characters should never become recurring.

Sketch: Acting School for Dogs

An acting school for good looking dogs.

• Are you kidding me, SNL? Is this Season 45 again?

• No comment on Chloe and Ana’s stupid “cute” faces.

• Also, Chloe’s name is “Donna Colonoscopini”. Can you guess who wrote this???

• The first dog they show off is already refusing to cooperate.

• That pug is not having any of Chloe’s antics.

• I have nothing to say about the awkward closeup of the dog saying “Le woof”.

• Usually these “cute animal” sketches elicit some kind of response from me, but I’ve lost all interest in them. The second half of this episode is pure murder so far.

Musical Performance: “Tus Gafitas”

Sketch: Nails

A trip to the nail salon doesn’t go as planned.

• Please kill me. Another “SILLEEE” Bowen showcase? 

• A big ol’ yawn from me at the reveal of Bowen’s long nails.

• The tape recorder bit fell flat.

• Now all of a sudden we get a random Twilight reference. What is the point?

• And this bland, underwritten sketch is how they end the season. I know this wasn’t supposed to be the finale, but it still sucks that we end things on a horrible Bowen vanity piece.

Final thoughts: The season comes to a premature end with a huge thud. The first half of the episode was merely average, but the post-Update half was a nightmare. Ana de Armas was an okay host. Not too special, but not awful.

Best sketches: American Girl, Spanish Class

Worst sketches: Funky Kong commentary, Lisa From Temecula, Nails

Stay tuned for my final overview of Season 48!!!

SNL Reviews: Molly Shannon/Jonas Brothers (4/8/23)

 Cold Open

Donald Trump invades the Last Supper to ramble on about unimportant shit.

• Nice recreation of the iconic Last Supper painting.

• I’m fairly certain that Jesus had no Chinese followers, so I don’t know why Bowen is here. 

• The casting of Molly as Judas is yet another example of their unfortunate typecasting as fat guys, but Judas’ nonverbal reaction to being dissed by Jesus is hilarious.

• All of a sudden, this is interrupted by yet another fucking appearance from Trump. UGGGHHHHH!!!! Why’d they have to do that? I kinda liked where this was heading before the interruption.

• Yawn, more of the same old tired shtick from JAJ as Trump. I don’t care how dead on the voice is. If they never switch things up, then why are we still doing these?

Monologue 

Molly Shannon talks about her new book and shares advice she learned from her dad.

• Feels weird to see Molly Shannon on the show in 2023, for some reason.

• This suddenly becomes a musical number about a minute in. Normally, I’d complain about this overused cliche, but we honestly haven’t had that many this season, so I’ll allow it.

• Ah, the two Mollys meet. I was hoping they would.

• Molly K: “Well, I’m not really in the show much tonight, so, I’m interrupting your song to get more camera time.”

• Funny brief appearance from Lorne, along with a random Martin Short cameo, because why the hell not?

• Nice touch at the end of the song with Molly shouting “Superstar!” like Mary Katherine Gallagher, who we are thankfully not getting an appearance from later. 

Sketch: Vincent’s Valets

A valet expert trains a group of beginners.

• Andrew has surprisingly gotten quite a bit of airtime so far.

• Sarah plays yet another old lady.

• James is pulling his character off flawlessly! His amazing season continues to get better.

• Kenan’s yelling antics are extremely out of place here. He really really needs to leave soon.

• Shannon’s character is very Kristen Wiig-esque. At least I think so, anyway. Her random “I’m kidding” interjections remind me of that awful Judy Grimes character Kristen plays.

• And because Kenan’s first outburst was apparently so funny, he does it again! Ugh.

Film: Selective Startage

Hack comedienne Jeannie Darcy has a new Netflix special.

• This character from Molly’s final season returns. 

• Good, corny joke about TikTok. I love the shot of the bored audience immediately after that.

• WTF?!!?? Ego is playing Arsenio Hall? Why couldn’t they let Devon Walker do it? It doesn’t help that Ego is just speaking in her normal voice without even trying to sound masculine.

• The scene with Punkie as Wanda Sykes being informed that Darcy isn’t a lesbian is pretty funny.

• Horrible Sarah Silverman “impression” from Chloe.

• While it was good to see this character again, I could have done without all the cutaways to other comedians.

Sketch: Fart Baby

A pregnant woman keeps farting.

• Bowen’s brief Marlon Brando impression was surprisingly good.

• Aaaand there goes the first fart of the sketch. I see James Anderson’s old scripts are still occasionally being used.

• Twenty minutes later, the only joke in this sketch is farting. That’s hilarious, right, guys? Guys??? Why are you all changing the channel?

Please Don’t Destroy: Molly Shannon 2K23

The guys show Molly a video game based on her life.

• Fifth episode in a row with one of these? Don’t get me wrong, I love these guys, but I wish they’d get a break.

• I absolutely love this concept.

• Funny “side quest” where Molly is on The Tonight Show making Jimmy Fallon crack up.

• I like how choosing the option to go on a tirade about cancel culture causes you to lose all of your points.

• Nice use of Molly’s Season 20 picture for the cover of “Shannon ‘95”.

• Even the brief glimpse of “Super Mario Batali” made me laugh.

• Just the fact that they have a level where she has to give her daughter the “birds and bees” talk is hilarious.

• Molly, in the game: “I’m gonna kill you, bitch!”

• They also get in some nice jabs at EA, when they say that the game has a few glitches, but they’ve heard that the next game is supposed to be flawless.

• I like the Mary Katherine Gallagher references in Molly’s rap, which once again makes me happy that she’s not going to be appearing tonight.

• Despite being overused, these PDD shorts are still reliably funny.

Sketch: The Play

A man watches a play that his girlfriend wrote.

• Nice to see Devon with a big role, but I wish it wasn’t a typical reacting role.

• Making me even more worried is that Jimmy Fowlie is credited as a writer here.

• *Bowen shows up as an annoying character* Yep, this is Fowlie, alright.

• We get our obligatory Nick Jonas sketch appearance. 

• I have not laughed at a single thing in this sketch so far.

• And there goes Kenan overacting yet again. Kenan, please get the fuck off of the show.

• Overall, blecch. 

Musical Performance: “Waffle House”

• I ain’t goin’ to no house made of no waffles! BEEEEEF JELLY!

Weekend Update (featuring Jafar, Angel Reese, and Co-Worker Who’s Extremely Busy Doing Seemingly Nothing)

• Wow, I have never heard a joke where they imply that Clarence Thomas is a rapist before! Have you????

• Bowen debuts his latest gay stereotype character, this time playing Jafar from Aladdin. All I will tell you is that it sucks like every other commentary of his.

• Thank goodness Punkie is here to liven things up. She plays LSU basketball star Angel Reese, who I’ve never heard of.

• While I have no knowledge of what Punkie is talking about in this commentary, she’s giving it her all as usual.

• Punkie, plugging a sponsor: “Garden Gnomes: Man, get yo little ass out my face!”

• Heidi introduces yet another annoying character, continuing the godawful season she’s been having. The long, overly-specific name this character has makes me worried that she’s going to become recurring.

• This character is no different than any other character Heidi has debuted on Update over the last season and a half. Is there any wonder why her detractors often call her “Vocal Fry: The Person”?

Sketch: Drug Commercial

Shenanigans are afoot on the set of a menopause commercial.

• Andrew’s great night continues!

• Another sketch that has both of the Mollys in it!

• The cast is pulling off these dance moves pretty well, but I’m not exactly laughing so far.

• All of a sudden, this sketch is interrupted by Kenan doing his tired old shtick for the millionth time. Have I made it clear this season that I absolutely hate Kenan now?

• No comment on him mispronouncing the product’s name as “Vegeta”.

• Yet ANOTHER sketch that ends with a random dance number. 

• Unfortunately, the writers’ guide on Reddit that I use for reference doesn’t say who is behind this awful sketch. The use of Kenan and the silly word substitutions make me think that Kent Sublette had something to do with it.

Musical Performance: “Walls”

Sketch: New Choreographer

The Jonas Brothers decide to switch things up by hiring an old familiar face as their new choreographer.

• I knew I was in for a rough sketch as soon as Kenan started talking in that dopey voice.

• They’re talking about a choreographer. Uh-oh, I know exactly which dreaded character is about to show up…

• Ugh, there she is. Sally O’Malley has returned. 

• Is Kenan able to go through a sketch anymore without looking like he’s about to die laughing? 

• I’m glad the audience is enjoying this, because I’m not.

• The Jonas Brothers then appear, and LOL!!! They’ve got the same outfit as Sally O’Malley!!!! Ugh…

• As if this couldn’t get any worse, we have a hacky, overused newspaper headline ending. 

• Overall, not a single laugh from me. I guess I should be counting my blessings, though, because it could’ve been worse. At least there was no Helen Madden in this episode.

Fake Ad: CNZen

An ASMR version of CNN that lulls liberals to sleep with details of Trump’s arrest.

• I liked Ego’s line about liberals basing their entire personalities on hating Donald Trump.

• Ummm, I don’t really buy Longfellow as Anderson Cooper. Alex Moffat was much better in that role.

• Sarah in drag yet again?!!?? This time as Wolf Blitzer??? Why couldn’t they let JAJ do it?

• Oh, that’s why, he’s playing Lindsay Graham.

• This was kind of boring, but I liked what it was going for.

Final thoughts: A bit of a hard episode to figure out. There was some good stuff, some average stuff, and a lot of really awful stuff. Molly Shannon, to her credit, fit right back into the cast, but there’s not a lot she could’ve done to save shit like that awful fart sketch.

Best sketches: Monologue, Molly Shannon 2K23

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Fart Baby, The Play, Heidi’s commentary, Drug Commercial, New Choreographer

Next review: The season comes to a premature end with Ana de Armas/Karol G

SNL Reviews: Quinta Brunson/Lil Yachty (4/1/23)

 Cold Open

Donald Trump promotes his new album.

• Ugh. Not Trump again.

• Haha, Trump just made a reference to The Office! You see, it’s funny because the real Trump wouldn’t do that!

• This gets even worse when he starts…singing. Yeah, this has suddenly turned into an ad for a cover album. Why? I don’t fucking know.

• I know I keep saying this, but it’s so awkward seeing Mikey as Trump Jr. without Alex as Eric. Why do they keep making him show up if his partner isn’t there anymore?!?

Monologue 

Quinta talks about working on Abbott Elementary and how poorly teachers are treated in America.

• I must confess that I have never heard of this woman before.

• Kind of a cheap and easy way of getting applause when she says that her show is like Friends except that it has black people in it.

• No comment on the Obama cameo.

• Despite all of those negative things, Quinta is very charming here, especially with her talk about how our public school teachers need more respect.

Sketch: Drug Dealer

Things get competitive between drug dealers in a nightclub bathroom.

• I absolutely love how the first two people we see in this are Andrew and Devon, who are some of the brightest stars of this mediocre season.

• Marcello’s already cracking me up with his drug dealer character. 

• Is Quinta’s character supposed to be male? She has a goatee.

• Quinta: “My stuff is so white, it’s like Gwyneth Paltrow skiing in Utah.”

• Marcello: “My stuff is so pure white, it’s like the guy that’s suing Gwyneth Paltrow!”

• All of the various comparisons they’re making to their crack are very funny.

• Even Kenan got a laugh out of me when he started singing “Last Resort” by Papa Roach for no reason.

• Michael Longfellow’s camouflaged character that appears out of nowhere is hilarious. I love how he’s about to tell them how black his heroin is, but then notices that the room is filled with black people and wisely backs off.

• I’m surprised at how much I enjoyed this given that it has only one joke. 

Film: I Was A Bridesmaid

The horrors of being a bridesmaid.

• I see that Jimmy Fowlie wrote this sketch. Hopefully that’s not a bad omen…

• Is this a parody of a real Netflix documentary or is it just some shit they made up?

• As soon as James’ character mentioned gay men, I knew that Bowen was going to show up as a stereotypical gay man.

• Interesting seeing Molly play this type of role, along with using a slightly higher voice than their usual pitch.

• The various pictures of the bridesmaids terrorizing gay bars are pretty humorous.

• While this wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, I feel like I would have gotten more out of it if I knew what it was parodying.

Sketch: Couple Goals

Couples on a game show answer questions to see how well they know each other.

• No comment on James’ host character being named “Bob Dabilda”. 

• Punkie has gotten a lot of air time in this episode. Too bad I know it’s not going to last because our next episode doesn’t have a black host.

• Kenan surprisingly hasn’t been annoying me tonight. His character here is acting pretty normal by his recent standards.

• I love the look on James’ face after the brief cutaway to Kenan’s decrepit mother being force fed.

• Odd ending where the camera zooms in on Kenan screaming “NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!”

Sketch: Traffic Altercation

Two drivers argue while stuck in traffic

• I feel like we’ve barely seen Mikey lately. The writing is clearly on the wall for him.

• Some interesting and unusual camera angles.

• According to one person in the comments, a few of the signs that Mikey and Quinta are doing are actually real ASL signs.

• Yay, Mikey’s explaining stuff again! 

• Okay, this sketch is kind of starting to drag on for me. I wish it was cut down a little bit.

Musical Performance: “The Black Seminole”

Weekend Update (featuring the Statue of David and Marcello Hernandez)

• We start with a bunch of bland Trump jokes.

• They’ve really got to stop doing the jokes about Colin secretly being a Trump supporter/white supremacist. It doesn’t help that this particular joke is apparently so funny that it leaves these two buffoons with the giggles for a few minutes.

• Yet another commentary for Michael Longfellow, this time as the Statue of David. Apparently there was some controversy that week about a picture of the statue being included in grade-school curriculum. 

• Some excellent makeup on Michael.

• I love the part where he screams as he turns his head to look at Che, accompanied by “statue” sounds.

• I’m surprised they were allowed to show his rock pubes. 

• Not the funniest commentary ever, but Longfellow is great as usual.

• Is tonight the night of the featured players or something? Now it’s time for Marcello to give another commentary!

• When bringing up “short kings”, I like how one of the people he mentions is Martin Short.

• Another great example of his fast paced Spanish delivery.

• Colin: “Armie Hammer is not 7’3!” Marcello: “Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot you were friends!”

• It warms my heart to hear Marcello get all this applause. He’s certainly deserved it with all of the great commentaries he’s had this season!

Sketch: Midwife

A doctor and a midwife have a tense discussion in the delivery room.

• I groaned as soon as Bowen entered as yet another CUH-RAYZEE character. This sketch was co-written by him and Jimmy Fowlie, so I expect this to get even worse as it goes on.

• Now this suddenly changes to three years in the future? What is going on?!?

• And now we’re back in the past? What even is this sketch?!??

• Now Bowen just cracked up during one of his lines. Please end this shit now!!!!

Musical Performance: “Drive Me Crazy!”

Sketch: Bosses

Two bosses harass a new employee.

• Sarah in drag again? I don’t like how this has become a common thing for her.

• Despite my initial worries, Sarah is absolutely perfect in this role.

• And now Quinta just showed up in drag as well.

• I’m sure you know I’m not caring for the reacting and explaining parts of this sketch.

• This was surprisingly weak for a Sarah sketch, not helped by the over-reliance on women in drag.

Please Don’t Destroy: Street Eats

The guys show off some of the finest street cuisine in NYC.

• Fourth episode in a row with a PDD short.

• Kind of strange how they’re not using their real names in this one, but I like how Ben’s character name is “Domhnall Trump”.

• I like seeing these guys on the street for once.

• I love the random scene with the old black man telling Ben to shut up.

• Another laugh from their awkward attempts at sounding Jamaican.

• Punkie gets a good quick scene where she makes them shut off their camera in the restaurant.

• I love how they show a map of the locations they go to, but the pins on the map of the US are all in the same spot.

• Funny scene of Marcello randomly assaulting John.

• Martin, to a bunch of construction workers: “I hope the building you’re working on explodes!”

• I love the glimpse we get of the negative comments on their video, most of which are heavily censored.

• Great ending where they get hit by a car.

Final thoughts: Another extremely bipolar episode. The good stuff was really good, while the bad stuff was horrendous, especially that god-awful Bowen mugfest.

Best sketches: Drug Dealers, Marcello’s commentary, Street Eats

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Midwife, Bosses

Next review: Molly Shannon/Jonas Brothers

SNL Reviews: Jenna Ortega/The 1975 (3/11/23)

Cold Open: Oscars Red Carpet

Celebrities are interviewed at the Oscars

• Yay, a non-political cold open!

• Amazing to see Marcello with such a big role in the cold open. I’m not sure how accurate his Mario Lopez impression is, but he seems to be having a good time.

• Kenan’s Mike Tyson is awful, which is strange because I remember it being spot-on in the past.

• Stop forcing Chloe down our throats! Her Jamie Lee Curtis impression is extremely bad.

• The “Oscar Odds” bit is so hacky and predictable.

• Not only can Mikey not do British accents, but he’s bad at Irish ones too!

• Molly continues to be typecast as fat men with this bizarre Brendan Gleeson impression.

• Speaking of typecasting, Sarah plays yet another Jewish person.

• No comment on the unnecessary return of Bowen as George Santos.

• Overall, this was an awful cold open.

Monologue 

Jenna talks about starting in horror movies and her time as a child actress.

• I groaned at Jenna’s joke about Facebook being TikTok for racists.

• I actually remember that Colgate commercial she was in!

• A big laugh from the edited “scary” version of said commercial.

• UGGGHHHH, Fred Armisen out of fucking nowhere!!!! I had no idea he was in that Wednesday show, so I wasn’t expecting to see him here like many others were, but still, Fred needs to fucking cut his ties with SNL once and for all. Is he surgically connected to the show or something?

• Blech, it’s bad enough that Fred is here, but do we really need Jenna bringing up how her favorite sketch is The Californians?!? She has really shit taste in comedy!

• LOL, I actually got a laugh from Jenna cutting off Fred when he starts telling the story of how the sketch came to be! Thank goodness for that!

• This monologue started out okay, but then Fred came along and ruined it.

Sketch: School vs. School

X-Men knockoffs compete on a game show.

• Nice outdated PBS logo at the beginning.

• Kenan’s intro is going on way too long, but at least they gave him a normal name instead of the typical Anderlette “funny pun” name.

• I love Punkie’s lame “A-plus” joke.

• Bizarre twist where one of the competing schools turns out to be an X-Men knockoff school.

• Molly is almost unrecognizable as “Knockout”, while Mikey’s look as “Chandless Zander” is amusing.

• Mikey is surprisingly trying pretty hard to imitate Patrick Stewart’s trademark shouting. You can see Molly smirking after the first time he does this.

• Interesting use of a vocal modifier on Molly’s character, but as expected, there’s a minor glitch with it continuing into Mikey’s next line for a brief second.

• Kenan is actually coming off as a decent straight man in this sketch.

• Amusing reveal of Punkie’s character having a bloody nose as a result of Jenna’s psychic attack.

• Molly has another great moment by destroying their podium.

• I’m surprised at how much I enjoyed that sketch. It’s unquestionably one-note, but the performances made it work for me.

Please Don’t Destroy: Road Trip

The boys go out on the road with Jenna to help her relax.

• Third episode in a row with one of these? I’m not complaining, but I wish they’d space them out.

• Sudden musical number, but I think I like where this is going.

• The lyric about seeing billboards that say you’re going to Hell is a particularly funny one, as those are very common to see on the side of the road when you’re traveling through the South.

• Some laughs from the occasional interruptions of the song. 

• The part with Jenna slurping on her Slurpee and annoying everyone else is another part I find relatable. Ben even says that he thinks she’s gotten it all, which is something my parents often say to me when I have a Slurpee.

• These shorts really love using awkward silence as a punchline. In this case, there’s a really funny instance of it when Martin casually tells everyone that his dad had a stroke.

• Oh, but there’s a funny twist where it turns out his dad didn’t have a stroke after all.

• The part where they run a guy over caught me off guard. And we end on a nice callback to the religious billboard from earlier with Jesus (played by JAJ) saying “I saw what you did!”

• This was a lot better than the last musical short they did (the Three Sad Virgins one with Pete Davidson).

Sketch: The Parent Trap

A crew member steps in a a body double for a remake of The Parent Trap.

• Uh-oh, Fred is back again! This doesn’t look good.

• So far, this is not working for me at all. This is exactly the type of sketch that he usually appeared in during the dying years of his tenure.

• Bowen: “Sir, I don’t think the script said ‘bitch’”. No, really?!? Thanks for explaining that to us!

• Jenna is at least extremely likable here.

• Why is this still going on?

• Bad ending where the poster shows both twins played by Fred. An awful end to an awful sketch.

Sketch: Ridiculousness

Just a typical episode of Ridiculousness, except it’s the SNL cast doing it.

• I can’t believe it’s taken this long for SNL to make fun of Ridiculousness, given how ubiquitous it is on MTV these days.

• I’m pretty sure MTV has never had “coming up next” screens (which is a problem I have with a lot of SNL TV show sketches in general), but it’s worth it just for the “Three straight days of Ridiculousness” joke.

• Mikey looks nothing like Rob Dyrdek.

• Kenan’s mic isn’t working when he comments on the “Falling Off” video.

• Funny disturbing story from Jenna about a friend’s head getting cut off.

• I love how every video they show involves someone falling.

• Great unsettled reaction from Chloe after Jenna’s terrifying cat story.

• The last video being a guy riding a laundry basket down the stairs kinda hits home for me, as I did that once when I was a kid and got hurt.

• An abrupt ending, but this sketch was okay for what it was.

Film: Waffle House

A dramatic scene in a teen drama is interrupted by chaos at a nearby Waffle House.

• Marcello has gotten a lot of airtime tonight.

• All of the wacky shit going on in the background at Waffle House is great.

• Great to see almost all of the featured players in this sketch! With the exception of Sarah, for some strange reason.

• I love that some of Jenna and Marcello’s dialogue relates to the chaos behind them.

• Excellent twist ending where it turns out that Jenna’s boyfriend was one of the people inside Waffle House.

Musical Performance: “I’m In Love With You”

Random observation: The lead singer reminds me of Martin Herlihy from Please Don’t Destroy.

Weekend Update (featuring Randy McNally and James Austin Johnson)

• Really? A joke about John Travolta mispronouncing someone’s name? How timely!

• What was the point of Che’s “Take that, Rihanna!”

• Wow, another “seen here” joke! Never seen THAT before!

• Molly finally gets an Update commentary. Unfortunately, it’s one where they’re buried under a shit ton of makeup to play a man, Tennessee’s Lt. Governor Randy McNally.

• Unfunny joke about Mapquest. Get it, because his last name is McNally!!!

• Just taking a look at that writer’s guide on Reddit, I see that this commentary was written by Jimmy Fowlie. Ugh, now I hate this even more.

• No offense to Molly, because I really like them, but I’m getting bad Aidy Bryant vibes from this commentary.

• A hundred minutes later, I still haven’t laughed. This was Molly’s first ever Update appearance, and this is what they’re stuck with? They should’ve gotten an introductory commentary like the other three newbies did.

• I laughed at the angry audience response to Che’s tasteless New Orleans joke.

• Super lame and hacky joke about how Che likes his women fat. Get it? Cuz black dudes love fat white women!

• OMG, Michael Che just made a “joke” where he insults women! Never seen THAT before!

• Ah, at least James Austin Johnson is here to save this Update. This time, he’s going to show off some of his many impressions.

• Great Adam Driver impression, which we saw before in that one sketch from the Rami Malek episode.

• I love his Jay-Z impression! Even better is the fact that he says he wants to play him on the show, but we won’t see him because he’ll be downstairs.

• Not even the obligatory appearance of his Trump impression was enough to ruin the mood.

• We end on the best one of all: Bob Dylan’s cellphone vibrating.

• Overall, a great showcase from James. Even though he’s proven himself to be more than just an impressionist, I’m glad he got to show them all off.

Sketch: Exorcist

A sassy black woman helps to exorcise a young girl.

• Second sketch of the night to use a vocal modifier, this time for Jenna as a possessed girl.

• JAJ is perfectly cast as the priest. And, hey, there’s Andrew! Good to know he’s still around.

• Uh-oh, here comes Ego as a sassy black woman yet again. Her up-and-down season continues to get worse.

• Now this is getting even more tepid with the arrival of Kenan as yet another loud, obnoxious character. I’ve said this a million times this season, but, please get off the show, Kenan.

• Please stop doing the “Shawdn’t they be asleep?” joke!

• An actually somewhat amusing ending where a Kenan dummy’s head spins around.

Musical Performance: “Oh Caroline”

Sketch: Jingle Pitch

Lawyers enlist help from a local band in coming up with a new jingle for their law firm.

• Bowen’s shtick is a little out of place in this sketch.

• Thankfully, Andrew and James enter with 80s hair and sunglasses. I like how Andrew’s getting a second lead role!

• Great name for their band: “Soul Booth”

• Is it weird that I actually want them to release this jingle as a song? It’s genuinely catchy and well done.

• I assume the background music is being done live by the SNL Band.

• Andrew and James are absolutely killing it with their performances! It’s just a shame that Bowen keeps trying to overshadow them with his one-note character.

• I think the best song of theirs is the last one. And clearly the characters agree, as it’s the one they choose to be their jingle. 

• Even the cliche dance party ending was a lot of fun, which just goes to show how much I enjoyed this.

Note: A dedication is shown for former SNL assistant Erin Maroney Fraser.

Final thoughts: A much better episode than I was expecting. While there were some hiccups here and there (the awful Fred appearances), most of the sketches were funny and well-written. Jenna completely won me over with her adorable and charming performances. I’d love to see her host again.

Best sketches: School vs. School, Road Trip, Waffle House, JAJ’s commentary, Jingle Pitch

Worst sketches: Cold Open, The Parent Trap, Exorcist

Next review: Quinta Brunson/Lil Yachty

SNL Reviews: Travis Kelce/Kelsey Ballerini (3/4/23)

 Cold Open: Fox and Friends

The team discusses Dominion’s lawsuit against FOX News.

• Why are they still doing these? They’ll never recapture the magic of the early 2010s ones.

• Horrendous joke about “da Minions”. This is then followed by Bowen doing a bad Minion impression.

• The Alex Murdaugh/Rupert Murdoch mixup was lame.

• JAJ’s Mike Lindell impression is back, and it’s still spot on. 

• I actually got a cheap laugh from his “wife” turning out to be a pillow with a face on it.

Monologue 

Travis talks about facing his brother in the Super Bowl, and his old reality dating show.

• For a non-actor, he’s coming off pretty well.

• I noticed a couple of whoops in the audience after he says he got kicked off his team in college for using marijuana. What in the world were those guys cheering for? Is Pete Davidson one of them? Or did Woody Harrelson somehow sneak back into the studio?

• Funny awkward clip from Travis’s reality show.

• Overall, I’m impressed at how good he is for an athlete host. Will the rest of the episode be better than I remember?

Sketch: American Girl Café

A man talks to his dolls at the American Girl store, confusing other customers.

• Yay, product placement!

• I got an unintentional twinge of nostalgia from one of Travis’s dolls being Isabelle. My little sister used to have that one when she was young.

• I like Mikey asking Travis if there are any “other names” he uses, or if he’s on any government lists.

• Travis: “But the only list you’ll find me on is the hungriest customer list.” The brief silence after he says this is what makes it for me.

• Heidi asking Travis to keep both of his hands on the table is great.

• Travis is really funny in this, by the way. If it was any other host, this sketch might not have worked so well. But seeing Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce playing with dolls is an inherently funny idea.

• Great scene with Travis slowly turning the dolls’ heads towards a young girl and her doll.

• Not even Kenan’s explaining portions of this sketch are enough to ruin it for me.

• Great ending where Sarah gets yelled at for being a potential predator instead of Travis.

Please Don’t Destroy: Self-Defense

The boys are tired of getting insulted by interns, so they take a self-defense class.

• Good concept, and it’s great to see them out of the office for the second week in a row.

• Travis is doing a good job yet again. 

• The scene of John getting abruptly punched was well timed.

• Nice subtle character moment when Ben says he doesn’t want to talk about his father.

• Even though I was expecting Ben to get punched while his eyes were closed, I still laughed.

• Thankfully, they switch things up a bit with Martin getting beaten up by an old woman instead of Travis.

• I love the randomness of a gun falling out of Martin’s pocket when he lands on the floor.

• Ben attacking the old woman and standing up for himself was well-earned.

• Nice callback to the interns from earlier. We end on a funny twist where they beat the PDD guys up and burn them with coffee.

• Overall, this was a lot better than the PDD short from last week.

Sketch: Mama’s Funeral

Strange things happen at a woman’s funeral when her lover gets involved.

• Uh-oh, it’s time for more reacting and explaining.

• Funny reveal of Ego as a dead body. That pose she’s in and the whole concept of this sketch kind of reminds me of a viral image of a young black man being embalmed in his favorite gaming chair.

• Bizarre error just now where Devon and Kenan’s voices aren’t heard. This was not fixed for the online upload.

• Ego’s recorded voice: “Don’t you embarrass me in front of these white people!”

• Amazing scene with Ego’s voice stuttering and Travis having to fix it.

• Hilarious bizarre ending where Ego suddenly launches out of the funeral home like a rocket.

• What is it about sketches set at funerals that makes them so good? This is the second season in a row that I’ve covered a really funny funeral sketch.

Fake Ad: Straight Male Friend

A commercial for gay guys who need a male friend that isn’t gay.

• Promising concept, which I can totally understand. Have you ever seen a gay guy with a male friend that isn’t also gay before?

• Travis, as expected, is perfect in this role.

• A sign for “Wing Pit” can be seen in the background throughout this sketch, a nice callback to the fake ad in the Pedro Pascal episode.

• Funny disclaimer: “Three or more straight male friends may result in a trip to Atlantic City”.

• I love the awkward silence after Travis reveals his father died last week.

• This is the kind of stuff I like to see from Bowen, where he’s just being his honest self and not acting like a stereotype.

Sketch: Tears

Graham’s ex-girlfriend Abby can’t stop crying.

• This was cut from the Jack Harlow episode all the way back in October.

• Funny initial line from Heidi about her confusing Cocaine Bear for Paddington 3.

• I forgot all about the turn this sketch takes with Heidi’s eyes overflowing like a waterfall. I wonder how they made that effect anyway.

• This is not as bad as I remembered it being. In a season where Heidi has played a lot of annoying characters, this one is actually coming off as endearing, especially when you consider the fact that Heidi is a Chiefs fan, and was likely starstruck upon meeting Travis.

• Nice twist where Heidi’s new boyfriend is played by Travis’s brother Jason.

Musical Performance: “Blindsided”

Weekend Update (featuring Dilbert, Punkie Johnson, Mikey Day, and Sarah Sherman)

• Oh fuck, now we’re starting to get a bunch of Scott Adams jokes, as this was right after he made bizarre statements urging white people not to interact with black people.

• Speaking of Scott Adams, Michael Longfellow appears at the desk yet again, this time as Dilbert.

• Dear lord, that Dilbert makeup is terrifying.

• I can’t think of any standout lines (except maybe the joke about his hair being made of skin), but this Dilbert commentary is another example of how good Longfellow has been at the desk this year.

• Punkie and Mikey get their own commentary where they talk about their Oscar picks. This is such an unusual pairing.

• I wonder if the conceit of this (Punkie not knowing who certain celebrities are) is based in reality? Punkie seems genuinely embarrassed by calling Tony Hawk “Tony Hawking” (I assume this was when he made a cameo on the show a few episodes ago), so embarrassed that she covers her face in shame. Aww, and Mikey just put his arm around her to cheer her up. That is so sweet.

• Punkie referring to Bruce Springsteen as “Rick Bernstein” also sounds like a genuine story. Man, I feel sorry for the poor girl!

• I like the sudden twist where this turns into a segment called “Who Does Punkie Mean?” 

• The mangled celebrity names in this segment don’t sound as genuine as the first two, but I still find this funny and charming.

• I like how “Zoey Dechanaise” turns out to actually be Zöe Kravitz.

• Aw yeah! The return of Sarah’s news segment! This was supposed to be in last week’s show but got cut after dress.

• It turns out the reason they’re doing this again is because it’s Sarah’s birthday. That was nice of them.

• I love Colin’s edited eyebrows on the headline about him allegedly refusing to celebrate Hispanic culture.

• I keep expecting to get tired of Sarah’s Colin jokes, but I never do. She always manages to make them work.

• Really funny part with her lusting over Columbo, which requires a Flash Flood Warning.

• That is one delicious looking cake. It even comes with a card that warns Sarah not to eat it since she failed weigh-in that morning. 

• I really hope they keep doing these Sarah News bits in the future. They’re such a breath of fresh air compared to the staleness of Jost and Che.

• Also, I just noticed that I liked every single one of those commentaries. This is the best Weekend Update in a long time!

Note: A dedication to former editor John Head appears after Update.

Sketch: Family Meeting

A mother and father have some important news to share with their children…in song!

• This was cut from the Pedro Pascal episode. 

• To the shock of nobody, JAJ’s singing voice is really good.

• Funny reveal during the song that JAJ is getting cucked. There seems to be a lot of that on SNL as of late.

• Yet another great performance by Travis. I can’t imagine Pedro playing this same role to perfection.

• I like the randomness of Travis’s character name being “Sucre”.

• JAJ: “I think you guys should apologize to Sucre about the mohawk guy.”

• I love Ego’s explanation for why the kids are all different races.

• For a musical sketch, this wasn’t bad at all. And it goes without saying that Travis impressed me once again.

Sketch: Garrett From Hinge

A rejected Hinge match randomly appears at his date’s house.

• Ugh at Bowen entering the sketch as another “WACKY” character.

• Second sketch in a row to mention a “throuple”.

• Two minutes in, and I haven’t laughed once. What is even the point of this sketch?

• Bowen’s constant repetition of “I’m Garrett…from Hinge” gets more and more irritating the more times he says it.

• In short, no, just…no.

Musical Performance: “Penthouse”

Sketch: Too Hot To Handle

Contestants of a popular dating show keep breaking the rules.

• Devon seems to be doing the same voice as that British rapper he played a couple episodes ago.

• I groaned at the reveal of Chloe’s character, yet another irritating and one note character that we’ve been seeing her do way too much lately.

• No comment on Chloe blowing raspberries.

• Would it surprise you at all to know that this is another Jimmy Fowlie “masterpiece”?

Cut for Time: NFL Gives Back

NFL players use their skills to help lift their wives up.

• This looks promising.

• Hey, there’s Andrew! If this made it into the final episode, it would have been his only appearance in it.

• This commercial reminds me of an old commercial from The Amanda Show where this guy called “The Boost” helps children get their belongings back from hard to reach places.

• Speaking of Nickelodeon shows, I liked the Doug Funnie reference.

• This was an okay film, but I think I prefer the Amanda version.

Final thoughts: After last week’s shaky episode, here’s a really really good one, probably one of the best of the entire season. Travis Kelce was an amazing host who elevated everything he appeared in.

Best sketches: American Girl Cafe, Self-Defense, Mama’s Funeral, Sarah News, Family Meeting

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Garrett from Hinge, Too Hot To Handle

Next review: Jenna Ortega/The 1975

SNL Reviews: Woody Harrelson/Jack White (2/25/23)

 Cold Open

Donald Trump gives a speech in East Palestine, Ohio.

• Uggggghhhhh, enough with the Trump cold opens! He’s not president anymore, so stop giving him free publicity!

• Oh shit, I forgot all about that Ohio train crash. The media buried that story real good.

• I fucking hate Chloe’s mugging faces here. As if I needed another reason to hate her.

Monologue 

Woody talks about getting high in Central Park and his new movie Champions.

• I seem to recall there being a bit of controversy about this monologue, but I don’t know the specifics.

• He talks about how the last time he appeared on SNL was around Thanksgiving 2019, which is correct. He was playing Joe Biden that night in a godawful sketch about the Democratic debate.

• Oh, this anti-vaxxing material…I think I understand what the controversy was about now.

• I don’t know if it’s the pot speaking, but his monologue seems kinda rambly and unfocused. 

Sketch: Jail Call

A visit between a prisoner and his wife gets interrupted.

• Chloe doing yet another annoying cartoony voice.

• Woody’s wig makes him look like Billy Ray Cyrus.

• I don’t know what’s going on with Ego lately, but she’s been starting to get on my nerves. Her character in this sketch is no exception, constantly making annoying quips while Woody is trying to talk to his wife.

• As if that wasn’t bad enough, now Kenan is joining in on the “fun” with some annoying comments of his own. Can you please leave already?

Please Don’t Destroy: The Stakeout

Ben and Woody spy on the other PDD guys, and a shocking secret is revealed…

• We haven’t seen these guys in a while.

• Nice to see them outside of the office again. This stakeout premise seems very promising.

• Uh-oh, John and Martin are now making out with each other. I can’t believe SNL is still resorting to this cliche in 2023.

• Don’t know how to feel about the twist that they have a family together.

• Not sure I needed to see Kenan in this.

• Funny brief scene of the kids attacking a Ben punching bag.

• Another funny quick gag with the lineup of Ben replacements.

• Odd twist where Woody ends up replacing Ben.

• Can’t believe I’m saying this, but, I wasn’t a big fan of that short. Are the PDD guys starting to lose their magic???

Sketch: Slingshot

“Wacky” shenanigans occur on a slingshot ride.

• Kenan has been in almost every sketch tonight. Meanwhile, Andrew Dismukes and Marcello Hernandez are weeping backstage.

• Ugh, this has turned into another sketch where the only joke is Kenan overacting and bugging his eyes out. 

• Michael and Molly are wasted as the ride operators.

• Wait, Woody just suddenly left the sketch? Where did his character go? Guess we’re stuck with Kenan and his unfunny shtick.

• Now they’re resorting to peepee jokes? Please let this sketch end.

• Overall, this episode continues to be pure comedy cancer. 

Sketch: Submarine Launch

A captain and his crew discuss the odd name of their vessel.

• Nice to see a sketch that has the entire male cast in it.

• Decent reveal of the ship’s name.

• Not too much for me to say about this one, but it is tightly written and well-performed. Even Kenan manages not to overact for once.

Fake Ad: Cologuard

The Cologuard mascot shows up at Woody’s place and wants Woody to “get inside” him.

• Some really cute puppetry here with the mascot.

• I’m a little cautious at the turn this has taken with the mascot wanting Woody to fuck him.

• Turns out those fears were unfounded, because I’m actually really liking this. 

• Kenan’s creepy UPS guy is okay, but I don’t think he was the right choice to play him.

• Amazing twist at the end where Woody’s neighbors see him taking his pants off in front of inanimate boxes, suggesting that the whole situation was all in his mind. I love how Andrew stays there to watch it all unfold.

Musical Performance: “Taking Me Back”, “Fear of the Dawn”

• Funny intro from Woody asking where Jack White’s Five-Timers Jacket is.

Weekend Update (featuring Bill Walton and Gina Bianchi)

• I liked Colin’s slam at the Oscars.

• JAJ debuts an impression of some sports guy named Bill Walton. I have no idea who that is so I have very little to say about this commentary.

• This next commentary, though…hoo, boy, get ready for some pain.

• Anyway, Heidi shows up as her latest annoying Update character that talks in an annoying voice. I was not surprised at all to see Jimmy Fowlie credited as a writer for this. 

• I always feel kind of bad making fun of Heidi, since she seems like a really sweet person, but it’s hard not to considering the awful year she’s been having.

Note: A dedication to longtime set designer Eugene Lee is shown after Update. This must have been a very sudden death, as Lee’s name still appeared in episodes from earlier this season.

Sketch: The Hippo

A lead actor has a difficult time dealing with the cancellation of his film.

• Ego’s reference to a potential writer’s strike hasn’t aged well, considering what eventually ended this season early.

• OMG at Woody’s terrifying fat makeup.

• I laughed at the corny “triabetes” line. 

• Despite there only being one joke, I am loving this sketch. Just the visual of Woody Harrelson in a fat suit is making this worth it.

• Mikey is also getting some laughs as the director.

• Funny twist at the end where we find out that the film was cancelled because the script was taken word-for-word from The Whale. Woody’s reaction upon hearing this is amazing.

Musical Performance: “A Tip From You To Me”

Sketch: Beautiful Gym

Two men get fancy at the gym.

• Ugh, another Bowen showcase. Making me even more wary is the fact that Sublette is credited as a writer.

• Bowen, as usual, is trying way too hard here. 

• At least Woody is his usual likeable self. Too bad he’s been overshadowed by all of the annoying cast members tonight.

• Overall, yet another example of Bowen Yang taking too much screentime from the others with his tired antics.

Cut for Time: Musical Promo

A new Broadway musical about the little songs that people sing to themselves.

• A promising premise. I’m sure we’ve all had moments where we sing little songs to ourselves.

• Why is there no audience response to Woody’s hilarious chicken song?

• I like Molly’s song about getting a box from Amazon. This would have been a much better use of Molly in the episode instead of that awful Slingshot sketch where they only had one line.

• Great fake review from Broadway.com: “Not sure why that cost money to see, but I loved it.”

• I like how The New York Times review is in the same style as the songs in the musical. Steve Higgins even reads this one as a song.

• A funny example of a “dramatic” moment in the musical where Woody throws away a loaf of bread.

• Great tagline: “C’mon, you know you do it.”

Note: A dedication to Richard Belzer is shown before the goodnights.

Final thoughts: Yeesh, that was a mess. In an episode where Woody Harrelson is hosting, I expect to see him in a lot of funny oddball sketches. Instead, I got a bunch of annoying performers (Kenan, Heidi, Bowen) relying on their same old shtick, all while overshadowing the host. When even the Please Don’t Destroy film is worse than usual, you know you’ve screwed up. 

Best sketches: Cologuard, The Hippo, Musical Promo (Cut)

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Jail Call, Slingshot, Heidi’s commentary, Beautiful Gym

Next episode: Travis Kelce/Kelsey Ballerini

SNL Reviews: Pedro Pascal/Coldplay (2/4/23)

 Cold Open

Katy Tur interviews the Chinese spy balloon after it has been shot down.

• Ugh at the fake Marjorie Taylor-Greene tweet.

• I don’t know who Thomas Hamilton is, but I’m sure he sounds nothing like Kenan’s impression. Also, nice obvious wig. I can see where it ends.

• DEAR GOD, NO!!!!! Bowen is playing the Chinese spy balloon!! As soon as I saw the subject of this cold open, I was fearing an appearance by him, but I had no idea they would have him play the balloon itself!

• Bowen is playing this role exactly as you would expect…gay as hell.

• You know what’s really sad? People actually eat this shit up! There’s a comment on the YouTube upload that says “Give Bowen a ‘playing inanimate objects’ Emmy already”. Whoever wrote that comment is fucking delusional. This isn’t funny, it’s extremely annoying and predictable.

• When the camera zooms in on Bowen at the end, the CGI water he’s in stays in place. That made me laugh more than the intended comedy here.

Monologue

Pascal talks about interacting with fans and filming The Last Of Us.

• Hey, remember the time when Pedro Pascal memorialized a child rapist on Twitter? That was awesome. Anyway, that has nothing to do with this monologue, so let’s move on.

• The audience goes wild for some reason when he says that the voice he uses for The Mandalorian is a “bedroom voice”. I take it there’s a lot of horny ladies in the building tonight.

• Boy, I sure am I glad that Kyle Mooney isn’t on anymore, because we would have had to sit through another Baby Yoda appearance here.

• I love the photos he shows of his Law and Order appearances, especially the one where he appears to be playing a Hasidic Jew.

• Nice ending where he delivers a message in Spanish to his relatives back in Chile. I like when we hear foreign hosts speak in their native language.

Sketch: The Big Hollywood Quiz

Contestants are baffled by movie trivia questions from the past few years,

• I like how we get a game show host with a normal name for once. Nice restraint on the part of Sublette.

• The big show tune Bowen sings as he introduces himself is an Anderlette trait that hasn’t been left out of this sketch, unfortunately.

• What is with the weird camera movement as Bowen introduces the first question? Is Michael J. Fox manning a camera tonight?

• Some nice satire here about how they can answer most of these questions with ease, but when it comes to one from the last few years, they’re stumped. I find that totally relatable, as I tend to feel that a lot of modern media is interchangeable and bland.

• While the premise does get a little stale after a while, there’s still enough funny lines scattered throughout.

Film: Mario Kart

A gritty reboot in the vein of The Last of Us…except it’s Mario!!!

• Uggggghhhhh, yet ANOTHER case of shilling for the upcoming Mario movie!!!

• Are these guys even aware that a gritty live-action Mario already exists? The 1993 movie beat them to it!

• At least Peach has a normal accent here, unlike…that other sketch that shall not be named.

• Pedro makes for a convincing Mario.

• Why is this a parody of Mario Kart and not the regular games? Just something odd that I noticed.

• Mikey’s Luigi is hilarious.

• Yoshi and Toad randomly revealing themselves to be bisexual after they introduce themselves is spot on to a lot of these adaptations changing characters’ sexualities.

• I knew they couldn’t resist a “LOL MARIO EATS SHROOMS!!!” joke. It’s 2023, and we’re still making those jokes?

• One thing I really like here is the announcer. Instead of it being Steve Higgins as usual, they get some other guy with a really unique voice.

• Despite all my complaints, this is a genuinely good film. Mikey and Streeter seem to really love writing gritty reboots of children’s properties, even if this one isn’t as good as the Sesame Street one they did a few years ago.

Sketch: Waking Up

A man wakes up from a coma and starts talking weird.

• Oh, fuck, I have a distinct memory of hating this sketch.

• Pedro immediately starts talking in a dopey millennial accent. Sure enough, Kent Sublette is credited as a writer for this.

• I like the random reveal that Pedro ended up in the hospital after getting hit by a Party City truck.

• Not only is this a “funny voice” sketch, but it’s also a “react” sketch! Lucky me…

• Twenty minutes later, this is still going on. I especially hate the really hacky joke where they try to have him identify various “b” words, and his accent renders them all indistinguishable from each other.

• As if this couldn’t get worse, Pedro has now started corpsing during his dramatic “heartwarming” speech at the end. Please end this already.

Sketch: Fancam Assembly

A teacher can’t figure out why students keep making fancams of him and other school staff. In other words, how do you do, fellow kids?

• It’s been quite a while since we had a sketch where they try to pander to the Internet crowd.

• Rather strangely, the song that plays during the fancams is a remix of the “Big Boys” song from Keke Palmer’s episode. I guess SNL is capitalizing on that song’s popularity with the TikTok crowd.

• Can we get one sketch where Bowen doesn’t act like a campy gay stereotype? If this keeps up, I may have to go back to my old Asian Terry Sweeney nickname for him.

• I don’t even know what the fuck a fancam is, but I’m not finding any of them funny.

• There’s a distracting extra in front of Ego who seems to be chewing something.

• Poor Molly had to get dragged into this as well.

• All of this internet slang they’re speaking in is hurting my soul. 

• Extremely random Sarah Paulson cameo. Who the hell is that? Apparently she’s in a relationship with an 80 year old woman.

• That was an awful sketch. This episode just keeps getting worse.

Fake Ad: Wing Pit

A wing commercial goes off the rails.

• Pedro is totally believable as a rowdy Super Bowl fan.

• I love everyone’s faces as the food gets more and more unhealthy.

• The crazy turn this takes at the end is amazing. I always like it when SNL sketches go off the wall insane!

Musical Performance: “The Astronaut”

• This performance is really weird. It’s an English version of a BTS song, and there’s a spaceman rendering the lyrics in ASL. I kinda like it, though.

Weekend Update (featuring Punxsutawney Phil and Milly Pounds and Shirty)

• I am so bored by these two. Can we please get new anchors?

• Oh, wow, a “seen here” joke. Never seen that before!

• Oh, wow, a George Santos joke. Never seen THAT before!

• Michael Longfellow has another commentary! This time, he’s playing famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil.

• Not sure how to react to that scene where he vapes on camera. Who does he think he is? Pete Davidson?

• I don’t quite get the joke about “a condom in Nick Cannon’s wallet”.

• Longfellow is pulling this off fine, but I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as the ones he’s done as himself.

• Ah, but now we have a commentary where Devon and JAJ play British rappers. This could be promising.

• Che: “You guys went to Eton?” Devon: “Yeah, Eton…Eton yer mom’s bum!”

• The crowd rightly gives them applause after their first song.

• I like how JAJ keeps bringing up his dairy allergies at some point in their raps. 

• Overall, that was a pretty good commentary. JAJ’s great season continues!

Sketch: Protective Mom

A man introduces his girlfriend to his overprotective mom.

• OMG at the reveal of Pedro in drag. What is with male hosts dressing up in drag lately? 

• Marcello and Pedro’s chemistry is pretty good. They’re delivering their Spanish dialogue flawlessly.

• I love some of the random English words they’re throwing into their conversations, like “unisex apparel”.

• Despite the inherent hackiness of a man in drag, this was a nice slice-of-life sketch, with the added novelty of it being about 60% in Spanish.

Sketch: Italian Waiters

Wacky Italian waiters give their customers compliments.

• Second sketch in a row that pairs Marcello and Pedro together.

• Yay!! More broad Italian stereotypes! Kent Sublette has been all over this episode.

• Word of advice for Kenan: never try to speak in an Italian accent again! You clearly weren’t made for it!

• I guess we can add Italian to the list of accents that Mikey can’t pull off.

• Extremely cliche ending where this turns out to be an ad for Big Boy Chili.

Musical Performance: “Human Heart”, “Fix You”

Sketch: Lisa From Temecula

Lisa from Temecula interrupts her sister’s birthday dinner.

• Oh, shit. Not this sketch. All I remember about this one is that there’s a lot of breaking in it.

• Second sketch in a row to use the same restaurant set.

• As much as I like Ego, I’m getting kind of tired of her playing this same type of role.

• And then, the corpsing starts. Pedro is the first one to lose it, and Bowen is trying to hold back his giggles, but everyone else is holding it together for the most part.

• Now Ego can’t keep it together anymore, and Punkie is joining in.

• Bowen just facepalmed, as if even he knows this sketch is too far gone to save.

• Molly is the only one who doesn’t break at any point. 

• Overall, what a catastrophe. Unfortunately, this sketch blew up online due to all of the breaking, which leads SNL to bring this shit back in a later episode…but we’ll get to that.

Final thoughts: Oof, that was quite an experience. There was some okay stuff here, but a lot of it was extremely horrid. It certainly wasn’t Pedro’s fault, though. He seemed to be having fun.

Best sketches: Mario Kart, Coldplay’s performances, Milly Pence and Shirty commentary, Protective Mom

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Waking Up, Fancam Assembly, Italian Waiters, Lisa from Temecula

Next review: Woody Harrelson/Jack White. I recall there being some absolutely horrid material in this one.

SNL Reviews: Michael B. Jordan/Lil Baby (1/28/23)

 Note: I missed this episode when it first aired, so I won’t have my personal memory to go by for these sketches.

Cold Open

The FBI details their search for classified documents.

• I like the Western-style intro sequence to this.

• An initial laugh from Mikey saying “Hello” in his Merrick Garland voice.

• Didn’t care for the horse head joke in regards to Trump’s lawyers.

• We’re still making “Deal With It” jokes in 2023???

• No comment on Kenan’s embarrassing “Mr. Prince…Mr. Pence” line flub. He just keeps getting worse with every passing episode.

• You have no idea how happy I am that they resisted making a “LOL GAY!!!!” joke about Mike Pence.

• Speaking of Pence, I find it bizarre that they haven’t had an impression of him on the show in quite a while. Was Beck’s take on Pence so “irreplaceable” that they aren’t recasting him right away or something?

• Some pathetic sucking up to Barack Obama when Bowen’s character talks about how starstruck he was to have been inside Obama’s house.

• I definitely didn’t need to see the “Deal With It” routine a second time.

• Overall, I like that they tried to do something different for this, but in the end, it didn’t amount to much.

Monologue 

Jordan talks about directing Creed III and going through a breakup.

• Hilarious clip of him on All My Children.

• After an okay start to this, we suddenly get the female cast members showing up and asking to go out with him.

• I love hearing the audience applaud Punkie when she appears.

• Second time in the last few episodes that someone has brought up Punkie’s homosexuality.

Sketch: Good Morning Today

Two morning show hosts return after being involved in a bizarre roller coaster accident.

• I got a big laugh from the initial reveal of Sarah’s stretched out face.

• I like the part where she drinks some wine but it immediately spills out of her mouth.

• Nice use of sped-up stock footage to represent the roller coaster she was stuck on.

• Another laugh from the reveal that Jordan’s character was also on the coaster. We then see a hilarious photo of the two of them riding together.

• I love the weather map suddenly having question marks all over it in response to MBJ’s unintelligible report.

• Chloe is doing a good imitation of the typical “happy talk” banter you see on morning shows like this.

• Kenan’s been having trouble keeping a straight face in this.

• The Lady and the Tramp scene is so gross, but so funny.

• Nice reveal of the bird that got impaled in Sarah. I like her cheerful delivery as she says she will die if she pulls it out. 

• Sarah delivers another delightful bizarre sketch!

Fake Ad: Southwest Airlines

Southwest introduces a new upgraded airline experience.

• Another fake ad for a real company? What is with all of the product placement lately?!??

• I think this is based on something that had recently happened to Southwest, but I forget the specific details.

• JAJ’s character (“Tom Wilkime”) is named after SNL short film director Tim Wilkime.

• I kind of liked the line about hiring former Waffle House employees to work for them.

• Molly’s only appearance in this entire episode is a brief cameo in this sketch where they’re in a small box that you can barely make out!

• Genuinely strong twist ending where we see JAJ’s fucked up eye.

• Overall, I felt bored by this short. If I had more knowledge of this incident, maybe I would’ve found it funny.

Sketch: Towel Guys

Two resort employees try to connect with their guests.

• No comment on Kenan’s cartoony Spanish accent.

• Marcello, on the other hand, is coming off pretty well here. I love when he gets lead roles!

• Heidi getting mistaken for “Ellen DeMenemes” was pretty funny.

• Kenan: “I saw dis movie, Mission: Impossible. But, de mission not impossible, because, he gonna do it!” Something about this line makes me think of Fred Armisen as Fericito, which is awesome.

• I like how the only thing the two of them know about New Jersey is Tony Soprano, which is then followed by them doing poor impressions of him.

• MBJ’s Spanish accent is surprisingly good.

• Absolutely hilarious joke where Marcello refers to Ego as “the new Little Mermaid”.

• I really really love how most of the featured players get a role here (except Molly, as mentioned above).

• James is perfect in his role as a religious man.

• Yet ANOTHER sketch that ends with a random dance sequence, but at least this one fits the theme of the sketch.

Fake Ad: State Farm

Jake from State Farm helps a couple with their needs.

• MBJ is a dead ringer for Jake from State Farm.

• I like the sudden change in tone as Mikey walks out of the house to go to work, and he glares back at Jake making the moves on his wife.

• Mikey’s gradually darkening expressions as he realizes he’s being cucked are great. 

• Is that another sighting of Mikey’s son as one of the kids?

• This just keeps getting better and more disturbing as it goes on. I especially like the closeup shot of Jake’s hand on Heidi’s back, to emphasize Mikey’s growing jealousy.

• MBJ’s increasingly creepy delivery of stock State Farm commercial dialogue is great.

• Nice atmospheric shots of a drunk Mikey on the Brooklyn Bridge at night, bitterly mumbling the State Farm jingle and yelling about his wife’s betrayal.

• Even the twist at the end where Limu Emu and Doug show up was great.

• Overall, a really great short film.

Sketch: Street Fighter 6

Two voice actors have a hard time recording dialogue for a new game.

• A variation of that awful Cars 4 sketch from the Owen Wilson episode, and the JJ Watt sketch where he’s recording lines for Madden 21.

• Andrew: “Our last voice actor, Frank, left due to creative differences, and because I slept with his wife.”

• I got an unintentional laugh from Andrew mispronouncing Ryu’s name as “Rye-oo”.

• I am not liking where this is going so far. It seems like we’re in for another “Bowen acts flamboyant and that’s the whole joke” sketch.

• I see that this was written by Anderlette 2.0 himself, Jimmy Fowlie. I have even less faith in this sketch now.

• Big groan from Bowen asking what MBJ’s pronouns are.

• We get an extremely bizarre ending where the guy that Andrew said was sleeping with his wife shows up in the studio, and MBJ and Bowen unite to beat him up.

Musical Performance: “California Breeze”

Weekend Update (featuring Michael Che’s doorman Carl, and Angel)

• Bizarre joke from Che trying to connect Taylor Swift fans to Capitol rioters.

• I’m starting to get a little burnt out on the jokes about Colin being a secret white supremacist.

• Totally predictable Catholic joke from Che. If you guessed that the punchline involves pedophilia, then you’re not an idiot.

• Kenan introduces a new character: Michael Che’s doorman, Carl. We haven’t seen a lot of Kenan on Update lately, as he hasn’t played his usual Update roles in ages, such as Willie, LaVar Ball, and David Ortiz.

• Kenan’s Update pieces tend to be hit or miss for me, and this one is definitely a miss. I’m sorry, man, but I am so burnt out on you lately.

• Disgusting joke about a polar bear getting crushed by a meteorite.

• First appearance of Heidi’s boxer’s girlfriend character, Angel, in quite a few years. The only reason they’re bringing her back, of course, is because we have Michael B. Jordan hosting tonight, and he was just in a boxing film.

• Che looks pretty bored having to talk to Angel. I would be too, because this character is awful.

• At least they try something different here, with Jordan reprising his role as Adonis Creed, who it turns out had a relationship with Angel in the past.

• I like the line about one of Angel’s kids being black, and her boyfriend never questioning it. Other than that, though, this commentary is quite a snooze.

Sketch: Male Confidence Seminar

Awkward men are taught how to gain confidence.

• Andrew has been all over this episode!

• Funny reveal from JAJ’s character that he makes fun of female stand up comics on YouTube.

• I love the twist when a man with a big forehead shows up in the audience, after MBJ has been making fun of Andrew’s forehead throughout the sketch.

• The Nickelodeon fan in me enjoys the Jimmy Neutron references in regards to Andrew’s head.

• The ending was a little abrupt.

Sketch: Party in Palm Springs

A bachelorette party gets interrupted by an unexpected guest.

• Punkie still exists!!!!

• Is this whole sketch going to be about the girls ogling MBJ’s sexy body? Please tell me it’s not.

• Thankfully, it isn’t. What we get instead isn’t much better though. Heidi shows up as a WACKY character with vocal fry, yet another example of her rapidly declining season.

• Also, Heidi’s name in this sketch is “Janinanine”. Jimmy Fowlie strikes again!!!

• Ugh, Heidi’s character is PURE CANCER!!!! Please let this sketch end!!!!

• Now it’s turning into a “React” sketch! Dear God, make it stop!!!!!!

• Sarah: “This is stressing me out!” Yeah, me too, Sarah. I just wish the writers would stop pointing out how terrible their sketches are.

• That was one of the worst fucking things I have ever seen on this show. Heidi continues to be an annoying nuisance, and I really hope she leaves after this season.

Musical Performance: “Forever”

Sketch: King Brothers Toyota

Toyota dealers advertise their latest sale.

• Here’s a sketch I’ve heard a lot of good things about.

• Andrew with yet another big role! This is the most airtime he’s gotten in a while!

• This perfectly captures how cheesy and over the top a lot of car dealership commercials are these days.

• I love the photo of Sarah as an iPad carrying teenager.

• Who is that kid in the Guys and Dolls poster?

• I love how every time they mention the congressman’s name, a picture of him appears at the bottom of the screen. 

• Despite not liking this as much as other fans did, it was still okay.

Film: Falling Down

Our host has some embarrassing moments while getting ready to appear on the show.

• We haven’t had a regular non-Please Don’t Destroy backstage short in quite a while.

• Yet another Andrew appearance! This episode has been great for him!

• I love that whenever MBJ falls down, Andrew is always there watching.

• Speaking of Please Don’t Destroy, we get a brief scene filmed in their office with Andrew, Sarah, and Bowen.

• The sketch rundown can be seen behind MBJ at one point, and the order is very different than the live show. For example, this film was supposed to follow that awful Party in Palm Springs sketch.

• Nice bizarre ending scene of the two of them flying off into the sky.

Cut for Time: Baptist Church

A pastor and a member of his church share how they’re going to spend the money they earned from the collection plates.

• The guy at the organ is apparently SNL Band member Leon Pendarvis.

• Devon’s character looks a lot like 90s Steve Harvey. Just a random observation.

• Wow, Devon and MBJ are going all out in this! Fantastic performances from the both of them!

• I’m not caring for the reacting portions of this sketch.

• Overall, a really well performed sketch, but repetitive as hell.

Final thoughts: Having not seen this show live, I didn’t know what to expect. Imagine my surprise, however, when this turned out to be one of the best of the season so far. Part of that can be chalked up to the host, who did a phenomenal job. Special mention must also be made for Andrew Dismukes, who had one of the best nights of his career.

Best sketches: Good Morning Today, Towel Guys, State Farm, Falling Down

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Party in Palm Springs

Next review: Pedro Pascal/Coldplay. I recall this episode having a lot of really wretched material in it.

SNL Reviews: Aubrey Plaza/Sam Smith (1/21/23)

 Cold Open: NFL on FOX

George Santos is interviewed by the NFL on FOX crew.

• Mikey doesn’t look a thing like Howie Long.

• JAJ debuts an impression of Jimmy Johnson, complete with him plugging Extenze.

• I absolutely love Devon’s Michael Strahan impression. 

• Molly’s typecasting as fat male celebrities continues, as they are forced to play Terry Bradshaw here. At least it’s good to see them get a lead role here after not speaking a single word last time.

• The jokes about Cleatus the FOX Sports Robot are falling flat for me.

• Oh shit, I forgot the introduction of Bowen’s George Santos impression was in this. Anyway, Santos has become SNL’s new boogeyman since the last episode, so expect to see a lot of (unfunny) jokes about him for the remainder of the season.

• Why couldn’t they get Marcello to play Santos? He is a Latino, after all. But someone at SNL must have thought more Bowen equals more funny and gave it to him.

• All of these “wacky” Bowen sketches we’ve been getting lately are totally washing over my head, and this one is no different. He is quickly becoming one of the worst cast members on the show.

• No comment on the scene where he shows up in drag.

Monologue

Aubrey Plaza talks about her past and then gives a tour of the studio.

•  Nice appearance of Aubrey’s real grandmother in the audience.

• Super random appearance from Joe Biden (the REAL Joe Biden) congratulating Aubrey on making it out of Delaware alive. Remember when SNL used to poke fun at politicians they invited on to the show?

• Been a while since we had a backstage monologue. The last one I can think of is that awful one with Dan Levy.

• As someone who’s a big fan of television history, I don’t really care for Aubrey’s blatantly fake “facts” about Studio 8H.

• A lot of backstage personnel make cameos here. The guy who she addresses as “Danny” is talent coordinator Jeff Blake. I don’t know why they couldn’t use his real name.

•  The shot of the pages opening the studio doors seems to be a reference to the Season 12/13 opening sequence.

• Another sighting of the showgirls and llama that usually appear in these backstage segments. No sign of Abe Lincoln, though.

• Amy Poehler returns for the first time in quite a while. I was kind of expecting it given who’s hosting.

• Another Akira Yoshimura appearance, this time accompanied by fellow production designers Keith Raywood and Joe DeTullio.

• Akira: “We always believed in you, Avery.”

• Not one of the better backstage monologues, but it was nice to see Amy again.

Sketch: Miss Universe

A group of women compete for the Miss Universe pageant.

• Ugh at the “We now return to” intro, followed by a lame plug for that 80 for Brady movie that no one watched.

• I remember this sketch being extremely terrible. I’m sure it is, seeing as it has FIVE different writers.

• What’s with Kenan being so giggly lately? Just now during his opening speech, he randomly started laughing for no reason. This man needs to leave SNL as soon as possible.

• An immediate groan from me when all the ladies start screaming which country they’re from.

• And then they repeat the screaming every single time Kenan asks them a question. It’s official. I am in Hell.

• I do kinda like Molly’s non-attempt at a Danish accent.

• Aubrey as Miss France is annoying me the most. I can’t stand her constantly responding to everything with “FRAAAAAANCE!!!” It’s like she’s a Kristen Wiig character or something.

• Super random cameos from the Property Brothers and Tony Hawk as the judges. Why the fuck are they here? I dunno, but they make fun of how random it is, so that makes it okay, right? Right????

• Okay, so, apparently this sketch was based on some viral video where the actual Miss France yelled like a retard or something. I haven’t seen the video, or even heard of it before I read Blood Meridian’s review of the episode, but it’s kind of annoying that SNL assumes that people will be familiar with the original video in order to find this shit funny. Well, it’s not funny. It’s rather irritating!!!

Film: The Black Lotus

Staff members of an exclusive resort deal with wacky shenanigans from the guests.

• Jennifer Coolidge again??!!?? We just fucking saw her!!

• I’m a minute and a half into this short, and everything is just washing over me. Is this a parody of a real show, or is it some bullshit they came up with? I have no idea! Where are the jokes???

• I do like how almost the entire cast is in this, which gives it a more professional feel. Well, everyone except for Molly, because of course.

• Not a big fan of Aubrey’s Latina stereotype character.

• Where in the world did they film this? It looks like it was shot at an actual resort hotel.

Sketch: Taboo

A game of Taboo goes off the rails.

• Thanks for explaining to us that Aubrey just said “gun”, Ego! 

• Mikey and Aubrey are coming off as a great duo here, and some of Mikey’s responses to her questions are actually funny.

• I love the disturbed closeup of Heidi’s face as Aubrey is trying to remember which household item Mikey threw at her last night.

• Wait, it’s over?!? I actually wanted to see more!

Sketch: Morning Announcements

Two nuns deliver the day’s announcements with help from students.

• Molly with a lead role!!!

• The Lady Gaga joke fell flat for me.

• Molly’s Irish accent keeps coming and going.

• I find it hard to say anything about this sketch. Maybe I’m just burned out on jokes about nuns after hearing every single one from my dad.

• ANOTHER sketch that just ends with everybody singing.

Film: M3GAN 2.0

The murderous doll is very popular with gay men.

• A parody of a movie that I haven’t seen, nor will I ever. Wanna know something else? It’s a Universal film! Yay for corporate synergy!!!!

• It figures Chloe would be cast in this role, and to her credit, she is pulling it off pretty well. She does kind of look like a killer doll already.

• Yippee, now we’re getting gay stereotypes as well. I get that this movie is popular with gay guys for some reason, but will that really sustain a whole sketch?

• Unsurprisingly, Bowen appears in this.

• This film is pretty well shot, I must admit, and the makeup on M3GAN and M3GAN 2.0 is really good. I’m just not laughing at this all that much.

• Random cameo from Allison Williams, who is actually in the real movie. The joke is that they all recognize her from the show Girls, and they let her in because she’s an “ally”.

• I saw that one of the writers of this was Jimmy Fowlie. Ah, so that’s why it’s about gay stuff!

Musical Performance: “Unholy”

• Yeah, “unholy” is right! This is one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen on SNL! It serves as a warm-up for Smith’s infamous performance at the Grammys later that year.

• It’s also worth noting that Kim Petras (who Smith is performing this with) is the first transgender woman to perform on SNL.

Weekend Update (featuring George Santos, April Ludgate, and Leslie Knope)

• Ugh, here come the George Santos jokes.

• Super lame joke suggesting that Marjorie Taylor-Greene is a drag queen.

• Bowen as Santos again??!!??? Didn’t we suffer enough from this impression back in the cold open?

• As with the cold open, none of these lies are making me laugh. The real Santos is way funnier than this “impression”.

• What annoys me the most about this are the comments on the YouTube upload, full of people making their own George Santos lies. Don’t give SNL any ideas!!!!

• Now Aubrey’s here as her Parks and Recreation character, April Ludgate. I hate to admit it, but I have never seen a single episode of that show.

• To no one’s surprise, Amy then appears as Leslie Knope. I’m a little more familiar with her character, so maybe she can save this.

• Somewhat amusing meta line from Leslie about how she used to watch this show when Seth Meyers was the anchor of Weekend Update “with no one else”.

• A funny reference to the Biden appearance earlier in this episode, where Leslie asks if Biden could see her.

• As much as this feels like a throwback to those insufferable years of Amy’s “cutesy” behavior on Update, I’m actually finding it charming here, even the lame “Rosa Barks” joke. All in all, this is the best commentary we’ve had in a while.

Sketch: Avatar

Jake Sully and the other Na’vi try to identify the sky people who have infiltrated their group.

• I have never seen Avatar or its sequel, but I have to say I like the makeup and costume design in this sketch.

• As soon as Heidi and Aubrey showed up as lesbian stereotypes, I knew I was in for a rough ride.

• Ugh, this is also a “Mikey Reacts” sketch.

• I have no idea what the purpose of the scene where the electrocute themselves with their tails is all about. Is that a reference to something in the movie?

• Did Mikey clear his throat just now? Was that even part of the script??? Please let this sketch end right now!!!

• Overall, wow. That is one of the worst sketches I have ever seen. It’s another fine example of how bad Heidi has gotten lately.

Musical Performance: “Gloria”

• Um, why is Sharon Stone there? And why are these sparkly black-hooded people all sacrificing her to the Devil? I dunno, I guess I shouldn't be surprised by Sam Smith's rapidly declining sanity anymore.

Sketch: HIV Commercial

Filming for a commercial about an HIV pill goes off the rails.

• Aubrey seems to be wearing her April wig here.

• I like the sudden reveal that this shoot is for an HIV commercial.

• Who’s the black extra sitting next to Marcello? Whoever he is, he’s really getting into the dancing scenes in the commercial.

• Devon is really good in this sketch. I wish they used him more often, instead of just waiting for black-hosted episodes to use him.

• There’s also some nice satire here about how these commercials usually only feature gay guys in them, as if HIV is just a gay disease.

• Devon: “What if my guy got HIV from basketball like Magic Johnson?”

• The ending was kind of abrupt, but I really enjoyed this sketch for the most part.

Sketch: Film Noir

A man investigates a woman accused of murdering her husband.

• JAJ is perfect for a sketch like this! Too bad I can barely hear his opening narration because the music is mixed too loud!

• Aubrey is really good in this too.

• James: “I’m 33, I just look older because I’m an alcoholic.”

• Another Sharon Stone appearance. I still don’t know why she’s here.

• I liked Sharon’s line about JAJ’s big nose.

• Not the funniest sketch, but it didn’t need to be. I just enjoyed this for the authentic film noir atmosphere.

Final thoughts: Hoo boy, that was quite a rough episode. There was a good chunk of stuff here that I absolutely hated, as well as quite a number of things that I didn’t get because I had to be familiar with the source material. None of this was Aubrey’s fault, though. She did her best despite the awful material, and I like that her chemistry with Amy is still there.

Best sketches: Monologue, April and Leslie commentary, HIV Commercial

Worst sketches: Miss America, Morning Announcements, George Santos commentary, Avatar

Next review: Michael B. Jordan/Lil Baby