SNL Reviews: Will Ferrell/Paul McCartney (5/16/26)

 Cold Open: Epstein’s Ghost

Trump gets some advice from the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein.

• Another appearance from Jeremy as the Vice President. I don’t like how he’s starting to get typecast as crazy Republican people.

• And now we get a rip-off of that Christmas Carol sketch from the very first episode I reviewed, this time with Will as Jeffrey Epstein.

• It seems Will has a thing for playing strangely likable versions of horrible people (the Unabomber, Janet Reno, Fidel Castro, etc.). That said, I don’t know if he’ll be able to save this.

• I love Epstein’s “Wink!” after he says he killed himself.

• More lame pedophilia “jokes” with the two of them. I bet SNL is mad at themselves for not making fun of Epstein while he was still alive, so they’re using all of their stock pedo jokes now to make up for it.

• I did laugh at Epstein’s lame “hanging” joke.

• The ELEVENTH frickin’ appearance of Colin as Pete Hegseth, ten of which from this season alone!!!! Also, Aziz Ansari is there again, but who cares about him?

Monologue

Chad Smith impersonates Will for some reason. Also, Paul McCartney is there.

• Random appearance from Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in disguise as Will. You can hear the audience react with confusion at first, which turn into cheers and laughter once they realize who it is.

• Chad is surprisingly good for a non-actor, and I love his interplay with the real Will.

• Great line from Will about how he received mouth-to-mouth from Lorne.

• I love how even after Chad has left, Will is still angry that he “ruined” the monologue.

• I laughed at the audience going “ohhhhh” when Will says he’s too angry to do the show.

• Will: “I’ll just do what the host does when they don’t have any ideas. So, I’ll take questions from the audience.” Is Will a reader of this blog?

• HUGE applause when Paul McCartney is seen in the audience.

• Who’s the Taran Killam-esque dude next to Paul?

• While extremely corny, I laughed at Paul telling Will to “get back behind the drums where you belong”.

• Was it necessary for the audience to cheer at every single one of Paul’s songs that gets namedropped?

• The song-naming gag is going on way too long. Even Paul looks pretty bored.

• Despite a shaky ending, this was a pretty creative monologue for the most part.

Sketch: Post-Op

A guy wakes up to learn that his penis was removed during surgery.

• I think we were all hoping for a sketch where Will and Ashley interact with each other.

• Aaaaaaand we get the lame reveal that Mikey’s penis has been removed.

• Stop explaining the jokes!

• Great, now Mikey’s cracking up. Can you please leave already?

Saturday Night Live Midnight Matinee: Bobbin’s Sacrifice

Bobbin the halfling sacrifices himself to save the kingdom.

• Whoa, now I’m in trouble. I have never read or seen any Lord Of The Rings media, and this is clearly a parody of the franchise. Still, I’ll give this a chance, especially since Dan Bulla is involved.

• As usual with Dan Bulla’s fantasy pieces (such as the Tiny Horse sequel and that bug people film from a couple weeks ago), the costumes and set design are breathtaking.

• I had to laugh at the reveal of Will playing a very short guy.

• The song Will’s singing is actually pretty good, especially when he reveals that he’s switching sides.

• Wait, the guy with the brown beard was JAJ this whole time? It didn’t even look like him at all, but then he started singing and I knew it had to be him!

• Not a fan of the people commenting on everything.

• Great twist with Will giving his invincibility necklace to an Orc, only for the Orc to immediately cut Will’s head off.

• And we end on Will winking at the camera while his head is impaled on a spear! What a perfectly Will Ferrell-esque way to conclude things.

• The Dan Bulla card at the end now has one of the bug people in place of Tiny Horse.

Sketch: Cast List

Mr. Koenig continues to insult his students.

• This is a sequel to a popular sketch that got cut from Will’s last episode. I’ve never seen that sketch, unfortunately, so let me go fix that right now…

• Hi, I’m back! That was pretty good! Now, let’s see how the sequel goes.

• Right away, you can see how much the cast has changed since the first one, as the only student left who is in both sketches is Mikey.

• Will’s character is still pretty funny, but it feels like a lot of his lines are cheap rewrites of what we had before.

• Will: “I still contend that doing The Color Purple with an all-white cast was brave.”

• I love Will’s insensitive hint as to who he’s going to pick first (he says it’s a “wheelie, wheelie” hard decision, and then we cut to a student in a wheelchair).

• They’re even copying Will spying on his students from last time, except that instead of spying on them from behind a theater mask, he does it from behind a Wicked poster, because corporate synergy is awesome! His face is also completely visible this time, whereas we only saw his eyes before.

• I like the running gag about Jeremy having “starred” in a Honey Nut Cheerios commercial.

• They also copy the detail with one of the students being Christian and thus being adverse to certain roles.

• Did Mikey really have to sing the exact same Aladdin song as he did before?

• Will: “To quote the great William Shakespeare, ‘Sluts with teats put butts in seats’.”

• Kenan for some reason gets applause just for playing the same character as last time. Did they think he was a special cameo or something?

• Now we get Molly Shannon for no reason. I mean, it’s great to see her again, but this sketch is already too long.

• Am I the only one who thought that Molly feeling up Tommy’s crotch was kind of creepy?

• While I certainly got a lot of laughs here, this was just a pale copy of the first installment. 

Musical Performance: “Days We Left Behind”

Weekend Update (featuring Mr. On Blast)

• Thank God we’ve reached the final Update of the season.

• The child labor “jokes” from Che are getting really old.

• Good to see Jeremy’s “On Blast” character again.

• I love how he reuses the “P.U.” punchline only thirty seconds or so after first using it.

• The only thing hurting this for me is, surprise surprise, Colin’s endless and unnecessary commentary on everything. Just shut up!!!!

• I actually liked Colin referring to Mr. On Blast as a “lesbian Bruno Mars”, but this is then ruined by a gratuitous fart noise for no apparent reason.

• Great dance routine at the end with Jeremy and the “Blast Boys”.

• When I first saw this, I hadn’t seen the original On Blast commentary, so it left me feeling a little baffled. But now that I’m more familiar with the character, I can honestly say that this was better than the first one!

• Pretty good slam at Drew Carey.

• Please stop with the “Stevie Wonder is blind” jokes. It’s just not funny anymore.

• Again with the Joke Swap? This is gonna suck…

• The first joke is about an autistic Barbie doll…I hate this already.

• Now Che is resorting to jokes about how black people allegedly have huge dicks, a joke that Chris Rock did much better back in 1991.

• Just to punish me even more, they’re telling some horrible Michael Jackson jokes.

• Weird bit at the end where this guy comes out to give Colin a haircut. What is the point?

• Definitely the worst Joke Swap ever. They should really think about retiring this stale format.

Sketch: Mechanics

Wacky mechanics spout gibberish.

• Just like the auctioneer sketch from last week, we get a weird intro telling us the name of the sketch.

• As someone who’s never owned a car or learned how to drive, I don’t feel like I can identify with this sketch.

• Ugh, yet another “wacky” Hispanic character from Marcello. Is it okay for me to start calling him “Latino Stepin Fetchit”?

• This is now degenerating into Will and Marcello making sexual noises.

• Not even the inexplicable involvement of Paul McCartney is saving this.

• This was, no joke, one of the worst sketches I’ve ever seen.

Musical Performance: “Band on the Run”

Sketch: The Nudemans

A family that always dresses in revealing outfits.

• Andrew’s lame banter with his girlfriend at the beginning was pretty funny.

• Oh my God at the reveal of Will’s skimpy outfit.

• Why are we rehashing that awful “Rudemans” sketch from the Amy Poehler episode? That was bad enough, but at least it didn’t involve seeing anyone’s ass!

• 

SNL Reviews: Matt Damon/Noah Kahan (5/9/26)

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Cold Open: Martin’s Tavern

Brett Kavanaugh catches up with Pete Hegseth and Kash Patel at the bar.

• Cue the umpteenth straight appearance from Pete Hegseth. This routine has gotten so old that it now smells like dirty socks.

• Does anyone have fond memories of Matt Damon’s horrible Brett Kavanaugh “impression”? I sure don’t!

• Even though the sexual assault allegations were disproven ages ago, they’re still portraying Kavanaugh as a drunken frat bro, which is identical to how they’ve been portraying Hegseth, so I guess some things never change.

• Aziz Ansari again? Ugh. 

• I don’t think there’s been a single cold open this season that I’ve given a passing grade to. All of them are exactly the same, and whenever it looks like they’re doing something different, Trump interrupts it! Thankfully, he’s not in this one, but I doubt he would have made it any better.

Monologue

Damon tries to plug The Odyssey while delivering a Mother’s Day message.

• I’ve never been a big fan of Matt Damon, to be honest. He’s always come off as being kind of phoney, like he has a secret dark side that he’s been hiding under his pleasant exterior. But enough about Colin Jost, let’s see what Damon has to offer.

• *sigh* I thought I was done with the Spirit Airlines jokes, but nope!! You just had to throw one more in there, Damon!!!!

• The “audience member” who talks to Matt is writer Jack Bensinger, who has been responsible for some absolutely atrocious sketches this season.

• It figures that the only cast member whose mom gets to appear is Marcello’s, because they just keep trying to push him as the “star”’of the show.

• I’m sorry, but this was just awful. Already I can sense we’re in for another rough episode…

Sketch: Godzilla

Spitting sure is funny!

• “You’re watching The Monster Channel. Yep, that’s real.” UGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Am I gonna have to start doing a drinking game for these TV channel intros as well?

• It sure is strange how this supposed Godzilla movie has nothing but Caucasian actors in it. Unless it’s supposed to be one of those stupid American-made movies.

• *mega groan* Really???? A spit take?!!!??? I didn’t know it was still the 70s! There have been good spit take sketches on SNL in the past (like the one with Julia Louis-Dreyfus back in the 80s), but most of the time they’re just hack comedian material.

• Wait…don’t tell me this whole sketch is gonna be nothing but spit takes…

• *several spit takes later* It is!!!! Goddammit!!!

• It’s garbage like this that shows why Mikey has absolutely nothing left to contribute anymore. But it doesn’t seem like he’s gotten the hint, as he comes back for Season 52!!!!

Film: Mom: The Movie

The first movie made especially for moms!

• Funny idea for a short film.

• I love the shot of Ashley and her family doing the conga. Naturally, it’s in slow motion.

• Jeremy: “That’s a great story, Mom. And I love that you told me the race of all the people involved!” *Mom shrugs*

• Jane, as a theatregoer: “I liked when the kids all needed their birth certificates, and she had them!” I’d love to see what that scene was all about! 

• Funny bit with all of the characters in the movie putting on name tags for easy identification.

• Chloe: “How ‘bout that Mark Damon?”

• I love Ashley’s amused reaction when she’s told that a woman she hates has just died. As they say in the trailer, the only ones who die in the movie are people we don’t care about!

• A lot of that was more cute than funny, but I still loved every bit of it.

Sketch: Tough Guys

A group of thugs aren’t as tough as they appear.

• I groaned immediately when I saw Marcello in a revealing outfit.

• Ha ha, these tough guys aren’t so tough!!! That’s the joke!!!!

• Damon is at least trying his best.

• Weird ending where some kid comes out and yells at Kenan.

Fake Ad: Tidy Care Crystals

A strange new kind of cat litter.

• Feels like JAJ has become the show’s resident commercial voiceover. I love that!

• I love the casual conversations between the narrator, Matt, and Ashley.

• Andrew is doing a good job as their son who they think has been peeing in the litter box.

• Narrator: “There goes your cat theory, dumbass!”

• I love how things eventually deteriorate to the point where they’re actively telling the narrator to shut up.

• Great performances from Matt and Ashley in the scene of Matt accusing his wife of having used the litter box.

• The twist at the end with the dog being revealed as the culprit was genuinely surprising. I thought for sure it was going to be the father!

Musical Performance: “The Great Divide”

Weekend Update (featuring Tucker Carlson, Kamikaze Dolphins, and Jane Wickline)

• What was with the weird “Rubio!” interjection from Che while Jost was setting up the Marco Rubio story?

• STOP WITH THE SPIRIT AIRLINES JOKES!!!!!!

• And now Colin does a “Patel!” shout when Che talks about Kash Patel? I don’t get it. Is this some kind of backstage in-joke between the two?

• Jeremy is back as Tucker Carlson, which has been continually cut from these last few episodes.

• This is nowhere near as good as the one he did about the Oscars a while back. They’re just repeating the same beats as before, with little variation.

• Thankfully, Jeremy has a much better commentary coming up next week, but more on that later…

• We get it, Che, you hate the WNBA! Stop it!!!

• Horrible joke mocking Kyle Rittenhouse for getting a venomous spider bite.

• I gotta be honest, this Update is pretty wretched so far. I haven’t laughed at any of the jokes, and these two are starting to reach Jimmy Fallon/Horatio Sanz levels of annoyance.

• UGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! In case you thought this couldn’t get any worse, Marcello and Mikey now come out as…*sigh*…“kamikaze dolphins”…

• What the fuck am I even watching? Was this just an excuse to get these guys to crack each other up? Because that’s exactly what’s happening here! 

• By default, Jane’s song at the end is the most tolerable part of this Update. 

• One of the worst news segments we’ve had all year. Almost nothing worked for me.

Sketch: Substitute Teacher’s Goodbye

A teacher’s goodbye dance is treated with silence.

• Damon appears to have stolen the androgynous Pat’s clothes.

• I’m sure the dance sequence is supposed to be lame, but it’s actually coming off to me as kind of sad. The guy just wants to entertain his class for being so good to him, but none of them seem to care about him.

• I kinda laughed when Damon describes his dancing as being like at a bar mitzvah…in earshot of a Jewish student.

• This dance is going on for way too long.

• Chloe, stop laughing! You’re not supposed to have any reactions at all!

• Lame Reddit-esque “Did that happen?” line from Ben after the teacher leaves.

• Odd twist at the end where it’s revealed that the substitute teacher was actually Andrew’s father.

Musical Performance: “Doors”

Sketch: The Crumbling Marriage of Two Auctioneers 

An angry couple’s argument is delivered via an auction format.

• The introduction of the sketch reminds me of those sketches from the late 2000s/early 2010s sketches with a celebrity doing some mundane activity (Andre the Giant ordering ice cream, Al Pacino checking his bank account, etc.).

• I was on board as soon as Matt entered in a cowboy hat and started talking in an auctioneer voice.

• Sarah’s got a pretty good voice as well. This is one of her best roles in quite a long time.

• I assume this is supposed to be in Texas, so I love the attention to detail that all of the interstates Matt mentions are ones that actually go through Texas. Of course, they don’t all intersect each other, but who cares!

• Holy cow, a slap that actually looked real and didn’t have the sound effects delayed!

• One of the “B” names Sarah mentions her husband having slept with is “Bulla”. Gee, I wonder who that could be?

• I like how the above-mentioned “B” discussion transitions into Sarah doing the “Betty Botter” tongue twister.

• Sarah somehow manages to get through that very long list of things she’s been up to without screwing up once! You can actually see her staring right at the cue cards to make sure she doesn’t miss anything.

• I love the corny country music sting that plays when they both announce that they want a divorce. 

• Great bit with their children speaking the exact same way.

• Because you knew he had to be involved in some way, JAJ has a great scene at the end as “Neighbor Frank”, complete with hayseed and the exact same way of speaking as the main characters.

• This is, like, the tenth time this year that the best sketch of the show has been stuck at the end!

Final thoughts: Another mostly horrible show, with a couple exceptions. While I’m not a fan of him, I think Matt Damon deserved a much better episode.

MVP: James Austin Johnson

Best sketches: Mom: The Movie, Tidy Care Crystals, Auctioneers

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Godzilla, Tough Guys, Weekend Update, Substitute Teacher’s Goodbye

Next episode: Will Ferrell hosts the season finale. We also (thankfully) say goodbye to Chloe Fineman.

SNL Reviews: Olivia Rodrigo (5/2/26)

 Cold Open: Iraqi Press Conference

Pete Hegseth and Kash Patel brief the press.

• Hegseth AGAIN. Jesus Christ, give it a rest!!!! It’s not funny and it never will be!!! 

• Yay, another pointless cameo!!! This time, it’s Aziz Ansari trying to salvage his career as Kash Patel. Hey, remember when you guys fired the only Arab on your show? That was awesome. Maybe if you hadn’t gotten rid of him, you wouldn’t have had to call up a MeToo victim to play this guy.

• Unsurprisingly, Ansari does not fit the part at all and is only making things worse.

• In case you didn’t laugh at Ansari this time, don’t worry! He’ll be back in the next two episodes as well!

Monologue

Olivia talks about being young and sings a song.

• Lame joke about how her favorite SNL cast was the one she watched as a teenager, and she goes on to list people who are still on the show.

• I liked seeing that footage of young Olivia in an Old Navy commercial. 

• Not a big fan of the slam at Jake Paul, but I love how a lot of people started cheering when she said she used to be on Bizaardvark. I take it there’s a lot of millennials in the audience tonight?

• I feel bad for laughing at the video of Olivia falling off stage.

• Not another musical monologue. 

• Why does the audience seem so dead?

Sketch: Edge of Destiny

Stairs complicate soap opera confrontations.

• “You’re watching Pluto TV” STOP IT!!!!!

• Great, another soap opera sketch. Every single soap opera sketch I’ve seen on SNL is absolute garbage. Just watch SCTV’s “Days of the Week” sketches instead.

• Jesus Christ, even by SNL soap opera standards, this is pretty wretched. So far, the only joke is people falling down an endless flight of stairs.

• Poor Andrew shows up just to get pushed down the stairs, because the only thing funnier than someone falling down the stairs is if an old man does it!!!!

• Now we’re bringing a dog into this?? Sure, why not!!! We don’t need to make this any hackier!!!

• Speaking of hacky, Kenan appears as a servant doing his usual Kenan shtick. 

• It figures the audience would wake up for something as shitty as this.

• The only interesting thing about this sketch is that SNL uploaded a 360 degree panorama version of it that shows how they did the shots of everyone falling down the stairs.

Saturday Night Live Midnight Matinee: My Room

A girl sings about her life on a planet of bugs.

• Good to see Dan Bulla again.

• Nice reveal that Olivia is on a planet of bug people.

• The bugs all look really cute, which isn’t something I often say about insects.

• I love the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it detail of one bug eating a popsicle shaped like Olivia’s head.

• My favorite part is the bug people version of A League Of Their Own, starring poorly-disguised bugs as all the characters. (“There’s no crying in Earth-ball!”)

• To make this even better, JAJ has no shirt on.

• Rather sweet ending.

• I don’t know how he does it, but Dan Bulla has worked his magic yet again!

Sketch: ShopTV

A lava cake looks like an anus and that’s pretty much it.

• *sigh* Not this shit again.

• I liked JAJ’s Jesus YA novel, “Nazareth High”.

• Ha ha, the lava cake looks like an asshole!!! Aren’t you just laughing out loud?

• Ugh at the phone call from Kenan pointing out the obvious.

• I won’t lie, the close up shot of Mikey sticking his finger in the cake is one of the most repulsive scenes in SNL history.

• I did get a laugh from the caller asking if he can get the cake in an “Asian” flavor.

• What an awful, awful recurring sketch. Hope this is the last we see of it.

Sketch: My Ex

Exes try to make each other jealous.

• Take a shot!!!

• Hey, Tommy still exists! 

• I think this is supposed to be a variation of that awful sketch from last season’s finale with Bad Bunny.

• Again Ashley is playing a character that feels more like a rejected Kristen Wiig character. What the fuck is happening to her lately?

• I wish Ashley would stop with the screaming.

• This is getting way too chaotic and campy. And just to add a cherry on top of the shit sundae, it ends with Kenan playing an old man with glasses for the millionth time.

Musical Performance: “Drop Dead”

• Debbie Harry?!??? Wow, what a delight it is to see her on SNL again!

Weekend Update (featuring Alix Earle and Alex Cooper, and Kam Patterson)

• Thank God that Spirit Airlines has finally shut down, so we hopefully won’t be getting any more jokes about it!

• I didn’t get the punchline of King Charles taking Mamdani back to England with him.

• Speaking of British Royals, I loved the Harry and Meghan joke.

• Why do they keep making “jokes” suggesting that Melania wants to get away from her husband? They did it with those “Melania Moments” that ran just before his first election, and they’re still doing it ten years later.

• I believe this is Chloe’s final appearance at the Update desk. Unfortunately, she and Veronika are playing two podcaster sluts I’ve never heard of and will probably be forgotten about in several months.

• I hate that I laughed at “statue-tory rape”. 

• I love it when Colin just randomly shouts “NO!” as a punchline to one of his jokes, which he does here when talking about a story that says we should stop scrolling through our phones while on the toilet.

• “Coors 0.0%. Get Custody Back!” Something about JAJ’s deep voice here made me laugh.

• Kam is back again, huh? This time, he’s talking about more celebrity gossip that nobody will care about in the future.

• I just have to ask; why is Kam so prominent on Update, while in the rest of the show he’s nowhere to be seen? Is it because he was just a cheap replacement for Devon Walker, and they’re treating him as such? Then again, at least Devon had some great moments in sketches every now and then.

Sketch: Busted

Multiple characters bust on each other.

• I love the dark, moody lighting in the first few seconds.

• Sorry, but Marcello just cannot sing.

• Another “cute dog” moment? Wasn’t the stairs sketch enough?

• Here comes JAJ to save things yet again!

• This was so weird, but not weird enough for me to enjoy it.

Musical Performance: “Begged”

• Why can’t they get cast members to introduce the musical performances instead of random celebrities? Was anyone clamoring to see Connor Storrie again just a few months after he hosted?

Sketch: Rasta Driver

A taxi driver randomly starts singing a Rasta song.

• Finally, another lead role for Andrew! These last few months have been awful for him.

• Awesome turn of events when Andrew randomly starts singing like a “rude boy” to reggae music.

• I love the looks on Olivia and Veronika as Andrew sings.

• Sounds like JAJ as the sportscaster on the radio.

• This is the kind of stuff I’ve missed from Andrew all season. 

• Olivia: “Oh my God, are you gonna sing it again?” Andrew: “I have to…” Great ending.

Fake Ad: SafeGuard Home Security System

This new security system makes burglars into celebrities.

• I love how much the show’s been relying on JAJ’s excellent voice talents lately,

• It goes by pretty quickly, but I love how the first security camera footage we see was uploaded by someone named “bootycall41”.

• Oh dear, after a promising start I do not like the way this has turned into a “fellow kids” bit with talk of “thot daughters” and other social media crap.

• “Sloppy Toppy”? What the fuck is that all about???

• Random appearance from Kam playing himself.

• No idea who that was playing Cory Booker but it looks nothing like him.

• Not gonna lie, this was pretty bad. 

Final thoughts: Why have all the episodes hosted by female pop stars this season been absolutely terrible??? The Sabrina Carpenter episode was atrocious, Ariana Grande was just as bad, and this one was too. I hated everything before Update with the exception of the Dan Bulla film, and the only other thing I liked was Andrew’s Rasta bit at the end.

MVP: Andrew Dismukes

Best sketches: My Room, Rasta Driver

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Edge of Destiny, ShopTV, My Ex, Weekend Update, SafeGuard

Next review: Matt Damon/Noah Kahan

SNL Reviews: Colman Domingo/Anitta (4/11/26)

 Cold Open

Trump calls up various members of his cabinet.

• A dumb meta joke about how all the female members of the cabinet are played by Ashley. 

• This is just like that awful Trumpwin cold open where the real Stormy Daniels showed up at the end. But the less said about that one, the better.

• Kenan as Tiger Woods is here to make limp jokes about his recent car accident. All these months later, when said incident has mostly been forgotten, I fail to see the point of his inclusion. It doesn’t help that Kenan looks and sounds nothing like him.

• Chloe’s awful Melania “impression” somehow sounds even worse here. Thankfully, we won’t have to see it again as Chloe’s only got a few episodes left.

• A scene with Jeremy reprising his Tucker Carlson impression was cut after dress rehearsal.

• Colin’s Hegseth routine has completely run its course. And he still goes on to appear in all three remaining episodes of this season! Not even Trumpwin was this overused. 

Monologue

Colman talks about his role in Euphoria before setting a good vibe in the studio.

• I’ve never seen Euphoria, but I loved Colman as Joseph Jackson in the Michael Jackson biopic that came out right after this episode.

• While I’m not laughing at a lot of the material, I’m finding him to be a really charming host so far.

• The shot of Leon Pendarvis shrugging was pretty funny.

• It feels so good hearing the audience applaud Jeremy when he shows up, although his scene wasn’t anything special.

• The woman in the audience who Colman charms is Jimmy Fowlie’s partner in crime Ceara O’Sullivan.

• Who are the two people making out? Probably some more writers.

Sketch: Fashion District Robbery

A poorly dressed criminal is wanted by police.

• I liked James’ opening line about how we can experience NYC’s urine smell for ourselves.

• Just from the look of these characters, I can tell I’m gonna hate this sketch.

• “D’artangan Meringue”? Ugh.

• Colman’s lispy voice is also not doing it for me, though props to him for at least trying.

• No comment on Mikey’s weird homosexual stereotype walk-on. 

• Colman’s actually starting to sound more like he came from a rejected “Men on Film” sketch.

• The ending with JAJ wearing the same outfit as Colman was pretty stupid, but he did look funny in it.

• I had hoped that all of these poor attempts at camp would disappear once Bowen left, but I guess not. In fact, they’ve only gotten worse.

Fake Ad: Uneek Cutz

A black barbershop is just what you need to get through marital problems.

• Tommy looks a lot like John Mulaney whenever he wears glasses.

• Great concept. I feel like black barbershops are an untapped gold mine that more people should make jokes about. Sure, there was that sketch with Dave Chappelle a few years ago, and that scene in Coming to America, but I want more, damn it!!!! 

• The “ghetto” humor is coming off better in this ad, I presume because an actual black person wrote it.

• Colman seems to be going for an Eddie Murphy impression here.

• Great scene where they witness a shooting take place nearby.

• I love the short cut they give to Ben.

• Mikey: “By the way, fellas, I’d smash Pam all day!!!” *barbers cheer* Also, the fact the Mikey is wearing a durag in this scene makes it even funnier.

Sketch: Artemis II

Astronauts interrupt a video log with their antics.

• Getting bad vibes from the text crawl at the beginning…

• I love the attempts to make everyone look weightless.

• This feels like a ripoff of a sketch from the atrocious Steve Carell episode in Season 44 that also involved things going wrong during a space broadcast.

• Ugh, Marcello’s mugging away as usual.

• One thing this has going for it is Colman’s wonderful performance. Very subdued and full of wonder at being in space. If only stupid Marcello would let us enjoy it properly!

• It felt really cathartic seeing him push Sarah out of the way.

• Heh, you can clearly see someone’s hand holding up the hat as it’s “floating”. That’s pretty bad when my favorite part of the sketch is a blooper.

• And we end on a bit of random gross out with Mikey’s boogers? Eeewwww!!!

Sketch: The Knowledge Hour

A TV host breaks out after his furniture gag doesn’t work.

• “You’re watching PBS.” PLEASE. STOP.

• I love the filter applied to this to make it look like a retro series.

• Kam sure earned his salary tonight by playing a silent bookcase.

• This is a really fun and absurd sketch so far, and Colman is giving it his all.

• I wonder who the “plant” is.

• Wonderful shot of all the objects in the room leaving.

• Great interplay between Andrew and Colman, which ends with their characters getting married.

• One of the best “everyone dances” endings I’ve ever seen.

• Finally, a sketch that didn’t make me want to hurt someone!

Musical Performance: “Choka Choka”

Weekend Update (featuring Two Kids From The Back Of The Bus and Lindt Greer)

• Colin’s now resorting to making up a fake Trump post just so he can point out how indistinguishable it was from a real one.

• That Strait of Hormuz pun was awful.

• Priests molesting children are so funny, you guys!!! Please laugh!!!!

• I believe this Back Of The Bus commentary was cut from the Gosling episode.

• Why has Kam been on Update so much this year? Meanwhile, Jeremy’s been on twice, while their fellow newbies have only been on once each.

• I think I can see why this was cut before…because it absolutely blows. 

• Ah, now we have another Jane commentary where she plays a character instead of herself. I loved the last one she did, can she impress me again?

• Jane: “There are only two rules of sex. 1. Have fun. 2. No raping.”

• “I can’t define sex, but I know I’m having it.” There’s some really good lines in this!

• I’m glad they paired her up with Che again instead of Colin, because I’m sure he would have ruined this.

• This might sound crazy, but Jane is slowly becoming one of my favorite cast members.

Sketch: Grandpa’s Wake

Two people find out what their deceased grandfather’s lifestyle was like at his funeral.

• Someone in the comments claims that the old man whose picture is seen in this sketch was their grandfather, who wanted his picture to appear in an SNL episode as his dying wish.

• Already a bad omen when Kenan arrives as a pimp. He must have played more pimps in his career than Rudy Ray Moore!

• I had to laugh at Veronika’s odd raspy voice. It reminds of that wrinkly old lady from the SpongeBob episode where they sell chocolate bars.

• When the camera gets closer, it becomes apparent that the person in the coffin is just a dummy.

• I definitely don’t need Marcello and Jeremy commenting on everything.

• Now we’re getting Colman complimenting Marcello’s looks while disparaging Jeremy? Could it be any more obvious that there’s some kind of weird caste system going on behind the scenes?

• The bit with Mikey coming out of the coffin is so desperate. It feels like an old man trying to be “hip”. Even worse, in dress it was Chloe who came out of the coffin. I can’t imagine how much more terrible that would have been!

• As usual, good ol’ JAJ tries to save things, but it’s too late. The sketch is almost over.

• UGH, enough with the Colin cameos!!!!! He’s had more screen time in sketches than poor Tommy Brennan!

• Aaaand the sketch ends with a newspaper headline announcing that Jeremy has been hit by a bus. What an awful, awful sketch.

Musical Performance: “Várias Quejas”

Sketch: Prep School

In a Dead Poets’ Society parody, a math teacher advocates an alternative teaching method.

• Andrew has surprisingly gotten quite a bit of airtime tonight.

• I’m loving all the faux “deep” dialogue, such as “But the floor is where the dirt is” when the students are told to throw their pencils on the ground.

• Am I the only one who thinks it’s kinda stereotypical that they made Colman eat a banana in this sketch?

• Great fake number from Ben: “buhleventy”.

• Marcello’s antics are kind of out of place here, but he’s not doing too bad.

• Jeremy: “Why does Spanish math have ‘cuatro’, but not English?”

• Sorry to sound like a broken record, but Colman is really good in this sketch. 

• Kenan plays his 1,225,387th janitor role. 

• I love Ben trying to count every number at once before giving up.

• Tommy: “Why can you divide two numbers but not unite two numbers?” Andrew: “It’s called ADDITION!!!”

• Kam declaring his sexual attraction to the number 8 was also pretty good.

• I think Andrew messed something up when he fell out of the window. The sound effect of his landing is delayed and he appears to bounce off a bush. I hope he didn’t hurt himself!

• Definitely the best sketch of the episode. Is it no coincidence that Andrew has been in both sketches that I actually like?

Film: Beastomorphs

Transformation mix-ups mar a teenage action show.

• SNL takes on Animorphs!!! In 2026, for some reason. I’ve never seen the Animorphs TV series (apparently it aired on Nickelodeon at 6 in the morning), but I did read some of the books…just to look at the characters morph at the bottom of each page. And you can’t deny that the covers are still pretty distinctive all these years later.

• I noticed a strange lack of audience response during the intro. What, are there no 90s kids in the audience?

• I love Colman’s performance as the villain.

• The morphing effects are pretty good for SNL’s standards.

• Great cheesy one-liners from each character after they morph back into humans. (“This little piggy kicked some alien butt!”)

• Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we suddenly have to ruin this with a lame fart gag. That’s what all of this was building up to???

• There’s a lot to like about this film, such as the corny dialogue and the “halfway” makeup on Sarah, but then they just keep going back to the farts. I refuse to believe that Dan Bulla was one of the writers of this.

• Ooh, now they’re mixing it up with burp jokes!

• I love how the villain’s name is “Chumongous”.

• Can I also add how sick I am of the word “thang” on this show??? Surely they’re allowed to say “penis”, right?

• Overall, a huge disappointment. Animorphs is so easy to make fun of, and they certainly tried their best, but the gross out humor just killed it for me.

Final thoughts: Colman Domingo was easily one of the best hosts we’ve had this year. Always professional, always gave it his all despite the atrocious material. But the writing, on the other hand, was just as stale as ever. There’s only three to go, and, from what I’ve heard, they only get worse…

MVP: Colman Domingo/Andrew Dismukes

Best sketches: Uneek Cuts, The Knowledge Hour, Prep School

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Fashion District Robbery, Artemis II, Marcello and Kam’s commentary, Grandpa’s Wake

Next review: Olivia Rodrigo

SNL Reviews: Jack Black/Jack White (4/4/26)

 Cold Open: NCAA

Pam Bondi interrupts March Madness discussion.

• A non-political sketch??? Hmm, there must be a twist…

• I love the way JAJ looks as Ernie Johnson.

• Charles Barkley is captioned as “Sir Charles Barkley” for some reason.

• Barkley: “It’s the first time I went viral without a prescription for Valtrex.”

• Guess I spoke too soon. Now they’re shoehorning a political discussion into this. Come on, can’t we go at least a single episode without a political cold open?

• Not sure who Jeremy’s playing, but he’s pretty good.

• I love Barkley referring to Pam Bondi as a “freckle-chested dragon lady”.

• Pam Bondi: “So great to be here at the Final Four…years of this country.” Ugh.

• This was by default the best cold open we’ve had this season.

Monologue

Jack is inducted into the Five-Timers Club.

• It takes only 55 seconds for this to become a cameo festival. Jonah Hill is probably one of the least deserving people to become a Five Timer.

• Why is the club all dusty and covered with spider webs? We just saw it last season in the Godawful Martin Short episode!

• Ugh, Tina Fey. I hope we get another “hilarious” scene where she insults the current cast members!

• Dumb meta jokes about how they’ve done this so many times that it’s been literally run into the ground.

• Nice shout out to SNL UK, which had just started. On a side note, I’ve seen a few clips of that version, and it is way better than ours!

• Candice Bergen, what are you doing here???

• Melissa McCarthy is back again, and she has a dumb bit of prop comedy where she scarfs down a can of vodka.

• It was so satisfying seeing Domingo (ugh!) getting hit on the head with a frying pan by Jack White.

• Jonah Hill: “Wow, it’s Professor Snape!” Okay, I did get a laugh from that.

• Amazing musical number from the two Jacks!

• That monologue was mostly balls, but the final musical number saved it quite a bit.

Sketch: Kathy

An annoying co-worker wants to be involved in others’ affairs.

• I hated this as soon as Ashley’s character started talking. What the Hell is happening to her lately?

• Not helping matters is the fact that Kenan, Sarah, and Mikey are also in this, three cast members who I am absolutely tired of.

• Jack is at least trying his best.  

• “We talkin’ TV?” This bit goes on for like a minute and with every repetition, I can feel another part of my soul leaving my body.

• Lousy ending.

Film: Words to Live By

Country singers forget valuable words of wisdom.

• Already a big laugh from JAJ’s hairstyle.

• Great concept for a song.

• I love the sudden censor bleeps during Jack’s chorus.

• Finally, Andrew gets to be funny again after playing lame straight roles for the last few weeks.

• Is that kid really Andrew’s son? He looks remarkably like him.

• Another great performance from White.

• I love the callback to the “Men in Black thing” at the very end where they finally remember what it’s called.

• I know I’ve said this a lot, but the pretapes have been really good this year. This is just another one.

Sketch: Self-Defense

Self-defense teachers get rough.

• Uggghhhhhh, another “wacky” Marcello character. This is gonna be painful.

• I hate the cartoony accents. What are they even supposed to be? Italian? French? Mexican?

• This sketch probably would have worked if somebody else was cast in Marcello’s role, or if they got rid of the dumb accents.

• What’s up with the scene where Jeremy eats a caterpillar? Yes, that’s an actual thing that happens.

• Overall, a huge unfunny mess.

Husbands

Awkward guys get along through the singing of “Carry On Wayward Son”.

• Big night for Andrew so far.

• Great twist where the guys all start to sing “Carry On Wayward Son”.

• On the surface, this appears to be a rather thin sketch, but the performances are what make this special for me. 

• Great cover for “Respecting Women Magazine”.

• What more can we ask for from a sketch that shows JAJ in his underwear? One of the best sketches of the entire season 

Musical Performance: “Derecho Demonico”

Weekend Update (featuring Bryon Noem and Black Snape)

• There’s a “joke” in here about Trump going to the theater. Can you guess what the punchline is????

• UGGGHHHHH!!!!! Sarah is in drag as Kristi Noem’s husband to capitalize on a story everyone will forget about in several months!!! No thank you!!!

• We get it, Che, you hate women’s basketball! Tell another joke!!!!

• Now Kam has a commentary as Black Snape from that new Harry Potter show. Given that Heated Rivalry crap I had to sit through a few episodes ago, I’m not exactly excited for this.

• There’s a lot of ways to talk about what an awful casting choice it is, but giving it a stereotypical “ghetto” flavor just isn’t it. Sorry, Kam.

Sketch: 301 Spartans

An extra Spartan gets left behind.

• A 300 sketch? This would have been good…in 2007.

• I had to laugh when I saw Andrew in a fake beard. This is one of his best nights in a while.

• A big groan from the reveal of Jack’s Spartan.

• Why is this episode so boring??? I thought a Jack Black episode would be full of energy! Guess not, though.

Musical Performance: “G.O.D. And The Broken Ribs”

Sketch: Airbnb Superhost

A superhost and his friend disturb guests.

• *sigh* Again with the joke explanations!!! WE’RE NOT BLIND!!!!!

• I kinda liked Jack going “Wazzzap?” from behind the blinds.

• Why are you still here, Melissa McCarthy??? Go away!!!!!

• Now that she’s here, we get more dumb physical humor where they can’t open the door. What is even happening in this sketch anymore?

• Even worse, the two of them start torturing poor Jeremy with their lotion. Is this some kind of hazing ritual?

Cut for Time: Simon’s Life

Martin’s cousin Simon is odd.

• Well, here we have the last Martin Herlihy film.

• I love how his “cousin” is clearly just him with a different haircut and a mustache.

• Is it just me, or is his voice based on Igniknokt from Aqua Teen Hunger Force?

• As usual, I’m getting far more laughs from this film than the episode it’s attached to.

• Jane has some pretty good chemistry with him in the scene at the store.

• Great scene of Andrew modeling women’s lingerie.

• Strangely appropriate ending with Jack Black shushing the camera while dressed like a woman. Somehow, that really sums up Herlihy’s time on the show really well.

• Sadly, right before the next season started, it was announced that Martin would not be returning to SNL, so this ended up being his last film. It’s a shame, too, because I liked every single one of them.

Final thoughts: For a Jack Black hosted episode, this was shockingly bland. He wasn’t the problem, but I don’t think anyone would be able to make anything out of shit like that Godawful self-defense sketch.

MVP: Andrew Dismukes

Best sketches: Words to Live By, Husbands, Simon’s Life

Worst sketches: Kathy, Self-Defense, Weekend Update, Airbnb Superhost

Next review: Coleman Domingo/Anitta

SNL Reviews: Harry Styles (3/14/26)

 Presenting the worst birthday present I’ve ever gotten…

Cold Open: Trump’s Gas Prices

Trump and Hegseth interrupt a family drama and talk about Iran.

• A realistic family drama with intentionally cheesy acting? Gee, I sure hope nothing interrupts this…

• All of a sudden, Trump runs into frame and shouts “THE EPSTEIN FILES!!!!” Well, the break from him was nice while it lasted.

• At separate points, Ashley and Marcello are both seen trying not to laugh at JAJ’s lines, even though they’re supposed to be “frozen”.  I thought I would mention that because it was funnier than the intended humor.

Monologue

Styles talks about his queerbaiting allegations, fruit, and his new album.

• I should be excited to see him, but he was just on last week for no reason besides “cameo lol”.

• Boring….

• More male-on-male kissing, because that sure is funny!!!

Sketch: New Lawyer

Sebastian Maniscalco works as a defense attorney.

• Why did the audience cheer when Harry was first shown in this sketch? He’s just wearing a fancy suit. It’s not like he’s buck-ass naked.

• I like Harry’s American accent, which I recall he did a lot during his last appearance.

• Marcello’s impression of Sebastian Maniscalco again? Don’t get me wrong, I loved his first appearance, but did they really need to bring him back?

• He’s still doing a pretty good job, but the element of surprise is gone now.

• Harry’s attempt at sounding like Maniscalco is pretty funny.

• It’s around this point that the audience’s constant cheers are starting to get to me. We’re in for a repeat of the infamous Josh Hartnett episode from Season 27.

Fake Ad: MAHAspital

A medical drama created by RFK Jr.

• Yay, time for another parody of a show I’ve never seen!

• I like how most of the people in this are newer cast members.

• This is going after all the usual targets you would expect. You see, all Republicans (regardless of whether or not they support RFK Jr.) believe in pseudoscience, so let’s have the doctors do ridiculous shit like wear face masks with holes in them or inject people with bull semen. There’s a lot you can do to make fun of this idiot, but the show seems fine enough with just staying at base level satire.

• Shockingly bad RFK Jr. impression from JAJ. It’s just a rougher version of the Trump voice. Apparently, even he didn’t think he did a very good job.

Sketch: Sparkle of the Sea

German musicians entertain cruise passengers.

• Ugh, horrible German accents galore in this one. This episode is off to an atrocious start.

• The format reminds me of another sketch, but I’m kind of drawing a blank right now.

• JAJ redeems himself from the last sketch with an amusing musical number as a German R&B singer.

• Just to prove that Kenan has nothing left to offer, he randomly resurrects his old Jean K. Jean character for the first time since Season 38. I don’t see why, because the scene isn’t funny.

• Tommy and Veronika’s song is actually really catchy.

• I thought for sure that this was a Jimmy Fowlie sketch, and it looks like it on a surface level, but it was actually written by Chloe Fineman.

Sketch: Best Buy

An employee at Best Buy defends himself from accusations of bisexuality.

• Ugggggh….Kenan enters the sketch as an effeminate man. Even worse, the character’s name is “Mr. Pooty”.

• Again, you would be forgiven for thinking that this was written by Jimmy Fowlie, but it wasn’t. His partner in crime Ceara O’Sullivan is credited, though.

• What is this, a Season 30 sketch??? Kenan’s lispy character is straight out of the James Anderson playbook that gave us such hits as “Gays in Space” (a sketch which Bowen Yang apparently thinks is the greatest thing ever).

• Now we’re making fun of bisexuals again? As a bisexual myself, I wish they would stop treating us as something weird.

• If you wanted even MORE evidence that Kenan is past his expiration date, just watch this sketch.

Musical Performance: “Dance No More”

• GYAAAAHHHH!!!!! What the fuck is Ryan Gosling doing here?????? Get out, NOW!!!!!

Weekend Update (featuring Tucker Carlson and Two Emojis)

• Colin: “God, remember how much better our country was doing when we had a young Muslim leader?” *shows a picture of Obama* Okay, that’s a really good joke.

• Aaaand then they have to ruin it with another stupid “seen here” joke.

• Second Update commentary for Jeremy, this time as Tucker Carlson.

• Boy, his impression is spot on! He even kinda looks like Tucker already.

• “I guess heterosexual women aren’t allowed to have hair anymore! They have to shave their heads, instead of their armpits!” 

• For what it’s worth, I didn’t think I’d like that, but Jeremy’s performance won me over. Sadly, this great bit is needlessly brought back in next season’s premiere.

• I loved Colin’s reactions to the audience randomly cheering at his mention of Taco Bell.

• Mikey and Marcello as emojis???? I think we’re done here.

Sketch: White Castle Drive-Thru

Two high school friends awkwardly approach their crush.

• Waaaay too much Kenan in this episode, often in his worst elements.

• Another funny accent from Harry.

• Veronika and Jane have been doing great lately, and now here’s a whole sketch with them!

• I love the braces on Veronika’s character.

• This is making good use of Jane’s natural nervousness.

• A nice slice-of-life feel to this. I can definitely identify with how nervous the girls are.

• I love the constant reuse of the same shot of the car leaving.

• Not the biggest fan of Ashley’s character. I feel like she’s starting to be spread a bit thin. One can only take so much screaming.

• Other than that, though, this sketch was brilliant. More low-key sketches like this, please!

• These characters were supposed to return in the Matt Damon episode later this season, but were unfortunately cut.

Musical Performance: “Coming Up Roses” 

• Whoa, when did you get here, Paul Simon?

Film: She’s A Dancer

Irish girls attract guys with a traditional dance.

• Great, another musical sketch.

• Nice Irish dancing from the ladies of the cast.

• If you wanted another reason to praise JAJ, his speaking in Irish is pretty damn flawless.

• The one thing I hate about this sketch has nothing to do with what’s actually on screen. Once again, it’s the stupid audience screaming when Harry starts dancing. Ugh!!!

Sketch: Harry For Him

Harry advertises his personal clothing line.

• Uh-oh, here’s our mandatory “Harry Styles is hot” sketch.

• I’ve noticed a trend with Ben Marshall being cast in these “sexy” roles lately. Sure enough, he’s the first person we see here trying on clothes.

• Poor JAJ is degraded by having to appear in this. Luckily, he seems to be a good sport about it.

• I don’t know if this surprises anyone, but Jimmy Fowlie was one of the writers of this. 

Note: The August 29 rerun of this episode had a nice tribute to Dolly Parton before the goodnights.

Final thoughts: Another fairly weak show. While Styles did his best, the writers just seemed to be coasting throughout. Let’s also not forget about the annoying audience members, who ruined almost everything.

MVP: Veronika Slowikowska

Best sketches: Tucker Carlson commentary, White Castle Drive-Thru

Worst sketches: Cold Open, MAHAspital, Best Buy, Emoji commentary, Harry For Him

Next review: Jack Black/Jack White

This review is dedicated to Sir Patrick “Salt and PEPPAH!” Stewart. Live long and prosper.

SNL Reviews: Ryan Gosling/Gorillaz (3/7/26)

 Flashback…

“Words can not describe how unprofessional and unfunny a lot of this episode was, with most of the blame going to Ryan “Giggles” Gosling. I hope they never have him back as a host.” Me, January 9, 2025

Well, fuck me, then. Here’s another Ryan Gosling episode.

Cold Open: Hegseth Iran Presser

Pete Hegseth discusses the Iran situation.

• I’ve run out of things to say about the whole Pete Hegseth routine, so let me just mention one thing…“Jessica Nowonderimsingle”??? Is that really the best you could do, guys?

Monologue

The host is flustered over Harry Styles becoming the focus of his monologue.

• Right away, there’s a pointless cameo from Harry Styles, who’s not supposed to be on until next week. They did this before in the Will Forte episode in Season 47, where they had Willem Dafoe “surprisingly” show up during the monologue. There’s probably a few more examples of this happening, but that’s all I can think of right now. I bring this up because it’s a trend I don’t like, as it’s just an excuse to bring up the cameo count some more.

• This episode aired only seven months ago and I already forgot that Project: Hail Mary was even a thing.

• The constant cuts back to Styles are really annoying, and they also have Gosling explaining them to us because we’re apparently stupid.

• I kinda like the shot of camera operator Anthony Tarantino waving to Gosling.

• Goddammit, not a musical number! Please end this now!!!

• This episode just started, and it already seems like it’s going to be much worse than his last one!

Sketch: Wedding Tradition

An eccentric wedding guest demands to see the bride and groom kiss.

• I certainly got a jumpscare from the beginning of this sketch, thinking that we were in for another Domingo appearance, but thankfully that doesn’t happen.

• I love Mikey’s insensitive comment about Ashley’s marriage not lasting (her husband died).

• Gosling’s “Um……what just happened?” is a typical Mikey Day moment. Strange that I would say that, because this was actually written by our favorite writer Jimmy Fowlie.

• Uh-oh, Gosling has started smirking…

• The glass clinking is getting really irritating. He’s trying waaaaay too hard here.

• Chloe’s awful delivery ruins a potentially funny line about how Gosling’s character looks just like Reba McEntire.

• The name of Gosling’s character is “Donathan” ? WTF????

• Ugh, now the giggles have begun.

• Ha ha! Incest is so funny, right guys???

• God, what an awful sketch. It baffles me how people can find this funny.

Fake Ad: Otezla

The alien nature of this medicine is part of its appeal.

• Gosling’s character seems to be on the same set as the “How dare you!” film from last week.

• Yay, more product placement!

• As usual, I’m loving all of the slow-motion footage.

• This is really really weird, and I’m not quite sure I get it, but I am laughing a lot.

• Nice ancient cave drawing with the natives worshipping a box of Otezla.

• Love Sarah’s cheerful delivery of the line about how Otezla is planning on enslaving us all.

• For a film that only exists as product placement, this wasn’t half bad.

Sketch: Cyclops

A group of Cyclopes’ failure to grasp riddles complicates things.

• I love JAJ’s weird deep voice as the narrator.

• Funny cyclops makeup on all three guys.

• I’ve noticed a steady increase in parts for Veronika over the last few episodes. That’s something you love to see!

• Ugh, the cyclopes are getting really annoying. 

• Now Ashley’s starting to break. 

• I’m not joking when I say this is one of the most irritating sketches I’ve ever seen. The constant repetitions of “Can you open the door?” and “Stop it!” are tiresome, and you just want everyone involved to shut up. Then, of course, you have the annoying breaking, which is making an already terrible sketch borderline unwatchable.

• I am at least shocked that Veronika is remaining in character. Meanwhile, her partner Ashley is giggling even worse than Gosling, which is hard to believe.

• Predictable ending where Gosling’s character thinks that the key to unlock the treasure is the actual treasure itself.

Film: Monty McTreats & The Pastry Bakery

Monty’s wonderful factory hides dark secrets.

• As soon as this film starts, you’re just thinking, “There’s going to be a dark twist, isn’t there?”

• I like the look of this film, but I’m still waiting for the inevitable dark turn.

• Is it any coincidence that the only time I’ve been liking Gosling’s performance is in pre-taped segments where there’s less time for him to ruin things by laughing?

• Yep, there we go. One of Monty’s magical workers has hung himself. I groaned so loud the first time I saw this.

• Shut up, Mikey! We can see for ourselves what just happened!!!

• Kenan can play janitors in his sleep by now. We don’t need him to make this shit even worse.

• The corny musical numbers are providing my only enjoyment.

• The bit with Gosling giving one of the creatures CPR was more sad than funny. 

• Maybe I would’ve liked this better if SNL hadn’t abused this type of format for years now. At least it was slightly better than that Home Alone shit from a few episodes ago.

Musical Performance: “Clint Eastwood”

• Now this is more like it! Finally something in this episode that genuinely made me smile!

Weekend Update (featuring Pastor Update and Teddy)

• Nice, they’re implying that Trump is going to kill one of his cabinet members. 

• Che ruins the Osama bin Laden joke by immediately cracking up at it.

• I kinda liked Colin’s ad-lib (?) to the audience after they react poorly to his joke about the Ayatollah’s death.

• Can we please stop with the jokes that imply Trump is “wounded” by holy objects?

• A genuine laugh from the Lucky Charms stabbing joke.

• Now Kenan and JAJ show up as a pastor and his bandleader, in a commentary that was cut from last week’s show.

• The look of JAJ’s character already has me laughing.

• By all appearances I should absolutely hate this new character of Kenan’s, but for some reason, I don’t. I get a strong What Up With That? vibe from this guy, which is always a good thing.

• I can’t believe Kenan is one of the highlights of an episode, but I guess that’s how bad things have gotten.

Sketch: Passing Notes

Students pass around notes during class, which their teacher reads out loud.

• That school in the establishing shot looks very familiar. I thought it might be John Marshall High School in Los Angeles at first, but that building has a different spire.

• Big oof from Marcello’s “chode” reference. Speaking of Marcello, where’s he been all night?

• “The Contents Of These Notes Have Been Changed Since Rehearsal”? Please, God, no!!!!!

• Jesus Christ, I can’t believe this. We’ve now resorted to deliberately sabotaging sketches just so we can get some cheap breaking out of the cast.

• Despite my eternal hatred of Gosling Giggles, I’m actually more annoyed with Ashley in this particular instance. Why would she go along with this?

• If they were gonna change the notes, couldn’t they have rewritten them to say something, oh I don’t know, funny? This ChatGPT “slam” isn’t as clever as I’m sure they thought it was, and it definitely wasn’t worth changing a line of dialogue just to make somebody break.

• And you know what’s really sad? This sketch went on to become a big hit! Do people just love unprofessionalism these days? In fact, the top comment on the YouTube upload is somebody saying that they hope we get a lot more “changed from rehearsal” sketches in the future. What an idiot!

• I’m sure people will try to defend this by saying, “aw, lighten up! Can’t you see how much fun they’re having???” Well, I hope they had fun, because I didn’t!!! One of the worst sketches I’ve ever seen.

Musical Performance: “The Moon Cave”

Sketch: The Goo Goo Man

A couple experiences an issue while checking out their hotel.

• Way too much Mikey in this episode for my liking. Meanwhile, Tommy Brennan is crying backstage.

• “Goo Goo Man”? Oh God, what am I in for now?

• Where is this even going??? Just listing off a bunch of “funny” names isn’t going to help this sketch!

• The only “wacky pack” I care about is Wacky Packages.

• Thank God it’s finally over. This episode just keeps sinking lower and lower.

A Film By Martin Herlihy: Lies

Martin exposes lies by dressing up as Colin Jost.

• Please save this episode, Martin Herlihy!

• The sudden “LIE!!!” from Martin caught me off guard when I first saw this episode. 

• I love the bit with JAJ talking about his penis size, which turns out not to be a lie, but it being straight is a lie.

• I love how Martin’s comment about always doing his own stunts is followed by him inexplicably turning black when he does a pratfall on the table.

• Amazing makeup on Martin’s Colin Jost disguise.

• Great quick scene from Marcello punching “Colin” in the balls.

• Martin: “I think New York’s about to get hit with a whole new kind of blizzard…”

• It was so satisfying seeing the real Colin get shot by Jane at the end.

• At least we ended this episode on a strong note. Sadly, this is the last Herlihy film to make it into the live show. One more was released as a Cut for Time sketch, but we’ll cover that one when we get there…

Note: A dedication is shown for someone named Sandy Wernick.

Final thoughts: In case you couldn’t tell, I did not like that episode very much. Not only because of all the Ryan Gosling Giggles, but because of the blatant unprofessionalism in that note passing sketch. Ashley Padilla also had a strangely off putting night, indulging in Gosling’s unfunny shtick and cracking up just as badly as him.

On the bright side, however, there was no Beavis and Butt-head sequel like I was afraid there would be. Apparently, there was in dress rehearsal, but it was thankfully cut. You wanna know what that one was about??? There are Bob’s Burgers characters in the audience instead!! Hurr durr!!!!!

MVP: Martin Herlihy

Best sketches: Otezla, Pastor Update and Teddy commentary, Lies, Gorillaz’s musical performances

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Monologue, Wedding Tradition, Cyclops, Passing Notes, Goo Goo Man

Next review: Harry Styles