Cold Open
Unfunny things happen during Fox News’ coverage of the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump.
• Starting off on a bad note with the worst Tucker Carlson impression known to man.
• Even more pain follows with the one millionth appearance from Kate as Lindsey Graham, although this is so far the last time he’s appeared.
• As if one drag performance wasn’t enough, we also get the debut of Aidy Bryant’s terrible Ted Cruz impression. Why is it that whenever there’s somebody in drag on SNL these days, it’s almost always a woman doing it? The last man in drag I can think of is that Asian Terry Sweeney commentary from a few episodes ago.
• The joke about Michael Van Der Veen’s last name being Dutch for “Man of the Penis” made me groan.
• To complete the horror that is this cold open, the frogfaced Mitch McConnell returns. This is also his final appearance.
• One of the worst cold opens I’ve ever seen.
Monologue
Regina King’s monologue gets interrupted by an overly-enthusiastic Kenan.
• Full disclosure: I only know Regina King from her role as the Freeman brothers on Adult Swim’s “The Boondocks”. That being said, I absolutely adore her performance on that show and I think she’s a great talent, so I was excited for this episode.
• Some initial laughs from her memories of watching Eddie Murphy on the show when she was a kid, and wanting to be on that same stage when she grew up, but then changing her mind after he left.
• Man, just hearing her voice, I see a picture in my mind of a grown up Huey Freeman talking. It’s freaky seeing that familiar voice in live-action.
• I got another laugh when she says Lorne told her to use the race card every chance she gets.
• Unfortunately, my enjoyment takes a slight downturn when Kenan shows up, dressed like a gangsta wannabe. I’ve lost count of how many characters he’s played like this.
• While still not a bad monologue, it really took a hit when Kenan entered. I wanted to hear Regina tell more stories!
Sketch: What’s Your Type?
Three cringy dating show contestants vie for the affections of one bachelorette (King).
• I laughed at Ego introducing Cecily’s character as “the girl who got famous by pulling her buttcheeks apart on Snapchat”.
• Damn, Regina looks pretty damn hot in this sketch.
• I like Kyle Mooney’s “white ally” character, just because it reminds me of the great BET sketch from the last episode.
• Regina’s reactions to her potential lovers are expertly delivered.
• Alex Moffat pulls off an underrated performance as his character. The way he looks is great, too, with his pedo mustache and fedora.
• Mikey’s voice here is amazing. This is the kind of stuff I like to see from him.
• I forgot to mention it, but Ego’s role as the host is also great. Season 46 is the year where she finally came into her own as a member of the cast.
• I like how half of Alex’s dialogue is just song lyrics, until Cecily makes him stop because they have to pay the rights for the songs.
• Mikey’s French “accent” was freaking hilarious. I also like how this is what makes Regina pick him to be her boyfriend.
• Wow! That sketch was way better than I remembered. Maybe the rest of the episode will be, too, but we’ll just have to see.
Film: Pelotaunt
The exercise bike that insults you.
• I spoke too soon. Here’s a commercial I remember for having a unique idea, but didn’t do anything creative with that idea.
• Yeah, just as I remembered, this was really really bad. It rightfully made it onto my Worst Sketches of Season 46 list.
Sketch: Gorilla Glue
Commode & Commode are dedicated to suing the makers of Gorilla Glue.
• This sketch is based on a then-recent story of some stupid lady who put Gorilla Glue in her hair. I honestly forgot all about that nonsense until this sketch made me remember it.
• This is a little too reliant on the story to be funny, which just results in this sketch becoming dated. Plus, it also has Kenan doing my “favorite” voice in it, so that’s another negative.
• I will say that the ridiculous wigs they’re wearing made me chuckle at first.
Sketch: Birthday Gifts
A group of friends have the same idea for a birthday gift for their friend.
• This sketch was so boring that I had to turn off the episode afterwards. In fact, it also made me give up reviewing the episodes on Facebook for quite a while.
• Rewatching it for this review, nothing has changed. It’s still a whole lot of nothing.
Film: The Negotiator
During a hostage crisis, a cop (King) eats some innocent looking gummy bears, and things start to go wrong…
• After a nice opening, this sketch suddenly becomes…extremely bizarre. Regina starts hallucinating a rapping gummy bear (played by Pete Davidson, naturally), and…uh, what the fuck is going on?
• Then Aidy enters as a second gummy bear, and we get some nice 2D animated elements.
• Spot on Marge Simpson impression from Melissa Villaseñor. Then she reveals that she is actually The Devil, and her face goes all creepy.
• As much as I want to hate this sketch…I just can’t. THIS is the type of bizarre stuff that I like to see on this show.
• Bowen Yang does a surprisingly good job as the other police officer, confused by Regina’s antics. See what happens when you guys let him play other kinds of roles?
• Overall, not too bad for a Pete Davidson sketch.
Musical Performance: “Redemption”
Weekend Update (featuring Stephanie Green, Mackenzie Taylor-Joy, and Tom Brady)
• Some really bad clapter revolving around Trump’s acquittal.
• Che tells a joke about Cuomo that is lame and toothless.
• Oh, God, no. Here’s a commentary that I’ve heard so many bad things about. Kate McKinnon dresses up as a witch named Stephanie Green, who’s here to talk about QAnon conspiracy theories. I can tell I’m going to hate this already.
• That voice she’s doing is so annoying, and she won’t stop moving her hands around. This is exactly the kind of stuff I hate about her all rolled into one.
• I got a mild chuckle from Colin saying that NBC’s ratings would go up if they let him say the n-word.
• Lauren Holt gets her first (and only) Update appearance as a character named Mackenzie Taylor-Joy. She is here to talk about Valentine’s Day dating ideas.
• She’s pulling this character off pretty well. The way she switches back and forth from happy to sad is expertly performed. It’s coming off as even more emotional knowing that this is the only time she would ever get to show off these skills on Weekend Update.
• Is it me or does Beck Bennett like playing drunk characters? Here he has a commentary as an inebriated Tom Brady. As someone who doesn’t even like football, I can tell you that this impression sucks and we were thankfully spared from ever seeing it again.
Sketch: Disco Queen
A 70s disco dancer (King) has a hard time performing her moves when things don’t go as planned.
• Figures that Asian Terry Sweeney would be cast in a sketch about disco.
• Regina’s looking fine in that sparkly dress. Something about the voice she’s using reminds me of Foxxy Love from the cartoon series “Drawn Together”.
• You don’t know how much I enjoyed seeing her slap Asian Terry Sweeney in the face.
• I like how one of her songs is named “Nasty Christmas”.
• While not laugh out loud funny, I thought this was a nice character piece. Regina was just so good in this.
Women’s Theater
A feminist theater ensemble delivers an age-appropriate performance during a high school assembly.
• Mikey’s character is explaining a little too much before the main part of the sketch starts. I’m surprised this wasn’t a sketch that he wrote.
• Regina’s Maya Angelou-esque character is performed really well.
• Now the audience members are explaining everything that happens too! Are we sure that this wasn’t a Day/Seidell sketch?
• It’s a shame that they keep explaining the jokes, because there’s some nice satire buried here about raunchy comedians refusing to tone down their material for younger people. The actual parts with the performers aren’t that bad, but the stuff with the audience just kills this sketch.
Musical Performance: “A Little Honey”
Final thoughts: This episode honestly wasn’t as bad as I remembered. While not perfect, there were a few good sketches, plus an underrated commentary from Lauren Holt. As for the host, well, what else can I say? She was absolutely perfect here. I hope she comes back again in the future.
Best sketches: What’s Your Type?, The Negotiator, Lauren Holt’s commentary, Disco Queen
Worst sketches: Cold Open, Pelotaunt, Birthday Gifts
Next review: Rege Jean-Page/Bad Bunny
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