Cold Open
Ketanji Brown Jackson receives advice from several other trailblazers.
• Ugh, now they’re trying to pathetically suck up to the new Supreme Court Justice. This can only end so well.
• I liked Ego’s reaction to JAJ as Biden comparing her to “wearing Crocs in public”.
• FUUUUUCK!!!!! Kate’s horrible Ruth Bader Ginsburg is back from the dead for no fucking reason! I thought we were safe from seeing it ever again, but not even death can prevent SNL from digging up tired old routines!
• To further prove how tired this impression is, she does that awful “Ginsburn” shit again. I am in Hell…
• The only line I’ve laughed at so far is Kenan’s Thurgood Marshall asking if Joe Biden is still in politics.
• Why is SNL even doing a Black History sketch in April? They’re two months late!
• Overall, this is one of the most pathetic cold opens I’ve ever seen.
Monologue
Jake talks about the last time he hosted, and how much he’s changed since then.
• Nice of Jake to put his last appearance into perspective and talk about some of the outdated things in the episode, such as a joke about the original iPhone. What I’m not a fan of is him saying it was “400 Marvel movies ago”. Does anybody know what the deal is with all of these lame Marvel references we’ve been getting lately?
• A big laugh from the photo he shows of himself in drag during his monologue, where he did a number from Dreamgirls.
• Normally, I’d complain about the ensuing musical number, but it’s actually a nice tribute to that first monologue of his. Plus, there’s no sign of Kate in it, which is always nice!
Sketch: Why’d You Like It?
Contestants are asked about why they liked certain photos on Instagram.
• Not caring for Kenan’s increasingly hammy delivery of the game show’s name.
• Who’s the black lady sitting next to Ego in the audience? I thought it was Michael Che in drag at first.
• I kind of chuckled at the random reveal that Megan Thee Stallion posted the painting that Chris’s character liked.
• So far, this is just a one-joke sketch where the only reason the contestants liked these photos is because they want to have sex with the ladies that posted them.
• Now they do something different with Chloe’s character liking a photo of her ex-boyfriend’s sister.
• Chris continues to provide my only laughs. I liked his cheerful delivery of “Pass!” after being told that Round 2 will be “Why’d You Follow Them?”
• Another laugh from Chris saying that he follows Joe Biden because “he knows Obama”.
• Jake’s character at least has an amusing resolution to his arc where he admits he can’t change after liking, disliking, and reliking a photo from the same lady he expressed sexual desires towards earlier.
• While still not perfect, this was a lot better than the last game show sketch we got.
Film: Dream Home Cousins
A couple’s dream home gets ruined thanks to the Dream Home Cousins and an annoying relative.
• This is a parody of HGTV’s Property Brothers show, which my mom watches, so I get the basic gist of it.
• Mikey and Jake’s chemistry is great!
• After a promising start, this quickly turns sour as soon as Kate enters as an old lady.
• Kate’s character is totally ruining this for me. Also, I hate how she has subtitles, so you get to read her terrible jokes as well as hear them.
• I feel sorry for poor James and Heidi in this sketch.
• Overall, this started out nice, but it got ruined by Kate and her tired antics. Only four episodes left…
Sketch: Cabaret Night
A singing group performs for people who aren’t special.
• A slight chuckle from Mikey’s intro, where it seems like he’s addressing somebody to move their car, only for him to reveal that he has the same car.
• That’s, uh, quite a wig Jake is wearing.
• Uh-oh, it looks like we’re about to get a musical number from Asian Terry Sweeney. Also, Kate and Cecily are there, which is a bad sign.
• Jake’s character reminds me of some of Martin Short’s more theatrical characters, which is awesome!
• Unsurprisingly, Kate and Cecily’s parts are the worst. They’ve been on for way too long, and I’ve already seen all their tricks.
• Bowen’s flamboyant shtick is fitting for this sketch. This is the stuff where he really shines.
• I am beyond tired of Kate by this point of the episode. She’s been in half of the sketches, and she’s ruined all of them.
Sketch: Flowers
A garden of flowers get excited for spring, but bad things keep happening to them.
• Kenan’s bizarre accent as the gardener is hilarious. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him do that particular voice before.
• Are you kidding me with this premise, SNL? Is this a rejected Laugh-In sketch?
• I am not surprised at all to see Kent Sublette’s name as one of the writers.
• No comment on Jake’s name being “Jake Flowerhaal”. I am loving his voice, though.
• The “late bloomer” pun, with Jake having to clarify that it isn’t the sexual meaning, was kind of funny.
• I could have done without Bowen as a bee jerking off.
• Sarah: “It looks like you’re having sex with his head!” Yeah, thanks for explaining the joke, Sarah. I never would have been able to guess that.
• Chris gets a big laugh from me yet again with how eager he is to get his pollen sucked. Have I ever told you how much I love Chris Redd?
• For once, Kenan’s yelling shtick is working for me.
• Kyle’s voice as the weed is fucking horrible. What’s been happening to him lately? Has he started half-assing his performances because he knows he’s on his way out?
• I appreciated the lack of a marijuana joke.
• Now a dog pisses on them. I would normally criticize such a thing, but there’s something odd about this sketch that’s keeping me from hating it.
• Nice dark ending where the gardener grabs Jake so he can put him in a vase, leaving “blood” spurting everywhere.
• Overall, I love how bizarre this sketch is. It’s a delightful absurdity that we rarely get from this show anymore.
Film: Chucky
Janet’s co-workers get caught gossiping about her by the evil doll Chucky.
• After a dull beginning, it’s time for more corporate synergy when Chucky from the Child’s Play films shows up. Chucky currently has a series on a fellow NBCUniversal channel.
• Chucky himself is played by a puppet with Sarah’s head digitally placed on top. It looks terrifying, which is of course their intention.
• Sarah does a better Chucky voice than you might expect. She really nails his grim one-liners!
• I love the boardroom scene, although I could have done without Aidy’s brief part. She’s so out of place among all the newer cast members in this.
• Great ending where Chucky blows the whole room up, with a freeze-frame on his head flying by the camera.
• For a corporate synergy sketch, this was actually pretty good! Sarah continues to be a welcome new addition to the cast.
Musical Performance: “Bam Bam”
Weekend Update (featuring the Trend Forecasters)
• We’re still making “Kavanaugh likes to drink” jokes?
• Again with the bad “Mitch McConnell takes pleasure from other peoples’ suffering” material? This “gag” has gone on long enough.
• Colin gets in a nice dig at the time he and Che hosted an awards show. I can’t remember which one it was, but it was pretty bad.
• I hate to admit it, but I even laughed at Michael’s “tragically suspicious” joke about Lucky Charms.
• UGGHHHH! Not those “trend forecasters” again! I have nothing to say except for the fact that this sucked just like their first appearance.
Sketch: Lights! Camera! Achoo!
Presenting a 1992 film about a cowboy who tries to keep his illness a secret.
• Cecily’s bland intro is doing nothing for me. Could she give any less of a shit?
• This is surprisingly the first we’ve seen of Andrew all night, after the huge amount of airtime he got in the previous episode.
• Alex Moffat in a cowboy hat is inherently amusing to me for some reason.
• Not a fan of Jake randomly sneezing blood all over Alex and Andrew.
• Jake is at least selling his role really well. It helps that he was in Brokeback Mountain.
• Now we get a fart joke? Ugh. I was hoping SNL had given up on those.
• A big groan at all the fake snot getting sprayed.
• I laughed at Kenan’s delivery of “Dis ain’t no CVS!”
• Aaaaand there goes another fart.
• What a horrible ending.
• Overall, this sketch is such an odd mishmash of ideas. Part of it is a traditional western sketch, while the rest of it is a horrid “bodily fluids spraying everywhere” sketch. Not helping matters is the fact that this apparently had SIX different writers, including the Please Don’t Destroy guys. I have a hard time believing that they wrote this, because it is so unlike their humor.
Sketch: Couples Counselor
A couple’s counseling session gets interrupted by an unexpected guest.
• Holy shit, Punkie with a lead role! That never happens!
• Melissa with a lead role too! She’s been getting fewer and fewer lately, another sign that her days at SNL are numbered.
• Jake: “It’s manga, sweetie. It’s only the most important art form of the 21st century!”
• Punkie angrily yelling at her partner on the phone is a great showcase of her talents. Why don’t we get to see more of that?
• I love Jake reading Punkie’s partner’s angry messages in a completely serious voice.
• Now things get epic when Ego shows up as Punkie’s partner, brandishing a water gun.
• I love how they keep asking Jake not to read the messages in a “black” voice.
• Surprisingly heartwarming part where reading the message causes Jake to reconcile with his wife.
• Funny ending where Punkie and Ego threaten the couple with violence if they don’t pay up.
• This is a great sketch, and a perfect example of why they should give Punkie more screen time.
Musical Performance: “Psychofreak”
Sketch: Truck Stop CD
A trucker shows off a collection of hits by her favorite singer, Johnny Goblin.
• I groaned as soon as Aidy showed up as a trucker.
• Jake is perfect in the role of a singing truck driver. Also, he has a mustache, which makes it even better.
• Cecily’s scene is surprisingly good. It helps that singing has always been one of her strong points.
• I like the lighting in the “ghost trucker” bit.
• Andrew’s singing voice is pretty good too. I didn’t know he had it in him!
• Melissa gets some laughs from her brief appearance as El Chapo. She didn’t even need to say anything, just the visual of her with a mustache was funny.
• Overall, this sketch was really dumb, but it’s a good kind of dumb.
Cut For Time: Serious Night Live
Jake and Michael Che uncover Kyle Mooney’s problems in a new, dramatic comedy series.
• Che in a sketch? This sounds interesting…
• Kyle: “I don’t need to listen to you, you jealous n****r!” LOL!!!
• I like the credits roll for Kyle’s new show, where most of the roles credit himself, while Gyllenhaal and Che’s names are in very small text.
• Ha, one of the segments listed is “Colin Kicks My Ass”!
• A quick laugh from all the children auditioning for the role of “Young Kyle”, complete with hair and glasses.
• I love the Three Amigos poster we briefly see in Lorne’s office.
• I howled at the brief glimpse of a “de-aged” Kyle saying “Let’s make a video!” in a child’s voice.
• While this wasn’t as funny as some of Kyle’s other backstage films, I still got enough chuckles from it.
Final thoughts: A mostly consistent episode. It started off a little rough, but by the end, we got that great counseling sketch with Punkie and the trucker thing. Jake Gyllenhaal was a really good host, even if this wasn’t as strong as his last episode.
Best sketches: Flowers, Chucky, Couples Counselor, Serious Night Live
Worst sketches: Cold Open, Dream Home Cousins, Cabaret Night, Lights! Camera! Achoo!
Next review: Lizzo
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