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.

• 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

SNL Reviews: Austin Butler/Lizzo (12/17/22)

 Cold Open

Donald Trump announces his collection of NFT trading cards.

• Ugh, ANOTHER Trump cold open!!! Hey, SNL, this guy’s not our President anymore! You don’t have to make every cold open focus on him!

• Anyway, he’s here to talk about his new collection of NFTs, which is apparently a thing the real Trump announced that week.

• None of these NFTs are making me laugh. Except maybe the one where he’s using eye lasers to melt Biden’s ice cream.

• It still feels weird seeing Mikey as Trump Jr. without Alex as Eric, and Cecily is adding nothing to this as Kimberly Guilfoyle (whoever that is).

Monologue

Austin Butler talks about immersing himself in the role of Elvis and how he overcame his shyness.

• I first became aware of Austin Butler when he appeared in an episode of iCarly in 2007. He played a hot guy that Carly fell in love with, who, ironically, is terrible at singing.

• All of the COVID references are funny in hindsight, given how it’s no longer a major concern.

• I love the doctored interview footage of him from ten years ago where he has a pitch-shifted voice.

• He actually mentions his Nickelodeon past here. Too bad they didn’t show any clips, because it would have been funny to see him singing with an awful voice!

• Rather bizarre how there’s no applause when he mentions he grew up watching SNL. In a lot of other monologues where people have said that, they usually get immediate applause.

• I love his Gollum impression!

• I can really identify with his stories about growing up shy, as I am also a very shy person.

• Overall, a nice, sweet monologue. I can already tell I’m going to like Austin as a host.

Sketch: The Phrase That Pays

Contestants try to find the missing letters in word puzzles.

• JAJ gets his first role as a game show host, something I’m surprised he hasn’t done before. Also, I’m fairly certain the name of his character (“Dan Smatter”) is supposed to be a pun of some kind, considering the track record of these game show sketches.

• I liked his response to Heidi interrupting his opening spiel: “Don’t do that. That’s not nice.”

• The live airing of this sketch had a bizarre error where the camera focused on Punkie while Heidi was delivering a line. This error has been fixed for reruns.

• Punkie constantly guessing that the answer contains “mama” is getting old.

• Totally predictable joke where Austin’s statement of confusion turns out to be the right answer.

• I’m not quite sure I understood Heidi’s reference to a chess player having a cheating device in his rear.

• The only thing I liked about this sketch was JAJ’s performance, especially his line at the end about how he knew there was an “X” in the last question, but doesn’t care.

Film: Christmas Epiphany

A drunk workaholic has a change of heart about his family.

• Nice retro black-and-white vibe. Kinda reminds me of a Schiller’s Reel.

• Amazing attention to detail on the audio quality of Mikey and Austin’s voices, sounding as if this is an old reel of film.

• I like the sudden turn this takes when Heidi spots Austin looking into her family’s house. It’s also amusing seeing Andrew wearing a mustache.

• I love Heidi’s odd robotic delivery.

• Great scene where Heidi makes the children look away from the window as Austin’s position makes it appear as if he’s giving Mikey a blowjob.

• Amazing twist at the end with Mikey’s character creepily peering through the window.

• Overall, a great film. This season has been having some really strong pretapes lately.

Sketch: Marzipan

The sweet treat that children crave more than any other during the holiday season.

• Already a bad omen for this sketch when Kenan starts talking in that annoying voice.

• Bowen’s character is extremely irritating. 

• Austin’s glee at being abducted by someone with marzipan was pretty funny.

• I love Longfellow’s Frank Nelson-esque chef.

• Yet another sketch that just ends with everyone dancing. Why is that becoming a theme?

• I didn’t hate this as much as I did when it first aired, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. Would it surprise you at all if I said that Kent Sublette wrote this?

Sketch: Jewish Elvis

Elderly women go crazy for Jewish Elvis.

• This sketch was apparently cut from the season premiere. I guess it made sense to save it for this episode because of the Elvis connection?

• No comment on Austin dressed like an old lady.

• An amazing concept of an Elvis that acts like a stereotypical Jew. Only from the mind of Sarah Sherman would you get an idea like that.

• I absolutely love the line about Austin’s “bagel” having too much cream cheese on it.

• One thing I’m not a fan of are Chloe’s constant reaction moments. Who does she think she is? Mikey Day?

• Second sketch in a row that ends with a song and dance number, although this one actually has, you know, a reason for it.

Musical Performance: “Break Up Twice”

• It’s interesting to note that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were originally booked for this episode, but their guitarist was sick with pneumonia so they had to pull out.

Weekend Update (featuring Krampus, Colin’s Great Aunt Pat, and Cathy Anne)

• Enough with the “seen here” jokes already.

• Bowen makes his first appearance on Update in quite a while. This time, he plays the mythological creature Krampus.

• The makeup on Bowen is pretty good, but the extremely flamboyant portrayal he’s giving Krampus is overdone by this point.

• At least we get a funny blooper where one of his horns starts coming off, and he ad-libs that he must be getting ill.

• Heidi’s decline continues as she debuts a new character: Colin’s “Great Aunt” Pat. This character has an extremely annoying voice and isn’t funny in the slightest. I sense Kent Sublette’s influence.

• Ugh, Cathy Anne is back. At least this is the last time we’ll ever be seeing this character, so I’ll try to be more lenient on her for once.

• You can hear some people in the audience gasp when Cathy Anne says she’s there to say goodbye.

• Kind of fitting how Cathy Anne’s final appearance has the cops chasing her for all of the bad things she’s talked about on Update.

• Nice use of Kate and Aidy in the picture of her cell mates.

• I love how she shows a picture of Cecily and Colin hosting Update together.

• Ballsy joke referring to Judy Garland as a “famous drug addict”.

• I can’t believe I’m saying this, but, that actually wasn’t too bad for a Cathy Anne commentary. You can tell Cecily is going to miss playing this character. She even gives Jost and Che a hug at the end. Awwww….

Sketch: White Elephant

Things don’t go quite as expected during a gift exchange.

• Hey, Devon still exists! And JAJ gets a non-impression role for the second time tonight!

• That ashtray looks so fake.

• Austin’s performance in this is so good! He’s really believable as a sore loser type of person. And, I find that very relatable, as I’ve acted like that sometimes.

• Not a fan of the random Santa ending.

Film: Jennifer Coolidge Is Impressed By Christmas Stuff

The actress browses various Christmas items.

• This sketch was cut from the previous episode.

• Chloe’s impression isn’t as spot on as it was last season. What the hell happened to it?

• I like Longfellow’s reaction when Chloe asks him if he wrote Jingle Bells.

• Punkie has a great disgusted reaction to Chloe comparing egg nog to Santa’s body fluids.

• Not the funniest sketch, but harmless enough.

Musical Performance: “Someday at Christmas”

Please Don’t Destroy: Plirts

The guys try to get Austin Butler to invest in their new company.

• Funny visual of Martin walking in wearing a plastic shirt.

• I love Austin’s reactions to all this nonsense.

• Great to see Devon and Marcello show up too.

• I like the continuity with Lizzo being in a relationship with Martin after her appearance in that short from last season.

• Marcello has a great moment when he shows the side-effects of wearing a plastic hat.

• Great ending where they all pose on the runway with their plastic accessories.

Sketch: Blue Christmas

Cecily’s last day at RadioShack is celebrated with the help of Casual Elvis.

• Oh, man. This is going to be hard for me to watch again…

• Decent subtext with Cecily playing someone who’s leaving RadioShack after many years.

• Is this Molly’s first appearance in the whole episode?!? What’s the deal with that?

• Kenan sounds like he’s trying not to cry.

• Excellent use of Austin’s Elvis impression, with him singing “Blue Christmas”.

• One thing I’m really going to miss about Cecily is her beautiful singing voice. No matter how much she’s annoyed me at times, I’ve always loved her singing.

• Now this is turning into a full cast sketch. Even Colin shows up to sing a few lines!

• Man, Colin’s trying way too hard to hold his tears in.

• Heartwarming moment where they all give Cecily a hug.

• Overall, wow. I don’t know what to say. When my brother and I heard that this would be Cecily’s last show, we were both excited that we’d no longer have to suffer through her burnt-out and lazy performances. But then this sketch came on, and we felt sorry that she was leaving. A beautiful farewell to the longest lasting female cast member, and one that almost makes me feel bad for criticizing her so much in the past.

Cut For Time: Fusion Scientist

A family gushes over their son after he helped with a massive scientific breakthrough

• I have no idea why this is only the second cut sketch we’ve gotten to see this year.

• Marcello is doing such a great job in this sketch as the jealous brother.

• I like the story about Marcello insulting his soccer team by saying that the sport is for “filthy South Americans”.

• And now even more disturbing details are being revealed about Marcello’s character, such as how he interned on porno films.

• Great scene where Marcello tries (and fails) to jump out the window when he finds out he’s adopted.

• A nice slice-of-life sketch. I wish this was in the live show and not that stupid marzipan bullshit.

Final thoughts: A great Christmas episode. Austin Butler made for a great host that was willing to do anything. I’d love to see him come back.

This is also the point where we have to say goodbye to Cecily Strong. What else is there to say about her? Her tenure started out good, had a shaky year in Season 39, but recovered from that and went on to have some good seasons. Then, around Season 45 or so, she started coming off more and more disinterested. This got worse in Season 46 when she missed a few episodes, and when she came back, she was even more out of place than ever. I’m just glad that she got the closure she deserved in this episode. Good luck with your future endeavors, Cecily.

Best sketches: Monologue, Christmas Epiphany, Jewish Elvis, Cathy Anne commentary, Plirts, Blue Christmas

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Marzipan, Great Aunt Pat commentary

Next review: Aubrey Plaza/Sam Smith

SNL Reviews: Steve Martin & Martin Short/Brandi Carlisle (12/10/22)

Cold Open

A group shares how they keep their cool during the holiday season.

• As much as I rag on Cecily for being on the show for too long, I absolutely love her singing. That being said, I’m not sure we need a musical number to open up this episode.

• Despite my misgivings, this song actually isn’t too bad. It’s refreshing to get another non-political cold open. There are some political issues mentioned here, but most of it is about their own personal interests.

• All of the performers here do a great job, but I especially have to congratulate Bowen for his work. His singing voice is really really good!

Monologue

Our hosts talk about their memories on the show and eulogize each other.

• You have no idea how great it is to see these guys host again, something I’ve never been able to experience as a fan before. Both of their last hosting appearances were years before I started watching regularly.

• Amazing montage of every single time Steve has hosted, with clips of his many cameos thrown in for good measure.

• For some reason, Marty’s montage claims that he’s only hosted three times. If we count that one time he hosted with Steve and Chevy, then it should be four. I guess it was just meant to be a joke about how short his montage was compared to Steve’s.

• Amusing photo of Steve with Belushi, Aykroyd, and Mick Jagger.

• Their chemistry is still firmly intact! Just watching these guys work their magic was so mindblowing to me the first time I saw this episode.

• The audience cuts off Marty before he can finish saying the name of their Hulu show. A good sign of how lively tonight’s audience is going to be.

• Marty: “Our show is like Steve at the urinal: it streams for 30 minutes.” Is it wrong for me to admit that I laughed at a wee-wee joke?

• I love the “clip” of them preparing for the show: a brief video of an Asian man getting kicked in the balls.

•  Nice sad music and random dog picture when they start reading their eulogies, which I assume is a reference to those ASPCA commercials. As someone who watches a lot of MeTV, I see those commercials CONSTANTLY.

• The various eulogies they read are all pretty funny. My favorite is the one where Marty calls Steve a “bland, overrated, white-haired son of a bitch”.

• Random appearance from Selena Gomez at the end. Not sure I needed to see her again after how awful her hosting gig was.

• Definitely the best monologue of the season, and the best we’ve had in years. It feels so good to laugh at a monologue again.

Sketch: The Science Room

Josh and Lonnie’s new teachers attempt to teach them about science

• Not this sketch again. Hopefully Steve and Marty can give it a boost.

• I groaned at the beginning where Heidi advertises an upcoming episode of Curious George, in which he “be on that same ol’ bulls**t”.

• Marty accidentally begins singing his chemistry song too early.

• The fact that there are two teachers this time around is definitely helping this a bit.

• Mikey, when asked what he wants for Christmas: “To find out what happened to my brother.” The look on Steve’s face after this is said is great.

• Cecily seems to be a bit more muggy this time. I don’t remember her character being like this in the previous installments. She also has braces now, for some reason.

• Mikey, when asked what begins with “C”: “Um, sí, señor?”

• Cecily and Mikey’s incorrect answers are a lot funnier than usual.

• I’m getting pretty damn tired of them referring to penises as “things”. 

• I love Marty’s freak out after Mikey doesn’t understand how a knock-knock joke works. He goes over to a skeleton in the room and starts strangling it.

• No comment on the one millionth Mario joke this season.

• This was surprisingly better than I thought it would be. The best installment since the original with Sam Rockwell. And best of all, these guys didn’t even have to say the f-word to make it enjoyable.

Please Don’t Destroy: Chelsea

Ben and Martin find themselves in a tough situation when John reunites with his girlfriend.

• Nice to see these guys again.

• Never thought I’d see Sarah in one of these.

• Sarah’s real father plays the father of her character. Despite not being an actor he does a fine job here.

• Who’s the old lady that Steve says is his wife? 

• Amusing appearance from Michael Che.

• Great ending where Sarah’s dad comes to the office and is about to kill Martin Herlihy when it freezes on the caption, “Starring Sarah Sherman’s Real Dad”.

Sketch: The Holiday Train

A group of people on a train get really excited to see snow for the first time.

• This is a variation of a sketch from Amy Adams’ Season 40 episode.

• Why are they all bouncing? Are they in a bouncy house?

• Marty seems a little too glued to the cue cards here. He should be saying his lines to Kenan but he’s looking in the complete opposite direction of where he is.

• Oh no, now they start singing! Yep, this is an Anderlette sketch!

• Kenan randomly started giggling in the middle of his line just now. What is happening to him lately?

• Random ending where Kenan finds himself surrounded by bears. This is a ripoff of that other sketch I mentioned earlier, except in that one, they were raccoons.

• Apparently, two of the bears were played by writers Alex English and Jimmy Fowlie.

Sketch: A Visit With Santa

Things get heated between Santa and his elf when kids come to visit.

• Marty’s “elf” voice is hilarious. 

• Unfortunately, we also have Chloe in this doing one of her many high-pitched voices. At least it fits into this sketch because she’s playing a child.

• Oh, hey, Andrew still exists. This is the second episode in a row where he only makes one appearance.

• It feels so weird seeing Ego play a child. Has she ever done this before?

• This sketch is extremely repetitive and broad. I sense Sublette again.

Film: A Christmas Carol

Things take a dark turn for Scrooge.

• Ohohoho, I’ve been waiting to see this sketch again.

• To start with, Marty is absolutely perfect as Scrooge.

• I honestly thought Sarah was Melissa Villaseñor at first, given her love of playing young boys.

• And there goes the hilarious twist of the coin landing in Sarah’s eye. The first time I saw this, I couldn’t stop laughing.

• Mikey’s quest to perfect a British accent continues. He still hasn’t got it.

• I absolutely love Steve as one of the ghosts.

• Molly makes their customary single appearance of the night as a background character.

• Marcello’s British accent is so bad that it’s hilarious. Then he gets impaled by an icicle and it’s even more hilarious.

• Nice twist where Scrooge tries to avoid another disaster by dropping a coin on the ground for Tiny Tim to pick up, only for it to ricochet and end up knocking him into a manhole.

• Absolutely amazing scene of Mikey getting his head kicked off by a horse!

• The ONLY thing about this sketch that I hate is that stupid ending where this turns out to be an ad for Apple Pay. Why do they keep doing these cliche endings??

Musical Performance: “The Story”

Weekend Update (featuring Mary Ann Louise Fischer, and Deb & Kurt)

• I’m getting sick of the “seen here” jokes.

• Hopefully the fact that Herschel Walker lost means that we won’t have to hear about him again, or worse, suffer through Kenan’s awful “impression”.

• Ego debuts a new character. 

• I like how she claims she’s responsible for the messy state of every Ross Dress For Less store.

• No offense to Ego, but I just wasn’t feeling this commentary. This season has been pretty hit-or-miss for her.

• Now we get a bizarre pair of new characters from Chloe and Mikey. Chloe’s doing her “deer in headlights” stare yet again.

• Their hick voices make me think that either Sublette or Jimmy Fowlie were behind this.

• Man, Chloe’s character is so annoying, launching into all of those usual Chloe impressions that we’re sick of by now.

• I’m glad Colin finds this so amusing, because I sure as hell don’t!

• Mikey fails at yet ANOTHER British accent, this time as Stewie Griffin (don’t ask). Unlike many of his other attempts, this one isn’t even “so bad, it’s good.” It’s just “so bad, it’s bad”.

Sketch: How To Talk To Your Man

Talk show host Minky Carmichael doles out relationship advice to his audience.

• This was originally written for the Willem Dafoe episode.

• Ugh at Heidi’s awful voice. Also, her name is “Jen Fonger-Bhang”? Gee, I WONDER who wrote this?!!??

• At lease Marty can still do those Ed Grimley dance moves pretty well. Speaking of which, where is Ed Grimley in this episode? Can he not do the role anymore because of age?

• Sarah has been all over these last few episodes! Why the hell has she not been promoted yet?

• Kudos to Marty for pulling them off, but the constant dance breaks are irritating. These dance breaks are another thing that makes me think this sketch is a creation of Kent Sublette.

• One good Marty line: “Girl, the only VCR I care about is a Very Cool Rack!”

• Overall, this sketch was a waste of time. Not even Martin fucking Short can save it.

Musical Performance: “You and Me on the Rock”

Sketch: Father of the Bride Part VIII

The eighth installment of the movie series. 

• I’ve never seen these movies, but I’ll try to keep an open mind.

• I got a laugh right away from Steve mouthing “What the fuck?” after learning that his daughter is engaged.

• Chloe’s Diane Keaton is okay.

• I don’t think I’ve ever heard Bowen do that particular voice before.

• The audience goes nuts when Marty starts talking in gibberish. So did I!

• I love the announcer saying that he thinks Marty’s character’s accent is still okay to do.

• Random Kieran Culkin appearance. At least this cameo was welcome, given how much I loved him as a host last year. Apparently, he was supposed to host again later this season, but the writer’s strike cancelled those plans.

• Announcer: “Did you forget Kieran Culkin was in this movie? So did we, and so did he!”

• Another Selena Gomez appearance, except this one is even more pointless because she doesn’t appear in any of these movies.

• Despite having never seen Father of the Bride, I got a lot of laughs from this. It helps that it was kept short and sweet.

Final thoughts: Wow, this was an extremely bipolar episode. On one hand, we got some really great sketches and the return of two iconic hosts. On the other hand, there were quite a few weak sketches (mostly written by Kent Sublette). But, for the most part, I would have to call this a strong episode.

Best sketches: Monologue, The Science Room, Chelsea, A Christmas Carol, Father of the Bride VIII

Worst sketches: The Holiday Train, A Visit With Santa, How To Talk To Your Man

Next review: Austin Butler/Lizzo. We also bid farewell to Cecily Strong.

SNL Reviews: Keke Palmer/SZA (12/2/22)

 Cold Open

Herschel Walker prepares for the Georgia Senate runoff.

• Ugh, Kenan’s baffling Herschel Walker is back. Thankfully, this is his last appearance so far.

• The first words that came out of his mouth (“Well, hello, Mitch McDonalds”) made me die inside. What the fuck is happening to Kenan this season?

• I wouldn’t have known who Cecily and Mikey were supposed to be if McConnell didn’t explain it to us. I say that because I’m sure Cecily and Mikey look nothing like the people they are purportedly trying to play here.

• Speaking of Cecily, her voice is extremely annoying. I’ve lost count of how many sketches she’s used that same Southern accent in, most of which I’m sure were written by the two usual suspects.

• JAJ’s McConnell impression has improved a little from his appearance in the season premiere. Not quite there yet, but it’s close.

• Ugh at the “Planned Parent Trap” line.

• This cold open is pure torture. How many of these do I have left before Cecily leaves??

Monologue

Keke Palmer talks about her 20 year career as an actress, and addresses rumors about her pregnancy.

• Man, it feels so surreal seeing her on this show. I still remember watching her as a little girl on Nickelodeon.

• HUGE applause when she says she was in a Jordan Peele movie.

• I like her story about getting yelled at by Lawrence Fishburne.

• The most famous part of this monologue is when she reveals her pregnancy at the end. A nice, unexpected way to conclude this. Have you ever seen anyone reveal their pregnancy on SNL before? Neither have I.

Sketch: Forceington’s Ridge

A dramatic 1984 episode of Forceington’s Ridge has a hard time keeping the stunt doubles out of shot.

• James Anderson makes his “triumphant” return to SNL with this soap opera parody, a type of sketch that he and Sublette absolutely love writing, despite the fact that all of their attempts at it suck major balls.

• An initial groan at the way Cecily is dressed here. Odd, specific hairstyles are a common trait in Anderlette sketches.

• Keke’s character is named “Sandrine St. Cassette Tape”? Ugh, Anderson wasted no time in going back to his old shtick.

• This sketch is doing absolutely nothing for me. It reminds me of that “Sands of Modesto” sketch from Season 45, another James Anderson “masterpiece”.

• The only thing I got a laugh from was the stunt doubles giving the camera a thumbs up at the end.

Film: Big Boys

A group of women sing a song about cuffing season.

• The set design here is amazing.

• Any idea who the actors playing the “big boys” are? SNL Archives doesn’t say.

• Amusing split-second flash frame of Garfield when Punkie talks about lasagna.

• This song is kinda catchy and well performed, and the ladies are giving it their all.

• I love the brief interruption with Devon and Ego in bed.

• Another scene I really like is Keke cutting off Punkie to ask why she’s singing about boys if she’s a lesbian. Punkie responds that she does like girls, but they can’t keep her warm.

• Too bad Kenan had to ruin things at the end with his unnecessary scene. But, for the most part, I really enjoyed this.

Sketch: United Tingz of Aubrey

A PSA for ex-girlfriends of the rapper Drake.

• The setting of this commercial (a crowd in a blank, empty room) reminds me of the infamous International Ladies’ Garment Worker’s Union commercial that aired during the Star Wars Holiday Special.

• Funny opening line from Ego: “Are you a woman? Have you ever dated the rapper Drake?” The audience goes nuts after hearing this.

• I’m not sure if the camera was just supposed to be focused on Ego while Punkie was talking. Ego apparently noticed this too, because she has trouble keeping a straight face before delivering her next line.

• Punkie: “I told him I was a lesbian, and he said, ‘Me too!’”

• This is such an unusual concept for a sketch, and I’m not quite sure I get it, but the cast is making it work.

• Funny story from Sarah about how Drake sent her a GIF of Bobby Hill once.

• Great musical number at the end, complete with all the ladies holding up Drake pictures and waving them around.

Sketch: Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty store managers try to train new employees.

• Wow, Molly with a lead role!

• Why does Bowen’s character have a pedo ‘stache?

• None of the blatantly false facts that Molly and Cecily are reading off are making me laugh. 

• Did Sanrio pay SNL to feature their products in this sketch or something? They name drop the company several times, and the set is full of Sanrio merchandise (not just Hello Kitty). My sister tells me that Keke had a song about Hello Kitty a while ago, so that might have something to do with it.

• No comment on all the talk about “clapping cheeks”. Who is this aimed at??

• I have no idea what the “patriotic” New York ending is all about. 

• JAJ must be really proud to have his only role in this sketch be “Silent Construction Worker Man”.

• Extremely random cameo from Natasha Lyonne at the end. Thankfully, her voice isn’t nearly as raspy as it was when she hosted.

Film: Kenan & Kelly

Keke wants Kenan to appear in a revival of Kenan & Kel.

• Keke and Kenan’s chemistry in this is so sweet. You can tell how honored she is to be working with her idol.

• The sudden reenactment of the Kenan & Kel theme song was a nice surprise.

• Who is that singing the theme song?

• Keke’s doing a great job in the Kel role, especially the cheesy one-liners.

• Great reaction face from Kenan when Keke reveals that she’s pregnant with his child.

• Keke: “Uh-oh! Here come the bus!!!”

• Devon’s Kel impression is dead on!

• Speaking of Kel, he shows up in this sketch too! Seeing him and Kenan together again brings back so many childhood memories.

• It’s also great to see that Kel still has that love of orange soda!

• I absolutely love Kel’s “death” scene. 

• While this was more cute than funny, it was a nice blast from the past for me. They should do more sketches based on Kenan’s Nickelodeon days, if you ask me. Speaking of Kenan, this is a rare example of a Season 48 sketch where he isn’t out of place and annoying!

Sketch: Arby’s

A new deal at Arby’s has customers questioning everything.

• Ugh, I can tell I’m gonna hate this sketch. What is the deal with the product placement on the show lately?

• A typical “Mikey Reacts” role for Mikey.

• The constant voiceovers from Kenan as Ving Rhames are annoying me. Further proof of how far downhill Kenan has gone this season.

Musical Performance: “Shirt”

Weekend Update (featuring Trish Dale and Michael Longfellow)

• I like the edited photo of Pete Buttigieg at Gatorland without a shirt on. Other than that, the first part of this Update is a snooze.

• Third episode in a row with Che making a child labor joke. The first two were funny, but now it’s starting to get a little stale, especially when he can’t deliver the punchline of this one without giggling.

• Longfellow makes his second appearance at the desk to talk about being the child of divorced parents during the holidays.

• I liked his “Don’t call me Shirley” reference, and him claiming that it’s from Snakes on a Plane.

• This was okay, but it didn’t hold a candle to the commentary he did in the season premiere.

• Now, Sarah makes her first appearance at the desk as a character, and not as herself. I guess they figured out that her insulting Colin shtick was getting old. This time, she plays the president of the Peppa Pig Fan Club, who’s here to talk about gay characters joining the cast.

• Sarah’s overreactions to the gay characters aren’t as funny as I was hoping they would be. She just keeps relying on the same joke about them having sex with each other.

• If this is the kind of material we get from her on Update when she’s not playing herself, then I think she should stick to insulting Colin. Overall, a rare miss for Sarah.

Sketch: Ultrasound

An expectant mother’s ultrasound shows unusual images of her babies.

• Man, has Cecily been in EVERY sketch in this episode?

• We see the ultrasound image, and this sketch suddenly turns into a variation of that baby monitor sketch from the Selena Gomez episode. I’m sure they’re supposed to be different babies, but there’re still played by Sarah and Bowen, so are we to assume that they suddenly went back inside the womb? Boy, I sure hope someone got fired for that blunder.

• No comment on the scene where they start smoking, and the smoke comes out of Keke’s vagina.

• Extremely bizarre twist where the babies somehow order a Filet-O-Fish on a phone. This leads to a disturbing scene where one of the babies reaches out of Keke’s vagina and grabs it. Yes, that is a sentence I just typed.

• What is the deal with the ending where they suddenly show up in Cecily’s womb?

• This sketch was awful. The reason that the baby monitor one worked for the most part was because it didn’t have stupid impossible shit like that ending. But now, I guess we’re just supposed to accept these things. Stay tuned for a future installment where the babies are inside of a MAN!

Sketch: Choir Practice

Things get intense when a new girl joins the choir.

• Cecily in yet another sketch! Meanwhile, Mikey has barely been in it at all.

• At least Molly gets a second lead role in this episode. And they get to sing!

• A huge groan from the name of this school being “Christ Wound High”.

• Great singing by Keke! The audience agrees, as they go wild once she starts singing.

• This sketch was more based on performance than laughs, but it was still okay for what it was.

Musical Performance: “Blind”

Sketch: Hawaii Flight

Two flight attendants get rowdy.

• This era has a lot of sketches featuring WACKY flight attendants for some reason. It reminds me of that one from Saiorse Ronan’s episode with the cartoony Irish stereotypes. I only hope that there’s no Hawaiian stereotypes in this one.

• Who’s the black dude sitting next to Mikey?

• Keke and Ego are trying their best, but they can’t save this repetitive “Let’s explain the jokes so our audience can understand everything” sketch. Unsurprisingly, Streeter Seidell is credited as a writer.

Final thoughts: A mixed episode as a whole. Keke Palmer was a great host, though. Kudos to her for doing this show while pregnant.

Best sketches: Big Boys, United Tingz of Aubrey, Kenan & Kelly

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Forceington’s Ridge, Hello Kitty, Arby’s, Ultrasound

Next review: Steve Martin & Martin Short/Brandi Carlile. Now here’s an episode I’m excited to be reviewing!!!