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
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