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!!!
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