Today’s Retro Decimator Quote is…
“Kyle: “I don’t need to listen to you, you jealous n****r!” LOL!!!” (from Jake Gyllenhaal/Camilla Cabello)
Cold Open
Kamala gets a pep talk from…ugh…herself.
• *groan* More annoying Maya shenanigans. At least this is the last time we’ll be seeing her Godawful Kamala impression…I hope!
• Did Trump just make a “grab ‘em by the pussy” joke? What year is this?? I know he says “Remember that?”, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is an old-ass reference.
• The audience doesn’t respond to Jim Gaffigan and Andy Samberg making another cameo. I guess even they’re tired of the constant member berries.
• That stupid fucking laugh Maya does gets more annoying every time I hear it.
• You have no idea how tired I am of seeing Dana Carvey and his dopey mugging face at this point. I was about to say that this is his final appearance as Biden, but then I remembered he has one more a couple episodes from now.
• Then…something horrible happens. Something I can’t believe they would even have the gall to do. Maya looks in a mirror and sees…the real Kamala Harris. To quote my reaction when this first aired, WHAT THE FUCK?!??
• The audience, unsurprisingly, goes nuts for this horrible attempt at affecting the votes. They’re so loud that you can’t even hear the real Kamala’s first line of dialogue.
• Is this even a comedy show anymore? Why am I watching Kamala Harris give a motivational speech to her impersonator? This is a fine example of clapter at its worst.
• On the plus side, this thankfully ended up backfiring on SNL, because she went on to lose, and we never have to see Maya’s stupid impression again!!!!
• Overall, definitely the low point of these horrible election sketches. Satire is fucking dead, and it was killed by liberals and the Fun Police.
Monologue
Mulaney does standup about his family.
• What is this hairstyle supposed to be?
• Apart from that, he looks a lot better than he has in quite a while.
• I suppose it’s kind of heartwarming hearing him do standup about his family, but I’m not exactly laughing.
• It seems like every monologue of his gets progressively blander.
Sketch: What’s That Name?
A special Political Edition!!!
• Ooh, What’s That Name? is back? C’mon out, Bill Hader!!!
• *sees Michael Longfellow come out as the host* What the Hell is this??? You’re not Bill Hader!!!! They really couldn’t have asked him to come back? I’ve heard several other fans say that Bill might be done with SNL for good, and I used to laugh at those suggestions. But, given that he hasn’t appeared since that Hal Willner tribute in Season 45, I’m starting to see what they’re talking about. This sketch just confirmed it for me.
• Despite my apprehension, I am happy to see Longfellow with a lead role. He deserves it. And, hey, at least it’s better than seeing Kenan in this role for the millionth time.
• Not sure if a Political Edition is the best way to go.
• More Democrat dick-sucking when they have Doug Emhoff as the first question, and they say that he’s definitely going to become the first “First Gentleman”.
• I laughed at Mulaney’s cheesy “Resistance” type quote about heroes not wearing capes.
• Mulaney suddenly going into a speech about how important this election is kinda rubs me the wrong way. I’m sure you could excuse it by saying it’s just part of his character, but the applause that follows his speech makes me think otherwise.
• Random appearance from Tim Kaine. Who? You know, the guy who was going to be Hillary’s Vice President? What’s that? You don’t remember him? Yeah, I forgot all about him, too.
• Unique detail of Mulaney’s profile picture being from the last installment of this sketch.
• I laughed at his inaccurate guess of “Tamika Nawlins” being one of twelve black people he tweeted the names of.
• Bizarre twist where Sarah’s character is revealed to be the author of A Handmaid’s Tale.
• Overall, this is probably the worst installment of this sketch. I still got some laughs, but the whole political slant didn’t work for me.
Midnight Matinee: Beppo
Beppo the astronaut chimp has trouble during a mission.
• Another “Midnight Matinee” film? Let’s see where this goes…
• JAJ’s first appearance since the cold open. Why do they keep sidelining him???
• When I first saw this, I thought that “Beppo” was a real chimp, but I recently saw a picture of Sarah posing with him that showed he was actually a puppet.
• Apparently that’s James doing Beppo’s computer voice, which further proves how talented he is. Why SNL doesn’t seem to understand that, I don’t know.
• Mulaney: “Beppo no go home. Beppo die.”
• I’m actually getting tears in my eyes. That Dan Bulla is a genius, I tell you.
• The audience going “Awww” when it looks like Beppo won’t make it home is really charming.
• Funny random reveal that Beppo is actually a Communist.
• Heartwarming ending where he makes it back home. Awwww….
• We get the same “A Film by Dan Bulla” card at the end, except the shrimp has been replaced by one of those singing pillows from “My Best Friend’s House”.
• Another great Dan Bulla short. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. Unfortunately, as of this writing, we haven’t had another one of these Midnight Matinee shorts make it on the air.
Sketch: Port Authority Duane Reade
A man learns why you shouldn’t buy organic milk from Duane Reade.
• UGGGGHHHHHH!!!!! Guess what time it is!!! Another one of those overrated, Godawful Mulaney Musical sketches!
• Because of that, we get an unwelcome cameo from Pete Davidson. I don’t know why, considering he was replaced by Andrew the last time they did this, so they could have just chosen someone else to replace him here. But SNL just looooooves their cameos!
• Something about Kenan and Ego’s possum costumes looks really cheap, like a fourth grader made them for art class. Compare it to Kenan’s costume from the original Lobster version, and it’s like night and day.
• Another thing I’ve noticed about the various installments of these is just how long they’ve gotten. Diner Lobster was only about five and a half minutes, but this Duane Reade version is EIGHT and a half minutes. It also doesn’t help that they’ve devolved into a confusing mishmash of parodies from many different musicals, while the original kept its focus on Les Miserables. Wow, I can’t believe I’m actually singing the praises of Diner Lobster, a sketch that I also really hate. But at least that one had actual focus!
• Here, we have “parodies” of songs from The Lion King, The Sound of Music, Wonka, and some others I don’t know, because I’m not a theater kid.
• Wow, the part where Mulaney slaps Andrew is so sloppy. His hand comes nowhere near him!
• Bowen’s voice in this sketch is so horrible.
• Chloe’s shitty impression of Timothee Chalamet returns for no reason.
• Another pointless appearance from Samberg, this time as a rapping bear.
• A lot of fans were also upset that Chappell Roan wasn’t included here, as she would have fit in well. I, on the other hand, couldn’t care less, as this would have sucked even with her involvement.
• Definitely the worst of these musical sketches. Their novelty has worn off by now, so it would probably be a good idea to stop doing them.
Musical Performance: “Pink Pony Club”
Weekend Update (featuring Reba MacEntire and The Couple You Can’t Believe Are Together)
• Still doing “seen here” jokes.
• Let’s see…Trump clips, reacting to Trump clips, jokes calling Trump a rapist, masturbation jokes, all of the usual Jost/Che “hits” are here!
• Heidi has a commentary as Reba MacEntire. It’s just her usual Southern accent but with a ridiculous wig.
• She’s going heavy on the mugging, but she is playing Reba, so that’s to be expected.
• I laughed at the Armie Hammer joke.
• Wise move from Che to skip the story about the Dodgers’ World Series win.
• Che’s lame “Pop-sicle” joke was funny.
• Che being the image of a “cheating man” was the best part of this Update.
• Marcello and Jane Wickline are here as “The Couple You Can’t Believe Are Together”. Ugh, with a title like that, I’m sure it’s gonna suck.
• Unsurprisingly, Marcello is going full ham here, screaming every single one of his words. Jane is doing better and has funnier dialogue.
• Marcello mentioning Steven Universe is something I never wanted to happen on this show.
Sketch: Family Bonds
An old sitcom starring Little Richard.
• Oh, FUCK YOU, SNL!!!! How dare you try to make a sequel to the amazing Switcheroo sketch from Mulaney’s first episode!!! That’s right, Jay Paultodd is back, and this time…he’s not portrayed as a crazy person who needs to be locked up.
• Making things worse is the presence of Bowen as the interviewer. Cecily was so perfect in this role in the original sketch, and this is just a huge downgrade.
• The bit about showing a brutal car crash in the very first episode is the only thing that would fit in well with the original sketch.
• It’s a shame, because there are moments in here that could work if this wasn’t a lame retread. I genuinely like the bad sitcom acting from Heidi, Mikey, and Marcello,
• Then this sketch gets hijacked by Kenan doing his ancient mugging shtick as Little Richard. This doesn’t even feel like a sequel to Switcheroo anymore.
• Bowen: “You don’t have to have a guest star in every episode.” Someone should tell that to SNL!!!
• Just like I feared, this was a sorry follow up to one of my favorite sketches of all time.
Musical Performance: “The Giver”
Fake Ad: Harvey Epstein For City Council
Harvey Epstein tries to distance himself from the other Harvey and the other Epstein.
• Ah, now here’s something I was actually looking forward to seeing again!
• After I first saw this episode, I eventually found out that this is a real person. Hard to believe, but it’s true!
• The various clips of Epstein’s name inconveniencing him are all hilarious.
• “Tell ‘em Harvey Epstein gave you something good to eat!”
• Great line from Andrew about how even Hillary couldn’t kill him.
• There’s so many good lines here that I don’t know which ones to choose, but I think my favorite one of all is the very end, when Heidi’s voiceover tells us that together, we can turn Manhattan into “Epstein’s Island”!
• As it turns out, the real Harvey Epstein is a big SNL fan, and he loved this sketch!
Note: Nice tribute in memory of Teri Garr, who passed away the week of this episode.
Final thoughts: Well, it had to happen sooner or later. Our very first weak Mulaney episode. Half of the sketches were shitty rewrites of past Mulaney material, and don’t even get me started on that awful cameo from Kamala Harris at the beginning. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that all of the sketches I liked here are ones that weren’t retreads.
Best sketches: Beppo, Harvey Epstein
Worst sketches: Cold Open, Port Authority Duane Reade, Family Bonds
Next review: Bill Burr/Mk.gee
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