Today’s Retro Decimator Quote is…
“Well, here we are, folks. The final (vocal) appearance of Alec Baldwin as Trump…and it’s just one line about him wanting a hamburger. Get it?!?? He’s fat!!!!” (From Dave Chappelle/Foo Fighters, Season 46)
Why did I choose that particular quote? Well…
Cold Open: The Kamala Interview
Fox News interviews Kamala, and constantly interrupts her.
• UGGGGHHHHH!!!! An unwelcome return from Alec fucking Baldwin. Now do you see why I had that retro quote up there?
• Anyway, in this one, he’s playing some Fox News guy named Brett Baier who I’ve never heard of. Just as long as he’s not Trumpwin again, then I’m okay with it.
• Unfortunately, Maya is back yet again. Is she living under the stage or something? Nobody wants you here, Maya! Just go away!!!
• As expected, Baldwin’s performance is just horrible. He’s coming off a little…rusty, if you see what I did there…
• Ugh, more cringey social media shit with Kamala. Aaaand it’s making fun of something she did several months ago. Typical SNL!
• Seeing JAJ’s excellent Trump impression in the same sketch as Alec Baldwin makes you realize just how bad Trumpwin was.
• I did get a bit of a chuckle from Trump dancing to the Village People, even if it is just a lame reenactment of something that he did in real life. But that’s SNL’s idea of satire these days: just have him do something he already did in real life, and that’ll be good enough!!!
• I am beyond sick of Maya saying “J’Biden”. It was never funny, and it never will be funny.
• Speaking of Biden, Dana Carvey is still playing him. What “wacky” shenanigans is he up to now? He’s talking about…the new Joker movie. You see, the joke is that he’s old and doesn’t know what he’s talking about!
• We haven’t had a single good cold open this entire season. Would you believe that the next one is even worse???
Monologue
Mikey and Andy Samberg celebrate our host’s career.
• Nice to hear him give a shout out to his early days working with Mr. Rogers.
• Dead on Beetlejuice impression from Mikey.
• Andy Samberg again??!!?? Is he also hiding under the stage or something?
• I never expected Sarah of all people to have such a good impression of him as well.
Sketch: ShopTV
“The Cookie Guy” shows off his new cookies that bear a strong resemblance to private parts.
• Not this shit again.
• Pretty amusing sight of camera operator Paul Cangialosi dressed as a Minion.
• *sigh* It’s the same old routine with this sketch. Someone comes on and shows off their latest treat, which happens to look like someone’s dick or whatever. Oh, but this time, they switch it up a bit. Now they look like boobs!!!! So progressive!!!
• After this episode aired, I was browsing Twitter and I noticed a viral post featuring cookies that looked almost exactly like the ones in this sketch. That’s right! SNL is once again trying to poorly cash in on a popular Internet trend!
Please Don’t Destroy: Skydiving
Chaos occurs as the boys go skydiving for the first time.
• Surprisingly the first appearance of these guys all season. Up until now, we were all assuming that they were gone for good.
• Nice change of setting.
• Big role for Emil Wakim as the pilot. He has another big showcase coming up later.
• Keaton’s character is so bizarre and unlike anything else in one of these shorts.
• I love the goofy selfie Ben takes of himself, complete with his grandfather’s ghost randomly appearing in the background.
• Amazing gory ending where John and Ben get cut in half by the plane’s rear wing.
Sketch: Forbidden Romance
A man makes a black family increasingly uncomfortable by singing “Hey, Soul Sister”.
• “Detroit, Michigan 1955”? How long is it gonna take for them to drop that premise?
• Aaaaaaaand now we get a random performance of that shitty Train song “Hey, Soul Sister”.
• I feel really old now. I remember when this was still a new and relevant song.
• The joke of this sketch doesn’t quite make sense to me. Are they trying to imply that this song is racist? Last I checked, people hate this song because it sucks, not because of any possible “racism”.
Film: TikTok
More unfunny TikTok shenanigans.
• Ugh, we’re doing this again? Thankfully, this will probably be the last time they ever do it if the TikTok ban goes through.
• That Domingo song from last episode can be heard during a video of Emil dancing with a cat. I guess they’re making light of how popular this song became on TikTok?
• Devon has a pretty good performance as some preacher.
• UGGHHHHHH!!! Another unwelcome appearance from Maya as Kamala during one scene where some really gay guy (played by Bowen, naturally) is singing to her.
• A genuine laugh from Marcello’s scene with all the fireworks going off.
• JAJ’s Trump also makes an appearance here.
• Now we have TWO Kamala appearances?!??? PLEASE GO AWAY!!!!!!!
Musical Performance: “Birds Of A Feather”
Weekend Update (featuring Emil Wakim and Sarah Sherman)
• Once again, the Trump clips are funnier than the actual “jokes” about them.
• Che follows a horrible anti-Catholic joke by saying “It’s the 90’s!” once again. Why does he keep doing that?
• Ah, now we get a commentary from Emil Wakim.
• So he’s an Arab Christian? I thought Danny Thomas was the only one!
• Unfortunately, he goes on to talk about how his father is a Republican, and therefore, a racist. He also tries to say that the Middle East was normal before America started bombing them, which is just fucking stupid.
• Again with the 90’s??? That’s twice in one episode!
• As tired as I am of the jokes about Colin secretly being racist, I did laugh at the one about the Klansmen looking candles having his face.
• Another funny joke about a man with the penises getting surgery to add a third hand.
• For the first time in forever, Sarah does a commentary as herself.
• Not much to say about this one, but it is refreshing not to see Sarah wearing some stupid costume. This is more along the lines of her commentaries from her first season that I loved so much. It also helps that she’s not entirely focused on the Jost Roasting for once.
Sketch: Think About It
An Uber ride turns into a conspiracy-themed game show.
• Ego in drag yet again. I hate how this has become a trend.
• Was Ego’s introduction to the game show (“Live from this Chevy Malibu, it’s Think About It!”) supposed to be a meta-reference?
• I sure love how Bowen and Sarah are explaining everything to us!
• This “Jiggylane Maxwell” running gag is so hacky.
• Keaton’s character is kind of amusing. I’m just looking for something to like here!
• It would have been funny if the sketch ended with them all driving off a cliff.
Musical Performance: “Wildflower”
Sketch: Horror Choreographer
A flamboyant actor keeps screwing up his takes.
• They showed a preview of this sketch during that night’s college football game. I can’t remember if SNL has ever done this before.
• I love seeing Andrew get a big role!
• The look of Keaton’s character has me extremely worried.
• Yeah, this was pretty much the same joke over and over. Unsurprisingly, Jimmy Fowlie was one of the writers.
Sketch: Tableside
A restaurant patron confuses his server with a woman from his past.
• I believe this same Mexican restaurant set was also used in the Jessica Chastain episode, albeit heavily repainted.
• Heidi’s character says she would’ve been two years old in 1987, which isn’t too far off. In real life, she would have been four.
• Ashley Padilla is almost unrecognizable as the wife character.
• I’m finding this to have some charm to it that a lot of sketches are missing these days. Also, I really love the sappy synth music that plays whenever Keaton and Heidi’s characters go into their dramatic monologues.
• Nice angry outburst from Heidi at the end.
Cut for Time: Two Guys Dressed as Doctors
In this cut Update commentary, two random guys offer up some Halloween costume suggestions.
• Unusual pairing of Marcello and Michael Longfellow. Despite joining the show in the same season, that’s surprisingly rare.
• Nice bit with them being confused for the Menendez brothers.
• Okay, the Menendez talk is going on a little too long.
• I like the part with the Saturday Night Fever costume being called “Guy On His Way To A Diddy White Party”.
• Great with the E.T. costume being referred to as “Kamala’s Border Policy”.
• While this was pretty funny, I can see why it was cut.
Final thoughts: A huge downgrade from the last episode. While Michael Keaton was his usual professional self, the writing had a very “been there, done that” feeling. Believe it or not, we still haven’t seen the worst of this season yet.
Best sketches: Skydiving, Tableside, Sarah’s commentary
Worst sketches: The Kamala Interview, ShopTV, TikTok, Horror Choreographer
Next review: John Mulaney/Chappell Roan
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