Today’s Retro Decimator Quote is…
“I laughed at the part with Maya seeing a ghostly image of Sum41 on the musical guest stage and saying, ‘Now that’s when music was music’” (from Maya Rudolph/Jack Harlow, 2021)
Cold Open: Trump Tariffs
Trump addresses his tariffs and their impact on the stock market.
• Ugh, a crawl of text to start things off. I can tell I’m gonna hate this…
• I hate that I laughed at Trump’s line about how “tariff” is short for “tariffic idea”.
• Ha ha, Trump just made a joke about Severance! It’s funny because he wouldn’t have any reason to know what that is!
• The joke with the Cheesecake Factory menu was just awful. Get it? He’s fat!!!!
• I have no idea who Andrew’s supposed to be, but the fact that he is bald is more amusing than the intended “comedy” here.
• More fat jokes?!!?? Come up with some new material!!!
• Speaking of a lack of new material, Mike Myers is back as Elon yet again. Thankfully, this is his last appearance so far, but that doesn’t stop Myers from making a pointless cameo in the finale.
• Ugh, how many more of these do I have to watch? *checks notes* Only four? Whew! I’m in the homestretch!
Monologue
Jack Black performs a song about returning to the show after 20 years.
• Let’s address the elephant in the room first. A day after this episode aired, I went to go see the new Minecraft movie with Jack in it. I thought he did a perfectly okay job, but the movie itself was one of the most miserable experiences I’ve ever had in a theater. The audience was severely rowdy and annoying, constantly applauding whenever someone mentioned something from the game.
• Anyway, that whole experience kind of clouds my memory of this episode, so let’s put all of that aside and focus on SNL.
Sketch: Love Match
A game show contestant bears a strong resemblance to Indiana Jones.
• Great to see Dismukes as a game show host again! I think the last one he did was that awful “momhole” sketch with Zöe Kravitz.
• JAJ’s character is hilarious, as is his lame pun on his name.
• Marcello: “Hey. I’m Dan, and daaayun, girl! Let’s do this!”
• I knew I was gonna like this sketch as soon as Jack’s chair turned around to reveal him in a shitty Indiana Jones costume.
• Jack’s mic doesn’t seem to be properly applied, as he sounds a lot quieter than the other performers.
• Jack’s lack of knowledge of Indiana Jones is really funny. I like how he asks if it’s a clothing brand.
• Special mention goes to Andrew in what might be one of his best performances ever.
• Great moment when Jack accidentally reveals he knows who Indiana Jones is.
• Andrew, describing Marcello and JAJ: “Okay, you look like a twelve year old, and you look like Jane Lynch.”
• I liked the twist at the end with Bowen dressed as a Jack Sparrow lookalike.
Fake Ad: Flamin’ Hot Preparation H
A Cheetos ad randomly turns into an ad for Preparation H.
• I find it odd that this is the second different sketch I’ve reviewed with Cheetos product placement.
• Who are all of these random extras in the ad? I find it kind of funny how there are no cast members in this (except for Andrew doing the voice of Chester Cheetah).
• I’ll be honest, while this is indeed a well-produced fake ad, I didn’t exactly find it as funny as a lot of other people did.
Sketch: One Uppers
Restaurant patrons continually one up each other.
• I agree with the person in the comments who says they get nervous every time Ego is at a table in a sketch. Thankfully, this isn’t a Lisa from Temecula reprisal. I think they gave up on those after the last one flopped.
• Andrew has been all over this episode so far!
• I love the random hawk screeching noise whenever the camera zooms in on Jack.
• You can see Bowen enter the sketch before he’s supposed to.
• Okay, the hawk sounds are starting to get old.
• Bowen has been surprising me a lot lately. His performance in this sketch is honestly not bad. I’m sure he’ll find other ways to annoy me, though.
• Nice switch up with the various sounds being used for Ego, including a snippet of “Down With The Sickness”.
• Jack: “But I don’t go to the beach, I only go to black-owned pools.”
• Even the fart joke amused me.
• I like the random twist at the end where it’s revealed that the bird sounds were coming from Heidi’s pet eagle.
Sketch: The First Play
A look back at the very first play.
• Another text crawl? Jeez, at least try to come up with a better way to introduce each sketch!
• Yet another appearance from Andrew!
• I got a chuckle when Jack cheerfully waves to Emil when he comes out on stage. Speaking of Emil, where’s he been?
• Since when were there Chinese people in Greece? Ugh. I can’t believe Ancient Greece has gone WOKE!
• The reacting and explaining is getting really tired.
• I would have liked this more if it wasn’t so reliant on the reacting formula.
Film: Goth Kid on Vacation
A reggae song about going on vacation.
• Kenan’s first appearance of the entire episode…aaaand he’s singing in that Jamaican accent he seemed to rely on a lot last season.
• Longfellow is almost unrecognizable as the goth kid.
• Why are these musical pretapes so bland? Can’t we just have a normal pretape for once? SNL used to have an awesome film department…now we’re stuck with this. A performer who’s way past his prime singing in a bad Jamaican accent.
Musical Performance: “Little Richard’s Bible”
Weekend Update (featuring The Couple You Can’t Believe Are Together and Ego Nwodim)
• I forgot to mention it last time, but Morgan Wallen abruptly walked off stage during the goodnights for some reason. I bring this up now because Colin makes a reference to it in one of his jokes.
• I like the Storm Thurmond joke.
• *deep breath* Yet another motherfucking “seen here” joke…
• That Matt Gaetz joke is just a lazy rewrite of something they had Sarah say in that Church Lady sketch.
• We’re bringing these two back again? Okay.
• Once you’ve seen one Marcello commentary, you’ve seen ‘em all, so I’m not gonna bother with this.
• I liked the slam at Russell Brand, which involved showing a clip of him introducing Chris Brown in Season 36.
• Great joke about ICE offering free tacos in the back of their vans.
• This next commentary, oh boy…just you wait…
• Ego is finally doing a commentary as herself again, in which she does standup about the food at the White House Correspondents Dinner.
• For once, I don’t blame the anchors for laughing their way through this, as Ego’s performance here is masterful. In hindsight, I know that they probably let her do this because she might be leaving soon.
• Unfortunately, the online version has muted out the audience yelling “SHIT!” in response to Ego’s joke about Cory Booker. As a result, Ego saying that the show will get fined for this no longer makes any sense.
Sketch: Making Love
A couple performs a song about making love for the first time.
• Uh-oh, I don’t like where this is going…
• Yep, now we get a random rehash of that awful flying sketch with Cecily and Chance the Rapper.
• I apologize if I’m sounding like a killjoy here, but I just don’t see the appeal of these sketches where the premise is just people singing a bland song. Jack and Sarah are performing this just fine, but I’m not exactly laughing.
Sketch: Bass Lake
Big Ricky and The Minnows host a potluck jam where the audience members are welcome to join in.
• Another musical sketch? Okay, I shouldn’t be so quick to judge this one. After all, there are some amazing wigs.
• Jack: “Is that a McDonald’s No. 2 on your chest?” Mikey: “Yeh, cuz I’m lovin’ it.”
• It feels like Heidi has barely gotten any screentime lately. She is definitely on her way out.
• I love how cacophonous the song is gradually becoming due to all of the bass players coming on stage.
• Great ending where everyone drowns.
Musical Performance: “Who Believes in Angels?”
Sketch: Times Square
A behind the scenes look at the iconic photo of a sailor kissing a young woman.
• Heidi is a natural for this kind of sketch, but I’m a bit weary of where this is headed.
• Jack’s character voice is hilarious.
• I like the reveal that Jack’s character served his country by drawing racist propaganda for the Army.
• I am not caring for the main joke of this sketch at all, which seems to be predicated on the idea that the iconic photo is “creepy” because the woman didn’t consent.
• What a lousy way to end the episode.
Note: A memorial to Val Kilmer is shown before the goodnights.
Cut for Time: The Great Battle
Two men attempt to fight during a battle.
• Here we have the last of the animated shorts so far.
• The art style is a little more appealing than the one from last week, but it still looks choppy and awkward.
• Jack is doing his typical ancient warrior voice.
• Quite a lot of blood in this.
• After watching this, I think I can see why it was cut. For one thing, there’s all the gore, but the main reason is probably because it wasn’t funny. Just like all of the other animated shorts we’ve gotten this season.
Final thoughts: As we reach the final few episodes of this season, I’ve lost hope that we’re ever going to get another strong episode. The end of my tenure as a reviewer is looking mighty grim…
Best sketches: Love Match, One Uppers, Ego’s commentary
Worst sketches: Cold Open, The First Play, Making Love, Times Square
Next review: Jon Hamm/Lizzo
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