Cold Open: Press Conference
Someone collapses in the Oval Office during a press conference, and the President takes the opportunity to ramble on about dumb stuff.
• Andrew’s RFK Jr. wig is hilarious.
• And now the focus suddenly switches to more Trump rambling????
• Trump: “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. Dr. Oz is on the case!”
• He has some funny lines in here (I like the part about Mamdani converting), but I can’t stress how tired I am of this same format. But, as always, I don’t fault how amazing JAJ’s performance is.
Monologue
Nikki does standup about spray tans, beauty treatments, and her boyfriend.
• I have no familiarity with this woman at all.
• A big groan right away from her line about how Manhattan is “Epstein’s original island”.
• What’s with the applause when she says she got a spray tan?
• Lame jokes about Donald Trump’s skin color.
• There’s nothing worse than a female standup, and this woman, while not the worst I’ve seen, is just so bland.
• Now we’re getting into jokes about sex trafficking?
• This did NOT need to be nine minutes long. At least when Chappelle does long monologues, he makes them…you know, funny.
Sketch: Karaoke Night
Incestuous undertones ruin a family gathering.
• Take a shot!
• Sweet! Another pairing between Andrew and Ashley!
• *sigh* This whole incest routine is making me uncomfortable. As soon as they got on stage, I knew exactly where this sketch was headed.
• Making things worse is Sarah reacting to everything and explaining it because the audience is apparently made up of morons.
• Not even Andrew’s dorky dad character can save this.
• Nikki and Tommy are definitely game for performing this, but they should have just left this in dress rehearsal.
Fake Ad: Hudsacillin
The new anxiety medication that keeps you from having to go through the Jennifer Hudson “spirit tunnel”.
• I don’t watch celebrity-hosted talk shows, so I have no idea what this whole Jennifer Hudson tunnel thing is all about.
• Some laughs from the usual slow-motion montages that we get in these ad parodies.
• I like the brief shot of Marcello going through the tunnel. This is the last time we see him tonight, by the way.
• I wish I had more to say about this, but what else am I supposed to do when I come across a parody of a show I had no idea even existed?
Sketch: Beauty and MrBeast
A modern retelling of the classic tale with Internet superstar MrBeast as the Beast.
• How do you do, fellow kids?
• I’m proud to say I have never watched a single one of MrBeast’s videos, so I have no idea how accurate Ben’s impression of him is.
• Most of the costumes in this sketch are recycled from that Beauty and the Beast sketch in the Willem Dafoe episode. Kenan plays Cogsworth here, as he did in that sketch.
• For somebody who grew up in Canada, Bowen’s French accent is shockingly poor.
• The only laugh I’ve gotten so far is how one of the critic “reviews” is just MrBeast saying how he’s going to build the world’s largest LEGO tower.
• The sumo wrestler bit at the end also made me chuckle. Other than those two bits, though, I found this sketch very baffling.
Fake Ad: American Girl XL
The new life-size doll attracts a ton of creeps.
• Okay, what’s with all of the American Girl product placement on SNL within the last ten years? This is the fourth time I’ve reviewed a sketch involving them.
• The dolls’ creepy vacant stares are great.
• Amazing juxtaposition of the women innocently showing off their new dolls with the perverted men taking pleasure from them.
• Nice closeup of Ben lovingly stroking his doll’s feet. Dan Schneider would be proud.
• Andrew: “I made up my own backstory for Jessica. She’s from Lithuania!” Nikki: “No! She’s American!” Andrew: “Well she is now!” *camera zooms in on their wedding ring*
• The “churning butter” bit is so gross, but so funny.
• JAJ finally gets to play a sexual predator. He brings the sketch to a perfect conclusion with a scene involving a hot dog.
Sketch: Mechanical Bull
Two girls travel through time and space on a mechanical bull.
• Already a big laugh from Jane’s odd drunk character.
• Kenan’s overused voice was actually pretty good in this sketch.
• Ah yes, we finally get another JAJ musical number!
• This is the kind of absurdity I love to see on this show, but we unfortunately don’t get to see it very often for some dumb reason.
• I love the bit where the military tries to kill them with missiles.
• Kenan and James start breaking when they sing the last line of the song.
• My words cannot do this song justice. Go out and seek it for yourself.
Musical Performance: “12 to 12”
Weekend Update (featuring Pete Davidson)
• Another “This is fine” reference? Still behind the times, I see.
• Ugh at the loud applause from the audience when Colin announces that Mamdani has won the mayoral election.
• I laughed at the Cuomo joke, as well as the one implying that he groped the Mexican president.
• Colin and Michael have actually had some good jokes tonight. Hopefully this Update will only get better.
• *Pete Davidson shows up for no reason* Welp, guess I spoke too soon.
• So what the Hell is he doing here? He’s here to swap inside jokes with Colin about that stupid ferry he owns. Barf!
• On the plus side, Pete looks like he’s in a much better place now than he was when he left the show.
• Surprisingly short Update. I’m glad we didn’t get any stupid mascot commentaries for once.
Sketch: Sorority Meeting
A sorority group has been infiltrated by a boy.
• I like how one of the girls has “her” head facing down in the first shot of the sketch to prepare us for what’s to come.
• Amazing reveal of Mikey wearing “hyper-realistic” makeup to look like a woman.
• I like the minor detail of Mikey’s girl voice eventually devolving into what’s basically a Slimer impression.
• Mikey, while stuffing food in his mouth: “Girl power!”
• How did they do the effect of the vape smoke coming out of Mikey’s eye holes? It didn’t even work in the live show, so the online version replaces it with footage from dress rehearsal.
• Funny “girly” items in Mikey’s bag: maxi-pads, a Beanie Baby, and a Hillary Clinton photo.
• Jane sounds terribly hoarse when she says her single line. Is that why she’s barely been in this episode?
• Great twist at the end where it’s revealed that Nikki’s character was actually just Andrew in disguise the whole time. The shot of him taking off the mask appears to be pretaped, as there is a pretty noticeable cut before it happens.
Cartoon: Brad And His Dad
Brad and his father spend an afternoon together.
• Still trying to do these animated shorts, huh? I hated every single one they did last year, so what’s going to make this one any different?
• Once again, the art style is hideous.
• That’s apparently Mikey doing the voice of Brad. He’s been all over this episode.
• Dad: “First of all, you never call someone that word! Second of all, it makes no sense, cuz I’m white!”
• I’m actually kind of enjoying the slice-of-life humor this time around.
• I particularly like the scene of Brad getting stuck in the kiddie slide. Very relatable situation. And yes, I’m speaking from experience there.
• I also love the drone scene where Brad’s dad says he bought it himself, and quickly removes a message saying that it’s from Grandma.
• I’m surprised how much I enjoyed that sketch this time. I look forward to covering the next one a few episodes from now.
Sketch: Pilot Announcement
A pilot reads texts out loud and requests dating advice during a flight.
• I like the brief swipe Nikki takes at Mamdani during her opening spiel.
• Surprising absolutely no one, JAJ’s pilot voice is spot on and funny.
• Sarah: “Look at me, I’m a little naked lady! I hope I don’t get bubbles on my boobies!” Something about her delivery of this line made me smile for some reason.
• I like the subtle implication that the hold up is being caused by another pilot threatening to jump off the control tower.
• Sarah and Andrew’s reactions to JAJ’s shenanigans are actually kind of funny.
• Nice silent reactions from Bowen and Kenan when JAJ unintentionally insults them.
• Damn, this episode is on a roll!
Musical Performance: “Back To Friends”
Sketch: Pinwheel
Anna makes one final visit to the Make-Believe Meadow before she grows up.
• Here comes a pretty popular sketch.
• Beautiful set design.
• Already a big laugh from Ben’s character being named “Beebin”.
• I can see some people being annoyed by Jeremy and Mikey’s characters, but I’m finding a silly charm to their performance.
• I also love how Bowen just gets a simple drawing, while all the others get special gifts.
• Speaking of Bowen, his outburst towards Mikey and Jeremy is impressive. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him so angry before,
• “And it was on that day Anna decided never to have children.”
• Make that another sketch that enjoyed much more than I did when I first saw it!
Final thoughts: This episode started out kind of slow, but after the American Girl sketch, it just kept getting better. As solid of a host as Nikki Glaser was, I have to say I’m actually more impressed with how great Mikey was in this episode. Will this upswing in quality last? I guess we’ll have to see…
Best sketches: American Girl XL, Mechanical Bull, Sorority Meeting, Pilot Announcement. Pinwheel
Worst sketches: Cold Open, Karaoke Night
Next review: Glen Powell/Olivia Dean
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