Season 48 overview

While we’ll never really know exactly what Season 48’s final plan was, the episodes that did air do not paint a bright picture of the future. Despite all of the fresh blood being hired, the show was way more focused on pushing the same few veterans on us. Let’s take a look and see how each cast member fared…

Repertory Players

Mikey Day: Mikey had one of his best seasons in quite a while…when they bothered using him, that is. He got a lot of airtime in the first few shows, but then it was up and down for him. A lot of other fans have theorized that this might be his last season, and given the lack of focus he had in several episodes, I’m beginning to see what they mean. Still, the good stuff he did this season (the Black Heaven sketch with Chappelle and that film with Jake from State Farm) is more than enough to call this a strong season for him. And, hey, he had a lot less explaining roles this year!

Andrew Dismukes: Despite being promoted to a repertory player, Dismukes’ airtime is just as bad as ever, being forced to play second fiddle to less talented players such as Chloe and Bowen. On the nights they actually remembered to use him, though, he did amazing. He has a delightful bizarre streak that I’d love to see more of, provided that they don’t fire him over the summer.

Chloe Fineman: Blecch!!! Chloe is just as annoying as ever. I’m glad other people are starting to catch on to her flaws, because it’s something that needs to be addressed. Her constant staring at the camera and chipmunk voices irritate me more than they amuse me. If she does come back, I hope she reins those annoying habits in.

Heidi Gardner: What the hell happened? Despite now being the senior member of the female cast, she has inexplicably taken a turn for the worse. There were so many sketches this year of Heidi playing a “wacky” new character, like that godawful mother character on Update. But even with these new annoying habits, I still like Heidi, and I wish she would go back to what she excels at, instead of trying to be a “star” like Kate McKinnon or, Heaven forbid, Kristen Wiig.

Punkie Johnson: Oh, that’s right, Punkie got promoted. I’d forgive you for not knowing that because she had the least amount of screen time of any cast member this season.

Ego Nwodim: After a couple of really strong years, this season was a bit of a step back of Ego. She returned to the “sassy black woman” cliche a little too often, and don’t get me started on those awful Lisa sketches.

Cecily Strong: In her final half-season, Cecily was even more out of place than ever, but she still got a shit ton of focus for some reason. In fact, she had more screen time than any of the four newbies. Let that sink in…

Kenan Thompson: This is the season where I finally reached my breaking point with Kenan’s eternal presence on the show. He had way too many sketches this season where the only joke is him yelling, to say nothing about his constant giggling and unprofessional moments. It’s gotten to the point where I cannot stand anything Kenan does anymore, and just wish he would leave already.

Bowen Yang: Ugh, I can’t believe how bad Bowen was this year. He gets way too much time to mug and act like a campy gay stereotype. Whatever happened to the more absurd stuff from his first couple seasons? I guess we’ve got no time for that now that the media is eating his inanimate object impressions up.

Featured Players

Marcello Hernandez: I really like this guy and I can’t wait to see what he has planned in Season 49. The fact that we have a Hispanic dude in the cast again really came in handy this year with all of the Hispanic hosts that appeared, and we usually got a sketch in those episodes where he plays off them in Spanish. Mad respect, bro. Hopefully we can get an Italian cast member hired next.

James Austin Johnson: James gets the award for the biggest growth arc this season. He moved away from doing nothing but impressions and started doing a lot of really solid character work, my personal favorite being the cucked father from the Travis Kelce episode. The only problem I have is the overuse of his Trump impression, and not a lot of use of his Biden. You know, the President?!? Why are there so few sketches about the fucking President in this season?!!?? But I digress.

Molly Kearney: Molly who? Despite making such a big deal in the press about hiring a non-binary cast member, SNL proceeds to treat them like shit and only cast them as fat male celebrities. 

Michael Longfellow: Out of all the newbies, this guy was the standout, despite not getting as much airtime as Marcello. He quickly found a niche for himself on Update doing commentaries, some as himself, and others as goofy oddball characters like the Statue of David. 

Sarah Sherman: Sarah is still a welcome presence on the show with her patented bizarre sketches, such as the woman with googly eyes and the news reporters with deformed mouths. She’s also unafraid to be different on Update with her Sarah News segments, which are better than Che and Jost at this point. However, I have noticed a troubling trend where they’ve been starting to put her in cheap drag roles as old men. 

Devon Walker: Essentially a replacement for Chris Redd, Walker sadly hasn’t gotten as much screen time as him. You generally only saw him when there was a black host. This is a shame, because I like Devon and want to see him succeed on the show. But, as we saw with Redd, he tends to suffer because Kenan automatically gets all the black roles.

Michael Che and Colin Jost: I am beyond sick of these two chuckleheads. They are the longest running Update anchors (for some reason), and they were only funny for about the first four years or so. Just let Sarah take over the desk!

Now it’s time to rank the episodes. This is gonna be hard because most of them were just blandly average.

Best episodes: Dave Chappelle/Black Star, Steve Martin, Martin Short/Brandi Carlile, Austin Butler/Lizzo, Michael B. Jordan/Lil Baby, Travis Kelce/Kelsey Ballerini

Worst episodes: Megan Thee Stallion, Amy Schumer/Steve Lacey, Aubrey Plaza/Sam Smith, Woody Harrelson/Jack White, Ana de Armas/Karol G

Now it’s time for us to rank the sketches. This should be easy…

Best sketches: Monologue (from Teller), New Cast Advice (from Gleeson), Headshots (from Gleeson), Eyes (from Gleeson), Drunk Uncle commentary (from Harlow), JNCO Longs (Cut), COVID (from Schumer), The Looker (from Schumer), Monologue (from Chappelle), Barber Shop (from Chappelle), both Sarah News commentaries, Black Heaven (from Chappelle), Election Night (from Chappelle), Big Boys (from Palmer), United Tingz of Aubrey (from Palmer), Kenan & Kelly (from Palmer), Monologue (from Martin), The Science Room (from Martin), A Christmas Carol (from Martin), Christmas Epiphany (from Butler), Jewish Elvis (from Butler), Plirts (from Butler), Blue Christmas (from Butler), Good Morning Today (from Jordan), Towel Guys (from Jordan), State Farm (from Jordan), Falling Down (from Jordan), Mario Kart (from Pascal), Protective Mom (from Pascal), Cologuard (from Harrelson), The Hippo (from Harrelson), American Girl Café (from Kelce), Self-Defense (from Kelce), Mama’s Funeral (from Kelce), Straight Male Friend (from Kelce), Family Meeting (from Kelce), School vs. School (from Ortega), Road Trip (from Ortega), Waffle House (from Ortega), James’ impressions commentary (from Ortega), Jingle Pitch (from Ortega), Drug Dealer (from Brunson), Street Eats (from Brunson), Monologue (from Shannon), Shannon 2K23 (from Shannon), American Girl (from de Armas), Spanish Class (from de Armas)

Worst sketches: Charmin Bears (from Teller), Grimace (from Teller), Blood Oath (from Gleeson), Hot Girl Hospital (from Megan Thee Stallion), Deer (from Megan Thee Stallion), Hole and Bussy commentary (from Megan Thee Stallion), Cold Open (from Harlow), Joker (from Harlow), Bartenders (from Harlow), Monologue (from Schumer), Jurors (from Schumer), Tammy the Trucker commentary (from Schumer), Jets Fans (from Schumer), WKTVN News (from Schumer), Cold Open (from Palmer), Ultrasound (from Palmer), Marzipan (from Butler), Miss America (from Plaza), Avatar (from Plaza), Party In Palm Springs (from Jordan), Waking Up (from Pascal), both Lisa from Temecula sketches, Jail Call (from Harrelson), Slingshot (from Harrelson), Beautiful Gym (from Harrelson), Garrett From Hinge (from Kelce), Too Hot To Handle (from Kelce), The Parent Trap (from Ortega), Midwife (from Brunson), Fart Baby (from Shannon), New Choreographer (from Shannon), Nails (from de Armas)

SNL Reviews: Ana de Armas/Karol G (4/

Cold Open: First Warm Day Of The Year Arrivals Show

Two reporters interview random people in Central Park.

• A variation on that Halloween red carpet sketch from the Jack Harlow episode.

• Perfect casting of James and Michael as pervs. For some reason, this is the only time we see James tonight, which is a sad way for his great season to end.

• Nice pratfall from Molly, continuing the Chris Farley similarities. We’ll get another example of this later on…

• Ego gets some good use out of her usual “bitch” routine. 

• Kenan once again comes off as out of place in this sketch with his overused shouting shtick.

• Nice fakeout with the LFNY at the end.

• I didn’t think this was as good as the Halloween version. I guess I need to be a regular visitor of Central Park to get it.

Monologue 

Ana talks about learning English and reflects on her amazing year.

• I must admit that I have no idea who this gal is.

• Seems like we’ve had a lot of Hispanic hosts lately. In fact, for the first time, both the host and the musical guest are Hispanic.

• I wonder if her story about learning English from Friends is true, or if it’s just some sweet NBC synergy.

• Not too much to say about this monologue, but I found her charming enough.

Sketch: The Dome

Matt Schatt competes on a game show with his new wife.

• For once, the game show host has a normal name, instead of a “funny” pun or sexual reference.

• Sudden return of Matt Schatt for the first time since Season 45. 

• No matter how many different settings this guy appears in, the joke is always the same: the host of some show (usually Kenan) is puzzled as to why someone as lame as Matt Schatt is married to a hot woman.

• This probably goes without saying, but Kenan has reached the point where I am actively rooting against him in sketches. That line he screams about Matt eating dog food was particularly cringeworthy.

• No comment on the reveal of Matt’s many nipples. I also definitely could have gone without seeing Kenan pinch one of them.

• This sketch was thankfully kept at a short enough length. Can you imagine how much lower I’d be ranking it if it was ten minutes of Kenan screaming?

Film: American Girl

American Girl dolls travel to the present day.

• What’s with all the American Girl product placement lately?

• The reveal of Ego’s slave girl character was good for a laugh.

• Nice awkward silence after Ego reveals that she doesn’t know when her birthday is because she’s a slave.

• Sarah: “Look what I can do!” *coughs up blood, and the scene cuts to her getting covered by a tarp*

• I’m surprised at how much I’m enjoying this despite not being a little girl. 

• We end on a funny callback to Sarah’s death from earlier when Heidi announces that she’s going to cure cholera, before coughing up blood herself, and getting thrown out the back of the wagon.

Sketch: Recording Session

Two voice actors help a music producer with his new album.

• Uh-oh, there’s Kenan again. I hope we’re not in for more shouty shenanigans.

• I’m about halfway through this, and Kenan’s goofy voice shtick is ruining this otherwise blandly average sketch.

• Between the American Girl film and this, Ego’s been having one of her best nights in quite a while.

• Not too much to say about this one, other than the fact that I’m extremely tired of Kenan.

Sketch: Spanish Class

Spanish class gets interrupted by two new students. 

• The exterior shot of the school looks very familiar. I can’t remember where I’ve seen that school before, but it must have been in some movie or sitcom.

• Mikey’s hilariously badly-pronounced Spanish immediately got a laugh from me.

• Marcello, naturally, has a big role in this sketch. He has pretty good chemistry with Ana.

• As good as Marcello and Ana are, Mikey steals the show with his awkward teacher character. 

• Nice appearance from Karol G at the end, and even the cliche dance party that follows is pretty fun.

Please Don’t Destroy: Hangxiety

The guys overthink everything they did at the SNL afterparty.

• Sixth episode in a row with PDD.

• There appears to be a cue card from Megan Thee Stallion’s episode on Ben’s desk.

• Nice interaction between Ben and Michael.

• I love the scene of John getting hit in the eye by his phone.

• I’m surprised it’s taken this long for Ego to show up in one of these shorts.

• Nice ending with Mikey chastising the three for their rude behavior at the party, only for the camera to reveal that he has no pants on.

• I know I had very little to say about that one, but I think I‘m finally burned out on these guys. If they come back for the next season, try to space out their appearances more.

Musical Performance: “Mientras Me Curo del Cora”

Weekend Update (featuring Funky Kong, Genesis Fry, and Molly Kearney)

• Can Che go through a single Update without laughing at his awful jokes? That Clarence Thomas joke was particularly bad. And it’s the second episode in a row to have a bad Clarence Thomas joke.

• Oh shit, now it’s time for another horrendous Kenan commentary. Here, he’s playing Donkey Kong’s relative, Funky Kong, in yet another awful example of Mario movie shilling. 

• Am I the only one who thinks it’s kind of offensive that they’re having Kenan play a monkey?

• I could really do without the return of the Jean K. Jean dance break routine.

• So far, this commentary is pure cancer. I’ve said it time and time again this season, but Kenan needs to get the fuck off the show.

• What in the world is the “Monkey Kong/he’s a donkey” joke about? Did he flub a line and they just decided to leave it in to be “funny”?

• What frustrates me the most is all of the idiots in the comment section eating this shit up. Should I start compiling retarded fan comments on this blog?

• Overall, one of the worst commentaries I’ve ever seen.

• Ah, thank goodness Sarah is here to liven things up, playing a meditation guru named Genesis Fry.

• This really seems like a character that Heidi would play, but Sarah is making it work.

• We’ve gone back to the “roasting Colin” routine. I always keep expecting it to get old, but it never does. Why is that?

• Sarah briefly corpses during her line about nobody at the NBC Store recognizing who Colin is.

• Not the funniest Sarah commentary, but she’s the only person in the world who could make this material work.

• Now, Molly finally gets a commentary as themself, after being forced to play another fat guy a few episodes ago. 

• After being pleased about how SNL has wisely not made it a big deal that Molly is non-binary, they unfortunately throw that out the window with the “super special” introduction they give Molly here, where they get lowered onto the stage with wires.

• While I certainly admire the message Molly is trying to convey here, is a comedy show the right place for it? This gets me thinking about what some other reviewers have accused SNL of doing lately, by using certain female performers (like Kate, Cecily, etc.) as a “security blanket” for the audience. 

• Lots of cringeworthy clapter here. But Molly’s eternal likability is making it work.

• Molly rising from the desk with the help of wires is very Bennett Brauer-esque, and yet another example of Molly’s similarities to Chris Farley.

Sketch: Lisa From Temecula

Lisa disrupts a wedding her sister invited her to.

• Fuck, not this again. The first installment with Pedro Pascal was only a “hit” because of all the breaking. As we’ve seen in the past with Debbie Downer, trying to make a sketch recurring solely because of breaking will spell disaster. 

• I like all the airtime Molly has gotten in this episode.

• This sketch is so far just a lame rewrite of the already lame original, but she’s got a salad this time instead of a steak. Such a big difference!!!

• I kinda laughed at the line about the piece of meat looking like a Fruit Roll-Up.

• Ana is starting to smirk a little bit, but this sketch has thankfully not degenerated the same way the original one did.

• Mikey has been in almost every sketch tonight. Here he has one of his typical reacting/explaining roles.

• Ego’s line about being gay is just a worse version of her line about being black in the first one.

• Overall, this sketch is a perfect example of why certain characters should never become recurring.

Sketch: Acting School for Dogs

An acting school for good looking dogs.

• Are you kidding me, SNL? Is this Season 45 again?

• No comment on Chloe and Ana’s stupid “cute” faces.

• Also, Chloe’s name is “Donna Colonoscopini”. Can you guess who wrote this???

• The first dog they show off is already refusing to cooperate.

• That pug is not having any of Chloe’s antics.

• I have nothing to say about the awkward closeup of the dog saying “Le woof”.

• Usually these “cute animal” sketches elicit some kind of response from me, but I’ve lost all interest in them. The second half of this episode is pure murder so far.

Musical Performance: “Tus Gafitas”

Sketch: Nails

A trip to the nail salon doesn’t go as planned.

• Please kill me. Another “SILLEEE” Bowen showcase? 

• A big ol’ yawn from me at the reveal of Bowen’s long nails.

• The tape recorder bit fell flat.

• Now all of a sudden we get a random Twilight reference. What is the point?

• And this bland, underwritten sketch is how they end the season. I know this wasn’t supposed to be the finale, but it still sucks that we end things on a horrible Bowen vanity piece.

Final thoughts: The season comes to a premature end with a huge thud. The first half of the episode was merely average, but the post-Update half was a nightmare. Ana de Armas was an okay host. Not too special, but not awful.

Best sketches: American Girl, Spanish Class

Worst sketches: Funky Kong commentary, Lisa From Temecula, Nails

Stay tuned for my final overview of Season 48!!!

SNL Reviews: Woody Harrelson/Jack White (2/25/23)

 Cold Open

Donald Trump gives a speech in East Palestine, Ohio.

• Uggggghhhhh, enough with the Trump cold opens! He’s not president anymore, so stop giving him free publicity!

• Oh shit, I forgot all about that Ohio train crash. The media buried that story real good.

• I fucking hate Chloe’s mugging faces here. As if I needed another reason to hate her.

Monologue 

Woody talks about getting high in Central Park and his new movie Champions.

• I seem to recall there being a bit of controversy about this monologue, but I don’t know the specifics.

• He talks about how the last time he appeared on SNL was around Thanksgiving 2019, which is correct. He was playing Joe Biden that night in a godawful sketch about the Democratic debate.

• Oh, this anti-vaxxing material…I think I understand what the controversy was about now.

• I don’t know if it’s the pot speaking, but his monologue seems kinda rambly and unfocused. 

Sketch: Jail Call

A visit between a prisoner and his wife gets interrupted.

• Chloe doing yet another annoying cartoony voice.

• Woody’s wig makes him look like Billy Ray Cyrus.

• I don’t know what’s going on with Ego lately, but she’s been starting to get on my nerves. Her character in this sketch is no exception, constantly making annoying quips while Woody is trying to talk to his wife.

• As if that wasn’t bad enough, now Kenan is joining in on the “fun” with some annoying comments of his own. Can you please leave already?

Please Don’t Destroy: The Stakeout

Ben and Woody spy on the other PDD guys, and a shocking secret is revealed…

• We haven’t seen these guys in a while.

• Nice to see them outside of the office again. This stakeout premise seems very promising.

• Uh-oh, John and Martin are now making out with each other. I can’t believe SNL is still resorting to this cliche in 2023.

• Don’t know how to feel about the twist that they have a family together.

• Not sure I needed to see Kenan in this.

• Funny brief scene of the kids attacking a Ben punching bag.

• Another funny quick gag with the lineup of Ben replacements.

• Odd twist where Woody ends up replacing Ben.

• Can’t believe I’m saying this, but, I wasn’t a big fan of that short. Are the PDD guys starting to lose their magic???

Sketch: Slingshot

“Wacky” shenanigans occur on a slingshot ride.

• Kenan has been in almost every sketch tonight. Meanwhile, Andrew and Marcello are weeping backstage.

• Ugh, this has turned into another sketch where the only joke is Kenan overacting and bugging his eyes out. 

• Michael and Molly are wasted as the ride operators.

• Wait, Woody just suddenly left the sketch? Where did his character go? Guess we’re stuck with Kenan and his unfunny shtick.

• Now they’re resorting to peepee jokes? Please let this sketch end.

• Overall, this episode continues to be pure comedy cancer. 

Sketch: Submarine Launch

A captain and his crew discuss the odd name of their vessel.

• Nice to see a sketch that has the entire male cast in it.

• Decent reveal of the ship’s name.

• Not too much for me to say about this one, but it is tightly written and well-performed. Even Kenan manages not to overact for once.

Fake Ad: Cologuard

The Cologuard mascot shows up at Woody’s place and wants Woody to “get inside” him.

• Some really cute puppetry here with the mascot.

• I’m a little cautious at the turn this has taken with the mascot wanting Woody to fuck him.

• Turns out those fears were unfounded, because I’m actually really liking this. 

• Kenan’s creepy UPS guy is okay, but I don’t think he was the right choice to play him.

• Amazing twist at the end where Woody’s neighbors see him taking his pants off in front of inanimate boxes, suggesting that the whole situation was all in his mind. I love how Andrew stays there to watch it all unfold.

Musical Performance: “Taking Me Back”, “Fear of the Dawn”

• Funny intro from Woody asking where Jack White’s Five-Timers Jacket is.

Weekend Update (featuring Bill Walton and Gina Bianchi)

• I liked Colin’s slam at the Oscars.

• JAJ debuts an impression of some sports guy named Bill Walton. I have no idea who that is so I have very little to say about this commentary.

• This next commentary, though…hoo, boy, get ready for some pain.

• Anyway, Heidi shows up as her latest annoying Update character that talks in an annoying voice. I was not surprised at all to see Jimmy Fowlie credited as a writer for this. 

• I always feel kind of bad making fun of Heidi, since she seems like a really sweet person, but it’s hard not to considering the awful year she’s been having.

Note: A dedication to longtime set designer Eugene Lee is shown after Update. This must have been a very sudden death, as Lee’s name still appeared in episodes from earlier this season.

Sketch: The Hippo

A lead actor has a difficult time dealing with the cancellation of his film.

• Ego’s reference to a potential writer’s strike hasn’t aged well, considering what eventually ended this season early.

• OMG at Woody’s terrifying fat makeup.

• I laughed at the corny “triabetes” line. 

• Despite there only being one joke, I am loving this sketch. Just the visual of Woody Harrelson in a fat suit is making this worth it.

• Mikey is also getting some laughs as the director.

• Funny twist at the end where we find out that the film was cancelled because the script was taken word-for-word from The Whale. Woody’s reaction upon hearing this is amazing.

Musical Performance: “A Tip From You To Me”

Sketch: Beautiful Gym

Two men get fancy at the gym.

• Ugh, another Bowen showcase. Making me even more wary is the fact that Sublette is credited as a writer.

• Bowen, as usual, is trying way too hard here. 

• At least Woody is his usual likeable self. Too bad he’s been overshadowed by all of the annoying cast members tonight.

• Overall, yet another example of Bowen Yang taking too much screentime from the others with his tired antics.

Cut for Time: Musical Promo

A new Broadway musical about the little songs that people sing to themselves.

• A promising premise. I’m sure we’ve all had moments where we sing little songs to ourselves.

• Why is there no audience response to Woody’s hilarious chicken song?

• I like Molly’s song about getting a box from Amazon. This would have been a much better use of Molly in the episode instead of that awful Slingshot sketch where they only had one line.

• Great fake review from Broadway.com: “Not sure why that cost money to see, but I loved it.”

• I like how The New York Times review is in the same style as the songs in the musical. Steve Higgins even reads this one as a song.

• A funny example of a “dramatic” moment in the musical where Woody throws away a loaf of bread.

• Great tagline: “C’mon, you know you do it.”

Note: A dedication to Richard Belzer is shown before the goodnights.

Final thoughts: Yeesh, that was a mess. In an episode where Woody Harrelson is hosting, I expect to see him in a lot of funny oddball sketches. Instead, I got a bunch of annoying performers (Kenan, Heidi, Bowen) relying on their same old shtick, all while overshadowing the host. When even the Please Don’t Destroy film is worse than usual, you know you’ve screwed up. 

Best sketches: Cologuard, The Hippo, Musical Promo (Cut)

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Jail Call, Slingshot, Heidi’s commentary, Beautiful Gym

Next episode: Travis Kelce/Kelsey Ballerini

SNL Reviews: Pedro Pascal/Coldplay (2/4/23)

 Cold Open

Katy Tur interviews the Chinese spy balloon after it has been shot down.

• Ugh at the fake Marjorie Taylor-Greene tweet.

• I don’t know who Thomas Hamilton is, but I’m sure he sounds nothing like Kenan’s impression. Also, nice obvious wig. I can see where it ends.

• DEAR GOD, NO!!!!! Bowen is playing the Chinese spy balloon!! As soon as I saw the subject of this cold open, I was fearing an appearance by him, but I had no idea they would have him play the balloon itself!

• Bowen is playing this role exactly as you would expect…gay as hell.

• You know what’s really sad? People actually eat this shit up! There’s a comment on the YouTube upload that says “Give Bowen a ‘playing inanimate objects’ Emmy already”. Whoever wrote that comment is fucking delusional. This isn’t funny, it’s extremely annoying and predictable.

• When the camera zooms in on Bowen at the end, the CGI water he’s in stays in place. That made me laugh more than the intended comedy here.

Monologue

Pascal talks about interacting with fans and filming The Last Of Us.

• Hey, remember the time when Pedro Pascal memorialized a child rapist on Twitter? That was awesome. Anyway, that has nothing to do with this monologue, so let’s move on.

• The audience goes wild for some reason when he says that the voice he uses for The Mandalorian is a “bedroom voice”. I take it there’s a lot of horny moms in the building tonight.

• Boy, I sure am I glad that Kyle Mooney isn’t on anymore, because we would have had to sit through another Baby Yoda appearance here.

• I love the photos he shows of his Law and Order appearances, especially the one where he appears to be playing a Hasidic Jew.

• Nice ending where he delivers a message in Spanish to his relatives back in Chile. I like when we hear foreign hosts speak in their native language.

Sketch: The Big Hollywood Quiz

Contestants are baffled by movie trivia questions from the past few years,

• I like how we get a game show host with a normal name for once. Nice restraint on the part of Sublette.

• The big show tune Bowen sings as he introduces himself is an Anderlette trait that hasn’t been left out of this sketch, unfortunately.

• What is with the weird camera movement as Bowen introduces the first question? Is Michael J. Fox manning a camera tonight?

• Some nice satire here about how they can answer most of these questions with ease, but when it comes to one from the last few years, they’re stumped. I find that totally relatable, as I tend to feel that a lot of modern media is interchangeable and bland.

• While the premise does get a little stale after a while, there’s still enough funny lines scattered throughout.

Film: Mario Kart

A gritty reboot in the vein of The Last of Us…except it’s Mario!!!

• Uggggghhhhh, yet ANOTHER case of shilling for the upcoming Mario movie!!!

• Are these guys even aware that a gritty live-action Mario already exists? The 1993 movie beat them to it!

• At least Peach has a normal accent here, unlike…that other sketch that shall not be named.

• Pedro makes for a convincing Mario.

• Why is this a parody of Mario Kart and not the regular games? Just something odd that I noticed.

• Mikey’s Luigi is hilarious.

• Yoshi and Toad randomly revealing themselves to be bisexual after they introduce themselves is spot on to a lot of these adaptations changing characters’ sexualities.

• I knew they couldn’t resist a “LOL MARIO EATS SHROOMS!!!” joke. It’s 2023, and we’re still making those jokes?

• One thing I really like here is the announcer. Instead of it being Steve Higgins as usual, they get some other guy with a really unique voice.

• Despite all my complaints, this is a genuinely good film. Mikey and Streeter seem to really love writing gritty reboots of children’s properties, even if this one isn’t as good as the Sesame Street one they did a few years ago.

Sketch: Waking Up

A man wakes up from a coma and starts talking weird.

• Oh, fuck, I have a distinct memory of hating this sketch.

• Pedro immediately starts talking in a dopey millennial accent. Sure enough, Kent Sublette is credited as a writer for this.

• I like the random reveal that Pedro ended up in the hospital after getting hit by a Party City truck.

• Not only is this a “funny voice” sketch, but it’s also a “react” sketch! Lucky me…

• Twenty minutes later, this is still going on. I especially hate the really hacky joke where they try to have him identify various “b” words, and his accent renders them all indistinguishable from each other.

• As if this couldn’t get worse, Pedro has now started corpsing during his dramatic “heartwarming” speech at the end. Please end this already.

Sketch: Fancam Assembly

A teacher can’t figure out why students keep making fancams of him and other school staff. In other words, how do you do, fellow kids?

• It’s been quite a while since we had a sketch where they try to pander to the Internet crowd.

• Rather strangely, the song that plays during the fancams is a remix of the “Big Boys” song from Keke Palmer’s episode. I guess SNL is capitalizing on that song’s popularity with the TikTok crowd.

• Can we get one sketch where Bowen doesn’t act like a campy gay stereotype? If this keeps up, I may have to go back to my old Asian Terry Sweeney nickname for him.

• I don’t even know what the fuck a fancam is, but I’m not finding any of them funny.

• There’s a distracting extra in front of Ego who seems to be chewing something.

• Poor Molly had to get dragged into this as well.

• All of this internet slang they’re speaking in is hurting my soul. 

• Extremely random Sarah Paulson cameo. Who the hell is that? Apparently she’s in a relationship with an 80 year old woman.

• That was an awful sketch. This episode just keeps getting worse.

Fake Ad: Wing Pit

A wing commercial goes off the rails.

• Pedro is totally believable as a rowdy Super Bowl fan.

• I love everyone’s faces as the food gets more and more unhealthy.

• The crazy turn this takes at the end is amazing. I always like it when SNL sketches go off the wall insane!

Musical Performance: “The Astronaut”

• This performance is really weird. It’s an English version of a BTS song, and there’s a spaceman rendering the lyrics in ASL. I kinda like it, though.

Weekend Update (featuring Punxsutawney Phil and Milly Pounds and Shirty)

• I am so bored by these two. Can we please get new anchors?

• Oh, wow, a “seen here” joke. Never seen that before!

• Oh, wow, a George Santos joke. Never seen THAT before!

• Michael Longfellow has another commentary! This time, he’s playing famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil.

• Not sure how to react to that scene where he vapes on camera. Who does he think he is? Pete Davidson?

• I don’t quite get the joke about “a condom in Nick Cannon’s wallet”.

• Longfellow is pulling this off fine, but I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as the ones he’s done as himself.

• Ah, but now we have a commentary where Devon and JAJ play British rappers. This could be promising.

• Che: “You guys went to Eton?” Devon: “Yeah, Eton…Eton yer mom’s bum!”

• The crowd rightly gives them applause after their first song.

• I like how JAJ keeps bringing up his dairy allergies at some point in their raps. 

• Overall, that was a pretty good commentary. JAJ’s great season continues!

Sketch: Protective Mom

A man introduces his girlfriend to his overprotective mom.

• OMG at the reveal of Pedro in drag. What is with male hosts dressing up in drag lately? 

• Marcello and Pedro’s chemistry is pretty good. They’re delivering their Spanish dialogue flawlessly.

• I love some of the random English words they’re throwing into their conversations, like “unisex apparel”.

• Despite the inherent hackiness of a man in drag, this was a nice slice-of-life sketch, with the added novelty of it being about 60% in Spanish.

Sketch: Italian Waiters

Wacky Italian waiters give their customers compliments.

• Second sketch in a row that pairs Marcello and Pedro together.

• Yay!! More broad Italian stereotypes! Kent Sublette has been all over this episode.

• Word of advice for Kenan: never try to speak in an Italian accent again! You clearly weren’t made for it!

• I guess we can add Italian to the list of accents that Mikey can’t pull off.

• Extremely cliche ending where this turns out to be an ad for Big Boy Chili.

Musical Performance: “Human Heart”, “Fix You”

Sketch: Lisa From Temecula

Lisa from Temecula interrupts her sister’s birthday dinner.

• Oh, shit. Not this sketch. All I remember about this one is that there’s a lot of breaking in it.

• Second sketch in a row to use the same restaurant set.

• As much as I like Ego, I’m getting kind of tired of her playing this same type of role.

• And then, the corpsing starts. Pedro is the first one to lose it, and Bowen is trying to hold back his giggles, but everyone else is holding it together for the most part.

• Now Ego can’t keep it together anymore, and Punkie is joining in.

• Bowen just facepalmed, as if even he knows this sketch is too far gone to save.

• Molly is the only one who doesn’t break at any point. 

• Overall, what a catastrophe. Unfortunately, this sketch blew up online due to all of the breaking, which leads SNL to bring this shit back in a later episode…but we’ll get to that.

Final thoughts: Oof, that was quite an experience. There was some okay stuff here, but a lot of it was extremely horrid. It certainly wasn’t Pedro’s fault, though. He seemed to be having fun.

Best sketches: Mario Kart, Coldplay’s performances, Milly Pence and Shirty commentary, Protective Mom

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Waking Up, Fancam Assembly, Italian Waiters, Lisa from Temecula

Next review: Woody Harrelson/Jack White. I recall there being some absolutely horrid material in this one.

SNL Reviews: Michael B. Jordan/Lil Baby (1/28/23)

 Note: I missed this episode when it first aired, so I won’t have my personal memory to go by for these sketches.

Cold Open

The FBI details their search for classified documents.

• I like the Western-style intro sequence to this.

• An initial laugh from Mikey saying “Hello” in his Merrick Garland voice.

• Didn’t care for the horse head joke in regards to Trump’s lawyers.

• We’re still making “Deal With It” jokes in 2023???

• No comment on Kenan’s embarrassing “Mr. Prince…Mr. Pence” line flub. He just keeps getting worse with every passing episode.

• You have no idea how happy I am that they resisted making a “LOL GAY!!!!” joke about Mike Pence.

• Speaking of Pence, I find it bizarre that they haven’t had an impression of him on the show in quite a while. Was Beck’s take on Pence so “irreplaceable” that they aren’t recasting him right away or something?

• Some pathetic sucking up to Barack Obama when Bowen’s character talks about how starstruck he was to have been inside Obama’s house.

• I definitely didn’t need to see the “Deal With It” routine a second time.

• Overall, I like that they tried to do something different for this, but in the end, it didn’t amount to much.

Monologue 

Jordan talks about directing Creed III and going through a breakup.

• Hilarious clip of him on All My Children.

• After an okay start to this, we suddenly get the female cast members showing up and asking to go out with him.

• I love hearing the audience applaud Punkie when she appears.

• Second time in the last few episodes that someone has brought up Punkie’s homosexuality.

Sketch: Good Morning Today

Two morning show hosts return after being involved in a bizarre roller coaster accident.

• I got a big laugh from the initial reveal of Sarah’s stretched out face.

• I like the part where she drinks some wine but it immediately spills out of her mouth.

• Nice use of sped-up stock footage to represent the roller coaster she was stuck on.

• Another laugh from the reveal that Jordan’s character was also on the coaster. We then see a hilarious photo of the two of them riding together.

• I love the weather map suddenly having question marks all over it in response to MBJ’s unintelligible report.

• Chloe is doing a good imitation of the typical “happy talk” banter you see on morning shows like this.

• Kenan’s been having trouble keeping a straight face in this. For once, I don’t blame him!

• The Lady and the Tramp scene is so gross, but so funny.

• Nice reveal of the bird that got impaled in Sarah. I like her cheerful delivery as she says she will die if she pulls it out. 

• Sarah delivers another delightful bizarre sketch!

Fake Ad: Southwest Airlines

Southwest introduces a new upgraded airline experience.

• This was cut from the previous episode.

• Another fake ad for a real company? What is with all of the product placement lately?!??

• I think this is based on something that had recently happened to Southwest, but I forget the specific details.

• JAJ’s character (“Tom Wilkime”) is named after SNL short film director Tim Wilkime.

• I kind of liked the line about hiring former Waffle House employees to work for them.

• Molly’s only appearance in this entire episode is a brief cameo in this sketch where they’re in a small box that you can barely make out!

• Genuinely strong twist ending where we see JAJ’s fucked up eye.

• Overall, I felt bored by this short. If I had more knowledge of this incident, maybe I would’ve found it funny.

Sketch: Towel Guys

Two resort employees try to connect with their guests.

• No comment on Kenan’s cartoony Spanish accent.

• Marcello, on the other hand, is coming off pretty well here. I love when he gets lead roles!

• Heidi getting mistaken for “Ellen DeMenemes” was pretty funny.

• Kenan: “I saw dis movie, Mission: Impossible. But, de mission not impossible, because, he gonna do it!” 

• I like how the only thing the two of them know about New Jersey is Tony Soprano, which is then followed by them doing poor impressions of him.

• MBJ’s Spanish accent is surprisingly good.

• Absolutely hilarious joke where Marcello refers to Ego as “the new Little Mermaid”.

• I really really love how most of the featured players get a role here (except Molly, as mentioned above).

• James is perfect in his role as a religious man.

• Yet ANOTHER sketch that ends with a random dance sequence, but at least this one fits the theme of the sketch.

Fake Ad: State Farm

Jake from State Farm helps a couple with their needs.

• MBJ is a dead ringer for Jake from State Farm.

• I like the sudden change in tone as Mikey walks out of the house to go to work, and he glares back at Jake making the moves on his wife.

• Mikey’s gradually darkening expressions as he realizes he’s being cucked are great. 

• Is that another sighting of Mikey’s son as one of the kids?

• This just keeps getting better and more disturbing as it goes on. I especially like the closeup shot of Jake’s hand on Heidi’s back, to emphasize Mikey’s growing jealousy.

• MBJ’s increasingly creepy delivery of stock State Farm commercial dialogue is great.

• Nice atmospheric shots of a drunk Mikey on the Brooklyn Bridge at night, bitterly mumbling the State Farm jingle and yelling about his wife’s betrayal.

• Even the twist at the end where Limu Emu and Doug show up was great.

• Overall, a really great short film.

Sketch: Street Fighter 6

Two voice actors have a hard time recording dialogue for a new game.

• A variation of that awful Cars 4 sketch from the Owen Wilson episode, and the JJ Watt sketch where he’s recording lines for Madden 21.

• Andrew: “Our last voice actor, Frank, left due to creative differences, and because I slept with his wife.”

• I got an unintentional laugh from Andrew mispronouncing Ryu’s name as “Rye-oo”.

• I am not liking where this is going so far. It seems like we’re in for another “Bowen acts flamboyant and that’s the whole joke” sketch.

• I see that this was written by Anderlette 2.0 himself, Jimmy Fowlie. I have even less faith in this sketch now.

• Big groan from Bowen asking what MBJ’s pronouns are.

• We get an extremely bizarre ending where the guy that Andrew said was sleeping with his wife shows up in the studio, and MBJ and Bowen unite to beat him up.

Musical Performance: “California Breeze”

Weekend Update (featuring Michael Che’s doorman Carl, and Angel)

• Bizarre joke from Che trying to connect Taylor Swift fans to Capitol rioters.

• I’m starting to get a little burnt out on the jokes about Colin being a secret white supremacist.

• Totally predictable Catholic joke from Che. If you guessed that the punchline involves pedophilia, then you’re not an idiot.

• Kenan introduces a new character: Michael Che’s doorman, Carl. We haven’t seen a lot of Kenan on Update lately, as he hasn’t played his usual Update roles in ages, such as Willie, LaVar Ball, and David Ortiz.

• Kenan’s Update pieces tend to be hit or miss for me, and this one is definitely a miss. I’m sorry, man, but I am so burnt out on you lately.

• Disgusting joke about a polar bear getting crushed by a meteorite.

• First appearance of Heidi’s boxer’s girlfriend character, Angel, in quite a few years. The only reason they’re bringing her back, of course, is because we have Michael B. Jordan hosting tonight, and he was just in a boxing film.

• Che looks pretty bored having to talk to Angel. I would be too, because this character is awful.

• At least they try something different here, with Jordan reprising his role as Adonis Creed, who it turns out had a relationship with Angel in the past.

• I like the line about one of Angel’s kids being black, and her boyfriend never questioning it. Other than that, though, this commentary is quite a snooze.

Sketch: Male Confidence Seminar

Awkward men are taught how to gain confidence.

• Andrew has been all over this episode!

• Funny reveal from JAJ’s character that he makes fun of female stand up comics on YouTube.

• I love the twist when a man with a big forehead shows up in the audience, after MBJ has been making fun of Andrew’s forehead throughout the sketch.

• The Nickelodeon fan in me enjoys the Jimmy Neutron references in regards to Andrew’s head.

• The ending was a little abrupt.

Sketch: Party in Palm Springs

A bachelorette party gets interrupted by an unexpected guest.

• Punkie still exists!!!!

• Is this whole sketch going to be about the girls ogling MBJ’s sexy body? Please tell me it’s not.

• Thankfully, it isn’t. What we get instead isn’t much better though. Heidi shows up as a WACKY character with vocal fry, yet another example of her rapidly declining season.

• Also, Heidi’s name in this sketch is “Janinanine”. Jimmy Fowlie strikes again!!!

• Ugh, Heidi’s character is PURE CANCER!!!! Please let this sketch end!!!!

• Now it’s turning into a “React” sketch! Dear God, make it stop!!!!!!

• Sarah: “This is stressing me out!” Yeah, me too, Sarah. I just wish the writers would stop pointing out how terrible their sketches are.

• That was one of the worst fucking things I have ever seen on this show. Heidi continues to be an annoying nuisance, and I really hope she leaves after this season.

Musical Performance: “Forever”

Sketch: King Brothers Toyota

Toyota dealers advertise their latest sale.

• Here’s a sketch I’ve heard a lot of good things about.

• Andrew with yet another big role! This is the most airtime he’s gotten in a while!

• This perfectly captures how cheesy and over the top a lot of car dealership commercials are.

• I love the photo of Sarah as an iPad carrying teenager.

• Who is that kid in the Guys and Dolls poster?

• I love how every time they mention the congressman’s name, a picture of him appears at the bottom of the screen. 

• Despite not liking this as much as other fans did, it was still okay.

Film: Falling Down

Our host has some embarrassing moments while getting ready to appear on the show.

• We haven’t had a regular non-Please Don’t Destroy backstage short in quite a while.

• Yet another Andrew appearance! This episode has been great for him!

• I love that whenever MBJ falls down, Andrew is always there watching.

• Speaking of Please Don’t Destroy, we get a brief scene filmed in their office with Andrew, Sarah, and Bowen.

• The sketch rundown can be seen behind MBJ at one point, and the order is very different than the live show. For example, this film was supposed to follow that awful Party in Palm Springs sketch.

• Nice bizarre ending scene of the two of them flying off into the sky.

Cut for Time: Baptist Church

A pastor and a member of his church share how they’re going to spend the money they earned from the collection plates.

• The guy at the organ is apparently SNL Band member Leon Pendarvis.

• Devon’s character looks a lot like 90s Steve Harvey. Just a random observation.

• Wow, Devon and MBJ are going all out in this! Fantastic performances from the both of them!

• I’m not caring for the reacting portions of this sketch.

• Overall, a really well performed sketch, but repetitive as hell.

Final thoughts: Having not seen this show live, I didn’t know what to expect. Imagine my surprise, however, when this turned out to be one of the best of the season so far. Part of that can be chalked up to the host, who did a phenomenal job. Special mention must also be made for Andrew Dismukes, who had one of the best nights of his career.

Best sketches: Good Morning Today, Towel Guys, State Farm, Falling Down

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Party in Palm Springs

Next review: Pedro Pascal/Coldplay. I recall this episode having a lot of really wretched material in it.

SNL Reviews: Aubrey Plaza/Sam Smith (1/21/23)

 Cold Open: NFL on FOX

George Santos is interviewed by the NFL on FOX crew.

• Mikey doesn’t look a thing like Howie Long.

• JAJ debuts an impression of Jimmy Johnson, complete with him plugging Extenze.

• I absolutely love Devon’s Michael Strahan impression. 

• Molly’s typecasting as fat male celebrities continues, as they are forced to play Terry Bradshaw here. At least it’s good to see them get a lead role here after not speaking a single word last time.

• The jokes about Cleatus the FOX Sports Robot are falling flat for me.

• Oh shit, I forgot the introduction of Bowen’s George Santos impression was in this. You see, Santos has become SNL’s new boogeyman since the last episode, so expect to see a lot of (unfunny) jokes about him for the remainder of the season.

• Why couldn’t they get Marcello to play Santos? My guess is that someone at SNL must have thought more Bowen equals more funny and gave it to him.

• All of these “wacky” Bowen sketches we’ve been getting lately are totally washing over my head, and this one is no different. He is quickly becoming one of the worst cast members on the show.

• No comment on the scene where he shows up in drag.

Monologue

Aubrey Plaza talks about her past and then gives a tour of the studio.

•  Nice appearance of Aubrey’s real grandmother in the audience.

• Super random appearance from Joe Biden (the REAL Joe Biden) congratulating Aubrey on making it out of Delaware alive. Remember when SNL used to poke fun at politicians they invited on to the show?

• Been a while since we had a backstage monologue. The last one I can think of is that awful one with Dan Levy.

• As someone who’s a big fan of television history, I don’t really care for Aubrey’s blatantly fake “facts” about Studio 8H. There used to be a time when SNL actually respected the history of NBC.

• A lot of backstage personnel make cameos here. The guy who she addresses as “Danny” is talent coordinator Jeff Blake. I don’t know why they couldn’t use his real name.

•  The shot of the pages opening the studio doors seems to be a reference to the Season 12/13 opening sequence.

• Another sighting of the showgirls and llama that usually appear in these backstage segments. No sign of Abe Lincoln, though.

• Amy Poehler returns for the first time in quite a while. I was kind of expecting it given who’s hosting.

• Another Akira Yoshimura appearance, this time accompanied by fellow production designers Keith Raywood and Joe DeTullio.

• Akira: “We always believed in you, Avery.”

• Not one of the better backstage monologues, but it was nice to see Amy again.

Sketch: Miss Universe

A group of women compete for the Miss Universe pageant.

• Ugh at the “We now return to” intro, followed by a lame plug for that 80 for Brady movie that no one watched.

• I remember this sketch being extremely terrible. I’m sure it is, seeing as it has FIVE different writers.

• What’s with Kenan being so giggly lately? Just now during his opening speech, he randomly started laughing for no reason. This man needs to leave SNL as soon as possible.

• An immediate groan from me when all the ladies start screaming which country they’re from.

• And then they repeat the screaming every single time Kenan asks them a question. It’s official. I am in Hell.

• I do kinda like Molly’s non-attempt at a Danish accent.

• Aubrey as Miss France is annoying me the most. I can’t stand her constantly responding to everything with “FRAAAAAANCE!!!” It’s like she’s a Kristen Wiig character or something.

• Super random cameos from the Property Brothers and Tony Hawk as the judges. Why the fuck are they here? I dunno, but they make fun of how random it is, so that makes it okay, right? Right????

• Okay, so, apparently this sketch was based on some viral video where the actual Miss France yelled like a retard or something. I haven’t seen the video, or even heard of it before I read Blood Meridian’s review of the episode, but it’s kind of annoying that SNL assumes that people will be familiar with the original video in order to find this shit funny. Well, it’s not funny. It’s rather irritating!!!

Film: The Black Lotus

Staff members of an exclusive resort deal with wacky shenanigans from the guests.

• Jennifer Coolidge again??!!?? We just fucking saw her!!

• I’m a minute and a half into this short, and everything is just washing over me. Is this a parody of a real show, or is it some bullshit they came up with? I have no idea! Where are the jokes???

• I do like how almost the entire cast is in this, which gives it a more professional feel. Well, everyone except for Molly, because of course.

• Not a big fan of Aubrey’s Latina stereotype character.

• Where in the world did they film this? It looks like it was shot at an actual resort hotel.

Sketch: Taboo

A game of Taboo goes off the rails.

• Thanks for explaining to us that Aubrey just said “gun”, Ego! 

• Mikey and Aubrey are coming off as a great duo here, and some of Mikey’s responses to her questions are actually funny.

• I love the disturbed closeup of Heidi’s face as Aubrey is trying to remember which household item Mikey threw at her last night.

• Wait, it’s over?!? I actually wanted to see more!

Sketch: Morning Announcements

Two nuns deliver the day’s announcements with help from students.

• Molly with a lead role!!!

• The Lady Gaga joke fell flat for me.

• Molly’s Irish accent keeps coming and going.

• I find it hard to say anything about this sketch. Maybe I’m just burned out on jokes about nuns after hearing every single one from my dad.

• ANOTHER sketch that just ends with everybody singing.

Film: M3GAN 2.0

The murderous doll is very popular with gay men.

• A parody of a movie that I haven’t seen, nor will I ever. Wanna know something else? It’s a Universal film! Yay for corporate synergy!!!!

• It figures Chloe would be cast in this role, and to her credit, she is pulling it off pretty well. She does kind of look like a killer doll already.

• Yippee, now we’re getting gay stereotypes as well. I get that this movie is popular with gay guys for some reason, but will that really sustain a whole sketch?

• Unsurprisingly, Bowen appears in this.

• This film is pretty well shot, I must admit, and the makeup on M3GAN and M3GAN 2.0 is really good. I’m just not laughing at this all that much.

• Random cameo from Allison Williams, who is actually in the real movie. The joke is that they all recognize her from the show Girls, and they let her in because she’s an “ally”.

• I noticed that one of the writers of this was Jimmy Fowlie. Ah, so that’s why it’s about gay stuff!

Musical Performance: “Unholy”

• Yeah, “unholy” is right! This is one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen on SNL! It serves as a warm-up for Smith’s infamous performance at the Grammys later that year.

• It’s also worth noting that Kim Petras (who Smith is performing this with) is the first transgender woman to perform on SNL.

Weekend Update (featuring George Santos, April Ludgate, and Leslie Knope)

• Ugh, here come the George Santos jokes.

• Super lame joke suggesting that Marjorie Taylor-Greene is a drag queen.

• Bowen as Santos again??!!??? Didn’t we suffer enough from this impression back in the cold open?

• As with the cold open, none of these lies are making me laugh. The real Santos is way funnier than this “impression”.

• What annoys me the most about this are the comments on the YouTube upload, full of people making their own George Santos lies. Don’t give SNL any ideas!!!!

• Now Aubrey’s here as her Parks and Recreation character, April Ludgate. I hate to admit it, but I have never seen a single episode of that show.

• To no one’s surprise, Amy then appears as Leslie Knope. I’m a little more familiar with her character, so maybe she can save this.

• Somewhat amusing meta line from Leslie about how she used to watch this show when Seth Meyers was the anchor of Weekend Update “with no one else”.

• A funny reference to the Biden appearance earlier in this episode, where Leslie asks if Biden could see her.

• As much as this feels like a throwback to those insufferable years of Amy’s “cutesy” behavior on Update, I’m actually finding it charming here, even the lame “Rosa Barks” joke. All in all, this is the best commentary we’ve had in a while.

Sketch: Avatar

Jake Sully and the other Na’vi try to identify the sky people who have infiltrated their group.

• I have never seen Avatar or its sequel, but I like the makeup and costume design in this sketch.

• As soon as Heidi and Aubrey showed up as lesbian stereotypes, I knew I was in for a rough ride.

• Ugh, this is also a “Mikey Reacts” sketch.

• I have no idea what the purpose of the scene where they electrocute themselves with their tails is all about. Is that a reference to something in the movie?

• Did Mikey just clear his throat? Was that even part of the script??? Please let this sketch end right now!!!

• Overall, wow. That is one of the worst sketches I have ever seen. It’s another fine example of how bad Heidi has gotten lately.

Musical Performance: “Gloria”

• Um, why is Sharon Stone there? And why are these sparkly black-hooded people all sacrificing her to the Devil? I dunno, I guess I shouldn't be surprised by Sam Smith's rapidly declining sanity anymore.

Sketch: HIV Commercial

Filming for a commercial about an HIV pill goes off the rails.

• Aubrey seems to be wearing her April wig here.

• I like the sudden reveal that this shoot is for an HIV commercial.

• Who’s the black extra sitting next to Marcello? Whoever he is, he’s really getting into the dancing scenes in the commercial.

• Devon is really good in this sketch. I wish they used him more often, instead of just waiting for black-hosted episodes to use him.

• There’s also some nice satire here about how these commercials usually only feature gay guys in them, as if HIV is just a gay disease.

• Devon: “What if my guy got HIV from basketball like Magic Johnson?”

• The ending was kind of abrupt, but I really enjoyed this sketch for the most part.

Sketch: Film Noir

A man investigates a woman accused of murdering her husband.

• JAJ is perfect for a sketch like this! Too bad I can barely hear his opening narration because the music is mixed too loud!

• Aubrey is really good in this too.

• James: “I’m 33, I just look older because I’m an alcoholic.”

• Another Sharon Stone appearance. I still don’t know why she’s here.

• I liked Sharon’s line about JAJ’s big nose.

• Not the funniest sketch, but it didn’t need to be. I just enjoyed this for the authentic film noir atmosphere.

Final thoughts: Hoo boy, that was quite a rough episode. There was a good chunk of stuff here that I absolutely hated, as well as quite a number of things that I didn’t get because I had to be familiar with the source material. None of this was Aubrey’s fault, though. She did her best despite the awful material, and I like that her chemistry with Amy is still there.

Best sketches: Monologue, April and Leslie commentary, HIV Commercial

Worst sketches: Miss America, Morning Announcements, George Santos commentary, Avatar

Next review: Michael B. Jordan/Lil Baby

SNL Reviews: Austin Butler/Lizzo (12/17/22)

 Cold Open

Donald Trump announces his collection of NFT trading cards.

• Ugh, ANOTHER Trump cold open!!! Hey, SNL, this guy’s not our President anymore! You don’t have to make every cold open focus on him!

• Anyway, he’s here to talk about his new collection of NFTs, which is apparently a thing the real Trump announced that week.

• None of these NFTs are making me laugh. Except maybe the one where he’s using eye lasers to melt Biden’s ice cream.

• It still feels weird seeing Mikey as Trump Jr. without Alex as Eric, and Cecily is adding nothing to this as Kimberly Guilfoyle (whoever that is).

Monologue

Austin Butler talks about immersing himself in the role of Elvis and how he overcame his shyness.

• I first became aware of Austin Butler when he appeared in an episode of iCarly in 2007. He played a hot guy that Carly fell in love with, who, ironically, is terrible at singing.

• All of the COVID references are funny in hindsight, given how it’s no longer a major concern.

• I love the doctored interview footage of him from ten years ago where he has a pitch-shifted voice.

• He actually mentions his Nickelodeon past here. Too bad they didn’t show any clips, because it would have been funny to see him singing with an awful voice!

• Rather bizarre how there’s no applause when he mentions he grew up watching SNL. In a lot of other monologues where people have said that, they usually get immediate applause.

• I love his Gollum impression!

• I can really identify with his stories about growing up shy, as I am also a very shy person.

• Overall, a nice, sweet monologue. I can already tell I’m going to like Austin as a host.

Sketch: The Phrase That Pays

Contestants try to find the missing letters in word puzzles.

• JAJ gets his first role as a game show host, something I’m surprised he hasn’t done before. Also, I’m fairly certain the name of his character (“Dan Smatter”) is supposed to be a pun of some kind, considering the track record of these game show sketches.

• I liked his response to Heidi interrupting his opening spiel: “Don’t do that. That’s not nice.”

• The live airing of this sketch had a bizarre error where the camera focused on Punkie while Heidi was delivering a line. This error has been fixed for reruns.

• Punkie constantly guessing that the answer contains “mama” is getting old.

• Totally predictable joke where Austin’s statement of confusion turns out to be the right answer.

• I’m not quite sure I understood Heidi’s reference to a chess player having a cheating device in his rear.

• The only thing I liked about this sketch was JAJ’s performance, especially his line at the end about how he knew there was an “X” in the last question, but doesn’t care.

Film: Christmas Epiphany

A drunk workaholic has a change of heart about his family.

• Nice retro black-and-white vibe. Kinda reminds me of a Schiller’s Reel.

• Amazing attention to detail on the audio quality of Mikey and Austin’s voices, sounding as if this is an old reel of film.

• I like the sudden turn this takes when Heidi spots Austin looking into her family’s house. It’s also amusing seeing Andrew wearing a mustache.

• I love Heidi’s odd robotic delivery.

• Great scene where Heidi makes the children look away from the window as Austin’s position makes it appear as if he’s giving Mikey a blowjob.

• Amazing twist at the end with Mikey’s character creepily peering through the window.

• Overall, a great film. This season has been having some really strong pretapes lately.

Sketch: Marzipan

The sweet treat that children crave more than any other during the holiday season.

• Already a bad omen for this sketch when Kenan starts talking in that annoying voice.

• Bowen’s character is extremely irritating. 

• Austin’s glee at being abducted by someone with marzipan was pretty funny.

• I love Longfellow’s Frank Nelson-esque chef.

• Yet another sketch that just ends with everyone dancing. Why is that becoming a theme?

• I didn’t hate this as much as I did when it first aired, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. Would it surprise you at all if I said that Kent Sublette wrote this?

Sketch: Jewish Elvis

Elderly women go crazy for Jewish Elvis.

• This sketch was apparently cut from the season premiere. I guess it made sense to save it for this episode because of the Elvis connection?

• No comment on Austin dressed like an old lady.

• An amazing concept of an Elvis that acts like a stereotypical Jew. Only from the mind of Sarah Sherman would you get an idea like that.

• I absolutely love the line about Austin’s “bagel” having too much cream cheese on it.

• One thing I’m not a fan of are Chloe’s constant reaction moments. Who does she think she is? Mikey Day?

• Second sketch in a row that ends with a song and dance number, although this one actually has, you know, a reason for it.

Musical Performance: “Break Up Twice”

• It’s interesting to note that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were originally booked for this episode, but their guitarist was sick with pneumonia so they had to pull out.

Weekend Update (featuring Krampus, Colin’s Great Aunt Pat, and Cathy Anne)

• Enough with the “seen here” jokes already.

• Bowen makes his first appearance on Update in quite a while. This time, he plays the mythological creature Krampus.

• The makeup on Bowen is pretty good, but the extremely flamboyant portrayal he’s giving Krampus is overdone by this point.

• At least we get a funny blooper where one of his horns starts coming off, and he ad-libs that he must be getting ill.

• Heidi’s decline continues as she debuts a new character: Colin’s “Great Aunt” Pat. This character has an extremely annoying voice and isn’t funny in the slightest. I sense Kent Sublette’s influence.

• Ugh, Cathy Anne is back. At least this is the last time we’ll ever be seeing this character, so I’ll try to be more lenient on her for once.

• You can hear some people in the audience gasp when Cathy Anne says she’s there to say goodbye.

• Kind of fitting how Cathy Anne’s final appearance has the cops chasing her for all of the bad things she’s talked about on Update.

• Nice use of Kate and Aidy in the picture of her cell mates.

• I love how she shows a picture of Cecily and Colin hosting Update together.

• Ballsy joke referring to Judy Garland as a “famous drug addict”.

• I can’t believe I’m saying this, but, that actually wasn’t too bad for a Cathy Anne commentary. You can tell Cecily is going to miss playing this character. She even gives Jost and Che a hug at the end. Awwww….

Sketch: White Elephant

Things don’t go quite as expected during a gift exchange.

• Hey, Devon still exists! And JAJ gets a non-impression role for the second time tonight!

• That ashtray looks so fake.

• Austin’s performance in this is so good! He’s really believable as a sore loser type of person. And, I find that very relatable, as I’ve acted like that sometimes.

• Not a fan of the random Santa ending.

Film: Jennifer Coolidge Is Impressed By Christmas Stuff

The actress browses various Christmas items.

• This sketch was cut from the previous episode.

• Chloe’s impression isn’t as spot on as it was last season. What the hell happened to it?

• I like Longfellow’s reaction when Chloe asks him if he wrote Jingle Bells.

• Punkie has a great disgusted reaction to Chloe comparing egg nog to Santa’s body fluids.

• Not the funniest sketch, but harmless enough.

Musical Performance: “Someday at Christmas”

Please Don’t Destroy: Plirts

The guys try to get Austin Butler to invest in their new company.

• Funny visual of Martin walking in wearing a plastic shirt.

• I love Austin’s reactions to all this nonsense.

• Great to see Devon and Marcello show up too.

• I like the continuity with Lizzo being in a relationship with Martin after her appearance in that short from last season.

• Marcello has a great moment when he shows the side-effects of wearing a plastic hat.

• Great ending where they all pose on the runway with their plastic accessories.

Sketch: Blue Christmas

Cecily’s last day at RadioShack is celebrated with the help of Casual Elvis.

• Oh, man. This is going to be hard for me to watch again…

• Decent subtext with Cecily playing someone who’s leaving RadioShack after many years.

• Is this Molly’s first appearance in the whole episode?!? What’s the deal with that?

• Kenan sounds like he’s trying not to cry.

• Excellent use of Austin’s Elvis impression, with him singing “Blue Christmas”.

• One thing I’m really going to miss about Cecily is her beautiful singing voice. No matter how much she’s annoyed me at times, I’ve always loved her singing.

• Now this is turning into a full cast sketch. Even Colin shows up to sing a few lines!

• Man, Colin’s trying way too hard to hold his tears in.

• Heartwarming moment where they all give Cecily a hug.

• Overall, wow. I don’t know what to say. When my brother and I heard that this would be Cecily’s last show, we were both excited that we’d no longer have to suffer through her burnt-out and lazy performances. But then this sketch came on, and we felt sorry that she was leaving. A beautiful farewell to the longest lasting female cast member, and one that almost makes me feel bad for criticizing her so much in the past.

Cut For Time: Fusion Scientist

A family gushes over their son after he helped with a massive scientific breakthrough.

• I have no idea why this is only the second cut sketch we’ve gotten to see this year.

• Marcello is doing such a great job in this sketch as the jealous brother.

• I like the story about Marcello insulting his soccer team by saying that the sport is for “filthy South Americans”.

• And now even more disturbing details are being revealed about Marcello’s character, such as how he interned on porno films.

• Great scene where Marcello tries (and fails) to jump out the window when he finds out he’s adopted.

• A nice slice-of-life sketch. I wish this was in the live show and not that stupid marzipan bullshit.

Final thoughts: A great Christmas episode. Austin Butler made for a great host that was willing to do anything. I’d love to see him come back.

This is also the point where we have to say goodbye to Cecily Strong. What else is there to say about her? Her tenure started out good, had a shaky year in Season 39, but recovered from that and went on to have some good seasons. Then, around Season 45 or so, she started coming off more and more disinterested. This got worse in Season 46 when she missed a few episodes, and when she came back, she was even more out of place than ever. I’m just glad that she got the closure she deserved in this episode. Good luck with your future endeavors, Cecily.

Best sketches: Monologue, Christmas Epiphany, Jewish Elvis, Cathy Anne commentary, Plirts, Blue Christmas

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Marzipan, Great Aunt Pat commentary

Next review: Aubrey Plaza/Sam Smith

SNL Reviews: Amy Schumer/Steve Lacy (11/5/22)

 Cold Open: New Democratic Candidates

President Biden announces his new team of advisors.

• First time we’ve seen JAJ as Biden in a while. If you can believe it, this ends up being the ONLY time we see his Biden impression all season!

• You won’t believe how hard I grimaced when Biden made an Among Us joke.

• We then get a parade of impressions, starting with Chloe as Marianne Williamson, who she previously played back in her first episode. Something about the voice reminds me of Kate McKinnon, which is the last person I want to be reminded of.

• Molly introduces a Guy Fieri impression. This marks the start of a troubling trend with Molly being typecast as fat male celebrities. The impression itself is nowhere near as good as Bobby Moynihan’s take.

• Marcello as Tekashi 6ix9ine was so bad it was funny.

• An unwelcome return of Cecily’s Stormy Daniels impression. Can you please leave already?

• I did get a laugh from Ego as Azelia Banks and her ridiculous outfit.

• Kenan couldn’t sound a thing like Tracy Morgan if he tried. 

• Wow, that was awful. It might be even worse than the one from two episodes ago.

Monologue 

Schumer does stand-up about pregnant women and being intimate with her husband.

• That midterm abortion/election joke was terrible.

• Right off the bat, we’re getting vagina jokes. I knew she couldn’t resist.

• At least the vagina jokes were brief, but now she spends most of the rest of this monologue talking about fucking her husband.

• As if I couldn't hate her any more, she does a "joke" about Aspergers' syndrome having Nazi ties.

• TLDR: not a fan.

Sketch: Soup

Lunch gets interrupted by some shocking news.

• So far, absolutely nothing funny is happening. 

• What’s the point of that scene where Amy glares at Marcello and Sarah? Is it a reference to something?

• As if this couldn’t get any worse, Kenan randomly appears in a bubble and starts singing for no reason. Did I mention that this was written by Kent Sublette?

• Overall, this sketch was extremely weak and confusing. This episode is already making me cringe.

Fake Ad: COVID

The best way to get a 10-day break.

• A pretty good concept of people intentionally getting COVID to keep others from bothering them.

• I like the logo a lot (it’s a COVID spore with a little happy face). For some reason it reminds me of the National Science Foundation logo.

• Nice to see Michael get a big role here. I like how he says he’s been “quadruple vaxxed”, if you count his shot for HPV.

• The scenes of Sarah jumping on the bed and coughing are great.

• I like how one of the things you can get out of doing is “friend’s improv show”.

• Even the random reference to the Capitol riots was funny.

• Overall, a surprisingly funny and sharp satire, especially with the advanced knowledge that COVID is no longer a national health emergency.

Sketch: Jurors

Three jury members struggle to keep their excitement under control during a trial.

• This sketch was originally cut from last season’s Jerrod Carmichael episode.

• Marcello gets another big role here as the defendant.

• As soon as I saw that shot of Amy, Bowen, and Sarah in the jury, standing out from everyone else, I knew we were in for a rough sketch.

• Sure enough, the only joke of this sketch is the three of them overreacting to everything.

• I cringed at Bowen asking the sketch artist to “yassify” him.

• Making matters worse is Judge Kenan delivering all of his lines extremely over the top as usual. Have I made it clear that I absolutely hate Kenan now?

• That open mouthed face Sarah keeps making is very distracting and so unlike her. Who does she think she is? Chloe Fineman?

• Predictable ending where the three jurors end up solving the crime. We then get the sketch of them that they requested earlier, complete with a “yassified” Bowen.

• A rare miss for a Sarah Sherman sketch. I can’t believe she would go along with this crap.

Sketch: Twitter Council

Twitter’s Content Moderation Council tries to decide whether or not to unban several previously-banned accounts.

• Our latest variation of those town hall/meeting sketches. The last one from the Willem Dafoe episode was pretty good, so I had some high hopes for this one…hopes which were immediately shattered by the overused text crawl opening.

• Cecily has played way too many of these right-wing conspiracy nuts in her career. I think it’s supposed to be the same one she played in an earlier installment of these.

• Funny twist how Bowen’s “veteran” character is actually a veteran in Call of Duty. The reason he got banned (he doxxed a middle-schooler) was also pretty good.

• I actually thought Amy’s character was one of the better ones here. I especially love how she almost seduces Kenan into revealing his Social Security number before Chloe cuts him off. 

• Speaking of Kenan, he actually isn’t doing too bad in this one. These low-key performances are the ones he excels at.

• Punkie still exists! She tells everyone that she and her buddies from Black Twitter are going over to revive MySpace, to which Kenan responds with a perfect, “I’ll see you there!”

• Unfortunately, this sketch comes to a screeching halt with the unwelcome return of JAJ’s Trump. I guess I should have seen it coming with the premise being people getting banned from Twitter.

• Super lame and predictable ending where Chloe and Kenan’s characters get fired.

• This sketch was actually somewhat okay for the first half, but the part with Trump just ruined it. SNL needs to just let Trump go and focus on other Republican idiots.

Film: The Looker

A family receives a strange letter after moving into a new home.

• Marcello with another big role!! Good for him!!!!

• I like the creepy vibe this has. There’s also some unique camera angles that you hardly ever see on SNL, like the POV shot from the bushes.

• Great shot of Amy creepily staring out the window as her husband (JAJ) leaves for his jog.

• I got a big laugh from Amy jerking off to an episode of The Property Brothers.

• Stalker: “Why is she so aroused by that show? Is it the brothers? Or is it the property?”

• And they just keep going back to the Property Brothers after this! 

• All of Amy’s attempts to cover up her weird habits are great, like how she tries to excuse her downloading every episode of the show by saying someone broke into their house and did it.

• I absolutely love the ending where Amy makes the rest of the family stay in a hotel for the night while she stays behind in case the stalker comes back. How does she spend that time? By staying in her room and watching Property Brothers with her pants open!

• Overall, this was a great short film. I can’t believe Amy fucking Schumer made me laugh so much.

Musical Performance: “Bad Habit”

Weekend Update (featuring Tammy the Trucker)

• I got a chuckle from Che’s “Hebrews II Negroes” joke.

• Another great Che joke about China sending children into space to assemble their space station.

• *sigh* I totally forgot that the following commentary was in this episode. Anyway, remember that awful clown commentary that Cecily did last season? Well, now she’s dressed as “Tammy the Trucker, who’s here to talk about gas prices and definitely not abortion”. I kid you not. After the horrible reception that last one received, you’d think she wouldn’t try this again. But I guess not!

• Just listen to the dead silence from the audience for most of this. Even they’re not impressed with this awful, showboating performance from a hack who’s way past her prime.

• As bad as the Goober the Clown commentary was, I think this one might be worse. Definitely a low point of Cecily’s career, and, believe me, that’s saying something, considering all of the shit she’s appeared in.

Note: After Update, a dedication appears for someone named “Take Off” Ball.

Sketch: Jets Fans

Rowdy Jets fans annoy everyone (including me).

• Ugggh, I forgot all about this sketch. I remember it being extremely awful.

• Yep, here comes a shouting festival from Cecily (man, this has not been a good episode for her).

• Longfellow appears just so he can get mocked for being a Bills fan. What a waste.

• After having such a good season so far, this is only the first time we’ve seen Mikey in this episode. This was a sketch he wrote, by the way.

• The scene where they all yell at a bunch of children makes me feel uncomfortable.

• Awful, awful scene where Amy assaults a guy in a wheelchair. 

• Wow, that was extremely painful. I can’t believe how rapidly this episode is falling apart.

Fake Ad: Pinx Period Underwear

A new option for women having their periods.

• More vagina jokes? I’m surprised this entire episode hasn’t been nothing but that.

• I’m not quite sure I understand the “gag” with all of the animals being attracted to Amy’s underwear. Is there something in them that attracts animals? Gee, it sure would have been nice if they established that!

• Ugh, this episode just continues to die.

Sketch: WKTVN News

Victims of a fire are interviewed.

• Uh-oh, a news intro. I’m getting worried…

• Michael’s name is “Chance Harmstrong”? Gee, I WONDER who wrote this?!!?? (*sees Kent Sublette’s name*) What a shock.

• Another sign that this is a Sublette sketch is when Cecily shows up and starts talking in a cartoony Southern accent.

• This sketch is just nothing but bad accents and “wacky” characters. In other words, a typical Kent Sublette sketch.

• Not even the fact that Molly gets a second appearance tonight is enough to make me smile.

• No comment on the scene where Cecily and Amy flash the camera.

• What the fuck is happening to this episode? This is the third sketch in a row that made me want to puke.

Sketch: Big Penis Therapy

A discussion about the positive effects of destigmatizing therapy for men.

• I love all the airtime Andrew has gotten in this episode.

• Ugh at the reveal that the therapy Andrew has been going to is for his penis. We got a nice long reprieve from dick jokes for a while.

• I usually like Andrew’s sketches, but not even he can make a sketch where everyone keeps saying “penis” over and over a good idea.

Musical Performance: “Helmet”

Sketch: Big Dumb Hat

The new hat that’s perfect for any occasion.

• I’m sorry, am I watching a rejected Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant team up sketch? This is exactly like those awful ads they used to do. I’m guessing the reason is because this was written by Alison Gates, who wrote a lot of those sketches. Kent Sublette is also credited as a writer, which is another bad sign.

• Heidi’s voice in this is so annoying. This is just one of many annoying roles she will go on to play this season.

• Not even the pictures of them demonstrating the hats are making me laugh.

• I did get a surprise laugh from Heidi saying she made a baby while wearing that hat.

• The onscreen text that shows up when they say “Hat, Dumb, Big” is slightly delayed.

• Nice fake pizza you’re eating there, Heidi.

• The only other laugh I got was Chloe showing the crease on her forehead from the hat.

• I really wanted to appreciate this sketch for how much it’s trying to come off as intentionally cheesy, but it’s still just a throwback to an era of the show I’m glad we’re no longer in.

Final thoughts: Wow, that was one of the most bipolar episodes I’ve ever seen. While there was some good stuff in the first half, the show fell apart after Update and never recovered. While Amy Schumer wasn’t as annoying as I thought she was going to be, she didn’t help the show at all. I hope she never hosts again.

Best sketches: COVID, The Looker

Worst sketches: Monologue, Jurors, Tammy the Trucker commentary, Jets Fans, Pinx Period Underwear, WKTVN News

Next review: Dave Chappelle/Black Star

SNL Reviews: Jack Harlow (10/29/22)

 Cold Open: PBS NewsHour

Herschel Walker, Dr. Oz, and Kari Lake are interviewed.

• Nice to see Heidi with a lead role.

• Ugh, Kenan’s Herschel Walker is back. I immediately groaned when he called himself “Herschel Walker Texas Ranger”.

• Are these malapropisms something that Walker is known for doing in real life? 

• Mikey plays Dr. Oz here. It’s not very good, but he’s trying his best.

• Cecily makes her “triumphant” return to the show after missing the first three episodes of the season. Rather hilariously, she gets no applause when she shows up, as if the audience is tired of seeing her on the show as well. She’s playing Arizona candidate Kari Lake, who, coincidentally, used to be an anchor at my local NBC affiliate before she got into politics.

• Ha, they actually bring up the fact that she used to be a news anchor!

• All these Arizona jokes are falling flat for me. Did Michael Longfellow have a hand in writing these?

• The only mild chuckle I got was from Dr. Oz trying to shill one of his products.

• Overall, yet another messy, confused cold open.

Monologue

Our host talks about the big year he’s had with his music, his new film, and getting roasted online.

• Has the home base stage ever been decorated like this for Halloween before?

• If Pete was still on the show, you just know that they would have had him play Jack in a sketch.

• Something about his delivery here is really bizarre. Is he feeling okay?

• Wow, that interview with an audience member is awkward as fuck. At least she seems to have a good sense of humor about it, while Harlow is bumbling through his (presumably) scripted questions.

• Not a good sign for the rest of the episode if this is how our host is going to be all night.

Sketch: Joker

The best man shows up in costume at a wedding.

• Oh shit, I’ve been dreading this sketch…

• An immediate red flag when everyone starts speaking in obnoxious Southern accents. Oddly, Sublette had nothing to do with this one. Andrew Dismukes and Celeste Yim were the writers.

• Speaking of Andrew, the initial sight of him in Joker makeup made me chuckle a little.

• Unfortunately, the rest of this sketch is nothing but them saying “Joker” over and over again in annoying voices.

• Still going on…

• No comment on Chloe’s awful accent.

• Sarah is almost unrecognizable as an old lady.

• Then this suddenly turns into a Survivor episode, complete with a pointless Jeff Probst cameo. 

• Wow, this was just as painful and obnoxious as I remembered. Definitely a candidate for the worst sketch of the season.

Fake Ad: Skechers

Skechers responds to Kanye West.

• This aired around the time that Adidas dropped Kanye West for his racist statements about Jews. All these months later, when it’s mostly been forgotten, I’m sure this is going to be even less funny.

• Punkie actually gets a few lines here!

• Cecily surprisingly isn’t coming off too badly here. Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll go back to being annoying next week.

• Was Cecily’s “Buh-bye” supposed to be a Total Bastard Airlines reference?

• Random appearance from JAJ as Mike Lindell at the end. While his impression is a lot better than Beck Bennett’s, it still isn’t that funny.

Sketch: The Post-Halloween Red Carpet Special

People are interviewed while in their Halloween costumes.

• Geez, another lead role for Cecily? I know she was gone for a while, but this is serious overkill.

• Also, no comment on her name being “Tina Lefaye”. 

• Chloe trying to speak in a “drunk” voice is painful to listen to. She’s also doing that staring at the camera thing I mentioned last time.

• I like Devon’s “Chris Rock getting slapped” costume. Too bad this is the only time we see him in this episode.

• Marcello’s “Patriarcky” shirt made me groan, as did Cecily explaining to us that it was misspelled, as if we couldn’t tell.

• It figures that Bowen would dress up as one of the Village People for Halloween. Ironically, the one he’s dressed as (the cop) was the only one of them that wasn’t gay.

• Molly’s brief appearance as a drunk Dora the Explorer was pretty good.

• Even in a small role, Kenan is annoying me. He is so out of place with all of the newer cast members in this sketch.

• Good ending with Longfellow dressed as a pedophile.

• Despite being a little too long, this wasn’t that bad. I especially like how all four newbies made an appearance in it.

Sketch: AA Meeting

An Alcoholics Anonymous meeting suddenly turns into a pitch for an animated film about suitcases.

• OMG at the wig Longfellow is wearing.

• Unexpected twist where Jack suddenly reveals an idea he has about a talking suitcase movie.

• Molly gets a second appearance tonight!

• I like how all of the ideas the fellow AA members are coming up with are ones that Jack has already written down.

• Kenan actually made me laugh with his drawing of a suitcase with boobs.

• Another funny Kenan moment with his response to the fact that one of the characters is French: “I hate that bag.” Then, when he gets involved in a heartwarming moment, his opinion shifts: “I love that bag now!”

• Cecily’s bizarre character was unnecessary. Even worse, this leads to an out-of-nowhere musical number.

• Tom Hanks shows up again. I wish I could be more excited, but I know what this is eventually going to lead to…

• Not sure we actually needed to see the suitcases at the end.

• This sketch was mostly pretty good, with the exception of the musical number.

Film: 2020 Part 2: 2024

A horror movie shows the scariest outcomes for the 2024 election.

• This was cut from the Brendan Gleeson episode. I’m guessing they wanted to air it closer to Halloween because of the horror theme?

• What’s with the random bit of applause after Mikey leaves to go get popcorn. Did someone just show up in the studio while this ad is playing?

• The editing in this is spot on, and just like a typical horror movie trailer.

• Punkie gets another role! Meanwhile, I haven’t seen Ego at all.

• I liked the jump scare with Cory Booker’s face.

• Despite liking how well made this was, I didn’t find it very funny. It was kind of confusing.

Sketch: Bartenders

Things go awry when two bartenders serve a group of businesspeople.

• I love how much airtime the newbies have been getting in this episode.

• Unfortunately the main joke of this sketch is Bowen and Jack doing a very stupid dance that I am going to assume was stolen from TikTok.

• The glass breaking sound effects were hilariously delayed.

• Overall, blah.

Musical Performance: “Li’l Secret”, “First Class”

• Tom Hanks introduces the performance.

Weekend Update (featuring Drunk Uncle)

• Colin gets in a good slam at Peloton for banning Kanye West’s music in their classes, while also trying to distract people from their dangerous bikes.

• Other than that one, it’s more of the same shit as usual with these two.

• Then, out of nowhere, Bobby Moynihan suddenly returns as Drunk Uncle! HELL YEAH!!! What makes this return especially welcome is that Bobby has wisely stayed away from cameos since he left. 

• Bobby hasn’t lost his charm as this character at all.

• Despite how good this commentary is, the only part that really sticks out to me is when he randomly starts singing “Take Me Home Tonight”, probably because I love that song.

• Did they really have to do the “That’s not me/That’s not anybody” routine again? That’s the only part of these commentaries that never works. But, in conclusion this commentary was a welcome return for Bobby. If only I knew what it was leading up to…

Sketch: Cellblock 666

A familiar face returns to scare the hell out of park goers once again.

• Ego, where have you been all night? This is only her first appearance in the episode.

• As soon as I saw this sketch being set up, I knew exactly who we were getting here, and I was like, “What are you doing, SNL? Are you even trying anymore?”

• Kenan’s Hell puns are doing nothing for me.

• I liked Ego’s reaction to seeing Annabelle: “I hate that little bitch!”

• Yep, there he is. David S. Pumpkins has returned. I guess I should have seen it coming earlier when both Tom Hanks and Bobby Moynihan made cameos, but I honestly wasn’t thinking about it.

• Rather hilariously, Bobby’s skeleton now has a beard.

• So far, this is just a basic rewrite of the first David Pumpkins sketch. The reason the first one worked so well was because it came out of nowhere. But now, we’ve seen it all before, so the impact is lost.

• Again with the Mario movie shilling? There’s this one part where the skeletons jump and they make the Mario jump noise. Why? I have no idea.

• As if this couldn’t get any worse, they actually have the balls to explain where David Pumpkins came from: apparently, he’s from Spain. You guys do realize that the whole point of the character was that his origin wasn’t important, right?

• JAJ has a pretty good Freddy Krueger voice. Too bad his scene is just a ripoff of Leslie Jones’ scene from the original sketch.

• Wow, I can’t believe it. They actually ruined David S. Pumpkins. What was once a memorable one-off is now a shitty recurring sketch. You just know that SNL is somehow going to bring this back in the future.

Musical Performance: “State Fair”

• Cecily introduces this one.

Sketch: The View

Jack Harlow pays a visit to the set.

• SNL’s latest attempt to recapture the magic of those late 90s The View sketches. 

• Ego takes over as Whoopi, despite not even sounding like her. Speaking of Ego, this is the 250th sketch she’s appeared in! Good for her!

• Sarah’s screechy Joy Behar voice isn’t very accurate, but it is making me laugh, and that’s the most important thing.

• I’m surprised at how much airtime Punkie has gotten in this episode. There isn’t even a black host, so I don’t know what made them decide to finally use her this week. Whatever the reason, I’m certainly not complaining!

• I like when Ego cuts off Chloe trying to bring up climate change by telling her that they’ve moved on to another topic.

• Most of this is just a whole lot of nothing. My only laughs came from Sarah, proving yet again that she’s got a crazy amount of talent.

Cut for Time: JNCO Longs

A shocking secret is revealed in this pants commercial.

• SNL hasn’t really released a lot of cut sketches from this  season.

• I wonder who the announcer is. It doesn’t sound like Steve Higgins or anyone in the cast.

• We get a sudden twist about halfway through when it’s revealed that Jack got surgery to make himself taller, while all of his friends thought it meant he was getting a sex change.

• Despite how odd this twist was, I actually thought it was pretty good, and they make it clear how awful it was for him to scam people just so he could get new jeans.

• The ending, where Sarah kicks him in the legs and breaks them, was a nice way to wrap it up.

Final thoughts: Another mixed bag. I’m not sure what was up, but Jack Harlow seemed kind of out of it. Cecily’s return went about as well as I expected, as we’re back to her ruining sketches with her out of place antics. Thankfully, we’ve only got five left before she leaves for good. 

Best sketches: The Post-Halloween Red Carpet Special, AA Meeting, Drunk Uncle commentary, JNCO Longs (Cut)

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Joker, Bartenders, Cellblock 666, The View

Next review: Amy Schumer/Steve Lacey

SNL Reviews: Megan Thee Stallion (10/15/22)

Cold Open

“Funny” things happen during the final hearing about the January 6th riots.

• Aw shit, we’re back to political cold opens again.

• A huge groan from that intro line about C-SPAN standing for “cocker spaniel”.

• I don’t know who Kenan is supposed to be, but I’m sure he sounds nothing like that in real life.

• Longfellow debuts an impression of Adam Schiff. I absolutely love the creepy smile he’s doing as him.

• I fucking hate the type of humor where they try to make politicians come off as relatable, as seen here when Andrew (playing Adam Kinzinger) begs to have a cupcake before the hearing.

• Heidi takes over as Liz Cheney, the third different person to play her. They’re trying to characterize her as some sort of “brave freedom fighter” who’s taking on the rest of her party, which is all sorts of cringe.

• Chloe Fineman takes over from Kate McKinnon as Nancy Pelosi. Unsurprisingly, she looks and sounds nothing like Pelosi.

• Sarah Sherman joins the SNL Drag Club by taking over as Chuck Schumer. I was hoping that the drag roles would cease once Kate and Aidy left, but I’m sad to see that this isn’t the case. Alex Moffat’s Schumer wasn’t perfect, but at least it was a guy playing him. I’m guessing they just gave the role to Sarah because she happens to be Jewish.

• The “Trump conversation excerpts” are terrible and go on for way too long.

• Speaking of Trump, JAJ’s Trump makes his first appearance of the season. In case you were wondering if they decided to do something new with him…they did not.

• After two decidedly different cold opens, we’re back to basics with this one. It also doesn’t help that this one was 9 minutes long.

Monologue

Megan talks about her many names and her love of acting.

• This episode came out around the time she appeared in Disney Plus’s She-Hulk show, in which she taught everyone…how to twerk. I can’t exactly say I’m excited to see what she brings to the table.

• I’m all for enthusiastic hosts, but Megan here is a little too overexcited. 

• It also doesn’t help that I can barely understand what she’s saying.

• At least this was pretty short, only about three minutes.

Sketch: Hot Girl Hospital

A preview for a new medical drama starring “hot girls”.

• I groaned as soon as I saw the title, as it brought back unwanted memories of the Elon Musk episode and its horrid “Gen Z Hospital” sketch. Coincidentally, that sketch was also right after the monologue.

• Am I supposed to know what “The Shade Room” is and why it’s allegedly funny that their Instagram page helped create this series?

• Punkie is stuck in a thankless role as one of the “hot girls”.

• The critic “reviews” are all falling flat for me.

• While not quite as wretched as the Gen Z Hospital sketch, this is still pretty bad. At least this one doesn’t have Elon Musk in it.

Film: We Got Brought

Three strangers sing about being brought to the club by mutual friends.

• Punkie and Devon have gotten some significant airtime in this episode so far. Obviously it’s because a black woman is hosting, so we can expect them to go back to being underused in the next show.

• It’s hard for me to detect any jokes in this. The set design and effects are okay, and they’re performing it well, but it’s a little too bland to me.

Sketch: Deer

A father can’t spot a deer outside his window.

• I have a distinct memory of absolutely hating this sketch.

• Molly gets their first speaking role in a live sketch. Too bad this is their only appearance all night.

• Kenan’s horrible season continues as his character in this sketch is extremely annoying and stupid as fuck. How the hell does he not see a fucking deer out in the meadow right in front of him? I’d understand it if he was going blind, but that’s never established.

• You can see someone moving around in the bushes just before the deer puppet is supposed to pop up.

• When the deer shows up at the window, I totally predicted that it was going to vanish as soon as Kenan turns around to look.

• Would it surprise you at all if I said that Kent Sublette wrote this?

• I finally got a laugh when Kenan notices the deer threatening him with a knife and then punches it in the face.

• Overall, an extremely long and pointless sketch filled with predictable jokes and an overdose of Kenan yelling.

Sketch: Girl Talk

A talk show host gives out advice to her guests.

“Mo’nique Money Mo’nique Problems”? Who comes up with these awful names?

• Kind of odd how Kenan plays a character named Willie here, as he already has a recurring character by that name (the guy on Update who says disturbing things with a bright smile).

• The main joke of this sketch (Ego and her guests constantly saying “girl” to each other) got old extremely fast.

• Yet another appearance from Punkie. This has to be her largest amount of air time ever!

• Not even the subtitles routine is making me laugh.

• Now we get a twist where Andrew randomly appears as a guest.

• The live airing had this weird gaffe where Kenan’s voice could be heard talking over part of Andrew and Ego’s conversation. It has been fixed in the online upload.

• My only laugh from this sketch came from Andrew saying “girl” in a stereotypical black girl voice and then getting blowback from the other guests.

Please Don’t Destroy: Wellness

The guys talk about what they do to stay healthy.

• Thank God these guys are here to save this episode.

• I can identify with Ben Marshall spending an average of 23 hours a day on his cell phone.

• Funny part with Martin hallucinating his therapist. I wonder who that is playing her.

• A good laugh from Ben’s disgusting teeth.

• While it is kind of odd that this turns out to be a commercial for Oral-B at the end, it was worth it just to see that image of Ben’s teeth again.

• Overall, a slight step up from last week’s installment.

Musical Performance: “Anxiety”

• Since Megan is the musical guest as well, Bowen (who’s had a pretty quiet night so far) does the intro.

Weekend Update (featuring Debbie Hole and Stacey Bussy, and Devon Walker)

• Yet another Mitch McConnell “seen here” joke. Can we please stop doing these stupid jokes already?

• Our first of many Kanye jokes within these next few episodes.

• “Debbie Hole and Stacey Bussy”? These names just keep getting worse. Incidentally, Kent Sublette had nothing to do with this one. It was his new partner in crime, Jimmy Fowlie, a fellow Groundling who has a lot of the same annoying quirks as him.

• The commentary itself is absolutely terrible. Chloe and Heidi play these characters with annoying Southern accents that are here to complain about Hocus Pocus 2. Chloe’s character, in particular, won’t stop staring at the camera, which is a problem I’ve noticed that Chloe has in general.

• After that abortion is done with, we get a commentary from a newbie for the third episode in a row. This time, it’s Devon Walker’s turn, continuing the great episode he’s been having.

• A funny story about how people always apologize to him when they find out he’s from Texas.

• I love the part where he asks the audience if he looks like a cat caller. You can hear some people saying that he does.

• Another great audience reaction when he asks “Where all my straight boys at?” 

• Great ending to this commentary as he announces he’s going to kiss Che. It would have been funny if Update faded out on the two of them kissing each other.

• Overall, a nice way for Devon to introduce himself. Too bad this is the last of these introductory commentaries. Molly has to wait until halfway through the season to get one.

Sketch: Workout Class

A workout class is led by three different teachers, each with their own unique style.

• Ugh, another sketch where Chloe and Heidi play characters with gimmicky names (“Kaley” and “Keeley”, in case you’re wondering). Jimmy Fowlie strikes again!

• For some reason, there were a lot of camera slip-ups in the live airing, all of which seem to have been fixed in the online upload.

• Remember what I said earlier about twerking? Well, we get that from Megan in this sketch, complete with a wild crowd reaction.

• The scenes of Ego, Bowen, and Sarah (who looks kind of hot in this sketch, by the way) reacting to everything are straight out of a “Mikey Explains” type of sketch.

• Overall, what a terrible, terrible sketch. It’s almost as bad as that She-Hulk scene I mentioned before.

Musical Performance: “NDA”, “Plan B”

• Kenan has the honor of introducing the performance this time.

Film: St. Andrew’s Center for Shivering Girls

An ad about the hardships women must face during chilly weather.

• The scenes of Kenan singing “Hallelujah” are giving me bad memories of the infamous Hillary sketch from Season 42.

• So far, I’m not entirely sure what the joke is here. This film is extremely boring.

• My only laugh came from Kenan randomly singing “Gangsta’s Paradise”.

Sketch: Classroom

Things don’t go quite as expected when a substitute teacher takes over.

• After a long and boring speech, we suddenly get some actual jokes when the students start picking it apart.

• I love when Ego calls Megan’s character “La’quantisha”.

• A funny gag with Ego giving kids detention for pointing out the flaws in her second speech.

• The ending where Ego dismisses everyone by activating the fire alarm was a nice capper.

Final thoughts: As I expected given the host, this episode was a whole lot of blah. When she wasn’t showboating for her audience, Megan was trying to work her way through extremely repetitive material that even Kristen Wiig would have rejected. The only bright spot of this episode was the Please Don’t Destroy bit, as well as the increased airtime that Punkie and Devon received.

Best sketches: Wellness, Devon’s commentary

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Hot Girl Hospital, Deer, Debbie Hole and Stacey Bussy commentary, Workout Class

Next review: Jack Harlow