SNL Reviews: Anya Taylor-Joy/Lil Nas X (5/22/21)

Cold Open

The cast congratulate themselves on another good year.

• Figures that the first four cast members we see (Aidy, Kate, Cecily, and Kenan) are the ones that hog up all the screentime. Although to be fair, Aidy and Cecily didn’t take up as much as they usually do because they missed some episodes in the first half of the season.

• Asian Terry Sweeney sums this season up by saying that they went from making “bizarre” shows at home, to “terrifying” shows in the studio. No kidding, this season has been horrendous!

• This cold open is a snooze so far.

• There’s Beck. I wonder if he knew this was going to be his final episode.

• Hilarious scene with Akira Yoshimura appearing with this year’s newbies, and complaining that he hasn’t gotten any lines until now. 

• Speaking of the newbies, this is also Lauren Holt’s final episode, after a year of being completely underused.

• I like how the “highlight reel” they show is just a clip of Elon Musk dancing from that horrid Wario sketch.

• Random Chris Rock appearance. I wonder how many times the host of the season premiere has also appeared in the season finale?

• Overall, this was just a boring, ego-stroking cold open.

Monologue

The host talks about her hit show on Netflix and shares secrets about playing chess.

• This is like the 800th British host we’ve had this season. But, as I said last time, I like that we’ve been getting more foreign hosts.

• Joy looks like an alien.

• Interesting how she brings up that this is the first time all season that there’s been a full audience in Studio 8H.

• Oh, wait, she’s actually from Argentina? Then why does she sound British?

• Boring monologue overall.

Sketch: Hollywood Squares

Each celebrity contestant has a “problematic” future.

• I remember this being a really awful sketch (and getting into an argument with my father about whether it was funny or not), but I’ll try to keep an open mind here.

• Already a huge groan from one of the other GSN Retro Night programs being “Guess Her Weight”. Get it? Cuz people were sexist in the 50s!!!!

• Beck Bennett plays his final game show host, a role he’s been great at. This time he’s playing Tom Bergeron, but I’ll let his non-impression slide because it’s his last episode, and because Bergeron has a tough voice to imitate.

• As soon as I saw Apu as one of the contestants, I could tell where this was heading.

• That is the worst Baby Spice impression I’ve ever seen.

• I’m sad that this is probably going to be the last time Kenan ever plays Bill Cosby, his greatest impression, and one that he’s been doing since his days on All That.

• Our first of many cutaways explaining that a problematic celebrity had to be cut out.

• These comments from all of the characters about Cosby (“I trust Bill Cosby!”) are so hacky and obvious.

• Mikey’s Jeff Dunham impression is great, but it gets cut off by another unfunny disclaimer.

• The part with Jared Fogle and the Olsen Twins was just plain terrible.

• Eventually all of the celebrities except for Baby Spice have to be cut out. And the joke still isn’t funny.

• Lauren Holt once again has a silent role, but with the added insult that she’s too small to make out properly.

• Despite how much I wanted to like this, it was just as awful as I remembered.

Film: Picture with Dad

A teenager’s (Heidi Gardner) photo shoot goes horribly wrong after her father (Bennett) plays with a rifle.

• I didn’t pay much attention to this when it first aired, because I was still trying to wrap my head around the awful Hollywood Squares sketch.

• Okay, I did just get a laugh from Beck shooting himself in the nuts.

• The visual of Beck being wheeled to the emergency room with an ice pack covering his crotch is pretty funny.

• Normally, I’d be offended by this turning into another excuse to talk about dicks, but it’s coming off fresher here because of the format.

• Beck’s performance is pretty good in this. For a man who just shot his dick off, he sounds perfectly fine!

• Overall, not too bad, surprisingly.

Sketch: Making Man

Angels try to create the first human man.

• Now this, on the other hand, is not coming off as fresh. So many juvenile jokes about body parts in this sketch.

• A particularly lame joke about breasts being called “squeezies”. I’m not a woman, but I find that pretty demeaning.

• The model of the human is kind of funny looking, but that isn’t enough to save this.

• I cringed at the mention of the “dangler” and the “wrinkle pouch”. Those are the kind of words a five-year old comes up with when he’s learning about body parts for the first time.

• I can’t take it anymore! If I hadn’t blocked it from my memory, I definitely would have put it on my list of worst sketches of the season.

Film: It’s Pride Again!

Friends anticipate the upcoming Pride Month celebrations.

• Some more cringing from me when Asian Terry Sweeney introduced this by saying “Hey, all you shes, gays and theys!”

• I really wanted to hate this, but something about this is coming off as charming to me. Maybe it’s because this sketch first aired around the time that I came out as bisexual myself.

• The beat of this song reminds me of Daft Punk. Which is awesome.

• Fairly funny part where all of the girls Punkie invited to her house are really straight girls that dress like lesbians.

• Cameo from our musical guest. Hoo boy, just wait until we get to that…

• Another surprisingly good short film. I feel like the best sketches this season have all been pre-taped.

Sketch: Celtic Woman

The world’s most famous group of singing Irish ladies is going on tour.

• Irish stereotypes galore in this sketch! Wasn’t that Aer Lingus sketch in the Saiorse Ronan episode enough?

• Random bit of cracking up from Cecily at the beginning of the second song. Did she forget a line?

• Amusing testimony from Chris Redd, who thought he had purchased tickets to a Celtics game.

• The ladies’ Irish accents are so bad. Except for Anya’s. She at least sounds like she’s trying.

• Ugh, these lyrics are so stereotypical, talking about things like castles. Because apparently Ireland has a lot of castles?

• Lauren Holt makes her final appearance as a cast member in this sketch as one of the concertgoers.

• Punkie’s testimony was funny, where she says it seems like they just kept singing the same song over and over.

• Beck and Kyle Mooney’s brief appearance as drummers was amusing.

• Not as bad as I remembered, but still nothing special.

Musical Performance: “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”

• This is one of the most bizarre and frightening things I’ve ever seen on this show. How come the religious people aren’t going after this blatantly Satanic imagery?

• About the only highlight is when his pants accidentally rip at the end, and you can see his ass.

Weekend Update (featuring Pete Davidson and Jeanine Pirro)

• Here we go, the last Update of the season…

• A big groan from me after that “turnt-ass summer” joke.

• At this point, I’m going to stop complaining about those Mitch McConnell jokes. They’re never going to stop it, no matter how much I want them to.

• Pete Davidson returns to the desk with a commentary about mental health.

• I enjoyed his slam at Chrissy Teigen.

• The comparison he makes about AIDS and SNL is spot on: “It’s still here, but no one’s gotten excited about it since the 90s.” All too true…

• Another good slam, this one at Bill Gates: “If he was really an evil genius, Melinda would have signed prenups”.

• Call me crazy, but, I think Pete Davidson might be…growing on me. There, I said it. He hasn’t been coming off as annoying as he was in the previous two seasons I reviewed, and this commentary was another surprisingly good one from him.

• An absolutely tasteless joke about Helen Keller driving a car. These people have no shame, and they’re proud of it.

• Time for Colin and Michael’s usual end of season joke trade off. These are usually pretty good.

• Hilarious joke from Colin about an obese monkey in Thailand getting hit on by a bunch of black guys.

• For once, I also liked Michael’s first joke here. He talks about how the vaccine is like himself; it’s quick, and you barely feel it go in.

• Another great joke from Colin about how making Superman black makes sense, because he was also abandoned by his family as a child. Is it sad that most of the entertainment I’ve gotten from this Update has been from jokes that are blatantly offensive?

• He follows that with another one about how Black Superman’s Kryptonite is “an honest day’s work”.

• You can tell it’s paining Che to say that “Blue Lives Matter”.

• And Colin wraps it up with yet another punchline to the Black Superman joke: his nickname is “The Man of Steal”. Rather easy, but I still laughed.

• It would have been awesome if that was the end of Update, but nope! Instead, we get another appearance of that godawful Jeanine Pirro impression from Cecily.

• A lot of people took this as a sign that Cecily would be leaving after this episode. Unfortunately, she’d be back, and so would that awful impression.

Side note: After Update, a dedication card for former host Charles Grodin is shown.

Sketch: Enid & Astrid’s Brawr Barn

Two bra experts (Taylor-Joy and Bryant) advertise their new lingerie collection.

• Those fucking wigs that they’re wearing…

• We get our weekly funny accent sketch. The only joke here is that they keep saying “brawr” instead of “bra” in awful New York accents.

• I thought for sure this was a Kent Sublette sketch, but it was actually Fran Gillespie and Sudi Green (who leaves the staff after this episode, by the way).

Sketch: NYU Panel

Things go awry when two panel moderators go off topic.

• Two sketches in a row with Aidy and Anya as the main characters? Talk about overkill.

• Speaking of Fran Gillespie, one of the letters Anya reads is from “Fran G.” This is not a sketch she wrote, however, so I assume that the reference was put in by one of her friends.

• Other than that interesting tidbit, there’s nothing too interesting here.

• Punkie makes her third appearance of the night. It’s already clear which female newbie would be returning for the next season…

• Another writer reference, this time for “Sudi G.”

• I actually felt sorry for Asian Terry Sweeney in this. The moderators keep asking him uncomfortable questions about his sexuality, which I totally sympathize with, because, as I said earlier, I came out around the time of this episode, and I had to endure tons of questions from my parents about which boys I find attractive.

• Also, I don’t know if this was an intentional reference or not, but they ask him at one point if he’s “homo-gay”, which is a phrase that Chris Kattan’s Mango character used.

• I liked Pete’s random impression of the voice in those PlayStation commercials that says “PlayStation!”

• While not as bad as I’m making it seem, I think it needed a lot more structure to work.

Musical Performance: “Sun Goes Down”

Sketch: AMC Theatres

Vin Diesel (Bennett) does a commercial for AMC Theatres, now that they’ve reopened from lockdown.

• Well, here’s Beck Bennett’s final sketch as a cast member.

• This is the worst impression of Vin Diesel I’ve ever seen.

• The joke where he keeps saying “movies” in that deep voice got old very fast.

• I don’t get it. This is the material they end the season with? 

• Overall, a bafflingly horrible sketch, and a poor way for Beck to end his tenure.

Final thoughts: Another mixed bag of an episode, and a fitting end to a mixed bag of a season. Anya Taylor-Joy didn’t stand out much as a host. I was too busy being distracted by her terrifying face to properly judge her.

Best sketches: Pictures of Dad, It’s Pride Again!, Lil Nas X ripping his pants, Colin and Michael’s Joke Trading

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Hollywood Squares, Making Man, AMC Theatres

And with that, my Season 46 reviews have come to a close! Looking back on it, it’s honestly not as terrible as I remembered. The first half of the season was just downright terrible, while there was a slight uptick in quality in the second half. This is also the point where we must bid farewell to Beck Bennett and Lauren Holt. Beck’s political impressions have soured me on him in the past, but once Biden was inaugurated, he stopped doing most of the really annoying ones, and he kind of grew on me in his last few episodes. As for Miss Holt, I feel so sorry for this poor woman. It was obvious from her very first episode that she wasn’t going to get a second season. Part of me believes that she was just brought on as a temporary replacement for Aidy Bryant while she was away, and given the physical similarity between the two, I find this to be a plausible theory. The one chance she got to prove herself (her Update commentary) was really good, and that leaves me wondering what she could have brought us in her second season.

Coming soon, I’ll be looking back at the season as a whole in my Season 46 overview! Don’t miss it!

SNL Reviews: Carey Mulligan/Kid Cudi (4/10/21)

 Cold Open

Minnesotan news anchors have an on-air debate about the state of racial issues in America.

• Good lord, this was a pain to sit through. The show was clearly worried that Derek Chauvin would get away with his crimes because he’s white. Unsurprisingly, Michael Che is one of the writers of this.

• Luckily, none of their fears were warranted, as Chauvin would go on to be found guilty and sentenced to jail, which makes this sketch unintentionally funny in hindsight.

Monologue

The host’s monologue is interrupted by her enthusiastic husband, Marcus Mumford.

• It seems like we’ve had a bunch of British hosts this season. I don’t know why, but I really like that.

• I don’t get the joke where she says people confuse her for Michelle Williams. Do they look alike or something?

• While I’m not laughing that much, I find something charming about her accent.

• Then, her husband, Marcus Mumford, from three-time musical guests Mumford and Sons, shows up in a cameo that’s actually warranted for once.

• In the end, this turned out to be a nice heartwarming monologue. I’m surprised at how many strong ones we’ve had in Season 46.

Sketch: What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Contestants still don’t know the answers.

• The most recent installment of this recurring sketch (as of this writing). 

• I’ve never been a big fan of these, and this particular installment came off more tired than usual. 

Film: Tremfalta

The new medicine that helps control IBS.

• From the first mention of irritable bowel syndrome, I can tell I’m going to hate this.

• Kenan doing that motherfucking voice AGAIN. Is that the only character voice he does nowadays?

• Business as usual for Lauren Holt, playing a silent role that ends up being her only appearance all night. It also just occurred to me that I have only one episode left with her in it.

• Like I expected, this has turned into nothing but lame poopy jokes.

• The only laugh I got was when Carey whispers to her husband (played by Mikey) to “Shut the fuck up” when he’s about to rat her out for making a mess of the bathroom.

Sketch: Study Buddy

A teenager (McKinnon) tries to impress his study buddy (Mulligan) during a study session.

• A sketch that I recall being extremely painful, given that it involves McKinnon in drag.

• A random laugh at the beginning when they mention having made a diorama of the Bush family in the past.

• The sketch then becomes another self-indulgent McKinnon/Bryant pairing, and now Bryant’s in drag as well!

• Christ, please let this sketch end already! Every word that comes out of these two makes me want to kill myself!

Film: Weird Little Flute

Pete Davidson, Chris Redd, and Kid Cudi sing about their weird little flutes.

• By all means, this should be something that I absolutely hate. But for some reason, I don’t. 

• Redd looks hilarious in that fake beard.

• The flute parts of this song are really catchy.

• I can’t stand Kid Cudi, but I thought he did a good job here.

• Yeah, “weird little flute” is an obvious penis innuendo, but it was worth it just to see Chris Redd pull a flute out of his pants.

• Amusing cameo from Timothee Chalamet.

• My favorite part was the ending, where it turns out that they’ve been fooling around in a music store the whole time. After seeing the security footage (which features them bashing all the other instruments with their flutes), there’s only one solution left: they buy all of the flutes in the store.

• Am I going crazy or what? This is yet another surprisingly good Pete Davidson rap! Unfortunately, I don’t recall this upswing in quality lasting into Season 47.

Musical Performance: “Tequila Shots”

Weekend Update (featuring Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen, Pineapple Penelope Peters, and The Iceberg That Sank The Titanic)

• Please stop it with the “Mitch McConnell hates children” jokes!

• I laughed at the picture Michael showed of the black guy during his CDC joke.

• Chris Redd and Beck Bennett show up as Obama and Bruce Springsteen, respectively. This also reminds me that we’re nearing the end of Beck’s time on the show.

• While Redd’s Obama voice sounds more like a black Jimmy Stewart, I like his energy. Beck, on the other hand, couldn’t sound a thing less like Springsteen. But I’ll let him slide in this case because Springsteen’s voice is hard to pull off.

• Punkie Johnson debuts a new character, a stripper named Pineapple Penelope Peters, or Pineapple for short. ESPN analyst Paul Pierce was fired that week after posting an Instagram video where he’s surrounded by strippers, and this character is supposed to be one of them.

• Punkie is doing an amazing job as this character. Her interplay with Michael is great.

• There’s a funny twist at the end where it turns out she’s been to his house before, as she remembers doing a pole dance for him.

• Unfortunately, the commentary that follows…I don’t know how to describe it. Asian Terry Sweeney shows up as “the iceberg that sank the Titanic”. After the surprisingly good commentary he had a couple of episodes ago, it’s back to basics with this one, as his portrayal of the iceberg is extremely flamboyant and annoying. In other words, it’s just an iceberg version of that awful “Bottle Boi” character he played last year. This was so terrible that I turned the episode off about halfway through this.

• For whatever reason, this commentary went viral online, proving that people today have no taste in comedy.

Side note: After Update, a memorial is shown for former SNL writer Anne Beatts.

Sketch: Starcharter Andromeda

Two dramatic crewmates ruin everything in this Star Trek prequel.

• I can already tell I’m going to hate this sketch as soon as I heard the awful Paramount Plus tagline at the beginning: “We thought of the Plus before Disney.” UGGGGHHHHH!!!!

• Another bad sign comes when there’s no sign of Akira Yoshimura anywhere, thus breaking a 40-plus year tradition where he plays Sulu in all of the Star Trek sketches they do. Instead we get a bland character played by Asian Terry Sweeney.

• Yet another bad sign comes when Carey and Mikey show up, and their characters are as over the top and annoying as possible.

• I did like the use of the actual Star Trek door sound.

• Geez, this sketch is so awful. It’s a shame, because they used to be so good at making fun of Star Trek.

• An actually satisfying ending where the annoying characters are ejected into space.

Film: Lesbian Period Drama

A new “will-they-won’t-they?” period piece from the makers of Portrait of A Lady On Fire.

• *sees title of sketch* Gee, I wonder which cast member wrote this one?

• Speaking of the cast member who wrote this, she thankfully isn’t one of the main characters, only appearing as a side character who has about ten seconds of screentime.

• Maybe I’d like this better if I’d seen the movies it’s parodying. But I haven’t, since I’m not a teenaged lesbian.

Sketch: The War In Words

Lt. Bertie Pembrook (Day) writes letters to his wife (Mulligan), which end up taking an unexpected turn.

• Third appearance of this recurring sketch.

• I find it slightly interesting that Mikey’s character in these sketches isn’t the same one every time. That’s a nice way to keep these fresh.

• Another switch in the format is that Mikey is at sea this time, instead of being stuck indoors again.

• While I’m not the biggest fan of the repetitive nature of these sketches, they do have a certain charm to them.

• Relatively funny part when he asks his wife to send him something “naughty”, and she sends cocaine.

 • Yet another shake up in the format where disturbing details about Mikey’s wife are slowly being revealed. Apparently she’s murdered someone, and she had dinner with Nazis the previous night.

• Funny twist where they imply that the people she killed were Mikey’s parents. She even sends him a picture of her standing next to their gravestone.

• Overall, this is probably the best installment of this sketch.

Musical Performance: “Sad People”

Sketch: L’eggs

Two businesswomen infiltrate an after-school meeting to promote their hosiery brand.

• The fact that Streeter Seidell wrote this sketch is obvious because the characters keep overexplaining the jokes.

• I did laugh at Ego asking if hosiery is meant for “grandmas”.

• You know, I’m starting to get really tired of Aidy Bryant playing these types of characters. For some reason, it reminds me of the character she played in that awful Farrow & Ball sketch from Season 45 who kept emphasizing the British spelling of the word “color”. Her character in this sketch also has a habit of overemphasizing words.

• I like how the PowerPoint presentation the businesswomen are showing censors out their buttocks with photos of their heads.

• Aidy and Carey’s floor markings (little Xs on the floor that mark where they’re supposed to stand) are visible during the closeups of their shoes.

• Yeah, this sketch wasn’t too good. But at least it was buried at the end.

Side note: Another dedication is shown, this time for DMX.

Final thoughts: Overall, this was kind of a mixed episode. The bad stuff was downright horrendous, while the good stuff was surprisingly good. Carey Mulligan did alright, but I’d like to see how she does with better writing.

Best sketches: Monologue, Weird Little Flute, Punkie’s commentary, The War In Words

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Tremfalta, Study Buddy, Iceberg commentary, Starcharter Andromeda

Next review: Season 46 comes to an end with Anya Taylor-Joy and Lil Nas X. We also say farewell to Beck Bennett and Lauren Holt.

SNL Reviews: Daniel Kaluuya/St. Vincent (4/3/21)

 Side note: I missed this episode when it first aired because I didn’t think that SNL would be airing an episode the night before Easter. Plus, I was also suffering side-effects of my second COVID vaccine and wasn’t in the mood to stay up late. That being said, I’ve heard from other SNL fans that this is one of the better episodes of this troubled season, so I’ll try to keep an open mind here.

Cold Open

Another edition of “Oops, You Did It Again”, hosted by Britney Spears.

• Not this shit again. 

• Fineman’s Britney impression has not improved at all.

• Chris Redd looks dead on as Lil Nas X, who was in the news that week for a horrid anti-Christian music video in which he gave Satan a lap dance. Spears suggests that he try to make things fair by…giving one to God as well. So then Mikey Day enters as God, and Lil Nas X proceeds to give Him a lap dance. What a terrible and disturbing thing to air on the night before Easter!

• Then…*sigh*…Kate McKinnon enters as Pepé LePew, who had just been dropped from the second Space Jam movie thanks to some shitty New York Times article that claimed he promoted “rape culture”. The voice she is using is extremely annoying, and sounds nothing like Pepé. They also make a shitty joke about Yosemite Sam being at the Capitol riots. Get it?!? Because he likes guns, that must mean he’s a Trump supporter!!!

• Geez, the more I watch this, the more I want to rip out Fineman’s vocal chords. Whoever told her she was a good impressionist was lying!

• I’m not even going to comment on Pete Davidson’s non-impression of Matt Gaetz, because I can’t bear to listen to Fineman anymore.

Monologue

Daniel Kaluuya talks about being a black British man.

• Kaluuya has actually appeared on the show before. He introduced one of Childish Gambino’s performances back in Season 43.

• He already got a laugh out of me when he describes himself as what the Royal Family were afraid Meghan and Harry’s child would look like.

• I’m liking this guy’s voice. I appreciate Chris Redd’s impression of him from a few episodes ago even more now.

• Funny clip of his appearance on the Golden Globes where his audio was muted.

• Rather heartwarming moment at the end where he says he got his inspiration for a play he wrote from Kenan & Kel.

• Overall, our first strong monologue in quite a while.

Sketch: Will You Take It?

Dr. Tevin Jones (Kaluuya) tries to convince the rest of his family to take the COVID vaccine via a game show format.

• Great accent from Kaluuya’s character. 

• There’s Kenan doing that voice once again.

• Despite an undeniably one-joke premise, the performances of the cast are helping to make this work. It’s nice that they got all of the black people in the cast to be in this, even Punkie Johnson.

• Speaking of Punkie, I liked her excuse that she couldn’t take the vaccine because she’s a Christian.

• Great ending where he tries to get his girlfriend (who’s also a doctor) to make them get vaccinated, but his family reacts with derision when they find out that she’s white.

Film: Viral Apology Video

Viral YouTube sensations The Prank Posse (Kyle Mooney and Kaluuya) find something disgusting in their cereal.

• Normally, I’d be mad about them doing another “HOW DO YOU DO FELLOW KIDS” sketch, but I’m interested to see where this goes.

• Mooney’s reaction when he finds what he thinks are mouse bones in his cereal is great, which is then followed by that clip being repeated in slow motion, and public domain cartoon footage of mouse characters. I can’t identify any of the cartoons that are shown, but one of them looks like it came from Van Beuren Studios.

• The editing in this short is a spot on parody of these types of viral videos.

• Sudden twist where Kyle apologizes to the audience, after the popularity that the mouse bones video brought him caused some troubling things from his past to resurface.

• The prank video that comes after that apology in which Kyle drops a flatscreen TV on Daniel’s head is hilarious. This leads to another video where Kyle apologizes for hurting his friend, and takes time to admit that his previous apology wasn’t sincere. Unfortunately, this means that his next upload, the “Tricking J.P. Into Kissing My Penis” video, will be delayed.

• After this, we get one last apology video, where he brings up the fact that a lot of his past prank videos were either “problematic or crimes”, and he gives some hilarious examples such as the “Shrek Costume At Funeral” prank, and the “Racist Fart On Bus” prank.

• Brilliant ending to the sketch where Daniel gets back at him by hitting him in the head with the TV, which unfortunately kills him, leading Daniel to make his own apology video before getting the hell out of there.

• This may be the most I’ve laughed at a sketch on this show in quite a while. 

Sketch: Scattergories

A family tries to play Scattergories while the mother does annoying things in the background.

• The initial part of this sketch got me interested, as I have fond memories of playing Scattergories in school. Unfortunately, this then turned into a terrible Kate McKinnon vanity piece where she spends the whole time making loud noises while everyone is trying to play the game.

• It also doesn’t help that her character is an unlikable asshole who treats her daughter and husband like shit. At one point, you can see her about to shred up an old family photo of her and her daughter. Absolutely horrible.

• I’m sorry if I’m coming off as a little too harsh here, but Kate McKinnon needs to fucking leave. I’m tired of her and her unfunny antics taking away all of the younger cast members’ screentime. I’m tired of her playing male politicians. And, most of all, I’m tired of her dumb face staring at the camera every two seconds! Please get off of the show.

Sketch: Proud Parents

A boy (Chris Redd) shocks his parents when he tells them that he’s changed his major.

• Nothing too special here plot wise, but there were some good performances, particularly from Kaluuya and Ego as the parents.

• The statue that Dismukes’ character made in art class was amusing.

• I love how Redd’s award-winning poem is just a sentence long: “I wake up, and my emotions are as blue as blue paint”.

Musical Performance: “Pay Your Way In Pain”

Weekend Update (featuring Vaneta and Wylene Starkie, The Guy Who Just Bought A Boat, and Hattie and Jeff Deeley)

• Some really bad jokes about Matt Gaetz.

• Ugh, not the Smokery Farms ladies again! I hate these stupid characters. I hope they never come back again.

• This is also the final appearance (so far) of Alex Moffat’s Guy Who Just Bought A Boat, the first time we’ve seen him since November 2019. As usual, I fail to see what the joke is with him.

• Mikey and Heidi introduce new characters in the form of Jeff Deeley and his 106 year old wife Hattie, a couple with an extremely wide age gap.

• Mikey’s really good at playing creepy awkward characters like this. Even Heidi’s performance was better than usual.

Sketch: Frat Trip

Some frat boys attempt to plan a last-minute trip to Tahoe.

• Eh, this sketch was kinda boring. Not too much to say about it, except that it’s the only sketch of this entire episode that has Asian Terry Sweeney in it.

Sketch: Dog Park

Note: This sketch isn’t on YouTube for some reason. I have no idea if this is because of music or not.

Musical Performance: “The Melting Of The Sun”

Sketch: Half-Brother

Things get out of hand at a birthday party when the birthday boy’s half-brother and his wife start singing bizarre songs.

• Apparently James Anderson came back to help with this sketch. While the fact that it stars Cecily is an obvious sign of his involvement, this wasn’t too bad for an Anderlette sketch.

• I think part of the reason why I liked this sketch is because I like the type of music that they’re performing. It sounds like something you’d hear in a beatnik club. 

• Kaluuya’s performance in this is really good. I feel like I’ve been saying that a lot in this episode, which proves just how amazing of a host he’s been.

Final thoughts: Well, I’ll be damned! That episode was actually pretty good! The pre-Update half was especially strong, with three great sketches in a row. Daniel Kaluuya was an amazing host, and he’s more than welcome to come back to the show.

Best sketches: Monologue, Will You Take It?, Viral Apology Video, Proud Parents, The Deeley’s commentary

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Scattergories, Smokery Farms commentary, Frat Trip

Next review: Carey Mulligan/Kid Cudi, an episode that I recall being extremely terrible

SNL Reviews: Maya Rudolph/Jack Harlow (3/27/21)

 Cold Open

MTV’s newest spring break show, “Snatched! Vaxxed! Or Waxed!” features three contestants taking guesses about a spring breaker’s physique.

• The pain starts quickly with Maya speaking in a somewhat offensive Spanish accent. The name of her character (“Lupe Vuvuzela”) only adds to the awfulness.

• This is the second episode I’ve reviewed lately that has a character named “Poots”. Why are there suddenly a bunch of fart jokes?

• Any potential humor this sketch could’ve had is ruined by Maya’s awful, awful performance.

Monologue

Maya shares her past experiences on the show with the three newbies.

• After a slow start, things get interesting when she brings out the three newbies in the cast: Andrew Dismukes, Lauren Holt, and Punkie Johnson. This is Johnson’s only appearance all night, by the way.

• I felt sorry for Lauren when Maya calls her “Callista Vagina” as part of a “joke” where she doesn’t know their names. 

• Dismukes is forced off of the stage shortly after this. Luckily, he will go on to have an unusually active night.

• I hate the running gag where she keeps telling them to shut up. It only makes me hate her even more.

• And of fucking course we briefly get Maya singing, because that’s a thing she has to do every time she appears, for some reason.

• An absolutely detestable monologue. This was nothing more than a vanity piece for Maya. 

Sketch: Hot Ones

Beyoncé (Maya Rudolph) has a hard time being interviewed by Sean Evans (Mikey Day) after eating an extremely hot wing.

• Maya brings back her Beyoncé impression that she used to do in “The Prince Show” sketches with Fred Armisen.

• I can’t judge Mikey’s Sean Evans, because I have no idea who that is.

• I like the various hot sauce names, such as “Hitler’s Anus” and “The Devil’s Diarrhea”.

• Unfortunately, this sketch has turned into an excuse for Maya to make dumb faces in front of the camera and scream at the top of her lungs. I actually would have preferred another Prince Show sketch. Then again, that would have meant another unnecessary Fred Armisen cameo.

Film: Boomers Got The Vax

Some baby boomers rap about why they’re the greatest generation.

• I barely remember anything about this song, so I’ll try to go into it with an open mind.

• The beat is really catchy.

• Mikey looks unrecognizable in that makeup.

• Why does Maya’s character have a beard? 

• I could have done without Kate mugging up a storm.

• That Edith Puthie character Ego played in that horrible Name Change Office sketch from earlier this season becomes recurring for some strange reason. Out of all the characters I wanted to see come back, she is not one of them.

• Despite a few minor niggles I had with this song, it wasn’t all that bad.

Sketch: A Kamala Harris Unity Seder

Kamala and her husband Doug Emhoff (Martin Short) have a Passover dinner with Ted Cruz and Joe Biden.

• At least they waited a while to bring Kamala back.

• They portray her in this sketch as some sort of saintly, motherly figure who can do no wrong. This is just what I was afraid of them doing.

• They dragged poor Martin Short into this to play Doug Emhoff, and they waste his talents by making him a sideman to Maya Rudolph. I guess this is supposed to be a reference to that shitty variety show they had together, Maya and Marty, which only lasted for a few episodes.

• FOURTH episode in a row with that godawful Ted Cruz impression! Please fucking stop it!!!

• Chloe Fineman appears as their daughter, Elle Emhoff, who gets her own title card and music, for some reason. Why are we supposed to give a fuck about Kamala Harris’ daughter?

• I don’t know who the hell Raphael Warnock is, but I’m fairly certain he’s not the sassy guy that Kenan is portraying him as.

• Alex Moffat makes his second and final appearance as Joe Biden. It hasn’t improved a bit from the last time he played him. This also ends up being the last time Biden appears in a sketch until the Season 47 premiere, and by then, the role will have been given to someone else…

• The actual material they have for Biden in this sketch is toothless and stale. They’re not making fun of him at all, they’re lightly patting him on the back and saying, “Hey, no hard feelings. We didn’t mean it!”

• And then they have Biden’s dog attack Martin Short. What a total waste of a comedy legend.

• No comment on Cecily Taylor Greene (that should be my new name for that impression) coming back yet again.

Film: NFTs

A rap that explains cryptocurrency.

• Another Pete Davidson rap in the vein of that “Stu” one from earlier this season. This one is a parody of “Without Me” by Eminem, one of the few songs of his that I like.

• Pete is dressed as Robin, for some reason, and there’s some nice comic book visuals throughout this.

• Nice way to get the musical guest involved too.

Musical Performances: “Tyler Herro”, “What’s Poppin’”

Weekend Update (featuring Sidney Powell and Bowen Yang)

• Surprisingly good joke from Colin about Joe Biden struggling on stairs.

• He then ruins it with a joke saying that Republicans like guns more than “people (they) don’t know”.

• Cecily plays some lady named Sidney Powell, who I’ve never heard of. Like all of her impressions of Republican women, it totally sucks and has an annoying voice.

• Since this was the first episode to air after the tragic anti-Asian hate crime in Atlanta, Bowen Yang has a commentary as himself, where he talks about the different ways we can help give back to the Asian community.

• I find Yang a lot more tolerable when he’s just being himself, and not playing some annoying character. This commentary was very heartwarming, and I loved the part at the end where he briefly speaks in his native Mandarin language.

Sketch: Choreographers

Two choreographers refuse to work with each other.

• Jesus Christ, this sketch was a chore to sit through. Not only does it have Kenan doing my “favorite” voice of his, but it also has Maya doing one of her countless over the top characters with an annoying voice,

• A shame to see Lauren Holt in this. She actually gets quite a few lines.

• The only thing I laughed at was Kenan mistaking a poster of the musical Annie for a poster of JonBenet Ramsey.

Sketch: Barfly Awards

The only award show for drunks!

• Good Lord, an award show? SNL does not have a good track record with these.

• Making me even more weary is the fact that Kent Sublette is credited as one of the writers.

• Yep, this is definitely a Sublette sketch. There’s his trademark of characters with “funny” names, such as “Sally O’Flappy” (a reference to Molly Shannon’s character Sally O’Malley?), “Hannah NoMoney” (Lauren Holt in another silent role), and “Missy Shoots”.

• Some of these drunk voices the cast is using are just awful. They sound like they have special needs. Maya’s is the worst one of all (no surprise there, amirite?).

• Kate McKinnon manages to annoy me with her five seconds of screentime by mugging for the camera and doing that stupid grin she does as half of her male politician characters.

• I got the most amusement out of Alex Moffat’s character speaking in broken French. Other than that, this sketch is another example of SNL’s terrible history with making fun of award shows.

Musical Performance: “Same Guy”

Film: The Maya-ing

Maya takes a creepy walk through the studio.

• A promising idea. Plus, The Shining is one of my favorite movies.

• The NASCAR fan in me loves the part where Maya briefly glances at Jeff Gordon’s portrait from when he hosted back in 2003 (fun fact: that episode also contains my least favorite sketch of all time).

• Her silent reaction to seeing a photo of Kevin Spacey on the wall was great.

• This sketch is really well shot. There’s some impressive special effects with ghostly images of Maya’s time on the show appearing throughout the studio.

• I laughed at the part with Maya seeing a ghostly image of Sum41 on the musical guest stage and saying, “Now that’s when music was music”.

• Alex Moffat in a nice understated performance as the creepy bartender.

• Tina Fey appears as a (fictional) writer from the show’s olden days, Gloria Zelwig. It’s nice to see that she and Maya still have that great chemistry together. Also, I liked her disappointment when Maya tells her that people don’t have sex in the HR room anymore.

• Kenan does a surprisingly good Scatman Crothers impression. They never exactly state that’s who he is, but it’s clear from his appearance who he’s supposed to be playing.

• Nice reference to the elevator of blood, except the “blood” in this case is really wine, which they flood the hallways with because they can’t have the usual afterparty due to COVID.

• Random, but fitting cameo appearance from Gilly as the creepy twins in the hallway. The footage appears to be recycled from another Gilly sketch as I don’t think Kristen was in the building that night (thank goodness for that!).

• Nice bait-and-switch gag with the lady in the bathtub, who turns out to be Rachel Dratch. I absolutely adore Rachel, and it’s nice to see her again.

• You know I laughed when Rachel slaps Maya. If I can’t do it, someone else will!

• Beck Bennett got some laughs from his brief scene of going through Maya’s purse.

• Great parody of the ending of the movie with Maya showing up in a picture of the original 1975 cast.

Final thoughts: A slight step up from the abysmal previous episode, but still nothing special. The worst thing about this episode was, unsurprisingly, Maya. Almost every single role she played annoyed me. 

Best sketches: Boomers Got The Vax, Bowen’s commentary, The Maya-ing

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Monologue, A Kamala Harris Unity Seder, Choreographers, Barfly Awards

Next review: Daniel Kaluuya/St. Vincent, an episode that I’ve never actually seen before.

SNL Reviews: Nick Jonas (2/27/21)

Cold Open

Dr. Fauci hosts “So You Think You Can Get The Vaccine”, a game show that helps simplify the vaccine rollout.

• UGGGHHHH!!!! Not Fauci again!

• Pete Davidson’s Cuomo becomes recurring only a week after his debut. They actually take time to mock him here by referring to his sexual assault allegations as the kind that make you go, “Yeah, I can see that”, which I will admit gave me a chuckle.

• Pretty good line from Cuomo: “Remember when your favorite movie was my PowerPoints?”

• Those sponsor plugs for CVS are annoying.

• Jesus, this is the THIRD episode in a row with Aidy as Ted Cruz! It wasn’t even good the first time, so why do they keep bringing it back?

• Despite a few laughs, this is yet another awful cold open.

Monologue

Note: This isn’t on YouTube for some strange reason. I don’t remember it being all that bad, but I’ll have to leave this space blank until I can find it.

Sketch: Workout Mirror

Two men discover that their mirror is cursed.

• This had some promise at first, but then the mirror cycled to Kate, and my hopes started to subside.

• Unfortunately, her character quickly becomes the focus of the sketch, and any promise that it had left vanishes. I’m sick of Kate McKinnon being allowed to do whatever she wants and take up so much screentime with her ugly mugging face. Sorry for the rant there, but it’s something I needed to get off of my chest.

Film: Murder Show

Some women perform a song about the interesting way they unwind.

• We’re back to basics with this music video, after the last two were surprisingly good.

• I guess I would find this okay if I had any idea what the hell any of these shows were, but I’ve never heard of them.

• Despite that, I did get some nice eye candy from Ego in this one.

Sketch: Cinderella

Prince Charming (Jonas) tries to find the owner of a ridiculously small slipper.

• I already knew this sketch was gonna blow when I saw it was Disney related. And then the first thing we see is Kenan speaking in my “favorite” voice of his.

• Of fucking course they would get Kate to play the evil stepmother.

• Something about Nick Jonas in that wig reminds me of Chris Parnell.

• Just when I thought this couldn’t get any worse, there’s a fart joke. I’m surprised it’s taken them this long in the season to do one.

• I am liking the voice Nick is using, but it’s not enough to save this.

• Then, to make things even worse, Aidy shows up as a mouse, and we get some disgusting jokes about her having sex with the Prince. Isn’t bestiality just hilarious?

• Aidy trying to “sing” was fucking painful.

• My mind totally broke at the line about Jafar sprinkling birdseed on his dick for Iago to “go to town” with.

• I can’t believe I didn’t put this on my Worst Sketches of Season 46 list. This is fucking awful!!!

Film: Bachelor Party

A bachelor party takes an unexpected turn.

• I groaned so loud at Heidi’s line about “an extra large sausage”. Please stop it with the dick jokes!

• Then they start singing a song about getting boners. Why must this episode continue to torture me like this?

Musical Performance: “Spaceman”

Weekend Update (featuring LaVar Ball and Marjorie Taylor Greene)

• “Blah blah blah Trump bad blah blah blah we hate white people blah blah blah”

• Kenan is back as LaVar Ball. I thought he was slightly amusing the first time I saw him, but he’s gotten less and less funny the more they keep bringing him back. I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but Kenan is slowly becoming one of my least favorite cast members. I feel like he’s already done all that he can on the show.

• Another bestiality joke, this time regarding Gonzo from The Muppet Show. And there’s another stock Muppet joke that I can’t stand (along with the ones about puppets having no legs or having hands up their butts).

• Cecily’s impression of kooky Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene becomes recurring. Like I said before, the real Greene is like a parody of herself, so trying to make fun of her is kind of redundant. It doesn’t help that the voice Cecily is using makes me want to put a bullet through my head.

• Wow, this may be one of the worst Updates I’ve ever had to sit through. Every single joke fell flat for me.

Sketch: Viking Voyage

A group of teens struggle to pair up before getting on an amusement park ride.

• Jeez, what is with this episode? I’m not joking when I say this is one of the worst I’ve ever had to sit through. And the funny thing is that I don’t even remember it being this awful the first time I watched it.

• Is Pixar paying these writers? Kyle Mooney’s character in this is prominently holding a doll of the main character from Pixar’s movie Soul for the whole sketch. And they won’t stop saying “the guy from Soul” in the dialogue. It’s pathetic how much SNL has sold out in the last few years.

• I lost count of how many times they call Kyle a “cuck”. It’s like I’m on 4chan or something.

• Another sketch that I should have put on my Worst Sketches list. This was extremely painful to sit through.

Sketch: The Dionne Warwick Talk Show

The host still has no idea who her guests are.

• This again?!? Come on, the first one wasn’t even that funny!

• Kenan looks pretty amusing as The Weeknd. I appreciate that he didn’t use THAT ONE VOICE for him.

• I chuckled at Warwick randomly asking him, “Why are you from Canada?”

• Her insults towards Nick Jonas are actually pretty funny. I also like the dig at John Legend when she says that Nick is the most boring coach on The Voice, despite one of the other coaches being Legend.

• I still don’t understand the Wendy Williams running gag.

• Another slightly funny line when she calls Dua Lipa’s name nasty, because it is apparently Spanish for “Two Lips”.

• They blatantly recycle the ending of the last sketch where she refuses to talk to Machine Gun Kelly once again.

• This was a big improvement over the original. The next one is even better, but more on that in time…

Musical Performance: “This Is Heaven”

Sketch: Dating After Lockdown

Two strangers meet during their first night out after quarantine.

• Lauren Holt is wasted with a silent role as a bartender. I feel sorry for this poor lady every time she appears.

• Kate is really reminding me of Kristen Wiig in this sketch, which is not a good thing. There’s one part in the middle where she keeps interjecting “Kidding” into her sentences, like that awful Judy Grimes character that Wiig used to do.

• What a boring sketch. There’s a reason they put it at the end of the show.

Final thoughts: Lord. Have. Mercy. After two surprisingly good episodes, I get punished with one of the worst episodes I’ve ever seen. As much as I don’t like the Jonas Brothers, Nick wasn’t the problem. The problem was the weak, clunky-ass writing. Once I get to my end-of-season write up, you can bet I’ll be putting this episode under the worst episodes section.

Best sketches: The Dionne Warwick Talk Show

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Cinderella, Bachelor Party, Weekend Update, Viking Voyage

Next review: Maya Rudolph/Jack Harlow

SNL Reviews: Regé-Jean Page/Bad Bunny (2/20/21)

 Side note: From this point until I reach the season finale, I no longer have my Facebook reviews as reference for these episodes. I’m going by my personal memory now.

Cold Open

Britney Spears (Chloe Fineman) hosts a talk show called “Oops, You Did It Again”, where disgraced celebrities apologize for the bad things they’ve done.

• Ugh, Chloe’s terrible Britney impression is back. While it’s not as high-pitched as it was before, it still sounds nothing like her.

• Also, this is yet another example of that tired old “celebrity talk show” concept. 

• Double ugh! This is the second episode in a row to have that terrible Ted Cruz impression in it! He had recently been in the news for going on a vacation in Cancun while there’s a pandemic going on.

• First appearance of Pete Davidson as Andrew Cuomo. The voice sounds nothing like him, and they’re barely mocking him at all. Little did they know, however, that they would soon have much more to make fun of him for…

• Cecily plays Gina Carano from The Mandalorian, who had recently been fired from the show for making “inappropriate jokes”. It’s roles like these that make me wish Cecily would just leave already, because she’s played this type of character way too many times.

• My God, every single word that comes out of Fineman’s mouth is like nails on a chalkboard. She is, without a doubt, one of the worst celebrity impressionists in the show’s entire history.

Monologue

Page can’t escape being associated with his character from the show, “Bridgerton”.

• Full disclosure: I have never seen Bridgerton. Yet this is a monologue that relies on the viewer having seen it to understand all of the jokes.

• Yep, so far, all of these jokes are just confusing me. Is his character on the show supposed to be a womanizer or something? 

• It warms my heart to hear Ego recieve a big round of applause when she enters. It seems like she’s finally made it to the big leagues.

• The female audience members screaming every few seconds got very annoying after a while.

• Overall, a lame monologue that only makes sense to people who watch Bridgerton.

Sketch: Actor’s Spotlight

A TV host (Ego Nwodim) reaches an unpredictable impasse when interviewing her celebrity guests.

• Another talk show sketch? Talk about beating a dead horse.

• I’m not familiar with Kingsley Ben-Adir, but Page’s performance as him is pretty good.

• Rather funny in hindsight that Chris Redd is playing Daniel Kaluuya, considering who hosts the show a few episodes from now.

• They keep repeating the same joke where Ego is surprised that her guests’ real-life accents are different from the characters they’ve played. 

• I don’t think I’ve ever heard Redd do a British accent before.

• The return of Kenan’s baffling Ice Cube impression. I love ya, man, but stop trying to play celebrities you clearly have no business playing.

• The movie clips are getting progressively less funny.

• The sketch then gets really bizarre when Ice Cube starts speaking in a British accent, while Adir and Kaluuya try to convince him not to be ashamed of his American roots. Is this scene supposed to be a reference to something?

• Ego and the others tried their best, but they couldn’t save this sketch.

Film: Loco

A woman (Nwodim) goes over the ways that the pandemic affected her.

• Am I going crazy? This is the second episode in a row where I actually enjoyed the obligatory Pete Davidson rap song. Part of the reason is that Ego is actually the main focus of this one, and Pete doesn’t show up until halfway.

• Ego’s performance in this is great. Have I ever made it clear to you guys that I love Ego?

• I liked Pete’s line about Armie Hammer being a cannibal. Given all of the creepy stuff that’s come out about him, I wouldn’t put it past him.

• This song has a nice, catchy Latin feel to it, no doubt influenced by tonight’s musical guest. Speaking of which, he gets a few lines in this as a talking cactus.

Sketch: Driver’s License

Guys at the pool hall bond over the Olivia Rodrigo song, “Driver’s License”.

• I always find it rather interesting when they do a sketch about someone who was recently on the show.

• Pete’s line about the song sounding like a “teen girl singing in her room to a piano” was great, and perfectly sums up a lot of songs that I’ve heard in the last few years.

• Page’s American accent in this sketch is really convincing.

• I also liked Alex Moffat’s random theory that the song is about the kids from High School Musical.

• The sketch suddenly comes to a halt when Kate shows up for the first time in this episode, playing her one millionth drag role and talking in her usual stereotypical Italian accent. Why would they ruin this sketch like that?!!

• Apart from the self-indulgent McKinnon parts, I actually enjoyed this sketch for what it was.

Sketch: Mr. Chicken Legs Pageant

A contest to see who has the skinniest legs in America.

• The intro where we see that the pageant is being held at the notorious Hotel Cecil would have been great if the announcer didn’t overexplain the joke. Yep, this is another Seidell/Day sketch!

• What’s with Cecily’s character being named “Denise Poots”?

• Our latest of many high-pitched Chloe Fineman characters appears in this sketch.

• The way Mikey reveals his skinny legs is really well timed. He’s probably the best thing about this sketch (no surprise there, seeing as he wrote it).

• I like how Andrew Dismukes’ character reveals his legs by saying “Don’t believe me, just watch!”, a reference to the song “Uptown Funk”.

• Another surprisingly good performance from Davidson. He actually hasn’t been that bad in this season.

• This sketch is better than I remembered. I got enough laughs from it, and it was kept the right length.

Film: The Job Interview

A man (Page) is interviewed for a potential advertising job by an unscrupulous boss (Beck Bennett).

• I got a laugh from the LEGO ad on the boss’s wall: “Bet you can’t eat just one”. I even laughed at the obligatory dick joke on the Mike’s Hard Lemonade ad: “How Hard? THIS HARD!!!”

• Another laugh from the mascot he invented for Maxwell House; a photo of Ghislaine Maxwell with a Photoshopped monacle and top hat.

• Beck’s performance as the boss is good, and appropriately sleazy.

The film lol • As an advertisement fan, I appreciated the reference to BBDO, which has made some classic ad campaigns over the years. However, the BBDO Page’s character is talking about is actually a dating app called “Big Beautiful Dongs Only”, which I admit to getting a cheap laugh out of.

• The drawings Page has for his various ad ideas are hilarious. My favorite is the one for the Chevy Bolt, which features a car mowing down Usain Bolt.

• Nice fake out bit where it looks like they’re going to get into a fist fight, but then they start hitting each other with pool noodles.

• Brilliant ending where we see the final result of Page’s Netflix idea: “Netflix: We have porn now.”

• Do my eyes deceive me? Is this another surprisingly good sketch? This episode is way better than I remembered! And, dare I say it, I might actually consider it good. But we’ll have to get through the rest of the episode before I know for sure.

Musical Performance: “ La Noche de Anoche”

Weekend Update (featuring Pete Davidson and Jessie Raunch)

• Starting out with some lame clapter about Ted Cruz.

• Once again, I find it funny in hindsight that the only jokes they’re telling about Cuomo are about his nursing home scandal, when there would be an even bigger one coming in the future…

• Pete Davidson shows up for a commentary about Valentine’s Day. 

• I liked the line where he mentions that the pandemic was the first time that being all by himself wasn’t his own fault.

•  OMG at that picture of him without a shirt on. He says that he looks like a toddler on his way to prison. I agree.

• He’s making some good burns about the quality of this show, like comparing it to his mom. They’re both “old, and noticeably fatigued”.

• Surprisingly not too bad for a Pete Davidson commentary. Like I said earlier, it seems like he’s been giving more of a shit this season.

• Bizarre and unfunny joke about the Mars Rover making a white supremacist tweet. Is astronomy something.   that white supremacists are interested in?

• Finally got a laugh from Che saying that a woolly mammoth’s fossil is so old that Andrew Cuomo is covering up its death.

• Lame and super predictable anti-Catholic joke from Colin.

• Heidi Gardner debuts a new character named Jessie Raunch, who has a mutual aid organization. She’s wearing an outfit that looks a lot like Freddy Krueger’s, while she continuously denies that she’s anything like him. Unfortunately, she keeps doing and saying things that Freddy does, like pulling out a creepy glove, and singing a version of the “One, two, Freddy’s coming for you” song about the food that she brings to people. I would normally criticize this for being a lame one-joke premise, but I like the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, so I’ll forgive it in this case.

• Apparently, Che’s joke about Jewish citizens in Israel getting vaccinated received criticism from some Jewish groups for being “anti-Semitic”. I don’t understand why, because I thought it was pretty benign and inoffensive.

Sketch: Songs Of The Sea

An aspiring sailor (Dismukes) has reservations about joining the crew after hearing their sea shanties.

• A brief laugh from an upcoming History Channel show about Hitler’s hairdresser. 

• Page’s voice in this sketch is great, without relying too much on stereotypical pirate phrases.

• Second sketch of the episode to have McKinnon in drag. Why does this keep fucking happening? Wasn’t there a writer they could have put in that role?

• Bad Bunny makes another cameo in this, and his accent is so thick that I can’t understand any of his words.

• The lyrical content is nothing special, but the music is extremely catchy, just like a real sea shanty. 

• WTF?!!?? McKinnon has TWO drag roles in this sketch?!? It’s official, somebody on the show hates me and is trying to psychologically torture me every week.

• If you take out the McKinnon parts, this sketch isn’t very bad.

Sketch: Let’s Say Grace

Two families have high standards for saying grace at dinner.

• There’s Kenan doing that voice again.

• Beautiful performance from Ego in this sketch, appropriately sounding like a typical preacher.

• Page’s attempt at a Southern accent is pretty good too. It’s hard to believe he’s British because he’s been pulling off all of these American voices with ease.

• Punkie Johnson wasted yet again with a silent role.

• This was mostly boring until the last minute or so, where they all start singing a catchy gospel number. Plus, we get to see Beck doing some awesome breakdancing moves!

Sketch: Bridgerton Intimacy Coordinators

Two intimacy coordinators try to stage a love scene between the Duke and Daphne.

• Great, another sketch that relies on you having seen Bridgerton. I can tell I’m gonna hate this.

• Man, those screaming girls in the audience are a pain.

• Even more painful is Kate McKinnon doing her stock British accent as the director.

• When Mikey’s character first spoke in…that voice he’s using, it caught me off guard.

• The annoying audience hoots and hollers when Page gets in bed with Fineman. Have I made it clear that the audience in this episode is annoying?!?

• Despite some minor chuckles from Mikey and Pete’s characters, this sketch was really bad.

Musical Performance: “Te Deseo lo Mejor”

Film: The Grocery Rap

A rap group faces some challenges while filming a rap video in a grocery store.

• Our second rap video of the night, and while it is kind of repetitive, there’s something about it that’s keeping me from hating it.

• I can’t tell if this is a real grocery store they’re in or if it’s just a set.

• Funny part where Beck’s character says that Bill Gates invented the pandemic to sell more computer games.

• This got better as it went along, particularly the ending where they sneak back inside after closing, only for the manager returning to tackle Beck.

Final thoughts: I can’t believe it’s taken me this long, but I’ve finally found an episode of Season 46 that I could actually call good, and it’s the 13th episode of the season. I guess it really is a lucky number. Regé-Jean Page was a great host, and I particularly was impressed by his ability to conceal his natural accent.

Best sketches: Loco, Driver’s License, The Job Interview, Jessie Raunch commentary, the finale of Let’s Say Grace, The Grocery Rap

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Monologue, Actor’s Spotlight, Bridgerton Intimacy Coordinators

Next review: Nick Jonas

SNL Reviews: Regina King/Nathaniel Rateliff (2/13/21)

 Cold Open

Unfunny things happen during Fox News’ coverage of the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump.

• Starting off on a bad note with the worst Tucker Carlson impression known to man.

• Even more pain follows with the one millionth appearance from Kate as Lindsey Graham, although this is so far the last time he’s appeared.

• As if one drag performance wasn’t enough, we also get the debut of Aidy Bryant’s terrible Ted Cruz impression. Why is it that whenever there’s somebody in drag on SNL these days, it’s almost always a woman doing it? The last man in drag I can think of is that Asian Terry Sweeney commentary from a few episodes ago.

• The joke about Michael Van Der Veen’s last name being Dutch for “Man of the Penis” made me groan.

• To complete the horror that is this cold open, the frogfaced Mitch McConnell returns. This is also his final appearance.

• One of the worst cold opens I’ve ever seen.

Monologue

Regina King’s monologue gets interrupted by an overly-enthusiastic Kenan.

• Full disclosure: I only know Regina King from her role as the Freeman brothers on Adult Swim’s “The Boondocks”. That being said, I absolutely adore her performance on that show and I think she’s a great talent, so I was excited for this episode.

• Some initial laughs from her memories of watching Eddie Murphy on the show when she was a kid, and wanting to be on that same stage when she grew up, but then changing her mind after he left.

• Man, just hearing her voice, I see a picture in my mind of a grown up Huey Freeman talking. It’s freaky seeing that familiar voice in live-action.

• I got another laugh when she says Lorne told her to use the race card every chance she gets.

• Unfortunately, my enjoyment takes a slight downturn when Kenan shows up, dressed like a gangsta wannabe. I’ve lost count of how many characters he’s played like this.

• While still not a bad monologue, it really took a hit when Kenan entered. I wanted to hear Regina tell more stories!

Sketch: What’s Your Type?

Three cringy dating show contestants vie for the affections of one bachelorette (King).

• I laughed at Ego introducing Cecily’s character as “the girl who got famous by pulling her buttcheeks apart on Snapchat”.

• Damn, Regina looks pretty damn hot in this sketch.

• I like Kyle Mooney’s “white ally” character, just because it reminds me of the great BET sketch from the last episode.

• Regina’s reactions to her potential lovers are expertly delivered.

• Alex Moffat pulls off an underrated performance as his character. The way he looks is great, too, with his pedo mustache and fedora.

• Mikey’s voice here is amazing. This is the kind of stuff I like to see from him.

• I forgot to mention it, but Ego’s role as the host is also great. Season 46 is the year where she finally came into her own as a member of the cast.

• I like how half of Alex’s dialogue is just song lyrics, until Cecily makes him stop because they have to pay the rights for the songs.

• Mikey’s French “accent” was freaking hilarious. I also like how this is what makes Regina pick him to be her boyfriend.

• Wow! That sketch was way better than I remembered. Maybe the rest of the episode will be, too, but we’ll just have to see.

Film: Pelotaunt

The exercise bike that insults you.

• I spoke too soon. Here’s a commercial I remember for having a unique idea, but didn’t do anything creative with that idea.

• Yeah, just as I remembered, this was really really bad. It rightfully made it onto my Worst Sketches of Season 46 list.

Sketch: Gorilla Glue

Commode & Commode are dedicated to suing the makers of Gorilla Glue.

• This sketch is based on a then-recent story of some stupid lady who put Gorilla Glue in her hair. I honestly forgot all about that nonsense until this sketch made me remember it.

• This is a little too reliant on the story to be funny, which just results in this sketch becoming dated. Plus, it also has Kenan doing my “favorite” voice in it, so that’s another negative.

• I will say that the ridiculous wigs they’re wearing made me chuckle at first.

Sketch: Birthday Gifts

A group of friends have the same idea for a birthday gift for their friend.

• This sketch was so boring that I had to turn off the episode afterwards. In fact, it also made me give up reviewing the episodes on Facebook for quite a while.

• Rewatching it for this review, nothing has changed. It’s still a whole lot of nothing.

Film: The Negotiator

During a hostage crisis, a cop (King) eats some innocent looking gummy bears, and things start to go wrong…

• After a nice opening, this sketch suddenly becomes…extremely bizarre. Regina starts hallucinating a rapping gummy bear (played by Pete Davidson, naturally), and…uh, what the fuck is going on?

• Then Aidy enters as a second gummy bear, and we get some nice 2D animated elements. 

• Spot on Marge Simpson impression from Melissa. Then she reveals that she is actually The Devil, and her face goes all creepy.

• As much as I want to hate this sketch…I just can’t. THIS is the type of bizarre stuff that I like to see on this show. 

• Bowen does a surprisingly good job as the other police officer, confused by Regina’s antics. See what happens when you guys let him play other kinds of roles?

• Overall, not too bad for a Pete Davidson sketch.

Musical Performance: “Redemption”

Weekend Update (featuring Stephanie Green, Mackenzie Taylor-Joy, and Tom Brady)

• Some really bad clapter revolving around Trump’s acquittal.

• Che tells a joke about Cuomo that is lame and toothless.

• Oh, God, no. Here’s a commentary that I’ve heard so many bad things about. Kate McKinnon dresses up as a witch named Stephanie Green, who’s here to talk about QAnon conspiracy theories. I can tell I’m going to hate this already.

• That voice she’s doing is so annoying, and she won’t stop moving her hands around. This is exactly the kind of stuff I hate about her all rolled into one.

• I got a mild chuckle from Colin saying that NBC’s ratings would go up if they let him say the n-word.

• Lauren Holt gets her first (and only) Update appearance as a character named Mackenzie Taylor-Joy, who is here to talk about Valentine’s Day dating ideas.

• She’s pulling this character off pretty well. The way she switches back and forth from happy to sad is expertly performed. It’s coming off as even more emotional knowing that this is the only time she would ever get to show off these skills on Weekend Update. 

• Is it me or does Beck Bennett like playing drunk characters? Here he has a commentary as an inebriated Tom Brady. As someone who doesn’t even like football, I can tell you that this impression sucks and we were thankfully spared from ever seeing it again.

Sketch: Disco Queen

A 70s disco dancer (King) has a hard time performing her moves when things don’t go as planned.

• Figures that Asian Terry Sweeney would be cast in a sketch about disco.

• Regina’s looking fine in that sparkly dress. Something about the voice she’s using reminds me of Foxxy Love from the cartoon series “Drawn Together”.

• You don’t know how much I enjoyed seeing her slap Asian Terry Sweeney in the face.

• I like how one of her songs is named “Nasty Christmas”.

• While not laugh out loud funny, I thought this was a nice character piece. Regina was just so good in this.

Women’s Theater

A feminist theater ensemble delivers an age-appropriate performance during a high school assembly.

• Mikey’s character is explaining a little too much before the main part of the sketch starts. I’m surprised this wasn’t a sketch that he wrote.

• Regina’s Maya Angelou-esque character is performed really well.

• Now the audience members are explaining everything that happens too! Are we sure that this wasn’t a Day/Seidell sketch?

• It’s a shame that they keep explaining the jokes, because there’s some nice satire buried here about raunchy comedians refusing to tone down their material for younger people. The actual parts with the performers aren’t that bad, but the stuff with the audience just kills this sketch.

Musical Performance: “A Little Honey”

Final thoughts: This episode honestly wasn’t as bad as I remembered. While not perfect, there were a few good sketches, plus an underrated commentary from Lauren Holt. As for the host, well, what else can I say? She was absolutely perfect here. I hope she comes back again in the future.

Best sketches: What’s Your Type?, The Negotiator, Lauren Holt’s commentary, Disco Queen

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Pelotaunt, Birthday Gifts

Next review: Rege Jean-Page/Bad Bunny