SNL Reviews: Steve Martin & Martin Short/Brandi Carlisle (12/10/22)

Cold Open

A group shares how they keep their cool during the holiday season.

• As much as I rag on Cecily for being on the show for too long, I absolutely love her singing. That being said, I’m not sure we need a musical number to open up this episode.

• Despite my misgivings, this song actually isn’t too bad. It’s refreshing to get another non-political cold open. There are some political issues mentioned here, but most of it is about their own personal interests.

• All of the performers here do a great job, but I especially have to congratulate Bowen for his work. His singing voice is really really good!

Monologue

Our hosts talk about their memories on the show and eulogize each other.

• You have no idea how great it is to see these guys host again, something I’ve never been able to experience as a fan before. Both of their last hosting appearances were years before I started watching regularly.

• Amazing montage of every single time Steve has hosted, with clips of his many cameos thrown in for good measure.

• For some reason, Marty’s montage claims that he’s only hosted three times. If we count that one time he hosted with Steve and Chevy, then it should be four. I guess it was just meant to be a joke about how short his montage was compared to Steve’s.

• Amusing photo of Steve with Belushi, Aykroyd, and Mick Jagger.

• Their chemistry is still firmly intact! Just watching these guys work their magic was so mindblowing to me the first time I saw this episode.

• The audience cuts off Marty before he can finish saying the name of their Hulu show. A good sign of how lively tonight’s audience is going to be.

• Marty: “Our show is like Steve at the urinal: it streams for 30 minutes.” Is it wrong for me to admit that I laughed at a wee-wee joke?

• I love the “clip” of them preparing for the show: a brief video of an Asian man getting kicked in the balls.

•  Nice sad music and random dog picture when they start reading their eulogies, which I assume is a reference to those ASPCA commercials. As someone who watches a lot of MeTV, I see those commercials CONSTANTLY.

• The various eulogies they read are all pretty funny. My favorite is the one where Marty calls Steve a “bland, overrated, white-haired son of a bitch”.

• Random appearance from Selena Gomez at the end. Not sure I needed to see her again after how awful her hosting gig was.

• Definitely the best monologue of the season, and the best we’ve had in years. It feels so good to laugh at a monologue again.

Sketch: The Science Room

Josh and Lonnie’s new teachers attempt to teach them about science

• Not this sketch again. Hopefully Steve and Marty can give it a boost.

• I groaned at the beginning where Heidi advertises an upcoming episode of Curious George, in which he “be on that same ol’ bulls**t”.

• Marty accidentally begins singing his chemistry song too early.

• The fact that there are two teachers this time around is definitely helping this a bit.

• Mikey, when asked what he wants for Christmas: “To find out what happened to my brother.” The look on Steve’s face after this is said is great.

• Cecily seems to be a bit more muggy this time. I don’t remember her character being like this in the previous installments. She also has braces now, for some reason.

• Mikey, when asked what begins with “C”: “Um, sí, señor?”

• Cecily and Mikey’s incorrect answers are a lot funnier than usual.

• I’m getting pretty damn tired of them referring to penises as “things”. 

• I love Marty’s freak out after Mikey doesn’t understand how a knock-knock joke works. He goes over to a skeleton in the room and starts strangling it.

• No comment on the one millionth Mario joke this season.

• This was surprisingly better than I thought it would be. The best installment since the original with Sam Rockwell. And best of all, these guys didn’t even have to say the f-word to make it enjoyable.

Please Don’t Destroy: Chelsea

Ben and Martin find themselves in a tough situation when John reunites with his girlfriend.

• Nice to see these guys again.

• Never thought I’d see Sarah in one of these.

• Sarah’s real father plays the father of her character. Despite not being an actor he does a fine job here.

• Who’s the old lady that Steve says is his wife? 

• Amusing appearance from Michael Che.

• Great ending where Sarah’s dad comes to the office and is about to kill Martin Herlihy when it freezes on the caption, “Starring Sarah Sherman’s Real Dad”.

Sketch: The Holiday Train

A group of people on a train get really excited to see snow for the first time.

• This is a variation of a sketch from Amy Adams’ Season 40 episode.

• Why are they all bouncing? Are they in a bouncy house?

• Marty seems a little too glued to the cue cards here. He should be saying his lines to Kenan but he’s looking in the complete opposite direction of where he is.

• Oh no, now they start singing! Yep, this is an Anderlette sketch!

• Kenan randomly started giggling in the middle of his line just now. What is happening to him lately?

• Random ending where Kenan finds himself surrounded by bears. This is a ripoff of that other sketch I mentioned earlier, except in that one, they were raccoons.

• Apparently, two of the bears were played by writers Alex English and Jimmy Fowlie.

Sketch: A Visit With Santa

Things get heated between Santa and his elf when kids come to visit.

• Marty’s “elf” voice is hilarious. 

• Unfortunately, we also have Chloe in this doing one of her many high-pitched voices. At least it fits into this sketch because she’s playing a child.

• Oh, hey, Andrew still exists. This is the second episode in a row where he only makes one appearance.

• It feels so weird seeing Ego play a child. Has she ever done this before?

• This sketch is extremely repetitive and broad. I sense Sublette again.

Film: A Christmas Carol

Things take a dark turn for Scrooge.

• Ohohoho, I’ve been waiting to see this sketch again.

• To start with, Marty is absolutely perfect as Scrooge.

• I honestly thought Sarah was Melissa Villaseñor at first, given her love of playing young boys.

• And there goes the hilarious twist of the coin landing in Sarah’s eye. The first time I saw this, I couldn’t stop laughing.

• Mikey’s quest to perfect a British accent continues. He still hasn’t got it.

• I absolutely love Steve as one of the ghosts.

• Molly makes their customary single appearance of the night as a background character.

• Marcello’s British accent is so bad that it’s hilarious. Then he gets impaled by an icicle and it’s even more hilarious.

• Nice twist where Scrooge tries to avoid another disaster by dropping a coin on the ground for Tiny Tim to pick up, only for it to ricochet and end up knocking him into a manhole.

• Absolutely amazing scene of Mikey getting his head kicked off by a horse!

• The ONLY thing about this sketch that I hate is that stupid ending where this turns out to be an ad for Apple Pay. Why do they keep doing these cliche endings??

Musical Performance: “The Story”

Weekend Update (featuring Mary Ann Louise Fischer, and Deb & Kurt)

• I’m getting sick of the “seen here” jokes.

• Hopefully the fact that Herschel Walker lost means that we won’t have to hear about him again, or worse, suffer through Kenan’s awful “impression”.

• Ego debuts a new character. 

• I like how she claims she’s responsible for the messy state of every Ross Dress For Less store.

• No offense to Ego, but I just wasn’t feeling this commentary. This season has been pretty hit-or-miss for her.

• Now we get a bizarre pair of new characters from Chloe and Mikey. Chloe’s doing her “deer in headlights” stare yet again.

• Their hick voices make me think that either Sublette or Jimmy Fowlie were behind this.

• Man, Chloe’s character is so annoying, launching into all of those usual Chloe impressions that we’re sick of by now.

• I’m glad Colin finds this so amusing, because I sure as hell don’t!

• Mikey fails at yet ANOTHER British accent, this time as Stewie Griffin (don’t ask). Unlike many of his other attempts, this one isn’t even “so bad, it’s good.” It’s just “so bad, it’s bad”.

Sketch: How To Talk To Your Man

Talk show host Minky Carmichael doles out relationship advice to his audience.

• This was originally written for the Willem Dafoe episode.

• Ugh at Heidi’s awful voice. Also, her name is “Jen Fonger-Bhang”? Gee, I WONDER who wrote this?!!??

• At lease Marty can still do those Ed Grimley dance moves pretty well. Speaking of which, where is Ed Grimley in this episode? Can he not do the role anymore because of age?

• Sarah has been all over these last few episodes! Why the hell has she not been promoted yet?

• Kudos to Marty for pulling them off, but the constant dance breaks are irritating. These dance breaks are another thing that makes me think this sketch is a creation of Kent Sublette.

• One good Marty line: “Girl, the only VCR I care about is a Very Cool Rack!”

• Overall, this sketch was a waste of time. Not even Martin fucking Short can save it.

Musical Performance: “You and Me on the Rock”

Sketch: Father of the Bride Part VIII

The eighth installment of the movie series. 

• I’ve never seen these movies, but I’ll try to keep an open mind.

• I got a laugh right away from Steve mouthing “What the fuck?” after learning that his daughter is engaged.

• Chloe’s Diane Keaton is okay.

• I don’t think I’ve ever heard Bowen do that particular voice before.

• The audience goes nuts when Marty starts talking in gibberish. So did I!

• I love the announcer saying that he thinks Marty’s character’s accent is still okay to do.

• Random Kieran Culkin appearance. At least this cameo was welcome, given how much I loved him as a host last year. Apparently, he was supposed to host again later this season, but the writer’s strike cancelled those plans.

• Announcer: “Did you forget Kieran Culkin was in this movie? So did we, and so did he!”

• Another Selena Gomez appearance, except this one is even more pointless because she doesn’t appear in any of these movies.

• Despite having never seen Father of the Bride, I got a lot of laughs from this. It helps that it was kept short and sweet.

Final thoughts: Wow, this was an extremely bipolar episode. On one hand, we got some really great sketches and the return of two iconic hosts. On the other hand, there were quite a few weak sketches (mostly written by Kent Sublette). But, for the most part, I would have to call this a strong episode.

Best sketches: Monologue, The Science Room, Chelsea, A Christmas Carol, Father of the Bride VIII

Worst sketches: The Holiday Train, A Visit With Santa, How To Talk To Your Man

Next review: Austin Butler/Lizzo. We also bid farewell to Cecily Strong.

SNL Reviews: Keke Palmer/SZA (12/2/22)

 Cold Open

Herschel Walker prepares for the Georgia Senate runoff.

• Ugh, Kenan’s baffling Herschel Walker is back. Thankfully, this is his last appearance so far.

• The first words that came out of his mouth (“Well, hello, Mitch McDonalds”) made me die inside. What the fuck is happening to Kenan this season?

• I wouldn’t have known who Cecily and Mikey were supposed to be if McConnell didn’t explain it to us. I say that because I’m sure Cecily and Mikey look nothing like the people they are purportedly trying to play here.

• Speaking of Cecily, her voice is extremely annoying. I’ve lost count of how many sketches she’s used that same Southern accent in, most of which I’m sure were written by the two usual suspects.

• JAJ’s McConnell impression has improved a little from his appearance in the season premiere. Not quite there yet, but it’s close.

• Ugh at the “Planned Parent Trap” line.

• This cold open is pure torture. How many of these do I have left before Cecily leaves??

Monologue

Keke Palmer talks about her 20 year career as an actress, and addresses rumors about her pregnancy.

• Man, it feels so surreal seeing her on this show. I still remember watching her as a little girl on Nickelodeon.

• HUGE applause when she says she was in a Jordan Peele movie.

• I like her story about getting yelled at by Lawrence Fishburne.

• The most famous part of this monologue is when she reveals her pregnancy at the end. A nice, unexpected way to conclude this. Have you ever seen anyone reveal their pregnancy on SNL before? Neither have I.

Sketch: Forceington’s Ridge

A dramatic 1984 episode of Forceington’s Ridge has a hard time keeping the stunt doubles out of shot.

• James Anderson makes his “triumphant” return to SNL with this soap opera parody, a type of sketch that he and Sublette absolutely love writing, despite the fact that all of their attempts at it suck major balls.

• An initial groan at the way Cecily is dressed here. Odd, specific hairstyles are a common trait in Anderlette sketches.

• Keke’s character is named “Sandrine St. Cassette Tape”? Ugh, Anderson wasted no time in going back to his old shtick.

• This sketch is doing absolutely nothing for me. It reminds me of that “Sands of Modesto” sketch from Season 45, another James Anderson “masterpiece”.

• The only thing I got a laugh from was the stunt doubles giving the camera a thumbs up at the end.

Film: Big Boys

A group of women sing a song about cuffing season.

• The set design here is amazing.

• Any idea who the actors playing the “big boys” are? SNL Archives doesn’t say.

• Amusing split-second flash frame of Garfield when Punkie talks about lasagna.

• This song is kinda catchy and well performed, and the ladies are giving it their all.

• I love the brief interruption with Devon and Ego in bed.

• Another scene I really like is Keke cutting off Punkie to ask why she’s singing about boys if she’s a lesbian. Punkie responds that she does like girls, but they can’t keep her warm.

• Too bad Kenan had to ruin things at the end with his unnecessary scene. But, for the most part, I really enjoyed this.

Sketch: United Tingz of Aubrey

A PSA for ex-girlfriends of the rapper Drake.

• The setting of this commercial (a crowd in a blank, empty room) reminds me of the infamous International Ladies’ Garment Worker’s Union commercial that aired during the Star Wars Holiday Special.

• Funny opening line from Ego: “Are you a woman? Have you ever dated the rapper Drake?” The audience goes nuts after hearing this.

• I’m not sure if the camera was just supposed to be focused on Ego while Punkie was talking. Ego apparently noticed this too, because she has trouble keeping a straight face before delivering her next line.

• Punkie: “I told him I was a lesbian, and he said, ‘Me too!’”

• This is such an unusual concept for a sketch, and I’m not quite sure I get it, but the cast is making it work.

• Funny story from Sarah about how Drake sent her a GIF of Bobby Hill once.

• Great musical number at the end, complete with all the ladies holding up Drake pictures and waving them around.

Sketch: Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty store managers try to train new employees.

• Wow, Molly with a lead role!

• Why does Bowen’s character have a pedo ‘stache?

• None of the blatantly false facts that Molly and Cecily are reading off are making me laugh. 

• Did Sanrio pay SNL to feature their products in this sketch or something? They name drop the company several times, and the set is full of Sanrio merchandise (not just Hello Kitty). My sister tells me that Keke had a song about Hello Kitty a while ago, so that might have something to do with it.

• No comment on all the talk about “clapping cheeks”. Who is this aimed at??

• I have no idea what the “patriotic” New York ending is all about. 

• JAJ must be really proud to have his only role in this sketch be “Silent Construction Worker Man”.

• Extremely random cameo from Natasha Lyonne at the end. Thankfully, her voice isn’t nearly as raspy as it was when she hosted.

Film: Kenan & Kelly

Keke wants Kenan to appear in a revival of Kenan & Kel.

• Keke and Kenan’s chemistry in this is so sweet. You can tell how honored she is to be working with her idol.

• The sudden reenactment of the Kenan & Kel theme song was a nice surprise.

• Who is that singing the theme song?

• Keke’s doing a great job in the Kel role, especially the cheesy one-liners.

• Great reaction face from Kenan when Keke reveals that she’s pregnant with his child.

• Keke: “Uh-oh! Here come the bus!!!”

• Devon’s Kel impression is dead on!

• Speaking of Kel, he shows up in this sketch too! Seeing him and Kenan together again brings back so many childhood memories. It’s also great to see that he still has that love of orange soda!

• I absolutely love Kel’s “death” scene. 

• While this was more cute than funny, it was a nice blast from the past for me. They should do more sketches based on Kenan’s Nickelodeon days, if you ask me. Speaking of Kenan, this is a rare example of a Season 48 sketch where he isn’t out of place and annoying!

Sketch: Arby’s

A new deal at Arby’s has customers questioning everything.

• Ugh, I can tell I’m gonna hate this sketch. What is the deal with the product placement on the show lately?

• A typical “Mikey Reacts” role for Mikey.

• The constant voiceovers from Kenan as Ving Rhames are annoying me. Further proof of how far downhill Kenan has gone this season.

Musical Performance: “Shirt”

Weekend Update (featuring Trish Dale and Michael Longfellow)

• I like the edited photo of Pete Buttigieg at Gatorland without a shirt on. Other than that, the first part of this Update is a snooze.

• Third episode in a row with Che making a child labor joke. The first two were funny, but now it’s starting to get a little stale, especially when he can’t deliver the punchline of this one without giggling.

• Longfellow makes his second appearance at the desk to talk about being the child of divorced parents during the holidays.

• I liked his “Don’t call me Shirley” reference, and him claiming that it’s from Snakes on a Plane.

• This was okay, but it didn’t hold a candle to the commentary he did in the season premiere.

• Now, Sarah makes her first appearance at the desk as a character, and not as herself. I guess they figured out that her insulting Colin shtick was getting old. This time, she plays the president of the Peppa Pig Fan Club, who’s here to talk about gay characters joining the cast.

• Sarah’s overreactions to the gay characters aren’t as funny as I was hoping they would be. She just keeps relying on the same joke about them having sex with each other.

• If this is the kind of material we get from her on Update when she’s not playing herself, then I think she should stick to insulting Colin. Overall, a rare miss for Sarah.

Sketch: Ultrasound

An expectant mother’s ultrasound shows unusual images of her babies.

• Man, has Cecily been in EVERY sketch in this episode?

• We see the ultrasound image, and this sketch suddenly turns into a variation of that baby monitor sketch from the Selena Gomez episode. I’m sure they’re supposed to be different babies, but there’re still played by Sarah and Bowen, so are we to assume that they suddenly went back inside the womb? Boy, I sure hope someone got fired for that blunder.

• No comment on the scene where they start smoking, and the smoke comes out of Keke’s vagina.

• Extremely bizarre twist where the babies somehow order a Filet-O-Fish on a phone. This leads to a disturbing scene where one of the babies reaches out of Keke’s vagina and grabs it. Yes, that is a sentence I just typed.

• What is the deal with the ending where they suddenly show up in Cecily’s womb?

• This sketch was awful. The reason that the baby monitor one worked for the most part was because it didn’t have stupid impossible shit like that ending. But now, I guess we’re just supposed to accept these things. Stay tuned for a future installment where the babies are inside of a MAN!

Sketch: Choir Practice

Things get intense when a new girl joins the choir.

• Cecily in yet another sketch! Meanwhile, Mikey has barely been in it at all.

• At least Molly gets a second lead role in this episode. And they get to sing!

• A huge groan from the name of this school being “Christ Wound High”.

• Great singing by Keke! The audience agrees, as they go wild once she starts singing.

• This sketch was more based on performance than laughs, but it was still okay for what it was.

Musical Performance: “Blind”

Sketch: Hawaii Flight

Two flight attendants get rowdy.

• This era has a lot of sketches featuring WACKY flight attendants for some reason. It reminds me of that one from Saiorse Ronan’s episode with the cartoony Irish stereotypes. I only hope that there’s no Hawaiian stereotypes in this one.

• Who’s the black dude sitting next to Mikey?

• Keke and Ego are trying their best, but they can’t save this repetitive “Let’s explain the jokes so our audience can understand everything” sketch. Unsurprisingly, Streeter Seidell is credited as a writer.

Final thoughts: A mixed episode as a whole. Keke Palmer was a great host, though. Kudos to her for doing this show while pregnant.

Best sketches: Big Boys, United Tingz of Aubrey, Kenan & Kelly

Worst sketches: Cold Open, Forceington’s Ridge, Hello Kitty, Arby’s, Ultrasound

Next review: Steve Martin & Martin Short/Brandi Carlile. Now here’s an episode I’m excited to be reviewing!!!

SNL Reviews: Dave Chappelle/Black Star (11/12/22)

 Cold Open: Fox and Friends

The hosts interview various candidates about the midterm elections.

• Not this again. These sketches just aren’t as funny as the ones from the early 2010s.

• Bizarre casting of Bowen as Brian Kilmeade. Mikey played him the last time they did this, but now he’s playing Steve Doocy.

• To be fair, I did get a chuckle from Ainsley Earhardt and Doocy saying “Wakanda Forever”, and Kilmeade warning them that he doesn’t think they’re allowed to say it.

• It feels so wrong hearing them mention Eric Trump without Alex Moffat being there. 

• Cecily returns as Kari Lake, and we get more “jokes” about how she uses camera filters. 

• Trump returns for the second episode in a row. Ugh!!! Just give him a break already, SNL!

• Random and unfunny twist at the end where Lake suddenly appears in the studio. Just another tick on a checklist at this point.

Monologue

Our host does stand-up about Kanye, Trump, and the midterms.

• There was a lot of controversy from idiots on Twitter about Chappelle being asked to host, thanks to his “offensive” statements about trans people. SNL did not listen to any of these complaints and let Chappelle go on the show.

• Funny slam at Kanye at the beginning.

• l launched into a series of great Jew jokes, such as asking them about why they dress like Run-DMC and calling one of their holidays “Sha Na Na”.

• He drops an n-bomb when talking about Adidas. This then leads to a comment about how Adidas was founded by Nazis. I was very surprised to discover that this was not a joke, and that Adidas actually was founded by a member of the Nazi Party.

• I’m surprised they let him get away with his “Jews run Hollywood” jokes. Unsurprisingly, Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League complained about them.

• His non-verbal impression of Herschel Walker is miles better than Kenan’s impression that actually has dialogue. That just shows you how awful Kenan has gotten this year.

• Even the Trump material is making me laugh.

• Overall, despite lasting over 15 minutes, this was a killer monologue.

Sketch: Potato Hole

Morning show hosts try to figure out the meaning of a musician’s new album title.

• Andrew’s great season continues as he gets a lead role in this sketch.

• Ugh, another sketch where the only joke is the repetition of “hole” over and over again?!? Wasn’t that awful “momhole” sketch enough?

• Chappelle single-handedly saves this sketch from being a total waste with his long and disturbing explanation of what a “potato hole” actually is. Thank God for Dave Chappelle!

Film: House of the Dragon

The Game of Thrones spin-off suddenly gets invaded by Chappelle’s Show characters.

• As with the awful Aunt Jemima sketch from his last appearance, this sketch starts with a Chappelle’s Show-style intro where Dave tells the audience what the next sketch is going to be about.

• Mikey STILL can’t do a British accent.

• Kenan looks like he’s got a mop on his head.

• Some amazing makeup on James’ character, complete with decaying skin.

• This suddenly turns into a sequel to that Walking Dead Chappelle’s Show sketch from his first episode, with characters from the show randomly appearing here. I’ve still never seen an episode, so all of these appearances are kind of confusing to me.

• Oh, hey, look! It’s Ice-T, everybody! No idea why he’s here.

• No comment on the scene where JAJ’s dick falls off.

• I like the brief shot of Tyrone Biggums using a dragon to light his cigarette.

• Even Rick James makes an appearance! 

• The best part is the ending, where the three Chappelles fly away, only for the police to somehow pull them over.

• Overall, despite not understanding all of the specific show-related jokes, I enjoyed this quite a lot.

Sketch: Barber Shop

A group of barbers discuss current events.

• The setting of this reminds me of Coming to America. Maybe that was intentional?

• Nice to see all of our black cast members in this, including Punkie and Devon!

• I like the sudden reveal of Longfellow as one of the barbers in this shop, which we had previously only seen occupied by black people. Even better is when it turns out that he isn’t even cutting anyone’s hair.

• Who’s the guy getting his hair cut by Kenan?

• This sketch has a nice slice of life feel to it that I wish more of this era’s sketches had.

• Every single time they cut to that shot of the empty chair next to Michael, I laugh even harder.

• Great twist ending where they all confirm that Michael’s character was actually a police agent.

Musical Performance: “So Be It”

Weekend Update (featuring Jose Suarez and Sarah Sherman)

• Colin, actually being honest for once: “I don’t know if that’s really official, but, we’re not a real news program…”

• These Herschel Walker jokes are growing tiresome.

• Another great child labor joke from Che.

• Marcello debuts a new character named Jose Suarez, who’s trying to become the first Latino president.

• This character is great! I’m getting a strong Fericito vibe from his voice and mannerisms, even if he doesn’t have a catchphrase that he keeps repeating every few seconds.

• Sarah makes her first Update appearance of the season as the host of “Sarah News”. It comes with a bizarre intro that I can’t even describe here without sounding like a crazy person.

• I agree with Sarah that the current Update set is ugly. They’ve been using that same one since Che joined the desk back in 2014.

• It felt so heartwarming to hear the audience applaud her as she started reading her headlines.

• Sarah’s first joke was about a tunnel, and I immediately knew it was going to be a joke about sex. I still laughed, though.

• Great picture of Sarah in bed with John Fetterman.

• Can we have Sarah do the news every week? This is so refreshing to see after a million years with those two bozos behind the desk!

Sketch: Black Heaven

Mikey fills in for Chappelle in a sketch about Black Heaven.

• Funny initial reveal of Mikey dressed like a pimp and talking in the most bland “black” voice ever.

• Ego: “This is Black Heaven, where your Jordans never have a crease!”

• Punkie’s been having a good night. I like the characterization of her “Auntie” character, who gets mad when Devon says he doesn’t like mac and cheese.

• I got a big laugh from Mikey randomly saying “World Star!”

• Dave’s occasional comments are great, too.

• Mikey gets to show off some range when he freaks out about Dave putting him in this sketch just to torture him. Then he gets even more upset when he has to avoid reading the n-word in his script.

• Great ending, where Dave makes Mikey fill in for him again…in a sketch about the Underground Railroad.

Musical Performance: “The Main Thing Is To Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing”

Please Don’t Destroy: Election Night

Molly needs help preparing a speech after the midterms.

• I honestly didn’t remember this episode having one of these.

• Molly gets their only role of the night in this, where it turns out that they won an election in Ohio.

• MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki makes a cameo in a scene where he shows us how Molly got elected.

• A good joke about the lack of Molly’s screentime.

• Molly, upon being forced to dress like a politician: “I look like a LEGO guy!”

• I love the brief shot of Ben swearing at a little boy.

• The Molly attack ad is hilarious. It somehow has audio of a quote that Molly said literally only a minute ago and describes them as an SNL stagehand.

• The text crawl ending wasn’t necessary.

• I liked this film a lot. The only thing that would’ve made it even better is if Chappelle were involved somehow.

Final thoughts: What a great turnaround from the last episode. With the exception of the cold open and the potato hole thing, almost every sketch here worked for me. Chappelle did a great job as host once again, and I’m glad SNL decided not to cave in to pressure and drop him.

Best sketches: Monologue, House of the Dragon, Barber Shop, Sarah News, Black Heaven, Election Night

Worst sketches: Cold Open

Next review: Keke Palmer/SZA

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

SNL Reviews: Brendan Gleeson/Willow (10/8/22)

 Cold Open: So You Think You Won’t Snap!

Contestants try to see who can keep their cool the longest.

• An initial groan from Bowen’s host character being named “Morgan Freegirl”. Sure enough, Kent Sublette is credited as a writer for this.

• I feel sorry for Punkie. Her only contribution to this sketch is playing “Silent Wine-Pouring Lady”.

• Bowen is actually pretty good as the host. This is the kind of stuff I want to see him do more. 

• I like how he gets Heidi’s character to finally snap by playing a bizarre clip of Joe Biden trying to prove how solid his mental faculties are.

• Not a big fan of the corporate shilling for the upcoming Mario film, but I do like how it causes Chloe to snap upon hearing Mario’s voice.

• I like how Kenan immediately snaps upon hearing Elon Musk’s name. What I don’t like is the overly-shouty rant he goes on after this, because that’s all Kenan does these days.

• We get our first big showcase of Devon Walker here. His performance is really great, as he slowly loses his cool from all the things Bowen is talking about. This culminates in him pressing a hot iron against his head.

• This wasn’t too bad for a cold open. Probably the strongest one we’ve had in a while.

Monologue

Our host plays the mandolin and talks about reuniting with Colin Farrell.

• I was only vaguely familiar with this guy before this episode, but then he started talking and I fell in love with his accent.

• His mandolin skills are amazing!

• It’s nice to see Colin Farrell on the show again for the first time since his hosting gig in Season 30. He and Brendan have great chemistry together.

• The little song they sing was a great way to end this monologue.

Sketch: CNN Today

A live report gets interrupted by news about the “Try Guys”.

• Oh, shit, I forgot all about this sketch. No, I’m not sure who the hell the Try Guys are, and I bet most of the audience doesn’t know either.

• Kind of funny how Brendan’s news reporter is named Colin seeing as we just had a cameo from another Colin. And I guess the joke is supposed to be how “funny” it is to see such a distinguished Irish actor talking about random people on the internet? Well, it’s not.

• I don’t know how accurate these Try Guy impressions are, but I will say that it’s good to see Mikey get another lead role. 

• As much as I would like to say more about this sketch, it’s hard for me to do so when the subject is something I know next to nothing about. Whose bright idea was it to make this shit the first sketch of the night?!?

Film: New Cast Advice

The four newbies share the advice they’ve gotten since they joined the show.

• A sketch focusing entirely on the new guys? This could be interesting…

• Marcello Hernandez finally gets a speaking role. His only appearance in last week’s show was a silent role in the cold open.

• We also get our first showcase of Molly Kearney in this sketch. For those who don’t know, Molly is the show’s first non-binary cast member. Right away, I notice that they have a lot of energy. You know who Molly reminds me of? Chris Farley. Yeah, that’s pretty high praise for someone who just joined.

• Marcello tells us not to expect seeing him in a lot of sketches right away. Well, we don’t have to worry about that, because he still doesn’t appear in a lot of sketches!

• Not a big fan of the Vladimir Putin running gag in Molly’s scenes. Couldn’t they just let Molly share some advice like the other guys did? On the plus side, I enjoy that the show isn’t making a big deal out of Molly being non-binary in this sketch. They only bring it up once, and leave it at that.

• I like Michael’s story about getting congratulated by David Spade, who also happens to be from Arizona. Devon says that Kristen Wiig gave him flowers, which is really sweet too.

• You know what? I changed my mind. I’m actually kind of enjoying Molly’s scenes this time around. I like how the other guys are gradually starting to bring it up as well.

• Funny line from Michael about how he’s excited to play Kanye West in a sketch this week.

• The eventual conclusion to the Molly running gag is worth it: Lorne just tells them that he never lets anybody kill people.

• I could’ve done without that brief Kenan scene at the end, though.

• Overall, a nice way to introduce all the new cast members to the show. It was way better than that awful cold open from the last episode.

Sketch: Blonde

A scene from Netflix’s new movie about Marilyn Monroe which features her reading some fan mail.

• Judging from the text crawl at the beginning, I can tell I’m gonna hate this…

• It figures they would cast Chloe as Marilyn Monroe, even though she looks nothing like her. The voice sucks too, but that’s a given with Fineman’s impressions.

• JAJ is extremely fitting for these kinds of “retro” sketches.

• Is Brendan’s character in this sketch supposed to be a female? He’s got what appears to be fake boobs, and he’s referred to as a woman a few times, but he’s still got a beard and isn’t even trying to sound feminine. Very strange.

• Man, I wish Chloe would just shut up. That voice is getting on my last nerves.

• Some laughs from the negative fan mail, even though they get more repetitive as the sketch goes on.

• I got a laugh from Heidi saying that she can’t reveal who the gay people in Hollywood are before suddenly blurting out Rock Hudson’s name.

• Great ending with the drawing of Monroe behind bars.

• The funniest thing about this sketch is that the movie it’s a “parody” of went on to win Worst Picture at the Razzies.

Sketch: Headshots

A guy is overshadowed by his grandfather while trying to get his portrait taken.

• Nice to see Michael get a lead role here.

• As good as Gleeson is in this sketch, the real star is Andrew Dismukes as the rude photographer. I just love his voice.

• Andrew as the photographer: “You can move your HUGE ASS!!!”

• This sketch truly becomes a masterpiece when Farrell enters the room and the photographer makes him and Gleeson pose together.

• I love the Back to the Future reference at the end with “Marvin Tiger Beat Magazine”.

• Nice line from Longfellow to end this sketch: “Hey, is it my turn now?”

Please Don’t Destroy: Tommy

The guys’ friend Tommy (Gleeson) has a shocking secret…

• Our first Please Don’t Destroy film of the season. 

• It’s nice to see them in a different setting outside of the office for a change.

• Some nice low-key interactions at the start before the main joke is revealed: Gleeson’s character (who is obviously older than the rest of his friends) is actually 67.

• A good laugh from Brendan’s pixelated private parts in the locker room scene. The gleeful look on his face sells it.

• Then we get a nice heartwarming moment where Brendan convinces the others that he’s still their friend despite lying about his age. We then end on a great note as they all go for a joyride through a tunnel as they stand on the back of a truck spreading their arms out.

Musical Performance: “Curious/Furious”

Weekend Update (featuring Black Ariel and Marcello Hernandez)

• Some sick jokes about Dr. Oz killing dogs. I understand that he was accused of doing bad things to them, but you don’t have to make it worse!

• A laugh from that awkward Biden clip.

• Another Ego commentary, this time as the live-action Ariel from The Little Mermaid. She actually has quite a remarkable resemblance to the real actress.

• I usually like Ego’s commentaries, but this was somewhat below par for her. It doesn’t help that this was all just one long setup to a “crabs” joke.

• I kinda liked the joke about the burning port-a-potty.

• For the second week in a row, one of the new cast members has a commentary to introduce themselves to the audience. This week, Marcello Hernandez has the honors. He’s here to give his thoughts about the MLB playoffs.

• Thank goodness we didn’t get a Kenan appearance when he started talking about David Ortiz.

• Marcello is already proving how talented he is with all of his impressions of Dominican baseball players.

• Great point about how baseball announcers like to use Spanish accents when introducing Hispanic players.

• This wasn’t quite as funny as Longfellow’s commentary, but it was still a great introduction to Hernandez.

Sketch: Blood Oath

Two tribe leaders make a blood oath.

• This was cut from the previous episode.

• “You’re watching History Channel.” This sketch is going to suck.

• Why do all of these History Channel sketches have to mention a Hitler-related show in them? It hasn’t been “The Hitler Channel” in years. Now it’s the “Piece of Shit Channel”.

• Some nice costume designs in this sketch.

• Unfortunately, this suddenly turns into a “fake blood” sketch. It’s been a while since we had one of these. The last one I can think of is that gift wrapping sketch with James Franco.

• I must admit, with the exception of the classic Julia Child sketch, I’ve never been a big fan of these kinds of routines. This one is no different. Not only does it not make any sense how Gleeson cut his finger on that knife when he barely touched it, but it also has Kenan doing that annoying hammy voice he’s used in every sketch for the last few seasons. Overall, not a fan of this one.

Musical Performance: “Ur a Stranger”

Sketch: Eyes

A woman gets upset after her coworkers fail to notice a drastic change in her appearance.

• A second sketch for Michael Longfellow!

• Nice initial reveal of Sarah’s googly eyes. I still have no idea how they pulled this effect off.

• This is a…bizarre idea for a sketch, to say the least, but, man, Sarah is making it work.

• My biggest laugh came from Kenan entering the room, seeing Sarah’s eyes, and immediately leaving to go to church.

• I love Gleeson’s delivery of the line where he tells Sarah that the water cooler isn’t a person.

• Overall, Sarah somehow took a really dumb idea, and made it work. The best sketch in this entire episode, hands down.

Final thoughts: Call me surprised, this episode was better than I remembered. There were some duds here and there, but it was more consistent than last week. Brendan Gleeson brought some class to every sketch, and I’d love to see him host again.

Best sketches: Monologue, New Cast Ideas, Headshots, Marcello’s commentary, Eyes

Worst sketches: CNN Today, Blood Oath

Next review: Megan Thee Stallion