Simu Liu is appropriately pleasant on a blandly amusing Saturday Night Live
It's really not fair that the Shang-Chi star had to compete with a very good dog
TV Reviews Saturday Night Live
“What happened?” “I think just a total lack of imagination and ability.”
“I’m not an actor, I’m a [politely ass-kicking MCU] star!!”
In his monologue kicking off tonight’s pleasantly workmanlike Saturday Night Live, Shang-Chi star Simu Lui joked about his uniquely Canadian manner of nudging Marvel toward having its first big screen Asian superhero. (He tweeted a polite request in 2014 and then responded with a succinct, “Thanks for getting back to me” when he was ultimately cast in this year’s Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings.)
As SNL host, the former Kim’s Convenience star stayed pretty Canadian all night, honestly. In the run-up to this week’s gig, Liu made the case that he was willing to get weird with it, but, in the end, he would up playing straight man to a dog and a vomiting cake. Liu was fine in what he wound up with, but, like the episode itself, his hosting stint is likely to be forgotten pretty quickly.
The one sketch he was in that had any juice to it was the pre-tape where he and Bowen Yang try to outdo each other for the most “First Asian Who…” awards they’re received. Apart from making sport of all the hoopla surrounding their positions as “first fully Asian cast member” and (as Liu joked in his monologue) “the first Chinese host on SNL—to be the fourth Chinese host on SNL,” Yang and Liu found a very funny groove in trying to out-nonchalant the other.
Liu, asked to do little more than stand aside while other people got the laughs all night, finally was given a little license to be funny on his own. Representation matters, but so does mocking corporations, publications, and late-night comedy shows who hype their ridiculously belated achievements in actually hiring people who aren’t straight white guys. The best part of the premise here is how Yang and Liu are individually very invested in besting the other in the “first Asian” sweepstakes, their competitiveness adding another layer to the increasingly absurd joke.
Yang’s award for “First Asian cast member to mispronounce ‘boutique’” (“Is it not ‘boo-tee-qua’?,” Yang asks) vies with Liu’s award for being the first Asian person to play it cool in his Splash Mountain photo. And Liu, shown excited accepting a lavish award for first Asian person to finish Starcraft II sees him noting happily, “There’s no way this is true, but thank you!” In an exchange funnier and far less Canadian than he got otherwise tonight, Liu responds to Yang’s inclusion on the People Sexiest Man Alive list thusly:
Weren’t you the first openly bottom guy on that list?
I’m not open about that. Who told you that?
I’m sorry, I just guessed.
It’s the most personality Liu got to exhibit all night, and the show could have used a lot more of that. As befits a show where the biggest laughs came from goofing around with a (very good) dog, this sketch stood out simply by virtue of letting Liu be the center of things.
Best/Worst Sketch Of The Night
The Best: The Bowen & Simu sketch was the best by a wide margin. There was going to be a sketch about how two accomplished performers deal with being used for diversity cred, most likely, and Yang and Liu outdid expectations by playing heightened and very funny versions of themselves. There’s a crisp absurdity that builds throughout, and Yang’s topper that his gay+Asian (+Canadian) brand is always going to score more points than Liu’s mere Asian+Canadian brand caps things off with a final little snap.
The Worst: There’ve been very few outright stinkers all season, and tonight’s affably mediocre episode didn’t really have a terrible sketch. Several sketches were hobbled right out of the gate by overly long and deadeningly laugh-less setups, with the very first sketch suffering worst. That’s never a good sign. The karaoke report from a North Carolina bar was—cute? I guess?
Kenan Thompson and Chloe Fineman were tasked with laying out the premise, and neither managed to drum up much enthusiasm for a parade of lukewarm observational numbers about the sort of people you see at karaoke night. (The guy who panics at the high notes of “Take On Me”; the father-daughter duo making everyone uncomfortable with their duet on “Pony.”)
The sketch gave everyone a chance to be silly and croon. Props to James Austin Johnson and Melissa Villaseñor’s couple who thought it’d be sustainable to sing “Islands In The Stream” as Homer and Marge Simpson, and Aristotle Athari and Sarah Sherman’s ebullient gibberish as German tourists singing “Call Me Maybe.” And any time Cecily gets to belt out a little “I Will Always Love You” is a nice treat. It was—cute? I guess?
The Rest: What critic is going to hate on a sketch starring a very good dog? Not this guy, that’s for sure. It’s a welcome if cheap tension-breaker when SNL builds a sketch around an unpredictably live animal. Sure, we look to Saturday Night Live (often in great disappointment) to trenchantly spin the week’s drama into incisive satire, but, hey, sometimes we just want to watch a dog stubbornly eat every scrap of a ham sandwich while everyone onstage attempts to stifle their giggles.
The sketch itself, about the US military attempting to create an unstoppable fighting force of half-human dog people isn’t entirely about the spectacle of a real dog with two human hands sticking out of its oversized fatigues, but it’s pretty close. (Liu gets stuck with the thankless intro this time as the no-nonsense officer in charge of the unholy experiment.) James Austin Johnson gets a few laughs on his own as a Southern senator obsessed with just how and where the soldier (christened Dog Head Man) will go to the bathroom. Otherwise, it’s all about the dog staring around happily while its human hands defuse bombs, assemble weapons, and, in the guaranteed sketch-stopper, wolf down that sandwich, to the exclusion of all other business.
There’s a long tradition of SNL going to the animal well. Kate’s continued absence has robbed us of the reliably weird and wonderful “Whiskers R We” sketches, but this animal actor appears to be having a good time along with the cast members onstage. (See Tim Kazurinsky’s anecdote about the “I Married A Monkey” sketches in the SNL oral history to cringe at how other animal performers weren’t always employed quite so responsibly.) And, hey, free sandwich.
Pete Davidson (alongside new Season 47 pre-tape pal, Big Wet) debuted a musical ode to his semi-beloved Staten Island that was elaborately well-produced and mildly amusing. Roping in Method Man and “Walking In Memphis” singer Marc Cohn for the “Walking In Staten” music video, Davidson continued his career path of mining his home borough’s eccentricities. Apparently, pizza/bagel shops are big there, along with a superfluity of cops and prescription pills. The funniest part is the most out there, as Davidson, touring the dump you can apparently see from space, meets the ghost of Robert Loggia, who reminds Davidson that he was the guy on the piano with Tom Hanks in Big.
And I get that Lorne’s wholehearted adoption of product integration has kept the show from having to break for so many commercials at the top of each episode. I’m not ungrateful—it makes the show feel more energized up front, and allows for it to pick up some steam before the first ad break. But I’ll be damned if that Thanksgiving pre-tape in the service of a ubiquitous retail chain is getting anything but the worst spot this week.
The bit itself had some funny performances. (Liu was a fine boring new boyfriend, demanding tofurkey and boring everyone about cryptocurrency.) But putting in specific prices and product names for what I can only assume are actual retail deals at said department chain is a bridge too freaking far, Michaels. Take that bottom spot—take it.
Weekend Update Update
SNL addressed the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict multiple times tonight, with Che’s joke the only one to land anything close to a body shot. “On Friday, Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty in the murder of two men during a Black Lives Matter protest,” set up Che, before musing, “So hopefully he got all that shooting out of his system before he becomes a cop.”
The crowd “ooohh”ed for a moment, and then the show moved on. Jost brought up the fact that Republicans like Rep. Matt Gaetz (who invited a Holocaust denier as his plus one to the State of the Union, I never tire of reminding people) have rushed to offer the newly freed Rittenhouse a job. “’Cause Gaetz has always loved teenagers who are willing to do terrible things,” Jost joked, bringing up the fact that Geatz (who invited that Nazi to the SOTU, if you recall) is also under investigation for child sex trafficking.
Are snarky jokes on TV going to do much? Nope. But there’s added value in the jokes being good, and these were. And putting into the public consciousness Gaetz’s white supremacist sliminess or Rittenhouse’s white supremacist murderousness will at least make the right, predictably outraged people out themselves as figures the rest of us need to keep a close eye on as the GOP openly courts violent authoritarianism and bigotry going into the 2022 Midterms.
Comedy in the face of fascism is a potent thing, at least culturally. After all, when a 17-year-old law enforcement fetishist with an AR-15 decides to join his neo-Nazi pals to incite bloody gun violence at the next civil rights march, try telling them a joke. Those guys have no sense of humor. But SNL has always wanted in on the political satire game, and that game is becoming more vital as the Republican war on democracy goose-steps onward. A few decent Update zingers are fine, but a mounting a concerted affront to the heavily armed and seditious powers that are setting themselves up (through thuggish violence and widespread voting fuckery) would go a long way toward earning the outlaw rebel comedy image Saturday Night Live has always cultivated for itself. Just saying.
The correspondent pieces say Kyle Mooney bring back his Baby Yoda again, while Aidy Bryant debuted her not angry but disappointed Mother Earth. Kyle’s Grogu is an amusingly offbeat idea that’s run its course. It turns out everybody’s favorite Mandalorian puppet-creature is still a Bieber-buddy bro, boasting here about his recent hang alongside Post Malone, Millie Bobby Brown, the Geico gecko, Lou Bega, and Clifford (the big red dog). Grogu now sports swole arms and tats, and has recorded a pop-punk album, and if Mooney’s enthusiastic air-drumming with his puppet arms made me chuckle, the bit’s recurrence here is the definition of played out.
Aidy does better, as her Mother Earth starts out trilling in fairy tale wonderment before reverting to her regular voice, assuring Colin Jost, “No, I’m just kidding, I’m normal.” Noting that she’s been a cool single mom for a long time (letting everything slide, including that whole Sea World and putting cosmetics on animals stage), Mother Earth warns Jost, “I think I’m, like, sick?,” before warning us sternly that time is running out on our little fossil fuels and ocean dumping habits. “I’m gonna miss humans after you burn,” Mother smiles ruefully to Jost as she warns, finally, “You help me, or I’m gonna kill you.”
As with that whole encroaching fascism thing, there’s a coziness to the jokes about our corporate-throttled rush toward the environmental red zone that turns this bit into a bit of a shrug, comedically. At least we get Aidy, marveling at our obsession with coal. “Coal is from my ass. You know that right?,” is the sort of line Aidy clearly enjoys, and I’ve never seen her whiff on Update, not once. Still, shrug.
“What do you call that act?” “Bear City!”—Recurring sketch report
Grogu did his thing. I did appreciate the title of his upcoming, stick it to the man, pop-punk album, Confessions Of The Diary Of A Loser.
The baking sketch again, huh? The first time was—I cannot lie—belly-laugh hilarious. But the joke was all in the reveal, and each subsequent revival has just repeated the same reveal. Which is no longer a reveal—it’s a rehash. Here, it’s Liu’s turn to get upstaged by a prop, as his Thanksgiving turkey and pilgrim cakes, it’s revealed, are so grotesquely made that they have attained grotesque, frosting-spewing sentience. Which was the joke was back when, except, in that case, the concept of a cake so agonizingly terrible that it comes to tortured, pleading-for-death life went over like an absurdist bomb. (Or bombe.)
Here, it’s expected, and therefore defused. The props are fine—having the pilgrim cake vomit all over Heidi Gardner’s perpetually overshadowed competent baker was a nice escalation. But, to be honest, the funniest thing in the whole sketch was watching judge Pete Davidson just go to town on his piece of real cake, happily stuffing his face and being a giggle-puss while trying not to do a spit take. You take your little joys where you can find them some nights.
“It was my understanding there would be no math”—Political comedy report
Cecily Strong’s Janine Pirro is one of the most lustily inhabited and funny political creations in SNL’s history. So that’s a good thing out of the way. The cold open saw Fox News’ tipsiest race-baiting propagandist tackling the Rittenhouse verdict, and if you can gently prod a historically ugly travesty of American justice, this sketch manages it.
Mikey Day came out as Rittenhouse trial judge and human thumb on the scales of systemically racist jurisprudence, Bruce Schroeder. And if the sketch does the public service of sending viewers on a Google hunt through that Wisconsin judge’s long and checkered history of bench malfeasance and recent cartoonishly villainous trial-fixing on behalf of Rittenhouse, I suppose that’s worth something. (In addition to forbidding prosecutors from referring to Rittenhouse’s victims as anything but “rioters,” Day’s Schroeder notes how those dead protesters weren’t “shot” so much as “ga-doinked.”)
A pair of duped liberal commentators (Chloe Fineman and Chris Redd) come on next to be mocked by Pirro. There’s the germ of a relevant joke here, in that Fineman’s pundit proclaims shock at this happening in America, while Redd’s repeatedly chimes in with his utter lack of surprise that a white guy got away with a racially motivated double-murder. (“This is not who we are!” “I think it kind of is.”) And while I love Chriss Redd on SNL, Kenan would have sold his role with a bit more knowing authority.
And then it was Trump time, as Pirro worshipfully put 60 seconds on the clock for James Austin Johnson’s version of the former president and current blathering poster boy for sedition to run through whatever topics swim through his head. It’s Johnson’s second outing as Trump after being hired partly on the back of his viral Trump videos, and, while his is still approximately 17 times better than Alec Baldwin’s buffoonish caricature, this bit’s already getting defanged.
I like the concept of the now deposed golf club greeter Trump popping up on SNL’s Fox News broadcasts like some sort of addled political weatherman or celebrity chef. And Johnson’s conception of Trump as track-skipping broken record of adderall-sped (allegedly) non sequiturs and gibberish finds the right, off-center tack to encompass Trump without merely repeating his verbatim babblings while making funny faces.
Still, while the out-of-power Trump’s position as GOP figurehead and fetish object isn’t as central to either the news or SNL’s cold opens as he once was, the guy’s not going anywhere. Polls show that the twice-impeached Trump’s as likely to be the Republican nominee in 2024 as anyone, and Saturday Night Live, with Johnson’s world class impression always at the ready, needs to determine what to do with the Trump character going forward.
Better was the game show sketch, “Republican Or Not,” hingeing as it did on the increasing overlap of right- and left-wing types when it comes to certain issues. Kenan hosted, thank god, since, if SNL is going to go back to the game show well, at least having Kenan grin happily as the contestants fumble the premise is never not endearing. In the game, Liu and Ego Nwodim vie to ID the GOP-ers as they come out to complain about everything from cops, to schools banning books, to government overreach when it comes to bodily autonomy.
It’s not so much about the horseshoe theory of far-left and far-right proximity as about how recent wild card issues like the January 6 insurrection and vaccine mandates have found various people with otherwise nothing in common waking up startled in bed together. Liu and Nwodim are repeatedly flummoxed by panelists’ love of Caitlyn Jenner and Dave Chappelle, their knee-jerk assumptions halted by the realization that recent events offer up a host of uncomfortable possibilities. (“Starting when?,” Nwodim asks Sarah Sherman’s panelist about her love of Chappelle.)
The target of the sketch isn’t easy to zero in on, as befitting the point that the whole “enemy of my enemy is my friend” dictum falls apart the further America steams into cuckoo town. Throughout it all, though, there’s Kenan, revealed munching popcorn in delighted anticipation at how wrong he just knows the two contestants are going to get this. The sketch lacks the clarity of the Tom Hanks Black Jeopardy sketch, for example, but any joke premised on the need for a more nuanced discussion of issues is okay with me. Plus—Kenan.
I Am Hip To The Musics Of Today
Saweetie bumped, rapped, and grinded (ground?) for all she was worth, her lavishly and provocatively choreographed pair of songs surely generating their share of “Won’t somebody think of the children!” complaints to NBC. If I’m being honest, I think it’s kind of deflating how, as edgy as musicians want to be on SNL, they happily provide their own live radio edits of their raunchiest material in accordance with Standards and Practices. As Saweetie dutifully elided each naughty word on “Tap In/Best Friend” and “Icy Chain” with the rapper’s best self-censored obscuring breaths, I lost interest.
Most/Least Valuable Not Ready For Prime Time Player
Between Cecily and Kenan, I have to give the edge to Cecily. She had Pirro in the cold open, got to sing, and kept a mostly straight face in front of that dog. Pete gets third place for the music video, and for really eating the hell out of that cake.
No sign of Punkie Johnson anywhere, Melissa got to do her Marge Simpson voice, but that’s it, and Andre Dismukes delivered a trophy to Bowen Yang. That there are too many damn cast members this season isn’t new insight or anything, but there are too many damn cast members for anyone to build much momentum among the second-tier cast. Even with Kate McKinnon still on extended hiatus.
“What the hell is that thing?”—Dispatches From Ten-To-Oneland
On a mildly pleasant show, it’s only fitting that we got a kinder, gentler ten-to-one sketch. With Ego Nwodim’s 911 operator fielding calls from a “friendsgiving” gathering of stoned professors, the sketch allowed Liu, Cecily, Aidy, Mikey, and Kenan to play both stuffy and stoned, which, in their capable hands, is a fun combo.
Watching squares deal with drugs is a sure chuckle, at least for a little while, and the sketch doesn’t wear out its welcome as, for example, Day’s professor tells Nwodim matter-of-factly, “I think I might be dead,” before requesting she “send the hospital to here, please.” Liu’s equally anxious academic warns Nwodim’s patient dispatcher that he’s “not where time is,” and thus will be hard to locate. And Kenan—again, bless you, sir—grinningly calls from under the dining table to tell Nwodim, “Send every ambulance in the world to me, please.” Have a happy and mellow Thanksgiving, everybody.
Stray observations
- A title card announced the death of former writer and cast member (and brother of Dan), Peter Aykroyd, which is the first news of the actor’s passing anywhere, from what I can tell. Apart from co-writing his brother’s infamously grotesque big screen catastrophe Nothing But Trouble, Aykroyd is probably best remembered by SNL fans for his turn in the classic 1979 short, “Java Junkie,” which the SNL Twitter account put up in tribute. RIP.
- I know it’s late in the show and all, but that was a big time directing gaffe in the stoner sketch, as the shot cut to a confused-looking Liu instead of the speaking Cecily.
- Strong’s Pirro refers to President Biden’s recent colonoscopy as “socialized butt-play,” which sounds tremendous, actually.
- Liu’s finance bro karaoke singer is also heavily into crypto. This means something.
- Even for small roles, James Austin Johnson hops into a whole lot of prosthetics. I admire the commitment, but I have a feeling most people have no idea what he actually looks like.
- Cecily also plays Liz Cheney, the final stumper on “Republican Or Not?,” since, while the Wyoming lawmaker is a lifelong conservative Republican, her state’s GOP has ritually excommunicated her from the cult for daring to at least remain loyal to this reality when it comes to stuff like Joe Biden being president, and that people trying to violently overthrow democracy at the whims of a corrupt sexual predator game show host is a bad thing.
- According to Pete’s song, wild turkeys routinely mass around the Staten Island hospital in “like, an alarming amount.” Happy Thanksgiving!
- Showing a clip of Republican Congressman and guy no longer invited to family Thanksgiving Paul Gosar looking on disapprovingly, Jost introduces his joke by suggesting the censured anime death threat enthusiast just saw “an interracial couple walk by.”
- Che, noting how conservatives’ go-to societal demon “cancel culture” has apparently been unable to truly topple noted woman-beater and multipurpose bigot, Mel Gibson (set to possibly direct a fifth Lethal Weapon movie) suggest people hungry to watch “a broken-down Black guy team up with a handsome racist” can just watch Weekend Update. Hiyo!
- As part of the baking sketches, it’s Kyle’s lot to produce an unintentionally(?) suggestive cake. Still, his line (about his penis-shaped rocket), “And the spunk is icing!,” is about as on-the-nose as it gets. (And, yes, I know how that sounds.)
- Speaking of dick-shaped rockets, former SNL host Elon Musk gets a shout-out as being one of the “divorced nerds trying to colonize Mars” from the disapproving Mother Earth. Also, apparently Mars is a “hot, dry, windy whore.”
- Both times Liu introduced Saweetie were punctuated by what sounded like very powerful fans, presumably circulating air. Way to stay safe, SNL. Fifth wave incoming.
- We’re off for the holidays, people. See you on December 11, when Billie Eilish attempts to pull off the perilous host/musical guest double-whammy.
94 Comments
You get cranky when you stay up late, huh?
Dennis’s reviews are always as if Debbie Downer was a real person. He really can’t go more than 3 paragraphs without injecting his personal world view stamp on anything and everything. I like to read them because they are way more funny than what he actually finds funny. It’ll never not be amusing to read a person’s absurd hot takes on other people’s equally absurd, yet opposite, hot takes. It’s a good barometer to keep track of the inane. I’d be more concerned if his writing was anything to be taken seriously.
Aidy’s Mother Nature was wonderful. The Target commercial was a safe funny choice. The rest of the show completely forgettable. Ok, the cold opening is memorable but only because it featured a character that made me feel physically ill. I’m not sure if SNL is handling Trump-humor very well.
IIRC, comedians were bemoaning Trump because he’s basically impossible to satirize. How do you create satire about someone who’s already so outlandish in their behaviors and beliefs?
Generic Comedy Sketch Show hosted by some Generic Asian Guy.
~meh~
This felt like one of the more Thanksgiving-heavy episodes around Thanksgiving – usually they just have one sketch, maybe two. It helped add a nicer sensation to what was, as you mention, a pleasant if not standout episode. I do think they could have done more with Simu, but aside from the stunt (Kim K) and the beloved homecoming (Sudeikis) they seem to be focusing on the cast this season and just making the hosts feel like part of the group. I hope Simu can host again. He blended in perfectly but he and Bowen were so terrific in their short together (one of the best things Bowen has done on the show), you know he can do much more. Funnily enough the sketch which probably had the coldest atmosphere was the Target pre-tape. I wouldn’t be shocked if this was product placement, but usually these have a tacked-on sentimental ending. What we got here was just pretty much hard, unpleasant, especially when Ego’s character was asking for help with the dishes and Chris Redd just slammed even more dishes into the sink. I probably prefer these without the saccharine, but Mikey and Ego staring into space with dead eyes felt a little too real in reminding me of family gatherings.I feel like I say this too many times, but the problem is less a large cast and more overusing certain people. The show is getting their money’s worth out of Cecily and Pete while they have them, so others just end up waiting. It was particularly noticeable tonight because Pete got what felt like an endless (albeit still better than most of his raps) song about where he’s from. (did anyone else feel like that was one of those moments a cast member has when they know they are leaving?) When we get the usual one or two sketches an episode that try to use most of the cast, they have a lot of personality and make the night feel less suffocating.I agree with you about the start of the karaoke sketch. Kenan and Chloe did not click together and any time we got some great performances from the cast and the audience was into it (the audience was very enthusiastic most of the night, which helped keep the energy levels up), they’d cut back to the dead spot. I really enjoyed a good portion of this sketch (especially the Simpsons, Aristotle and Sarah as the tourists, Bowen, Alex and Heidi), but that was in spite of the setup. There had been some criticism of the show for not using Chloe more this season; the last two weeks have felt like attempts to try, but I just don’t think she clicks.SNL is not going to be seen as embracing their old rebel spirit if they become more visceral in their views against the GOP or white supremacy – they will just be seen as even more of the establishment. SNL has rarely been a place for tough political commentary, and that cold open is an example of why. I was much more surprised at the “Are They a Republican?” sketch, because, at least until some meandering toward the end, this was remarkably tough and committed to digging in. The performances also felt much more natural than often happens, aside from Kenan, who was being Kenan, for better or worse. Much as I think Kyle Mooney is an underrated cast member (just look at the good work he did in the family pre-tape, the Republican sketch, etc.), I do not need to see 4 minutes of him as Baby Yoda. If I am being objective I’ll say this was better than the first few Yoda appearances, but it’s just not what I want to watch. Add in Aidy rambling on in an interesting but very unfocused commentary, and I can’t help comparing the thin efforts of cast members in their ninth and tenth seasons to the standout work from Sarah (who was seemingly rewarded by being much more prominent this week) and Aristotle (not so much…) last week. Easily the weakest night in a while for Update commentaries, and very reliant on Che and Jost being in good form. The joke about the Queen and her “new titties” gave me a cheap laugh, but also the biggest laugh a Che joke has given me in quite a while.
it’s enough already with the pete davidson song parodies. if they’re gonna do a music video every week let some of the other cast members do one, and if pete just wants to do parody songs…leave snl and record an album. i don’t dislike pete or anything (and i think in the last few years he’s shown and proven himself) but he’s not good enough at these to do one every episode.and i agree with baby yoda, too. the show isn’t even on the air currently! unless they do really well on youtube i have been baffled by this being a recurring bit. it’s so hacky.otherwise yeah, i think simu really showed up and i’d like to see him do it again sometime. he’d be a great surprise guest, too.
Are they trying to make Pete the next Adam Sandler? At least it felt like Sandler actually wrote all of his stuff while with Pete it really does feel like someone else is doing the writing and he just shows up to be Pete.
i would say next ‘lonely island’ maybe? they’ve kinda broken up what lonely island used to do into pete (rap parody music) and please don’t destroy (digital shorts), and he makes far less interesting funny music than lonely island did.i know he’s very famous so it makes sense he gets a glossy big budget showcase every week, but i don’t remember lonely island or adam sandler getting a song every week. it’s just getting boring.
Jimmy Fallon was the nexy Sandler. Pete my be more Lonley island.
I think Pete was cast as a mix of a young Sandler and Andy Samberg, with a mix of Fallon too with all the breaking. Then he had his own story due to losing his father on 9/11. Somewhere along the way he became his own person, with all the relationship headlines, but the traces still remain. When Pete first started I think he probably did write more of his own stuff, then he could piggyback more off Chris Redd, and now this Big Wet guy, who must be doing a lot of work if the show even lets him appear in the pre-tapes. The interesting part with the Sandler comparison is Sandler also started to completely change his musical style – it’s just that he was fired right afterward so we never got to see the shift the way we have with whatever Pete has been doing this season.
Usually Pete gets 3-4 of these a season. We are already near that quota so I wonder if he asked for more. He doesn’t do music outside of SNL so it does seem like this is his main change to just have fun, which the show caters to because they get talk and social media views. I would rather he just get his own show. I’m sure Lorne would be happy to help him with that as he clearly doesn’t want to let him go. I’m not sure if Kyle just loves doing Baby Yoda or if the show feels this is a character who will get a lot of talk and can be wheeled out a few times a year, but even if this was probably the best installment of the character for me, I didn’t want to see it again.
Have you ever watched old comedy shows where they do a rock and roll song that’s about a topic a rock song usually wouldn’t be? It’s not something that ages well. Stop with the rap parodies.
To me the Target pre-tape and the karaoke sketch were abominations. Like, some of the worst I’ve ever seen and those coming back to back out of the monologue made me feel like we were in for a really bad night. The show righted itself after that point but I’ve noticed this bizarre trend over the last few years where they seem to purposely put the weakest sketches first (and bear in mind you’ve already suffered through the almost always bad political cold open and monologue) giving the episode the worst possible start.The jokes in the “Target” thing were just so hack and cliche (people arguing politics, uncle taking the football game too seriously) it felt to me like something they would’ve cooked up for a corporate gig like the Target shareholders meeting or something. As far as the karaoke thing I’ve literally seen funnier thirty second Tik Tok’s with one person performing all the roles talking about different types of people you see at karaoke or whatever.But like Perkins I just can’t hate on a sketch with a dog performing a major role in it and from that point on the episode kind of won me over. There were no great sketches, except for maybe the Bowen Yang pre-tape, but nothing bad from that point on
I agree that tiktok or Youtube comedy with the different impressions from one person is a better execution of a karaoke idea. The main reason I liked the karaoke sketch is because I just like seeing the cast getting to have fun, especially the people who aren’t on as much (like Melissa). It’s the same reason I like the New Jack Thanksgiving/Worst of Soul Train sketches from the early ‘10s, although those were more polished and Bobby Moynihan was a better anchor than Kenan and Chloe were. I thought the Thanksgiving sketch was honest enough to real life (aside from no one having a problem with the interracial couple heading the family – somebody would have been making a comment there), but I get what you mean. They have done so many of these holiday family/product placement pieces now with Mikey (I think we are up to about 7), the lack of attempts at contrived warmth makes me wonder if even they are getting tired of them.I also thought the back half of the episode was smoother than the front (the baking sketch or the Friendsiving sketch might have been better as a leadoff, with the karaoke sketch as the last), and I don’t really get why the show has had a hard time with the first 20 minutes in recent years. I think the choices have been better this season, but for a while that section of the show was almost complete death.
The Target ad was pretty much a repeat of the Macy’s ad a year or 2 back. Everyone seemed to like the Macy’s ad though.
I’ve found that if I don’t like something that I’m watching, I watch something else.
This is James Austin Johnson as Trump, which is nothing like
his delivery on SNL.
I don’t think SNL has ever really earned anything approaching an “outlaw rebel comedy spirit.” They certainly haven’t been at the forefront of biting political satire (sharp? often. smart? sometimes. biting? rarely). SNL has always catered to a pretty broad audience, albeit with an absurdist bent, and their political humor has always reflected that to me. I mean, look at the way they’ve portrayed presidents throughout the years, the characters they make out of them (even Trump!) are more like a gentle roasting than anything cutting. Almost every take they have on a powerful figure seems designed to keep open the possibility that figure will agree to go on the show one day (case in point…the most biting and effective skewering of a politician I have seen on SNL might have been Fey’s Palin…and the real Sarah Palin ended up making a cameo in the midst of that campaign). Hell, right now is probably the most noticeably hostile SNL has ever been to one of the major political parties, and it still seems designed to, at the very least, not alienate too many conservatives. I just don’t think the sort of incisive, biting political satire is in the show’s DNA, not as long as Lorne Michaels is there and not as long as the show still wants to depend on some extent on getting attention and shine from its association with powerful people.
Sadly, it really feels like we’re being driven to choose sides.
Correct.
SNL was revolutionary in the early days, but it’s hard to keep up the outsider rebel image after becoming a cultural icon. Even Elvis got fat.
And the times, they have become quite different. In the early days they were seen as cutthroat political liberals, when really, their sharpest political observation was that Ford was clumsy. The original crew were mostly Lampoon guys who thought a raised eyebrow was just as good as a laugh, and that the ultimate act of subversion was smoking a joint with the grounds crew at your father’s country club gala.
I don’t get why SNL is insisting on this loving homage to Trump. He lost the election, deplatformed everywhere but if you’re a MAGA who needs a hit you can just flip on SNL.(Not sure what bite Perkins thought this bit ever had such that it’s “defanged” now, but whatever.)
Yeah, when I saw “defanged” I thought “defanged from what?” That impression is not really meant to skewer Trump, his politics, or anything else about him really (aside from his short attention span), something I think Johnson has been open about IIRC. It’s more meant to demonstrate the absurdity of Trump’s various tics. It struck me as almost complimentary from the first episode of this season.
I thought the joke was juxtaposing the list of topics with Trump’s very stream-of-consciousness rambling. The notion that there’s any planning involved suggested by the list of topics he hits is what I find funny about it.
Agreed, overall — the guy who does his voice makes it very realistic, but
a) he looks nothing like him — less so than anyone else who’s portrayed him so far, and
b) the imitation isn’t funny. He’s just saying stuff that Trump would just about nearly say. It’s just not far out enough for someone as crazy as Trump to say those things. If he did it himself, we wouldn’t be surprised. In order for there to be jokes there, he has to say or do something outlandish and/or the content has to land with a comedic twist/point. This imitation doesn’t.On a similar note, I think their “Republican Jeopardy” sketch was accurate, but came a little too close to “both-sides”-ing American politics at a dangerous turning point in our democracy.
The Baldwin Trump wasn’t a good impression and people complained. This impression is a completely accurate impression of his verbal tics and free associative approach to public speaking and people complain that it’s too accurate. I’m not arguing here just pointing this out. I’m not sure what the best way of portraying Trump would be or if he should be portrayed
This impression is a completely accurate impression of his verbal tics and free associative approach to public speaking and people complain that it’s too accurate.
I don’t disagree with this, it’s just a matter of there not really being any underlying joke to it all. I suppose this all comes from an admittedly partisan direction, but considering Trump’s bullshit a light skewering is really not the approach that should be given to Trump…
How about in a way that’s funny? Or if you can’t do that, then just not at all? He’s been ex-President for going on a full year now and the bits are not premised on anything newsworthy he’s done.I had no problem with Baldwin’s impression; he looked like him, had a take on his tics and from time to time found ways to outdo Trump’s own dipshittery. Now James Austin Johnson is not an attractive man, but he’s better looking than Trump. Add in the countdown list setup that makes it seem like JAJ-Trump’s rambling is actually connected and intentional, and remove all the stakes (just some dude who DOESN’T have the nuclear codes), and it all becomes rather complimentary of Trump relative to the real thing — something for his fans to enjoy. I mean it’s not exactly a Ben Garrison cartoon version of Trump, but it’s edging that way.
I agree with your first paragraph. It’s as completely respectable take that they don’t have to have someone doing a Trump character at allBut you’re in a very small minority if you honestly think that Baldwin’s Trump looked or sounded anything like the actual Trump at all. And the material they wrote for Baldwin was I guess by default a little more biting because all they did was regurgitate the news that week which by the nature of reality being a thing almost always looked bad for Trump, but I don’t think they said anything particularly interesting about the guy or satirized him in any particularly biting way.
Don’t be obtuse. Baldwin’s Trump absolutely looked like Trump — and certainly your claim that nearly no one thinks he “looked anything like the actual Trump”. Is absurd. The Alec Baldwin of today simply looks like Donald Trump, especially when Baldwin is in a blond wig.The rest of your comment is putting words in my mouth. I didn’t say he sounds like Trump. I didn’t say the satire was “biting”. For the record, here’s what I actually did say:“I had no problem with Baldwin’s impression; he looked like him, had a take on his tics and from time to time found ways to outdo Trump’s own dipshittery.”Feel free to find Baldwin’s Trump a disappointment — different strokes for different folks. But I don’t see how anyone could take issue with the facts I asserted.
Okay. You’re the guy who thought Alec Baldwin looked like D0nald Trump. No one else did though
Again, you’re being intentionally obtuse if you say Baldwin didn’t look like Trump. I edited my comment to include the side-by-side image I had originally intended to include. The similarity is obvious.
Honestly can we just say this is a YMMV thing? I agree that the wig etc. make Baldwin look like Trump on some basic visual level but the fact that Baldwin continually held his mouth in that weird fish mouth shape which Trump literally NEVER does, not even in the image you’ve found to prove your point, really ruins the similarity for me. Aside from the fact that the hand gestures aren’t the same and the whole posture and general attitude is different in my opinion. That’s just the visual part. If you add the fact that Baldwin didn’t do a good vocal imitation the whole impression just fails for me. Sorry
Nah, he looked like Trump. Their physicality is very much the same. He certainly looks more like Trump than James Austin Johnson looks like Trump. More than Jay Pharaoh looked like Obama. At least as much as Carvey looked like Bush.And the lips thing is an exaggeration, but there’s truth to it. Trump does weird shit with his mouth, holding his lips away from his teeth. It’s more when he’s talking than with his mouth still (but when does that happen anyway?). Baldwin’s version is heightened, for humor and effect.Here:Last, since such a big part of your argument was that you’re right and nearly everyone agrees with you, here’s this:https://www.wired.com/story/alec-baldwin-trump-impression-technical-analysis/
Okay you did it. You’ve convinced me that YOU think it was a good impression. Thank you
I’d argue his Biden impression was as or even more critical than his Trump impression.. especially with the hair-sniffing, come on. Complain about Alec Baldwin’s impression all you want, but it was at least funnier, and more importantly, pissed off Trump more. There’s something to be said about the Dana Carvey approach to impersonations, taking one funny expression and running with it.
Yeah this feels like a way too late way of announcing that they got a new Trump. As it is I just find it obnoxious because there’s no real joke beyond “this is what Trump sounds like”, which was already grating with the real thing.
My first thought after seeing Johnson’s Trump a couple episodes back was, while dead-on and funny, it was essentially making him seem like a bumbling harmless old man. Let’s not normalize or trivialize anything that happened in the last four years.
Unfortunately that seems to be how most people under 60 regard people who are over 60 – out of touch fools. If young people want to keep playing that way they’ll continue to fail in their current war with “the olds.”
Okay Boomer
I don’t think it makes Trump seem bumbling and harmless – I think it just represents what he tends to do when he gets a spotlight (rambling incoherently). I know there’s a train of thought which says if you focus on Trump you should just focus on how terrible he is, but that is difficult and awkward to write and doesn’t really work with the show either (remember when Alec Baldwin puffing out his lips and squinting was supposed to make Trump lose?). I’d rather not see him, but I think the way JAJ approaches it is fine. Just having it on in two out of three episodes was a lazy idea.
I think the impression needs to have him speaking into an unbeknownst hot mic to get more mileage out of it. So, with this skit, they should cut to Jeanine and his mic is still hot and he goes off in predator mode.
If you’re a MAGA who needs a hit you can easily see his many interviews on various cable “news” channels or just watch his old crap over and over. MAGA people don’t watch SNL anymore, they just swarm comment sections to talk about how it was last good in 1995.
SNL’s newest Trump is pretty much a failure. The character needs so much prosthetic work, that it’s distracting when the face doesn’t move AT ALL. They’re giving him a word search with each appearance simply because there’s little other talent aside from the actual voice (for a visual medium, no less!)
That money should have been spend hardcore on Jim Carey’s Biden or Alec Baldwin’s Trump. Who knows… maybe with the Butterfly Effect, that role would have prevented Alec from involving himself in that accidental shooting while filming Rust…?
Yeah, this was a step down from last week’s episode. You could have posted the performances in the Karaoke performances as TikToks and it would have had the same effect. I wish I had something to say about the Target Thanksgiving sketch, but I genuinely forgot it existed until I read this review (same can be said about the 911 sketch). The ManDog sketch was nothing special writing-wise, but the way everything went awry once those hands pulled out the sandwich makes it the most memorable moment from this episode – probably my favourite besides the Bowen & Simu pairing.Someone in the comments mentioned that if SNL were to get more biting in their political satire, people would start seeing them as part of the establishment. I definitely understand that point of view and it would annoy me a little as well, but it would be far less frustrating than them going “wow, Republicans sure are crazy, amirite, but what can you do?” while American democracy is going in the shitter.I am glad Sarah Squirm is getting more roles in the sketches (not too much of Aristotle this week, unfortunately), but those roles definitely didn’t play to her comedic strengths. If next season sees an exodus of multiple staple cast members (Kate, Cecily and Pete seem the most likely right now), it seems only fair that the featured players get their time to shine (even if Punkie and Dismukes are incredibly underutilized).One more rant on the musical guest side of things. The SNL stage is infamously known for its technical issues, but that problem is at its worst when it comes to hip-hop acts. I wouldn’t call myself of Saweetie’s main demographic, but she has bangers that me and my friends frequently play when we hang out. Nonetheless, the mixing tonight was absolutely awful. Everything sounded weirdly quiet considering the type of music Saweetie makes, but even with that, I could barely hear her vocals. And it’s a shame, because everything else was very competent – the choreography was fine, the costumes were really cool and the backing band looking for some reason like they were supposed to perform at a wedding made me smile.
“Someone in the comments mentioned that if SNL were to get more biting in their political satire, people would start seeing them as part of the establishment. I definitely understand that point of view and it would annoy me a little as well, but it would be far less frustrating than them going “wow, Republicans sure are crazy, amirite, but what can you do?” while American democracy is going in the shitter.”I think that was me. I was replying to the suggestion from Dennis Perkins that the show would be seen as an outlaw rebel if they went after Republicans. I don’t object to them going after Republicans because I don’t want them to be part of the establishment – it’s more that I just don’t believe SNL is very good at this subject. I don’t watch SNL for politics but if they were good at it I’d say sure, go for it. They haven’t been a very politically sharp show in decades, minus a few sketches here and there. Once Colin Jost and Michael Che and Kent Sublette leave, maybe that could change, but I’m not even sure exactly what TV comedy most manages to hit this market. The Daily Show is now taking its own turn in platforming the loathsome Dan Crenshaw, and John Oliver, who does seem to want to try, is still weighed down by the need to interrupt serious commentary with leaden jokes. I think that “Are They a Republican?” game show sketch last night managed a sharper bite than most political pieces (certainly more than the cold opens), so maybe they could go more in that direction, just doing better at cutting the flab. “I am glad Sarah Squirm is getting more roles in the sketches (not too much of Aristotle this week, unfortunately), but those roles definitely didn’t play to her comedic strengths. If next season sees an exodus of multiple staple cast members (Kate, Cecily and Pete seem the most likely right now), it seems only fair that the featured players get their time to shine (even if Punkie and Dismukes are incredibly underutilized).”I watched the whole goodnights trying to figure out if Punkie was even there. I always want to see more of her ,and of Andrew, who is stuck waiting for Pete and Kyle to leave. I thought Sarah got a good comic part in the baking sketch (and she was also the lead off), which suggests they trust her more due to her doing well on Update, but it is unfortunate she and the newer hires (newer as in hired in 2016…) have to get scraps. Much as I still enjoy watching Cecily or Kenan, and sometimes Pete, the newer people are all so talented it just feels wrong when they take a lot of roles. At least Aidy seems to have stepped back some.
Aidy, Cecily, and Kate are some of the most talented people the show has ever had, but they need to go. SNL has taken them as far as it can and Lorne used to fire successful cast members after 7ish years and that was for a good reason. Kenan’s part of the furniture at this point. Kyle is probably done too, but I’m biased because I don’t think he’s funny. Beyond that, figure out which young tiny female impressionist you need more and pick either Chloe or Melissa. I’d go with Chloe but the current political mood dictates Melissa needs to do AOC, so. Punkie and Andrew probably shouldn’t have returned since they made no impression. It’s not really fair to judge them in a pandemic year but they need to step it up. And I’m glad they finally have a white guy who can do impressions because having Aidy play every prominent man with a body shape like the average middle aged guy isn’t working. Impressions aren’t her thing.
Usually longtime people who didn’t want to leave were fired by NBC in insisting on budget cuts. I guess that hasn’t happened in a while. That and before now many longtime cast members were more willing to leave. I feel like Chloe is newer, but I just enjoy watching Melissa more. At this point I might say bring in a third female impressionist as I am not sure Chloe will ever quite fit in and Melissa is probably near her endpoint.
I thought Simu Liu was great, regardless of my opinion of the episode overall — particularly compared to the hosting job the previous week.Were the sketches all particularly original or genius? No, not really. But the show as a whole was in the top half of the season so far, and he was one of the better hosts.p.s.: The Baby Yoda sketch has never been funny. Not once. And Kyle Mooney in general is about as divisive as comedy cilantro.
I honestly think Baby Yoda is funny. Yes, I’m the one. I pretty much just love anything Kyle does, which I realize also puts me in a tiny group
I love Kyle Mooney’s work, but SNL Grogu is a one-trick pony
I felt bad for him. He’s a talented actor, got his start on a sitcom, but the show treated him like an athlete, or a politician, or some Disney star they had to write around. Why?
Surprised to see so many people putting this in the meh or worse category. I thought it was the best of the season. There were two great sketches (“Dog Head Man” and “Republican or Not”) and one very good one (“First Asian”). There were weak spots (the cold open, “Karaoke Round Up”, “911″), but no real stinkers. And while I have not been a fan of Kyle’s Grogu in the past, I thought this iteration really worked. To be fair though, that’s largely because Mama Bear Berenstain is just the kind of WTF reference I love. I agree that they didn’t give Simu much to do, but that’s not unusual. Most SNLs succeed or fail in spite of the host, not because of them.
The joke in the cold open about Jeanine Shapiro’s history as a judge –”Well folks, 30 years and one additional murder later–WE GOT HIM!” was easily my favorite joke of the night. Her Shapiro impression is so fantastic that it will be a while before I get tired of seeing it–unlike the Trump impression that, while very funny in it’s “give me 60 seconds on the clock” rendition of Trump’s ramblings–will tire quickly if they can’t figure out a direction for it (and continually cutting to Jeanine’s getting worked up over the crazy things he was saying really helped it this week).
I would like Kyle to play ONE character and not make it an awkward millennial teenager. ONE.
The Rittnehouse case is proof that the animals sometime attack the wrong Prey . Sorry not at all upset about a dead child rapist
Did not miss the Please Don’t Destroy guys.
They had a bit that was cut, it’s on Youtube. It wasn’t wrong to cut it though.
Why do they gotta give Pete Davidson a song every episode? They’re always middling and just feel like they’re taking up time
Best Joke of the night was Che’s “new titties” joke about the Queen, but it didn’t even get a mention here, presumably because it couldn’t lead to another tedious political rant.
I’m not a big Perkins fan but he did mention it
Did he? I didnt notice in the article and I just word searched “tit” and “queen”. If he did though good because it was def the best joke.
“A few decent Update zingers are fine, but a mounting a concerted affront to the heavily armed and seditious powers that are setting themselves up (through thuggish violence and widespread voting fuckery) would go a long way toward earning the outlaw rebel comedy image Saturday Night Live has always cultivated for itself. Just saying.”This is a late night comedy show. They tell a few jokes once a week. What are you asking them to do, exactly? What would “mounting a concerted affront” even look like? This is just becoming bizarre. The one who should be doing that are the Democrats in Congress, not Colin Jost.
I really don’t understand where people ever got the idea that SNL has or ever had an “outlaw rebel comedy image.” Maybe in the very early years when everyone was like 20 years old and coked up all the time?
I think it comes from some of the show’s own tub-thumping of their greatness, but yes, SNL was not a “outlaw rebel” program for long at all, if ever. The closest would probably be the first season, when they had Gerald Ford’s press secretary on and decided to humiliate him by having some very juvenile sketches in the episode, but even that was more childish than brave.
The first five seasons, back when SNL was largely fueled by drugs and the show genuinely felt like NBC had handed the inmates the keys to the asylum.
Looking back on it, SNL’s humor was a lot less iconoclastic and a lot more uneven than we remember, but circa 1975-76 on network television? It felt genuinely dangerous and liberating….EDIT: And…for reasons that still elude me, I’m back in Teh Greys. Please upvote me back into normalcy, guys?
I think that’s right.In the very early years when TV was really conservative and SNL overtly appealed to … let’s call it the National Lampoon crowd … the show was rebellious at least in comparison to the other late night comedy shows. NBC had Johnny Carson — a guy from Nebraska in a suit — on in that time slot Monday through Friday, then SNL on Saturday. At the very least, SNL was unpredictable and often really eclectic. In those days, kids in college watched in and their parents didn’t get it.Maybe the Eddie Murphy years, too. Eddie was, then, unafraid. At this point, the guy who runs the show is nearly 80 years old. He’s a fucking legend. He’s a first ballot Hall of Famer. But he’s hardly an outlaw rebel in 2021.
He basically wants them to be John Oliver, as though what he’s doing fundamentally changes a goddamn thing.
It’s one of the most continually obnoxious things about these reviews, which is the reviewer’s hysterical over-reaction to everything political that isn’t far left Twitterverse.
Saw someone on Twitter point out that they’ve already done the Dog Head Guy sketch before, which makes it a recurring sketch, but also kind of ruins it for me because instead of being just an enjoyable absurd premise, it’s now an absurd premise that they returned to for easy laughs.They didn’t even do anything new with the premise this time around.
It is kind of a ripoff of the kids’ book series Dog Man, too. And the books are funnier
SNL used to be much more reliant on recurring sketches than they are now, so waiting 3 and a half years for a second installment doesn’t bother me too much. It helps that I thought this was better than the first, which drags at the start. But if I thought this was a new concept and then learned about the first I would probably be a bit disappointed too.
But they do that gd cake-off every damn season. Hell the Target commercial is a retread too. Are these all Mikey Day skits that went over well once so he gets to do it every holiday now?
The cake sketch is by Kent Sublette (and I think some of the newer writers helped). It seems to be easy laughs for the studio audience and a filler around the holidays. The Target commercial is Mikey and Streeter Seidell. I guess those are partly product placement (in a few cases) and partly just generic holiday filler.
was at dress rehearsal – they cut a simu liu/chloe fineman dance-off, another skit with a dog (albeit, not dog-centric), and break-heavy, edible thanksgiving makeup bit. at least the dance-off should get put on youtube; for posterity, if nothing else.
I’m sold!
Dog-Head Man needs his own series, stat!
B- is a little kind. I’d say this was a firm, middle of the road shoulder shrug C. Simu Liu did pretty good imo, throwing himself fully into what he was given, but he wasn’t given much. Bowen and Simu’s sketch was the only one I’d rate as “good”. Everything else was meh to outright bad. And Update was fine (loved that “new titties” joke) but you didn’t miss anything either if you didn’t see it.
I wouldn’t say SNL has been great this season, but they have put out a string of consistently good episodes to start things off. Pleasant and entertaining, but nothing must see. This wasn’t one of them though. Weakest episode so far.
The whole season gets a passing grade for the “New titties” joke.
Everything about that joke was gold–from the timing to the hilariously unpredictable punchline. I was laughing so hard I had to go back to see what Jost said next.
B- grade is too high.
Was not that impressed this week at all.
I found 14 errors in this article:would up playing straight man —> wound up (or would end up?) playing straight man awards they’re received —> awards they’ve receivednew Season 47 pre-tape pal, Big Wet —> new Season 47 pre-tape pal Big Wet tofurkey —> Tofurkey correspondent pieces say Kyle Mooney —> correspondent pieces saw Kyle Mooney “I think I’m, like, sick?,” —> “I think I’m, like, sick?” the joke was back when —> the joke way back whenChriss Redd —> Chris Redd adderall-sped —> Adderall-sped the right, off-center tack —> the right off-center tackhingeing —> hingingthank god —> thank God Won’t somebody think of the children! —> Won’t somebody think of the children? woman-beater and multipurpose bigot, Mel Gibson —> woman-beater and multipurpose bigot Mel Gibson
This seems like a solid use of free time!
I’ll stop when the errors stop
I’ll stop when the errors stop -> I’ll stop when the errors stop.
Walking in Staten had some of the most egregious autotune I’ve heard on TV in quite a while. If Pete Davidson can’t sing, maybe they should have gone with a different idea or had someone else sing it.
I would truly like to know what SNL needs to do to get an A from the author of these reviews. This was the funniest episode so far this season by far. I laughed pretty much from start to finish, basically laughing through tears during Dog Head Man and just about everything else. Isn’t the whole point of the show to make us laugh, not over-analyze that they brought back prior bits?
They would need to skewer Donald Trump in multiple sketches, and address the threats to democracy in the cold open and Weekend Update. Melissa Villasenor would need the lead role in multiple sketches. No game shows, no recurring themes, and the more absurd and quirky the humor, the better. John Mulaney would need to host.
Michael Che would need to look into the camera and say, “The things Donald Trump does may be funny, but the threat his followers pose to our democracy is no laughing matter.”
Two weeks in a row where you can’t tell who the host is, he might as well have been a new cast member that they give the straight man roles in sketches. They ought to just do away with a host if this is how they are going to use them.
But, to be honest, the funniest thing in the whole sketch was watching judge Pete Davidson just go to town on his piece of real cake, happily stuffing his face and being a giggle-puss while trying not to do a spit take. YEP. Killed me.Also, Nothing But Trouble is underrated.
He looked stoned as hell, and that was cracking me up this entire sketch. He was DESTROYING that cake, and looked very happy doing it.
It deserves a bump up to a solid “B” on dog head alone.
Solid ep