March 27, 2021 – Maya Rudolph / Jack Harlow (S46 E15)

Cold Opening – Snatched! Vaxed! or Waxed!

• We get Maya right from the beginning? At least this open is thankfully non-political.
• Quite an interesting setting, this feels more like a throwback to the early Wiig/Hader era.
• Beck looks hilarious here, it makes me so sad that I’m about to cover his final episodes soon.
• LOVE Chloe’s character voice here.
• OH GOD why fake sponsors? WTF SNL??!!
• Maya’s using a voice she did to death back in her days as a cast member.
• I’m getting good laughs from the contestants’ answers.
• (*sigh*) Not ANOTHER fake sponsor! WHY?!
• Heidi’s stealing this sketch with her ditzy portrayal, which she could do IN HER SLEEP by this point in her tenure.
• Beck is very funny here and his reveal that he’s a policeman got a good laugh out of me.
• Just remembered that Melissa is a cast member, giving how she’s spending the majority of the season in her dressing room, and how sad her tenure is becoming by each passing episode. So much potential wasted.
• An alright cold open, short, had some funny lines, creative setting, and got to the point and concluded before losing its steam.

Rating: ***

Monologue

• It’s just incredible how likable & warm Maya can come off in just playing herself, instead of her use of goofy voices & obnoxious impressions during her run. I wish she had a better tenure outside of those roles.
• I’m loving how this monologue is the anti-Fey, back in her two infamous monologues from seasons 39 & particularly 43 wherein she first humiliated the newbies & then had with Lorne their celebrity friends to respond to fans wanting to see the cast and end the cameos by basically saying to us “fuck you,” and filling the full episode with cameo orgies while shutting down the cast.
• Some ok laughs from Maya when talking about her days as a cast member, it feels like yesterday when I watched her entire tenure.
• Funny, yet predictable bit when Maya messes up the newbies’ names.
• Love Andrew’s smug delivery that he was five in 2000, I was 3 (recently celebrated my 25th birthday on March’s 8th, happy belated birthday to me!).
• A sweet monologue overall.

Rating: ***

Hot Ones

• Our obligatory nostalgia sketch with the return of Maya’s Beyoncé.
• Figures they would do a parody of this popular show, surprised it took this long to be honest.
• This seems to be our obligatory sketch were Maya hams it up to eleven, similar to how WAY over-the-top she used to be when she was in the cast.
• Big cheap laugh from the “Hitler’s Anus Roasted Reaper Sauce”. I admit that I feel guilty laughing just now.
• Mikey’s solid straight man to Maya’s various over-the-top sounds and actions.
• Ok, this sketch just seems to be an excuse for Maya to ham her way through it.
• Kenan looks Hilarious in that wig.
• This sketch has been going on for 2,473 years and I still barely had more than few chuckles. Much like Kristen Wiig, Maya feels somewhat out-of-place in a good way in modern SNL, this over-the-top schtick belongs to the Fey era and MADtv, not current SNL.
• An overall very average sketch, too long, somewhat loud for me, and an excuse for Maya to go nuts on screen. Harmless enough, yet again, not for me.

Rating: **1/2

Boomers Got the Vax

• A famous music video from this season.
• Some fun visuals & the cast is performing this very well, particularly Mikey’s fun rapping.
• Not very happy seeing Maya here playing an old lady, she’s fine in these roles, but it brings back her godawful Visiting Grandma sketch from earlier in the season.
• Nice performance from Melissa, enjoy it while it lasts, as you won’t be appearing in the next two episodes AT ALL. How in the world she’s still on the show, while it’s making her more and more depressed and frustrated, I’ll never know. Heck, Sarah Sherman has done more in her first season that what Melissa probably did in at least seasons 46 & 47, and will probably be getting more shorts to make a sketch or two on air before the season ends. And she’s a freaking alt comic specializing in gross & body horror comedy, and she’s THRIVING right now. I love Melissa, but she deserves a better venue for her talents than SNL.
• Kenan’s rapping is very solid, his musical skills in general are quite underrated in my view.
• Not caring that Ego’s character from that awful news sketch in the premiere is now recurring, but like the pro she is, she’s performing her part masterfully.
• An ok music video, catchy and with a fun subject.

Rating: ***

A Kamala Harris Unity Seder

• YAS KWEEN!!! It’s Maya’s Kamala!!!
• Not happy about Martin Short’s random cameo. I love Martin and I know he and Maya worked previously together, but that doesn’t justify this cameo.
• The opening bit with Maya & Martin Short as her husband is literally painful to sit through.
• I said this before, but I’ll say it again: What’s the deal with this era and borderline deified portrayal of female politicians??? Why Kamala Harris, of all people, with her controversial record is portrayed as some badass sassy lady? There’s so satirical point in this nor sharpness in the portrayal.
• Why is Aidy Cruz appearing for the FOURTH CONSECUTIVE EPISODE??!! Stop trying to make this impression happen SNL! At least the audience blanking out on the impression was an unintentional laugh.
• I love Chloe, and I would never say anything negative about her, but I’m NOT caring for her impression here. Yet, like the pro she is, she’s selling the hell out of her role.
• Here comes Alex’s Biden for the second and final time this season. It pains to say this, yet I’m still not caring for the voice and his performance as the president. It sound more like Dubya than Biden, which is baffling to me as Alex is a very solid impressionist. The impression will only appear in the upcoming The Ghost of Biden Past in the Jason Sudeikis episode next season and that’s it. To not have any opens portraying the president in the entire second half of the season is unheard of in SNL history, and the last time I could think of that is probably when Michael McKean’s Bill Clinton impression bombed in season 20 (*shudder*), and SNL decided to put the kibosh on it real quick. It hurts me deeply to say this, but I’ll go ahead and say it: James Austin Johnson’s take is FAR more superior and fun than whatever Alex intended with his Biden, and he deservedly got the presidential impression in his very first SNL appearance out of merit and a testament to his great talents.
• AWFUL bit with the dog attacking Martin.
• This sketch has been going for about 3,447 years and I’m still patiently waiting for whatever the hell its point or the supposed comedic through line is.
• Now this sketch is going a step further with its open sycophancy in portraying Harris as some kind of a badass hero in a sassy, IDGAF manner.
• Terrible ending.

Rating: *1/2

NFTs

• As if tonight’s episode wasn’t already starting to get shaky, we get this infamous music video.
• Trying to replicate the success of Stu aren’t we Pete?
• A parody of Eminem’s “Without Me”? Are we in 2003 or something? Who writes this? How did this get past dress?
• What made the Stu parody so great is how it connected Christmas with a parody of Eminem’s “Stan” and it came out of freaking NOWHERE which made it priceless. This tripe, on the other hand, is not only irresponsible in pushing NFT, and ignoring its environmental impact, but it’s not FUNNY.
• From a musical standpoint, and I’m not Blue nor Jesse Nathan when it comes to this, but the music in this & the whole direction sucks ass, there’s nothing catchy, no rhythm, no hook to make me care.
• Hey, at least Jack Harlow looks damn good in this. But his rapping still bores me to death.
• I’m not caring for ANY of the niche references in this nor the attempts to make NFT look cool.
• Poor, poor Chris. Why did they drag Chris into this shit, he deserves MUCH better than this. Glad that I know, in hindsight, the fantastic season he’s currently having.
• In a season were current SNL is reaching new lows by each passing episode, this is YET another one.

Rating: *

Weekend Update

• Loved Colin’s gun control rant.
• Big laughs from the altered Biden footage.
• I’ve said this many times before, but these Mitch McConnell jokes never fail to make me laugh.
• I recall enjoying this commentary by Cecily, as I’ve been surprisingly less negative about her (just wait till the next episode) this season.
• Some heavy makeup on Cecily, and I don’t want to come off tasteless, but she did age in her many years on SNL, but this makeup is way too much, I know they want to make her look like Sidney Powell, but this make her look WAY older than she is and is ruining her face.
• Interesting voice ok Cecily, she’s generally a strong impressionist, but this one is coming off like her many “funny voices”.
• Ah, just got a good laugh from raised eyebrows when talking to Michael.
• An alright commentary from Cecily, and considering how much she’s annoyed throughout her tenure (again solid utility work, DREADFUL showcases for most of the time), I’ll take what I can get.
• Here comes yet another standout Bowen Yang showcase from this season.
• Funny reaction from Bowen regarding the graphic displayed under him onscreen.
• Funny unimportant posts that are supposedly going to help Asians.
• Very funny comments yet with importance regarding the rise of anti-Asian hate, Bowen’s bit about wanting to come on as a character and not himself is funny, elevated yet again by his reliable delivery.
• Pretty good Update overall, but not as good for me to give it a higher rating than the one it would it will get.

Rating: ***1/2

Choreographers

• This HAS to be a James Anderson and/or Kent Sublette sketch (*Blood checks the r/LiveFromNewYork Who Wrote What Sketch thread and realizes that this is indeed a Kent Sublette sketch, he sigh and whispers ”We meet again my old enemy”*).
• The various mock-dramatic monologues in this, and the sketch’s feel in general makes it come off like a mid 00s throwback. Not a good thing.
• If I have to say some positive things is that Chris and Chloe look great in the background, both are helping me in continuing to watch this mess.
• Ah, just got a laugh from Andrew’s line in this. A testament to how great his delivery is.
• What’s with the near-breaking? An inside joke?
• At least this sketch is harmless enough, and the performers are having fun, but it’s not working for me AT ALL.
• Overall, a total waste of my time

Rating: *1/2

2021 Barfly Awards

• A fun, silly premise for an awards show.
• I appreciate that this sketch wants to use the majority of the cast and what not, but why in the WORLD is Chloe in the background? Considering the rather solid season she’s been having, why not give her a comedic role or something?
• Not caring for Cecily’s delivery nor how she almost hit the camera as she’s leaving the podium. It feels like a role she played way too many times to me.
• Forgot that Aidy is still in the cast to be honest, her delivery here is fun at least.
• Already I’m getting big laughs from how Maya looks, acts, and sounds in this sketch. Her incoherent rambling is freaking priceless.
• The cast is doing really great as the drunk attendees.
• Some good laughs with the visuals of how the cast looks as the drunk contestants.
• Alex looks rather dreamy in here, and his French is solid, as a speaker of French as a third language myself (humble bragging).
• The visual of Maya holding the ashes of her husband gave a huge laugh of WTF?! Back when I first saw this sketch.
• Yeah, Chloe is here as some background extra. Looks like the writers forgot that she’s FUNNY.
• Kate is always hilarious when playing old ladies (aside from the Kumail Nanjiani and Sandra Oh episodes though).
• Very fun visual of Maya driving around the stage, and a great ending to such a fun, melancholic sketch.

Rating: ****1/2

The Maya-ing

• One of my favorite shorts from this era.
• Already, I’m onboard with this parody of The Shining, and with it focusing on Maya’s time on SNL, with the subtle hints of melancholy and longing for the past is a FANTASTIC idea for a short & backstage piece simultaneously.
• I’m loving the camera angles as Maya walks down memory lane.
• Great old-timey music as Maya narrates her time in 8H.
• Big laugh from the Kevin Spacey photo.
• Alex is great as the scary bartender.
• A welcomed cameo from Tina Fey in this short, due to her history with Maya.
• Boy, the audience is DEAD, with zero cheers for Tina when she came on.
• LOVE the short’s twist on the concept of the shining.
• RACHEL!!!
• Funny bit with Maya poking at Rachel’s eyes to see if she is a ghost.
• Ah, Rachel is being her adorable self, and a very funny bit with Rachel taking a bath in 8H, elevated with her always-hilarious delivery.
• The melancholic subtleties while reflecting on the past in this short, even with some longing and some sadness is phenomenal, it reminds me of some of the original era’s dramatic pieces.
• Fanatsic ending and visual. Simply perfect, a modern SNL masterpiece.

Rating: *****

Segments Ranked From Best to Worst

The Maya-ing

2021 Barfly Awards

Weekend Update

Monologue

Boomers Got the Vax

Snatched! Vaxed! or Waxed!

Hot Ones

Choreographers

A Kamala Harris Unity Seder

NFTs

Final Thoughts:-

• While not as good as the previous four episodes (which shows you how well this season’s been doing), this was an alright boilerplate episode, few flops, which were exceptionally brutal to watch, and couple of ok pieces, and two particularly fantastic pieces that gave the episode a big boost in the average rating and closed the night on a great note.
• Maya thankfully did not annoy me as much as the host, as her vamping and mugging tendencies are hard to watch, she was used very well in the Barfly Awards & had me in stitches throughout it, and I was pleased that aside from the obligatory Beyoncé sketch, we didn’t get too many nostalgia roles for her. I just hoped that her talents were used better tonight.

Up Next:-

• Daniel Kaluuya hosts with musical guest St. Vincent.