November 5, 2022 – Amy Schumer / Steve Lacy (S48 E5)

Cold Opening – New Democratic Candidates

• ANOTHER tell-don’t-show cold opening for the THIRD episode in a row. At this rate, I’m beginning to wonder if Jim Downey is back at the writers’ room.
• While I should be happy to see the solid James Austin Johnson getting some decent airtime doing his Biden impression, considering how rough this season has been for him so far, the writing that he is given at times betray his commitment & great talents.
• This seems to be the usual parade of figures going one by one delivering one or two lines to a mostly sleepy audience.
• Wonderful to see Chloe’s great Marianne Williamson impression back, reminding me of her awesome debut back in season 45. This cold open really shows how far she has come on the show as of this season.
• Molly as Guy Fieri? Quite the random casting, but sadly their take isn’t making me forget Bobby Moynihan’s impression.
• This cold open is going downhill after a passable-ish beginning, as we now get Kenan & Cecily doing their beyond-tired shtick. And do we really need Stormy Daniels for NO REASON here?
• Ugh, now Kenan is breaking ONCE AGAIN for no reason this season. Can he please get the hell out of the show already?
• At least this open ended early, and much like the last one, was about three minutes shorter than usual.

Rating: **

Monologue

• As I stated previously, I’m a little up-and-down when it comes to Amy Schumer’s comedy, loving some of her bits & despising others with a fiery passion, but considering that I loved Amy’s last monologue, I’m looking forward to seeing how this one plays out.
• Much like last time, Amy feels more restrained than usual. That’s a good thing in my view, even when I was always up-and-down regarding her comedy, as this will allow her style to shine without coming off edgy or desperate.
• Amy’s abortion/election mix-up was kinda predictable, but it still made me laugh.
• And we now get the obligatory Kanye jokes, which are kinda predictable to me, but were as polished & well-delivered by Amy as usual.
• I’m enjoying how Amy is now joking about her husband, which is a nice continuation from her previous monologue. These are among the better jokes in this still-solid stand-up monologue.

Rating: ***1/2

Soup

• This is reminding me, for some reason, of the sauce sketch from Melissa McCarthy’s first hosting stint.
• Good that Ego is prominent so far into the episode, considering how she shockingly first appeared post-Update last week.
• I’m liking the more low-key, dialogue-driven feel of this sketch, but I have a feeling an earlier SNL era, say late 90s/ early 00s, would’ve gone further with its premise. Still, Amy is fairly solid here as expected.
• Oh, God. Did we really need a Kenan Sing to end this sketch on? This almost ruined this otherwise passable sketch.

Rating: ***

Covid

• Shockingly, this is our very first traditional fake ad this season, not counting the Skechers & AMC pieces, as those aren’t technically “fake”.
• I love the reveal of the product that you take to run away from daily life’s chores being COVID-19, and the relatable way this ad is being presented makes it even funnier.
• Sarah looks very unrecognizable here, especially since she’s playing it low-key.
• The side effect of taking the product is getting COVID is hilarious, especially the deadpan way in which it was told.
• The “friends improv show” being one of the things COVID makes you able to get out of is great.
• The COVID Always Positive product reveal was excellent & a great buildup for this ad.
• Loved this piece overall. A great first traditional fake commercial to kick off this season’s run with.

Rating: ****1/2

Jurors

• Ooh, this is that cut oddball Sarah/Bowen sketch from the Jerrod Carmichael episode last season. I’m interested in watching it for the review, even when the description of it didn’t seem as strong as Sarah’s usual pieces.
• Good choice with having Amy alongside Sarah & Bowen, as I cannot imagine Jerrod Carmichael in that role; Amy’s energy matches both very well.
• A solid laugh from the shocked reaction of the three & Heidi’s underrated straight man skills is on display here.
• I’m enjoying the silliness of this sketch so far, even when it doesn’t feel like one of Sarah’s stronger showcases, as the one-note route it’s taking now with the mugging could’ve been funnier with another rewrite or two.
• An overall pretty good sketch, and it is wonderful to see Sarah getting another oddball sketch on the air, I just hope she’ll do more pieces that are stronger & more conceptual than this (and this sketch might be one of her very few pieces that I’d rate this averagely), as her comedic voice is needed this season now more than ever before.

Rating: ***

Twitter Council

• Our obligatory Twitter reference this episode with it now being another townhall/public meeting sketch.
• Cecily’s character here is basically a variation of her crazy lady character from the last season’s premiere.
• This sketch is not working well enough.
• Amy is funny as the “sexy” bot, and she’s absolutely elevating this otherwise warmed-over sketch.
• Geez. James’ Trump coming back absolutely KILLED this sketch dead. His role here was absolutely unnecessary.

Rating: **

The Looker

• Excellent seeing an Amy Schumer-starring pretape this episode, considering how much she killed it in the Mother’s Day-centric one from her last episode.
• A pretty solid concept for a pretape, with the rest of Amy’s family getting mild details about them exposed in contrast to hers, which are more embarrassing & mean.
• Did Amy eat in nearly every single sketch tonight? It sure feels like it.
• While this feels a little more padded than necessary, some of the reveals, as well as Amy’s performance, are constantly making me laugh. And knowing that this piece is parodying that awful Ryan Murphy-produced Netflix mini-series makes it a little funnier.

Rating: ***1/2

Weekend Update

• I didn’t care for the Biden “seen here” joke. These have gotten SO old by now.
• The baby names joke did make me laugh, even when it feels, once again tonight, a little old hat.
• Oh, god. A Cecily Strong commentary as a clear Goober the Clown variation. Wasn’t the confused & muddy aforementioned commentary enough?
• As expected, tons of vamping from Cecily here, and the commentary so far is pretty confused in its message & unfunny. While I admire the message that Cecily is trying to convey in this commentary, it is basically a rewrite of her previous commentary, with barely anything being changed and not even a twist to its format. This commentary only confirms to me that it’s official that Cecily is now the viewers’ security blanket now that Kate McKinnon is out of the show.
• This is how we end Update? With Cecily’s commentary?! Boy, did this Update feel even more pandering & desperate than usual. Our second subpar Update edition of the season.

Rating: **1/2

In Memoriam – a photo of Kirshnik “Takeoff” Khari Ball marks his passing

Jets Fans

• Oh, I’m not enjoying where this sketch is going…
• Yeah, this feels like a mid/late 90s sketch. I could see Farley & Sandler playing the roles Amy & Cecily are playing here, or Will Ferrell in his “get off the shed!“ character as the sole comedic character instead of the four here. The difference is, the performers in this sketch are not close enough to how good the aforementioned performers were in these types of roles. Also, the insults here are just plain unfunny to me.
• Ugh, and now we are getting desperate & mean-spirited with James’ paraplegic character being thrown off his wheelchair. Thank God we didn’t get a yelling James off-camera.
• This sketch needed some cast changes, because I’m not caring for the yelling done here by Andrew, Kenan, and Cecily, especially the last two. At least I’m happy they didn’t relegate Sarah to doing Sarah Shout here (which she seems to have moved on from).
• Surprised this is over already. I should be happy because I didn’t like this one a bit.

Rating: *1/2

Pinx Period Underwear

• I guess the show is making up for the lack of fake ads so far this season, as this is our second traditional fake commercial in tonight’s episode alone.
• A piece in the tradition of SNL’s female-oriented fake ads like Mom Jeans and annuale.
• I’m enjoying the increasing absurdity in this ad, and Amy is doing a solid job as this character.
• The “Biblical” option is absolutely hilarious to me.
• Loved the ending with the tiger; Amy did a great job with her panic & running.

Rating: ***1/2

WKTVN News

• Another parade of idiots sketch tonight?
• Very interesting seeing Michael, who’s been fitting very well into the show so quickly, in a role that would be typically played by Mikey Day. A possible passing of the torch?
• Man, this sketch is falling pretty flat for me, and I’ve always been a defender of these types of sketches. But this one is giving me unwanted flashbacks to the whole mixing up of names that SNL hasn’t been able to nail well since the early 00s.
• I’m getting huge Chris Farley vibes, once again, from Molly this season.
• Even for these sketches’ standards, this feels more by-the-numbers than usual. Although, I did like the turn with Michael as the end. He did a good job anchoring this sketch.

Rating: **

Big Penis Therapy

• Solid night for Andrew, as we now get our patented oddball Dismukes sketch of the night. Hopefully, this is better than Joker, which was a pretty rare miss from an otherwise solid & creative performer.
• This concept (just like John stated on Twitter) feels very late 90s SNL. I could see Will Ferrell playing Andrew’s role here.
• I did get a huge cheap laugh from Amy’s reason for Andrew going to therapy for his “big” penis.
• Amy’s upbeat delivery of her remembering that Andrew cheated on her gave me a huge laugh.
• Yup, the more this sketch goes along, the more that I can seriously imagine Will in it, playing his lovable sleaze that he regularly played during his original run.
• The many penis euphemisms here are cracking me up, although this sketch feels a bit too premise-driven for it work. Andrew & the cast are doing a solid job with the material they’re given, though.
• Andrew’s ending outburst is reminding me of the excellent Beanie Babies sketch from last season (my favorite of said season), even when this sketch is nowhere near strong. It’s still pretty good.
• Did we really need the Cecily Strong voice-over at the end?

Rating: ***1/2

Big Dumb Hat

• THREE fake ads tonight? I guess SNL is really making up for the lack of these the past few episodes.
• Is this a leftover Kate/Aidy sketch? Or did Anna Drezen guest write this sketch this week?
• Another sketch this season that’s pushing the whole Chloe & Heidi duo hard. I can see some fans being all in for this team-up, but so far I’m waiting for them to impress me.
• Some decent, relatable lines here and there, and good chemistry from the three performers. This sketch is nothing amazing, but passable enough to me.
• I do love Marcello’s (who’s been having a big night) walk-on, he steals the sketch for me.

Rating: ***

Segments Ranked From Best to Worst

Covid

Monologue

Big Penis Therapy

Pinx Period Underwear

The Looker

Jurors

Soup

Big Dumb Hat

Weekend Update

Twitter Council

New Democratic Candidates

WKTVN News

Jets Fans

Final Thoughts:

• An overall ok episode. There was a noticeable drop-off with Weekend Update and onwards, but there were enough highlights throughout the night to make this episode passable. Although there were a number of highlights tonight, none of them, beside the first fake ad were strong enough for me to give a rating above three-and-a-half-stars. Amy Schumer was once again a solid host who fit perfectly into the SNL format, and gave committed, energetic, and fun performances all night, even in the weaker sketches.

Up Next:

• Dave Chappelle hosts with musical guest Black Star. Needless to say, this one will be very awkward to review.