December 2, 2023 – Emma Stone / Noah Kahan (S49 E6)

Cold Opening – George Santos Address

George Santos (BOY) says farewell & sings “Candle In The Wind” variant

• Not shocked seeing the obligatory Bowen-as-Santos cold opening. I just hope this ends up being his final ever appearance.
• I’ll say that Sarah’s “impression” sounds nothing like Blitzer and doesn’t certainly make me forget Chris Parnell’s far superior take on him.
• Also, man, Sarah in drag and Bowen Vamp to start an episode? Talk about having me zoned out and we’re not even two minutes into this episode.
• Ok, Bowen’s Princess of Genovia line gave me a solid laugh. Otherwise, this is as tepid and “let’s get this over with” so far as I anticipated.
• This cold opening isn’t as horrid as I was fearing, as the last time SNL had a punching bag of a politician (Herschel Walker), we got one of the worst cold openings I can think of in several seasons.
• Oh no, we are now getting a variation to the final Trumpwin cold open, with Bowen singing while playing the piano? I guess I spoke too soon.
• There are really no words I can say about this endless cold open, especially as we get to Bowen singing while clearly being so amused by himself. I partly blame the show for how one-note Bowen has been, and the less said about the self-aware, unfunny lines throughout the song, the better.

Rating: *1/2

Monologue

TIF & Candice Bergen [real] welcome new 5er host to the women’s section

• The cutaway joke to Lorne as Emma’s husband was a bit expected, but still funny.
• Tina Fey cameo. I expected it, though the previous Five-Timers monologue she was in is one I rather forget.
• Candice Bergen! Always so fun to see coming back to SNL. Her delivery about the portrait with its cut out eyes so Martin Short can peek in is funny.
• Fun seeing a Mulaney diss as a Ventriloquist’s dummy, though this monologue so far is more low-key than I anticipated, but still decent.
• The dig at Woody Harrelson’s anti-vax stance is not only giving me unwanted memories of his episode but also reminds me specifically of his notorious monologue. For the record, I consider my review of said monologue to be the single most embarrassing segment review I ever did.
• Pretty decent, low-key monologue that worked fine for me.

Rating: ***

Question Quest

(MIL) palms off tortoise to game show contestant (host)

• Michael! Great to not only see him in a meaty role for the first time since forever, but as a gameshow host. Because Michael, with his trademark deadpan, is beyond perfect for such a role.
• Ah, as always, James is doing a terrific announcer imitation. This time, nailing how gameshow announcers sound from the ‘70s and ‘80s. James not only routinely reminds of Dan and Phil when cast in “glue” roles, but of other all-time great sketch performers; here sounding a bit like a character Joe Flaherty would’ve definitely done in ‘70s SCTV.
• Strong sketch concept for a gameshow sketch; Emma’s performance realizing she’s stuck with Michael’s childhood tortoise is great. Michael is as solid as expected performing such a concept. I will not be shocked if this is a patented Michael piece, as it feels like his typical offbeat, unique style of comedy.
• I love how this sketch is now centering around Emma’s deep discomfort with owning Michael’s childhood tortoise. Michael’s subtle menacing performance is really elevating an already strong sketch even more.
• James’ “three cars!” delivery when announcing what Heidi’s character won made me laugh. James always has the ability of elevating even the most nothing of lines.
• Punkie’s many, many attempts failing to say Rudolph is fun, especially as Emma eventually wins again by trying to tell her the correct answer, to her own discomfort, and keeps the tortoise forever.
• While not having as many standout moments, Heidi is giving her usual fun supporting performance in a gameshow sketch and is coming off likable.
• An overall pretty strong sketch, with excellent lead work by Emma and Michael.

Rating: ****1/2

Fully Naked in New York

nude NYC manual labor is musically extolled

• Did we need Bowen to sing in another segment tonight after that cold open, which was pretty much a concert?
• I’ll admit being a bit tough on Bowen during my last review, even when I stand with all that I said about him in it. Fellow SNL reviewer/frequent commenter Carson’s point about him in my latest review’s comments section made me realize I shouldn’t really put all the blame on him, but also partly blame SNL itself for encouraging the worst in him. so, I’ll come into this showcase of Bowen with more of an open mind.
• I’ll say I’m no big fan of Bowen singing. He cannot make it funny to me nor interesting. Hell, most of this current cast, while solid enough, aren’t as good in comedic singing as some previous casts were.
• The twist with Emma & Bowen’s initially tender song turning into a song about going around New York fully naked was worth a solid laugh, even when I can tell the visual of them nude will get super old after a while.
• Speaking of cast members singing, Troast’s vocals are always impressive and wonderful. Not surprised seeing her in this musical short.
• I like Marcello, but I cannot buy his singing; his natural raspy voice is too pronounced, which makes it hard for him to actually change its notes (as a raspy-voiced guy myself, I can relate to that).
• Yeah, this short is nothing horrible, but as I expected, the initial shock visual immediately died out after a while and not even Andrew can save this for me. The cast is performing this very well, and many are getting chances in the spotlight, but the lyrics and visuals are washing over me, unfortunately.
• A forgettable piece, even when I can see, unlike many times before, what Bowen was going for with such a premise.

Rating: **1/2

Tree Lighting Gig

trumpet player’s (host) ex’s hotel room flooding leaks into Treece’s gig

• Really? We are bringing this character from the mothballs? This one is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me actually, but it being brought back in such a week, indicates the writers barely had anything new to contribute.
• Heh, Bowen taking Kyle Mooney’s rule cracked me up for some reason. And, I’ll admit, he’s pretty funny here, especially both his facial expressions while playing the instrument and the voice he’s using.
• The whole phone call turn is the type of Anderlette attempts at absurdist humor that would annoy me, but the general goofiness and likability of these sketches make them work. Bowen’s interjections throughout it and the sketch in general are actually giving me my biggest laughs.
• There’s usually nothing to say about this recurring sketch, but it always surprisingly works decently for me.

Rating: ***

Please Don’t Destroy – AI

AI technology is poorly used to insert host into PDD short

• Brilliant twist on the usual PDD format with the guys trying to fix an Emma Stone-involved short with AI technology.
• Great seeing Punkie being used as herself to be the stand-in for Emma in the fixing of the ruined short; Punkie’s natural charisma is so perfect for PDD. What a solid season she’s been having so far.
• Flawless and very funny back-and-forth between the original footage and the “fixed” one throughout this piece.
• Punkie confusing Emma Stone with Emma Watson reminds me that I actually used to confuse the names of both when I was much younger; loved Punkie’s horrible attempt at pronouncing that Harry Potter curse afterwards.
• Fun inclusion of Marcello to fix the botched Ben footage; glad seeing so many of this current cast outside of character and thus, us knowing them better.
• The Yassify portion with John is ridiculous and comes off even funnier due to the professional voice-over reading the disclaimers throughout this short. Whose voice is that anyways? They’re doing a very solid job making said disclaimers come off funny in a dry way.
• Such a dumb, silly ending to what’s easily my favorite PDD in quite a long while.

Rating: ****1/2

What’s in the Kiln?

(CLF) & (HEG) praise misshapen dilettante pottery

• I expected a Chloe comeback for the December shows, but didn’t expect the return of the Chloe/Heidi duo after the many times they were cut over the course of the latter S48/early S49 shows.
• Interesting character voice from Chloe. It reminds me actually of Kari Lake.
• Where are the laughs supposed to be coming from here exactly? I thought this would be a dirty wordplay sketch as soon as Heidi mentioned bowls, before we actually got several of them, or is it the visual of the pottery that’s supposed to be funny? If so, it is a poorly-done attempt at absurdist humor; one of my favorite types of comedy in general. The innuendos here are either very poorly-written or are completely going over my head.
• A very dull sketch so far.
• Hopefully Emma will be able to save the sketch for me.
• Emma’s character being named Cody Carabiner-West? Is this a Jimmy Fowlie sketch? Between the failed attempts at absurd humor, the lack of direction, the dullness, I won’t be shocked if Fowlie co-wrote this, as it feels like one of his MANY duds last year, especially during his reign of terror throughout the second half.
• Ugh at the vagina line. This has to be a Jimmy Fowlie sketch, as the desperate, hacky and completely unnecessary vagina line, complete with a replica of it, is something he’d do.
• All-in-all, I have absolutely no idea what I just watched nor what was the comedic conceit behind this sketch. If Fowlie or whoever wrote this mess can tell me what it was going for, I’ll be grateful. For now, I’ll give this sketch a rating I think it deserves:

Rating: *

Musical Performance – “Dial Drunk”

• Very lovely mention of SNL during Noah Kahan’s song. I can tell Noah is very appreciative being invited to SNL.

Weekend Update

Old Fashioned Cigarette (MIL) acclaims classic nicotine delivery coolness

• Recently, in online SNL venues I frequent, there’s been speculation that Colin and Che would leave right after the Christmas episode, with the cast photoshoot being one evidence (Cecily left right after last season’s Christmas episode and the cast photoshoot was taken and released around this time), as well as Kate McKinnon being booked for a big return hosting the Christmas episode of this season. Seeing how very phased-out as well a lot of the Updates this year have been (yet another point some brought online as evidence of Colin and Che potentially leaving), I can definitely see them leaving very soon.
• The Musk string of jokes are ok, though come off pretty standard. Nothing bad, however.
• I loved the Frozen joke’s punchline being that the only thing left frozen in the world being Elsa’s eggs.
• The whole Merriam-Webster joke about rizz being one of the most searched new words is funny on itself without any commentary needed.
• Michael! Desk piece from Michael! Great seeing Michael having such a strong night so far; the my butt in your mouth line was hilarious.
• Considering the terrific track record of Michael’s behind the desk, I’m very excited to see where this desk commentary is going to go.
• This is a minor part, but I absolutely love the visual of the smoke coming out of the top of Michael’s outfit.
• Unlike a certain cast member, when Michael is dressed in a goofy outfit, I’m anticipating some patented, dry, strong humor complete with many hilarious lines. I’m definitely getting this from Michael here; the concept of him as a cigarette launching a defamation campaign against vaping is great.
• Michael’s direct messages to the camera, especially about smoking adding a few inches to guys is excellent.
• I love the photos shown of various celebrities looking cool smoking cigarettes, and then Hitler shown vaping.
• An overall very funny, clever desk piece from Michael. Will easily going to be one of my favorites of the whole season. Man, did I miss the hell out of Michael behind the desk this year.
• I didn’t care for the WNBA joke this time. Felt pretty desperate and even Che seemed to know it.
• Yet another super short Update. Yep, not going to be surprised if both are out two episodes from now.

Rating: ***1/2

Make Your Own Kind of Music

Cass Elliot (CHT) dislikes “Make Your Own Kind Of Music” juxtaposition

• So, is Troast going to sing in every single episode of her tenure? Not complaining, as she has an amazing singing voice and it’s been ages since we got a performer displaying their vocals on such a regular basis since Ana Gasteyer’s time on the show. (Going to ignore the hell out of those Maya Rudolph singing sketches here.)
• A spot-on Mama Cass impression from Troast. Between this impression and her hilarious Maggie Smith, Troast seems to be proving herself as a reliable impressionist so far.
• A very fun characterization and performance from Emma; her look is especially fun. This sadly feels like the very first segment since way back with the post-monologue sketch that felt like it’s utilizing Emma to her full potential.
• I’m enjoying the interludes with Emma and her group imitating a zombie attack as Troast kills it with the vocals. This is the type of weird, “wacky” sketch concept that works for me.
• I enjoyed the ending with Troast’s Mama Cass turning badass and kicking out Emma’s group; her look before the sketch ended was so great. This sketch in general feels to me like a subtle tribute to Mama Cass, which I admire, considering the sexism she faced during her lifetime from some corners, instead of focusing on her sheer talent.

Rating: ***1/2

Musical Performance – “Stick Season”

Posters

Krissy Knox & other poster models get teen (MAH) interested in physics

• Oh hell, not the return of this should’ve been one-and-done sketch.
• It tells you everything you need to know about this installment already with it being buried post-Update instead of the cushy first half of the night.
• Marcello is a billion times better than Pete Davidson was in this role. I don’t hate Pete, but Marcello has been a lot better performer and presence than him as a cast member. The warmth and joy he always displays is also a big plus for him and for us.
• Mikey’s British accent always bewilders me; his Beckham here is pretty much an enigma left to be decoded.
• I hate to critique such a consummate professional such as Emma Stone, but I never cared for this character of hers and how the show is treating it as one of the bigger host characters in recent years. I’m glad, however, she toned down the catchphrasing and her vocal fry, at least.
• Poor utilization of Ego Nwodim’s talents throughout this episode so far.
• I’ll admit getting two solid laughs near the homestretch of this sketch: when Ego threw Emma into the car’s hood and then Marcello getting distracted by Emma’s butt.

Rating: **

Olay’s Diet Coke

women love drinking it & using it as a facial cleanser

• This short ad airing near the very end of the episode makes it clear this one is one of those to be used in the case of emergency, much like the PDD piece from the Bargatze episode.
• A good, silly concept for a fake ad. It is also great seeing such a female-centric fake ad, as these are usually always very memorable.
• Solid voiceover work from James, especially his deadpan, professional delivery of the fact that Diet Coke is scientifically proven to be…. Diet Coke.
• The visuals throughout this ad are decent enough, though my favorite of them is Sarah’s face as the Diet Coke’s foam is dripping.
• Pretty good piece overall. John, the reliable fellow SNL reviewer and frequent commenter on this site, mentioned this piece feeling like one that would’ve been done back in the mid ‘00s. I can see that, especially as one of those Tina/Amy/Rachel/Maya fake ads.

Rating: ***1/2

Goodnights

Segments Ranked From Best to Worst

Question Quest

Please Don’t Destroy – AI

Make Your Own Kind of Music

Weekend Update

Olay’s Diet Coke

Monologue

Tree Lighting Gig

Fully Naked in New York

Posters

George Santos Address

What’s in the Kiln?

Final Thoughts:

• I came into this episode with great caution, considering that three of Emma’s previous shows were quite hit-or-miss. So, the episode we got tonight, as I anticipated, was an indeed a hit-or-miss show. I will say, however, it’s an improvement over Emma’s previous episode, as we got more solid highlights (though not as strong) here and there to make up partly for the awful lowlights. This makes this young season 6-for-6 in terms of shows ranging from average to fantastic, with no subpar efforts so far, at least to me. Emma was sadly not as utilized as I had hoped, though she still had some strong moments throughout the night and brought the committed, solid work and consummate professionalism one would expect from her.

My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:

Up Next:

• Adam Driver / Olivia Rodrigo.

My full set of screencaps from this episode is here