Cold Opening – Trump Victory Party
GOP senators begrudgingly celebrate Trump’s victory
- A good, interesting concept for a cold open, especially considering how horrid the previous one was. With that being said, this reminds me of a great cold open the show did back in late season 37, with the GOP candidates meeting at a bar.
- There are some OK laughs from the GOP senators talking about the many horrible things Trump said about them, yet they would still vote for him and endorse him.
- Devon’s Tim Scott is very funny and uncanny, though they very rarely, if ever, give him funny material to perform. JAJ’s Graham, on the other hand, remains pretty funny no matter what the material given to him is. I don’t know if it the voice used for the impression, or just how strong a performer James Austin Johnson generally is to wring laughs from the most nothing material. I would go for the latter here.
- This cold opening is not bad, but what’s with the odd pauses and silence? I am not referring to the intentionally awkward moments between the senators, but the audience’s reaction is giving this cold opening a dead feeling.
- OK, the “street cred” from Devon’s Tim Scott gave me a big laugh.
- An overall pretty good cold opening. I am happy we got one with good pacing, enough funny lines and decent performances, despite the aforementioned dead feeling.
Rating: ***
Monologue
host performs stand-up about being mom’s gay best friend, Down Syndrome
- Some of you might wonder how I’ll approach Shane Gillis’ presence throughout this episode, and the answer is very simple: I’m going to review Shane strictly on the show itself, not bringing as a factor his infamous firing and the lengthy debates around it, and while I certainly cannot look past that, I am not going to make it a factor in my assessment of him in this episode. Most of you readers see my reviews as fair and balanced, no matter who’s hosting, and I’ll keep them that way.
- As for Shane, while I’ve avoided pretty much everything about him, for obvious reasons, for about two years, before familiarizing myself with his stand-up and sketch work, and came out with the conclusion that his style is a bit hit-or-miss with me, similar to Dave Chappelle’s work of recent years, (and as seen with my very positive review of Dave’s latest monologue & episode, I can certainly enjoy comics who do not share my personal ethos; what can I say? I enjoy my comedy raw, unpredictable and rough around the edges, and the more a comedian doesn’t go along with my own ethos and views, yet makes me laugh, the more I love their comedy), though his hits are usually very strong to me. And when it comes to comedy in general nowadays, I do not think there should be any limits to what topics a stand-up set or a sketch premise could delve into (e.g. racism, sexism, violence, etc.) as long as the comedy is clever around it and manages to hit even sensitive points while still making me laugh. This is something I greatly admire about my personal favorite comedians of all time, and is certainly something I feel should remain, without it devolving eventually into punching down of others nor making it about being “edgy.”
- Anyways… moving into Shane’s monologue proper.
- I have seen some fans theorizing that Shane is nervous here, which I initially thought, but he seems to genuinely have these nerves, which add to the humor of his jokes. As a person who’s extremely nervous in real-life, I can certainly relate to Shane’s posture here, especially the quick giggles between the jokes.
- Good way of addressing the controversy over Shane’s firing, which thankfully didn’t go the self-indulgent route like some online fans predicted it would go on to be.
- I’m enjoying the “gay for my mom” bit from Shane, as it’s going for an actual fun, relatable route. And, as a person who was his mom’s best friend during his childhood, I’m laughing quite a bit here; Shane’s “wacking off” as the point where his friendship with his mom ended made me laugh out loud.
- The Down Syndrome part, much like the “gay for my mom” bit, is the type of humor that I mentioned earlier in this review, that’s while very rough around the edges and is something I won’t personally joke about, is being handled well by Shane, and he is making me laugh as he mentions people with Down Syndrome not worrying about the election, as well as making fun of himself throughout the bit. I’m not only laughing here, but I find parts of this both likable and relatable to me, in a strange way.
- Heh, the r-word and c-word casually leading up to the bullies being beaten the hell up caught me by surprise and had me laughing well. Yet another part with a raw, “edgy” bit making me laugh the right way.
- I really like the ending part with Shane talking about opening a coffee shop in his hometown for people with Down Syndrome to work at, especially as Shane goes on about how people with Down Syndrome and people who don’t are not that different, with them hating their job, being the thing that reunites them the most, is both very funny and charming.
- This monologue, much like this episode, will either be hailed as the worst thing or best thing ever, depending on who you ask. For me, a person that likes and dislikes some of Shane’s comedy, I enjoyed it as a whole quite a bit. To me, Shane came off likable, relatable, funny and I think he managed to go rough and raw around the edges and still make me laugh throughout.
Rating: ****
Church on Vacation
(host) slowly gets into Jamaican church service
- Shane is surprisingly coming off very believable as the typical middle-aged dad; the opening conversation has a nice slice-of-life feel to it.
- The visual of Ego in drag worried me initially, but her going nuts during the service made me laugh out loud.
- Great bit with Shane randomly talking to Heidi in a Jamaican accent, which is coming off fun in the context of this sketch. Not even Ego being stumbly is hurting this sketch as a whole and she has a lot of fun energy, which is good for the leadoff sketch of the night.
- I love the part with Shane speaking again in a Jamaican accent, which you can tell he’s trying not to crack up during; Heidi’s reaction to him was also endearing.
- The ending with Heidi and the rest of her family dancing with the rest of the Jamaican churchgoers gave me a warm smile. Nice to see a sincere, warm sketch on modern-day SNL that doesn’t feel phoned-in.
- Solid, fun sketch as a whole that had a nice slice-of-life feeling to it, especially that it didn’t go the tired “lame white people” route and opted for a more realistic, relatable route. Good way to start the episode proper.
Rating: ****
Rock Bottom Kings
host, MAH, KET take glee in betting against gamblers
- I love this concept for a pretape; this straight up feels like a piece brought from Shane’s YouTube sketch show, and I won’t be shocked if it is one of a few pieces brought up by him for this week.
- Shane is excellent here, especially his gleeful, professional delivery regarding betting at what your friend’s lowest moment will be; the visual of the kidney in the middle of an ice box particularly adds to the sadistic vibes of his character.
- Love the “we take it very seriously” moment from Shane, complete with a subtle evil smile from him. Too bad the audience didn’t get it, but glad they throw it there for fans who might catch it.
- All-in-all, considering the hit-or-miss quality of shorts the past few episodes, I’m glad we rebounded with a pretty creative, strong piece that was kept at a solid length.
Rating: ****
HR Meeting
host doesn’t get how to ask others during HR meeting
- The opening shot of this sketch being based in an HR meeting with office co-workers is giving me very unwanted flashbacks to that fucking horrible Harassment Seminar sketch with Oscar Isaac (one of the most frustrating sketches I’ve ever sat through as a reviewer), and makes me initially worried what type of a sketch will this be.
- So surreal seeing Shane, Bowen and Chloe all in the same sketch, considering they were initially hired together back in ‘19. It really makes me think what Shane’s run would’ve been like with both of them.
- Hmm, this is turning out to be pretty well-written and funny, and without mentioning that wretched sketch I just mentioned, is doing the whole HR meeting concept the way it should be.
- I love the turn with Shane outing Michael’s character as gay, and the latter being cool with Shane asking to buy his ask; the explanation of why Shane has so much money due to going to the strip club for lunch was hilarious.
- This is a solid sketch, but there is a way to make it stronger, but I guess due to this cast in general not being as strong as some previous casts were. However, it is still well-performed and with good pacing.
- Man, the ending with Marcello showing off his “booty” in a khaki came off so desperate, unnecessary and feels there to pander. Much like a few other cast members, I’ve been growing rapidly bored and frustrated with Marcello this season, as bits like this are the sign of poor utilization of him by the writers, as well as him unfortunately seeming very attention-seeking and over-invested in being loved and seen by the audience.
- Despite my complaining over the ending, I found this sketch to be a solid, writerly one. Tonight’s episode is going by very smoothly so far.
Rating: ***1/2
White Men Can Trump
wearing Trump Sneakers transforms you to the guy himself
- In that wig, Shane is giving me strong Philip Seymour Hoffman vibes. Seeing how he resembles Philip here, makes it sad to me how Philip never hosted the show.
- Heh, a creative way to parody the Trump Sneakers debacle and a fun way for Shane to show off his great Trump impression.
- Newsmax being behind this movie is just hilarious, and is a good way to parody both the right and the left, and in a way that isn’t the tired “both sides”-ism.
- A lot of funny moments with Shane-as-Trump while wearing his gold sneakers, especially the bit with him disagreeing over how much he weighs towards the scale.
- Good way to have both Trumps in one piece, and JAJ’s Trump being immediately cut off while delivering a message to the camera gave me a solid laugh.
- The Air Bidens ending made me laugh, even when it feels so obvious how much SNL knows Biden is probably finished come this November; it fits at least with this movie trailer being a Newsmax production, though.
Rating: ****
The Floor
host cannot guess black celebrities during gameshow
- Prior to reading some comments about this episode, I thought this Rob Lowe-hosted gameshow was an SNL invention, before I found out it was real.
- Michael isn’t doing an “impression” of Lowe here exactly, but it is nice to see him getting more airtime tonight, considering how horrible his general airtime and use has been this season.
- Bowen listing various wrong answers to what the drink (milk) shown to him is very funny, especially “poop water” and “titty water.”
- A creative, solid sketch concept behind our usual gameshow sketch of the week. For some reason, this feels like the usual great writerly sketches that dominated the Dave Chappelle and Louis C.K. episodes, as well as Nate Bargatze’s earlier in the season.
- Big laughs from Shane going “pass” as soon as photos of various black American celebrities are shown on the screen. Him absolutely knowing who Cleveland Brown is was excellent.
- I love the turn with Ego confusing the paintings, especially calling The Birth of Venus “Hoe on a Half Shelf.” Such a great Ego Nwodim moment, which comes off more rewarding after a string of frustrating misses from her the past few episodes.
- Good ending with Shane immediately guessing correctly the final black figure shown and Ego thinking of him as the Weeknd. Nice full-circle moment.
Rating: ***1/2
Musical Performance – “redrum”
Weekend Update
A Frozen Embryo From Alabama (MAH) roasts COJ
Truman Capote (BOY) talks favorite women
- Like several Updates this season, I’m not really finding myself laughing much in reaction to the jokes by Colin and Che, though the opening rant by Colin was mostly good.
- I did get a good laugh from Colin’s reaction to Trump’s response to the new Alabama embryo law.
- (*Blood hears Colin’s intro to the next guest and anticipates either Bowen and Michael showing up in a goofy outfit, before his disbelief at Marcello coming out in that getup*) Really? Marcello is now one of the cast members that shows up once in a while wearing a goofy outfit? I’m not really sure what to feel about this piece.
- I’m now two minutes into this commentary and I’m not caring about it at all. Not only does this feels quite derivative from commentaries that Bowen and (especially) Michael did before and better, but it’s a confused mess, going from making clapter points, attempting absurd humor, to the good ol’, tired Jost Roast route. I find Marcello to have talent and charm in general, but he really been burning out to me in not even two full seasons into his tenure, Between the poor utilization in sketches, such as the HR meeting one earlier tonight, moments of pandering, and him aping other cast members with this, Dune Popcorn Bucket and Tiny Ass Bag, I feel I am witnessing the slow rise of another bane of the show for me. Marcello, you are so much better than this material as of late.
- All-in-all, probably the single worst desk piece of this season so far; what a way to tank my mood, SNL.
- As soon as Capote was mentioned, I immediately knew we are in for a Bowen desk piece. He is just perfect to play such a slimy guy.
- A good concept with the piece showing us what a misogynist Truman Capote was, but this is suffering from its length, and while Bowen is doing a good job with the impression, this commentary should’ve seriously went through trimming before air. However, much like his previous commentary, this one is hit-or-miss with me, though more of the former.
Rating: ***
Gump
jock’s (host) jokes about Forrest Gump (MID) repeatedly backfire
- Strangely, I’m getting Jim Belushi vibes from how Shane is acting at the beginning of this sketch. I know some fans thought Shane would’ve been an “alpha male” cast member a la Jim and John Belushi, but I’m getting more vibes similar to how Jim, John Belushi and David Koechner performed on SNL. I don’t know what that says, but I like it in a performer.
- Chloe’s vocal fry is hilarious and so spot-on of these types of girls.
- I got a solid laugh from the reveal of Mikey playing Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump happens to be one of my personal favorite movies of all-time, so I’m always a sucker seeing parodies of it.
- The escalation of Forrest’s friends and family being revealed as dead, as soon as Shane makes fun of them, is solid and Shane is shining here playing such an intentionally-unlikable character.
- Even the ending with Shane eventually being cucked by Mikey’s Gump worked fine, considering the escalation prior to it.
Rating: ***1/2
Fugliana
sex doll for loser men
- Yet another concept tonight that feels like a trunk piece Shane brought from either his sketch or stand-up work. I am already so onboard with this concept for a traditional live fake ad.
- Very fun duo between Shane and Sarah; the latter open-mouthed expression is adding to the sketch and is making me constantly laugh.
- While I would’ve loved it if the sketch focused solely on Shane and Sarah (especially considering how fun both are in their scenes), it is nice I guess to see other cast members in this sketch.
- Sarah is absolutely fantastic during the sequence right now where she makes various facial expressions to what Shane is saying. This is easily one of the standout single funniest moments of both this season and Sarah’s tenure so far.
- Endearing ending between Shane and Sarah. Part of me wonders if part of it was an ad-lib on Sarah’s part, but I guess not.
Rating: ***1/2
Musical Performance – “Should’ve Wore a Bonnet” & “Prove it” ft. Brent Faiyaz and Summer Walker
They’re Listening
a group of friends believe techonology is listening to them
- Believe it or not, I never used Alexa in my life. However, I am onboard with this offbeat sketch concept with friends believing technology is listening to them even when it’s off.
- The Green Bay Packers butt plug turn with Shane is cheap, but it is making me laugh hard, as cheap as it is.
- Yeah, watching and listening to Shane’s work, this feels like a stand-up bit of Shane’s, especially as he goes on and on about blaming his wife over the weird ads on his phone.
- Love the ending sequence with Shane refusing to open his mouth; Shane’s smile during it adds to the humor quite well.
Rating: ***1/2
Cut For Time: The Adventures of LiMu Emu & Doug
Liberty Mutual cop show goes dark
- Shane being named just ”Doug” made me laugh hard, despite it (I think) not being meant to be taken as funny.
- SNL sure seems to love parodying LiMu Emu in recent seasons, but I guess I cannot complain about that – all of their parodies did make me laugh.
- Great sudden dark turn with LiMu Emu suddenly shooting Marcello, as this short clearly now turns into a Tarantino-esque movie, with LiMu Emu as the bad cop and Shane, doing a very solid work here, as the ethical, good cop.
- LiMu Emu taking a sniff out of Marcello’s coke is fucking hilarious; pretty much slayed me. Making it funnier is that it is LiMu Emu doing so, and it is some random bird puppet in an SNL short.
- Pretty great short as a whole and this is another piece that feels more in Shane’s voice, much like the great pretapes that aired tonight.
Rating: ****
Goodnights
Segments Ranked From Best to Worst
Monologue
CFT: The Adventures of LiMu Emu & Doug
Church on Vacation
Rock Bottom Kings
White Men Can Trump
Fugliana / They’re Listening (tie)
Gump
The Floor
HR Meeting
Trump Victory Party
Weekend Update
Final Thoughts:
- After a string of episodes ranging from average-to-weak, season 49 finally bounces back big time. An actual strong episode – the finest since Adam Diver’s way back in early December. Not only did I enjoy this episode, but I felt really high on quite a large number of segments and almost the whole episode was rated in the ***1/2 and above range; very impressive. The endless number of solid sketches in this episode refreshingly reminded me why I was (and to an extent still I am) so high on this season as a whole: the fun, offbeat, solid concepts behind them, which is such a contrast to the dullness that dominated this back half so far, with minor exceptions. As for Shane Gillis, with this episode, he made a real, new fan of his out of me. He came off charming, likable and funny. While I do not see the Norm comparisons as much as some others do, his unique sensibilities, effortlessly likable presence and what he brought to this episode of offbeat, creative vibes (especially knowing his writing partner is credited for this episode) makes it clear he could’ve been a solid cast member in an alternate universe. I don’t know if Shane would ever return again and host, but much like Nate Bargatze earlier in the season, he presents a strong argument why the show in general should book more stand-up comics as hosts.
My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:
Up Next:
- Sydney Sweeney / Kacey Musgraves
My full set of screencaps from this episode is here
Blood, You know how I feel about Bowen so I’ll skip that.
Apart from Fugliana, This episode was bad IMO. Maybe in the Top 3 worst episodes this season (Ayo and Momoa if your wondering) for me.
And SNL seems to love Seth McFarlane between Garret from Hinge and Cleveland Show.
And I have Friends from Wisconsin, They didn’t laugh at that sketch.
Final Thing, This was the first time I’ve seen people Live watch it in the SNL Network live chat and drop out cause of the quality.
You were a lot more generous to this episode than me (and that’s fine, I’m not saying you’re bad to like this episode more). I don’t know if I’m being subconsciously harder on it because of Gillis or not, but just…it never seemed to get out of second gear.
I did not care for Gillis’ monologue. The nerves added to a kind of giggly edgelord aspect to him, in which he kept acting like his material was edgier or naughtier than it was when it really was coming off as disjointed and poorly delivered.
Some of the sketches had interesting ideas, but were let down by poor pacing, scripting, or acting. Way too many sketches didn’t even come close to an ending, such as The Floor or the Jamaican church. There were a few where I thought Gillis was miscast or wasn’t playing the material well, such as the HR meeting where his character came off as too obviously sleazy and creepy when the joke seemed to be around everyone earnestly analyzing the concept of “asks.” The Floor also had an extremely incoherent premise, basically going from “contestants are stupid” to “Gillis is afraid of being racist” to back to the former.
I did appreciate this episode didn’t have too many paint by numbers material, and there were a fair number of interesting or oddball premises. Like the Bergatze episode, there was…something of a comedic vision in this episode, and the pre-tapes really drove this home, being a good example of how to use Gillis’ comedy.
I rarely have said this in recent years, but the hosts have ranged from misused to just okay to a net negative in recent weeks. Ayo Edobiri was really funny but was not well used most of the night, while the other ones haven’t been great. Part of the problem is the cast doesn’t seem to be in sync, so the host ends up floundering.
Great review yet again Blood! And it’s quite refreshing to see you (mostly) high on the episode and certain cast members again after being increasingly frustrated and bored with both the show and the cast in the last few weeks (which I mostly agreed with).
I’ll admit I’m not quite as high on this episode as you were, but it was definitely a step up from the previous few and a fairly decent return to form for the show.
My two biggest disagreements are the monologue and the Floor sketch. I’m admittedly not all that familiar with Shane’s standup, but I’ve seen a bit of it and this monologue just felt…off to me. Shane seemed very nervous and ill at ease. Granted, maybe that’s just his style like you said, and what I have seen of his standup has a similar demeanor, but this came off as awkward to me. The material itself was fine (like you, I’m not a prude when it comes to edgy humor, provided that it’s smart and cleverly done), but it felt like it wasn’t delivered as sharply as it could/should have. Maybe the audience not being totally on board with some of it caused issues there, I’m not sure.
The Floor I honestly thought was a bit of a messy sketch, even though I really enjoyed Ego’s performance in particular. To me the comedic conceit was a little confused. Is the joke here that contestants perform poorly under pressure? Or that Shane’s character wants to avoid being seen as racist/pandering by refusing to name the black celebrities? Or that The Floor gives people way too many opportunities to pass and/or get answers wrong? It wasn’t very clear to me and the ending came off as VERY abrupt and felt like the victim of some severe last minute trimming.
The post-WU half was definitely more solid to me, with Fugliana being a standout piece for me (I would have rated it significantly higher myself). I fully agree with your assessments of Marcello though. Lately, I’ve really been starting to dislike him and feel as though he and/or the show is pandering heavily with him and trying to make him a star. It comes off very desperate and kind of makes me wish they’d use him less, or at least use him in a better way that doesn’t feel like they’re desperately trying to make him go viral.
Shane as a host to me was merely okay. He definitely came off likable and fun, but at the same time, he also seemed rather nervous and ill at ease at times, especially with some line flubs here and there. I’d attribute that to all the controversy and attention his episode got. Honestly can’t blame him in that regard.
Great reviews as always Mr. Blood!
I wasn’t as high on this episode as you were, but I still thought it was consistently good. Arguably the most consistent episode of the season so far.
I agreed with most of your opinions, with the only differences being your ratings (yours were higher than mine).
While I can understand your frustration with Marcello (despite me still liking him) I don’t think it’s his fault for his poor utilization (to an extent.
I also thought the Embryo update commentary’s writing was bad and all over the place, but I thought Marcello gave a really good performance.
On the other hand, Bowen’s update commentary was torture 😃 .
Jost and Che still kind of confuse me, because on one hand, the jokes are good, but on the other hand, I’m very bored and wanting new blood in Update. Idk if these mixed feelings will change, but they probably won’t because I still feel that Jost and Che should’ve left in S47.
I also really liked the cold open and the performances were solid.
I also would like to point out that Chloe has improved quite a bit this season IMO (despite not having done that much so far)
WHERE THE HELL WAS MOLLY ALL NIGHT???
Consistently good episode, Shane did really good.
My Rating: 6.9/10 (the high rating shocked me when I first calculated it, but the shows consistency definitely had something to do with it)
@Nylan Yeah. I’d argue Jost and Che were going to leave at the end of S48, but then the strikes happened. So now we’re stuck with them indefinitely because of the strikes.
Happy to see someone that enjoyed the episode that isn’t one of his edgelord followers. I am also happy that the cast had a decent time with him at least. Still hate Shane for platforming harmful views on his podcast (even as of recently) but I think if theres one thing I came away from with the episode is that there is a space for his type of broi-ish humor on the show; I’d just it rather be someone whose not him.
I hated the 10-to-one just on how one note it is (and share my frustrations about Marcello) but theres nothing I activily wanted to burn down and abandon the show because of; ultimately its more tiring trying to give legit criticism when a host brings in a certain audience more than anything because they tend to stir shit up more. If anything this episode taught me how much of an unconfident person Gillis really is if he needs to drop slurs ( even as part of the joke) to hit a point.
Ultimately its decent sketch work thats unfortunately still rough around the edges due to the writing problems they are having
I liked your review, but I’m a bit surprised to see how much higher you were on it as a whole than I was. While I’d say this was far from the worst of the season at this point, I would be very hesitant to put it in my top 5. Hell, it just barely escaped my bottom five but I agree with your assessment that it was the most consistent show of this half of the season so far. I wouldn’t go as far as saying Shane made a new fan out of me but I’ll admit my views on him are becoming gradually more positive. Other than that, I’m still kind of sitting with this episode. It left me with quite a bit to chew on so I’ll work that into my review.
As a snl fan and Shane fan, this episode was top three of the season, with Nate and Adam as the other two, so many strong sketches and the first time in a long time I audibly laughed, but the moment that really stand out for me is the good nights because seeing Shane and Bowen give each other such a big hug really hit home for me I know some snl fans will never give Shane the benefit of the doubt but it’s good seeing them be professional with it.
Pretty much the only things I liked were the pretapes, especially the Emu one. The rest felt like it was awkward and was a fine execution or the premise but could’ve been A LOT better. Glad you enjoyed it ig.
I almost skipped this episode (as it seems a number of fans I know did), to the point of not even watching the promos until yesterday. If I had I would have in part because I knew your review would tell me all I needed to know and more. And even though I chose to watch the episode, I still appreciate your quality work here, and how you manage to have your own opinions without seeming contrarian. These are the types of reviews from you that many will probably look back on as why they return to your blog.
Like you, I was mostly satisfied with the episode. I was not as positive on the cold open, but your rating seems right as I know there have been much worse this season. My main complaint with these, as always, is wondering why exactly we need political cold opens week in and week out, especially when there is clearly nothing to say. They didn’t want to have JAJ on Trump, presumably, so why not just skip this entirely? The pauses that let us hear the lack of audience response were absolutely brutal.
There continues to be a malaise in the show the likes of which I haven’t seen since some of the deadest periods of the mid ’90s. That clearly isn’t going away. I think one of the reasons I was more positive about this episode than many is that I did feel like Gillis brought a number of original (for today’s SNL, anyway) concepts, especially in the pre-tapes. I’m at the point where any concepts in sketches, instead of half-baked ideas thrown together, makes me support an episode. We still got glimpses of that (the game show sketch felt like 2-3 ideas put together, the office sketch ending with the shameless pandering of Marcello sticking his ass out), but there was still more creativity and attempts at cohesion than you tend to get on the show now.
I suppose it reflects on my view of the cast use and performance quality of late that I thought Gillis mostly fit in fine with them, even if he wasn’t the greatest live sketch performer. I do think he would have fit in very badly at the time he was originally cast. He seemed to have more a bond here with the likes of Sarah.
The monologue bothered me not because of what he said, which I could hear in many, many standup acts, but because I thought the whole thing came across as cynical. The audience didn’t react THAT badly (they were much colder toward monologues from “friends of the show” like Larry David), yet he kept playing that up, enough to where it became a narrative that overshadowed the rest of the evening. I came away feeling that he wanted this to be the narrative because it would mean he could go back and tell fans, podcast hosts, etc. that he was just too real for the woke SNL audience. I hope that wasn’t the plan, because I did think he was a positive influence on the show otherwise at a time when the show is so lethargic they needed all the help they could get. In an ideal world, hosts like Ayo would have been embraced, rather than being used to launder Nikki Haley, but we don’t live in that world.
You said everything about Update. The commentaries this season have been so underwhelming. Seeing Marcello absorb the styles of Michael, Bowen and Sarah for THAT was…sad, and a great look into the hollowness of SNL’s star making machine.
I do think this was the strongest overall episode since Bargatze, and the way the season is going, there is a good chance that will remain the case.
Yeah, the monologue came off as insidiously cynical, like he was acting like the audience wanted to murder him, when I think they were just reacting quizzically to his rather nervous delivery. A more confident or assured stand-up certainly could have played on an awkward audience, especially when he was riffing about Down syndrome (the decision to make one of the big “jokes” basically clapter, I guess, was weird). Now if he really just had nerves, fine, whatever, but yeah I do hope the narrative doesn’t become “Shane Gillis too woke for SNL.”
I have thoughts. Sorry in advance.
Since the announcement, it has been disheartening to witness the discourse surrounding the unearned culture war lightning rod that is Shane Gillis. Everyone has committed to their ideological camps and entrenched themselves to the most annoying degree. Good Lord, the SNL Reddit became a cesspool.
So let’s start with the Shane hive: it’s bad. These dudes (all dudes) see Shane’s slightly transgressive material and use it as a sort of liberation device for their own desire to be mean-spirited, dumb bullies. They are the edgelord cancel culture crybabies that every news outlet warns you about. They do not observe nuance, but use Shane as a sort of avatar for their increasingly unclever, thoughtless misanthropy. It is soulless and unfunny. Norm had the same problem. Look at the Norm/Shane internet group (by and large the same folks) and you will see a bunch of apes quoting the comedians back and forth to each other, sapping the source material of its wit and insight with each passing re-telling. It’s depressing and they suck.
BUT. But a comedian is not their audience. In 2019, Shane Gillis unwittingly became the center of a culture war discussion that was not his domain. He was adopted by the “anti-woke,” “anti-cancel culture” crowd (I apologize for using the cringe terms) and Shane’s success then became an extension of their emergence, whether Shane liked it or not.
OK, so let’s move to the anti-Shane crowd: they’re also bad. As a admitted Shane fan, it has been hard to endure the ignorance and idiocy of the dullard bros who claim Shane Gillis, but their frustration and parasocial (more cringe) defensiveness is actually understandable if you look at how the anti-Shane crowd (and that means a huge cross-section of the media – Vanity Fair, AVClub, Variety, NPR, fucking CRACKED) have misrepresented and disingenuously dealt with Gillis over the years. Is Shane transgressive? A bit, yeah. There are certainly FAR more transgressive comics – some I like (Nick Mullen), some I don’t like (most of the Legion of Skanks crowd), and some I go back and forth on (Mark Normand). Does he say things or use language that I don’t use? Yes, but I am willing and able to hold that tension, especially since Shane’s comedy doesn’t come from a mean-spirited place (I’m loathe to use an idiotic term like “punching down” because to believe in that concept is to believe in upholding the class structures that it depends on – but if that’s the term you insist on, fine). Even going back to the original footage that got Shane in trouble (when he invented Asian hate), you realize that his detractors have sapped all of that footage of context. Sure, you don’t have to like what he said or find it funny, but there was a larger point being made. So now I see this crowd of people (oh, and they exist up thread) ascribing Shane himself to the ethos of his most moronic followers, despite the fact that Shane has disavowed notions that he is some “anti-woke” warrior or whatever and that Shane’s comedy is actually quite emphatically empathetic. He may touch on some tricky topics, but he does it with a affection and genuine bonhomie that people like Bill Burr and Dave Chappelle can’t muster. True, Shane is not for everybody (like Norm was, crucially, not for everybody), but the labels ascribed to him and the reality just doesn’t match up, no matter how much bad faith writers like Dennis Perkins and, oh dear sweet Jesus, Seth Simons (!) wish it were so.
But I’m seeing it all over the place. I see it happening in the SNL community, where people who ostensibly should enjoy comedy and understand context continue to hold to these clunky, unhelpful binaries. I think of John wondering how there could be room for both SNL’s audience and Shane’s audience as if you can’t like two brands of comedy at once (SNL’s Applebee’s to Shane’s Buffalo Wild Wings as it were). I think about about typically astute commenters Casey Killingsworth and Michael Cheyne labeling Shane as an “edgelord,” “anti-woke” comic despite the fact that he has disavowed those ideas (and those audiences) and approached his comedy in a far broader way. I think about the top comment in one SNL Instagram thread calling Shane a “fascist.” I see each group painting the other with the broadest, least charitable brush possible and then I think of that Spiderman pointing at his own double meme.
Ridiculous, unserious people and opinions on both sides of the equation. The key is to avoid bad faith arguments – the world is a far more complex place, stop buying into simple-minded narratives. The “good guys” ain’t all that pure and the “bad guys” aren’t entirely reprehensible either. It’s a big world out there, learn to live in the tension.
OK, I’ll stop preaching. On to Shane.
I like Shane Gillis. I didn’t always like Shane Gillis. I heard the controversy in 2019 and decided to just peace out on him altogether. Two years later, curiosity got the best of me and I checked out his first comedy special and it was fantastic. He was loose and charismatic. He played into his identity as a white bro (the horror) while also subverting it. His humor had some edge and transgression, but it was bolstered by an endearing chumminess and an emphasis on self-deprecation. Soon after, I checked out his podcast with the hilarious Matt McCusker and what I found was two friends talking shit in the same way that I love talking shit with my friends. And they were hilarious, naturally hilarious. A little irony-drenched, maybe, but also deeply sincere in their affection for one another and hyper-aware of who they were and how they were being perceived and the distance between those two things. Their podcast immediately following Shane’s firing exhibits a person who was fully cognizant of what was happening to him, why it was happening and why it will continue to happen. People fall in line with easy narratives and subscribe to them with a religious fervor. Shane and Matt seemed unplugged from that cultural binary (unlike so many of their comedy compatriots) and they have been all the more refreshing for it.
And if Shane Gillis doesn’t have a mainstream sensibility, he has mainstream talent. That’s what Lorne and the SNL producers were looking for in the first place. They don’t care what your brand is so much as they care about your ability to win over an audience. That’s what Shane has in common with Sarah Sherman and Bowen Yang and even a Marcello Hernandez – they are likable and have the potential to court a huge audience. Shane, without playing into the “cancel culture” narrative (and probably partly BECAUSE he didn’t play into the “cancel culture” narrative) was able to develop his audience semi-organically, or at least, semi-independently. His audience is large and it is real and, increasingly, it is more and more populated by people who DON’T subscribe to self-victimizing alt-right narratives. Regular people see themselves in Shane. He looks like he’d be one thing (a “bro”) and while he is partially that thing, it runs deeper and wider than that (pause). Typically, when people attach themselves to a comedian, it’s because they see an authenticity, they see a segment of their actual humanity. Shane Gillis has that rare gift. Underestimate him if you must, but the social cache of doing so is dropping in value by the minute.
So…what OF his monologue? Guys, THAT’S Shane Gillis. Yes, he was nervous, but it’s very much in his style to play off of the insecurities of his audience – to play off the discomfort. Burr and Chappelle have done the same in their SNL monologues with about 1000% less analysis from fans (I often feel like I’m the only one who really hated Chappelle’s “triggered” rant). That’s his stock and trade to comment on it and to try to react to the audience in the moment. I would say that his comment after the bit about his dad probably wasn’t necessary because the bit played just fine, but I don’t think it hurt anything. The audience only seemed hesitant when Gillis started into his Down’s Syndrome piece. That could be because of audience discomfort or maybe because it was the only piece of material that Gillis had previously burned. Either way, it was a definite “lost them and got them back” situation – kind of a classic Bill Burr move. So yeah, people say he bombed. I heard laughs, so I don’t know what the definition of a bomb actually is. I laughed. I found it funny. The people pre-disposed to not finding it funny didn’t like it (NPR, that dork Perkins). Funny how that works. We’ll never know, but I think a neutral party would go into the monologue and find much to laugh at.
Anyways, Blood…GREAT REVIEW. I think you saw it much as I saw it and much like many of the more neutral observers (like John) saw it. This was a steady, consistent episode. More consistent than the Bargatze episode even, if lacking some of that episode’s high spots. Like you, I couldn’t find anything to pan (save for a subpar Weekend Update). Yes, there were certain dips – The Floor was three okay to good ideas in search of a sketch structure, the endings to the otherwise fun church and HR sketches felt extremely tacked on, the Marcello Update piece was a true bottoming out – but the energy stayed high and the good ideas tended to hold sway.
The cold open, for all its flaws and excessive underlining of the joke, was an actual scene with a premise and an execution. People, you gotta recognize when SNL is moving in the right direction, even if that direction is “merely competent sketch comedy.”
I’m a little disappointed that SNL didn’t lean into the controversy heading into the episode, but I do notice that modern SNL likes to take a more low-key approach to addressing elephants in rooms.
Shane, I thought, acquitted himself well. I think people want to retroactively Luke Null him, but in my alternate universe, I see him as a Pete Davidson with far greater utility. Who looks more like an out of touch dad than Shane. That role alone would have kept him on the cast.
I think the Trump piece was the easy win and I’m grateful the show found an interesting way to work Shane’s Trump impersonation into the show. It’s neat seeing the contrast in his and JAJ’s takes. They are going at the guy from different directions, but both finding the comedy in him, which is so vital.
I think conceptually, I was most thrilled with the HR sketch (lame Marcello ending notwithstanding). I loved that the sketch took a more writerly turn with the characters focusing more on proper HR procedure than any of the more obvious business.
I also really enjoyed the final sketch, dumb as it was. It felt tightly constructed (pause) and was a good use of Shane’s voice.
After all the hype and hand-wringing, it’s true that this was neither the soaring success that I hoped it would be, nor the crass failure that so many people insist it was (nor was it the retched self-sabotage his fans prayed it would be). Shane is a funny man who is working his way into the mainstream. He belongs. He’s talented, but misunderstood – a needless casualty of a culture war that has ultimately inflicted as much harm as good. Slowly but surely, he is making inroads to people no longer misunderstanding him. Divorced from “the discourse,” Shane succeeded on SNL, not necessarily by the terms that got him to the show after his five years in the wilderness, but he folded himself into the fabric of the show and it worked.
I should note that I don’t think of Shane himself as an “edgelord,” mainly because I don’t follow his comedy, but that the monologue for me, at least from a detached observer’s viewpoint, seemed to be shooting for a borderline edgelord vibe (in which he was acting like he was being far more transgressive than he was). Maybe that’s just how he typically delivers his comedy, but it hurt the monologue to me more than if he just delivered the routine with more confidence/boldness.
I didn’t see anything in the rest of the episode that I found “anti-woke,” nor do I think Shane was pushing any particular agenda. At times, I found him pretty funny, especially in the pretapes, while his performances in other sketches I found lacking (to be fair, I could say this about the cast as well). I don’t want to seem like I’m going after Shane himself, but I found that monologue, for me, kind of off-putting, not in the material per se but in how he was trying to make the material come off.
I agree that the guy has become an unfortunate example of polarized culture, and I did find a number of the online reviews basically acting like every sketch was reinforcing some “anti-woke” point linked to Shane, when SNL has basically been doing all of those sketch premises for years.
I mean, looking at it at a granular level, playing off of the crowd or identifying areas of audience tension is a well-established comic device, one Gillis uses frequently – he is neither the first nor last. It turns out for audiences new to Gillis, this was a comedy Rorschach test – what do you see? How do you interpret it? Everyone is seeing what they want to see – what suits their overriding worldview. I see someone who objectively did well. I am told he bombed. It’s a weird scene, man.
Anyways, Shane uses standard comedy devices to enhance engagement and accentuate the idea of spontaneity. There were three instances where Shane played off of the audiences response. One, the bit about the audience not finding it funny that his niece had Down Syndrome, was clearly a joke. I would concede that the bit about his dad was Shane playing things a beat too long. Nothing egregious, but a touch indulgent. The final one was Shane responding to a noticeable tightening in the crowd. I don’t think anything here was Shane going “you all can’t hang with these edgy jokes,” so much as just a true comics propensity to engage with the crowd.
Anyway, here was an article I found that actually seemed like a fair take on Shane: https://slate.com/culture/2024/02/shane-gillis-snl-fired-host-monologue-saturday-night-live-netflix.html
I really liked that just about every sketch in this one felt like the type of premise based 10-to-1 sketches we usually see at the end of the show. Episode was an interesting “what if?” glimpse into the kind of roles he’d typically play in the alternative universe where he didn’t get fired. I agreed with former cast member Patrick Weathers in that EW.com review of the epsiode he guest commentated on that Shane had a bit of a John Candy like everyman quality in sketches. As others have said there is definitely a lack of a “bro” type of cast member since Samberg left.