Cold Opening – Close Encounter
Mrs. Rafferty (KAM) returns
- Right from the opening shot, I can tell this is the return of Mrs. Rafferty and Kate McKinnon for her first cameo since leaving almost two seasons ago.
- I am genuinely shocked they brought this character back, as it had a rare ending and was such an emotional, wonderful way to give Kate her sendoff. But hey, gotta get our Giggling Gosling right out of the gate, amirite?
- Man, it feels cliche to say it by this point of the season, but Mikey just looks and sounds so sad here, and do we need to have Bowen taking Aidy’s role? Where’s Ego or someone else?
- Yawn, this is going the exact same route as the prior ones before it was thankfully retired before the sendoff for Kate. I don’t really want to waste anytime reviewing this mess, including the “hilarious” breaking.
- OK, Kate got me good for a bit with the whole part with her between Ryan’s legs. Otherwise: meh.
- Blah at both the poorly-done group LFNY and Mikey’s goofy-eyed, funnee look as he said it. Man, no words can display how so past his expiration date he is by this point.
Rating: **
Monologue
host & Emily Blunt sings about Barbie & Oppenheimer
- Very hot audience at the start of this monologue.
- I can tell this will be similar to Ryan’s previous monologue; the whole “we saved jazz” premise, though I can tell Barbie will be parodied in some sort, as you could see its sign above the homebase stage for a brief moment when we see Ryan enters the studio.
- Ryan, as expected, is fun during his Ken number, even when I never cared for his generic, predictable movie – he was the biggest highlight in it anyways.
- Now we get an Emily Blunt cameo as she is the co-star in the film Ryan is promoting with this hosting stint: The Fall Guy.
- Seeing how effortless Emily here reminds me of how much I loved her hosting stint from season 42.
- Is this monologue going to conclude? It’s fine so far but feels unrehearsed a tad and is going longer than needed.
- Ugh at Mikey during his brief appearance mugging the camera.
- An overall messy monologue that felt it ended and began several times. Ryan and Emily were solid, but this needed serious trimming, as it ran nearly 7 minutes(!), but not too bad as a whole.
Rating: **1/2
The Engagement
newly-engaged (host) whispers his escape plans to (AND)
- I got a big laugh from Ryan whispering to Andrew just after Chloe and Ego left the room.
- This is a dumb sketch concept, but an enjoyable one. This feels like the type of a sketch I could’ve seen performed in an earlier era of the show. By the way, I’m also really liking Andrew’s straight man performance here, especially as this sketch isn’t a tepid reacting sketch, but one with a clear structure.
- Ryan’s mood swing as soon as Chloe is back is pretty funny, especially as he reveals that he plans to leave and dump Chloe as soon as tonight, which of course causes Ryan to briefly break character.
- A solid, fun sketch and one of the better leadoff sketches of the season in general, complete with a great performance from Ryan.
Rating: ****
Get That Boy Back
girl (CHT) reveals her elaborate schemes against boyfriend (Chris Stapleton)
- It feels like a long while since we last got a female-led musical short. Again, considering both the hit-or-miss quality of shorts as of late and that awful PDD short we just got, I’m getting into this one with caution.
- Awesome getting Chris Stapleton involved in this, and this seems to be a solid showcase for Chloe Troast, for the second show in a row, which is great considering how underused she’s been for a while this back half.
- Much like how cliche it’s been for me to tear into Mikey, what I’ll say right now is a bit cliche as well, but man, Chloe Troast is just fantastic here, especially how much, and in a fun way, she is ruining the other girls’ rhythm with her schemes against her boyfriend, played quite well by Chris.
- A genuinely creepy-and-funny visual of Troast whispering, while camouflaging in the wallpaper of Heidi’s old mom character, to get out of the house; great freaked-out performance by Heidi as well.
- Ryan is fun in his portion of the short, but he does feel somewhat shoehorned into this short. His part remains decent and he comes off his usual likable self.
- Heidi is really funny as the freaked-out old mom; one of her standout funniest performances of this season, in my opinion.
- This short in general is a lot of fun so far; better than the typical musical short from this era. The whole portion with Chris singing in his usual epic voice is both catchy and genuinely fun. A pretty solid, enjoyable piece as a whole.
Rating: ****
Can’t Tonight
friends (host), (KET), (MAH) hang out in a bar
- A sketch with Marcello doing a Latino accent while screaming half his lines? Color me surprised!
- Much like Mikey Day, Marcello seems like another performer that’s already passed his expiration date by now, and not even two seasons into his run. How many times am I supposed to be giggling and smiling at his sketches where he yells in a “funny” accent? While much-better performers that have something fresh and new to give stare at the wall backstage?
- Meh at this sketch so far, especially how intentionally loud it is. It feels like your usual shitty, desperate, OTT MADtv sketch, which makes sense, as Marcello feels very MADtv-esque in his style and performance. Guess that’s what his starring sketch from two episodes prior reminded me of.
- Boring turn at the end with Ryan being called out for faking a Hispanic accent, but not Kenan, I see.
- We are now ending this sketch with a “cute” dog appearance? Is this a season 45 rerun?
Rating: **
Beavis & Butt-head
Beavis (host) & Butt-head (MID) get attention during AI conversation
- Oh, I remember this sketch being cut from a few seasons ago with Mikey and Alex playing Beavis and Butthead. In a clear variation of Google Talks; a favorite of mine from season 43.
- I am surprised they are already showing Ryan playing Beavis, instead of the clever way they showed Mikey as Bart Simpson in Google Talks, but I guess it is alright.
- Is Ryan going to be breaking in every single sketch? Even Heidi is surprisingly giggly interacting with him.
- The makeup job on Mikey as Butt-head is absolutely fantastic and his look in the background is eerily accurate to how he looked in the animated show.
- What in the world was it with Heidi’s major break as soon as she looked at Mikey? That didn’t feel scripted at all, but I did get a big laugh from her reaction to it.
- Heidi is still breaking; basically corpsing the rest of the sketch. This makes the usual breaks by Kate and Aidy basically nothing. Rare to see such a pro like Heidi Gardner corpse so badly, but that’s a clear sign she’s on her way out.
- Mikey is not even attempting to impersonate Butt-head’s distinct vocal mannerisms and tick. I bet if it was James Austin Johnson in this role, knowing the fantastic impressionist he is, we would’ve gotten an eerily dead-on impression. But, then again, it is not James’ “turn” yet, so we have to wait for a deflated, tired senior gentleman to leave the show.
- Mikey Day giggling his way through the rest of the sketch bugs me, as it shows self-satisfaction with himself and his clear vet status on the show, and as I said a billion times before, this performer is clearly past his expiration date by this point. Seeing him take much-needed airtime from other newer, fresher cast members feels so wrong, in my eyes.
- OK, I got a big laugh from the King of the Hill reference at end.
- Overall, besides the fun breaking from Heidi (which is big for me to say, as I despise most breaking on SNL, and this episode is rife with the kind I dislike so far), and a laugh or two, this sketch did nothing for me. It never really escalated or featured the very memorable twists and turns the original Bart Simpson version had.
- This is James’ first appearance of the whole night, and we are almost halfway through the episode! Are you fucking kidding me with this, SNL? How a performer as versatile and talented as JAJ is not utilized more in tonight’s episode?! It feels especially wrong after he had two amazing nights, back-to-back, prior to this episode.
Rating: **
Weekend Update
MIL defends his actions to his girlfriend
Caitlin Clark forces MIC to read jokes about women’s sports
- Zoning all over these jokes, especially the overdone Biden joke.
- Finally, Michael! It feels like ages since we last saw him on Update, considering how frequent (and delightful) his presence behind the desk was last season. Also, Michael’s appearance breaks the very dull rotation of the same old same old culprits of the past few episodes, though I won’t be shocked if we get one before this Update ends.
- Despite, as always, a solid, likable performance by Michael, the material given to him is not exactly the best, as it is a bit more miss than hit with me. Like some fans said, this does feel like the Rob Schneider girlfriend sketches from season 19.
- OK, Michael got me with the Longfellow joke while showing with his fingers how supposedly small his junk is, and while this whole talking-to-the-girls bit isn’t making such material any better, Michael is coming off solid, likable and charming.
- With that being said, this whole piece unfortunately continues this season long, uninterrupted losing streak of subpar desk pieces from cast members. Man, the last time I remember having a season with this long a streak of desk pieces that just don’t work for me was maybe…. seasons 28 and 30? This just continues how bored & done with this Update era I’ve become as of late that not even desk pieces from reliable cast members (in this case, Michael) are working for me.
- Why are we getting a cameo, this time of Caitlin Clark, after a beyond-tired women’s sports “joke” from Che instead of having a struggling cast member or two there instead?
- Clark is coming off fine for a non-actor, but this whole routine of now forcing Che to read the jokes about women’s sports feels so fucking tired by now. Considering how increasingly frustrated and bored I have been with this cast in general and continuing a theme I’ve been noticing with this review; this just feels endless and boring to me. Please, just end this Update already. I cannot take anymore of this.
- All-in-all, my least favorite Update of the season, and I won’t be shocked if my rating goes even lower than the one I’m about to give for the final three episodes.
Rating: **
Cookie Crumbles
doctor (BOY) weirds out family and munches on Cookie Crumbles
- (*sigh*) are we kidding with James being basically non-existent tonight? Then again, seeing the quality of the night so far, I guess I should be glad…
- So, we are now bringing random minor characters from sketches that aired months ago and make them recurring? Airplane is a big favorite of mine from this season, but there was no need to bring back Bowen’s character from that sketch and have him in his own sketch.
- I chuckled at the initial reveal of Ryan in that getup, but the visual got old quickly, as this sketch turned into one of those endless, tired reacting sketches these past two seasons seem to really love doing.
- This sketch is fucking horrible so far. The back-and-forth between Bowen, Ryan and the other cast members is comedy poison. Why am I supposed to be laughing here? The camera “gag” is especially overdone, too.
- This sketch has now turned into an incoherent, self-indulgent mess between Bowen and Ryan, as they stuff each other’s faces with cookie while “giggaling” in clear self-satisfaction. I’m glad Bowen Yang is having fun, per usual of his, in these “campy” and “kooky” sketches of his, because I am not.
- Much like most of the other sketches tonight, this sketch is nothing but pure pandering to the lowest common denominator possible, complete with constant “authentic” breaking to mask the lack of any material whatsoever. The studio audience is certainly into this, but this ain’t my type of SNL entertainment. Sorry.
Rating: *
Erin Brockovich
throwaway lines launch mock-dramatic monologues
- An Erin Brockovich sketch? In the year 2024? Is it a trend for this SNL era as of late to “parody” outdated movies and shows?
- OK, this sketch is turning out fine so far, as Ryan’s response to Chloe’s monologue about asking for her number turning into him spelling letters is pretty funny.
- Character break #366363 of the night as Ryan breaks briefly for some random reason. I’m very happy for Ryan that he is having fun, but a lot of these giggles from him and the other cast members, complete with endless line flubs, make it clear there was basically no effort made for this episode. Seeing what type of sketches we got from it, I guess my assumption is correct.
- The constant movie/shows mentions here are actually well-written and delivered (ignoring Ryan’s breaking), and Chloe is giving what I feel, her best performance of the season with this sketch.
- While a typical Kenan moment, I laughed at Kenan making various random noises as soon as he hears the word “noise,” especially imitating his ex-wife.
- OK, the brief break from Chloe near the sketch’s end was adorable, and this is from a person that doesn’t enjoy breaking much.
- Pretty solid 10-to-1 that had an old-school feeling to it. One of Chloe’s best live performances in her tenure.
Rating: ***1/2
Side Note:
- WTF at the band shot (which means a sketch got cut last minute) being interrupted by SNL that Papyrus 2(!) will be posted later tonight? How the hell do you not have such a highly-anticipated sequel in the live show?!
Cut For Time: Papyrus 2
the addition of bold to Papyrus brings back unwanted memories to Steven (host)
- I still cannot comprehend this piece got cut, but considering the constant breaking and flubbing in the aired episode, I am not too shocked.
- This sequel is doing a good job recapping the classic first short, though the pacing is a bit slow thus far, but Ryan giving a killer performance much like the first.
- The Word sequence is great, especially Ryan’s “he just put it in bold.”
- Feels utterly bizarre seeing Kyle Mooney on SNL again, and it feels so Kyle for his cameo to be…. cut for time.
- Love the sequence with Ryan seeing logos and texts in the street in Papyrus font, and especially as he confronts Kyle’s character once again.
- Ryan’s performance is so good that this short’s length (almost 7 minutes), doesn’t feel like it at all, especially all the turns by the end.
- The Papyrus backstory, as told by Kyle, is the type of over-the-top absurdist humor that Julio Torres nails so easily, and it takes this short into a different, solid direction.
- Love Sarah’s confused look at the end as she claps.
- While this easily doesn’t match the original overall, to me, it was still pretty great, with another awesome Ryan Gosling performance. Shame it was cut, as it would’ve helped the episode a lot.
Rating: ****
Goodnights
Segments Ranked From Best to Worst
Get That Boy Back
CFT: Papyrus 2
The Engagement
Erin Brockovich
Monologue
Beavis & Butt-head
Can’t Tonight
Weekend Update
Close Encounters
Cookie Crumbles
Final Thoughts:
- I am underwhelmed by this episode. When this one originally ended, I was very upset with its quality and what I felt, and still do, was an unbelievable amount of laziness in both writing and performances, with the constant breaking and flubbing. Looking back on it right now, there were a few solid sketches here and there, and only one piece came off, to me, as terrible, but…. I expected we could keep the amazing high from last week’s episode , but alas.
- As for Ryan Gosling, he was his usual likable, charming self, but he was so clearly shoehorned in a few sketches (especially the musical short) tonight and sadly couldn’t, besides his monologue and the leadoff sketch (not counting the cut Papyrus 2, for obvious reasons), really shine to me. So, I assume he was doing lots of press for The Fall Guy then.
- If my reviews didn’t indicate it enough it already, this back half as a whole has been very shaky compared to the comfortable, consistent quality of the first. So far only four episodes (Gillis, Sweeney, Brolin and Wiig) came off the best in overall quality, with the rest ranging from forgettable to bad. Knowing the next host, I am not getting my hopes up for a strong return to form.
- Not to repeat my super lengthy ranting from my Dakota Johnson review once again, but I am just over this whole cast, with minor exceptions. Just a sheer sense of clear self-satisfaction, while performing, to me, some of the shittiest, dullest material around, AND giggling and flubbing their way through it! While some of the better performers stare at the wall backstage. They just not only don’t gel as a whole, but between past-their-prime performers (e.g. Che, Colin, Bowen, Heidi, Marcello, Mikey) and a weak group of featured players, outside of Troast and Michael, there doesn’t seem to be anything keeping my interest in watching, besides JAJ and Andrew. Even Sarah has become more miss than hit with me. The show seems to be just coasting till Lorne leaves post-50, and I cannot wait till he actually goes. Whether the show would be better or not, I don’t know, but he has been holding it back for so long.
My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:
Up Next:
- Dua Lipa pulls double duty May 4th.
My full set of screencaps from this episode is here
Jesse Nathan thought this one was good, while you thought this one was underwhelming… (how the tables turn)
I liked the Music Video Parody and both Updates.
– I do wonder if Day’s Outfit in Beavis and Butthead was different from Dress? Cause that would explain why Heidi AND Day broke. But notice how Longfellow didn’t break?
I guess I liked it better than his other 2 hosting’s, but that’s not saying much from my perspective and WOW, 2 episodes of cameo city.
And in addition to Marcello being Latino AGAIN, Was Troast just hired cause She can sing and Cecily could sing? She even kinda looks like Cecily.
Another great review Blood! Well worth the wait!
I liked this episode a bit more than you did even if I find it far from the classic that people elsewhere on social media are stating. This episode, to me, epitomizes the best and worst aspects of breaking character (and I say this as someone who generally doesn’t mind it).
The Beavis and Butthead breaking (mainly Heidi’s) felt cute and endearing as we seldom see her break, let alone break THIS hard. It totally came off as authentic and her being tickled by Mikey’s overall look so I didn’t mind it and it made the sketch pretty entertaining. Not a classic (again, like some are saying), but it’s an example of how breaking can elevate an otherwise forgettable sketch and make it memorable.
The rest of the night on the other hand (especially the Doctor sketch) grew to frustrate me. I know Gosling is not an SNL cast member, but I’m officially over his whole giggling routine. It started off as fun and cute to watch, but I really think it devolved into Fallon level unprofessionalism tonight. The man was simply incapable of keeping a straight face for EVERY single sketch and sometimes even broke before he had said one word. I mean…come on! They’ve had multiple run-throughs of this material. At a certain point you’d expect some sort of degree of professionalism and being able to keep it together. I guess I should be happy that he and the cast were having fun and lighten up, but this really came off as lazy imho.
I actually didn’t mind the Doctor sketch outside of the breaking. Sure, on the surface, it’s more of a “wacky Bowen” type sketch, but there’s a dark unsettling undercurrent to it that I enjoyed. Nothing great, but by late stage Bowen standards, I found it harmless enough.
The cold open, Marcello’s bar piece, and the 10-to-1 pretty much bored and washed over me. Like you, I’m over Marcello’s schtick and Ms. Rafferty really should have been a one and done character.
All that said, there were some good gems. I’m glad you highlighted Chloe’s pretape as she was once again fantastic. It’s amazing how quickly she’s asserted herself (when given the opportunity at least) and proven to be such a valuable, talented, and wide-ranging cast member. Definitely one of my favorites currently!
I can see where you’re coming from with your boredom and frustration with this cast, but I’m personally not as down on them. I’ll admit that there’s a fair number of people who are either past their prime or don’t really stand out, but I don’t really dislike any of them apart from Marcello and (at times) Bowen. I do agree that it will be interesting when Lorne presumably retires/scales back his involvement after the 50th, as I do think there’s definitely a sense of going through the motions these last few seasons.
All in all, this episode was okay imho. Nothing to write home about, and definitely very loose and sloppy in a few parts. But there wasn’t really anything that was truly awful and a fair amount of pieces that were decent/strong. Ryan, despite my complaints about his breaking, did a pretty good job as host and especially shined in the pretapes (criminal the Papyrus one was cut for time as it was easily his best performance).
I actually really loved this one, but I’m not shocked that you weren’t high on it.
While I do feel that Mikey should’ve left last season, I’m surprised at your frustration with him this week.
Heidi breaking hard is still something I’m trying to figure out, did she not see the makeup before the sketch? Did she just find it funny?
I was slightly higher on The Engagement then you were. And I also enjoyed the cold open and monologue more than you did.
Strong episode in my opinion, with a very fun vibe throughout
7.5/10
Thank you as always for what was likely a very difficult episode to review. It’s easy to say you summed up everything, but honestly you did. I know many love this episode, and given everything going on in the world, I am not going to go on about how they aren’t real fans – if they were happy I’m glad for them. I just found the whole thing to be hollow and numbing, and at times extremely cynical. The cold open, the monologue, Update, the doctor sketch. Some bothered me more than others (I didn’t mind the Update stuff with Caitlin Clark even if it felt unbelievably contrived), and I also know that modern SNL is by nature cynical and corporate. Still, when you have such a great host, even if he was busy, I really wish they could have done more to actually make an effort.
I am glad Dismukes got another chance to show his skills, especially as I remember some fans who claimed all he can do is yell or act like Mulaney. He had a straight man performance in here to be proud of. Learning that he didn’t write the sketch makes me even more impressed.
As someone who has often been critical of Chloe Fineman, especially the desperate, empty feel of her live sketch lead work, I was pleasantly surprised by her this time around. She seemed more confident and the sketch had a premise beyond vacuous campery. And Kenan’s old scene-stealing routine felt more natural here than it has in a while. As aware as I am about the flaws of modern SNL, one of the reasons I still watch is when you get positive surprises like what I got with Chloe tonight.
I like Michael and I’m glad he got on Update again finally, but his standup persona has never been my favorite part of his time on the show, and in contrast to Chloe, I sensed a loss of confidence.
I can take Marcello in some doses, but even if this was more forgettable than annoying, I agree with you there just wasn’t anything memorable about this persona or performance. It’s not good to feel so played out after two seasons. Charisma can only take you so far.
I too missed more of JAJ this week. I still don’t know if the show trusts him as much as he deserves to be trusted. I am glad they have moved away from politics, but that doesn’t mean they should waste his talents the way they are.
Enough people enjoyed the Chloe Troast pre-tape to where I went to rewatch as it didn’t entirely click with me. I did enjoy it more on the second watch, but I still think it suffered the bloated, overly explanatory nature of so many pre-tapes in the last few years. And Ryan wasn’t needed at all, which I never thought I’d be typing after his first two episodes. Chris Stapleton was a surprisingly charismatic presence. I could see him hosting in the future. I also appreciated Troast’s work, and the weird premise. I just wish that had been given a more streamlined focus.
Papyrus 2 I would still say did not need to be made, but I was glad to see Kyle back, proving just what an underrated player, he was and is. And Sarah’s work here showed just how good she can be. Julio Torres, come back more often!
This back half definitely has felt like a splash of cold water to remind us of all the problems the show still suffers from and will seemingly still suffer from until Lorne leaves (and maybe after then). It’s not enough to make me change my view of this season being better than last season, but it’s enough to make me think the show just isn’t worth caring about in its present state. Your reviews, needing the distraction, and my history with the show are the only things really keeping me hanging on these days. You always tune in hoping something will be different this time. But if not for those factors, and Andrew being much more active this season, I would probably be gone. Thanks again for all you do.
Thank you so much for the lovely words about my reviews, John. I greatly appreciate it, your reviews and your knowledgable, generous comments on here and elsewhere.
The more I’ve thought about it, I think the newer cast members could evolve over time, but the show isn’t putting them in a place that allows them to do that. I could see Marcello excel at other stuff, but it can’t work if every other piece is him doing some accent. A great example of this working has been Andrew this year. He’s become more than someone who has their own niche, he’s growing into the role of a solid utility player.
As for the veteran players (Heidi, Ego, Bowen, Chloe), I think they could as well. The problem is that they shouldn’t be hitting their stride at the end of their already-long careers, and I don’t want this to become the norm. I will disagree with you and say that Mikey is the only veteran cast member that still works for me. That being said, I don’t need to see more of him, especially when you have Longfellow barely being used.
In fact, this whole season can be described as: “I don’t mind you doing this, but you’re going about it the wrong way.” I don’t mind an Erin Brockovich parody in 2024, but you have to have a strong premise within the sketch to justify doing a parody. I don’t mind making minor characters from sketches recurring, but you have to give the character a personality. I would implore the cast and writing staff to ask themselves “why” when building a sketch. And if the answer is simply “because it’s funny,” I assure you that’s not a good enough answer. Season 48 was proof that they’re capable of good material, but I get the sense they’re not pushing themselves as hard this year.
And I might as well comment on it: Ryan’s breaking is not endearing anymore. I didn’t mind it in his first two episodes because it wasn’t in every sketch. But come on, you’re breaking in Cookie Crumbles? It doesn’t help that it seems this entire show was designed to get him to break. I can’t help but think of something I once read regarding Lorne: “The man didn’t want to be Carol Burnett, but come on now, you’re turning into Carol fucking Burnett.” It’s almost like it’s a requirement if you want to be successful on the show. SNL shouldn’t change much once a new successor takes over, but I do hope that whoever it is will be hard on breaking.
I didn’t even consider how drastically and criminally JAJ is being underused as of late (mostly because I see they finally stopped doing the same thing to Chloe T just THIS week) but you’re right about it and this episode definitely hangs a lampshade on that.
What I just thought of that no one else seems to have considered is that the trend of SNL parodying movies from the early 2000s (Save The Last Dance, Erin Brockovich etc) is just a time shifted/updated version of the trend we saw in seasons 35/36 of SNL parodying mid 80s movies in 2010 (Say Anything, Top Gun, BTTF) so that also just goes to show how the more this show changes, the more is stays the same on multiple levels.
This episode had a very “why don’t we build the whole plane out of the black box?” kind of feel to it. Here, the show seemed to be entirely structured around Gosling’s giggles. Of course, corpsing has two modes – endearing and off-putting – with virtually no modulations between the two extremes. If corpsing is to work, it needs to be justified and spontaneous. When it’s neither of those things…well that’s how you become Horatio Sanz.
So what I will say is that the corpsing in this episode really did kind of bounce between those two extremes. On the positive side of corpsing: while I was loathe to witness another godless Close Encounter sketch, they actually added a new wrinkle to it with Kate “checking under the hood” so to speak. It was a fun game that seemed specifically designed to cause Gosling to break. I smiled in spite of myself.
Elsewhere, the Beavis and Butthead sketch, though not as tightly constructed as the Bart Simpson one from a few years back, soared thanks to corpsing that felt so sudden and extreme (not Goslings), that it almost had to be spontaneous. It really was endearing.
Lastly, although clearly not a favorite of the night, the Doctor sketch (which I liked more than most, but only in the sense that I’m not yet totally put off by Bowen’s brand of weirdness of weirdness’ sake) boasted another naturalistic break when Bowen got absolutely decked by Mikey’s wheelchair. Legitimate bloopers should be celebrated.
Unfortunately, when the sketches offered no real justification or spontaneity, Gosling’s corpsing just felt…indulgent. The good news is that a couple of the sketches – Engagement and Erin Brockovich – were already well-written and well-executed enough to sustain Gosling’s incessant snickering. Engagement, for its part, felt so sturdy and timeless that it’s a wonder this exact sketch hasn’t been done a million times before (searching my the database in my brain…it hasn’t). The Brockovich thing was odd to see, but the sketch offered up the kind of charm that a classic 10-to-one sketch should have. It’s one idea, stretched out just enough and wrapped up just in time. Very few complaints.
The Can’t Tonight thing just fucking stunk. No other way to put it. I have a low tolerance for Marcello’s whole sweat act, but I have been charmed by him at times. Hell, I thought his Update commentary last week was fine, an effective use of his energy. This, however, was stuck in premise purgatory and the rambunctiousness of the performance really only served to put lipstick on all the confusion. Probably “up” there with the Heidi-Chloe pottery sketch as my worst of the year.
Getting away from the breaking of it all, the monologue was its own kind of confused, sweaty form of bad, but I will gladly embrace all the effort over another monologue where the host talks about their mom or some shit.
The song short was fine. I think I’m like John where I can see how and why it’s good (Troast is very funny and the premise had more than enough oddness to sustain itself), but between the padding and the simple fact that I just don’t love when SNL does music videos, yeah, I could only sort of acknowledge its objective qualities and let it go from there.
Update was an odder one this week. I like the energy that Longfellow brings to the show and even if this piece felt a little loose on structure and conceit, I still welcome it. I had fun with the piece even if it didn’t congeal. I was wondering is SNL was going to have Caitlin Clark on the show and if this was the show’s way of doing a proof of concept for a potential hosting gig, well…here’s your proof. Of course, her general stiffness was probably not very well-served by the contrivance of the piece, but they whole thing kind of felt pained.