May 4, 2024 – Dua Lipa (S49 E18)

Cold Opening – Community Affairs

parents discuss college protests

• I actually thought the framing at the start would lead to JAJ-as-Trump interrupting this talkshow and going on one of his many monologues, before I realized this is indeed what the cold open will be about.
• Always nice to see Michael in the cold opening, and much like the time he played Gavin Newsom, he is coming off fairly likable. Michael isn’t exactly a versatile performer, but he definitely has enough range where anchors, politicians, straight and even wacky characters are easily in his wheelhouse. Seeing him both so underused this season and having his role here, which at least is major, be his only one tonight, completely baffles me. If Michael bounces back next season and goes on to have a fantastic run and be an SNL legend, then it’ll be absolutely surreal in hindsight to watch this season in the future with how underused he is in it.
• While I’m not exactly surprised to see the show tackling the nationwide anti-Israel campus protests, I’m being underwhelmed by this cold opening so far. Michael is very likable as always in the anchor role, the three other performers are performing the material adequately enough, but this is a pretty toothless piece in general. I was never one of those viewers who demands/-ed SNL to “speak up,” but I certainly was expecting something more for such a topic when it is brought up here.
• This cold opening is yet another odd use of Kenan, who is coming off quite solid as usual, continuing his good season in general. Yet, despite good commitment and decent rapport with Michael, I’m zoned out of his lines, so much so that I initially even missed the LFNY and had to rewind the cold open later to catch it. Still, not an overall particularly bad way to start the show.

Rating: **1/2

Monologue

host presents her parents and responds to questions

• I love Dua Lipa’s elegant pose as the audience applause start to die out. A certainly unique way for her to make her SNL hosting debut.
• Nice to see Dua’s parents in the audience, and she certainly is coming off much less stiff and awkward than I feared she would. She is likable here with confidence and elegance, even when delivering the typical harmless, somewhat-cheesy SNL monologue jokes.
• What’s with the Q & A turn this monologue took? Nice to see Andrew, but even his bit was just OK and not as funny as he could make it. Bowen’s look did crack me up, but again, much like Andrew’s, felt just there.
• Dua, once again is solid, as I really like her interactions with the cast members playing audience members, especially her response to Heidi’s Kristi Noem.

Rating: ***

Young Spicy

Spicy’s (DEW) newest record is marred by rap duo (host) & (EGN)

• Interesting to see this character of Ego’s back, which just shows how much this current SNL era (S48-present) seems to really be pushing recurring characters to be a major feature of the show again.
• I do not recall mentioning this in the prior installment, but Devon is a very good straight man in these sketches, especially that he isn’t falling into that boring Mikey Day routine of reacting/explaining the joke to us, complete with voice cracks to “improve” the material. Like Michael, Devon isn’t the most versatile performer, but he does well in his own wheelhouse.
• Not as many standout moments for Dua like Ana de Armas got in the first sketch, but she is coming off really fun, especially her “why you wrist so limp, Spicy?” comment towards Devon’s character, which is so far my biggest laugh of the night. The detail with her somewhat-specific look is also adding nicely to the humor.

Rating: ***

The Anomalous Man

host’s Elephant Man-esque lover (SRS) is sexting behind her back

• Right from the opening of this short, I can tell I’m in for a patented Sarah Sherman short. Considering both her unfortunate track record this back half and how usually strong her shorts are, I’m both nervous and excited for this piece.
• This seems to be directly influenced by The Elephant Man, which is one of my all-time favorite films. Odd seeing it parodied, as I really cannot recall anytime it was, besides a horrible, very short piece in season 6.
• Unsurprisingly, I’m loving JAJ’s voice and performance as the Anthony Hopkins-based character. And, while it feels cliche to say so about him by this point of the season, he comes off very Phil Hartman-esque with so much warmth and lived-in characterization.
• Sarah’s voice and characterization, while good, feels like something she already did before, but it escapes me what sketch/desk piece I’m thinking of at the moment.
• I’m not finding this piece anything interesting or entertaining so far; quite bland in fact, despite the lavish production values on display. Dua Lipa is a warm, solid presence in it, at least.
• This whole buildup for a sexting reveal? Seriously Sarah? I guess I should be laughing at a 19th century character using an iPhone and texting cheesy dirty talk? Dua, once again, is the best part, especially her good reactions to being cheated on by Sarah’s Elephant Man-esque character.
• Terrible ending punchline, despite good delivery from Dua and Chloe
• An overall fairly weak, flat short and yet another major miss of Sarah’s this half.
• This has been a weird season for Sarah in general, especially this back half where she’s been churning out one dud after the other. While her contemporary, James Austin Johnson, on the other hand, is soaring higher and higher and delivering standout lead and support work in every moment he gets. Not to mention how the other resident oddball performer on the show: Andrew Dismukes, has been on absolute fire this entire season. I hate to say it, but Sarah feels like she ran out of gas, and (like John said) this short feels like a piece a cast member would churn out in their 5th or 6th season as they are on their way out, while Sarah feels so gassed out just as she reached two-and-a-half-seasons into God knows how many seasons her tenure would end up being.

Rating: **

Good Morning Greenville

morning show weighs in on the Drake vs. Kendrick beef

• Heh, that sounds like JAJ doing the cheesy show jingle! James singing in a goofy voice never fails to crack me up.
• Mikey Day is showing “range” by basically imitating how Taran Killam sounded and acted during those Right Side of the Bed sketches.
• I see, a sketch parodying the ongoing war between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Much like the forgettable Drake PSA piece last season, it is odd to watch this, considering that Drake, at some point in his career, was seen as a friend-of-the-show.
• This isn’t too bad so far, but it is the usual dead pop culture trend-chasing piece from modern-day SNL. It doesn’t help that Mikey and Heidi aren’t impressing me much with their performances, particularly that I liked them as duo in that ShopTV sketch a few months back.
• Fun characterization and performance from Dua, especially her look. Her, of all celebrities, being the host and weighing in character about this war, is funny on itself to me.
• This sketch, much like the rapping one earlier tonight, shows how great Devon Walker is in the straight man role. He is the biggest highlight in it for me, particularly the genuinely funny moment with him hiding somewhere in the studio from Mikey and Heidi.
• This sketch is going on a lot longer than it needs to.
• The “dumb white people” ending didn’t work for me, though Devon’s reaction, once again in this sketch, was solid and gave me a good laugh.

Rating: **1/2

Sonny Angels

host’s obsession with Funko Dolls creeps new boyfriend (MAH)

• The setup with Sonny Angels gave me a quick flashback to that amazing sketch Andrew did with Lizzo from two seasons ago – one of my favorite pieces in general from the last few seasons.
• Can Marcello Hernandez go through a single fucking sketch without screaming or behaving like a four years-old hyperactive kid? Just asking for a friend.
• Is this a promo for Challengers? Considering the very desperate press that movie is doing (though I heard the movie itself is actually solid), I would’ve expected its stars to show up in a random cameo tonight. Dua is pretty good as the Zendaya-esque character, though I feel this type of a sketch is not in her wheelhouse nor is the confused writing doing her any favors.
• While I groaned at the use of Bowen in a typical Bowen role, I will give him credit for at least committing to his role. Yet, so far, this sketch is hard to figure out beyond the typical dead pop culture pandering from the show.
• This sketch is going nowhere so far, but Dua is at least fairly solid in her performance of such material. Credit to her for committing to such a concept.
• Very poorly-timed ending between Bowen and Marcello and the sketch-ending applause made the Steve Higgins-voiced ending promo pretty much inaudible.

Rating: **

Penne alla Vodka

Penne alla Vodka reunites us in times of tragedy and joy

• The darkly-lit cinematography here reminds me of that forgettable PSA with Megan Thee Stallion last season.
• An OK laugh from Penne alla Vodka being what reunites people during times of sadness and joy. This isn’t an exactly brilliant concept, but it is alright, relatable and being executed decently enough.
• Solid voiceover work from Heidi, which is an area I feel she is rather underutilized in, compared to how JAJ seems to be the go-to voiceover guy of the current cast (and rightfully so), and how Chloe is getting almost all the female voiceover roles from her. I would’ve loved it if Heidi actually showed up as the spokesperson here, as I loved her when she did so in Wing Pit and Paperless Post.
• Why in the world is JAJ here just silently picking up food while the other cast members all have lines? What a waste of him, but it is thankfully a very rare occurrence when it happens, so it sticks out to me more.
• Pretty good piece as a whole, and I liked the untouched tray of cookies joke by the end.

Rating: ***

Musical Performance – “Illusion”

Weekend Update

Kristi Noem’s other dog (MAH) defends owner

JoJo Siwa (CHF) on her Bad Girl era

A Man Who Did Too Much Press (Jerry Seinfeld) visits the desk

• We are still doing “seen here” jokes after all these years? This one didn’t even make sense to me nor was it funny.
• Speaking of not funny nor making sense, we now get our third attempt at going viral tonight with another goofy outfit desk piece from Marcello.
• Man, this season so far is shaping up to be an all-time worst in terms of Update commentaries, as I said all that I can say about such hollowed-out, dull, desperate pieces that only exist for the sake of going viral and be swiftly forgotten – much like another Marcello attempt at going viral with that Dune Popcorn Bucket thing a few months back.
• Nothing could kill an already-bad Update like throwing Marcello out there. This is shaping up to be his usual boring, overlong and way-too-muggy desk piece. This time, with us getting a “cute” commentary with him dressing up as a dog. Sorry, SNL, but I liked this commentary better when Daniel Radcliffe did it back in season 37, and Marcello is most certainly no Daniel Radcliffe. I have also absolutely no idea why Marcello is getting so much screentime on Update this season and why the hell the show keeps pushing him so hard over nothing.
• And this commentary just ended with me 1) not laughing once and 2) absolutely zoning the hell out to the point of not writing basically anything about it. At least JAJ was used in a unique way, though a physical desk piece by him would’ve been far more preferable to me.
• Yeah, I think I have now reached total burnout with this era of Update, as I have zero reaction to the jokes here. No standouts and way too many been-there-done-that ones as well. I do not get how many times am I supposed to laugh especially at Che reacting to the audience after every single joke he delivers.
• Interesting seeing Chloe doing her solid JoJo Siwa impression again, considering that it was one of her early impressions way back to her first season, but this commentary, per usual of the show, is a month late at this point.
• I enjoy Chloe Fineman more than many fans seem to, and while I know she is trying to imitate Siwa’s new personality, she is coming off rather grating, despite the commitment. Also, much like the previous Update commentary, this is providing me with ZERO laughs.
• OK, Chloe got me with the cigarette smoking moment, which is probably the closest to an actual laugh so far into this Update.
• As if this Update hasn’t been brutal enough, you are throwing out to me a super random Jerry Seinfeld cameo to eat up more airtime from deserving cast members behind the desk? Ugh.
• I never liked Jerry Seinfeld, nor did I ever find him funny. This commentary, so far, is his usual soft, inoffensive (from a supposedly anti-“woke” comedian) and just plain boring standup to me. The “hilarious” moment with Jerry confusing Update for a podcast actively made me groan out loud.
• All-in-all, maybe the single worst Update of the whole Che/Jost era. Three weak desk pieces, endless string of dud jokes and the less said about how beyond over Colin and Che I am by this point, the better.

Rating: *1/2

OBGYN

OBGYN specialist (KET) uses BBQ ingredients for his patients

• The concept of a BBQ-inspired doctor reminds me of a great, underrated Will Forte sketch from season 33. This sketch, on the other hand, seems to be using Kenan, once again this season, like how he was utilized in his earlier seasons with lots of hamminess and odd vocalizations in his performance.
• Why is the audience laughing so hard? There’s basically nothing outrageously funny or daring happening.
• Meh at Mikey doing his beyond-overdone sketch explaining/reacting shtick, complete with his typical voice-cracking effect to “enhance” the sketch.
• While not one of her standout moments tonight, I really am enjoying Dua’s characterization and performance as the nurse throughout this sketch.
• I see Punkie is “earning” her repertory player salary with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance. Getting fired or quitting from the show would be better for her than how extremely wasted she’s been after a promising start this season.
• This sketch as a whole pretty much did nothing for me.

Rating: **

Musical Performance – “Happy For You”

Teeny Tiny Statement Pin

microscopic statement pins to show your awareness

• Oh, I really like the idea behind this ad: parodying the usual camera-mugging “activism” by celebrities on red carpet events.
• Very solid voiceover work from JAJ as always. His sarcastic delivery is tickling me up and is elevating his still-decent lines. By the way, it feels that James did voiceover for basically every single segment tonight, which is great, as it shows how very reliable he always is in such a capacity and how more and more of a backbone he’s becoming on the show.
• Heidi looks absolutely incredible in that red carpet attire.
• Dua seems to be struggling with maintaining an American accent. I wonder why she didn’t just play herself in this short.
• Heidi and Dua are pretty good, but Bowen is shining and is cracking me up in all of his quick moments; solid utilization of his more deadpan qualities.
• Quite a number of funny moments here, such as Chloe’s fun Anna Wintour impression, Marcello using a jewelry microscope to read Bowen’s tiny pin and the ending slogan of the ad being: if you drop it. It’s gone forever.”

Rating: ***1/2

Roseman Family Flooring

Soul Booth guys (AND) & (JAJ) pitch sexy songs for flooring company

• Ah, God bless Andrew Dismukes and James Austin Johnson. As after a string of flat segments (not including the previous short) they have come to inject the night with much-needed energy and fun with their always-hilarious duo work. I (rightfully) heap so much praise on these two guys, but nights like this show how much of a vital place they hold currently on the show.
• Solid night for James Austin Johnson, continuing this quietly strong season of his, with tons of sketch appearances (including very reliable voiceover work). Despite not really being the main focus for most of the pieces he’s been in. It is nights like this that show how much he can be a backbone without taking the spotlight for himself – another Glue quality I find in him and it only gets more and more clear as his tenure continues, especially that this season in general seems to be using him as their primary male utility player (e.g. voiceover work, dads, authority roles and gameshow hosts).
• Oh, wow. I’m pleasantly surprised JAJMukes received a solid reaction from the audience with their entrance, as both of them (especially JAJ) aren’t the type of cast members that would normally get such a reaction. I hope it is a sign of their popularity as relative vets and more signs for what both would be seen as when their seniors leave, especially JAJ as a beloved utility player/leader in the coming seasons.
• Cool to see Andrew and especially JAJ having another recurring character in their repertoire. Actually, the third (or really fourth, with Devon’s rapper character) one-off characters to become recurring tonight. I love the format of these sketches, but I am a bit curious to see how well they could work as recurring characters. Then again, these characters are actually fun and funny; not the typical obnoxious, look at me! characters this SNL era seems to be pushing in general.
• Like last time, I absolutely love how well Andrew and JAJ are performing the songs and they are both catchy and funny. The first number going from loud to soft (especially JAJ’s soft singing) is hilarious.
• And unlike last time, Bowen is thankfully not as over the top as he was during the first sketch (though I wasn’t as put off by him there like some were), but his “dacked down” catchphrase is cringey and is another example of him and the show trying to seem young and hip but coming off ancient in the process.
• Very fun to see Dua joining the guys, and the ending number is a lot of fun, and is especially a fun way to end an episode with.

Rating: ****

Goodnights

• Wow, are you freakin’ kidding me with this, SNL? Chloe Troast being shut out of the episode for no reason? How do you do this to such a promising, incredibly versatile performer such as her? Much like JAJ’s underuse last episode (and glad to see him bouncing back this time), it feels wrong after a few standout weeks for her in a row.

Segments Ranked From Best to Worst

Roseman Flooring Company

Teeny Tiny Statement Pin

Monologue

Penne alla Vodka

Young Spicy

Good Morning Greenville

Community Affairs

Sonny Angels

OBGYN

The Anomalous Man

Weekend Update

Final Thoughts:

• A fairly flat effort as a whole, besides the solid last two pieces, which would give this episode a big bump in the rating average. Before it, there wasn’t anything special or memorable and there was a fair amount of weak sketches here and there, including a brutal edition of Update. Still, unfortunately, this episode would rank on the lower end of episodes from this season, but it could’ve been worse. Dua Lipa was a fairly competent, likable presence as a host, and while she was saddled with some weak material, she was definitely the highlight of said pieces and came off committed and game, particularly with the pretapes and 10-to-1.

My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:

Up Next:

• Maya Rudolph / Vampire Weekend.

My full set of screencaps from this episode is here