Cold Opening – Meet The Press
GOP senators will support Donald Trump, no matter what
- Good to see another cold open with Kyle’s Chuck Todd. I enjoyed the first one and Kyle is a solid straight man in these.
- Cecily’s Susan Collins is great and her attitude of always being submissive and weak is a solid take on her – Beck’s Moscow Mitch is priceless per usual, and I love his random “there’s no collision” answer out of nowhere.
- Kate’s Lindsay Graham is hammy in this, compared to the more layered performances by everybody else, and those prosthetics are giving me unwanted flashbacks to her failed Robert Mueller impression.
- Cecily is cracking me the hell up throughout this cold opening and her lines, gestures, delivery – just so good.
- Despite the cold opening being of one-note nature with the GOP senators being very unwilling to stop supporting President Trump, the lines and performances (besides Kate’s) are fun and keeping it entertaining.
- I absolutely love the infectious laugh from one of the female audience members throughout this cold open. She can be heard a few times, especially when Cecily’s Collins mentions Trump being Jewish being great for Israel.
- While the weak spot of this cold opening, Kate got me real good just with her Stormy Daniels response being “a hot…. girl.”
- Pretty good start to the episode.
Rating: ***
Monologue
mothers host, TIF, AMP translate the meaning behind moms’ phrases
- I love Emma’s energy at the start of this monologue.
- The Emma/Kenan Thompson “husband of 16 years” part was fine, if not a bit cheesy. The likability of both Emma and Kenan made it work decently.
- The random Tina Fey & Amy Poehler cameos showing up to give us “translations” of what moms say is a fitting use of their style of comedy & their SNL legend status.
- Some decent lines here, and as a person who remains to this very day extremely close to his own mother, this is coming off relatable to me, especially the “not talking about politics” and “you look tired” parts. Even the expected Philly/Boston bit with Amy & Tina, which could’ve been tepid, is fun due to Amy & Tina’s delivery.
- Such a sweet ending with the three ladies wishing their kids a happy Mother’s Day.
Rating: ***
Etiquette Lesson
etiquette coach (host) aggressively preps (LEJ) for royal christening
- Heidi seems to be struggling with her British accent. Unless, this is an intentional choice of hers.
- Loved Leslie’s “having tea while high” line. So Leslie-y and very funny.
- A huge laugh from Emma’s initially classy British lady slapping the hell out of Leslie. Hell, even the start with her cheesy singing kept me cracking up before the sketch took its current direction.
- Emma’s mood turns between jolly to stern is simply fantastic. She is so selling this sketch concept.
- This is a divisive sketch amongst fans, maybe more nowadays than back then. But, I’ve always been surprised by said divisiveness, as I felt this sketch was attempting a silly, fun slapstick approach that echoes classic comedy teams from the days of the Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers. As a huge comedy nerd myself, that was a big reason this sketch worked for me when it aired and is assisted with actual solid performances by Emma & Leslie.
- I’ll say, while I liked the sketch upon this rewatch just the same as I did back then, I didn’t care for the ending, especially the odd visual of Leslie’s face filled with white cream.
Rating: ***1/2
The Perfect Mother
(host)’s parenting of (HEG) had its rough edges
- Yet another Mother’s Day-centric short and another of those chaotic vs. normal scenes.
- Heidi’s great season continues as she is fantastic in this. These types of dramatic, lived-in roles sadly feel very rare for Heidi in more recent seasons (especially seasons 48-49), and that’s a shame, as it where her best talents lie.
- Love Emma’s accent. Only four segments into the episode, and Emma is already coming off such an impressive host.
- Love Emma’s angry reactions from the past, especially when her child messes up the TV and her excellent dead-from-within face during the birthday party portion.
- The turn with us seeing some of Heidi’s flashbacks is solid and love the underrated Heidi/Mikey duo, particularly when she and Mikey are not even interacting in the bedroom.
- Not going to lie, Emma’s monologue as we see Heidi’s struggles with her child is getting to me, complimented with genuine strong acting from both of them.
Rating: ***1/2
Cinema Classics – Always Be Sisters
rival actresses (host) & (KAM) want to get the last word
- I totally forgot about this Cinema Classics sketch, and I’ve always been a big fan of this recurring sketch, so I wonder why?
- Loved the “Mistakes?!” delivery from Kenan when responding to what his wife made for dinner.
- Kate is always perfect in these Old Hollywood pieces, and I cannot help but comment on how gorgeous she always looks in these period pieces.
- The awkward finishing-the-scene line deliveries from Kate & Emma are cracking me up. However, barely any are standing, besides Kate’s “Lawyer, lawyer, pants on… fawyer?” delivery.
- Solid tension between Kate & Emma, to the point of Emma briefly almost breaking character, which I do not remember her ever doing in anything I’ve seen her in.
- Poor Alex Moffat. I did actually like his old-timey delivery, as brief as it was.
Rating: ***
Chopped
mystery ingredients lead to weird dishes & punning judges
- A variation of the classic House Hunters short from earlier in the season.
- Leslie keeps up her strong night (and season) as she is great here as she was in the original short. Also, seeing Melissa, who’s having a solid back half to this season in this, is another evidence of her quiet rise on the show before her seniors in the cast remained for way too long.
- Great absurd humor from the get-go, as I loved the bit where Melissa just re-states what Leslie said.
- As a huge fan of cooking shows, this is both a spot-on parody of these programs and features priceless absurdist humor – my favorite type of comedy in general.
- So many priceless gags and random one-liners in this. Some of my favorites: the loose sugar, the massive horse penis and the kitten on a hamburger bun.
- Loved Leslie using a fucking gun to attack Melissa!
- Alex is very solid in this. Sadly, this is one of his very few moments this season that actually uses him. I do not remember season 45 being any better for this poor guy. Loved his moment with the goat & then asking when the cameras are off so he can eat the kitten on the hamburger bun.
- Very strong, priceless short.
Rating: ****1/2
Judge Court
(KAM), (host), (AIB) capriciously rule on plaintiffs’ cases
- Weird seeing three TV show sketches in a row tonight.
- Solid subtle joke with the names of the three judges.
- Already enjoying the sketch’s concept. Emma, Kate and Aidy coming off very fun in their IDGAF personas, and them immediately judging others over the slightest offenses and reasons is cracking me up good. Next season, a Chance the Rapper sketch I always loved has a similar premise.
- Melissa is a good straight man to the three judges. It feels rare seeing Melissa being a comedic straight man in a sketch – her demanding to go to jail to stop this trial was very funny.
- Aidy’s line about choking on candy and being helped by the candy being sucked out of her ass is such an Aidy Bryant-y line and she killed me with the delivery.
- The between trials scenes are very funny on their own, especially the facial reaction Kate made holding a bag with a bloody knife.
- The obligatory Jonas Brothers sketch appearance was fine and an OK way to end this sketch, though the fawning over them was a tad predictable.
- An overall underrated gem.
Rating: ****
Musical Performance – “Sucker”
Weekend Update
Bailey Gismert likes Detective Pikachu but struggles with teen woes
PED describes what it’s like to still be cohabitating with his mom [real]
- Was that Colin-being-under-the-desk a planned bit? A la the ones Kevin Nealon did in his days? If so, it was poorly executed, though I still cracked up at Colin’s reaction after it.
- I regret laughing as hard as I did in reaction to that Trump/R. Kelly joke. The subsequent Fox News clip of that blonde lady trying to praise Trump was also hilarious.
- I’m loving Che’s rant being concerned about the Trump tariffs on China threatening his livelihood.
- Heidi’s Bailey Gismert continues to be solid and very well-performed, and I loved her Detective Pikachu rant, for the most part, especially her liking him as a detective. Although, as solid as Heidi was here, you can see this character is running out of steam. I do not remember much of her next appearance (and final normal one), but her At-Home sketch I remember being very strong and one of Heidi’s very best pieces in her 7 seasons thus far on the show. I really look forward to reviewing that one.
- The Pete commentary with his mom was short-and-sweet, even when it was more cute than funny. Love their outfits, especially his mom’s sweatshirt.
Rating: ***1/2
Beaty and the Beast
Belle (CES) learns that Beast (BEB) sired Mrs. Potts’ (host) child (PED)
- I remember bitching about Pete playing the Beast in one of my early reviews on this site (the Willem Dafoe review), but as much as I love Beck, I’m not buying him much in this part. Guess it is his height or something.
- On the other hand, Cecily is basically a no-brainer for the role of Belle.
- The production design and costumes are fantastic in this sketch. And, while not the classic the Kristen Wiig/Gerard Butler always was for me, this one is so far fine and fun.
- The visual of Kenan, Melissa and Kyle as his gym equipment cracked me up. Although, seeing Melissa here made me realize she could’ve played Belle, though Cecily is certainly solid as her.
- The concept revolving around Mrs. Potts having a child with Beast & him jerking off at the basement gym is not that exciting to me, but Emma is very good as expected. I never saw the live-action film (and never will – no interest in those cash grabs), but I assume this sketch is doing a spot-on take of the film.
- Pete is being Pete in this, and the sketch is a bit dying out for me, but Cecily’s frustrations are quite solid & well-performed.
- I’m not sure I needed the song-and-dance number by the end.
Rating: ***
Tracy
teen’s (EGN) “you don’t know me” claim is repeatedly refuted
- It still feels odd seeing Kate in these “Glue” roles, despite her playing them quite well. Ego, who is starring in this sketch, would be the go-to for these roles in more recent seasons of the show.
- A one-note sketch, with the endless “You don’t know me!”-s by Ego towards people that actually know her and tell us how they really know her, though Ego is very solid in this part per usual.
- I’m not sure I needed the weird Heidi/Ego moment, even when it was decently performed.
- Odd use of Emma in this sketch.
- An overall flop of a sketch. Ego Nwodim did (and would continue to do) a lot of great things on the show and stand out nowadays as a vital and solid utility player, but these CBB-esque performances and sketches of hers, as little as they are in her tenure (mainly misses in more recent seasons), never work for me.
Rating: **
Musical Performance – “Cool” & “Burnin’ Up”
Wait A Second, That Shouldn’t Be There!
anachronistic products on film
- Kyle is pretty fun as the host of this program. Seeing him in such roles and being this fun makes me wonder why he didn’t play them more often in his tenure.
- Man, I blocked out that ridiculous coffee cup on Game of Thrones from my mind.
- Kenan has been in basically every single sketch in tonight’s episode.
- Ego rebounds nicely from the prior sketch as I loved her performance in this, especially the visual of her slurping the drink.
- Another one-note segment, but unlike the prior sketch, the repetition in this works for me due to the inherently fun, silly nature of the piece.
- Cecily is another cast member that’s been in practically every sketch tonight.
- Fun seeing Emma playing another British legend, as her Maggie Smith impression is solid, especially her wanting to be called Mags.
Rating: ***
Cut For Time: Twinings Extreme
Twinnings Extreme is British athelete energy drink
- Love Alex’s look and tense performance in this short.
- A sports-themed commercial from SNL. These usually work for me, though the tepid one from last season did not unfortunately and the “concept” of this one being about tea (because we have a British host – get it?!) is not funny.
- OK, the whole part with Kate and the kettle was genuinely funny.
Rating: **
Goodnights
- A decent shoutout to the Update commentary of Pete & his Mom with Jon Hamm(!) showing up to meet her.
Segments Ranked From Best to Worst
Chopped
Judge Court
The Perfect Mother
Weekend Update
Etiquette Lesson
Cinema Classics – Always Be Sisters
Meet The Press / Monologue (tie)
Wait A Second, That Shouldn’t Be There!
Beauty and the Beast
Tracy / CFT: Twinings Extreme (tie)
Final Thoughts:
- A pretty good & fun episode. Two big highlights with most of the rest of the night being between good-to-solid. Emma Thompson was a very solid host expected and was thankfully well-utilized tonight, with a good number of standout moments and roles. Hell, even her fun intros to Jonas Brothers cracked me up. Like a few other hosts this season, I had hoped she would return, but at least she got a good episode.
My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:
Up Next:
- The season finale with Paul Rudd and an endless parade of rappers
My full set of screencaps from this episode is here
Another great review.
Given what a legend Emma Thompson is, it’s rather surprising that it took this long for her to host. And as expected, she committed like hell and elevated everything she was in.
I can see why some dislike that Etiquette sketch, but I agree that it’s mostly just nice slapstick fun. Emma sells both the polite and psychotic sides of her character’s personality quite well, and Leslie is a perfect foil for her here. I always felt Leslie’s last season was her best overall and this is another great performance from her. She may not be the most versatile SNL cast member, but she’s good at what she does.
I’d forgotten just how great that Chopped sketch is. Such great absurd humor and strong performances. But watching that and the Judge Court sketch makes me sad seeing Melissa getting used and seeming on the verge of breaking out and becoming a solid player, only to then get ignored and become invisible afterwards. I know I’ve discussed this with you in private and they each still did some great stuff afterwards, but it does make one wonder how things could have been had Kate, Aidy, and Cecily all left after this season. It almost certainly would have led to Melissa being used much more than she ultimately was, but on the flip side, I do have to wonder how the show would have faired during Covid with much of its veterans gone and in the midst of a transition. As rough as the Covid seasons were, I’m not sure it would have been much of an improvement in that alternate universe. Alas, we will never know.
The Perfect Mother pretape is both adorable and very funny and a great performance from both Emma and Heidi. As formulaic as these “normal/chaos” pretapes can get, this is one of the better ones and it’s helped greatly by the two of them being so committed. It’s a real shame that we don’t see too many performances like this from Heidi now. I’m inclined to blame the writers, especially Jimmy Fowlie who has become to her what Anderlette were to Kristen Wiig. When it comes to acting, as in life, bigger isn’t always better.
Most of the rest of the sketches from this show were fair to middling for me, but Emma was never the problem in any of them. A truly wonderful host who, I agree, deserves to be invited back at some point. Dramatic actors really seem to excel on SNL cause they bring commitment and energy to what would otherwise be some fairly tepid material.
Thanks as always.
When Emma Thompson was first announced as host, I didn’t know if the show would know what to do with her. I’m still not entirely sure they did, but after finally getting to see more of Emma’s early sketch work recently (some of which reminds me of Jan Hooks’ early material, like the lounge singer/TV host characters she started with on Tush), I’m glad she had a few strong moments.
I could see why the etiquette sketch was controversial, given the various criticisms of minstrel showcases through Leslie’s tenure, but I agree with your praise of the piece – it’s the type of knockabout comedy SNL hasn’t done in a long time and Leslie going so hard just made me respect her all the more.
There was a lot of criticism at the time of the Chopped and Mother’s Day films being retreads. I don’t mind if the execution is strong enough. The Chopped film is extremely clever and has a precision most of the pre-tapes in the last few years have lacked.
I think Amy and Tina only appeared because they were producing a movie Emma was in.
I don’t remember being into the court sketch, but I’ll have to rewatch it sometime.
Good review. It does feel like they have wasted Emma Thompson a lot, as she has put in all of her effort where she was given. Etiquette Lesson for me is 5 stars but 3 and a half is completely fine, really the only skill where her comedic skills got to shine.