Cold Opening – White House Briefing
President Trump (JAJ) tries to distract from the Epstein Files
- For a brief moment, due to the C-Span intro, I thought the cold open would be congress-based, much like the Amy Poehler one earlier in the season.
- Ashley as Karoline Leavitt is good casting. Nice also to see a cast member instead of a random cameo in the role.
- Ashley is already great in her passive-aggressive behavior towards reporters. Even when the material given to her is nothing amazing.
- Kam is pretty funny as “Unnamed Black Guy” from Fox News.
- As this cold open goes along, it reminds me of that Beck Bennett cold open from season 43. I remember that one being decent.
- A surprising line flub from JAJ, though it wasn’t really noticeable.
- The back-and-forth between JAJ and Kenan is pretty funny. Like everything else in this cold open, nothing exactly revolutionary but it is alright.
- Why is Jeremy sitting there without doing or saying anything so far? Why waste him in such a role?
- OK, Jeremy got some lines just now, though they aren’t comedic.
- I admit laughing at the turkey pardon portion. JAJ can make the most mundane lines funny by that expert delivery of his.
- This cold open isn’t the sharpest political take on the Epstein Files, but it is fine and one clearly written hours before dress. The quick “Bubba” mention is probably the closest we’ll get to the cold open some fans wanted.
- Nice to see the brilliant JAJ delivering the LFNY solo three out of six episodes so far this season.
Rating: ***
Monologue
host talks cancelled hosting stint & brings up UPS guy
- Is Glen wearing the same shirt he wore for the promos?
- Glen is coming off likable as expected with decent self-deprecating lines. Even when many of these host-only monologues come off same-y to me.
- This whole student film of Glen’s is hilarious! I expected a different twist with it but the real thing is very funny on its own.
- Nice seeing Glen mentioning originally being booked as host four years ago. That UPS story was funny and cute, with a good payoff at the end.
- My favorite of the non-standup monologues so far this season.
Rating: ***1/2
AI Photos
AI-generated videos terrify grandma (ASP)
- I actually thought that was Sarah as the grandma during the commercial tease. Marcello is one I thought was Andrew, but I often confuse both of them of late.
- Good old lady voice from Ashley as expected.
- The premise of AI-generated videos of old photos is good and gives me unwanted flashbacks of seeing those creepy videos online.
- A big laugh from roasting the weird headless dog.
- I admit, while a usual Mikey moment, him being revealed as having no nuts caught me off guard and made me laugh good.
- This is such a standard SNL premise to me, and it feels somewhat repetitive with the reveals getting nastier and nastier, but it is handled really well. Ashley is doing a great job not overacting in her straight role, unlike some other cast members. She is really enhancing this sketch for me.
- Man, I am conflicted laughing at this sketch, as I more and more feel genuinely terrible for Ashley’s character. She’s doing a terrific job showing her horror towards this technology. I said it in a prior review, but this brilliant talent is WAY too good for SNL. Girl better get some of those prestige A24 movie roles soon.
- WTF at the final AI-generated video? It was genuinely more creepy than funny. Guess that’s the point of it.
- The best leadoff sketch of the season by far, with standout work from Ashley in a difficult role to nail.
Rating: ***1/2
I Miss My Ex’s Dad
(BEM) & (TOB) singing about their ex’s dads (host) & (KET)
- Wow, since when did we get a male-dominated musical short? This also keeps up how much both Ben and Tommy’s stock keep rising.
- I got a big laugh from the reveal of Glen’s character. It reminds me of his many solid characters in Hit Man.
- Nice country-themed song, especially that it has a fun and relatable premise. I also love Glen’s performance, especially when he launches into his big solo.
- This short is a fun, sweet piece so far. Instead of trying to chase the latest trend to then be quickly forgotten after a week. I also appreciate the genuine friendship on display without a ”hilarious” gay twist between the dads and the boyfriends.
- Glen’s meltdown over Sarah’s new boyfriend is hilarious! Especially Jeremy’s straight man performance in reaction to it.
- Surprised how quick this went. I really liked this. Ben and Tommy continue to do well.
Rating: ***1/2
Boys Weekend
Sebastian Maniscalco (MAH) entertains during retreat
- Great delivery from JAJ about being the only single in the group.
- Tons of the newbies so far tonight.
- I find it funny we are getting Marcello as Sebastian Maniscalco, considering I actually got a promo for his standup special during commercial break.
- Marcello’s Sebastian impression is actually cracking me up and is a good use of his typical high energy performance. I also assume his appearance here and the leadoff sketch is “making up” for him barely doing anything so far this season.
- Is Jeremy going to be mostly playing straight man roles? I know we are not half an hour into the episode by now, but I want to see him playing funny.
- Great physicality from Marcello during the part where he goes over Jeremy’s chair.
- This sketch is getting too long for me, despite fun performances from everyone.
- Not sure I cared for the ending with Chloe’s Jennifer Coolidge impression, even when it is my favorite from hers.
Rating: ***
Norwegian Actors
actors (host) & (CHF) go from serious to upbeat between takes
- Meh at Mikey playing what feels like his billionth director role.
- Oh, not sure I’m going to care for this sketch already, as I am not hot on these types of sketches nor the “funny” accents routine.
- I am hearing Ooli, a forgotten Chloe character, in her accent in this piece. Hell, she just went “so cool!” right now.
- I am actually familiar with these types of gloomy European movies this is attempting to parody, but this ain’t doing a thing for me, even when Chloe and Glen are perfectly fine in their roles.
- I’d at least say the performers are all coming off very likable, especially every time they get excited when a scene is shot. These past few episodes have been having such a fun, loose atmosphere compared to the flatness early on and the last run of the past season, if we go further back.
- Jeremy looks hilarious in this! I loved his whispery accent and delivery. His celebration is giving me some of my very few laughs in this so far.
- This sketch keeps going on and on and on…
- Great Stellan Skarsgård impression as always from JAJ. One of my personal all-time favorite actors done by a cast member I hope will be an all-time SNL favorite of mine.
- I love JAJ’s accent and delivery. He is also doing the best mock-dramatic acting from anyone in this sketch.
- JAJ & Jeremy were the best thing in this otherwise formulaic sketch. With that said, It did also get better by the back half of it, to be fair though.
Rating: **1/2
MacGruber
MacGruber (WIF) attempts to distance himself from the Epstein Files
- Wow, a random return of a legendary SNL character!
- Always nice to see an all-time SNL legend and one of my top 10 favorites back home. Will Forte is terrific in this already.
- Glen is perfect for these sketches, though Chloe I do not feel is as good. Fine, enough, I guess. As she often is at her best.
- The Epstein Files is a great concept for this series of pretapes.
- A huge laugh from MacGruber destroying the files and trying to justify it. Love the reveal he is on the list, which is so on-brand for him.
- Very fun piece. Loving seeing Forte back, as this brilliant performer is always welcomed.
Rating: ****1/2
Bob Army
Military factions show off their bobs for a new recruit (AND)
- OH GOD, the reveal of Glen, Sarah and Bowen made me groan so out loud.
- Judging from the visuals and the “duo” between Bowen and Sarah. No need to ask who helped write this James Anderson rip-off.
- I have been a big fan of Glen’s work so far tonight, but not even he could help save this. I admire his complete commitment to the material, and I admit I got a smile or two from him.
- Ugh at this sketch so far, especially all the bob talk. It also feels painful seeing Andrew playing a boring straight man who has to laboriously explain the “weirdness” of the sketch.
- Not even Ben and Veronika could do a thing to make this insufferable mess funny.
- Nice at least seeing JAJ in practically every single sketch of the night so far.
- All these chants are absolutely painful to sit through. I am also not sure the “turn” with bobs vs bangs is saving this for me.
- I’d admit it is fun seeing a full cast sketch and them clearly having a lot of fun, but I’m not into this type of humor myself. I can see why some fans might love this, but I can tell I’ll be one of the few that are bored to death by this.
- And one more positivity, despite playing gay characters, the cast is pretty fun and likable in such roles, as you know in some prior era or two, some would’ve gone stereotypical as hell, complete with lisping and all.
- I loved JAJ’s little hand moves and vocalization as he explains the gun sounds. My only big laugh in this.
Rating: *1/2
Musical Performance – “Man I Need”
Weekend Update
COJ & MIC talk government reopening & Epstein Files
- An OK opening rant from Colin and Michael about the government shutdown.
- I admit laughing at the Epstein/Dahmer e-mail portion.
- The obligatory joke about the “Bubba” e-mail wasn’t that impressive. The online jokes were a lot funnier.
- Heh at the bed sheet joke from Che. I liked that one.
- I really liked the Forrest Gump punchline from Colin about Trump and his many pedophile friends.
- A laugh from the Bill Clinton edit.
- Some of the “shocking” punchlines to the jokes aren’t exactly that funny, but I do admit laughing at the penny/Lincoln punchline.
- For a typical Jost Roast, I did like the Hitler joke’s punchline.
- Wow, surprised no guests and for the second straight short Update in a row! This one has to be the shortest since the Josh Brolin one from season 49. Nice getting mostly good jokes, with a few standouts.
Rating: ***1/2
Taken: Airport
ex-lovers (CHF) & (host) reunite
- Funny getting another airport sketch, considering the JAJ-starring one last episode.
- Nice seeing Veronika in a kid role instead of Sarah for the millionth sketch.
- I assume Glen is attempting a Liam Neeson impression? I do like the voice he is using in this role.
- Glen looks great in that getup, though I’m pretty sure they meant it with that leather jacket and all.
- Not really caring much for this sketch, especially that it is yet another cucking sketch with Andrew in that role. Him and Chloe did a similar sketch with Jason Momoa in season 49.
- And now Andrew takes off his shirt like he did in the aforementioned sketch. Surprised Glen didn’t as well.
- Despite Andrew’s solid performance, I am not caring for this at all. Not even Andrew’s physicality made me laugh as I know it was supposed to be.
- This is another sketch going on for too long.
- All-in-all, a rare miss from the usually-great Andrew Dismukes.
Rating: **
MacGruber
MacGruber (WIF) gets defensive about being on the Epstein List
- Ah, I always love the updated lyrics in these runners.
- Loved MacGruber’s bleep-filled reaction to finding another of the Epstein Files with Glen.
- MacGruber’s defensiveness about shredding the Files is killing me in general, especially him trying to accuse Glen and Chloe of being on it instead of him.
- Huge laughs from MacGruber trying to get the bomb to detonate by hitting the wall with it. Will is even more hilarious than usual in these, which is saying a lot.
- A big laugh from Forte’s surprised reaction before we get the classic explosion ending.
- One of my favorite MacGruber shorts in a long time.
Rating: *****
Musical Performance – “Let Alone The One You Love”
New Haircut
friend’s (ASP) new haircut causes awkward tension
- A laugh from Ashley sheepishly entering the sketch with that haircut. One of those moments she can make funny with her subtle work.
- Also, are half of Ashley’s starring sketches have been in set in restaurants?
- I love Ashley finally addressing the elephant in the room that she just did her hair as her friends sit around awkwardly.
- Ashley keeps up the phenomenal season she’s been having.
- Loved Bowen’s fake compliment, especially how he delivered the “classic” part of his line.
- Typical Mikey Day moment, but his “I hate it!” came out of nowhere and cracked me up.
- Why did Ben just look at the camera briefly? Was that part of the sketch?
- A very Groundlings-y piece, but there are many great laughs from both Ashley’s performance as well as the awkward reactions from everybody around her.
- One of the (many) things that make this sketch so great is Ashley’s lived-in, layered character performance and her sense of pathos casually revealing how much she hates her new haircut before putting on a face about how much she loves it instead.
- Some really great absurdist lines/details all over this sketch, such as the one about the supposedly revered hairstylist haircuts never touching water due to certain chemicals used and of course the hilarious Mickey Mouse Killers line.
- An actual solid twist with Kenan’s character, instead of going the Mikey route. Cute way to end the sketch.
- This is one of those sketches, much like the Joanne Fabrics piece last season, that when you watch it, you just know you are watching a potential all-timer in the making. Everything in this clicked for me, was well-paced, executed while avoiding the worst sketch tropes and with a powerhouse performance from Ashley Padilla.
Rating: *****
MacGruber
MacGruber (WIF) casually reveals Epstein trip secrets
- I loved MacGruber’s casual confession of being on the Epstein List.
- MacGruber selling low-quality cocaine to the powerful people on the plane is so in-character.
- Funny part with MacGruber’s song turning into beatboxing.
- I just noticed what a terrific straight man Glen has been in this runner. Doing his part so well and complimenting the material.
- This runner has been such a fun and surprising part of the night. A brilliant way to cover the Epstein List news.
Rating: ****1/2
Goodnights
Segments Ranked from Best to Worst
New Haircut
MacGruber 2
MacGruber 1 & 3 (tie)
AI Photos
Weekend Update
Monologue
I Miss My Ex’s Dad
Boys Weekend
White House Briefing
Norwegian Actors
Airport
Bob Army
Final Thoughts:
- Another solid episode. Much like the prior episode, there was an impressively high amount of highly-rated pieces, with TWO five stars and tons of other great pieces. While there were still some stuff I didn’t care for, the highlights more than made up for them, and the back half was pretty strong. Glen Powell was a fun and solid host as expected and fit the show effortlessly. Good cast use and great musical performances (my favorites of the season so far) helped the night even more. A great way to end a solid run of shows on.
My Favorites Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:
Up Next:
- Melissa McCarthy(!!!) is back.
My full set of Screencaps from this episode is here
Great review Blood! Always look forward to your thoughts and opinions. Easily my favourite of the season and one in which I enjoyed every segment. The taken sketch was maybe my least favourite even though Andrew still managed to shine. I admit I actually really enjoyed Bobs Vs. Bangs. It dragged a little and yeah it has similarities to previous Bowen pieces but I love how it escalated, was supremely silly, and involved most of the cast who seemed to be having fun with it. JAJ delivery of his line while voguing was freaking hilarious!
What I appreciated about the haircut sketch is that on paper it could be a very generic premise but is completely elevated with funny dialogue and an excellent performance by Ashley. I love that she is aware and trying to put on a brave face. Also Mikey’s delivery of “I hate it” was perfect.
So happy to see Macgruber and my favourite cast member of all time Will Forte back in action. Clever and fun way to approach the Epstein Files.
I have been really burnt out by Jost and Che this season but this was their best update in a long time. Che in particular was on fire.
Finally I wanna shoutout Marcello. Dude has been having a rough season but he was fantastic in the boys weekend sketch. Not only a great impression and committed performance but excellent physical comedy from him as well. I would love to see more of this from him. I know fans give him a hard time for being so broad (and rightfully so) but the dude does have talent and charisma and is funny when used effectively.
As always, another terrific review from you Blood!
I’m impressed at how solid and fun this season continues to be. Despite a few duds (you’ve said all I ever wanted to say regarding that Fowlie dreck), this night had a very fun vibe with mostly solid material.
My jaw legit DROPPED when the MacGruber title screen came up. I never in a million years would have predicted that! Such a shocking and refreshing cameo. As expected, Forte was still utterly hilarious as this character and the Epstein files angle was a nice timely bit of satire without leaning too hard into political posturing.
Speaking of which, this cold open, while nothing great, is one I will refer back to when people claim that SNL is “sane-washing” Trump or being far too kind to him. A sketch about how Trump is clearly a pedo and in the Epstein files and how he and his sycophants are trying (and failing) desperately to cover it up is about the furthest thing from flattery. And yet people still see it that way. I just don’t understand it. What would satisfy them? Graphically depicting Trump raping a teenage girl? In any case, solid lines from Ashley and JAJ, continuing their terrific seasons.
Speaking of the former, that haircut sketch is another excellent display of what a talent Ashley is. She takes a relatively simple, mildly funny concept and makes it a must watch thanks to her performance. I’ve seen a vocal minority say that Ashley’s performances are all the same and that she plays “outraged white woman” too much, which I think is a gross oversimplification. Her characters all share this three dimensional “lived in” characterization. I don’t feel like I’m watching a sketch comedy character when I watch her. I feel like I’m watching a genuine real life person complete with their own backstory and history. There are VERY few cast members from throughout SNL’s history that could pull this off. With that said, I just hope the show doesn’t make the same mistake they did with Kristen of just throwing her out there with the flimsiest and laziest written sketches in the hopes that Ashley could “save” them.
Continuing the theme of this season, there was an air of fun and experimentation in the writing tonight. Even the flops (with the exception of the disappointing Dismukes Cast Away 2.0 sketch) had a touch of absurdity to them and a fun creative atmosphere. That Norwegian Actors sketch, while nothing special, had fun performances from Jeremy, JAJ, and Glen and you could tell everyone was having a blast. Compare that to last season’s flat and hollow feel and the difference is stark. There’s an energy to the show right now that it didn’t have for the first half (or the last run) of last season. Hopefully it’ll continue.
Glen Powell was a truly fantastic host. Thoroughly committed and game for anything and having a total blast with no “look at me” vibes. I truly hope he comes back to host. Hell, it wouldn’t surprise me if he winds up being a Five Timer some day if his career continues to take off. He reminds me of Jon Hamm in how much he fits into the show.
Super psyched for Melissa returning to host. She’s another one who always brings it!
Going in to this episode I expected a lot of fun stuff from Glen with a bunch of silly material that was perfect for him… and we got just that!
Like usual nowadays I have absolutely nothing to say about the cold open, but I probably would call this my favorite so far (Domingo might take that top spot too tbh) mainly thanks to Ashley continue to being great with her excellent first part of this, after James came, though it became white noise, like usual to me where I have nothing new to add. But this is again much better one to me thanks strictly to the Ashley first half of this. I too got of kick out of Kam’s reporter name in this as well. I will say I do wish Ashley at least got to say LFNY next to James (and was hoping at first, this would just be a starring one for her mainly because I would love for her to have a solo LFNY because with respect to James, he has already had a bunch now.
This was the best monologue of the season so far to me as it was super charming with the whole UPS story and actually bringing Mitch out and like Nikki last week, you could tell Glen throughout the entire night wanted to be there and came off very nice in this particularly.
The AI sketch I agree with you for the most part as such a standard premise of things start out decent, but then things escalate to a bunch of weirdness. I did also really like Ashley as the Grandma here and she played it very convincingly both with her look and voice. Marcello‘s character was also pretty funny with his casual ignorance. I did like this, but I feel this certainly could’ve been more punchy with having the reveals get more absurd and a rare Ashley critique I’ll say right now with I didn’t need her to explain what was happening during the last scene as we definitely do enough of that with this era (though I also didn’t hate it because I would suppose an actual Grandma would do that but again it’s such a thing we’ve done for years now I can’t help you get a little annoyed with it).
You’re surprisingly a tad bit higher on the Sebastian Maniscalco sketch than I am. I do agree this was a strong, Marcelo peace and while his physical performance was really great (as well as Glenn eventually mimicking him towards the end) nothing in terms of the jokes with the exception of James’ two lines really stood out to me. I also agree that I didn’t need Chloe’s impression in this year, especially since it kind of seemed shoehorned in a way, which definitely felt awkward to me.
MacGruber is back and his appearances were… alright. I love Will as much as the next, but I had barely anything to say about any of the three I also noticed that both these as well as the ones he did in his hosting stint that felt MUCH longer (maybe they actually weren’t but it definitely felt that way imo) which is probably another reason why I’m lower than you I think, even if I do enjoy MacGruber most of the time.
Time to drop a bomb here, I LOVED BOB ARMY!! I’m not at all surprised to see that you didn’t enjoy it, but surprisingly out of nowhere thhis really worked for me and this was the more silly campy sketches that Bowen does which for me are always the better way of doing sketches with a campy premise (I feel the Shrek sketch from last seasonis also a great example of that). I also love for the most part whole cast got involved (with the exception I believe of Mikey, Chloe, and Marcello all three of which I’m very surprised didn’t appear in a piece like this) I do also love the Easter egg of all of the names on the jackets being names of the shows current writers. I also will drop another bomb in saying this was Glen’s best performance of the episode.
Airports, cause I agree with you that it was really nothing even if I’m definitely not as low on it mainly things to Andrew and his usual silly performances. And a random sidenote, I never noticed how tiny Veronika is lol.
Ashley and restaurants are the ultimate duo! This I really liked watching live, but on rewatch I love it even more! Something I’ve noticed as well as I’ve seen other people point out about Ashley is that she has great timing with how she delivers lines and her quietly waiting before she introduced herself to her friends was very neat. I will say my one negative on here is that I actually didn’t care for that “I hate it” part with Mikey or the reveal that Kenan also has that same haircut as I felt with both of those performers, it’s pretty predictable they would react in some way, but it didn’t hurt to sketch one bit.
But to wrap up this comment, I felt that was a pretty solid episode too, my second favorite of the season right after Sabrina. Glen was definitely game and like I said it’s beginning, I expected a bunch of silly material with him and that’s what we got and they left me satisfied. Also, another thing I loved, which is something that I’m enjoying in general with the season with the great use of the newer cast as I noticed, there was a good amount of Tommy in this episode and I felt he was very well with his roles too (also a lot of Chloe, which I’m sure people are absolutely THRILLED about). Still crossing my fingers for more stuff from Jeremy Kam, and especially Veronika as while all three have had their moments I feel they have not had enough and hoping for more as this season progresses. Also bonus points to Olivia Dean!
As usual, a nice review from you Blood with some great commentary on things that you liked and didn’t and excited to see Melissa McCarthy be a SIX TIMER in two weeks!
In my opinion, the episode was very much elevated by Glen as a host, but aside from that, I was a tad disappointed. It did kind of feel to me like the show kinda played it safe writing-wise, because you had stuff like the Trump cold open, the over-the-top Marcello performance, the very schtick-heavy Bowen and Sarah piece, a basic cuck sketch, and the kinda archetypal sketch at a restaurant. Granted, none of these were that bad, since there were extra wrinkles to them. I actually disagree with the Bob Hair sketch, because while I was wary of it going in, it eventually started to get fun once nearly all the cast showed up. Andrew had some decent interplay with Glen in the Taken sketch, and the haircut sketch had Ashley to flesh out what was to me a pretty thin concept (reminded me of the I Got One sketch from last season in that department). Did really enjoy parts of this episode, don’t get me wrong – the monologue was easily my favorite this season, we have our first capital G Good lead-off, the ex-dad song was a neat showcase for Tommy, and the MacGruber sketches were super entertaining and a nice non-telegraphed return. Weekend Update was super refreshing too, probably because they didn’t have to write many jokes because of them having no features, but also because Jost and Che seem more into it this time compared to previous. Would be glad to see Glen come back, especially as he seemed super game to host this time, though in the future I’d love to see them pull out the really big guns of ideas for him ala an Adam Driver episode.
Glad you weren’t the only one who hated the Bob army or the Norwegian actor sketch. Almost everyone on the Live from New York subreddit thought I was CRAZY for hating those two sketches!
Man, I must be in a shitty mood, because I found this episode to be pretty unnoteworthy. But let’s try to break it down in detail.
The cold open I found really boring, but it was at least nice to see Ashley front-and-center at the start of the episode. I dunno, I’m just burned out on these sketches with James as Trump.
The monologue was more charming than outright funny, but I at least liked hearing him mention Spy Kids 3, even if I don’t particularly like that movie. If you want more detail as to why, you can check out my Rodriguez ranking (SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION). Also, god, I love that FOB song.
I thought the ex’s dad video was just kinda funny, but I at least liked seeing Tommy and Ben in lead roles.
Also, I straight up didn’t care for that Marcello sketch. I found him really annoying, and his schtick got old pretty fast.
I thought the Norwegian actors sketch was whatever, but I felt that James was fantastic (no shit).
I was extremely surprised by the return of MacGruber, especially seeing as how that was sort of on my mind the last few days. These were just pretty good, though, and I’m not sure why they decided to do these with Glen.
Seeing as how Update this week had no guest commentaries, and last week’s had none, I thought that this was a sign that they were on their way out. But then I remembered that we all thought that back in S49, so it’s probably not that.
I didn’t like that Taken sketch much, but I at least liked Glen’s Liam Neeson-esque performance.
That Ashley sketch was whatever, despite her giving a fantastic performance as always.
So on the whole, this was yet another episode of SNL, despite a fun hosting performance from Glen. See you in three weeks for Melissa McCarthy!
I’m with you on on that Jesse, aside from Bad Bunny I think I liked all the other episodes of the season so far better than I did with this one. I was surprised to log on today and see so many “THIS WAS THE BEST OF THE SEASON!” remarks about it everywhere I looked. Maybe I’ll have to watch some of these again, but I found myself losing interest while watching during a majority of the sketches last night.
Great review as always Blood!
This was a very fun episode, but it was VERY average in terms of quality. The New Haircut sketch was the only sketch that was strong in my opinion, but there were a couple of fairly solid sketches throughout (AI Photos, Norwegian Movie Shoot).
Glen Powell was a very fun host, and it seemed like he was game for whatever the writers came up with and we was utilized really well for the most part (despite not carrying much of the material).
MacGruber was a fun surprise, but I was a little bit underwhelmed with them this time around. The first two were fine, but by the third one, it felt like there wasn’t much else you could do with the joke that was interesting enough to justify MacGruber appearing in the first place.
I honestly didn’t care for the cold open, which I wasn’t expecting since two of my favorite performers on the show were the anchors for it. Something about it felt very “off” compared to the majority of JAJ Trump cold opens. Ashley and JAJ were strong as always, but something about the material wasn’t clicking for me.
The Sebastian Maniscalco sketch with Marcello was really fun, and it’s nice to see that Marcello can actually do an impression without just using his regular voice (Mario Lopez), or his voice with a heavy accent (Ricky Ricardo, Juan Soto).
AI Photos sketch was a very creative, and fun sketch to start the night with, and I loved the experimental format that was used.
The Norwegian Movie Shoot was a very fun and silly sketch, despite it being seemingly one-note.
Not much else to say. I’m excited to see Melissa McCarthy return, since it’ll be my first time seeing one of her episodes.
SNL, How can you make a half good Cold Open?
After several mind-wandering Cold Opens (Poehler excluded), I was so happy to finally see Karoline get mocked and then SNL had to bring JAJ back. Why? The sketch wasn’t bombing?
I liked AI Grandma Photos
And it was cool to see Update Guest-less
So I liked AI Grandma, Continuing the Streak of at least one Good Sketch per episode (Which is often not the case)
Great review! I’m so curious what you would define as a typical/usual Mikey moment if it includes both him shouting “I hate it” and dropping his pants to reveal a “Ken body”
Thanks as always for the painstaking time and effort you put into these reviews.
I think this was an important episode for the show, as, even if I’m not sure how much of a draw Glen Powell is, he’s certainly buzzed about, and he’s new to the SNL universe (beyond a small cameo). The show had to be cautious, and while I don’t think that many viewers outside of hardcore fans were waiting for some sign of a return to form after the exits of Heidi and Ego (I don’t think either lady registered the way that Kristen or Kate did), it still served as something of a reassurance.
Once I saw that Thursday promo reassuring us of two of the “stars” – Marcello and Bowen – I sensed that this might not be an episode meant for me. And I don’t think it was, as I didn’t get the enjoyment here, I got with parts of the Amy Poehler and Nikki Glaser episodes. Yet I do know this was an episode many needed and appreciated, which is good for them, good for the show. And as you said, three decent episodes in a row is always important. This one didn’t have the experimentation I have appreciated in other parts of the season, but hopefully this element can return in future episodes.
Of the “star” pieces this week, I’d file them under “could have been worse.” I zoned out quickly with Marcello, as I didn’t know who he was impersonating and I’ve seen him do this routine 20 times, but it did at least have some energy. The same goes for Bowen, where the use of most of the cast and a sense of life went a long way to drown out the usual arrogance and self-indulgence.
I will say I enjoyed the Norwegian sketch, overall. I liked the premise and I liked seeing the show swerve back to a few of the moments Fred or Seth did in the mid/late ’00s, like the sketch in Scarjo’s first episode or Fred and that Scandi-type parody police show. I think this was Chloe’s best live sketch performance in a few years – she did tap into the Ooli persona when she was jumping around, but I was pleasantly surprised at her work in the dramatic moments. I also thought those were Glen’s best moments of the episode. And Jeremy and JAJ both had their best roles of the night (I keep waiting for Jeremy to get the focus he deserves – sadly, Tommy’s recent prominence makes that less likely). Even Jane’s little outbursts were some of the better use of her. My only complaint was this ran a minute or more too long, and as you said, Mikey is so played out, it took away from the sketch.
One of the aspects I was wary of with Glen as host was either hot host tropes or a moment where he would be trying too hard to show us how funny he was. Luckily, we barely got any hint of ego, and he was incredibly willing to be in support parts.
I did get a little of the latter with Glen’s work in the ex’s dad pre-tape. I just didn’t enjoy this. I’ve seen so many similar musical pre-tapes and as with most of them it felt very padded. The way they carefully avoided showing Kenan’s daughter was an awkward reminder of the lack of black women in the cast.
I was very disappointed with Andrew’s sketch. I assume they knew they had to have at least one hot host sketch, so just redressed the Mamoa piece, but that had a better concept and a better atmosphere. This leaned even more on Andrew doing some mugging which Kyle Mooney was more suited for. Other than the ending, I didn’t enjoy any of this, and it’s a road of self-indulgence I hope Andrew won’t walk.
Macgruber – I too was shocked at the return. A clever idea to wrap the Epstein content up here as the flat/stilted cold open (aside from Ashley’s portion) and Update showed their hesitancy. I know this has to have three segments but I really wish they had just shown the first and saved the rest for new content. Will was fine, Glen was well-cast, and Chloe I can take as a mark of honor to her for being the longest running female cast member, but most of the second and third just felt like repetition and filler. I did enjoy the failed attempt at beating the bomb against the wall.
Ashley was great the whole episode. She played Leavitt just right, not trying for a direct impression, but tapping into the ugliness, childishness, snideness of her. Her work in the hair sketch is her best yet on the show. This was very well-paced for a 5-minute sketch in modern SNL. They didn’t just repeat the premise – they made the premise clear and then built on it. I was impressed with their letting us see Ashley playing the shame and confusion before she sat down, so we had that moment to grow on. Another important moment in the sketch was when Glen tried to humor her, and she kept pushing him to tell her what was good about her haircut. This had a real edge, not just the wackiness. We did get a wacky ending but one that somehow fit for me, especially subverting Kenan performance expectations. So much of this sketch, due to Ashley and the strong writing, reminded me of material from the ’70s and ’80s – in places Ashley’s work here and in the AI sketch (mainly the yelps of horror) reminded me of Gilda, which is not something I would say lightly.
Thanks again, and I hope that the progress, experimentation, and smarter ensemble use continues.
I think this was one of those “raised floor” episodes. The episode seemed to risk bottoming out in a few places, but the energy seemed to be just right the entire way through. Even if it wasn’t the hottest episode ever, I blew through each sketch with the bare minimum of a decent amount of satisfaction.
I’ll start with the bad news, given the week’s news, the show COULD have been a banger. The cold open, while decent and efficient, feels like it could have been so much more. We got some nice Ashley moments and the usual with JAJ, but I get the sense that it was only a half measure. Check out the Calista Flockhart episode from 2000 for a best case scenario on how to deal with the BIG STORY.
That said, the return of MacGruber was obviously a welcome return and a fun way to deal with all the madness. I will never complain about these, even if a little bit of speed is off the fastball these days (to be fair, Forte went so long only pitching heaters that we can forgive him once it all slows down a bit).
I also appreciate that Update tried to go “Oops, all jokes.” I like my Update to be tight and punchy. Yes, Colin had a couple softballs at the top, but this was a really fun edition, with that Bill Clinton edit REALLY making me laugh.
As for the actual meat of the episode, I feel like the show went especially out its way to give everyone something to work with (even Jane, who was a bit more in the margins, made the most of her moments in the Norwegian sketch). We’ve got feature pieces for Marcello, Chloe, Tommy and Ben, Andrew, Ashley, Bowen and Sarah…with no one getting completely left in the dust.
I’ll start with the two most, um, divisive performers. I loved the Sebastian Maniscalco sketch. It helps that I know the source material – I mean, he is basically the biggest “in the real world” comedian on the planet (I’m not an active fan, but I remain loosely aware of the broader comedic landscape). Marcello, who famously does one thing, did another thing and he did it incredibly well. My wife observed that he has some general similarities to Chris Kattan as a performer (physicality, limited range), but there were times that Kattan could be used in exactly the right way and I believe the same for Marcello. This was a banger impression and while the sketch just basically kind of loosely fit around the impression, it really held up for me, with some equally fun work by JAJ and Glen. Does this tee the show up for a Sebastian hosting appearance? I’d say that’s likely, but Sebastian also seems like the type of guy that would decline the opportunity.
Chloe’s piece was also sort of a loose-fitting item to justify some silly accents, but the overall game of the sketch worked well enough. We struggle with Chloe because her performances don’t feel lived-in, but here I found she was convincingly flowing with the verve and energy of the sketch. It wasn’t a killer or anything, but it didn’t wipe the smile off my face either.
The Bobs vs. Bangs deal was at a higher risk of wiping the smile off my face, but it once again had enough of a game and a heaping dose of full cast energy to allow me to stay onside with it. My theory is that the whole sketch was written around the “serving country” joke. Yeah, it was one of those kinds of pieces that I loathe as a rule, but Bowen has a unique way of steering these things away from complete collapse and it was clear everyone (especially Glen) was having a blast with it.
While I disagree that the AI Slop sketch was “the best leadoff sketch of the season by far” (Boys Podcast for life!), it was also a good deal of fun and something I could see the show having more fun with. It was probably one of the three best live sketches of the night, but I take issue with Mikey literally mouthing that he had no genitalia. It’s like, yeah dude, we see. The Mikey Explains era might seem over, but he still can’t really help himself from underlining jokes we already get. That said, tons of fun here and it was great to see Veronika get in on the action.
Best of the night goes, once again, to Ashley. The thing about her sketches, is that on paper, the premises are wafer thin. “Lady gets bad haircut” is hardly much to go on, but its the choices throughout the sketch that give it a jolt. There is really a lot to marvel at here, but that pause Ashley makes before walking over to the table does SO MUCH in establishing the mood and feel of the sketch. Before she’s even said a word, we have a sense of Ashley’s perspective and her dilemma. I know the backlash is already in effect, but the reason we like Ashley is because she harnesses the subtleties in a way that allows the writing to breath. It really is the Phil Hartman skill set. Other performers need the writing to do more heavy lifting, but Ashley gives sketches more than what the page offers.
Quick hits:
– Credit where it’s due: Glen’s charmalogue was a charmalogue that actually charmed. That’s an increasing rarity.
– Andrew’s piece was disappointing in that it was a rehash of a lousy sketch that was already rehashing the show’s weird cuck obsession. That said, there were details to the sketch I really enjoyed (basically playing off the leather-jacketed, Taken-esque, sensitive outlaw trope). Also, Andrew has enough leeway with me that I still enjoy the performance despite the humiliation ritual.
– Ben and Tommy did a song. I hate SNL’s comedy songs, but the premise on this one was very relatable. I had fun with it.
We have our 3 hosts and musical guests for the month of December:
December 6th-
Host: Melissa McCarthy
Musical Guest: Dijon
December 13th-
Host: Josh O’Connor
Musical Guest: Lily Allen
December 20th-
Host: Ariana Grande
Musical Guest: Cher
Well, I’m excited about Dijon, I guess.
One thing I’ve noticed so far in this season is that Marcello seems noticeably more lowkey than he usually is. Maybe it’s just me, but it feels like with the roles he’s been getting so far in this season, he’s been playing them more muted than he usually does.
Many of his usual issues as a performer (hammy facial expressions, being very loud, breaking) have been tuned down a bit.
I really noticed with the Sebastian Maniscalco sketch in this episode. He performed this season impression last season in the Wicked Auditions pre-tape. In that pre-tape, Marcello was really hamming it up and going VERY broad, but it felt like he really was focusing on nailing the impression this time around and not being as hammy.
I also noticed it in the Grant and Alyssa Update commentary in the Amy Poehler show. It felt like his character was much more reigned in, despite keeping his usual characteristics.
Another example is the Castaway 2.0 sketch, where Marcello threw Dismukes offscreen, and he breaks for a split second and VERY quickly (and impressively) snaps back into character. I feel like if that moment happened in any previous season, Marcello would’ve been breaking for the rest of the sketch.
Maybe I’m thinking too much about this. I might be, thanksgiving break just started and I have a week of free time.
Either way, I feel like we’re slowly but surely watching Marcello mature as a performer.
Sebastian was on Good Morning America and said he was asked to cameo in the Bachelor Party sketch but couldn’t because he had a gig that night. Said he would love to host the show some day.