Jack Harlow (10.29.2022)

Okay, here's my review. When your expectations for an SNL episode pretty much start at the floor, there's nothing they can do BUT pleasantly surprise you. Sure, it was an episode buoyed by surprise cameos (in a good way for the first time since at least 2012) but Jack Harlow certainly did his part by being a surprisingly likable and easy going host. The worst thing I can really say about this episode is that it was still a little uneven but then again so were all of this seasons' episodes. Thankfully, this week's episode was more uneven on the level of Brendon Gleesons' where the highs were very high and the lows were just somewhere in the middle.This was a big night for Andrew, Punkie, Ego (the back half anyway) and all the newbies along with Cecily (as expected) and Kenan. Sarah and JAJ got some small parts that are showing they can stretch and continue to be used as utility cast members. Even with one returning veteran, no one really felt shut out. Anyway, let’s unpack this, shall we?

PBS News Hour - Well, I guess we were due for one if these, too. I guess it's more watchable than a C-SPAN opening...and at least PBS is a more unique framing device for these? It made me feel more like I was watching a mellow Norm MacDonald era cold open than a Mikey Day/Heidi Gardner era cold open, so...thats' nice? Shockingly, Cecily had the only worthwhile performance in this  (and her shot in the montage was so seamless you wouldn't even think she missed each of the previous four episodes so far). C+

Monologue - While I think it's good that Jack Harlow showed right away that he can poke light fun at himself but that was a little too light for me. I get the sense that Harlow wanted to do one of Jimmy Kimmels "Celebrities Read Mean Tweets" segments more than he wanted to host SNL but he just decided to say "fuck it" and tell Lorne and the writers "can you guys jusy make my monologue this?" (loved that possibly unintentional Mr. Subliminal shout out, though). The Lil Nas X jokes just confused me at first becsuse they mostly left me wondering whether or not Harlow had come out recently or not. I appreciate that he tried something different in speaking to an audience member who turned out to NOT be a plant but it was so brief it was pointless and it wemt nowhere. Overall, thr best thing about this monologue wss that Harlow didn’t seem ill at ease with being on the show. C+
Wedding Like Joker - Only Andrew Dismukes could make such a paper thin, repetitive premise watchable much less funny (with some assists from Sarah Sherman who we get to see stretch and grow as an actress and from Jack Harlow who thankfully showed he was more into doing the show here than he did during his monologue). The surprise Jeff Probst cameo was a nice touch but it hardly did anything for me. It was nice to see JAJ keep getting used in non-impression roles. C+

A Message From Skechers - I didn’t completely hate the idea behind this, but I couldn't help but get uneasy "Steve Carrell IS Jeff Bezos" bad take vibes. They didn’t even come close to striking the right balance between making Skechers look lame and pointlessly kissing up to Kanye to me. Marcello had a good line about how Skechers could be thrown in the washer but it wasn’t really worth this sketch existing. The ending was pretty weak. JAJ does a solid Mike Lindell but...is that really an impression the show needs right now? D+

Post Halloween Red Carpet Special - Thie felt a little long, but it was worth it to see Kenan, Bowen, Harlow and all the featured players really get to score here. Cecilys' character being named "Tina LaFaye" was an interesting choice. Kudos to the show for successfully pulling off what they attempted with "The Grabbies" in Charles Barkleys' last episode. B-

Pixar AA Pitch - By far, this was the best live sketch of the night. I loved how immediately everyone was comitted to the rapidly increasing silliness of this. I didn’t even mind that they tried to sneak in another "everyone starts singing along with Cecily as soon as they realize that...wait a minute, they DO know the song she is singing" sketch on us because that was a very small part of it. Tom Hanks is always such a welcome presence that you can't get hung up for too long on why he isn't hosting when he makes an unexpected cameo. I do love that they ended with suitcase puppets on us and pulled out to show us who was operating them. A-

2020 Part 2: 2024 - Well, it's nice that they let this air just in time for Halloween. While this may seem like another hacky tired SNL trope on the surface, I have to say I found it...somewhat relatable given what the last two years have been like, so...I can't even work up the energy to be disappointed by it (and I can't really imagine anyone else doing it). C+

Best Bartenders In The World - This was honestly the worst sketch of the night. At first, it just seemed like an incoherent mess. Then, the twist ending came and it felt to me like someone found crumpled up pages from the first draft of John Mulaneys' drag brunch sketch from his 2018 episode and just said "fuck it, let’s just see if we can get this on the air". D-

Update felt kinda all over the place this week. The only notable jokes were Josts' breakdown of the Oz/Fetterman debate and Ches' portion of the whole Kanye rant. It was very nice to see Bobby Moynihan back in any capacity. He is a sorely missed presence. Good to see he's not entirely "done" with the show and has made like Sandler and Murhpy and put whatever issues he had with the end of his tenure behind him. Kudos to him for giving us the Covid era update on Drunk Uncle that we didn't know we needed (and pulling it off better than Forte did w/MacGruber). B-

2 David 2 S. 2 Pumpkins - Suddenly, the presence of both Tom Hanks AND Bobby Moynihan in the same episode makes a lot more sense. I'm guessing we could all immediately tell where this was headed when Kenan showed up? While this was a pleasant (and genuinely unexpected) surprise, it was too much like the original. I didn't mind seeing this again (and I do appreciate the reveal that his is from Ibiza), but it needed some tightening up because Dismukes and Ego didn’t quite have the same timing that Beck and Kate did that made the original work. Normally, I'm a fan of Ego and Dismukes but this felt too much like something that the show left behind in the previous era for them to make it work without making it their own (and Harlow didn’t really work for me in the Melissa Villaseñor role either). I’m guessing the whole reason that they did this tonight was that either Jack Harlow just wanted to be a part of it or this may be Mikeys' last season with the show. As we all know, he cowrote the original w/Streeter Siedell and may have wanted to bookend his time on the show with a reprisal of the biggest hit from his first season in the cast. Kudos to the makeup department (especially on either JAJ or Marcello who I'm guessing played Freddy Kreuger and Longfellow who I'm 99% sure played Pennywise). C+

The View - You know, if I didn’t know any better I'd think Jack Harlow wrote this hinself. I was gonna say if they absolutely had to still be doing View parodies now that they should’ve at least had Ego and Punkie switch roles until I realized that wouldn't work because Ego Nwodim was basically playing Whoopi Goldberg as Ego Nwodim and Punkie Johnson wouldn't have been able to pull that off. Otherwise, this seemed only worth putting on air for the undeniable fact thst Joy Behar is the role Sarah Sherman was born to play. At least this was placed appropriately in the show. D+

Now, I'm finally ready to deliver my first real ranking of the season so far...

1. Brendon Gleeson/Willow (10.08.2022)
2. Jack Harlow (10.29.2022)
3. Miles Teller/Kendrick Lamar (10.01.2022)
4. Megan Thee Stallion (10.15.2022)

Well, I certainly learned how not to judge a book by its cover. Next week, Amy Schumer marks her third time hosting and the less said about her, the better. Schumer bring placed into the context of this season as host gives a whole new meaning to the term "diminishing returns" which is starting to become a running theme of this season (and yes, I'm also starting to wonder about the troubles they are having booking hosts this season). See you then!