Molly Shannon/Jonas Brothers (04.08.2023)

Okay, here's my review. Some people were a bit lower than me on this episode as a whole. They were underwhelmed by it but it worked just fine for me simply because I went in to it with the most tempered expectations possible (which you can easily do when a well loved cast member with a distinct performance style who had a decently long tenure on the show returns...see, that's the nice thing about alumni hosted episodes...especially when said alumni has previously hosted). As expected, Molly Shannon was a perfectly pleasant host whose charm and warm personality shined through. Even if the post Update half of the show started to crumble, she was able to put pretty much all of it over on her part. No cast member got shut out of the show entirely, but both Mikeys' felt underused (in fact you'd think we might see more of Mikey than we did given that he and Shannon previously worked together on the American remake of "Kath and Kim" which incidentally aired on NBC around the last time she hosted) but Dismukes and Punkie made big comebacks. Anyway, let’s begin.

Trumps' Last Supper - Well, I was expecting this to be a JAJ/Trump open. I was foolish NOT to think they'd make it Easter themed. After all, this is the second time they've done such a thing since JAJ joined the cast. All I can say is, aside from Molly's Judas and JAJs' "get very violent and start a war" line and the slight meta nod at the end, this did absolutely nothing for me. C-

Monologue - Well, I was expecting Molly to do SOMETHING at the top of the show to bring up the energy level. If she couldn't find a way to pull off a Mary Katherine Gallagher cold open like she did back in '07, a charming musical number with shades of 'Leg Up!' was the next best thing. I liked all the cast cameos (especially how they got BOTH Molly's to chat briefly with each other while all but ignoring the elephant in the room). Shorts' cameo was a nice touch. B-

Vincent's Valets - Even though this felt completely telegraphed, they had me right from Dismukes and JAJs' first interaction. Shannon and Kenan added some fun dark vibes to it. I did like how blatantly Kenan made Devon break. B+

Jeannie Darcy: Selective Startage - I do love how one of the only recurring characters of Molly's to appear in both her hosting stints is by far one of her most obscure to casual SNL fans. The basic level of anti-humor here still worked for me (even if this did seem a bit similar to that fake trailer for a fake Dave Bautista standup special that Netflix actually did tweet out last week), and I liked how they took the pics out of what an overblown "event" Netflix made thst Chris Rock special out to be (even if these could've worked better as two separate sketches). Ego's Arsenio and Punkies' Wanda were pretty funny (even if Punkies' impression could've used a bit more work). I honestly could've done without Chloes' Sarah Silverman, though. It felt like too much of a cheap imitation of Melissas' Sarah Silverman. I did like the meta Tesla joke at the end, though. B-

Office Baby Shower - While I'm not normally one for extended fart jokes, I do appreciate how committed this was to its own gleeful stupidity and I think that we can all agree that Molly Shannon is really the only sketch performer with the warmth and likable personality necessary to put this over. Honestly, the way the ending came across as botched would be my only point against this sketch. B-

PDD: Molly 2K23 - I thought the idea behind this was fun and clever, but maybe the PDD boys breezed through this a bit too fast, and something felt missing? Watching it over again, I liked the details of the commencement/death battle/skateboarding/daughter talk levels , and I did the rap at the end. I will also say I do like how they tried to throw in subtle references to MKG throughout the show to make up for the fact that Molly can't really play such a heavily physically comedic role anymore, though. B-

Year Of A Thousand Men - At first, this seemed like it wasn't going to work for me at all. The obligatory Nick Jonas sketch cameo almost cemented this for me but I just couldn't get over the tired premise of "one person being humiliated beyond belief in front of a crowd" that felt played out roughly a decade ago. What ended up turning this around for me was seeing the play-within-a-sketch catch up with the sketch chronologically in real time. C+

Update was pretty underwhelming. We're back to Che getting the lion's share of the better jokes (specifically his MTG/Murdoch/Pope sex blessing/YouTube prankster/Vogue cover jokes), but at least he and Jost seem to know how to play off each other well (and I'll give it to Jost for that DeSantis joke). Bowens' Jafar was something I completely tuned out of. I immediately could tell this wasn't for me, but I liked the dumb revelation that DeSantis apparently got married at Disney in real life. Punkies Angel Reese commentary was entertaining. I wonder if this was the shows' way of making it up to her for cutting her Brittney Griner commentaries over the past two seasons? Heidi's new character just barely got by on sheer goofball energy and Wiig-like mugging. The reveal of her being Che's assistant felt like an inside joke that they didn't care if the audience was in on or not. C+

Drug Commercial Shoot - This felt way too unfocused and slapdash for me. I appreciated Kenan trying to add some silliness to it, but it just seemed to veer this more and more off track. Ego and both Molly's were really the best thing about it. C-

Sally O'Malley - Well, just when I thought she was going to leave this character back in mothballs...here she is. Considering this was also the second "obligatory Jonas cameo sketch" of the night, it seems doubly odd that this was buried so late in the show. I guess Jonas brother's fans from their early days either don't have problems staying up late or just...won't stay up or stay in at all and will just catch this online if it pops up in their social feeds. This also felt a little too rushed and confused to me (especially given how overly long the previous Sally O'Malley sketches always felt to me) and it lacked an ending (not the sketches' biggest problem, I know) but kudos to Molly Shannon for finding SOME way to sneak in whatever physical humor she can give us here. Also, there is one elephant in the room we should be addressing tonight. Shouldn't Sally O'Malley at least chronologically be 73 or 74 by now? I mean, yeah, it's a sketch, and that may not HAVE to be canon. Sketch and cartoon characters are probably the last types of fictional characters that should age in any way but I had to brung this up not just because Shannon is now 58 in real life but also because 50 is no longer considered...well, not just "that old" necessarily but it's not an age where it would be considered outrageous to have an active lifestyle. In fact, Patton Oswalt would be the first to tell you that heavy exercise and an outdoor lifestyle would even MORE be encouraged once you turn 50 (well, at least low impact hiking if nothing else). Maybe this was the Jonas brother's "safe choice" for a sketch to cameo in that wouldn't alienate some of their more Christian fanbase that stuck with them (it was clearly just an excuse to get some cheap laughs by wearing goofy outfits) or maybe the Jonases just wanted to do this because it's a sketch they grew up watching with their parents but either way...they probably should've switched this around with the Jeannie Darcy pretape between dress and air so this could've been earlier in the show where it would’ve made sense. C+

CNZen - Hmm... modern day CNN coverage of Trumps' indictment/arraignment being channeled into a meditation app for bland centrist Colbert #Resistance liberals. This one seemed like it was going to be a bit of a thinker. What this was missing in conceptual coherence it quickly made up for execution. All the cast members playing current CNN anchors did great jobs in this. I especially liked the inclusion of Sarah as Wolf Blitzer and JAJ as Lindsay Graham. Molly Shannon does have the perfect voice to pull this sketch off. I do wonder who wrote this because it seems almost like a Che concept but more focused and almost as pointed as some of Che's Update jokes about, just...certain types of white people in general. I mean, it may not have been as pointed as the "Trump Addicts of America" pretape was from the season 46 Adele episode, but at least this targeted a different type of person who "makes hating Trump their entire personality" and did so at a time when the stakes were substantially lower. C+

Now, my latest ranking of the season so far...

1. Aubrey Plaza/Sam Smith (01.21.2023)
2. Michael B. Jordan/Lil Baby (01.28.2023)
3. Dave Chappelle/Black Star (11.12.2022)
4. Steve Martin & Martin Short/Brandi Carlile (12.10.2022)
5. Quinta Brunson/Lil Yachty (04.01.2023)
6. Molly Shannon/Jonas Brother's (04.08.2023)
7. Keke Palmer/SZA (12.03.2022)
8. Jenna Ortega/The 1975 (03.11.2023)
9. Travis Kelce/Kelsea Ballerini (03.04.2023)
10. Austin Butler/Lizzo (12.17.2022)
11. Jack Harlow (10.29.2022)
12. Pedro Pascal/Coldplay (02.04.2023)
13. Woody Harrelson/Jack White (02.25.2023)
14. Brendon Gleeson/Willow (10.08.2022)
15. Miles Teller/Kendrick Lamar (10.01.2022)
16. Amy Schumer/Steve Lacy (11.05.2022)
17. Megan Thee Stallion (10.15.2022)

Well, aside from a new "Delicious Dish" that episode pretty much gave me everything I was expecting. Next week, Ana De Armas makes her hosting debut. Given that this would be another female host for whom English is not quite their first language (I had read that she had to learn her lines for "Blonde" phoenetically) I would expect this to be another strange episode in the same vein as Gal Gadot Circa 2017 or Sofia Vergara Circa 2012 (hey, I wonder if Andy picked that one for him and Jon to review BEFORE she was announced? I'm sure it's just a coincidence). I would hope she could defy those expectations because from what little I have seen of her acting, she seems to be able to hold her own. Still, she doesn't seem like the ideal pick for "potential final host of the season if another strike DOES happen in May." Oh well, see you then and Happy Easter!