Sudden Pre-Show Thoughts
- Ok, when I heard Kamala Harris was actually appearing on the show tonight, I had some... mixed feelings. For one thing, I've been feeling that we may be past the point where it would be considered appropriate let alone hip, cool or media savvy for an active presidential candidate to make an appearance on this show since...well, since the time one of THIS race's candidates actually hosted nine years ago at the start of his first campaign but that's also the least of my worries at the moment.
- I mean, as heavily skewed as the polls seem to be right now (at least not counting the ones you somehow see from Elon Musk on that damn former "bird" site he's been running into the cold, cold ground), all signs point to her gaining significantly on Trump in recent weeks. I certainly don't want for her or the show to accidentally jinx that. I mean, I think she's definitely held her own in recent "hostile" interviews and not taken any reporters bait or anything, so...she's not in any SERIOUS danger of losing at this point, riiiiiiiight?
- I immediately flashed back to John McCains' appearance on the last pre-election episode of 2008. It was pretty obvious that he was there to loosen up and have fun as even HE was aware he was likely going to lose that election. I certainly didn’t want anyone heading into a potential Kamala Harris cameo with that mindset (after all, if I were a supporter of TFG I wouldn't still be watching the show closely enough to be able to maintain this intensely detailed blog about it, would I? I mean, HE hasn't even TWEETED about it in at least five years). Speaking of...
Last Campaign Stops
- JAJs' Trump ramble seems a bit sharper, more biting and focused than normal. Getting their potential last possible jabs in before the show goes off the air, I see?
- ...and the Dem Ticket Cameo Crew comes in to lay on the schmaltz and slow the momentum a bit, I see. I liked Carveys' "riff" line and Sambergs' "Doug" lawsuit joke, but that was it. Also, it's strange to hear just the word "Twitch" alone get a round of applause, but...OK.
- I see the Kamala cameo is amounting to...literally just the Clinton/Poehler cameo of March '08 but just done 3 Coolidges 3 mirror style. I was a little disappointed at this being the conceit of Kamalas' cameola...yeah, Ok, I'm not gonna try to riff on that part but I will say that the real Kamala did make that "open doors" line land better than it had any right too.
- Still, for something that was obviously written and conceptualized at the last possible minute after the cameo appearance was arranged like, a day or two earlier, this was a nice sincere moment that I ultimately can't get too mad at in the moment (and I don't really see too much for Twitter to get mad at right now either).
- I know there is a real sense of mutual love and respect for one another between Maya and the current vice president. I can see this as the real Kamala just wanting to unwind for a night and have fun before possibly the most tense moment of her entire life next week.
- Depending on what happens on Tuesday night, we could turn a more critical eye to this later on, but for right now, I'm not gonna be too hard on it. C+
Monologue
- Gee, I feel a bit worse for Mulaney having to follow that than I should've. Him starting off with a riff on "descending height asians" didn't exactly put me at ease.
- While this one didn't exactly charm me as much as Mulaneys' previous five SNL host monologues, I did genuinely laugh at his "hand bandaid/traditional catholics/118 year old grandpa jokes." His "physical therapy" bit was charming as well. C+
What's That Name? Election Edition
- Ok, the way they used this as the framework for the actual Tim Kaine cameo and Squirms' Margaret Atwood in service of stinging jabs at the emptiest, most overly performative kind of liberalism makes up for the "Longfellow filling in for Hader" thing.
- Don't get me wrong, I like seeing Lomgfellow get the game show host roles for as long as he can get them. He just may not have the timing or the stage presence that Hader bought to these sketches. This dragged in some spots, but that's not necessarily a dig at ol' Mikey Longs here. I'm still just as glad to be in the Longfellow business as anyone.
- Jon Schneider raised an interesting point I hadn't considered in his latest SNN hot take show for this episode that the placement of this sketch right after a sincere emotional moment with the actual democratic party candidate currently running makes the jokes hit harder. B+
Midnight Matinee: Beppo Goes Home
- This was a long journey, but I really appreciated the focus on thoroughly unexpected sweetness over cheap gore and shock value. This is what the Squirm/Dua Lipa Elephant Man short from May should have aspired to be.
- I think "Midnight Matinee" has more than earned its place in the SNL pretape pantheon with this short. I just hope if Dan Bulla keeps making "it's about the journey, not the destination" style comedy his WHOLE thing he branches out a little more in terms of how to pull off exposition. B+
Port Authority Duane Reade Milk Medley
- Ah, I should've figured another NYC centric musical medley would be what Pete Davidson cameos for.
- This was as much of an unfocused mess as most of the rest of these, but I still liked it better than "Subway Churro".
- Kenan struggling not to break through parts of the Possum Lion King number was perhaps the best part of...that number. I wasn’t crazy about the "bum fights" joke.
- Sadly, Marcello as singing shampoo was my least favorite part of this. Pete and John calling each other by their real names were the funniest part of that one.
- Bowen singing "Master Of The Bus" to "Master Of The House" was...well performed but not something I knew what to make of right away. Was that Pete who giggled loudly upon Bowens' entrance.
- Chloe singing "Chalamet" to "Cabaret" is something that probably should've been more hated if it weren't the best possible use of her Timothee Chalamet character (I can hardly call it an impression)
- I liked seeing Devons' Eric Adams again, but the "Prince Of Turkey" number was lost on me.
- Andy Samberg singing "Baby Bear Carcass" to "Alexander Hamilton" was the best possible way to end this. Too bad the lyrics to that closing Grease parody were swallowed up by audience applause. C+
Weekend Update w/Jost & Che
- I liked Josts' "audited" joke but wish he could've gone a little darker with it. His "Yankees fans stealing" joke was solid. Plus, he addressed that Kill Tony/Puerto Rico controversy in the classiest way the show possibly could (for better or worse). Che's "MSG rally" jokes were...serviceable but his "popsicle" joke was possibly the most soul crushing thing I've ever witnessed on a 21st century Weekend Update.
- Heidi's Reba commentary was a mess, but she had decent lines in it. That impression was way the hell off (her voice ain't that deep) but I liked the Gwen Stefani/methodist-athiest/papa Pennywise jokes.
- The Marcello/Jane pairing was stronger than it had any right to be. I mean, I probably laughed more than I should have at what amounted to "Marcello turns your eardrums to fine powder while Jane is ten times mousier than normal" but somehow they both pulled their weight to put this over for me.
- I see that Pete didn't appear on Weekend Update at all...and I didn't see Jost during the goodnights at first glance. Hmm, doesn't do much to squash those rumors of beef between the two, does it? B-
Sitcom Pioneers: Family Bonds
- Ah, a "Switcheroo" retread? OK, let's see where this goes.
- Speaking of performers putting things over way more than they had any right to be put over, Kenans' Little Richard was quite fun here. I mean, I've seen better Little Richard impressions in sketch comedy, but Kenans' was very unique to him, and it livened up this sketch quite a bit.
- The only real complaint I have about this is that the Bowen/Mulaney scenes dragged a bit and hurt the pacing. I thought this was a fine "Switcheroo" sequel even if it didn't quite measure up to the densely packed writing of the original. B+
Harvey Epstein For City Council
- This comes across as a direct cross between Jon Hamms "Pat Finger/Deldeaux" and Will Ferrels' local candidate who had his genitals burned off in a fire from season 24. I liked those sketches, and I liked this too.
- Mulaney really sold the hell out of this (and I say this not having seen any footage of the actual Harvey Episode Mulaney is impersonating here) with some assists from Heidi, Sarah, Andrew & (thankfully) Ashley. They didn't have to do too much heavy lifting here as the writing behind this was strong enough to support it. B+
1. Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10.05.2024)
2. John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
3. Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
4. Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)
5. Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)
1. John Mulaney/Thomas Rhett (03.02.2019)
2. John Mulaney/Jack White (03.14.2018)
3. John Mulaney/LCD Soundsystem (02.26.2022)
4. John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
5. John Mulaney/David Byrne (02.29.2020)
6. John Mulaney/The Strokes (10.31.2020)
Overall Thoughts
- For better or for worse, this IS the first time that SNL season 50 felt like the exact type of "event" it deserved to be in 2024. The show was still a bit uneven writing wise but the energy in the studio was the highest it's been all season at this point (even as much as that's due to Mulaney being hyped up as host and certain other cameos).
- John Mulaney did a fine job hosting as expected (as seriously "hands off" as he felt this time), but this episode is better viewed through the lens of season 50 and the history of elections playing out on the show than among the all time pantheon of John Mulaney hosted episodes. It's definitely going to be better remembered as a big "of the moment" episode for its time (like his 2020 episodes were but in a much less dire way) since it lacks some of the more unique comedic experiences that made Mulaneys' early episodes (and his second to last one) stand out as well as they did.
- The few attempts to call back to the recurring sketches he first helmed as a host mostly fell flat and came up empty. Still, the few highs were decently high this week (again, mostly energy more than writing) and the lows were merely "mid".
- Cast airtime feels slightly imbalanced but this week, but that's mostly due to Mulaney and outside cameos dominating the show paired with Ashley and (now sadly) Emils complete underuse in live sketches (at lesst Ashley delivered one of the better standalone lines in the back half of the show).
Closing Thoughts
- Well, that was the energy and enthusiasm boost this show needed to help push season 50 over. SNL may have just earned it's keep.
- Next week, Bill Burr hosts for his second time, and I know I'm not alone in stating that I'm so relieved that they didn't make a worse choice here.
- I may have to reevaluate Burrs season 46 episode. I remember liking what Burr bought to the show, but I also remember still having ranked it at the bottom of my rankings list from that season while othersI know ranked it at the top. Keep in mind, this was still the second episode ever from that season so that just may be me not being used to the far less electric, much more muted vibes that a limited, masked socially distanced Covid era audience bought to the show.
- Maybe THAT audience just didn't know how to react to him in sketches. Oh, well. Maybe a full audience will elevate him and help him push through some potentially awkward and REALLY dead energy to come (God forbid it comes to that). See you then!
