White House Truce
- I had a feeling they might do another Trump cold open involving Mike Myers as Elon Musk again.
- I hadn't heard about the meeting with the blowup between Musk & Rubio (guess he's finally starting to grow something resembling a spine?)
- At first thought they might do something on Trumps’ Joint Address to congress but even with Kenan as Al Green and Longfellow silently reprising his role as Speaker Mike Johnston that might not be enough to sustain a whole sketch. Makes sense that they would rather just throw in a couple of callbacks to it instead.
- Still, I figured they might want to reprise Mikes’ Elon impression simply because it got under the real Elons’ skin more than Carveys’ did.
- Somehow, Marcello seems ill suited to play Marco Rubio, but it should at least appease his biggest critics to see him in a quieter straight man role off of Update.
- I did like JAJs line “we tried that in 2016 and it didn't work” line.
- Huh, so we're going from the “Curb” theme playing in Rubios’ head to JAJ/Trumps’ inner monologue. Not a huge fan of that.
- …and HERE'S the Mike Myers cameo this was building to!
- Seems like Mike either fine tuned his facial expressions for this role or the makeup department stepped up their game.
- Still, I don't mind seeing Mike Myers in this role (he certainly has a better take on Elon than his buddy Carvey did anyway).
- I did like the “buffering” gag as well as Marcello asking Mike “what's this?” when he did his Elon dance again.
- JAJ as Trump coaching Elon & Rubio on insulting each other was cheap and “been there, done that” but it is “on brand” for both Trump as a character, I'll give them that.
- I probably liked Myers “inner monologue” the most out of the three, forced Dr. Evil reference and all…because Mike's basic handle on this character seems to be “lane Dr. Evil but played AS a senile Austin Powers”.
- Honestly, I still don't mind the idea of occasional Mike Myers cameos. I like seeing Mike pop up on the show sometimes. I just hope that if he is going to cameo on a regular basis like Carvey did that they at least attempt to fold him into the show in some other non-Elon/non cold open roles. C+
Monologue
- Well, as I suspected, a more mature Gaga showed us she was more than comfortable poking fun at herself. I still feel like I haven't seen her act enough to really judge her acting abilities, but she must be better at acting and light comedy than she is at picking movie roles (heyooooo!)
- The lines about her performance with R. Kelly felt a little too tacked on. I thought acknowledging his unfortunate musical cameo in her first hosting stint during the “In Memoriam” at the 50th was enough.
- The Joker 2 stuff was fine. I did like the “Razzies/EGORT” lines.
- Her listing the other current pop girlies “ages” was fun (Chappel Roan is 58, Charli XCX is 75, Tate McRae is her biological grandmother)
- I like even the mildest SNL meta references but I would’ve cut Bowens' appearance since it didn't do anything for me…especially since he did a great job of actually introducing Gagas’ first performance anyway.
- The stuff about her engagement was cute but fell a little flat compared to the rest of the monologue. C+
A Long Goodbye
- Hmm, this is a slightly more Marcello heavy show than I was expecting.
- I really wasn't sure what the hell this was going for but the sight gag of Gaga riding a luggage caddy down a highway was enough to keep me interested.
- I did like the further escalation of this gag by having JAJ, Dismukes and (surprisingly the funniest part of this whole sketch) Jane Wickline as a Sons Of Anarchy-style biker gang riding on similar luggage caddies with Marcello chasing them on his own luggage. I might have cut the dog out of this sketch, though. That part felt too awkwardly shoehorned in for me.
- I also liked how this made good use of the backstage quick change hallways but perhaps most of all, I managed to blend sheer goofiness with sweetness. B+
Midnight Matinee: Pip
- Huh. Seems like a mouse named Pip is about to enter a weightlifting competition. Lady Gaga sings him an inspirational song, which might have genuinely been the best part of this.
- It's good they're spacing out these Dan Bulla pretapes because they are really all starting to feel the same thematically.
- Well, I can at least appreciate the cute sentimentality these go for…until the first in a series of “twists” is revealed.
- I do like how this didn't feel the need to stretch itself out and on as long as “Beppo” did.
- I did appreciate the ending, as telegraphed as it felt. B-
Wonderful Tonight
- Ah, HERE'S the exact type of sketch I was expecting to see as much of as possible. A Bowen and Gaga two-hander.
- It's the exact type of refined, odd-detail heavy sketch I would expect from Bowen but Gagas’ performance is really making this work for me and actually making me laugh.
- “Italians aren't white?” Geez, Gaga was a REAL good sport to go along with that
- “I recently…came…into some money?” Well, I could see where that was going…but I'm still a little surprised NBC could air that at any point before midnight.
- Even though the ending seemed a little rushed and clumsy for my liking, I enjoyed that. C+
Funeral Planners
- Hmm…they really seem stuck on this “roaring 20s” theme for a funeral.
- Roaring 20s? More like BORING 20s, am I right, folks?
- Kenans’ brief appearance was funny. Still, strangely late into the show for him.
- That was a helluva quick change for Heidi & Gaga there. Wonder how they pulled that off?
- Overall, while this felt like a retread of a long worn out SNL sketch trope that I had almost memory holed until now, I didn't hate it. C+
L’Oréal Easy Run Mascara
- This seems like a very specific premise. I mean, I know I may not be the “target audience” for this but I still feel like I “get it” enough.
- It feels like an improvement over whatever last seasons “Diet Coke from Olay” pretape was supposed to be.
- Not a whole lot of individual lines stood out to me in this, but this was well performed and I did like how it made good use of the entire female cast (especially Jane and Ashley). C+
Weekend Update w/Jost & Che
- I liked Josts’ meta jab at Mike Myers right off the bat and Che's “Bin Laden” joke.
- I also liked that Linda McMahon joke just for the odd visual element to it.
- Che's “40lbs of fentanyl/two buttfuls” joke was just goofy enough to make me chuckle.
- That Zelenskyy joke was WAY too awkwardly constructed for its own good.
- I like the IDEA of Update going in harder on Elon, but those punchlines didn't hit for me. I thought the Don Jr joke was OK (despite the audience reaction to just the set up). None of their other jokes really hit for me at all (except maybe “labia puffs/Honey Smacks”).
- Kenan seems like he's going for just a goofy voice and slightly silly dialogue with this Kendrick Perkins impression. The only context I have for this impression is that it's the guy Kenan was playing in those “cut for time” First Takes sketches from a few years ago. I did like the sight gag of him removing his beard to wipe his sweat.
- Mikey as “Lord Gaga”? Was this just a throwaway idea Mikey had for Taran Kilam or something from Gagas’ LAST hosting gig? Hell, we know for SURE it was used in a 2009 promo with Fred Armisen.
- Seemed like this wasn't going anywhere at first. Seems like the idea at first was to poke fun at the casual misogyny of the age of ACTUAL “lords and ladies” until Mikey revealed this to be another incredibly labored and stinging Jost roast.
- Overall, this was the rare Update that carried itself mostly on the strength of its own jokes than its commentaries. B-
Friendly's
- So far, the premise is Bowen is lying to a restaurant wait staff about Heidi's birthday to get a free song and dessert…and is SWORN to a veracity they see right through.
- Seems like this might go somewhere interesting with the whole angle of this being a Temple of Doom-esque satanic ritual.
- While this didn't quite escalate enough for my liking, the sheer strangeness of it was enough to keep me interested.
- I did like Sarah's brief voice modulated, bloody mouthed speaking part during the “ceremony”.
- I'm especially curious to know who did write this because it seems like a long-gestating idea that Bowen or someone was saving for a specific host and thought Gaga would be ideal for (or maybe Mikey and Streeter wrote this? It explains enough of its own details that it makes me think this could be them). B-
Killah
- Yeah, I know I don't normally comment on the musical guest performances but I did like how she started this one by sprawling around the hallway before getting to the stage.
- Oh and also, did she actually say “talking that shit” on air? Oh well, it is about 12:45am where they are anyway. No big whoop, I guess?
Little Red Glasses
- Hey, speaking of sketch premises that would be ideal for a Lady Gaga hosted episode…
- I guess some combination of Allison Gates, Anna Drezen, Sudi Green and/or Fran Gillespie were guest writing this week?
- Even though Gaga, Squirm and Ego were carrying this, I liked Ashley and Heidis’ cameos a bit more.
- Speaking of Squirm, I did like Sarah's line “I was ahead of the curve on gay marriage…and that's where it stuck”
- Chloes’ impression is going right over my head but, ah, THERE'S the Chuck Schumer/Mom from Bobs’ Burgers’ references I was expecting (too bad Alex Moffat was apparently unavailable to cameo this week). C+
No More Slay
- Ok, good thing Bowen and Gaga were there to pretty much sing my immediate reaction to this sketch just as I was starting to wonder why they felt this was worth sneaking in under the wire.
- I did like the “Ollipop can” and “Diva Down” jokes. I especially liked Dismukes line “I named my son mother” as well as the final verse of the song. B+
Ranking The 50th Season Best To Worst
- SNL50: The Anniversary Special (02.16.2025)
- Nate Bargatze/Coldplay (10.05.2024)
- John Mulaney/Chapell Roan (11.02.2024)
- Bill Burr/Mk.Gee (11.09.2024)
- Chris Rock/Gracie Abrams (12.14.2024)
- Paul Mescal/Shaboozey (12.07.2024)
- Lady Gaga (03.08.2025)
- Timothee Chalamet (01.25.2025)
- Dave Chappelle/GloRilla (01.18.2025)
- Martin Short/Hozier (12.21.2024)
- Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks (10.12.2024)
- Charli XCX (11.16.2024)
- Shane Gillis/Tate McRae (03.01.2025)
- Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (09.28.2024)
- Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish (10.19.2024)
Overall Thoughts
- Well, it was not a difficult feat, but SNL did clear the very low bar set by last weeks’ episode with Shane Gillis.
- This shouldn't be a surprise. As I said in last weeks’ blog, Lady Gaga did prove to be an effective SNL host when she was used in exactly the right spots back in November of 2013.
- More than a decade later, Gaga has shown she can be trusted to helm the entire show and be a more prominent host as she had gotten much more acting experience under her belt in the ensuing years.
- Plus, the show currently employs more die hard fans of hers who know how to play to her strengths as an actress (comedic or otherwise).
- Naturally, this led to a more fun and inviting atmosphere around the show this week which carried over into this episode very well.
- Cast airtime didn't change much. Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker and Emil Wakim are still hurting for screentime and Kenan took a slight hit but Ashley and Jane have made great gains. We saw a bit more of Marcello than we were expecting but everyone elses’ airtime seems to have stabilized.
Closing Thoughts
- Well, at this point, we have no idea who SNLs’ next live host will be, but I have heard that the next new episode will air on March 29th.
- I am cautiously optimistic about the next few episodes because lately it's been the late March/early April run where we've been getting some of the stronger episodes and better hosts of the season (Quinta Brunson, Kristen Wiig).
- Hell, if nothing else we get at least one, unique off the beaten path choice of host around this time like Jerrod Carmichael or Molly Shannon (I say this because it wasn't clear what she was promoting in April of 2023 besides, maybe…the most recent season of The Other Two?)
- However, I do know what my next entry for this blog is going to be. I will write a review of the Matt Dillon/Arctic Monkeys episode from season 31. Of course, I'm doing so because this will be the next full length episode Deej and I cover on the "We Heart Hader" podcast. We hope to record that one in a couple of weeks.
- The next episode of the podcast that we HAVE just recorded should be out this Thursday. It's a deep dive into all of Bills’ guest appearances in the first two seasons of The Mindy Project.
- In addition to all the rest of our channels, you can now also listen to We Heart Hader on iHeartRadio as well as on our own new YouTube channel.
- Additionally, you can follow us on TikTok. That's right, folks. Deej actually created a new TikTok account just for the podcast so I actually made myself get on TikTok just so I could have another place to plug it to death. That's how much I care about reaching as wide an audience as possible with this thing.
- Anyway, see you soon!
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