The Oscar winner is joined by musical guest Nathaniel Rateliff.
It’s unheard of.
And what’s more?
Kenan Thompson and Regina King on “Saturday Night Live.".NBC
I am joined tonight by the lovelyDr.
“I am in awe of the lovely Regina King,” she says.
“She does so much on screen effortlessly.
But we know it takes a lot of effort to look effortless.
If I was going to create the Regina King Theory it would be called ‘Effortless.’
I also loved her next to Reese Witherspoon inLegally Blonde.”
She adds, “I stan RK.
Good luck, Queen Regina.”
Well said let’s dive in, friends.
Cold Open
Man, it is hard to reason what is happening in D.C. right now.
The question is: Is it mostly out of obligation?
Or do they have a firm and (gasp!)
So here we are atTucker Carlson Tonight Alex Moffat is delivering scary non-sequiturs.
He welcomesKate McKinnon’s muggy, grotesque, dancing Lindsay Graham.
She compares the Trump trial to aRick & Mortyepisode, to little laughs.
However, his call to liberate Britney Spears is met with huge applause.
Moffat’s Carlson wants to contort his face like he’s thinking.
Aidy Bryantplays Senator Ted Cruz.
“The beard is working!”
His face is like a baby seeing his first balloon.
Cruz agrees his wife is ugly, because Trump said so.
Taran Killam previously portrayed Cruz in 2016.
This is a better take on mostSNLpolitical material.
(And maybe a decent McKinnon-Bryant pairing?)
We cut to:Pete Davidsonand Mikey Day as Trump’s attorneys.
They show a pop culture montage that includes Minions and Jar Jar Binks.
And finally,Beck Bennettreturns as Mitch McConnell.
“That logic pretzels out.”
He lets out a major diatribe against Trump, deeply cathartic.
Okay, maybe it’s the sly Moffat anchor, but I thought this… mostly worked?
For this era ofSNL, for this climate.
She talks about Black fame Lorne Michaels told her to play the race card.
ThenKenan Thompsoncomes out looking like a member of Run DMC.
She references the movie she just directed as Kenan fires an air horn.
And then, it ends.
Cleghorne shares she’s especially excited to watch King hostSNLafter watchingOne Night in Miami.
“I know it was about a serious subject and I watched it twice.
Once for the political message and once for the drooling over four handsome young bucks.
MTV’s What’s Your key in?
Tampa Bay Janae hosts thisDating Gameparody.
She got famous spreading her butt cheeks and is on OnlyFans.
This is a great, proudly dirtbag part forCecily Strongto take a bite out of.
Her sidekick DJ Sniz is played byEgo Nwodim.
It’s fun to see her match Strong’s energy.
I am excited for when Ego will become the center of the show in the near future.
Regina King’s sexy single character Kendra Sutter wants a corny, douchey white boy in their early 40s.
Kyle Mooney plays one of her suitors, who wonders if she supports Kamala Harris.
“Top shelf cringe, mamalikey,” says King.
“I’m liking that dumbass.”
They need negative reinforcement to get results.
Thank goodness for Pelotaunt, whose instructors use emotional manipulation techniques: “No corny inspirational speeches here!”
And hey, Lauren Holt gets to play your mom!
You gotta pay.”
Punkie Johnson’s Tasha is unhappy too she tried to glue an Infinity Stone to her forehead.
“We know we can’t be the only family,” adds Denzel.
“Look, we arenotstupid people.
We’re coming for you Gorilla!”
They obviously love wine.
Then she starts receiving sings with increasingly despairing messages such as “I drink too much.”
Bryant does not see the joke in that one.
She no longer wants the attention or the presents.
Is it possible her friends are trying to tell her something?
This becomes a cruel sport, as Bryant’s character spirals.
The Negotiator
Mikey Day has taken Andrew Dismukes hostage on a rooftop.
Regina King and Bowen Yang are the cops down below.
Unfortunately, King has taken some of Yang’s bad gummy worms.
Oh boy, antics will ensue!
Looking up she hallucinates and sees Pete Davidson as a weed gummy bear who starts rapping gibberish.
Aidy Bryant also appears as another gummy.
Then Melissa Villasenor pops up as Marge Simpson, or is she the devil?
King is totally tripping, with Beck Bennett as the sun.
Finally, she passes out.
“I’ma I’ma.”
Drug humor, ladies and gentlemen.
“Just set me free,” he howls in his bluesy drawl.
This chorus mantra may be familiar to those of you who have seen the Apple+ trailer.
It has an empowering gospel feel, and Rateliff’s got a good stage presence.
Weekend Update
The impeachment trial is extremely “dumb” toColin Jost.
Better pacing than last week, but the laughs are not quite there.
QAnon member Stephanie Green (Kate McKinnon) appears to explain her beliefs.
She looks like a straight-up cartoon witch, but works at a regular office.
I get the gimmick here, she’s really into eating children.
She’s really a witch from New Hampshire, so she’s hoping the rumors are true.
But Q has not posted since the election.
She is evidence eating children does not improve one’s skin condition.
She jokes she eats dog when she can’t find kids, but she actually just eats Chipotle.
Jost brings upMorgan Wallenagain his album sales went up after saying the N-word.
He jokes that he wishes he could say it to help ratings, but NBC won’t let him.
Che shakes his head.
But again,SNL.
Like Trump, they gave him a platform!
Then joked about it!
And hold the phone, here is Lauren Holt!
She is the author ofIf You’re Single, You’re Doing It Wrong.
She has date ideas for couples, then gets dumped over text during the segment.
We see her crush in real time.
I like her wearing Rihanna brand highlighter.
Tampa has changed him.
He is sad though no one likes him.
Bowen Yang is Maurice, a struggling music manager in 1978.
She has a number of food requests on her hospitality rider, but the venue is striking out.
All they have for her in her dressing room is a tiny dry salad.
The dialogue is rat-a-tat-tat paced and bizarre, and pops like a nightmarish, sadistic episode ofGilmore Girls.
It’s technically dense, something Will Forte might’ve once crushed.
They promised their material would be age appropriate, and riff about elbows, instead of doingThe Vagina Monologues.
They changed their material as little as humanly possible.
Andrew Dismukes is well-cast as an awkward pre-pubescent.
you might see him borrowing an oddball foothold for himself.
Here’s themusic video.
It’s still a jam.
Rateliff has a bouncy Joe Cocker energy.
Final Thoughts
-Thank you to Ellen Cleghorne for her excellent thoughts this evening!
-Nice to see Lauren Holt get some shine tonight.
Was it enough to win over audiences and finally establish herself on the show?
-Decent cast work overall the silver lining to the pandemic is capping the cameo addiction.
