“The nation has no clue who I am…
I am the least famous SNL host,” the comedian joked in his monologue.
Warm greetings to you all it’s anotherSNLin Review.
Turmoil has engulfed the comedy world just in time for tonight’sSaturday Night Live.
Will Smith’snow-infamous slapof Chris Rock at last Sunday’sAcademy Awardsdominated the news cycle.
Will it get relegated toColin JostandMichael Che’s knives-out Update desk?
Or will it be the basis for the cold open?
(Maybe that’s too easy; people are already sick of the takes.
And, after all, Sarah Palindidjust announce a bid for Congress in Alaska, pagingTina Fey.)
Maybe it’ll be left up to the host monologue.
Tonight we haveJerrod Carmichael, stand-up comedian, creator and star ofThe Carmichael Show, and filmmaker.
Carmichael recentlycame out as gayin his new HBO special,Rothaniel.
I am joined tonight by formerSNLcast memberEllen Cleghorne.
She says: “I like Carmichael for various reasons.
I watched his two-season sitcom.
It was a brave show.
David Allen Grier played his father and I would have given anything to be his mom.
I play Che’s mom on his HBO show, but I can pull double duty!”
The rapper Gunna, who dropped his latest projectDS4Everin January, is tonight’s musical guest.
Let’s see what they cook up.
Cold Open Fox & Friends
We’re watchingFox & Friends.
The tightlipped Thomas is playing close to the vest, despite the recent controversies surrounding him and his wife.
Ginni is the Yoko Ono of Supreme Court.
“Hello my only friends!”
bellows Judge Jeanine Pirro (Cecily Strong).
She is welcomed with applause.
Scary that she is a known recurring character.
James Austin Johnson’s Trump comes on FaceTime to discuss the slap, with “HisHitch.”
As malevolent and rambling as always.
It’s hard to knock Johnson’s impression, but overall this cold open underwhelms.
Not having Moynihan especially feels wrong no offense to Alex Moffat, Heidi Gardner, and Mikey Day.
Monologue
“I’m not going to talk about it,” says Carmichael.
“you might’t make me.”
He points out that it’s only been six days since the slap-heard-round-the-world.
Indeed, he takes us through the week.
How exciting it was on Monday, and the proxy arguments that began on Tuesday.
By Wednesday, he says he wanted to kill himself, he was so sick of it.
He’s only discussing it now at Lorne’s behest.
“He said, ‘the nation needs to heal.'”
“The nation has no clue who I am…
I am the least famousSNLhost.”
That can’t be fully true, but fair enough!
I like the humility.
(Cleghorne says: “Carmichael reminds me of Chris Rock.")
He gets into having just come out on his new special.
Then, a pause.
We need that hope and change back, not Spotify lists.
This was polished and sharp!
Is My Brain Okay?
The ghosts of Celebrity Jeopardy hang over us here.
Ah, another tried and true sketch template.
You ever wonder howSNLprops up game show’s prominence in pop culture through these parodies?
It’s not the ’70s.
I do like the dissection of Lisa, and her depression.
She feels empty - the contestants, dumb otherwise, nail it.
(Lisa’s therapist blocked her number!)
“Your brain is also bad,” she says.
There’s a despondency about modern life here that I enjoy.
Short Ass Movie
Guest star Dirt Nasty (a.k.a.
former MTV VJ andRed RocketstarSimon Rex) lists out a bunch ofErnestmovies, prime examples of watchable movies.
He also loves the Pixar shorts!
Indeed they pack a wallop in three minutes.
Davidson isn’t a natural rapper, but this is him at his most charming in this format.
Rex also calls out the length ofThe King of Staten Island great final moment.
Correspondent Thomas Parker-Nubbs (Moffat) is selling Jesus lunchboxes doing modern things.
Next: Kevin Lickitt (Carmichael) brings out Rhylee Rainbowlocks.
Her hair grows when you cut it.
Lickitt demonstrates how to change the doll’s clothes, revealing her “thick ass” pubic hair.
He shows a version of the doll in a swimsuit, which also unveils the same problem.
His hand gets caught as a last beat here.
The audience enjoys this.
Good character work here.
I like that you think it might just focus on Strong and Day’s characters, then it builds.
Carmichael is a star-struck seat filler interacting with Will Smith just as he attacks Rock on stage.
They play up the notion of Smith effortlessly leaping into rages before pivoting back to his every-man normalcy persona.
Carmichael is rightly put off.
The censors barely catch Redd’s second profanity.
Not sure they needed Kyle Mooney here.
Ego Nwodim as Jada Pinkett Smith might have been better.
Gunna is a low stakes artist catchy, talented, but not essential.
The best point of entry for Gunna is likely his joint album with Lil Baby.
Weekend Update
The return of our heroes.
Jost compares Putin to Will Smith, to start.
(Myfavorite commentary on this issueis from formerSNLstars Dana Carvey and David Spade FWIW.
Check it out.)
This is a reference to Simpson’sactual post online.
Always good to see Thompson embody the jovial, yet simmering football star.
She asked Jackson how to define womanhood.
Here’s the bit: she gets tangled up trying to do that herself.
“Don’t we love these big stupid dumbass boards?”
she quips, still struggling.
Pop Pop’s Goodbye
At an island’s edge, a family faces the sea.
A father (James Austin Johnson) tells a beautiful story about his deceased dad.
Count me as a fan of this one.
They sit peacefully at a cafe.
She introduces him to two of her friends, including Carmichael who is great at telling stories.
Bradford a classic Mooney geek is overly enthusiastic, constantly interrupting the story.
“I’ve never heard anything like that!”
He continues to focus on the story, asking unnecessary follow-ups.
Really dwelling, and apologizing.
This gets ridiculous, concluding with Mooney flailing over the table, and stumbling out of the cafe.
This would be an excellent final sketch for Mooney, if he were leaving the show soon.
7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Gunna is joined by Future, who was the musical guest back in 2016.
It challenges that with a new woke lines of baby clothes.
Final Thoughts
Thank you again to Dr. Ellen Cleghorne!
What did you think?
Did they nail their Will Smith-Chris Rock coverage?
Comment below orvote here!
