“SNL” went NSFW more with the unspoken side of bachelor parties and exposed the true darkness behind the Mirror Home Workout — plus, what you’ve really been doing during quarantine!
Who knew Ted Cruz would be the gift that keeps on giving, but Aidy Bryant certainly isn’t complaining on “Saturday Night Live.”
Nick Jonas took on double duties this week, with a surprise assist from his brother, Kevin. Sorry, no Joe or Priyanka Chopra, though the latter did make a photo appearance. But we did get the delightful return of Ego Nwodim’s Dionne Warwick impression for another installment of her rapid-fire talk show.
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The night also explored a lot of how the past year of Covid life has impacted us, and may yet when the world returns to whatever normalcy is. Does anyone remember?
The gang once again offered us up an exercise sketch, swapping Peloton for Mirror (and a dark twist). And then there was their twist on “Cinderella.” That one might haunt us for even longer!
As usual, we’re ranking all the sketches from worst to first, including the Monologue, Cold Open, “Weekend Update” and any sketches that were cut for time but made their way online. We’ll skip the musical guests, because they’re not usually funny — unless Ashlee Simpson shows up. We wrap up with a look at the cast-member who had the strongest week.
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Cut for Time: Bachelor Home Makeover
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The premise had so much potential, but it seemed like every aspect of the execution just fell flat. We didn’t quite get the final product as satire as it lacked consistency. Also, while there were charmingly cute elements to this new bachelor pad, none of it was particularly sharp or funny. Interestingly, they got this one right by our book, cutting the weakest sketch of the night. The best element was probably the overly dramatic sincerity from everyone involved.
Monologue: Nick Jonas
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Nick kept this one short and sweet with only two brief segments. For the first, he chatted with his brother, Kevin Jonas, who was there to support him. Kevin was also there to make sure all this solo stuff didn’t mean the band was broken up again, and seemed a little confused as to which group they were. Then, he invited some of the senior cast out to sing a humorous tribute to the fact it’s been a year since Broadway went dark. It was sweet, silly and well-performed with a few light laughs along the way, but not nearly as strong as Kevin’s banter. Honestly, we’d have enjoyed Kevin chiming in from time to time throughout the show.
Post-Covid Dating
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We’d have liked a sharper ending on this exploration as to what life might be like as normalcy returns to the world and we all learn that we don’t know how to live in that world anymore. It’s probably even more true than we might hope that we’ll be hopelessly socially awkward, unsure what to do or say. But a magic trick where you pull a real kitten out of your jacket? That’s always going to be a winner! And the kitten stole the sketch later, cracking Kate up with its adorable mewling.
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Cold Open: Vaccine Game Show
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The pacing was a little long — maybe too many contestants? — in this fake game show about who can and can’t get the vaccine, but the comedy was certainly timely … and more than a little depressing. Having some of the governors as judges and Kate McKinnon’s Dr. Fauci as host worked pretty well, but there was no real reason for Aidy Bryant’s Ted Cruz, other than making fun of his weird Cancun joke. Sometimes you don’t have to pack every bit of current news into the cold open.
Viking Voyager
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Always the awkward one and the odd man out, Kyle Mooney found himself on the outside looking in yet again. This time, it was as a teen at an amusement park with four friends who aren’t couples, but are clearly into the idea. It was an age-old truism that where there are an odd number of people and hormones in play, someone might get left out of all the flirting. At least he had “the guy from ‘Soul.’” This one played with real authenticity for the teen experience, with a sweet loneliness to it.
Bachelor Party
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Fair warning, this is about as NSFW as “SNL” can get on a broadcast network. Let’s just say that there is a time-honored tradition at a bachelor party to invite strippers to the festivities. And when that happens, there can be a biological reaction in all the guys in attendance. Only, please don’t ever sing about it. Like, ever! It’s awkward enough without drawing attention to it — apparently more literally than we thought at first! This was funny in a slightly uncomfortable way, though we definitely could have used more shots of Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim as the strippers throughout to really emphasize what was going on here.
Self-Care
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We were already obsessed before COVID-19 locked us up in our houses for a year, but we took it to the next level and the networks and streamers were more than happy to feed our obsession. If it’s true-crime, truly disturbing, truly out there then we were all in. It was nice to see a new mix of ladies (Chloe Fineman, Melissa Villasenor, Kate McKinnon and Ego Nwodim) deliver this catchy tune about how they enjoy an evening in. If only it weren’t so damn relatable!
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Weekend Update
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With CPAC jabs about Trump’s closing speech (not aired yet) and the Ted Cruz Comedy Hours, as well as Biden’s plan to try and get the vaccine to Black people through churches, there was plenty for Colin Jost and Michael Che to jump on in the political arena. And Che had a message for Democrats who just roll over and let their dreams die. Think about the people who stormed the Capitol (highlighting one lowlight in particular). They will not be ignored!
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Kenan Thompson’s LaVar Ball made a welcome return with even more excitement than he had when he was touting his son Lonzo’s basketball career, this time proud papa to LaMelo Ball’s impressive rookie year in the NBA.. Kenan’s take is the ultimate bullshit artist and he spews constant nonsense from the first word. But it’s an absolute joy to watch the enthusiasm to which he spins reality into nothing but praise for his son. On the other hand, it is nice to see such a supportive parent — even if he is a little unhinged.
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For the first time in a while, the non-political content was actually far funnier, with great barbs about Frasier, United Airlines and the Jeep Cherokee. And, of course, “SNL” waded into the non-troversy that is those disclaimers in front of “The Muppet Show.” Only Colin’s theory as to what content they’re warning us about is way off … in more ways than one!
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Cecily Strong is getting more an more unhinged in her portrayal of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, this time insisting Colin “Trust the Sience.” Apparently it’s her job to pick fights with everyone from fellow Congresswomen, her own party, her own hair and even children on the streets. But we’re most concerned about those sneezes. What got in her?
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Mirror Workout
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“SNL” continues to skewer the latest workout crazes, this time targeting the Mirror. Did the cast know they’d be getting so many workouts in as part of this show? This one offered a dark twist that we could see as part of an actual horror short or feature-length film as we learn that Kate McKinnon’s Shannon Delgado is actually trapped in the Mirror. The other trainers even know about her and warn Mikey Day and Chriss Redd off of listening to her. But they’re not alone in there! This was unexpected better as a film spec than a sketch, but Kate was definitely all in, while Pete Davidson was an unexpected surprise.
Dionne Warwick Talk Show
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Ego Nwodim brought back her solid Dionne Warwick again to continue playing off of her viral success after her niece helped turn her into a sensation via Twitter. Once again, she ran through a couple of show’s worth of guests in record time, asking nonsense questions and further stoking a faux feud with Wendy Williams. Honestly, we don’t even care that this has a real-world connection because it’s charming and sweet, as well as a little shocking at times. She asked Nick Jonas to do what?!
Cinderella
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Well, we can’t imagine Disney liking this “SNL” twist on the “Cinderella” story, but it had lots of funny, tiny, odd, uncomfortable twists along the way. Nick Jonas was great as Prince Charming looking for the woman who would fit into the tiny glass slipper he found after a magical night. And we do mean tiny. The rest of the cast played off the oddness beautifully. This one was as much about performance as the story’s hilariously disturbing turns, delivering at every descent into deeper disturbia.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
We love seeing the slow emergence of Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim as comedic powerhouses who are set to carry this show into its next generation, and it was even better seeing Melissa Villasenor get some screen time and some fun character work. She’s been under-utilized for years!
But the veterans are clearly not ready to be sidelined, with Cecily Strong offering up several dominant performances, Pete Davidson rising to the occasion once again. Mikey Day, Kyle Mooney and Kenan Thompson proved once again just how consistently reliable they are to do what only they can do so well in a sketch.
But it was the cast’s second-longest tenured member who once again stole the spotlight. Kate McKinnon dominated this episode from top to bottom, quite literally. She was Dr. Fauci to kick off the night and a painfully inept flirt to close it out.
In between, we found her trapped in a Mirror, hamming it up (and a little disturbed) as the evil stepmother, and kicking it with the newer ladies in a tribute to everyone’s favorite at-home quarantine pastime. Kate is a legend and a workhorse.
As much as we know her star is on the rise, we find ourselves kind of hoping she’ll embrace the Kenan Thompson model and find a way to balance her extracurricular stardom with a continuance here. After all these years, it’s hard to imagine what “SNL” looks like without her. And trying to makes us sad.
“Saturday Night Live” returns March 27 with host Maya Rudolph and musical guest Jack Harlow.
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