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Posted in: NBC, TV, YouTube | Tagged: john mulaney, lcd soundsystem, nbc, Review, saturday night live, snl
Saturday Night Live & John Mulaney Offer SNL's Best Season Effort Yet
If you're one of those people who continues wondering why NBC's Saturday Night Live is still around after 47 seasons, you need to look no further than this weekend's episode (hosted by John Mulaney with musical guest LCD Soundsystem) for the answer. The long-running sketch comedy & music series may not always be perfect, and lord knows it had some seriously dire times back in the early 1980s, but there's one thing that Lorne Michaels' television classic never fails at. And that's being there for us. Because at a time when the world crawls closer and closer to a much larger global conflict, Saturday Night Live offered viewers a chance to laugh and escape, even if it was for only 90-plus minutes. And holy s**t, did they ever deliver last night, offering up what was clearly the best episode of the season and the episode we're hoping gets submitted for Emmy consideration. For us, it vibed that the team knew what they needed to do and the enormity of the moment, and having a powerhouse comedic writer like Mulaney as host was exactly the extra firepower they needed. But that didn't mean they didn't pause right from the start to recognize the realities around us by having the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York perform "Prayer for Ukraine" as the cold open in a heartbreakingly beautiful moment.
Now just to get the "s****ing-in-the-corn-flakes" part of this review out of the way, we're not fans of LCD Soundsystem. In fact, we turned on truTV's Impractical Jokers about 30 seconds into each song. Now, does that impact our feelings on the episode? No, because the musical guest comes to personal musical tastes so that's not really a fair thing to hit an episode with. Which is a fancy way of saying that just because we don't like LCD Soundsystem doesn't mean they didn't have two great performances for their fans (and they were great to see as the Guardian Angels in the "Subway Churro" musical sketch). With that out of the way, we can move on to the near-impossible task of picking five sketches/moments from an episode where every sketch worked because every cast member & every writer was feeling themselves. There was a comedic cockiness to this week's episode that we haven't seen at this level in a while, and it suits the cast well. So after much deliberation and with respect going out to those that didn't make the cut but easily could've ("Blue River" & "Nickelodeon Show," in particular), here's what we came up with:
"Subway Churros": Here's all you need to know about just how good this weekend's episode was. An eight-minute, NYC-themed, musical sketch at around 12:30 am ET left us wanting more. But as someone who has literally bought a churro at 3 am heading onto the subway, I felt seen in so many hysterical ways. Mulaney, Andrew Dismukes, Chris Redd, and so many more shine in this one, but special props go to Kate McKinnon for bringing life to "Stain on Subway Ground" and Aidy Bryant as "Beer Hat Jesus Christ, Subway Car." If you've never been to NYC before, consider this sketch a friendly "tourist's guide."
"Five-Timers Club": Unleashing Steve Martin, Candice Bergen, Paul Rudd, Elliott Gould, Tina Fey, and Conan O'Brien on one stage in one sketch to welcome Mulaney into the "Five-Timers Club" and what did you think you were going to get other than comedic genius? Nostalgia aside, the seven played off each other very well (with Gould being an especially pleasant surprise), and bonus points for O'Brien being O'Brien by proving why he was a writer and not a sketch actor during his SNL run. And then proving why he's one of the best to ever do late-night with his recovery. That said, I still feel bad that Rudd didn't get a complete fifth episode but it was great how it was addressed.
"Please Don't Destroy – Good Variant": First, it's always great to have anything from Please Don't Destroy's Ben Marshall, John Higgins & Martin Herlihy. Second, it's always great when their sketches make the air and aren't posted as "Cut for Time" (though we appreciate SNL still sharing them). And lastly, for those who were posting that it was too soon to make light of COVID like this? Now is exactly the time for humor like this. Because though it uses the virus as its starting point, the sketch speaks more about the absurdist "What If?" questions we ask ourselves and throw out to friends every day. Imagining what a "cool variant" would be like doesn't detract from the seriousness of reality. But it offers us one helluva funny escape, with Rudd & Al Roker (who has never been better outside his main gig), along with Mulaney as the coolest newsman to ever walk the planet. And bonus points for the part about Pokemon at the U.S. Capital on January 6th. I know there had to be a positive spin on it but we'll always have those brief, beautiful, twisted seconds of fun.
"Monkey Trial": Oh yes, it's exactly as the title reads. Mulaney's Honorable Judge Tango is, indeed, a Monkey Judge overseeing a trial involving a monkey. We'll give you a moment to get out of your system all of the ways this sketch should've bombed before I break the news to you that not only did this work but it was a showcase for not just Mulaney but also Kenan Thompson, Cecily Strong, and Melissa Villaseñor. This sketch worked because they remained committed to the material no matter how absurd it got, and extra points to Mulaney for integrating the monkey aspects into his performance that allowed it to flow. Just make sure you stick around until the end because just when you think you know where the trial is going to go… a twist!
"Weekend Update: Russia Invades Ukraine, Biden Nominates Ketanji Brown Jackson": We were also treated to a more streamlined, down-n-dirty edition of "Weekend Update" this time around, and with all due respect to the "guests" they regularly have on (we still think Bowen Yang's Titanic Iceberg was his big breakthrough moment)? Colin Jost and Michael Che proved why those anchor chairs are theirs until they say otherwise. From the Russia/Ukraine war and Donald Trump flushing documents to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson being nominated to the Supreme Court to Marvel's Luke Cage celebrating his 50th anniversary, they covered a ton of territory with the kind of chainsaw approach that leaves you laughing, then cringing, then thinking, then laughing even harder. And you really want to talk about cocky? They let Jost wrap things up with a "Yo Momma!" joke. Yes, Saturday Night Live was really that good…
Saturday Night Live: John Mulaney & LCD Soundsystem
9.5/10
If you're one of those people who continues wondering why NBC's Saturday Night Live is still around after 47 seasons, you need to look no further than this weekend's episode (hosted by John Mulaney with musical guest LCD Soundsystem) for the answer. The long-running sketch comedy & music series may not always be perfect, and lord knows it had some seriously dire times back in the early 1980s, but there's one thing that Lorne Michaels' television classic never fails at. And that's being there for us. Because at a time when the world crawls closer and closer to a much larger global conflict, Saturday Night Live offered viewers a chance to laugh and escape, even if it was for only 90-plus minutes. And holy s**t, did they ever deliver last night, offering up what was clearly the best episode of the season and the episode we're hoping gets submitted for Emmy consideration.
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