Posted in: NBC, Review, TV | Tagged: jason momoa, nbc, Review, saturday night live, season 49, snl, tate mcrae

Saturday Night Live Needed More SNL, Less "The Jason Momoa Show"

It wasn't that this weekend's Saturday Night Live was bad, but it felt like there was a disconnect between host Jason Momoa & the SNL team.

Before I get started, let me say that this weekend's episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live wasn't bad or in danger of being tagged the worst episode of the 49th season. We still have Bad Bunny holding that title belt. But it didn't quite work – and a large part of that falls equally on the shoulders of host Jason Momoa and the SNL cast & writing team. One thing that I've touched upon in the past is how the show works best when the host gives themselves over to the creative team behind the late-night sketch comedy/music series. In the past few seasons – with hosts such as Megan Thee Stallion, Travis Kelce, Pedro Pascal & Timothée Chalamet – we've seen just how well that can work. As much as I loved the promo week leading into this weekend, the one concern I had was that it was becoming too much "Jason Momoa Week" and less about the show itself – that SNL was just one "stop" on Momoa's bigger promotional push for his "Aquaman" movie. And it came across once showtime hit, leaving me feeling more like I just watched "Jason Momoa & SNL" than "SNL with Jason Momoa." I kept waiting for him to look at us through the camera and hit us with a wink & a smile – leaving me feeling like I had watched an episode from one of those cheesy 70's variety shows and now a winning SNL effort. Let's take a look at what worked, what didn't, and what the highlights were:

What Worked: "Old-Timey Movies" was some goofy fun, with Bowen Yang's growing passive-aggressive annoyance with Heidi Gardner and Momoa & Mikey Day going for broke with the physical humor – making it work. While a bit long, the writers behind "Thanksgiving Week Airport Parade" did a fine job presenting the Lynchian hell that Thanksgiving travel can be. Once again, Michael Che & Colin Jost made "Weekend Update" the must-watch segment of the show (and we're hoping for more of Devon Walker's Draymond Green this season). And with Please Don't Destroy (Ben Marshall, John Higgins & Martin Herlihy) going to some serious lengths to order food in "Ramen Order," it's clear that they feel our pain. Because sometimes, you just gotta eat. Musical guest Tate McRae was on fire during her performances of "Greedy" and "Grave," which should earn her some much-deserved buzz & a nice boost to her music sales.

What Missed the Mark: "Biden Panda Cold Open" was two potential sketches mashed into one. Serious props to Yang & Day for bringing it, but each deserved their own spotlight. Momoa's monologue was short & disjointed – while it might not be fair to judge it with previous monologues, I enjoyed Bad Bunny's more. "Nightclub Line" offered what we think was Momoa's attempt at a Spanish accent – though it sounded like he was constipated while doing it (with Kenan Thompson a close second). As for "Weekend Update," I wanted Andrew Dismukes & James Austin Johnson's Imagine Dragons ripoff band ("Remember Lizards") segment to work, but it became an obvious joke that got beaten to death quite a bit. "Cast Away" was one of those sketches where someone tells me that having Momoa & Dismukes without their shirts on isn't body-shaming or exploitative – it's "ironic." Stretching out an obvious joke for nearly five minutes, the sketch had a weird vibe –  I'm glad was saved until later in the show. Thompson & Ego Nwodim did their parts (and then some) in "Cab Driver," but Momoa played the title character who was receiving increasingly bad health news with a little too much "numbed detachment."

The Winners: "Rome Song" saw Momoa, Day, Thompson, Nwodim, Punkie Johnson & Chloe Troast tackling the hot topic on social media regarding what guys like to think about. Well-crafted, over-the-top, and with two great twists, this was a hard one to get out of our heads after the show ended. Yang returned to "Weekend Update" as George Santos. Considering what we've seen from Yang in the past and what went down with Santos this week, I'm not sure I need to further explain why this worked so well. Side question? We need to get Yang and Harvey Guillen together for "dueling Santos" – just a thought. "Untold: Battle of the Sexes" was raw, uncut Sarah Sherman in a twisted hysterical take on the lost legacy of tennis legend Charna Lee Diamond. Taking on the cause of equality, Diamond (Sherman) would challenge Ronnie Dunster (Momoa) to a societal-changing match. Did we mention that Diamond was one of the smallest players on the tour, and Dunster was the world's largest tennis player? Without spoiling it, I'll just say that I had fond flashbacks to the "Black Knight" in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Saturday Night Live Season 49: Jason Momoa & Tate McRae

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Review by Ray Flook

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7/10

Before I get started, let me say that this weekend's episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live wasn't bad or in danger of being tagged the worst episode of the 49th season. We still have Bad Bunny holding that title belt. But it didn't quite work - and a large part of that falls equally on the shoulders of host Jason Momoa and the SNL cast & writing team. One thing that I've touched upon in the past is how the show works best when the host gives themselves over to the creative team behind the late-night sketch comedy/music series. In the past few seasons - with hosts such as Megan Thee Stallion, Travis Kelce, Pedro Pascal & Timothée Chalamet - we've seen just how well that can work. As much as I loved the promo week leading into this weekend, the one concern I had was that it was becoming too much "Jason Momoa Week" and less about the show itself - that SNL was just one "stop" on Momoa's bigger promotional push for his "Aquaman" movie. And it came across once showtime hit, leaving me feeling more like I just watched "Jason Momoa & SNL" than "SNL with Jason Momoa." I kept waiting for him to look at us through the camera and hit us with a wink & a smile - leaving me feeling like I had watched an episode from one of those cheesy 70's variety shows and now a winning SNL effort.

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