One of Saturday Night Live’s most recognizable alumni, Molly Shannon returns to Rockefeller center as a host for the second time. During her tenure, Shannon crafted memorable characters like Mary Katherine Gallagher and Sally O’Malley as well as impersonations like Courtney Love. Since SNL Shannon has continued non-stop playing a litany of memorable characters and proving to be an adept character actress. A terrific performer who radiates positive energy, Shannon’s talents deserve better from the show that launched her.
Best sketch of the night
Shannon’s original run on SNL produced countless classic characters and it was great to see her bring a new one to life with Jeannie Darcy. As a standup with no charisma or punchline, Darcy is the antithesis of Shannon. Most of Shannon’s best known characters are hungry for the spotlight with copious amounts of energy, but all that is stripped away for Jeannie Darcy. A terrific illustration of Anti-humor, the sketch subverts the Shannon persona in pleasing way. The hair and costuming are also on point.
Worst sketch of the night
Building a five-minute sketch around a fart joke is a bold swing that produced bland results. Like many of the sketches, Molly Shannon takes center stage, but there is so little else going on in the sketch that it becomes monotonous quickly. Even the inflating and deflating visual gag cannot save the sketch from relying solely on flatulence. SNL might have hit an all-season low with the line “smells like maybe it was twins.” “Pregnant Co-Worker” and other sketches felt like the writers dusted off unused ideas from the 1995 season when Shannon started.
G/O Media may get a commission
A sign of things to come
“Valets,” the first sketch following the Cold Open, signals a poor episode to come. It is the kind of sketch that appears at the tail end of an episode when the writers have exhausted their good material and need to fill time. Poorly structured around three valet trainees, no one is given the time to develop a character or a joke. The sketch makes multiple setups between the valets and customers but each interaction yields disappointing results. Everyone seems to be sleepwalking through the sketch, with the possible exception of Kenan Thompson who yelling “I’m going to steal your car, you Black bitch” seemed to break Devon Walker.
What went wrong
There were high hopes for Shannon’s return to SNL. Perhaps expectations were too high, but what went wrong. It’s hard to tell. Shannon is great and committed to each sketch. Perhaps, “Drug Commercial,” can provide some insights to why the show suffered this week. Beside being the second musical number of the night and another sketch relying on body humor, the sketch feels stale. There are certain SNL standards like game show, office party, or drug commercial sketches that often appear. However, the sketch also displays a strange disconnect between the host and the cast. Part of the pleasure of a returning cast member hosting is to see them interact with a new generation of performers. In putting spotlight so intensely on Shannon, the regular cast members often felt adrift and redundant. There was a strange lack of synergy.
MVP of the night: Bowen Yang
One of the few segments that worked well tonight, “Jafar on Ron DeSantis’ Attacks on Disney,” is irreverent and timely commentary. A superb blend of pop culture with the culture wars of contemporary American politics, this is the kind of material SNL should strive to create weekly. The concept of having Jafar, one of Disney’s queerest villains, read the Florida governor for banning books, fashion choices, and generally hypocrisy is wonderfully camp. Absolutely essential to the episode’s high point is another pitch perfect performance by Bowen Yang. From calling DeSantis “the boy” to his delivery of cooch, Yang is in the zone. It is the kind of cutting character work that only Yang can delivery, his disdain for his target is delectable and insatiable.
Stray observations:
- I wonder how much of these Tump monologues are scripted.
- Everyone frozen behind Trump was funnier before it was actually mentioned.
- No mention of The Other Two or A Good Person during the monologue?
- Everyone’s response to Sally O’Malley’s camel toe was the most breaking in an SNL sketch in a long time.
