Fellow Coneheads, rise!
I hope everyone enjoyed theirSaturday Night Live-less summer break!
To be sure, theres a lot of ground to cover.
There are few entertainers better suited to meet this moment than tonights host,Chris Rock.
It will be exciting to watch him rise to the occasion.
I am joined tonight bySiobhan Fallon Hogan, who was a cast member onSNLwith Rock during season 17.
Until this season, Fallon Hogans cast was among the largest in the shows history.
Thats a weird concept in itself.
Look at Chris, its about longevity and making the most of every job.
Be good to fellow ensemble members, its a long road.
Be good to each other you are in a club thats hard to get into.
Keep a stiff upper lip and fake it til you make it.
This season will have an (extremely) limited live audience, adding another layer to things.
Will this be the same?
Beck Bennett comes on with a solid Chris Wallace.
The small audience may have the inadvertent issue of making the laughs seem… small?
Im not mad about it keep things intimate!
Less clapter, fine by me.
And its Fire Marshall Bill!
I mean,Jim Carreyas Joe Biden.
Not sure this sounds like Biden, but Carrey is just so likable and charismatic.
Dont let your inner Whitey Bulger come out, he assures himself.
Will you just shut up man, gets a good applause line rally cry for the next month?
Biden is at odds with himself, trying to stay calm by any means necessary.
He even enlists Harry Styles, a nice cameo.
A quick cameo from Cecily Strong, who is not in New York.)
A recalibrated and humanized Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) shows up to referee the shenanigans.
America needs a WAP: Woman-As-President.
Ill settle for HVPIC: Hot Vice President in Charge.
The sketch ends with Carrey-as-Biden literally muting Trump, putting him on pause.
Let’s bask in the Trumplessness.
Karma and science is a little incendiary, but also appealing to our better angels.
One aside: Its so exciting to be back at 8H.
Nearly seven months ago!
He dives right into Trump with COVID-19, and the weirdness of the show right now.
The first row of the audience tonight are first responders.
Hes walking a line joking about Coachella and canceled plans, given 200,000 people are dead.
Also, for comparison,SNLhas helpfully tweeted out Rocksoriginal 1996 monologue.
This is a comic at the near-prime of his powers; think Eddie Murphy in the late ’80s.
Action 9 News
At a Pittsburgh superspreading event,SNLgoes for easy laughs.
How many times have we seen this?
says newcomer Lauren Holt.
Pete Davidson is back to smile and giggle, which is fun.
Im sorry, Im sorry.
And the audience seems to love it.
He is joined by Pete Davidson, Ego Nwodim, Megan Thee Stallion, and Kenan Thompson.
Its amusing mostly, they riff on significant others hiding unflattering features behind a mask.
Standard fare, for what it is.
Then we get Chris Rock in No Sex in the Champagne Room mode!
Or is that more Kanye Wests Blame Game.
Either way, his is the highlight, clearly.
He was always game to play any character.
He played an elderly bad ventriloquist elevator operator.
I liked his voice, which seemed boyish and positive as was his energy.
Future Ghost
SNLgoesPEN15!AOL and Blink-182 posters on the wall.
Chris Rock plays a ghost from the future, visiting Zach (Kyle Mooney).
Beck Bennett plays his older self, still playing video games.
Zach only cares about the improved video game graphics.
Great to see a Mooney showcase happening this early in the show!
My Mom Married Kenan Thompson coming to Peacock!
is a funny way to close out the sketch.
They should embrace that again!
I love these kinds of bits for Fineman, as they capture the DIY, playing-imagination-vibe of her Instagrams.
Shes too emotionally supportive… at least someone is enjoying 2020… just watch it!
And heres Punkie Johnson as a guest!
My favorite moment besides Chloe crushing it solo is Alex Moffat as a still-sausage loving Tom Green.
Megan Thee Stallion Savage
Beyonce vocals drop in, but this is all Megan.
We need to protect our Black women, she implores at the end of the track.
The deaths of Black Americans can no longer become hashtags, she argues, demanding real change.
Che jokes about Trump hostingSNL, then being visited by three ghosts.
He then calls out the elephant in the room about there being nothing funny about Trump getting COVID-19.
I wish him a lengthy recovery.
He concludes with another TikTok - Girl, dont do it…
I did it… (The show needs to embrace this kind of stuff more.
No more game show and community access show riffs, its 2020!)
Him joking about joining the BET board?
Carrie Krum, Travel Expert is back!
she squeals describing virtual learning.
The segment concludes with Kate McKinnon appearing as RBG, a classy moment.
Ego Nwodim is Candace, a nursing student.
Chloe Fineman is Sweetie, and Lauren Holt is Kate, an ass-sential worker.
Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, and Maya Rudolph also want in.
Punkie Johnson is TJ, who keeps ordering Buffalo Wild Wings.
Heidi Gardner is a Disney World employee, Goofy.
Kate and Aidy are the silly stunt actors, not the badasses.
Someone has to get bitten by dogs and do kids movies.
This is like a Christopher Guest movie.
And its way less indulgent than a lot of the typical/recent Kate and Aidy duo comedy bits.
(Surely rap journalists such as Paul Thompson andAlex Swhearwill be happy.)
He has certainly become a mainstream presence thanks to tracks like this, a la Lil Wayne last decade.
This is like, the platonic ideal of a strip club song, isnt it?
I am actually distressed Megan did not perform Girls in the Hood.
Final thoughts:
-Thank you so much toSiobhan Fallon Hoganfor her contributions tonight!
Then they played the executives who played it like they were curing cancer with each audition.
Don’t mess with her funny.
He called me Ringy because I had just gotten engaged and had the ring!
-Thanks again to the imitableTom Schillerfor his thoughts tonight as well!
