Quirky sketches work; but more lazy retread writing in Episode 5
Episode Grade: C
If we’re being honest, this was an average episode of Saturday Night Live. Unfortunately, “average” is pretty good this season. Following the dud that was the season premier, the show grabbed some momentum last week when Miles Teller helmed the show. But it sort of stood still for Episode 5 with comic Nikki Glasser.
Cold Open
The show opened with a press conference in the Oval Office, the now-infamous incident where a pharmaceutical sales representative fainted during the announcement of Trump’s drug price plan.
If you’re thinking this was a pretty obscure and forgettable “political” event to form the cold open, you’re thinking the same as me. It was a yawner, only made weaker when we got the predictable: the President hijacking the sketch.
For what seemed like the 15th time already this season, James Austin Johnson appeared as The Orange One in the cold open like Wack-A-Mole. It’s not JAJ’s fault: his impression is a fine comedic creation. But by this time, the writing has Trump acting more like a master of ceremonies than a political figure.
The biggest issue with JAJ’s Trump now is that it lacks a defining “hook,” something to help you take it with you, to remember. Like Dana Carvey‘s “Not Gonna Do It.”
Nikki Glaser Monologue
Like Glaser’s standup or not, you must admit she’s a pro. In an eight-minute monologue (four times as long as Teller’s from last week), Glaser was rapid-fire with jokes. Almost all of it seemed like new material. In typical fashion, she went for it: discussing human trafficking, for example. It was one of the few instances of well-crafted comedy in the show.
Sketches Before Weekend Update
Somehow the first sketch of the night was a bit where Sarah Sherman finds out her boyfriend (Tommy Brennan in his first lead in a sketch) has a creepy relationship with his sister (played by Glaser). The premise has been done before on SNL, and elsewhere (MAD TV, sitcoms). It was not just predictable, it was also poorly executed. The payoff was delivered way too early. Once we saw it was a retread, why keep going with a sketch that’s already been done by a better cast in the past?
We did get Ashley Padilla and Andrew Dismukes as a couple again in the Brother/Sister karaoke sketch. But even that talented tandem couldn’t save this writing.
One of the three sketches that actually worked in this fifth episode of the 51st season was Runaway Mechanical Bull, starring Glaser with Sherman as sort of her “Thelma & Louise” partner. For once, we can’t see where the sketch is going, and even some breaking by Sherman (again) doesn’t ruin a section where Johnson plays guitar. Overall, a nice sketch that features almost every member of the cast.
This seems like a good spot to mention Jane Wickline, who twice in this episode delivers a single line and then exits the stage. In her second season as a featured player, Wickline is swimming upstream, trying to find her place in a bloated cast. As far as sketch work: Jane has become SNL’s version of Kenny from South Park. Every week we’re treated to a new way for Wickline to be excised from a sketch.
Weekend Update
Pete Davidson made an appearance at the Update desk. The former cast member had a handful of decent lines. But generally, it was a weird look back at a cast member who usually phoned in his work on SNL. That’s a weird choice for a guest appearance considering how poor SN 51 has been.
The only other thing you need to know about WU is that Colin Jost wrote a joke where the punchline was a cut to a video of Trump dancing. Yes, really.
Sketches After Weekend Update
Two odd sketches after Update were noteworthy: Dating Pilot and the 10-to-5 where Glaser visits her childhood “friends” as an adult. In the latter, Jeremy Culhane and Mikey Day play sickeningly cheery furry playmates who are beguiled by pinwheels. The weirdness of this premise lifts it well above the tired old crap we get almost everywhere else from SNL this season. Kudos to Bowen Yang for a great performance in this final sketch.
In the airplane sketch, JAJ plays a pilot who enlists his passengers for advice about online dating. Kam Patterson makes a rare appearance as the co-pilot. It’s funny enough, and a solid premise. A quibble: Sarah Sherman once again smirks and chuckles through her lines. Her efforts to use the Jimmy Fallon Sketch Method is annoying, but I suspect she doesn’t care. SNL is just a stepping stone for the cast these days, and the more “breaking” Sherman does, the more attention she gets.
Musical Performances
Even if you had never heard Sombr before Saturday night, his performance was
Here’s a reminder that Sombr was born almost two years AFTER Kenan Thompson drew his first paycheck from SNL:
Final Verdict
The slight momentum that seemed to appear last week when Teller hosted was largely lost in Episode 5. Several of the sketches, including bizarrely the first one, were lazy premises, retreads, or just plain unfunny.
Only B grades from Glaser’s monologue and the two Sombr musical numbers lifted this episode to average. What’s happening in the writer’s room? Who knows? But it feels like the writing staff needs a shakeup or a kick in the rear. Otherwise, we’re on our way to the most mediocre season in almost two decades.
