SNL After Party (S50 E3 Air Date 10/12/24) - "I Wish Joe Biden Was Still Around to See This"
Host: Ariana Grande
Musical Guest: Stevie Nicks
This week’s recap is late, and will be short. I was in New York on Saturday, mere blocks from 30 Rock. Did I get to see the show live? No, no I did not. I saw it at home when we got back.
Have I ever been to a live SNL broadcast? Thanks for asking! Yes, I have. It was the February 24, 2007 episode with Rainn Wilson and Arcade Fire. That’s a story for another day, and was one of the coolest experiences in my life. Arcade Fire did a full improptu concert after the show, and we were allowed to stay and watch. It was incredible.
Anywho, was Ariana’s return to SNL a Grande experience? (See what I did there?)
Let’s find out in the very late After Party.
Cold Open
Would it be an episode of SNL without a game show? Would it be a cold open with less than a month til the election without a political cold open?
The writers knocked both out with a Family Feud sketch between team Trump and team Harris hosted by Kenan as Steve Harvey. Side note, I love how Kenan’s Steve Harvey follows the long tradition of recurring characters that aren’t even arguably good impressions, but that work anyway.
We get the now expected cameos of Maya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, Jim Gaffigan and Dana Carvey are the blue team, while James Austin Johnson (who my wife swears she saw on the streets of New York on Sunday), Mikey Day and Bowen Yang play for team Trump (Melania is a no show).
It’s the expected set up, with some good jokes and caricatures. Nothing earth shattering here, but a solid cold open.
Monologue
Ariana Grande, who last hosted in 2016, does a song about how she’s not going to sing a song or do impressions.
Of course the song includes impressions of Brittney Spears, Myley Cyrus, and (a surprisingly good) Gwen Stefani.
This fell more in the cute than funny monologue. But no harm done.
Bridesmaids Speech
The show hits a little turbulence here, as Grande, Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim, and Sarah Sherman serve as bridesmaids to Chloe Fineman, and proceed to reminisce about the bachelorette party via song. Of course, the song (intentionally sung badly) outlines Fineman’s character’s tryst with a guy named Domingo. Her new husband (Dismukes) grows more and more upset, until Domingo (Hernandez) shows up, and Gardner dances with him.
It’s not a great sketch and it ends abruptly. I probably shouldn’t complain about that, in all honesty.
My Best Friend’s House
This is a surreal Pee-Wee’s Playhouse fever dream in which Grande sings about memories of here best friend’s house. The couch, books, chairs, and art all sing along about her memory of the sights and smells of the house.
We know it’s going to take a turn, which it does. The best friend’s dad (Mikey Day) was a serial killer.
But the turn is unexpected, and the second half of the song in which Grande sings about the clues which she missed is well done. She takes us back through her positive memories to reveal how they were actually obvious red flags. (“There’s a drain in the living room.”).
This was a really well done and original feeling pre-taped piece.
Charades
Grande channels Cheri O’Teri as a hyper-competitive mom playing charades with her family and her son’s boyfriend (Bowen Yang).
Yang and Grande trade barbed insults that devolves into Yang slinging an intentionally bad dummy around (that’s supposed to be Grande), before congratulating him for standing up to her.
The sketch has an old school feel to it. The insults are funny, and the turns well executed. Grande really shines here.
Celine Dion UFC Promo
Grande is Celine Dion providing a musical tribute to UFC fighting. Dion’s (okay, Grande’s) sweeping singing and earnest narration over footage of brutal UFC fighting creates a very funny sketch.
This one is a knockout. Or whatever they call it in UFC.
Weekend Update
Quality jokes and cringes fill the news segment. Jost reports that Kamala Harris has raised $1 billion dollars “so please stop texting me!”
There are some cringers and groaners, but all par for the course.
Unfortunately the desk guests are weaker than usual. Nwodim is an overworked Amazon worker, and JAJ and Sarah Sherman appear as the Gallagher brothers from Oasis. Legend!
Liam Gallagher reportedly said the sketch was excrutiating and posted on X (which, apparently he is still on) with “Are they meant to be comedians?”
This is a real two sided blade for me. On one hand, the sketch was pretty weak. On the other, Liam Gallagher is a self-righteous tool. So, let’s just call this feud a draw.
Castrati
Grande absolutely holds her own as a young Italian boy named Antonio in the Renaissance who is brought to court by her parents (Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg) to sing for the prince (Dismukes). JAJ and Kenan are also on hand.
The underlying joke is no great shakes. Antonio was castrated so he could maintain a high pitched voice. The sketch is mainly an excuse for Rudolph and Samberg to riff. And riff well, do they.
But, Grande’s souless, dead gaze and deadpan delivery are both strong and on point.
Plus, it’s fun to see Samberg make Kenan crack by calling him….Kenan.
Maybelline Ad
Grande and Fineman are dueling versions of Jennifer Coolidge in an incoherent Maybeline ad. Both are very good and funny in the impression.
But, then, Dana Carvey shows up as a third Jennifer Coolidge. His imitation is not on point, and the joke appears to be of the Benny Hill era that it’s funny because he’s dressed as a woman.
The whole thing just turns into a mess at this point.
Hotel Detective
I recognize that this was objectively a weak sketch. But, I’m a sucker for a film noir sketch as well as sketches that acknowledge they aren’t great. You can tell some writer was just having fun, and for me, that’s enough.
This sketch involves a cascading series of undercover detectives busting each other for various infractions, and it devolves into being part of a Twilight Zone episode.
Yes, it’s dumb, but the fast talking - particularly by JAJ - works for me.
Your mileage may vary.
The Goodbye Wave
Best Sketch: My Best Friend’s House. It was fresh and well done. This may not have been the funniest sketch of the night (that was probably Charades), but I think it was such a nicely executed change of pace that highlighted Grande’s abilities that it rose to the top for me.
Worst Sketch: Bridesmaids Speech. I just wanted to return this wedding gift. It just felt stale to me.
Random Notes:
- It must be tough being a new cast member in a Presidential election cycle that corresponds with the 50th anniversary. All those cameos eat into any screen time the new kids could get. Did we even see Ashley Padilla or Emil Wakim this week?
- Stevie Nicks has not been on SNL in over 40 years. And while she may not have the full power of vocals she once had, but she’s doing better than may of her contemporaries. Her first song, “The Lighthouse,” was a wholly undisguised and pointed political pro-choice message. Her second song kicked off with the unmistakable intro to “Edge of Seventeen,” which caused the crowd to erupt as soon as they recognized it. She ended the number by singing, “I know what it sounds like when doves cry.” This was a tribute to Prince. The two served as muses for each other, so this was a nice touch.
Ariana Grande is a great host for the show. Her comedic and musical talents were put to great use, and her comfort with live TV made it almost felt like she was a long term cast member.
I am hopeful that once the dust settles on the Presidential election the regular cast members (new and old) will have more of a chance to shine.
This was a solid episode, if not a top-tier outing.
Grade: B
As always, we grade SNL episodes in comparison to other SNL episodes. Not TV in general.
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