SNL After Party (S48 E13 - Air Date 2/25/23)

Host: Woody Harrelson
Musical Guest: Jack White

After a brief hiatus, SNL returned last night. And so too does  the SNL After Party.

 Did the hiatus give the gang at 30 Rock a chance to sharpen their axes and deliver a fresh, exciting show? Alas, this was simply not to be. 

Cold Open – Trump in Ohio

 James Austin Johnson killed it yet again as Trump visiting Palestine, Ohio in the wake of the recent train derailment. Johnson’s stream of consciousness ramblings infused with Trumpisms is a thing of beauty, and he nailed it on this one. Chloe Fineman adds the punctuation mark as the daffy Georgia grand jury foreperson. This was a promising beginning!

Monologue

Woody Harrelson’s monologue set-up a running joke about he and musical guest Jack White being in the “Five-Timer Club”.

 Unfortunately, the monologue turned into a shaggy dog story that evolved into an anti-vax conspiracy screed. From the sounds of it, the studio audience was as unamused as I was by this odd turn.

Prison Visitation

Woody and Chloe Fineman as a prisoner and his girlfriend during visitation are simply the delivery vehicle for Ego Nwodim and Kenan Thompson’s comedy wasabi. Ego and Kenan are prison guards who interrupt the conversation and make ongoing commentary. They are very funny here, and their performances (particularly Ego’s) are terrific. Bonus points for noting that all Chuckies have red hair. Which is true.

Please Don’t Destroy Video – The Stakeout

This may be the lads’ best example of heightening and layering absurdity to date.  Ben is concerned that his writing partners are dissing him when they won’t come over to play a Tony Hawk game. Woody Harrelson suggests he and Ben follow them, which they do. The resulting revelations are hilarious. This really is a fantastic workshop on building comedy.

Slingshot

This sketch – apparently based on a viral video – is set at an amusement park thrill ride. It really is just an excuse to have Kenan pass out repeatedly. Kenan manages to make this funny, but there’s not much to it.

Naval Submarine Base

 I don’t know what to say about this one. It’s just a submarine with a dumb name and Harrelson shouting.

Cologuard Ad

Menacing and perverse colon cancer screening boxes assail Harrelson. Kenan, as always, manages to up the comedy level on the commercial. This one gets points for doing something different and almost shocking.

Weekend Update

 Look. At this point I can’t tell if the anchors reading stories designed to embarrass them is legit or just a bit, but it always seems to work. While the jokes this week were overall kind of flat, there were a few real gut punches that worked.

 The desk guests were not the best this week. James Austin Johnson channeled his Trump ramblings into Bill Walton. It was well done, but not sure it was funny enough to warrant the exceedingly long time the journey took.  And, Heidi Gardner showed up as a mom who likes her son (a little too much) at the expense of her daughters. It was an odd character to spend time with at the desk, and it didn’t really pay off. That said, Heidi’s commitment to the bit and her acting chops are solid.

The Hippo

 Woody Harrelson wears a fat suit in this one joke sketch that just doesn’t work.

The Most Beautiful Gym in the World

This week they added nitro to the bizzaro last sketch of the night slot. Bowen Yang and Harrelson are two wealthy (and not dressed for the gym at all) gentlemen who talk to each other in a “gym so fancy it should be named James”.  This is an utterly ridiculous sketch that, at times, almost feels like a fever dream. It’s a satisfying piece of absurdist comedy.

 The Goodbye Wave

Best Sketch: The Stakeout, as much for its artistry as anything else. The Most Beautiful Gym is a close second.

Worst Sketch: I’m going with The Hippo edging out the monologue in a photo finish.

Random Notes: It was nice to see a joke thrown in at the credits as the whole jacket drama was resolved (with help from Scarlett Johansson no less).

I knew who both the host and musical guest were for a change, which was nice. Jack White rocked it out on both his numbers.

Whither goest Punkie Johnson? Didst Sarah Sherman abandon us? Why won’t they find something for Molly Kearney to do other than act as a glorified extra?  The bloated size of the cast continues to be an issue.

As for the grade below, please note I grade on a curve against SNL in general, and not the greater universe of entertainment.

 This week’s show was not a high-water mark for the series, or even the season. It just didn’t gel overall. Still and all, there were some funny moments, but in the end this one was pretty disposable.

Grade: D+