SNL After Party (S50 E4 Air Date 10/19/24) - "If I had Been In Breaking Bad, It Would Have Ended in Three Episodes"

Host: Michael Keaton
Musical Guest: Billie Eilish

 Beetlejuice star Michael Keaton has been summoned to Studio 8 H for his fourth time helming an SNL episode.

Was Keaton the host with the most, or was this a boring night shift? Let’s find out at the SNL After Party!

Cold Open

The cavalcade of cameos arrives on schedule as we start with Maya Rudolph as Vice President Harris being interviewed on Fox by Bret Baier, inexplicably played by Alec Baldwin. We’ve seen a lot of Baldwin in past cycles playing Trump. And we got tired of it, honestly. Particularly once we got a gander at James Austin Johnson’s uncanny and brilliant Trump.

But here, Baldwin is just on the show to, well, be on the show. A regular cast member should have had the role in light of the limited screen time available these days, particularly here, where Baldwin really doesn’t add to the proceedings.

The sketch itself is funny and fast paced. We get clips of Biden (Dana Carvey) intentionally being used out of context, Trump giving a ridiculous interview (to Ego Nwodim) in which he claims that kids are going to school and coming back a different gender; they are going to Zoltar’s and are coming back big; and they are doing Freaky Fridays.

Harris, meanwhile keeps creating meme moments.

It’s a solid opener.

But, wait, no Andy Samberg as Doug? And No Jim Gaffigan as Tim Walz? Did he get tuckered out just a few blocks down the street from 30 Rock this week at the Al Smith dinner? (Side note: We were at the hotel that hosted the Al Smith Dinner just a few days before the event and no idea it was going to be there. We did see a lot of obviously high ranking Catholic clergy and well dressed people there. We literally thought it was a Knights of Columbus gathering, as the holiday formerly known as Columbus Day was actually the Monday before the dinner).

But, we got Baldwin. Even if we aren’t sure why.

Monologue

Michael Keaton remains very likable, but he didn’t really do much in his monologue. He mentioned that when SNL was in its first season, he was working as a production assistant for Mr. Rogers. He noted the similarities to the two shows in those days, including “tons of cocaine” on the set.

This then segued into Mikey Day and Andy Samberg showing up dressed as Beetlejuice. Samberg made a joke that the writers couldn’t shoehorn him into the cold open, “so here we find ourselves.” Both Day and Samberg do good Beetlejuice imitations, and Sarah Sherman pops up. She points out she is not doing an imitation, but just dresses that way.

The dueling Beetlejuices are amusing, but it’s a monologue that really deemphasizes the host. Which is an omen of things to come.

Shop TV

Heidi Gardner and Mikey Day are Lindy and Rhett, hosts of a home shopping show. We’ve seen these two many times before, which is fine. They are funny and serve mainly as foils to their guest.

This time, Keaton is “The Cookie Guy,” who is peddling his giant Zombie Eyeball cookies. These are revealed to be giant sugar cookies with red icing in the center. So, yes, they look like breasts.

And that really is the entire joke. I was almost surprised that Baldwin didn’t pop up to sell his Schweddy balls. Same joke. Different body part.

Towards the end of the sketch, something happened that required a TV-MA warning.

It was well executed, but in the frat house comedy range. As Michael Che would later say, “The 90’s are back!”

Please Don’t Destroy - Skydiving

The boys are back, and it’s good to see them.

In this episode, they are going skydiving. One instructor talks about how unlucky he is feeling, while another is just getting off the phone learning his divorce is final, and he’s lost the kids.

In typical PDD fashion, the jokes keep heightening until the end, and the payoff is very funny.

I’m glad PDD is back for season 50, and I hope they continue to space out the appearances of these pieces. It strengthens them when we don’t see them every week.

Forbidden Romance

Set in 1950’s Detroit, a young mixed-race couple (Andrew Dismukes and Ego Nwodim) seek their families’ approval.

At first her family (Kenan Thompson and Devon Walker - who does little in this sketch as well as the show in general) approves, while his family (Keaton and Heidi Gardner) do not.

But all that change when Dismukes professes his love through song. Oddly, that song is “Hey Soul Sister” by Train.

The anachronistic tune does, indeed change hearts and minds.

The sketch is fine, but hits a wall, and has a slapdash ending that makes little sense (narratively or comedically).

TikTok

This is a pretaped sketch with lightning fast cuts between various parodies of TikTok videos. It gives a lot of cast members a little bit of air time, so I think this week may be the first time we’ve seen all the newbies do something on the show.

It’s an entertaining enough piece.

Weekend Update

There’s less self-conscious efforts for groans than usual this week. There are the expected presidential politics jokes, including clips of Trump “dancing” to various songs. Jost advises us that the entire song collection is available on “Now that’s What I call Dementia.”

There is a story about Joe Biden saying the recent death of a Hamas leader could lead to a path to peace, noting that Path to Peace sounds like the name of a senior care facility Biden may soon move into.

Che points out that October 13 was National “No Bra Day,” but that it was a flop. When this got a positive reaction, Jost chided the audience, leading Che to say “The 90’s are back, Colin!” (See, I told you he would say that!).

Overall, a fairly tame set of news stories. The desk sets were unusual in that both of them were cast members not being characters (well, Sarah Sherman IS a character, but you know what I mean).

First up was new cast member, Emil Wakim, clearly doing some standup. His material was mainly about being a Christian Arab from Lebanon. He pointed out that once most white people find out he’s Christian, they relax a little, which he compares to white people running into "black dudes with anime backpacks on the street.”

When one arguably racist joke bombs, he blames Colin for writing it for him. (Colin got hit a lot this week).

Wakim is comfortable and natural on camera. I hope we get a chance to see some real character work from him soon. (He had a small part in the PDD video this week).

Later, Sarah Sherman stopped in to do a piece on Victoria’s Secret runway shows returning. She, as usual, used her time to insult/flirt with Jost. It’s been done, but it always feels fresh and funny. Ultimately, Sherman bemoans not being able to do a runway stint due to her “resting rabbi face.” It was great to have her back on the desk as “herself.”

Uber Game Show

Nwodim is an conspiracy theorist Uber driver who hosts a game show called Think About It for her unsuspecting passengers, Bowen Yang and Sherman.

“My Uber; my rules; and you’re stuck,” Nwodim says before launching into a series of questions with absurd conspiracy answers.

She also picks up her friend (Keaton) who also buys into these theories to add to the “fun”.

This is mildly amusing as Sherman’s character really gets into trying to win, prompting Yang to say, “Trish, I know you’re from Nebraska, but stop.”

While this at least touches on a real issue (being stuck with someone who wants to blather on about conspiracy dreck, this is another sketch that just grinds to a halt at the end.

Halloween Choreography

Well, this happened.

Dismukes plays the director of a Halloween sequel, Day is his Mike Meyers. When Day enters to stab his victim, he does so in a stylized dance. When Dismukes calls cut, Day says that’s what the stunt coordinator told him to do.

Enter Keaton as a more effeminate Bob Fossesque character. The rest of the sketch is Keaton leading Dismukes through Fosse moves.

This is the definition of a single joke sketch that doesn’t know how to end. This one should have been killed off.

Tableside Guacamole

Sometimes a sketch pops up that makes you wonder how it got past the initial pitch. And then rehearsals. And then dress. This is one such sketch.

Here, Keaton and his wife (Ashley Padilla getting some air time in character!) having dinner with their kid and her boyfriend and his parents.

Gardner shows up as a waitress who is preparing to make guacamole. Keaton thinks she looks familiar. They then proceed to vibe telling stories about their exes.

It’s a good showpiece for Keaton and Gardners’ acting.

But, then the sketch literally just ends like a a coyote slamming into a canyon wall when Gardner screams “That is your opinion!” to Padilla.

I don’t know if this sketch should have been longer or non-existent, but as it is, this is just weird.

The Goodbye Wave

Best Sketch: I am going to fall back into old habits here and give this to the Please Don’t Destroy segment. It was funny and layered. And it didn’t really have strong competition this week, so there’s that.

Worst Sketch: This was a tougher decision. I almost went with the Uber sketch, but landed on Tableside Guacamole. And, I am torn by this. On the one hand, it’s the single sketch of the night that really showcase Keaton’s acting. On the other hand the ending was so jarring that the whole thing just didn’t work. So there you go. And, yes, I know this is just my opinion…

Random Notes:

- Is it hard to write comedy sketches for Michael Keaton that don’t involve him playing it effeminate? He did that in the cookie sketch and the Halloween sketch. You know he can act, so why not give him more to do. And that guacamole thing shouldn’t have been it.

- Billie Eilish is, obviously, a great talent. Her two numbers were diverse. The first, “Birds of a Feather” included some interesting production, including shooting her from below (she was standing on a box with clear top). Her second number, “Wildflower” was more straight-forward. Both performances were strong.

- I am glad the new cast members are getting bits of airtime. Wakim’s desk appearance left me wanting to see him in some sketches, while Padilla’s turn gave a slightly Ana Gasteyer vibe (that’s probably more the character than the performer here). I look forward to more from them. I am still not sold on Jane Wickline, but ask me again after mid-season.

- Is Kenan being slowly phased out? I know it’s probably time for him to move on (I suppose), but if this proves to be his last season, he needs to go out with a bang and not fade away into the background. Meanwhile, Sarah Sherman got a ton of airtime this week. No complaint from me on that.

- Next week is a repeat (Jean Smart).

This was not a bad episode by any means, but nothing from this week will likely make a highlight reel. And I certainly won’t say “Beetlejuice” thrice in the hopes of seeing it again.

It was a decent episode with a few good sketches, a few bad ones, and mostly middling.

Grade: C+

As always, we grade SNL episodes in comparison to other SNL episodes. Not TV in general.

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