SNL After Party (S50 E5 Air Date 11/02/24) - "Keep Kamala and Carry On-a-la"
Host: John Mulaney
Musical Guest: Chappell Roan
Throughout its 50 years, some SNL hosts all but guarantee a great show. Steve Martin, Emma Stone, and Alec Baldwin come to mind. As does this week’s host, John Mulaney.
Does the six time Comeback Kid meet expectation, or does Kid Gorgeous finally reach the end of his run?
Let’s find out as we line up at the bar for this week’s SNL After Party?
Cold Open
With days to go before the Presidential election, we knew they’d throw the kitchen sink of cameos at the cold open. And, indeed they did.
James Austin Johnson does his best as a visibly tired and rambling Trump at a rally. He wears his orange vest (“You might have seen me in GARBAGE TRUCK!”) and makes lewd gestures with the microphone (not too far removed from what Trump actually did at the rally), saying “Last time I hated a Mike this much, I tried to have him killed. PENCE!”
Then, we cut to Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) with Doug (Andy Samberg) and Tim Walz (Jim Gaffigan) who weeps at how good a Philly eggroll is.
Harris takes a moment to send a text “to every single person in America.”
Carvey drops in to do his Biden. It almost feels superfluous. Which is a strong metaphor.
Finally Maya addresses herself in the mirror, but her reflection is portrayed by the actually Kamala Harris, who gets a boisterous and long round of applause.
Here, mere days before the election, SNL gave Harris some very likable screen time, even allowing her to join Rudolph in the “Live from New York…”
Harris makes a mild Trump joke, and then asks Rudolph if she really laughs like Rudolph does when impersonating it. We all knew Rudolph’s portrayal of Harris was great, but the quality of it is really highlighted by this sketch with them together. Rudolph’s Harris is a top-tier impression.
Perhaps this is repentance for allowing Trump to host in 2016. Harris does well, and this is one of the stronger (if not strongest) candidate cameo to date.
It also feels like an implicit endorsement. But, then again, the whole season has felt that way.
Monologue
It feels like Mulaney appeared fully formed on the comedy scene as a brilliant stand-up and writer. And although his boyish looks are finally starting to transform him into more of a Jason Bateman type (maybe his portrait in the attic has started fade), his talent as a stand-up is still strong.
He talks about his kids and other short people in his life (some of which skirts the boundaries of racist tropes), he discusses his parents who are seemingly aging slower than him, and he riffs on why people don’t need to have a bunch of kids like they did in the old days.
This was a solid monologue, if not one of Mulaney’s best. Still, even a lesser Mulaney monologue is better than most hosts’ efforts. And there is plenty to laugh at here.
What’s That Name
Michael Longfellow does his creepy best as the host of a the political version of the game show where contestants simply have to name people. Mulaney and Sarah Sherman compete.
The show makes the brilliant point that people who claim elections are the most important ever lose memories quickly. Mulaney rattles off the names of Doug Emhoff and Jack Smith, but when Hilary Clinton’s actual running mate from 2016 makes a cameo, Mulaney is absolutely stumped. He says that it’s unfair. He can’t be expected to remember someone who is not like Tim Walz. They then show a picture of Walz next to the guest showing how undeniably similar they are.
Ultimately, Tim Kaine identifies himself and heads off.
The host then posts an old Tweet in which he lists victims of excessive force. with the hashtag #remembertheirnames. He can’t remember any names.
Mulaney then discusses the Handmaid’s Tale. His opponent takes issue with his interpretation, which Mulaney dismisses. It then turns out his opponent is Margaret Atwood.
Finally, Kaine comes back out and Mulaney can’t remember his name.
It’s a pointed and very funny sketch. And be honest, did you remember Tim Kaine’s name?
Me? That’s not relevant.
Saturday Midnight Matinee - Beppo
In a pre-taped piece, NASA successfully launches a monkey named Beppo into space. Problems arise, and it appears Beppo is doomed. Mulaney communicates with the monkey in an attempt to get him back.
It’s an absolutely ridiculous sketch, and Beppo is inexplicably amusing
The less said about this the better. Just watch it. It’s really funny.
Port Authority Duane Reade
Pete Davidson pops by as he and Andrew Dismukes shop in a Duane Reade shop at New York’s Port Authority. Shopkeeper Mulaney warns them away from buy a gallon of milk that is “Organ” (not organic).
Most of us knew instantly where this was going. Mulaney episodes always has a sketch that is a series of Broadway parodies, and this is that sketch.
Bits include a family of possums (Kenan Thompson and Ego Nwodim) do a Lion King parody. (“In the Circle of People Betting on Bum Fights”)
Next up a locked up bottle of shampoo (Marcello Hernandez) does a version of “Doe, a Deer”.
In what easily could have been the highlight of the sketch, Bowen Yang appears as the driver of a Greyhound (“Ironically, named after the fastest of dogs”). Yang is “Master of the Bus” in a riff on Les Miserables.
Suddenly a series of Timothee Chalamet impersonators (led by Chloe Fineman) arrive with a parody of “Welkomen: from Cabaret. Their tune ends with them saying “We’re Chalamet, we’re Chalamet, we’re “Chalamet!”
Eric Adams (Devon Walker) does an Aladdin number, Prince of Turkey.
And then, Andy Samberg appears as the “Baby Bear Carcass” left in Central Park by RFK sung to the opening to Hamilton.
Brilliant stuff as always.
Weekend Update
A good enough election week installment.
“Next week will decide if Kamala Harris will be President of if everyone at SNL gets audited.”
The jokes focused on Trump’s weird rally and his inability to open a garbage truck door. “He looked as drunk as I’m going to be Tuesday night.”
Che had a joke bomb and informed the audience he didn’t care.
There’s a bit about Joe Biden play-biting a baby dressed as a chicken, adding that moments later, Biden’s ill-behaved dog Commander, “finished the job.”
Desk guests this week included Heidi Gardner as Reb McEntire, who can’t decide on who to vote for. And then, there’s a couple who you can’t believe are toghether (Marcello Hernandez and Jane Wickline). She’s getting her masters in 18th century graveyards and Barnard. He’s a loud music lover who “teaches a SoulCycle class on the tarmac at LaGuardia, Baby”.
This, on paper, is not very funny. But Hernandez’s manic energy is great and he seems to crack up everyone at the desk. Wickline, to her credit, does play the demure, quiet student part well.
Sitcom Pioneers
Bowen Yang hosts this PBS show “watched exclusively on mute at the airport.” He interviews Jay PaulTodd (Mulaney), the producer of an 80’s sitcom.
The show features clips of an episode with a cameo by Little Richard (Kenan Thompson at his manic best).
The premise of the sketch is that Little Richard wouldn’t leave (because he liked the hotel room he was given because the maid would clean up no matter what) and then kept appearing on the show, with no understanding of how TV works.
This is an absurd sketch with excellent heightening and gives Thompson time to have a lot of fun. It pays off.
Harvey Epstein Ad
A pre-taped ad for a politician (Mulaney) with an unfortunate name running for city council.
There really is only one joke here, but it’s played well and leads to some cringey ad copy.
Not at all bad for the final sketch.
The Goodbye Wave
Best Sketch: Wow. This is a Herculean task. I could make a case for most of this week’s sketches. The Cold Open was brilliant. But was it that funny? The Duane Reade sketch is a rehash of something that’s been done whenever Mulaney has been on the show. But it was, as always, fantastic. And What’s My Name is the same concept as ever, but man is it well done this time. And then we have a sketch with a monkey, and I am a sucker for that.
Ultimately, I think I’m going to have to go with the Cold Open. Not only did it highlight just how good Rudolph’s Harris is, it also got the biggest reaction from the studio audience that I recall ever seeing. So, I’m allowing the viewers at Studio 8H to pick this one.
Worst Sketch: If picking a best sketch was difficult, picking a worst one is pretty close to impossible. Not one single sketch was bad this week. None.
That said, I guess I can zero in on Weekend Update in general as not being as strong as maybe it should have been at this point in the election cycle. And, in specific on the Reba McEntire bit. While amusing and well done by Gardner, it didn’t feel like it warranted time this episode. So, since I have to pick a worst, I’ll reluctantly go with the Reba desk set.
Random Notes:
- Musical guest Chappell Roan performed “Pink Pony Club” and her new lesbian country song (a new genre?”, “The Giver”. Surprisingly, no “Feminominom” in advance of Tuesday.
- There was a bumper card for Teri Garr. Garr hosted SNL three times in the 1980’s. Garr appeared in many films, and was co-star to last week’s host Michael Keaton in Mr. Mom.
- I was relieved to see Kenan do some high energy ludicrousness as Little Richard. If this is his last season, I am hoping he knocks it out of the park and does not go gentle into that good late night.
This was a great episode. No real clinkers. A lot of strong material. And a lot of - for lack of a better word - joyful material.
That said, are there any instant classic sketches? Probably not. So, while this is a fantastic episode, I don’t think it’s one that enters the pantheon of best episodes ever. But, it is lurking nearby.
Finally, one question pops up. If Harris loses the election, will Kate McKinnon return to sing a duet of “Hallelujah” with Maya Rudolph?
Grade: A
As always, we grade SNL episodes in comparison to other SNL episodes. Not TV in general.
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