Conehead Nation, stand up! SNL Review: Anniversary Recap is back with three episodes. Many agreed that last week’s episode was a fun rebound from the awkward and awkward season premiere. Numbers don’t lie. We have a special matchup tonight. Bowen Yang’s Wicked co-star Ariana Grande teams up with SNL musical guest and true legend Stevie Nicks. Here’s how great Stevie Nicks is. Not only does she first perform on 8H back in 1983, but there’s a classic sketch where she fooled the Knicks, which itself is over 25 years old. Longevity and tradition, everyone. SNL50.
Grande last appeared on SNL a few months ago as a musical guest. She also hosted season 41. (The Tidal Breakdown sketch is still a late classic.) Taran Killam, currently performing at the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Kennedy Center (opening this weekend), says: : “The one I’m most looking forward to is Stevie Nicks. Her and Ariana hosting is the TV booking for me.”
See below for more details. Former cast member Gary Krueger also shares some quotes about this important night and season.
Rosalind O’Connor/NBC
cold open
A football game broadcast on NBC caused a “game delay” for tonight’s cold open. Caitlan Collins (Chloe Fineman) has finished her job at CNN. She explains Donald Trump’s fear of confronting Kamala Harris, except for the family feud. So let’s go…
Kenan Thompson beats his great Steve Harvey. Maya Rudolph returns as Vice President Harris. She has been active in the media this week. Along with her, as usual, is Andy Samberg as “Doug Shrugged” alongside Joe Biden (Dana Carvey) and Tim Walz (Jim Gaffigan). Steve Harvey asks Harris what he has in his glove compartment. After spewing out a boilerplate speech, Harvey placates her and says, “Glock.” And when it’s Doug’s turn, he says “second gun” — the rest of the Democratic team is less successful.
James Austin Johnson’s Trump is not joined by his wife, Melania. Mikey Day returns as Don Jr., but no Alex Moffat as Eric? That’s a shame.
Doug Emeroff has expressed approval of Andy Samberg’s impression, and Kamala Harris has similarly agreed with her portrayal of Rudolph. I asked Gary Krueger whether Samberg’s view was too lenient. “It is the actor’s job to make an impression, and it is the sketch’s job to satirize. An impression does not necessarily have to be an exact imitation, but in order for the impression to be obvious, it is the twist in the character that comes from the actor.” “We need that,” he said. A new perspective…I think it’s great that Emeroff liked Samberg’s impression. I’ve performed a few in the past, and my intention was always to have the hope that the person I was impersonating would find my interpretation interesting. ”
Krueger added, “I don’t care about the fact that celebrities are brought in to make a political impression. I don’t dispute the success or the fact that it might increase viewership, but I always think that the cast… I was thinking about that,” he added. Everything should be done on SNL, with very few exceptions. That’s the magic of this show to me, is that we have a cast in front of us that can do anything. ”
monologue
Grande says it’s been a great year. She’s a theater person, so it’s her dream to be in Wicked. One point: She’s just here to host, keep her voice low, and not sing. With that, she immediately started singing. And yes, she does a Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, and Gwen Stefani impersonation during her number. As mentioned earlier, she did this in an actual sketch in 2016. But in modern SNL, that’s just a checkbox.
Grande and Bowen Yang comment on Wicked and have a great time. (Gary Krueger doesn’t watch the show, but his former cast member Tim Kazurinski used to be on it and remembers hearing he was great!)
She brings in a chorus line of dancers at the end of the song for a grand finale. But…she claims to be keeping it low key!
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“Bridesmaid Speech”
Mr. Johnson is trying to wrap up his boring wedding reception speech. But the bridesmaids were quirky and a little different, writing a special song about the bride’s bachelorette party in Charleston. And so begins a parody of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso.” Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, and Grande Girls tell the story of a bride and a man named Domingo who got together for a girls’ weekend. “Not without reason, but the rhyming plan completely disappeared from the weekend,” whines the groom (Andrew Dismukes). He became more and more worried. I like how the song is a little off-kilter. It’s not supposed to be good.
But wait, Marcello Hernandez also makes a surprise appearance as Domingo!
“My best friend’s house”
This is a short story by Dan Bra. Grande shows up at her best friend’s house and sings for the third time tonight already. She fondly remembers the smell of this house. It’s the smell of my brother’s deodorant and my father’s sauce. It’s cute, until things take a dark turn. Looks like she missed some cues.
Sarah Squirm is cleverly cast as the severed human head.
FYI — Bulla produced several Adam Sandler films, including “The Ridiculous 6,” “Murder Mystery,” and “Hubie Hawaiian.” He has been writing scripts for the show since 2019, but was just named writing supervisor.
“Mama and Charades”
Bowen Yang is meeting her boyfriend’s parents and they start playing pranks. The mother (Grande) becomes very competitive and mean. She continues to despise Yang. Clearly, the show considers Yang a star these days. There’s a fake body moment, and then the polyamorous kiss begins.
Jane Wickline is still a little awkward, isn’t she?
“Celine Dion Sports Promotion”
Oh yeah, I’m rereading Grande’s impression of Dion. In a hilarious new Sunday Night Football promo, Dion jokes that her hit song “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” perfectly describes the NFL rivalry said. Now, SNL’s satirical take on what would happen if she did it in the UFC? of course.
Stevie Nicks performs “The Lighthouse”
‘The Lighthouse’ was released last month as a rallying cry for women, aimed at reinvigorating the fight for reproductive health care. “I have my scars, you have yours/Don’t let them take away your strength,” she sings. “They’ll take your soul and take your power unless you save it.” What a ballad.
As mentioned above, the Knicks first played 8H back in the early ’80s. Gary Krueger recalls his season 8 performance: “I was in my 20s when she was on SNL! I was a teenager when she came on 10 years ago! I Was I a Stevie Nicks fan? Of course she was one of the rock and roll goddesses. I didn’t remember her at the afterparty because I was too nervous to say hello. It’s not that my memory is correct, it’s just that I was too embarrassed to say anything.”
Sheryl Crow plays guitar and bass and sings on the song, which she co-produced. (And yes, she played in 8H three times.)
weekend update
Coachella, like Trump, brings out the worst in white people, says Colin Jost. Michael Che joked that Trump would be getting bangs soon. More Trump jokes — Jost makes a brutal abortion joke, then criticizes New York City Mayor Adams. “It’s the ’90s, Colin,” Choi calls back (twice). Here are some Diddy jokes tonight!
Weirdly happy Amazon employee Monica (Ego Nwodim) says good morning. Today is Prime Day, Amazon’s biggest sale event. She works very hard, figures out her day herself, and uses a drone. A very interesting commentary on the modern technology workforce/economy.
Joel and Liam Gallagher arrive to discuss Oasis reuniting. Tonight, they will be played by Sarah Sherman and James Austin Johnson. They discuss what they agree on. It’s a manga. Jost needs to do well on his upcoming tour so he can mosh out and win the White Boy of the Year award. For all you SNL history nerds out there, Jim Breuer played Liam Gallagher in a sketch for Jon Lovitz’s November 1997 episode “Set Our Nanny Free.” Oasis also played 8H in October 1997 with host Matthew Perry.
“Italy, Late Renaissance”
The Italian Renaissance was a period of profound cultural, artistic, and intellectual revival in Italy from the 14th to the 17th century.
This sketch features Maya Rudolph and Andy Samberg. As we’ve said before, these glorious celebrity appearances are more than just guest cameos. It’s a special season of SNL50. Let’s recognize these contributions as Avengers Unite moments of live network comedy. Call them the real cast. Dana Carvey too. It’s not just semantics. What exactly are we doing here?
Anyway, pale and sickly Antonio (Grande) is the son of Rudolf and Samberg, who are blessed with a heavenly singing voice. They castrated him to perfect the voice of local royalty (dismucus). Antonio appeared dead inside, despite his parents’ protests.
Grande sings “Twist and Shout” here. It’s another sketch where the show relies on her voice. fun.
Stevie Nicks performs “Edge of Seventeen”
After the second “game delay” of this episode, we’re back from commercial, but it’s worth it. ‘Edge of Seventeen’ is on the menu and somewhere you can tell Joan Cusack is happy about it. A timeless classic. I’m a fan of this!
Another sign of the Nicks’ longevity is that 45 years ago today, Fleetwood Mac released their album Tusk.
“Maybelline”
Chloe Fineman and Grande perform a dueling Coolidge through a mirror. “Oh!” Feynman previously played Coolidge in an episode with Austin Butler and Aubrey Plaza.
Here’s a goofy surprise for you. Feynman removes the mirror and Dana Carvey appears. (Note: Just refer to these celebrity appearances as part of the cast!)
As a premise, this is a bit long.
“Hotel Detective”
SNL is very black and white. Grande and Johnson spout 40s-era dialogue while denouncing each other as badge-wearing impostors. Goofy ratatat delivery, ok.
It’s interesting that Michael Longfellow, as Rod Serling, “sells” the ending, commenting on SNL in the process. It feels rushed.
final thoughts
–Well, how was it this time? Please vote here!
—Gary Krueger, thank you as always! Check out the Gary and Kenny Show on YouTube! The latest episode with Paul Shaffer is here.
