April 6, 2024 – Kristen Wiig / Raye (S49 E16)

Cold Open – March Madness Post-Game

• Nice to see a non-political cold open for a change.
• A guilty laugh from the whole Elton John bit.
• I’m about a minute or so into this open, and I’m finding myself with nothing to say. No observations, no remarks, just…nothing.
• Meh at Heidi playing a Southern woman. It’s really annoying.
• All of Heidi’s dialogue so far is really lame.
• The full-group LFNY was pretty poorly-timed.

Rating: **½

Monologue

• Okay, I need to get this off my chest: why do we consider the At Home episodes as official hosting stints or official episodes from S45? Because those episodes were made under rare circumstances, so they shouldn’t be considered as either of those things. If anything, they should be considered specials instead of episodes!
• I like how Kristen interacts with the band, complete with a rare speaking appearance of Lenny Pickett.
• Oh hey, Paul Rudd has a full beard!
• Random Paula Pell cameo, for the second time this season.
• Didn’t Paula already do a meta bit like this in Julianna Marguiles’ S25 monologue?
• Ah, I see Paula’s as funny as ever in these monologues.
• The turn with Kristen taking questions from cameos in the audience is enough to bring back unwanted memories of Tina Fey’s S43 monologue (and also Steve Carell’s S44 monologue), but this is coming off better to me, as the cameos are actually more fitting.
• Oops, never mind what I just said, as we now get Matt Damon, who never hosted five times.
• I like Kristen questioning Matt saying he grew up watching her on SNL, mainly because I was gonna say the same thing (after all, his first hosting stint was 3 years before she joined).
• Matt has some funny lines right now.
• Funny cutaway to all the non-Five-Timers inexplicably wearing their jackets.
• By the way, that cutaway has me with mixed feelings. Like, I don’t need to see Fred Armisen making his millionth cameo after leaving, but I can’t get mad at ever seeing Will Forte and Jon Hamm on the show (same can be said for Martin Short, but seeing him is not as exciting as Will or Jon).
• Also, it’s kinda funny that Will and Fred are in the same monologue as Matt Damon, given that he hosted their first episode on the show.
• Was Martin’s line about not hosting since 2012 supposed to be a joke?
• Funny bit with Matt trying to think of an honor for Kristen.
• Not sure if I needed this to turn into a musical number, but it’s decent.
• Funny cutaway to Ryan Gosling, next week’s host.

Rating: ***½

Jumanji

• Right from Kristen’s deadpan “no”, I’m starting to get a good feeling about this sketch.
• A laugh from the initial reveal of Kristen being afraid of being “Jumanji-d”.
• All of the dialogue following the reveal is very funny. This type of absurd writing is a perfect use of Kristen, rather than those wacky “look at me” characters.
• By the way, if all these people are worried about getting “Jumanji-d”, then I shudder to think of how they would feel about getting “Zathura-d”, if you know what I mean.
• Andrew’s angry ranting is hilarious, and is almost stealing this sketch.
• A solid twist with everyone getting “Jumanji-d”, complete with another sketch appearance from Will Forte.
• Will is perfect as a creepy conductor.
• Solid ending.

Rating: ****

Pilates

• Solid premise for a horror movie trailer, and another perfect use of Kristen.
• So many laughs from how all these scenarios at a pilates workout class are being presented in the style of a traditional horror movie.
• Even Bowen’s brief scene came off harmless.
• I honestly have no idea who Kaia Gerber is, so her cameo came off completely random to me.
• The phone conversation between Molly (making their first appearance since the Brolin episode) and Troast was hilarious.
• Every performance here is great, particularly Sarah, who’s coming off completely natural here.
• A funny cutaway to a dead Punkie after she said that one-pound weights are so easy.

Rating: ****

Secretaries

• Well, here to piss on the good mood this episode has put me in, we now suddenly get the return of this one-off Heidi character from the premiere that should’ve stayed a one-off. (*sigh*) As if I needed further proof of how useless Heidi is this year…
• I love Jon Hamm, but why couldn’t his role in this sketch be given to an actual cast member?
• I’m kinda mixed on Kristen imitating Heidi’s character voice. On one hand, she’s doing a good job at it. On the other hand, I’m worried it’s gonna lead to a Wacky Wiig sketch.
• I’m at least liking Jon’s reactions.
• Yeah, so far, this has been hitting the same beats as the first installment, and I didn’t even care for that one.
• Blah at all of Heidi and Kristen’s actions.
• Okay, I just got a laugh from Jon proudly saying that his sandwich “tastes like ass”.
• Even though James’ scene was pretty much a carbon copy of his scene in the first installment, it still made me laugh due to James and Kristen’s deliveries.
• Meh at Kristen’s “pratfall”.
• Weak ending with Heidi. And why is Bowen breaking so hard while saying his ending dialogue (I mean, I know why he’s breaking so hard, but I just don’t want to see him break)?

Rating: **

Retirement Party

• The initial reveal of Bowen had me wary that this would turn into another one of his vanity pieces, but looking more into it, it looks like this is gonna be a variation of those Toast sketches back in S34 (and also the reprisal in S37).
• Bowen’s delivery of his speech is solid, which is surprising, seeing as how I haven’t cared much for him this season.
• Fred’s performance isn’t as good as it was in previous installments.
• Funny silent cutaway to Sarah.
• Ah, our second returning character from these sketches: Gail.
• Kristen’s bit is going on a little long.
• Mikey’s nowhere near as strong a straight man as Jason Sudeikis, which makes it amazing that he managed to be on for as long as Jason.
• Blah at Marcello’s bit. Just unfunny and juvenile. This is the type of frat boy humor that I kinda dreaded since I first saw clips of him pre-SNL.
• Boy, this sketch seems to be making use of half the cameos from the monologue. That’s nice, but I can’t help but wonder if their roles (aside from Fred) should’ve gone to an actual cast member. I certainly would’ve liked to see one of them go to Longfellow, who sadly is not in tonight’s episode AT ALL. Man, SNL’s underutilization of him this year is just plain sad.
• I like the reveal of Matt Damon playing himself.
• YES! The return of Will’s Hamilton character! Always a treat.
• By the way, I love how Will’s beard makes his character even more creepy-looking than he already is.
• Ah, I see Will hasn’t lost a step in playing this character after all this time. Man, so far, tonight’s episode is utilizing Will better than his actual hosting stint.
• I’m iffy on that ending.
• This overall installment was okay, but I feel like there have been better installments in the past.

Rating: ***

Weekend Update

• Colin’s jokes early on are just okay.
• Wow, only a few seconds into Marcello’s commentary, and his delivery is ALREADY filling me with dread.
• The turn with Kenan as the eclipse isn’t working for me. This is just dumb, and not even the good kind. It’s more like…Nickelodeon-level stupid (not to bash too much on Nickelodeon).
• Okay, I did get a chuckle from Kenan’s line about Eric Adams.
• A laugh from Colin refusing to high-five Che.
• Our second returning Kristen Wiig favorite, this time being Aunt Linda, making her first appearance since S35. I’m not a huge fan of this character, but I am so glad that it’s not Garth & Kat who returned tonight. (*shudder*) If that actually happened, then I can’t even imagine how much Longfellow would be dying inside.
• Really, we’re going back to the joke of an Update correspondent referring to Colin as “Seth”? I thought we had gotten past this 10 years ago.
• Kristen’s still good at playing this character, but I dunno, something about it feels so…I dunno, out-of-place? It feels kinda out-of-place in this era of Update.
• And now she just called Colin “Amy”?
• Okay, I did get a laugh from Aunt Linda questioning where Che came from.
• Tonight’s Update unfortunately continued this season’s streak of subpar guest commentaries.

Rating: **½

Go-Karts

• After a slow start, this sketch has taken a solid turn with James and Kristen revealing to Andrew that they have something bad to tell him when they’re done. The former two are absolutely perfect for this.
• A big laugh from the reveal that all of this is happening on Troast’s birthday.
• A laugh from James casually referring to himself as “Big C” during his phone call.
• So many great lines from James and Kristen.
• Not sure if we need a mock-dramatic speech from the two, but it oddly works.
• Solid ending.

Rating: ****

Sonic Pioneers: La Maison Du Bang!

• Hmm, not too sure about this premise.
• Bowen’s French accent is good, but I’m not caring too much for Fineman’s.
• Kristen seems to be using her Triangle Sally energy for her French character.
• Troast’s scene is cracking me up, and is reminding me of that great Little Orphan Cassidy sketch from earlier this season.
• Solid anchor performance from Ego.
• I always love the pairing of James and Andrew, and their scene together is solid.
• Despite my initial worries, I’ve actually been enjoying this sketch. There’s so many fun and funny moments throughout.
• Great part with Mikey as a mime.
• Even Kristen’s typical “look at me” energy is working for this sketch’s atmosphere.
• The ending seemed to be lifted from the Electric Shoes sketch from S44.

Rating: ***½

Goodnights

• Great touch with everyone wearing a Five-Timers jacket.
• Oh, there you are, Longfellow! How do you like being shut out tonight…again?

Final Thoughts

• A solid episode, and one of my favorites of the season. Tonight’s episode was consistently enjoyable, with plenty of solid sketches, even if there weren’t many that I found great, and the only segment that bombed for me wasn’t even a returning Kristen Wiig favorite. Hell, not even the reliance on cameos hurt this for me. I was also pleasantly surprised with how well Kristen Wiig was utilized tonight, by putting her into deadpan roles in sketches with absurd writing rather than Wacky Wiig showcases.
• Also, tonight’s musical guest deserves a shoutout, as Raye’s performances were fantastic, and contributed to my enjoyment of this episode.

Cast Member / Host Count Down:

CHE: 1 sketch (Update)

DAY: 3 sketches (Retirement Party, Go-Karts, La Maison Du Bang!)

DISMUKES: 3 sketches (Jumanji, Go-Karts, La Maison Du Bang!)

FINEMAN: 4 sketches (Jumanji, Pilates, Retirement Party, La Maison Du Bang!)

GARDNER: 4 sketches (Cold Open, Pilates, Secretaries, Retirement Party)

JOHNSON: 5 sketches (Cold Open, Jumanji, Secretaries, Go-Karts, La Maison Du Bang!)

JOHNSON: 2 sketches (Pilates, Retirement Party)

JOST: 1 sketch (Update)

NWODIM: 3 sketches (Jumanji, Pilates, La Maison Du Bang!)

SHERMAN: 2 sketches (Pilates, Retirement Party)

THOMPSON: 5 sketches (Cold Open, Secretaries, Retirement Party, Update, La Maison Du Bang!)

YANG: 5 sketches (Jumanji, Pilates, Secretaries, Retirement Party, La Maison Du Bang!)

HERNANDEZ: 2 sketches (Retirement Party, Update)

KEARNEY: 2 sketches (Pilates, La Maison Du Bang!)

LONGFELLOW: 0 sketches

TROAST: 3 sketches (Pilates, Go-Karts, La Maison Du Bang!)

WALKER: 1 sketch (Cold Open)

WIIG: 8 sketches (Monologue, Jumanji, Pilates, Secretaries, Retirement Party, Update, Go-Karts, La Maison Du Bang!)

Next Week:

Well, as I already gave away earlier in this review, Ryan Gosling hosts with musical guest Chris Stapleton