When “SNL at Home” kicked off these quarantine editions two weeks ago, it felt very amateurish in presentation but it’s amazing what a couple of weeks can do.
Much like the late-night lineup has polished their at-home productions, the production values throughout this episode was tighter and they even used more special effects and graphics to really make some of the sketches feel like professional, in-studio moments.
Kudos also go out to the writers and performers who brought a much stronger show to the stage. The quick-hit format necessitated by the stay-at-home orders have actually resulted in every cast member getting a chance to shine and more stronger sketches per capita than almost any episode this season.
To help out with the fun, Brad Pitt joined as the new host, but rather than just present the show as Tom Hanks did, he actually got into makeup as Dr. Anthony Fauci to present the show’s cold open. He later introduced Miley Cyrus as the at-home musical guest.
But he wasn’t the only familiar face, as Paul Rudd stopped by for a hilarious FaceTime conversation with one cast member while Adam Sandler and Bad Bunny cropped up throughout the night as well.
But the biggest callbacks came when both Charles Barkley and DJ Khaled joined Kenan Thompson for the return of one of his most beloved recurring sketch characters of all time.
As usual, we’re ranking all the sketches from worst to first, including the Monologue, Cold Open, “Weekend Update” and any sketches that were cut for time but made their way online. We’ll skip the musical guests, because they’re not usually funny – unless Ashlee Simpson shows up. We wrap up with a look at the cast-member who had the strongest week.
SoulCycle at Home
One of the show’s favorite sketches in recent seasons heads home as various SoulCycle instructors struggle to keep their students motivated. There were a few fun moments in the fast-paced bit, particularly from Heidi Gardner and Bowen Yang, but for the most part it was as uneven as when they do this sketch live. But at least they’re doing stuff they like too, right?
Filter Reporter
It looks like the writers took this time tim spread some serious messages about the importance of taking COVID-19 seriously through the filter of comedy (see what we did there?) by also shining a spotlight on a real-but-rare issue of people suffering through filter mishaps during live broadcasts, or even Zoom meetings. In this case, Mikey Day’s sullen teen daughter (quarantined with his reporter character) was behind the filter fun, but it was a clever way to get the real message across under a layer of comedy.
Big Dominican Lunch
“Big” Bunny dropped in to help Big Papi make up his Peta “genocide” all-meat stew made with whatever was in his pantry. Kenan Thompson sold this one with his charm and the established cadence of the character, though it did lose a bit with the quick edits instead of the run-on nonsense we’d gotten used to. Still, the writing was sharp, the recipe incredibly easy and we’re going to have to dig out our big ass pot now!
COLD OPEN: Dr. Anthony Fauci
In a more traditional opening than Tom Hanks’ introduction a couple of weeks ago, Brad Pitt slipped into Dr. Anthony Fauci’s accent to offer up common-sense and professional translations of President Trump’s offhand and sometimes downright off comments about the virus. It felt just like an old-school introduction, which is a huge improvement over the last time “SNL” came from home. He closed it by stripping off his wig to thank Dr. Fauci and all of the medical professionals working so hard on the front lines. Then, in a twist on the classic opening line it was time to go “live, kind of, from all across America, it’s Saturday Night.”
Airbnb
Chloe Fineman was in an Airbnb story from hell with her surprise roommate (also Chloe Fineman as a Swedish half-naked nightmare) in a fun sketch that tries to blend the feel-good story of opening your home to travelers and the horror story when stay-at-home orders lead to them effectively moving in forever. With a little clever camerawork, Chloe was perfect in both roles, showing both her sweet and sweaty sides.
Aidy’s Real Journals
Aidy took a trip down memory lane in a cute exploration of her actual journals where she tore them apart with her adult sense of humor. Poor 9-year-old Aidy didn’t stand a chance. But it’s nice to see that Aidy is doing well in– oh shit, that takes a turn. She’s not doing well at all! Someone send help? We loved the unexpected twist and are a little worried that we could relate to this as well.
CUT FOR TIME: Message from Gov. Whitmer
“I promise you can call me a bitch from Twitter,” Cecily Strong’s Michigan governor tells would-be protestors. After all, why not protest from the safety of your home, or at least use social distancing guidelines? If your AK-47 can touch our buddy’s, you’re too close. It was yet another satirical moment spotlighting a real issue and Cecily was clearly having fun embracing another accent while threatening to throw dog poop back at her own protesters.
Whiskers R We
Lamenting that her small business loan went to Shake Shack, Kate McKinnon’s Barbara DeDrew created a quarantine commercial with her cat to try and help lift things up. And it’s moments like this that prove why satire and “SNL” are so important even during serious moments of crisis like this. We need reminders of the absurdities and injustices of the world around us in a palpable manner so we can digest and process it easier. Plus, it was so sweet watching Kate play with her cat throughout. For the record, Shake Shack did announce last week they were returning the $10 million federal loan they got that was earmarked for small businesses.
Early Release
Chris Redd is an inmate on early release due to the coronavirus, so he decides to FaceTime some flings.only to find that the world has changed a lot. All three ladies (Ego Nwodim, Aidy Bryant, Cecily Strong) brought strong material opposite Chris’ horny ex-con — incarcerated for copying “Sopranos” DVDs — with Cecily’s seasonal allergies rocking her camera and cracking us up. Really release might mean freedom for some, but it’s not the same freedom they remember.
What’s My Name?
Kyle Mooney has such a strange sense of humor, but we could totally relate to being put on the spot at a party over remembering someone’s name. There was some fancy camerawork in play so Kyle could play every role in this music video, which took a randomly bizarre turn at the end. But the neuroses that permeated through most of it was totally real. Plus, bonus for not tapping into COVID-19 at all (we just blew it by mentioning it here) because sometimes it’s nice not to think about it for a minute.
Weekend Update: Home Edition
The boys got them some green screen backgrounds so it would look more like they were at the Update desk this week, even as the whole show’s production values saw a marked increase. Michael Che probably made more enemies by trashing the redneck –er– red states that are protesting, slamming that there’s nothing but Walmart for them to do anyway and wondering why they’re bringing their guns to protest a virus? Plus, why support America so blindly only until the country asks something of them?
Colin Jost checked in with Pete Davidson who shared what the New York City health department has been sharing about safe sex during the pandemic, including something from the actual document that he still can’t say or even show on television in a late-night show. And it is pretty graphic, but we suppose it’s important to get all the variables out there? Pete even had to point out how weird the show is to do without an audience, but we think this has been a surprisingly strong edition.
After some very off-color, Colin made it clear that “SNL” will be back again by sharing that they’dset up an “All In” challenge where fans could donate to win the chance to write a joke that Michael will then read on air, sight unseen. It’s a way to give back and give fans the joy of our favorite segment where the guys write terrible jokes for one another. And considering Michael always gets off easy on those, we’re hoping fans really put him in an awkward spot! Check it out at allinchallenge.com/snljoke.
Pornhub
In these strange times, we’ve seen a lot of advertisements about supporting one another, unity and our megacorporations caring about us and being there for us. But are any of them there for us as much as– look, this was strange and a little awkward, but with music and imagery so wholesome and beautiful we almost thought we were listening to awful prescription drug side effects. It was a brilliant parody.
Melissa’s Big Date
Melissa invited her date into the house in a strange sketch that followed her flirty adventure through the next morning when she found an unpleasant surprise in the commode. Oh and throughout, we got quick glances at her date and they were … not there? Yup, she was interacting and making out with and sleeping with and ultimately fighting with no one. But was it real? The door closed at the end, leaving it open for interpretation. Either way, it was fun seeing Melissa stretch herself creatively and artistically as her character went through it on this one!
FaceTime with Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd checks in to FaceTime the cousin he hasn’t seen since they were kids in a returning bit for Heidi Gardner’s Mandy character, last seen reconnecting with cousins James and Dave Franco a few years back. And like them, she can’t believe how much Paul has “changed, man.” The back-and-forth was so cute between the two of them, and clearly some of it off the cuff, as Heidi really embodies the awkward aggressiveness of this character.
Stuck in the House
Another vast improvement from his previous attempts, Pete Davidson perfectly captured the quarantine crazies, but it was guest Adam Sandler who really brought the laughs with much stronger and funnier lyrics about his experience. We love that the cast has not been afraid to show their families in the videos this week much like the late-night hosts have been doing. It just helps us feel even more connected during these disconnected times, which helps drive the comedy home (from home) Plus, the bonus Rob Schneider cameo got us cracking up.
OJ Simpson
A message from OJ Simpson, who’s getting a little angry during the coronavirus. It was a very well-delivered monologue by Kenan Thompson, getting so mad he could kill and written to show just how clueless he is to the public’s perception of him. There was a menacing innocence to it that was executed to perfection.
Bartenson’s Grocery Store
Taking advantage of cheap production values of many local commercials, Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant were able to appear “together” in this fake grocery store ad touting all the products they definitely still have in stock like Peeps soup and, for some reason, Dasani water. It was hilariously inept, poorly produced and delivered by two comedy veterans. Why not consider Boy Scout Cookies (“they’re wet”)? Maybe there’s a reason certain items are being left on the shelves.
The Reveal
Ever wonder how “Law & Order” is adjusting to the coronavirus? It’s Zoom to the rescue in this bit where Beck Bennett’s detective assembled his suspects a la Agatha Christie in a conference call to reveal whodunnit. But what was really going on was Cecily Strong’s impromptu little musical performance leading to the good detective sharing his own masculine rock masterpiece. This was surreal, but very funny, with Heidi’s daffy suspect the absolute highlight.
What Up with That? At Home
If it took a pandemic to bring back this classic Kenan Thompson sketch– well, we won’t go that far, but how thrilling to bring one of his most consistently funny recurring characters into the new generation of “SNL” players and viewers. Chares Barkley and DJ Khaled were on as hosts, along with Lindsey Buckingham (who he always runs out of time for), played in digital still-shot by Bill Hader ,as well as the returns of Jason Sudeikis (possibly old footage) and Fred Armisen on tiny toy saxophone. In lieu of the normal live shenanigans, we got extensive over-the-top graphics and zaniness and it was absolutely glorious!
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you don’t’ believe that this whole experiment has us feeling some kind of way, for the second time in a row we found ourselves getting emotional when the closing credits started rolling over the empty “Saturday Night Live” stage.
While we enjoyed the party and the distraction, it was just another reminder that none of this is normal. That these places we’ve grown to love stand empty as everyone is huddled in their homes. And yes, we are grateful that technology allows us to stay connected with friends and family and even sketch performers, but we still want our world back.
Other than that strange moment for us — is it just us? — we applaud the entire cast and crew of “Saturday Night Live” for really stepping up their game with this second “At Home” edition. It felt a lot more like the comedy we’ve come to expect from the show. It also clocked in again with notably more sketches than a live show (the same number as last time), proving there’s gold in some of these quick-hits.
Last week, we didn’t do a “Player of the Week” because the show was so fractured. This week, absolutely everyone got a chance to shine, which is almost never the case in a live show, but there were a couple of stand-out performers.
Heidi Gardner cracked us up as Paul Rudd’s cousin Mandy and as a murder suspect in “The Reveal,” but the star of the show has to be Kenan Thompson. Not only was his OJ monologue sublime, but he gave us Big Papi and the return of “What Up With That?” He was everything we needed tonight!
“Saturday Night Live at Home” will likely return soon, based on Colin Jost’s “All in Challenge” — sitting at $19,000 at the time of this writing — but when? Is two weeks the new standard to produce this show? Next week, we know, is a repeat so time will tell.
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