Michael Keaton returns to ‘Saturday Night Live,’ and so does Alec Baldwin
As a long-time fan who has grown up watching Saturday Night Live and witnessing the comedic evolution of some of Hollywood’s greatest talents, I found this week’s episode to be a bit underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong – Michael Keaton is an absolute legend, and his monologue was hilarious, especially with the surprise appearance of Andy Samberg and Mike Day in full Beetlejuice costumes. However, the sketches this week seemed to lack the edge that SNL is known for.
Michael Keaton recently hosted “Saturday Night Live” for the fourth time (his last appearance being in 2015). In various skits, he displayed a stable influence, which is unsurprising considering his past as one of the world’s leading comedic film actors. Some might even say that during the ’80s, Keaton and “SNL” alum Eddie Murphy reigned supreme in movie comedy.
However, the resilient comedic prowess of Keaton – his ability to maintain character, deliver witty lines, and timing that’s still spot-on – seemed somewhat overshadowed in an episode that didn’t fully leverage Keaton’s exceptional skills. A monologue featuring some cast members dressed as one of his famous characters, Beetlejuice, was followed by scenes where Keaton portrayed a cookie maker with a cookie resembling a breast, a father whose son foolishly sang “Hey, Soul Sister” about his proposed interracial marriage, and a Lyft driver who unintentionally became part of a live Uber-game show. Despite these roles, the episode seemed to underutilize Keaton’s unique comedic talents.
The sketches weren’t lacking humor, but rather, many of them didn’t offer Keaton an opportunity to introduce fresh and memorable characters. In fact, it appeared that they leaned more on his dramatic acting skills, such as when he portrayed a sorrowful skydiving instructor in the debut video sketch of the season titled “Please Don’t Destroy”.
In an unusual twist to the typical ‘drama-or-sidekick’ role dilemma, Keaton portrayed the stunt movement coordinator for a “Halloween” movie in a sketch. Here, he transformed Michael Myers into a contemporary dancer rather than a menacing serial killer. However, despite Keaton’s impressive performance, the joke stretched too far and became repetitive.
Billie Eilish, along with her band which includes her well-known sibling Finneas, played “Birds of a Feather” and “Wildflower”.
× For four consecutive weeks, Maya Rudolph and Dana Carvey resumed their characters as Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden, respectively, on SNL. This week, however, Alec Baldwin joined the cast to portray Bret Baier from Fox News, in a mock interview skit where he frequently interrupted Harris, implying he’d only let her finish when he went to sleep. During breaks, Harris responded by recording quick TikTok videos, such as “See how I don’t allow men to interrupt my responses? Very modest, very considerate.” To counter criticism about her ability to handle immigration cartels, she quipped, “If I were in ‘Breaking Bad,’ it would have ended in just three episodes.” Harris also pointed out that Trump (James Austin Johnson) played a long stretch of gay anthems like “Y.M.C.A.” and “It’s Raining Men” during his town hall, and joked, “Doesn’t he ever listen to the lyrics?
× In the celebration of “SNL’s” 50th season, Keaton highlighted that he was once a production assistant on “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.” What made them similar, according to his joke, was an abundance of puppets and drugs. When he referenced grown men dressing up as Beetlejuice for Halloween, he was joined by Mike Day and Andy Samberg, both in full costume, who showcased their impression. Sarah Sherman, known for her bright outfits, wore a black-and-white suit for the monologue, but insisted it wasn’t a costume. Despite repeated attempts, Keaton only voiced Beetlejuice to say, “We’ve got a great show!” The writers tried to include Doug Emhoff in the opening, but couldn’t find a suitable fit.
Best sketch of the night: This Shop TV cookie is simply the breast
× The humor in the Shop TV sketches is consistently amusing due to their robust foundation: A craftsman demonstrates a product alongside hosts Rhett and Lindy (portrayed by Day and Heidi Gardner), but the item is often genitalia-shaped or unsuitable for television. In the latest episode, Keaton plays a baker who’s created a Halloween zombie eyeball cookie that resembles a woman’s breast, complete with a red velvet nipple center. As Day and Gardner strive to maintain the show’s flow, viewers phone in with questions such as, “Is the cookie available in various ethnicities?
Also good: TikTok’s algorithm, but as an ‘SNL’ sketch
× “SNL” has done this one before, too, back in 2021, but it works just as well again: a random assortment of TikTok moments on someone’s smartphone. It’s a lot of jokes in a short amount of time, some very topical. Harris, Rudolph and Eilish all appear as people subjected to bad singing from Bowen Yang as influencer Harry Daniels. Carvey returns as Biden on a balance board while Ego Nwodim plays a woman with many, many complaints about her local Chili’s restaurant. Bethenny Frankel, a tradwife, a man slow dancing with his cat, and “Call Her Daddy” podcast host Alex Cooper make appearances in the mock TikTok clips. Sadly, the person viewing the videos misses the birth of their son, as we learn from a text message.
‘Weekend Update’ winner: Emil Wakim Says Christian Arabs are practically French
× Sarah Sherman resumed the discussion, focusing on aspects overlooked in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show such as infected belly button jewelry and diapers. However, Emil Wakim captured the spotlight by sharing his unique experiences as someone who is both Arab and Christian during his “SNL” debut. Wakim, a fresh cast member for this season, used this opportunity to share that his Iranian immigrant father has achieved such success that he’s now a Republican. Wakim charmed the audience with jokes about how the atmosphere lightens whenever he reveals his identity as a Christian Arab, even in Studio 8H. Wakim mentioned that his father always emphasized their family’s European roots over Middle Eastern ones, and they consider themselves more French, although the French might disagree. Alternatively, Wakim described Christian Arabs as “hairy, sweaty, passionate guys… a Greek you’re kinda afraid of.
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2024-10-20 10:31