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Mikey Madison hosts ‘SNL’ after Oscar win, but mostly plays supporting role

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As a film enthusiast, stepping onto the Saturday Night Live stage shortly after receiving an Oscar feels like a well-deserved triumphant stride, yet it’s also a chance for me, as an actor, to prove to the television audience that I am so much more than just a single unforgettable role.

Regrettably, following her best actress win at the Oscars for “Anora,” Mikey Madison didn’t have many chances to showcase her skills during her debut as a guest host on “SNL.” Contrary to how it effectively featured Lady Gaga previously, this episode placed Madison in numerous sketches where she primarily acted as a secondary character, rehashing old ideas from past episodes.

As a film enthusiast, I must admit that Madison didn’t get the chance to bring entirely fresh characters to life in this episode. Instead, her performances were reminiscent of Charli XCX’s acting class character, Marcello Hernández, a versatile high school student, a comedy-writer partner of a dying criminal, a person evading jury duty, and an OB/GYN who kept bumping into Barry, the midwife (played by Bowen Yang). It wasn’t until the climactic game-show sketch titled “So Like … What Are We,” that Madison took center stage. While it may not have been the standout moment of the night, it did showcase her comedic talents, a skillset that fans of Pamela Adlon’s FX series “Better Things” have long appreciated.

It’s unfortunate and a wasted potential that an Oscar-winning actress found herself in secondary roles, which she excelled at, predominantly in sketches featuring mostly male leads (except for the jury duty sketch where Ego Nwodim played the judge). Even a video parodying Madison wanting to create a high-end TV series based on Spongebob Squarepants, with Madison portraying Squidward, seemed like a reused concept from when Bad Bunny took on Shrek.

Let’s hope she’s invited back and the show steps up with better, fresher material for her.

Musical guest Morgan Wallen performed “I’m The Problem” and “I’m A Little Crazy.”

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Last week’s episode started with a humorous scene where Defense Secretary Pete Hesgeth, portrayed by Andrew Dismukes, was accidentally included in a group chat with some high school girls, referencing the real-life Signal chat scandal. As each girl read their messages aloud, Hesgeth interjected with a blend of military strategies, gifs, and eggplant emojis. Vice President J.D. Vance, played by Yang, then entered the chat from Greenland, where he was secretly working on significant tasks. “Nobody knows why I’m here, even me,” Vance lamented. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, portrayed by Hernández, attempted to extract information from the girls in order to deport them through ICE, but before he could, The Atlantic’s Editor in Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, played by Mikey Day, joined the conversation. “Hesgeth, you need to remove my number,” Goldberg said.

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Mikey Madison explained that she’s been incredibly busy lately and is looking forward to some rest in April. She displayed scenes from her roles in “Scream” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” where her characters met fiery ends, humorously commenting, “That’s range.” Madison disclosed that she was a home-educated equestrian enthusiast (essentially, a bookworm with long hair), introduced her twin brother present in the audience, and promised to showcase the pole-dancing abilities she acquired for “Anora.” A blunder in editing and the appearance of a muscular body double hinted that the audience was being pranked: Madison herself didn’t perform the pole dance.

Best sketch of the night: A line is forming even for this recap

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A prerecorded musical performance showcased New Yorkers participating in their most popular trend: “Standing patiently in a lengthy, seemingly foolish queue.” Queues for famous bagels, viral queues for gummy bears from temporary stores, queues for fashionable matcha or cronuts. A sample lyric is: “Queue, queue, queue, queue, what’s the purpose, it must be heaven-sent.” Regrettably, the extended wait times don’t always result in outstanding rewards: the goods are often merely satisfactory or average, such as mediocre pizza, which they come to understand as Joe Jonas arrives to sing about the pleasures of queueing. It’s an entertaining video to watch… while queuing up yourself.

Also good: What if New York’s crazy design was on purpose?

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In this week’s standout moment, there was no appearance by Mikey Madison whatsoever. However, an intriguing animated short took center stage, featuring Michael Longfellow and Yang as early explorers in 1620, drafting a blueprint for New York City. The cityscape at the base is disorganized, the squares are actually triangles, and the train tunnels bear no resemblance to the chaotic streets. Although it shares some similarities with Nate Bargatze’s sketches depicting George Washington, this animation adds a touch of humor with its strategic pauses and close-ups, making it even more engaging.

‘Weekend Update’ winner: Wake up at 4:30 a.m., start chugging Saratoga water

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As a devoted fan here, I’ve got to say that while Joann Fabrics’ (Joann) bankruptcy is truly disheartening, the highlight of this week’s “Update” goes to Devon Walker. His swift and spot-on critique of Ashton Hall’s viral morning routine video really took the cake!

In a hilarious twist, Devon shared his own set of videos, which he films right from the SNL office where he resides. In his words, “Some people call it eviction, I call it being locked in.” Brilliantly funny, Devon!

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2025-03-30 10:31

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