Even if Dakota Johnson, the “Madame Web” star and guest host of this week’s “Saturday Night Live,” was involved in the monologue joke that musical guest and five-time former host Justin Timberlake was there to upstage her, she must to have seemed a lot less fun to her at the end of the show.
It was an episode that felt undernourished on the acting side while being packed with guest stars. Among them were “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, who was there to bring back “The Barry Gibb Talk Show” sketch with Timberlake; two “Shark Tank” cast members, Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran, for a sketch about a woman (Johnson) debuting a bad t-shirt idea in his book club; and Dave Chappelle, who did not appear in any sketches but could be seen onstage alongside Fallon during the final good night at the end of the show. Like last week's presenter, Jacob Elordi, Johnson couldn't seem to get the rhythm of the sketches, losing her place on the cue cards several times and breaking character often when cast members fired off funny lines next to her. It wasn't the nerves of the first time: she previously hosted in 2015 to promote “50 Shades of Grey.”
The episode also included a sketch. about a family that has trouble ordering a meal at a restaurant called Buccacino's, one about an overzealous Delta airport counter employee (Devon Walker) Prevent Johnson's character from retrieving her lost purseand a sketch about the stanley cup fashion called “Big Silly Mugs” which had funny lines, but suffered from droopy lines and scattered performances. As befits someone who might be more comfortable outside of live television, Johnson shined in two pre-recorded pieces, one about a family watching old VHS tapes (more on that in a moment) and a video for “Please Don't Destroy “in which Johnson and the three writers get into a fight and exchange very personal insults.
Timberlake performed “Sanctified” with featured artist Toby Nwigwe and “Selfish,” hosted by Falon. Both songs are from his next new album.
This week's cold open parodied CBS's NFL playoff coverage, with sports analysts such as Jim Nantz (James Austin Johnson), Tony Romo (Andrew Dismukes) and James Brown (Kenan Thompson) lamenting “the last real day of football” because the Super Bowl is just a bunch of commercials and no one watches the Pro Bowl. The brooding team, also made up of Phil Simms (Michael Longfellow), Bill Cowher (Mikey Day) and Nate Burleson (Walker), applauded criticism of Ryan Gosling's Oscar nomination for “Barbie,” saying Ken's character was first. This time they felt seen and asked sadly, “What are men supposed to do on Sundays?” Just go to your friends' houses for no reason? The existential crisis concluded with an autotune song that promised better times, “When there is football again.”
In the monologue, Dakota Johnson showed a prophetic photo from when she appeared at an “SNL” 40th anniversary event. A photo of her shows her standing in the middle of a crowd of celebrities, including Steven Spielberg, Donald Trump before he was president and someone Johnson said would become the most powerful person in the country: Taylor Swift. The host said she has always had trouble handling interviews and press, which led to a clip of her as a child, on stage with her father Don Johnson. While her father speaks at the People's Choice Awards, she stands next to her rolling her eyes and grimacing.
With Dakota Johnson's part of Dakota Johnson's monologue out of the way, Timberlake appeared on stage to steal the show, and Fallon, already dressed in his Barry Gibb costume, joined in. Timberlake offered to fill in when needed because he has hosted five times. He felt even more rude given that Timberlake had been telling the press that he “flirted with the idea of hosting” but decided against it, making it seem like Johnson wouldn't have been producer Lorne Michaels' first choice. Oh. Maybe “Selfish” was a wise song choice.
Best sketch of the night: Homemade videos full of secrets
A son (Dismukes) finds old VHS tapes in his elderly parents' (played by Day and Johnson) house and asks to see them. One of the tapes reveals that his parents were unwelcome guests on a '90s Maury Povich-style talk show segment, “Is He the Father?” The son learns that his parents had a dysfunctional relationship that involved a lot of cheating and fighting. The pre-recorded sketch goes on too long, but Day and Johnson, along with castmates Sarah Sherman, Marcello Hernandez and James Austin Johnson, lean into the madness.
Also good: 'The Barry Gibb Talk Show' still works
The first sketch of the “Barry Gibb Talk Show” with Timberlake and Fallon It was in October 2003, and whatever you think of Fallon and Timberlake more than 20 years later, the trick still works. Even if the made-up show's guests, including Dakota Johnson, have nothing to do, Fallon's Barry Gibb impression is still killer, the randomly harmonized lyrics are still fun, and Timberlake admirably doesn't break down as the quiet, opinionless Robin Gibb. . If that doesn't convince you, there's Fallon as Gibb chirping, “If you don't cry in [Australian animated show] 'Bluey', you're not a real man! It's hard to agree.
'Weekend Update' Winner: Give Ethan All the Oscars
There's something about Bowen Yang and awards shows, as we mentioned before. For this guest segment, Yang plays Ethan, a tuxedo-wearing 15-year-old who creates his own Oscar categories, including “Best Performance that Reminded Ethan of Moments in Ethan's Past,” such as having an eye problem like the character in Paul Giamatti in “The Leftovers.” “I've been there,” sighs Ethan. Ethan's membership in the Academy of Motion Pictures is 100% Asian, prompting him to share a hashtag for his one-man ceremony, #EthansSoAsian! He concludes the stealing segment Niecy Nash's speech at the Emmys and revealing that his last name is Oscar. We hope Ethan makes another appearance before the Academy Awards in March.
