It's hard to believe that in the years since Maya Rudolph left “Saturday Night Live” in 2007, she's only hosted the show three times, including this week's excellent return. She appears frequently, such as when other former castmates host the show, most recently Kate McKinnon, and she was a regular guest before and after the 2020 election. like Vice President Kamala Harris.
It may be surprising because you couldn't ask for an easier comedy gig than having Rudolph, a versatile comedian, singer and impressionist, bring her talents to the show. This outing was no exception: after an energetic house music monologue, Rudolph showed off her exceptional range. If she was getting her Beyoncé impression back for a reprise of “Hot Ones”, playing an exhausted teacher where the whole school is giving up, a British Cavewoman on NatGeoor a Flatulent actress on the set of a television advertisement. Who drinks too much coffee, everything fell into place. A pre-recorded sketch about motherhood”,Can you pick me up”, managed the difficult task of being both hilarious and moving.
Even some of the later sketches, including one about a lawn service whose workers won't sleep with their wives, and another that honors National Nursing Week where Rudolph played an Irish-Jamaican nurse, benefited from the host's chops. For the Mother's Day episode, Rudolph was really the best”Mother” that the monologue suggested. Also this week: musical guest Vampire Weekend performed “Generation X Police” and “Capricorn.”
As the show has done from time to time, the cold open was dedicated to showing love to the cast members' real-life moms. Kenan Thompson was first with his mother, Ann, who expressed her disappointment that the show was not going to open with a political sketch. “It's a shame,” she said, “I was excited to see who was going to play Stormy Daniels.” Several mothers from the cast told jokes about Tom Brady, referencing his recent live Netflix roast. “Tom Brady's marriage ended so quickly I thought he was your father,” Chloe Fineman's mother said. Mikey Day received love from her mother for his viral Beavis and Butt-Head sketch with Ryan Gosling from a few weeks ago. Marcello Hernández's mother said that Michael Che gave her flowers and a phone number. And Sarah Sherman's mom correctly predicted that she knew how to play the brain worm of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. We'll talk more about that in a moment.
In her monologue, Maya Rudolph went huge with a great musical performance. While cast members honored the four-time mother as “Mother” (as in the Gen Z term for ultimate respect for an elder), Rudolph performed a homemade song in which he marched backstage and referenced his appearances in past movies, including “Bridesmaids” (“Remember that movie when I pooped my pants?”) and past and present recurring “SNL” characters, including Dooneese, Mary Catherine Gallagher and Lisa from Temecula . “I am your mother!” she announced triumphantly as she finished the show.
Best sketch of the night: Beyoncé sweeps everything except the Scoville scale
These are generally diminishing returns when a blockbuster sketch repeats, but this sequel in which Beyoncé (Rudolph) returns as a guest on “Hot Ones” has some important updates. First, Beyoncé is dressed in her “Cowboy Carter” vinyl gear and brings her Texas swagger to try to conquer the increasingly racy wings of the YouTube show. Secondly, it is completely believable that, having been defeated before, the superstar had no choice but to return to finish what she couldn't last time. “This was the only thing I tried and didn't kill,” she says in the sketch, “and that bothered both me and my husband.” It's not long before the sweaty singer curses host Sean Evans (Mikey Day) and his “Charlie Brown look like—” and asks if her skeleton, which is on fire, can be removed from her body. . This sketch is just as funny as the first, and it was just as funny as when Rudolph appeared on “Hot Ones” as her character Molly Evans from the Apple TV+ show “Loot.”
Also good: never show anyone your Instagram explore page
After some time off from the show, the guys from Please Don't Destroy returned and hit the studio in a filmed sketch about a triple date gone wrong. When their dates (Fineman, Ego Nwodim and Sherman) ask to see their Instagram searches, the boys do everything they can to avoid it, but it is soon revealed that the three of them are addicted to “Uneesa Confidence” (Rudolph), an influencer from Instagram. that sells their dirty bathwater and boosts the self-confidence of lonely young people. Also, he shows her breasts. Bonus points for the very funny name, which translates to: “You need some confidence.”
'Weekend Update' Winner: Sarah Sherman Is Back Into Our Hearts
Heidi Gardner did a very good job as “a woman who says she's not crazy,” but it was hard to top Sherman as Kennedy's brainworm, a lovesick parasite who keeps sucking on the straw of a Stanley Cup full of brains. While mocking the presidential candidate, she also talked about “Update” co-host Colin Jost, including: “His face is so red it looks like you yelling at college protesters” and linked him to Kevin Spacey. . She said Spacey was his old brain home: “I ate the part that understood the word no.” The worm begged Kennedy to meet her at the top of the Empire State Building, where they could meet. The worm then applied lipstick and paid tribute to Marilyn Monroe, singing, “Happy worm brain, Mr. Future President!”
