Comedian Shane Gillis, famous for being hired and fired from “Saturday Night Live” in 2019 when racist slurs he used on a podcast resurfaced, guest hosted the show, proving that veteran producer Lorne Michaels is still willing to generate controversy if it means people will tune in to see possible fireworks.
But the fireworks were pretty subdued and relegated only to the monologue Gillis delivered, in which he sheepishly acknowledged the gunshot, but then proceeded to walk a comedic tightrope in the rest of his talk using the term “retarded” and insisting that young children who are close to their mothers are, at least temporarily, homosexual. Based on hyperbolic reactions on social media, the monologue was either the worst in the show's history or the best anti-woke comedy ever seen on the show.
The truth probably lies somewhere in between, with a clearly nervous Gillis taking advantage of his comedy skills to portray himself as a Nate Bargatze-like white comedian with loving parents and a more diverse family than you might expect. But it's hard to say whether the monologue attracted more fans or simply served to make Gillis even more polarizing than before the show, when more offensive comments from his past were reported.
How did Gillis fare otherwise? He didn't show much comedic flair that would take him beyond his stand-up comedian persona, but the guest host drew laughs as a religious father from a white family who Visit a Jamaican church while traveling; as a boy at a human resources meeting ask the rules for dating coworkers; and like a game show contestant “The Floor” who is afraid of giving wrong answers about African Americans. He also appeared as a enthusiastic owner of Fugliana, a not-too-attractive sex doll for below-average men; a rival of Forrest Gump (Mikey Day) in a 20 year high school reunion; and a man whose digital spy device shows Online ads for a Green Bay Packers-themed sex toy..
Musical guest 21 Savage performed “Redrum” with backup singers singing Portuguese, and “I should have worn a hat” with Brent Faiyaz and Summer Walker. There was no Please Don't Destroy video sketch this week.
This week's cold open was a quiet political sketch about Republican Senators Jim Risch (Day), Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernandez), Lindsey Graham (James Austin Jones) and Tim Scott (Devon Walker), where they all complain about how bad who treat them. by former President Donald Trump, winner of the South Carolina primary on Saturday, but they also say how great they think he is. Graham reminds viewers that he was once fooled by trumpRubio says that they nicknamed him “small frame”, while Scott insists that Trump doesn't have a racist bone in his body despite saying that his criminal accusation makes him more attractive to black voters. Scott insists that he won't compromise his integrity… “but I would if he made me vice president!”
Gillis' long-awaited and feared monologue began with humility. “Yes, I'm here,” Gillis said. “I was fired from the program a while ago. Don't look for that, please. Don’t Google that.” But instead of going into details or explaining why he was fired, Gillis talked a bit about his resemblance to a high school coach, “ninth grade sex education teacher.” Then followed a routine about how every little boy close to his mother “is just your mom's best gay friend.” It was a roundabout way of talking about the bond that breaks between moms and young children once puberty hits, and the routine was not lacking in candor with this joke: “Mom asked when we stopped being best friends. “It was the first time I got screwed.” His warm feelings for Mom changed to, “When is that bitch going to get out of the house?”
But the riskiest part may have been an extended riff on Down syndrome, beginning with Gillis saying that he is sometimes mistaken for having it because of his appearance. “I dodged it, but it cut me,” she joked. She revealed that she has family members, including a niece, with Down syndrome. “I thought that would get a bigger laugh,” she deadpanned. If anything, Gillis seemed aware of how his comedy might be perceived and at the same time he was unwilling to give up the attention the show would bring him. “I don't have any material that could appear on television,” he said, while delivering material that, at least under the supervision of producer Lorne Michaels, did make it to television.
Best sketch of the night: Trump's magical golden slippers
It seemed like an odd choice for Johnson not to use his Trump impression in public until it was revealed that the character was being saved for this pre-recorded sketch. The recent news about Trump's $399 “Never give up” sneakers becomes a trailer for the Newsmax-produced film for “White Men Can Trump,” in which a pair of shoes imbues Trump-like magical powers of persuasion into a hapless loser. Gillis and Johnson finally face off on a basketball court as rival Trumps. A very crazy idea that achieves a first-class execution.
Also good: online gaming becomes personal
“Saturday Night Live” has not addressed the booming online betting industry a lot… until now. In this clever, dark sketch, an app lets friends bet on when their “degenerate gamer” friends will hit their lowest points due to gambling, whether by selling their PlayStation 5 or a kidney for gambling bankroll or losing the bankroll. their children's college. a coin toss.
'Weekend Update' winner: Frozen embryo warms our hearts
Truman Capote, played by Bowen Yang, was highlighted in one segment, but it was Hernandez who stole “Update” this week as a pink, refrigerated embryo from Alabama, where IVF procedures were put on hold due to a recent Supreme Court decision of the state. . The prankster embryo, with earmuffs (because he is frozen) joked that he looks like the son of Sofía Vergara and an Oompa Loompa and that without a brain and without a heart, “I am like Tom Sandoval”, the Much-hated cheater from “Vanderpump Rules.”
