Michael Keaton returned to host Saturday Night Live with musical guest Billie Eilish. The night felt somewhat lackluster after Arianna Grande's high-energy and viral moment-producing show last week. Keaton was underused this week, which is a shame since he has been an iconic host in the past.
Keaton first hosted in 1982 during the Halloween episode of season 8. He returned in 1992 in season 18 and again in 2015 for season 40, making him a bit of a hosting veteran. Last night's musical guest was also not a stranger to the show. Eilish first appeared as a musical guest on SNL in 2019 on the season 45 premiere. She returned to both host and musical guest during season 47 in 2021. She returned again as the musical guest on season 49. Last night, Eilish sang "Birds of a Feather" and "Wildflower" from her album Hit Me Hard and Soft. While her talent makes both performances well worth a watch, the surreal opening and projected sky for "Birds of a Feather" elevates the performance and is just so cool.
This week brought another political Cold Open, which only makes sense this close to the election. It spoofs Kamala Harris's interview on Fox News and is very close to the Bret Baier-led interview earlier this week. This sketch has some excellent one-liners, and Maya Rudolph's Kamala impression is always a masterclass, but overall, the sketch drags a bit. Most of SNL's political impressions are impressive; however, this sketch introduces Alec Baldwin as Baier. While he is a favorite of the show, he doesn't seem like the best choice for the character and he isn't as believable in the role as the other players in the sketch.
The monologue this week felt short. While Keaton started by recounting a story about being a PA on Mr. Rogers's Neighborhood in the 1970s, he was quickly interrupted by Mikey Day and then Andy Samberg dressed as Beetlejuice. They try to pressure him to do the impression with them, which is cute. However, the big issue with this is that SNL did a very similar bit when he hosted in 2015. At the time, Taran Killam and Bobby Moynihan pressured him through song to do Batman and Beetlejuice impressions.
In some ways, a Beetlejuice impression monologue makes more sense in 2024 after the release of the long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice than it did in 2015, but the two monologues just feel like they are making the same joke. And the 2015 version does it better. Also having Andy Samberg (who has been playing Doug Emhoff in the cold opens) come out instead of Baldwin feels like a missed opportunity for a Beetlejuice-themed joke.
While some jokes don't land, this sketch's premise is really fun. The sketch follows a QVC-type show that goes awry when the Halloween cookies a host is selling look like something naughty. A highlight of the sketch is the almost swishy southern accents of the hosts that really build the characters quickly. The audience feels like they have seen these people before almost instantly, which is an asset.
Please Don't Destroy sketches always feel amongst the program's most inventive and freshest sketches. This sketch about skydiving instructors getting a bad feeling about the jump is no different. It is funny and tight and also, surprisingly, really showcases Keaton's acting chops.
This sketch features Ego Nwodim and Andrew Dismukes as an interracial couple in 1950s Detroit who bring their parents together. The meeting leads Dismukes to play Train's "Hey Soul Sister" on a ukulele. This sketch is supposed to make the audience squirm in awkwardness, and it accomplishes that, but it doesn't fully pay off. There is a cringe factor that works and a cringe factor that doesn't. However, Dismukes' commitment is commendable.
This sketch features a rapid scroll through TikTok. The frenetic pace helps this sketch. Not everything lands, but then it is only 10 to 30 seconds until the next joke. This writer is somewhat addicted to TikTok, and there are moments in this sketch that feel like they are from ages ago on the app; however, this probably won't bug less chronically online people. Unfortunately, at the same time, this sketch seems tailor-made for the chronically online and contains some very deep cuts. A call back to last week's Domingo sketch that has found virality on TikTok, a Keith Lee-esq impression and the final joke are among the highlights.
Stand-up style sets from Emil Wakim and Sarah Sherman elevate this week's Weekend Update. Sherman's talk on the Victoria's Secret fashion show goes pretty blue, but she sells it exceptionally well. She doesn't miss a joke and plays off Colin Jost perfectly.
Wakim's jokes about being Christian Lebanese and the Middle East feel risky (even if they shouldn't.) While many arab comedians have been speaking for months about Gaza and the Middle East, usually, they aren't given as big of a stage to share their perspectives. For example, while jokes about being queer in Palestine have existed in LGBTQ+ and leftist discourse for months, it feels like untrodden ground for the SNL stage. The crowd's discomfort is palpable at moments, and one of his jokes even bombs. While he saves it masterfully by playing off of Colin, you can tell the crowd is on edge. However, Wakim is an impressive standup, and this bit is well worth watching.
Sherman, Bowen Yang and Nwodim deliver a fun sketch about conspiracy theories. All three of them deliver good performances, which helps this sketch. It is light fare, but a good time.
This sketch would have been better if it hadn't appeared the same week as the Shop TV sketch. In both sketches, Keaton plays an effeminate man who doesn't quite understand the assignment. While this sketch is slightly stronger, it suffers by coming after. Again, Keaton disappears well into the character. However, this sketch feels like a good idea without enough direction to follow through.
The final sketch of the night is usually the biggest swing. Table Side is weird but undeniably fun. The sketch follows two people as they reminisce about their past loves over table-side guacamole. The writing is great in this sketch and allows Heidi Gardner and Keaton to shine. It also ends quickly and well, which is often hard in sketch comedy.
SNL returns with host John Mulaney and musical guest Chappell Roan on November 2.
