We opened a new episode of Oops, You Did It Again, a talk show in which Britney Spears (Chloe Fineman) judges whether social outcasts are “Innocent or Not That Innocent”.
His first guest is rapper Lil Nas X (Chris Redd), under attack from the “rare combination of the Catholic Church and Nike” for his “Shoes of Satan” and video in which he gives the devil a lap dance. To balance things out, Britney brings God so that the rapper can move in his lap. It leaves the conservative false indignation on Sunday. He is followed by the canceled Looney Toons star Pepe LePew (Kate McKinnon), cut from the Space Jam sequel for “promoting an assault culture”. Given that the program recognizes the stupidity of the Lil Nas X controversy, you would think that they would send a furor over a cartoon skunk. Instead, they refer to the character’s supposedly problematic nature.
Spears’ third and final guest is Florida congressman Matt Gaetz (Pete Davidson), who has revealed that he is under investigation on sex trafficking charges. The young Republican star is nervous about his future on such charges – which the real Gaetz denies – even admitting “strangely, in my district, they can help”.
It is totally disconcerting that the show showcases Davidson with a bad wig to make a sloppy impression when Colin Jost – who looks like the congressman and has the same fraternal boy trickery air – is there. Let SNL block the easiest lay-up in years.
Our host is Oscar-nominated actor Daniel Kaluuya, who, despite his accent, assures the public that he is really black, saying “Basically, I am what the royal family feared the baby would be”. After explaining the difference between British and American racism (the first is “so bad that the whites left”) and recounting the technical difficulties that affected his victory speech at the Golden Globes, he tells a moving story about how his first time on stage was during a play he wrote at the age of nine, based on the Nickelodeon show by Kenan Thompson, Kenan & Kel.
You will accept? is a game show in which the host doctor from Kaluuya tries to convince his family to get the Covid-19 vaccine by offering $ 5,000. Although everyone is at high risk and needs money, they refuse. Her aunt Shana refuses because Facebook told her that Christians cannot get the vaccine; his cousin Tasha blames America’s history of experimenting in black communities. To his cousin, even the exasperated host admits, “OK, you’re not wrong.”
A popular YouTube duo continues to go viral because of their pranks – including planting rat bones in cereal – only to have the backfire of fame when their story is discovered. In a series of increasingly ridiculous apology videos, they admit “that some of the [their] previous videos can be considered problematic and / or crimes ”. It is a solid sending out of a trend, including the saga of the shrimp tail guy, but it cannot compare to the real one through absurdity or irony.
Next, McKinnon plays a suburban mother who, after her suggestion of Rummikub is vetoed for the night of the post-dinner game, takes revenge through passive-aggressive noises and drinking wine Josh – “the official wine of Rummikub”. This is followed by another suburban post-dinner sketch in which three couples are accompanied by their college-age children. A Ugandan couple is horrified to learn that their son has switched from medical school to creative writing. When a white father says that the world needs more poets, Kaluuya’s outraged patriarch replies, “Yes, if there is one thing we learned from the pandemic, it is that the world needs more poets!” There is a real specificity to humor, which we must assume comes from Kaluuya’s experience.
São Vicente is the musical guest, playing the glamorous Pay Your Way in Pain. Weekend Update then begins with Jost entering Gaetz, which he admits “looks like a cartoon artist’s drawing of me” – making Davidson’s cast even more striking. He points out the right-wing hypocrisy: “An active congressman is being accused of child trafficking, and QAnon people suddenly think, ‘Eh, I need more evidence.’”
The first guests are Vaneta and Wylene Starkie (McKinnon and Aidy Bryant), owners of Smokey Farms, who promise that their “grade A Easter meats” come from animals that deserved to be killed: a lamb that attended a wedding at a plantation, a chicken that “contributed to a toxic work environment”, a calf that “pulls out of the subway”. They are followed by the sycophant Guy who just bought a boat (Alex Moffat), available to discuss post-pandemic dating (“Goodbye Facetime – hello sit-on-my face time!”), And a very mixed age couple, Heidi Gardner and Mikey Day.
After a useless sketch about fraternity boys planning a trip to Tahoe with their mothers, Kaluuya plays a dog owner who offends other owners with a silly impression of his mutts. This leads to an impasse with Andrew Dismukes about Ego Nwodim’s affection, only for her to jump out of both. There is a decent joke, but it is carried away by a strange staging. The use of real dogs does not help.
São Vicente returns to The Melting of the Sun, before the final draft finds another group of suburban friends gathering for wine. Things take a strange turn when the host’s half-brother (and “full Facebook friend”) and his future ex-wife, Joleen (“like the music whore”), play jazz freely. From the way Cecily Strong is dressed, this appears to be an elaborate upload of a 2011 video in which Kim Cattrall shows off her dispersal skills. SNL with your finger on your wrist, as always.
Kaluuya was responsible for some good points, but most of the episode left a lot to be desired. The sheer laziness on display – the refusal to get the most out of the cast, overconfidence in a handful of tired settings – underlines one of the biggest problems with SNL now.