rior to the pandemic, Saturday Night Live was on course to deliver a slightly above-average ... Thanks to the final three episodes, all filmed remotely, Season 45 will go down in history. ... The show proper gets off to a good start with Zoom Catch-Up, in which ... Ego Nwodim (@eggy_boom) May 10, 2020
prior to the pandemic, Saturday Night Live was on course to deliver a slightly above-average season, Eddie Murphy’s triumphant return notwithstanding. Thanks to the final three episodes, all filmed remotely, Season 45 will go down in history. The At Home episodes have had their share of clunky moments but they are testament to the cast and crew’s spirit and ingenuity. The show deserves much credit.
Saturday Night Live: Brad Pitt plays Dr Anthony Fauci in standout virtual episode
The finale kicks off with Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) delivering a virtual address to a very unhappy group of high school graduates. The obviously ill president congratulates the “Class of Covid-19” before rambling about coal, Dr Fauci, sunscreen and Obama, all while drinking bleach.
The night’s “host”, Kristin Wiig, gives a very awkward monologue. Sandwiched between two quick and cringey showtunes, the former cast member half-jokingly/half-seriously wishes everyone a happy Mother’s Day.
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The show proper gets off to a good start with Zoom Catch-Up, in which sociopathic jetsetters Deidre (Heidi Gardner) and Ripley (Martin Short, great as always) infuriate their friends by regaling them with details of their voluntary “quarantina” in Covid-ravaged Italy – “The food, the people, the wine … we saw none of it!”
Song for the Kids is a musical public service announcement in which the cast, joined by a children’s choir and Josh Gad, make an impassioned argument to “Let Kids Drink” during quarantine – “They’ll be happier and funnier and fall asleep by six!” It’s the rare musical number that starts out catchy and funny and gets better, climaxing in Beck Bennett’s gloriously pathetic plea on behalf of drunken sad sacks everywhere.
Another Masterclass: Quarantine Edition sees Chloe Fineman deliver a dead-on very self-satisfied Phoebe Waller-Bridge and a slightly less impressive air-headed Britney Spears. Melissa Villaseñor joins in with her Instagram-popular (but one-note) John Mulaney.
Zoom Church sees the pastor of a black congregation attempt to lead his flock in a virtual service, only to hit a wall of frustration when he tries to get them to put themselves on mute. Ego Nwodim and Chris Redd, who have really shone in small parts throughout this season, get in some very funny asides.
Pete Davidson performs a rap in honor of rugged Mexican American actor Danny Trejo. It’s basically a rundown of his long list of accomplishments, but hey, who doesn’t love Danny Trejo? He shows up, too.
Wiig returns for Hair Vlog, which, like her monologue, feels airless and awkward. For whatever reason, her performance style is not well suited to digital, DIY comedy. The same can be said for Kate McKinnon.
R&B foursome Boyz II Men perform their 1997 hit A Song for Mama as we’re treated to a picture slideshow of the cast and their mothers. It’s very sappy, but who’s going to complain about a surprise Boyz II Men performance?
On Weekend Update, Colin Jost hits the hot button topics – coronavirus tearing through Trump’s inner circle, Biden’s response to allegations of sexual assault, Steve Mnuchin and Axl Rose’s stupid Twitter spat – while Michael Che, drinking whiskey, laments the dangers facing people like him: “So let me get this straight: I gotta try to survive the coronavirus, the police, basic cardio and now big-ass murder hornets?”
They’re joined by former Update host Tina Fey, whose bubbly exterior barely masks her desperation at being stuck at home with her kids. She advises fellow mothers – “Don’t be afraid to be emotional in front of your kids … let them see you open-mouth-chew cold spaghetti while you scream words like ‘MORON’ and ‘DUNNING-KRUGER SYNDROME LOOK IT UP HE DEFINITELY HAS IT’ at the news program of your choice”. Then comes Judge Jeanine Pirro (Cecily Strong), who doesn’t let the bounds of time and space stop her dousing Jost with her cocktail.
What’s Wrong with this Picture? gives us a special all-mothers episode. As ever, the contestants are morons, their attempts at spotting mistakes in simple drawings revealing the depth of their psychosis: a drawing of a woman looking at her reflection garners such guesses as “The glory hole is too high, now she knows it’s the neighbor” and “She tied the noose too big, now she has to start all over!”
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