Though she’s not often cast in show-offy roles, her delivery has an unfussy command that can turn a pretty good line into a pretty big laugh, especially when she slips in an unexpected “damn” for emphasis.
Let’s take a moment to acknowledge how great Ego Nwodim has been over the last couple seasons of the show.
Though it starts off looking like a character showcase for Mikey Day, the sketch stays true to life by cycling Culkin through a seemingly endless chain of representatives, automated announcements, and abrupt hang-ups anyone who has ever dealt with a cable company will laugh and/or shudder in recognition at the immutable fact that all roads lead to accidentally getting a landline installed. There are times when SNL strains a little too hard for relatability, but this sketch consigning host Kieran Culkin to the modern hell of attempting to cancel a cable account is not one of those times. Is this mattress melodrama Malek’s best work since Mr. The game of the sketch feels both classical (it’s easy to imagine a version of this playing out during the show’s beloved first five years) and improv-informed (the emphasis on yes-and play-acting makes it feel like it could have originally killed as part of a Harold show), and the performers, including Bowen Yang perfectly underplaying his straight-man lines, make it all sing. Richard (Malek) and Denise (Bryant) try out mattresses at a local store by running through a variety of too-real scenarios, powered by resentment, marital tension, and horniness-inducing violence.
But his airy intensity isn’t a natural fit for sketch comedy, and this piece pairing him with Aidy Bryant (who co-wrote, alongside Celeste Yim and the Please Don’t Destroy boys) nails the assignment. That’s not a negative judgment - it’s arguably what makes him a compelling actor. Outside the bounds of celebrity impressions, Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant, Heidi Gardner, and Ego Nwodim do master-class work with their interlocking absurdities, and host Owen Wilson’s deadpan is perfectly deployed as a doctor who starts picking off the hosts with live COVID test results, despite the fact that they’ve “all been vaccinated dozens, dozens, dozens of times.” So it was a particular delight that one of the first sketches of season 47 was this style parody of the View-like all-female talk show, with the freedom to get sillier and weirder. It’s no secret that Saturday Night Live can get a little ossified with some of its routines it first did a parody of The View during Tina Fey’s era, and was still returning to that well as recently as 2019. The show still has its weak spots (you will notice a grand total of zero political-comedy cold opens appearing below), but anyone claiming Saturday Night Live isn’t worth watching must have missed these sketches. While there have been plenty of funny fake ads, music videos, and other pretaped pieces, a few of which are included below, SNL tends to be at its most thrilling when working within the confines of live sketch comedy. Yet there has been an upside to a cast so big that multiple players might sit entire shows out: an eclectic variety of character work, high concepts, and old-fashioned wackiness making up the show’s best sketches of the season. This seems necessary, due less to creative stagnation (we love you, Li’l Baby Aidy!) than because season 47 was filled to bursting, to the point where it was a minor relief when cast members would disappear for a few weeks to film outside projects - anything to ease the burden of an ensemble that grew to 24 (counting the video-making Please Don’t Destroy trio). Photo: Will Heath/NBC Saturday Night Live just ended its 47th season with a much-needed deck-clearing longtime cast members Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson, and Kyle Mooney will not be back for season 48. From heartfelt good-byes from beloved players to newcomer Sarah Sherman’s delightfully disgusting creations.
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