Jack Black has had a nearly 27 year relationship with Saturday Night Live, first showing up in May 1998 as one half of his musical duo Tenacious D. Since then, he’s been at the helm of a bevy of fan favorite episodes, triumphantly returning to host last year after a mysterious two decade long gap in between appearances. Tonight, he takes SNL’s reins for the fifth time: but will he become a Saturday Night star once again?
“That game was miraculous. It was spectacular. One could call it, miraca-tacular.” So says Kenan Thompson in his tried-and-true impression of Charles Barkley. In the sketch, Thompson’s Barkley can’t help but wade into politics from Iran to Pam Bondi. “We should all be glad that that freckle-chested dragon lady is gone,” he barks, before the season’s breakout star Ashley Padilla appears as Bondi to give “equal time” to the other side.
Are you happy, FCC chairman Brendan Carr? “So glad to be at the final four ... years of this country,” says Padilla’s Bondi. Call it a true “miraca-tacular” as the whole sketch was a breath of fresh air considering the you-know-who didn’t show up, as he’s wont to do.
Any true SNL nerd knows that one of the TV institution’s most iconic running gags are the Five-Timer’s Club bits which center on the fact that Studio 8H has a swank members-only club only for hosts who achieve the rare milestone. Debuting when Tom Hanks hit the mark in 1990 (from the minds of then-co-writers Conan O’Brien and Bob Odenkirk, fun fact), they are typically cameo-filled affairs. Tonight was no different, as Black was welcomed to the club with the help of fellow regular hosts Jonah Hill and Tina Fey, the latter who quipped “You’re officially the first Black in the Five-Timer’s Club!” Throw in Melissa McCarthy shotgunning a beer, an appearance from 70s-era SNL icon Candice Bergen, and Black doing a take-off on Seven Nation Army (alongside musical guest Jack White) and you have yourself one of the most memorable monologues in recent memory. Call it a five timer all-timer.
Continuing to make her presence known, Padilla is the focus of this character-driven sketch where she plays a chatty Kathy (that’s her name) who obnoxiously chimes in on other people’s conversations, much to their chagrin (and Black’s anger). Extra points for the long silences to punctuate the joke of everybody valiantly attempting to ignore Padilla. It all amounted to a quick hit that further cemented Padilla’s starpower and her ability to create quirky characters in the vein of Kristen Wiig - albeit with a sudden ending.
Jack Black is naturally known for his comedic-musical acumen. So here we have Black, alongside James Austin Johnson croonin’ a song from the heartland about forgetting the most important keys of advice they were given. It’s an inspired premise and, as SNL usually does, sounds like something that could be on the radio (this one, blasted from a pick-up truck). Once again, White elevates the sketch as he materializes while shredding a guitar except that, well, he forgets the notes, too.
Pairing Black’s manic energy with Marcello Hernández’s equally boisterous style was a no-brainer, and here the two play martial arts instructors in a sketch that felt more like a cartoon. Featuring dubious accents, Hernández’s character is a mere half-beat away from all of his other characters (like Domingo, who also made an appearance in the monologue). Then again, it’s not like he’s trying to be Pacino. Hernández also gets the best line of the sketch, which the wild instructor directs toward the towering red-headed fellow cast member Ben Marshall: “Big carrot, you don’t believe in me?”
Yep, here we have another premise that relies on Black’s musical talent. This one makes good use of the cast: a gaggle of wives have gotten together, while their seemingly bored husbands are in the other room barely stringing a word together. But, as Black leads, they break into song: Carry On My Wayward Son, in fact. A 1976 hit from the band Kansas (are you sensing tonight’s Heartland theme?). But one can’t help remember the song from its turn in Anchorman, as it’s been a comedic foil for years. While they could have chosen a less obvious track, you gotta admit the guys crooned it beautifully.
“This week, attorney general Pam Bondi was asked to redact herself from her job,” said anchor Colin Jost. If you didn’t think the gloves were off before, leave it to co-anchor Michael Che to up the ante while referring to Trump attending a performance of Chicago at the Kennedy Center: “I think it’s cool the President is going to the theater. What’s the worst that could happen?” Cue the conservative outrage machine in 3, 2…
Meanwhile, Sarah Sherman made an appearance as Kristi Noem’s husband, dressed as in, well, how her husband likes to dress. “I dare you all to find one thing that’s comical about this situation,” Sherman said, while wearing large, fake breasts.
Finally, new cast member Kam Patterson guested as Professor Snape from the Harry Potter-verse with some very funny lines that made Jost squirm in a rare appearance since he premiered on the show in the fall.
“Can I just ask why I wasn’t chosen?” Here, Black relies on his schlubby appearance in this sketch where warriors are chosen as if it’s a pick-up game of basketball. Naturally, Black and his decadently un-warrior-like way is sadly left out. But hallelujah: it took a great battle, but we found a solid ending to a sketch. As he’s the last man standing, Black turns to his left and right, cracking: “Well, looks like it’s just me and all the women of Sparta,” as he puts a cool pair of shades on as the Ferris Bueller-style Oh Yeah sting from Yello kicks in. Oh yeah, indeed.
Who hasn’t been in an Airbnb with a host who was a little too hands-on? As the final sketch of the night, it seemed like a one-note premise: Black was a creepy Airbnb host as a bunch of younger folks just wanted to chill-ax. Cue: McCarthy as his equally-insane wife, and the usually weird and afterthought 10-to-1 slot was injected with a hurricane of energy. “I’m his sister’s wife, but she passed away and we’ve been physically feeling things out,” McCarthy says, before bending Jeremy Culhane over and squirting lotion and blowing a raspberry on his back as the cast and audience screamed. Now, that’s how you end a sketch after one of the best episodes of the season.
