This week’s Saturday Night Live opens with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost) fielding questions from reporters about America’s military operations in Iran. Hegseth, who has been preparing all afternoon by doing keg stands, brags about how well the war is going (“We’re treating Iran like the breathalyzer in my car and blowing it the hell up”) even as he refuses to label it as a war: “If we don’t know what we’re doing, then Iran definitely doesn’t know what we’re doing.”
After hurling insults at the press pool, he turns things over to former director of homeland security Kristi Noem, who has “been reassigned under the bus”. The scandal-ridden Noem (Ashley Padilla) insists that while she is leaving the job, she’s not abandoning the mission: “As my plastic surgeon says, the work is never done.” Sharp barbs about Noem’s history of canine killing (“You miss 100% of the dogs you don’t shoot”) and her rumored affair with also-ousted DHS adviser Corey Lewandowski (“I think I really nailed it – and by it, I mean my married co-worker in a big, beautiful flying bedroom 3,000 feet over Minneapolis”) follow, before she is brutally dismissed by Hegseth.
Short, but sweet, and properly viscous to the disgraceful Hegseth and disgraced Noem. Jost’s agro-clown continues to be the biggest bright spot on the show, while this season’s overall MVP, Padilla, turned in a solid impersonation of Noem (all due respect to Tina Fey, who previously portrayed her, but it’s good to have a current cast member play the role).
Ryan Gosling returns to host for the fourth time. Almost immediately, Gosling is distracted by next week’s host Harry Styles sitting in the front row. Styles claims he’s just there to watch and take notes, but his presence throws Gosling and his planned dance number, set, ironically, to Styles’s song Sign of the Times, completely off track. Gosling eventually reverts to pathetically singing one bar of I’m Just Ken before giving up. A good reminder that Gosling is one of the better recurring guests of the last 10 years (at least when he’s not breaking at the material).
At a wedding reception, Gosling’s weirdo guest – who is “dressed like Reba McEntire at the Grammys” – discovers the tradition of clinking glasses forcing the newlyweds to kiss. He begins clinking his glass nonstop, forcing them to smooch and demanding the groom kiss the bride on the “poozi”. Gosling’s wacko performance makes for a good time, but there isn’t much here besides a silly costume and a couple of wackily pronounced dirty words.
Otezla is a medication for plaque psoriasis that is neither a cream, injection, patch, liquid or an inhaler. It looks like a pill, but it’s actually a sentient, invulnerable alien blob that “appears to be moving through time differently than us” and is either humanity’s savior or its doom. A funny bit of cosmic horror, it unfortunately doesn’t reach the heights of similar but superior examples, such as the great Tortino’s parody from 2016.
A trio of cycloptic warriors on a quest discover a vault full of treasure guarded by two comely spirits (Padilla and Veronika Slowikowska). In order to enter, they must answer a simple riddle, but being the stupidest of all beings, the cyclops can’t even comprehend the concept of a riddle, let alone solve one. Padilla is the one constantly breaking this time out, though she pulls herself together quickly enough. Like the characters at its center, its all very simple and stupid, but entertaining, nonetheless.
Next, Gosling plays a Willy Wonka-esque baker and confectioner, who invites a few lucky families into his magical factory. The musical tour gets off to a shocking start, with the front doors opening to reveal one of the charming little dough creatures that work in the factory hanging from a noose. It turns out it’s the creatures’ mating season and that after they procreate, “the males off themselves to free up resources for the women and the babies”. This explanation does not lessen the tour group’s horror. An impressive mix of live-action, digital animation and puppetry.
On a noticeably truncated Weekend Update, Jost takes more shots at Noem: “Imagine being singled out as the worst member of Trump’s cabinet. That’s like someone coming up to you at a party and saying, ‘we think you should leave; you’re making Diddy uncomfortable.’”
To bring unity to everyone watching, Michael Che invites on Pastor Update (Kenan Thompson) and his guitarist Teddy (James Austin Johnson). Instead of performing traditional gospel, the pastor sings about the spread at SNL craft services, the “curvature of ample, big foreheaded” women (Rihanna, Tyra Banks, Zooey Deschanel), and Che’s addiction to internet porn and gooning. Johnson gets the biggest laughs with his odd side banter (“If you shake it more than twice, you’re playing with it”).
Then, Gosling plays a high school principal who drops in on a class to talk about bullying. The class’s teacher (Padilla) catches a student passing a note and decides to read it out loud. In what may be a first for the show, the production breaks the fourth wall by flashing text on screen letting us know that “the contents of these notes have been changed since rehearsal”. The surprises extend to a prop gag pulled from a desk (a giant bag of spaghetti marked Lunch #2) that brooks an incredibly endearing snort from Padilla. SNL definitely doesn’t need to encourage more breaking from its cast/hosts, but an exception can be made here, given how infectious the fun is. Who doesn’t appreciate a good prank now and then?
A couple (Gosling, Sarah Sherman) checking out of a hotel get hit with supplemental charges for some snacks, a massage, and “$1,200 for two visits from the Goo Goo Man.” Sherman’s character is utterly confused, while Gosling is outraged, as he “only got one visit from the Goo Goo Man.” The audience is mostly dead for this, which is too bad, as Gosling’s belligerence and Sherman’s horrified confusion make for two of the best performances of the night.
The episode concludes with a new digital short from Martin Herlihy. To learn more about lying, he takes on a new identity: that of Colin Jost. Sporting a coifed wig and fake lantern jaw, he enjoys the spoils of Jost’s life, laughing it up on Late Night with Seth Meyers, setting a date with wife Scarlett Johansson, and doing blow with fellow cast-mate Jane Wickline. Jost makes for an easy punching bag, but Herlihy isn’t as adept as roasting him as his regular foils Che or Sherman, and this feels dull by comparison.
Prior to the closing curtain call, the show pays tribute to the late Sandy Wernick, a veteran talent manager who once represented Lorne Michaels. Wernick introduced Michaels to producer Dick Ebersol, thus paving the way for Saturday Night Live’s creation. He would go on to represent several cast members, most notably Adam Sandler.
This episode of Saturday Night Live was a dearly needed rebound after a string several disappointing outings. Gosling brought much needed star power and natural comic talent, the sketches were more hit than miss, and the musical performances killed. Come season’s end, this will definitely rank at or near the top.
