Weekend Update loves few things more than a wacky character brought in to comment on a hot news story. This week we got two kids from the back of the bus talking about inflation, and we got a sex expert discussing young people statistically having less sex than at any point in human history. Not surprisingly, it’s the latter that’s been picking up steam on social media, both because of the subject matter and because comedian Jane Wickline continues to emerge as a unique, Kyle Mooney-type figure with an odd sense of humor.
The Gen Z Sexpert that Wickline played was named Lindt Greer. She was there to talk about why young people aren’t as sexually active as any of the generations that came before, but instead of giving thoughtful and clarifying advice, it quickly becomes obvious she’s also overwhelmed and uncomfortable about sex. She seems to be confused about what it even is and gets basic details wrong like it’s not sex if it doesn’t happen at night. You can watch the madness below…
I love an odd character, and I particularly love a joke that doesn’t go through the front door. Wickline has a deadpan delivery style and an odd pacing to the way she talks that’s extremely unique. She doesn’t use her inflections or mannerisms to explain what part of the joke is supposed to be funny. You’re just either in on the joke or you’re not.
Michael Che serves as a great foil to the character here too. He mostly keeps it together while he’s trying to interact with her, but you can tell he’s on the edge of breaking several times, especially when she asks him if he disagrees with her rules for sex. To be clear, he does not. He just felt they came out of nowhere.
To me, SNL is at its best when it’s a big tent. It shouldn’t be one style of comedy. It should be a true variety show, featuring comedians trying to be funny in a lot of different ways. Wickline is a great embodiment of that. I compared her to Kyle Mooney earlier, but there’s a long history of SNL cast members who are just too far out there for most people. Will Forte is also a great recent example, as well as Tim Robinson and my personal favorite, Norm Macdonald.
SNL is on a little mini-hiatus right now, but it’ll return in early May for the last three episodes of Season 51, all of which have terrific hosts. No announcements have been made about which cast members may or may not be returning (or which showrunner may or may not be returning). Wickline has had an up and down season with some big episodes and some episodes where she’s barely been featured. It seems like she’s picking up some momentum lately though, and I’m pretty confident she’ll be back next season. Fingers crossed it’ll be with even weirder characters.
