“SNL 50” is nearing the end, with only two more episodes to go this season, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to turn things down quite yet. For her second round hosting at Studio 8H, Quinta Brunson pumped up the volume, kicking off the show with a musical monologue that featured both pop star Sabrina Carpenter and basketball phenom Dwayne Wade, then filling out each sketch with energy and dynamism. Not everything landed perfectly, with the writing of many of the live bits feeling like the staff are just going through the motions, but Brunson’s ability to commit to each role and work seamlessly off the cast more than made up for it.
It’s been a while since a “Saturday Night Live” monologue really stood out, particularly this season with so many return hosts effecting a been-there-done-that attitude, but between Jack Black’s crowd work in his episode last month and Brunson’s showstopping number topping this one, it’s nice to see this section of the show milked for all it’s worth. Brunson’s singing may not be quite on par with Carpenter, but her enthusiasm and stage presence brought the whole piece together.
Having kicked off her career doing BuzzFeed videos and “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” it’s clear that Brunson’s comedy skills are best suited to the pre-taped format (though her talent for live work should not go unrecognized). One of the best pre-taped moments of last night (and all season) saw Brunson adopt an older look alongside the show’s longest cast member, Kenan Thompson. Together they play an aging couple informing their children of their new side hustle, which is basically a version of OnlyFans, but just for senior citizens. Considering Brunson has mostly had to keep it clean on “Abbott Elementary,” seeing her go so blue with her comedy and have so much fun doing it was a delight.
Another pre-taped moment that garnered a good amount of chuckles was a faux-ad for a new clothing brand named “Forever 31” (as opposed to the real life Forever 21). With most of the cast shifting into their early 30s, it was the perfect opportunity to highlight the alterations that occur to ones presentation/styling when moving on from their raucous 20s. The looks on display were all too familiar, making the joke even that much funnier for its sense of radical honesty.
We love a pair of “SNL” besties and Sarah Sherman and Bowen Yang might just top the list. Though they don’t always end up in a sketch together, they are more often than not seen embracing during the goodnights of every show. When they do get to play off one another, as they did last night during Weekend Update, it’s typically always a sight to behold. Playing to skeezy suburbanites likely from New Jersey or Long Island, Sherman and Yang worked off one another like a finely tuned orchestra, heaping praise upon the chain restaurant Applebees and bemoaning its recent bankruptcy. Come for the shared filled fishbowl drink and questionable pigtails and stache, stay for unavoidable kissing the two end up getting into.
