Saturday Night Live: Season 43, Episode 2: Gal Gadot (host), Sam Smith (musical guest) with Jason Aldean (special musical guest)
Written by Melissa Jouben and Mark Henely
The Host – Gal Gadot
Melissa: I knew that having her host would either be “just ok” or “surprisingly decent.” I liked her in Wonder Woman, obviously, but I’ve never seen her in anything else – much less a comedy. How is her timing? Are they going to poke fun at how attractive she is like they ALWAYS do when an attractive woman hosts the show and she doesn’t have a defined enough personality?
The results were, surprisingly, pretty ok! I think she’s charming and they played to her strengths and had her come out looking good even if she didn’t deliver any specifically noteworthy performances. Considering how impactful Wonder Woman was this summer, and that Chris Pine hosted during the lead up to its release last season, I’m glad they finally gave her the opportunity to showcase herself.
Melissa’s Favorite Sketch – The Naomi Show
Melissa: This week didn’t have any standout sketches and so for me it came down to which one got the biggest laugh from me. And it was the moment when the troubled teen came out on stage waving around fistfuls of straws and wearing a Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace t-shirt. The angle of her being addicted to straws was a really fun throwaway, and the whole concept was simple but well-executed.
Mark: I just want to state publicly that the decision to put this character in a Phantom Menace T-Shirt was brilliant.
Mark’s Favorite Sketch – First Date
Mark: I feel like my metric for what should be my sketch of the night is which sketch I would show to my friends and family over the course of the next week and I think First Date might be the only sketch from this week I know they would like.
This sketch takes a few seconds to really set everything up before revealing the weird detail that take the action from being a one act play to a sketch.
***SPOILER FOR THIS SKETCH ONLY*** This date shows OJ Simpson on a Bumble date with a woman who somehow missed the 90s. It’s a really unique idea for a sketch about how OJ may be free, but in many ways, he can never just re-integrate into society like a regular person.
Melissa’s Least Favorite Sketch – Safelite
Melissa: The joke is that the Safelite repair guy is a pedophile who has a crush on a woman’s teenaged daughter so he keeps making cracks in her mother’s SUV windshield as an excuse to come out and talk to her.
Mark: I actually liked this sketch. Although, I will admit reading Melissa’s accurate description of what happened makes it sound more scary that hilarious. But, I thought it was a good sketch that parodies the warmth and friendliness that employees in commercials always seem to have towards customers. It takes something that is supposed to be seen as benign and heightens it into a sinister place.
Also, the make up they used on Beck Bennet was really good. He looked like a completely different person.
Musical Guest – Sam Smith
Melissa: I’m not a fan of Sam Smith, per se, but I like his voice.
Mark: I think Sam Smith is one of the most boring pop stars alive. If I was to make a Mount Rushmore of boring pop stars, Sam Smith would definitely be up there with three other people whose names I won’t be able to remember.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RRCbVBCRBE
