Saturday Night Live
Jake Gyllenhaal & Sabrina
May 19, 2024
This is Jake Gyllenhaal’s third time hosting Saturday Night Live, and fortunately for all of us, it did not take nearly as long for him to return as it did the first time around. Fortunately, it would seem, the SNL folks have realized what a gem they have in Gyllenhaal as a host: he’s loose, charismatic, and gives 100% even in sketches that don’t deserve it. I don’t know if, as I assumed the last time he hosted, that Gyllenhaal is no longer afraid to harm his “Serious Actor” status by doing comedy — starring in a remake of Road House will certainly do more damage to one’s chances of earning an Oscar down the road more than hosting SNL — but I am glad to see him back on the Studio 8H stage where he feels like a natural.
We begin the episode yet again with another James Austin Johnson’s Trump, this time ranting from his courtroom press pen about the jurors and vetting potential VP candidates including Tim Scott, Kristi Noem, and Hannibal Lecter. As always, Johnson’s impersonation of Trump is quite good, I just wish it WASN’T NECESSARY.
Grade: B
This episode is the final episode of the 49th season, which of course is one episode shy of the start of the historic 50th season. In his monologue, Jake Gyllenhaal convinces himself that hosting this episode is just as important and prestigious as hosting the premiere episode of the 50th season, and with the help of Kenan Thompson, Ego Nwodim, Punkie Johnson, and Devon Walker, sings a version of “The End of the Road,” saying goodbye to season 49. It’s right in Gyllenhaal’s wheelhouse: self-deprecating, charming, and singing.
Grade: A
Here, a young woman brings her boyfriend home to meet her parents, and all is going well until her Dad becomes obsessed with eating a cookie before dinner. This is one of those bits that feels like it should be at the end of the episode, but that played so well in the dress rehearsal that it was moved up to the front of the show. It doesn’t sound like much on paper, but Gyllenhaal COMMITS to the bit.
Grade: B
This is a live-action spoof of Scooby-Doo that is played straight until the very end in which everything goes sideways and becomes … much darker than the Scooby-Doo cartoons of my childhood. I won’t dare say any more than that lest I ruin the shock of the joke, except to add I am not sure that they needed to include the very very last bit. It not only felt unnecessary, but I’m not sure I even got the joke?
Grade: A
A 1950s cabaret show hosted by Jake Gyllenhaal features a tribute to the “beautiful girls” in the chorus line and the “beautiful boys” who are schlubs. I didn’t hate it but it goes on entirely too long.
Grade: B-
A couple in the midst of a breakup on a hike are repeatedly interrupted by Jake Gyllenhaal’s weirdo bike rider, who, when he is not riding past them way too slowly, is crashing backward down the mountain. All I know is that I wanted this to end.
Grade: C+
This commercial spoof of a brand like Temu or Shein both highlights how inexpensive their clothes are while also “reassuring” the potential customer that their clothes are not made by slave or prisoner labor. Oh, and also, there’s no lead in the clothes. “Good clothes. Bet prices. Minimal lead.”
Grade: A
Weekend Update covers the upcoming Presidential debates; Michael Cohen’s testimony in the Trump trial; Jasmine Crockett and Marjorie Taylor Green’s fight (The Waffle House of Representatives is just too good a punchline to not share); and King Charles’ weird red portrait. (For once, I thought Che’s joke here was really good and the audience was in the wrong.)
Grade: A-
Kenan Thompson and Marcello Hernández are cicadas from the two large broods expected to wreak havoc on the Midwest this summer. The jokes are pretty much exactly what you expect them to be.
Grade: B
And in what has become something of a tradition for the final show of the season: Jost and Che do their joke swap; this time, Che brings a Jewish rabbi. The jokes are fine for the most part, with the exception of two absolute stand-outs about ScarJo and Kendrick Lamar. Unfortunately, the entire bit ends on a deflated joke involving a puppet and space lasers.
Grade: A
Here, Gyllenhaal plays a Southwestern Airlines customer who attempts to cancel a flight, only to be forced to talk to every single employee of the airline, including the baggage guy. Everyone hates airlines and customer service calls, amirite?
Grade: B
For some inexplicable and infuriating reason, some asshole punched American treasure Steve Buscemi in the face while he was walking around Manhattan a couple of weeks ago. Here, the NYPD addresses the attack while calling for other character actors to take precautions. This quickly devolves into a discussion of who is and isn’t a character actor, and Jon Hamm shows up as himself to inquire if he is in danger.
Unrelated: Are any of you people old enough to remember the now-defunct website, “Hey! It’s That Guy!”? Good times.
Grade: A-
Like Che and Jost’s joke swap, the episode itself goes out on a whimper with this sketch in which Jake Gyllenhaal plays a tough guy in a bar who hits on the wrong guy’s girlfriend. It mostly involves dumb beards and even dumber accents.
Grade: C-
Final Grade: B+.
Saturday Night Live streams on Peacock. See you in the fall.