Saturday Night Live: Tina Fey, Nicki Minaj
May 20, 2018 12:25 AM - Season 43, Episode 23 - Subscribe
Host: Tina Fey, Musical Guest: Nicki Minaj
- Donald Trump Robert Mueller - Heidi Gardner, Alex Baldwin, Kate McKinnon, Ben Stiller, Mikey Day, Alex Moffat, Robert DeNiro
- Opening Monologue - Tina Fey
- Royal Wedding Reception - Mikey Day, Chris Redd, Cecily Strong, Beck Bennett, Kennan Thompson, Kate McKinnon, Alex Moffat, Heidi Gardner, Tina Fey, Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant, Leslie Jones
- Morning Joe - Alex Moffat, Kate McKinnon, Mikey Day, Aidy Bryant, Tina Fey
- Mean Girls - Tina Fey, Cecily Strong, Casey Nicolaw, Jeff Richmond, Aidy Bryant, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Lorne Michaels,
- Nicki Minaj - Chun-Li
- Weekend Update - Michael Che, Colin Jost
- Eric and Donald Trump Jr - Alex Moffat, Mikey Day
- Bishop Michael Curry - Kenan Thompson
- Pervert Hunters - Tina Fey, Beck Bennett, Mikey Day, Kyle Mooney
- Sarah Palin Advice - Tina Fey, Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, Fred Armisen, Cecily Strong, John Goodman, Leslie Jones
- Nicki Minaj - Poke It Out
- Talent Show - Mikey Day, Pete Davidson, Kennan Thompson, Tina Fey, Melissa Villaseñor, Leslie Jones
- Chicago Improv - Alex Moffat, Tina Fey, Mikey Day, Melissa Villaseñor, Chris Redd
Aidy Bryant repeatedly popping up as the lady calling the cops on black people was pretty fucking funny.
posted by Stanczyk at 8:18 AM on May 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Stanczyk at 8:18 AM on May 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
Weekend Update: The country has been taken over by white nationalists abetted by Putin, and yet all Pretty Boy & Libertarian Mike can come up with is that trump and non-trump voters are like Laurel & Yanny. Oh. Ha ha.
The only thing Che seemed impassioned about was the pot possession drug crimes. (Even though, yes, a valid point about what portion of the population is being criminalized by drug laws.)
And in a sketch about the Royal Wedding, thanks to writing and/or cast makeup , they couldn't even come up with a Meghan Markle. (Though props to the props dept. for getting some royal costumes quite close to what was worn earlier that day.)
Granted, I've been quite sleep deprived. But for being a season finale with a popular alum hosting, didn't the show seem lacking in energy? Out of force of habit, I watched through WU, then went bye-bye.
irritated me that the monologue was all "lol cameos take time away from cast members" after the cold open had been...that.
Yeah, irksome. OTOH - but this is also Lorne's fault - portions of the cast aren't strong enough to handle more either. It seems like a large cast, yet several have hardly contributed this year.
posted by NorthernLite at 9:01 AM on May 20, 2018
The only thing Che seemed impassioned about was the pot possession drug crimes. (Even though, yes, a valid point about what portion of the population is being criminalized by drug laws.)
And in a sketch about the Royal Wedding, thanks to writing and/or cast makeup , they couldn't even come up with a Meghan Markle. (Though props to the props dept. for getting some royal costumes quite close to what was worn earlier that day.)
Granted, I've been quite sleep deprived. But for being a season finale with a popular alum hosting, didn't the show seem lacking in energy? Out of force of habit, I watched through WU, then went bye-bye.
irritated me that the monologue was all "lol cameos take time away from cast members" after the cold open had been...that.
Yeah, irksome. OTOH - but this is also Lorne's fault - portions of the cast aren't strong enough to handle more either. It seems like a large cast, yet several have hardly contributed this year.
posted by NorthernLite at 9:01 AM on May 20, 2018
As someone who is about to leave to go to improv practice, the Chicago Improv sketch was pretty spot on.
posted by mmascolino at 9:26 AM on May 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by mmascolino at 9:26 AM on May 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
lalex: corrected link
Unfortunately, Weekend Update is not able to be The Onion, and the show is too visible to really stick the knife in. Lorne seems fundamentally conservative, at least creatively. That said, I thought WU was at least a little more flowing this week.
Good sketches: Opener, Wedding Reception (formula, but at least each bit was short), Sarah Palin, Chicago Improv, and just the end of Talent Show. Nicki Minaj was excellent.
Mean Girls really could have been something, but I think they ran out of time to write it and Tina glitched her cues a lot of the time anyway.
I think Kyle has a bright future beyond SNL, but it's probably frustrating (if not health-affecting) to be in the middle of that process. Beck seems like he can do anything, like he could just as easily be a regular on a Law & Order series.
posted by rhizome at 10:25 AM on May 20, 2018
Unfortunately, Weekend Update is not able to be The Onion, and the show is too visible to really stick the knife in. Lorne seems fundamentally conservative, at least creatively. That said, I thought WU was at least a little more flowing this week.
Good sketches: Opener, Wedding Reception (formula, but at least each bit was short), Sarah Palin, Chicago Improv, and just the end of Talent Show. Nicki Minaj was excellent.
Mean Girls really could have been something, but I think they ran out of time to write it and Tina glitched her cues a lot of the time anyway.
I think Kyle has a bright future beyond SNL, but it's probably frustrating (if not health-affecting) to be in the middle of that process. Beck seems like he can do anything, like he could just as easily be a regular on a Law & Order series.
posted by rhizome at 10:25 AM on May 20, 2018
the show is too visible to really stick the knife in.
Sorry, disagree. Tell Colbert, Seth Meyers, Michelle Wolf, etc. that they're too visible to cut like a knife.
Or WU from a decade ago.
Nah, these two are just not talented or righteously angry enough.
posted by NorthernLite at 11:30 AM on May 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sorry, disagree. Tell Colbert, Seth Meyers, Michelle Wolf, etc. that they're too visible to cut like a knife.
Or WU from a decade ago.
Nah, these two are just not talented or righteously angry enough.
posted by NorthernLite at 11:30 AM on May 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yes, Colbert and Meyers don't pull any punches, I don't see why SNL should.
posted by Pendragon at 3:29 PM on May 20, 2018
posted by Pendragon at 3:29 PM on May 20, 2018
Emo Melissa Villaseñor is just about the cutest darn thing they've shown us all season.
posted by MrBadExample at 3:52 PM on May 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by MrBadExample at 3:52 PM on May 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
Talk about staggering over the finish line. I liked the pervert show, but it was the only sketch with any build at all. The rest wasn't unwatchable, but it just felt like they were so itchy for summer break they'd barely written sketches at all. Lots and lots of stuff where the whole cast comes out and they each do a line or two, saying something mildly funny-ish, until they light up the applause sign and it's over.
Michael Che's line about girls being allowed to join the boy scouts (so they can sew on the badges) was kind of contemptible. It's not just misogynist, it's hacky as hell, like something from a 1972 Tonight Show monologue. They were trying to pass it off as a joke too offensive to tell, but offense was all it had going for it. It was only there to piss off feminists, which seems to be way too important to Che. I haven't always been a fan of the show's feminist sketches either, but Che is a smirky he-man woman hater and I'll be glad when he's gone.
I'm kind of surprised to not be hearing some outrage about Nicki Minaj's Asian cosplay. I can't listen to that woman for five seconds without diving for the mute button, so maybe I missed something that somehow made it OK? Hard to imagine what it could be, though.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 6:34 PM on May 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
Michael Che's line about girls being allowed to join the boy scouts (so they can sew on the badges) was kind of contemptible. It's not just misogynist, it's hacky as hell, like something from a 1972 Tonight Show monologue. They were trying to pass it off as a joke too offensive to tell, but offense was all it had going for it. It was only there to piss off feminists, which seems to be way too important to Che. I haven't always been a fan of the show's feminist sketches either, but Che is a smirky he-man woman hater and I'll be glad when he's gone.
I'm kind of surprised to not be hearing some outrage about Nicki Minaj's Asian cosplay. I can't listen to that woman for five seconds without diving for the mute button, so maybe I missed something that somehow made it OK? Hard to imagine what it could be, though.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 6:34 PM on May 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
The musical guest did more for me than the host this week; she did a great job. I loved that second song with Playboi Carti. But I also have a creepy old lady crush on him. (I apparently really like young handsome boys, considering I said the same thing about A$AP Rocky a couple weeks ago.)
posted by elsietheeel at 9:35 PM on May 20, 2018
posted by elsietheeel at 9:35 PM on May 20, 2018
After reading all those SNL reviews on TV Club, I feel so sorry for Luke (aptonym) Null.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:44 PM on May 20, 2018
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:44 PM on May 20, 2018
The Trump Administration would be over already, if they didn't keep jinxing it with their finale cold opens.
posted by ckape at 11:11 AM on May 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by ckape at 11:11 AM on May 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
I always feel like, except for a season here or a season there, all of the finales are duds performed by a crew of very exhausted talent. I applaud them for an adequate-to-good (maybe a B-minus to B) season, and wish them all good luck over the summer, and I hope they try a little harder next year. (Also, 2016-17, the Rudnitsky Era, was a hard season to top.)
Looks like Pete got a couple Ariana Grande tattoos. Him standing next to her is a good demonstration of height difference within a relationship. So they're off to a fun summer, maaaybe? (I always wince and hope for the best when I see most tv-movie-star-type couples. I hear Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are back together, when did THAT happen!)
posted by not_on_display at 4:48 PM on June 4, 2018
Looks like Pete got a couple Ariana Grande tattoos. Him standing next to her is a good demonstration of height difference within a relationship. So they're off to a fun summer, maaaybe? (I always wince and hope for the best when I see most tv-movie-star-type couples. I hear Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are back together, when did THAT happen!)
posted by not_on_display at 4:48 PM on June 4, 2018
AV Club: Kenan Thompson admits he's "scared to leave SNL".
posted by elsietheeel at 3:04 PM on June 7, 2018
posted by elsietheeel at 3:04 PM on June 7, 2018
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posted by Gary at 8:11 AM on May 20, 2018