Saturday Night Live: Ana de Armas / Karol G

April 16, 2023 1:50 PM - Season 48, Episode 18

Fresh off her Oscar nomination for "Blonde."

• Cold Open - First Warm Day Show: Heidi Gardner, Bowen Yang, Mikey Day, James Austin Johnson, Michael Longfellow, Molly Kearney, Devon Walker, Punkie Johnson, Ego Nwodim, Andrew Dismukes, Marcello Hernandez, Kenan Thompson, Sarah Sherman, Chloe Fineman
• Monologue: Ana de Armas
• The Dome: Kenan Thompson, Devon Walker, Heidi Gardner, Mikey Day, Ana de Armas
• American Girls: Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Sarah Sherman, Ego Nwodim, Molly Kearney, Ana de Armas
• Yung Spicy: Ana de Armas, Ego Nwodim, Kenan Thompson, Devon Walker
• Spanish Class: Marcello Hernandez, Ana de Armas, Mikey Day, Devon Walker, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, Karol G
• Alcohol is a Sin: PDD, Michael Longfellow, Ego Nwodim, Ana de Armas, Heidi Gardner, Bowen Yang, Mikey Day
• Karol G - Mientras Me Curo Del Cora
• Weekend Update: Michael Che, Colin Jost
  • Funky Kong: Kenan Thompson
  • Genesis Fry: Sarah Sherman
  • Anti-Trans Bills: Molly Kearney
• Lisa from Temecula: Ana de Armas, Punkie Johnson, Ego Nwodim, Molly Kearney, Bowen Yang, Heidi Gardner, Mikey Day
• Enter Stage Woof: Chloe Fineman, Ana de Armas
• Karol G - Tus Gafitas
• World's Longest Fingernails: Bowen Yang, Ana de Armas, Heidi Gardner, Chloe Fineman

posted by rhizome (9 comments total)

They need to stop doing that Dome sketch every time the host is an attractive actress. Usually it’s a news segment—I think this is the first time it was a game show, in an attempt to freshen it up/hide the fact they’ve done it at least twice before—but it’s always the same joke: “how could this hot woman be with this dorky dude?” Yeah, we get it, the host is hot, write something more interesting. Though I did like the extra nipples at the end. (I almost thought they were going to return for the Spanish Class sketch when Mikey Day started exclaiming that it was hot.)

Overall I thought the episode was just okay but loved the World’s Longest Fingernails sketch. Also Sarah Sherman as Genesis Fry. “Who’s Antonio??” “YOUR DRIVER, COLIN!!”
posted by ejs at 3:51 PM on April 16, 2023 [5 favorites]

Enjoyed the cold open. Slightly bizarre and not a political sketch.

I liked the a good chunk of the episode, including the musical performances, were in Spanish. I'm sure that'll upset the sort of people who get upset by that sort of thing.

I hadn't heard of Karol G. before but I really liked her.

I'm not sure we needed another Lisa from Temecula so soon. It felt like they just said "hey, it worked two weeks ago let's just throw it in there without really writing much of a sketch."

Genesis Fry was amazing. I love Sarah so much.

Enter Stage Woof was funny in the way it always is when animals don't do what they're supposed to do.

I enjoyed Ana de Armas. I don't know what I've seen her in, other than celebrity gossip columns, but I thought she did a pretty good job and seemed to be up for anything.
posted by bondcliff at 4:26 PM on April 16, 2023 [4 favorites]

I was a bit amused when they started buzzing in with guesses on The Dome, which is better than all the other versions of that sketch got, but still not enough to make the sketch good. On the other hand, I don't think I'll ever get tired of Sarah Sherman antagonizing Colin Jost.

A little surprised that the American Girls sketch didn't include the '90s American Girls that was causing everyone to curse the inexorable march of time a few months ago.

Considering their track record with animals, I can't decide if it's stupid or brilliant to have a whole sketch where the whole conceit is training animals to act.
posted by ckape at 8:08 PM on April 16, 2023 [3 favorites]

I enjoyed Ana de Armas. I don't know what I've seen her in, other than celebrity gossip columns

As I was going to put in the description, she was in...a whole bunch of stuff you've probably heard of! Knives Out, War Dogs, the last James Bond, Blade Runner 2049, and maybe some of the other ones I haven't heard of. I was a bit surprised to see she's 34.

I thought the episode was solidly OK.
posted by rhizome at 10:45 PM on April 16, 2023

They really do need an internal position that says "No, you can't do this script because the premise is essentially same as sketches that were done in the past". Some of the repetition is do the nature of always having new writers and that they are perpetually aiming for the broadest possible audience for the sketches. In particular "The Dome" was in the slot right after the monologue which is supposed to be the best/most accessible material outside of the cold open. You can often tell if a show is going to be meh if the post-monologue isn't great.

While The Dome was done to death...extreme kudos to the makeup department for quick applications of the nipples. Mikey Day was heavily in the cold open wearing a form fitting shirt so they had 12-15 minutes tops to get those applied.

Lisa from Temecula needs to end. mrs mmascolino hadn't seen the first incarnation of the character and was just dumbfounded..."Why are they doing this?"
posted by mmascolino at 1:05 PM on April 17, 2023 [3 favorites]

I'd be really happy if someone would just say "Hey, pretty much all of the people who host this show are conventionally attractive, so maybe we can kill all of the sketches whose premise is Oh my god this professional attractive person is so attractive! We have to remind the world that they are attractive! Especially in comparison to us, who are merely attractive enough to be on television at all!"
posted by Etrigan at 1:20 PM on April 17, 2023 [2 favorites]

eh. Coughing up blood is tuberculosis. Cholera is where you shit yourself to death (it wasn't only in the punchline).
posted by porpoise at 8:01 PM on April 17, 2023 [4 favorites]

I still find the idea of a doll coughing up blood to be funny. It was a nice surprise for what turned out to be a rare underbaked pretape.
posted by rhizome at 4:24 AM on April 18, 2023

Aside from the bad re-use sketch and another "attractive woman with attractive man temporarily made to look slightly dorky" sketch I really enjoyed this episode. Hope the studios come to a swift concession to the striking writers. SNL has been really good ltely.
posted by GoblinHoney at 10:15 AM on April 18, 2023