Saturday Night Live: John Cena, Maran Morris
December 11, 2016 5:11 AM - Season 42, Episode 9 - Subscribe

Host: John Cena, Musical Guest: Maran Morris

  • The Lead with Jack Tapper - Beck Bennet, Kate McKinnon, Bryan Cranston
  • Opening Monologue - John Cena
  • Hook a Hunk - Cecily Strong, Beck Bennet, Kyle Mooney, Mikey Day, John Cena
  • The Karate Teen - Mikey Day, Alex Moffat, John Cena, Kenan Thompson,
  • Applied Sciences 101 - Aidy Bryant, John Cena, Beck Bennet, Kenan Thompson, Mikey Day, Vanessa Bayer, Bobby Moynihan
  • Dyke & Fats Save Christmas - Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, John Cena
  • Maren Morris - My Church
  • Weekend Update - Michael Che, Colin Jost
    • Angela Merkel - Kate McKinnon
    • Cathy Anne - Cecily Strong

  • Where'd Your Money Go - Kenan Thompson, John Cena, ?, Booby Moynihan

  • Yankee Swap - John Cena, Cecily Strong, Leslie Jones, Aidy Bryant, Beck Bennet

  • Through Donald's Eyes - Vanessa Bayer, Sasheer Zamata, Alex Moffat, Cecily Strong, Beck Bennet, Kate McKinnon, Bobby Moynihan, John Cena

  • Maren Morris - 80s Mercedes

  • Erotic Book Store - Vanessa Bayer, Beck Bennet, Kenan Thompson, Aidy Bryant, John Cena, Melissa VillaseƱor

  • United States of Talent - Beck Bennet, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson, Mikey Day, John Cena, Kyle Mooney, Sasheer Zamata

posted by DizzyOnBugSpray (20 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Cecily Strong as Cathy Anne was fantastic. I don't know how she creates that dialog but almost every word is wrong and yet they're also perfect. She and McKinnon are killing it.
posted by Stanczyk at 8:02 AM on December 11, 2016 [3 favorites]


This is a much better season for Cecily, I'm so stoked for her. I wonder what was happening the past few years.

I missed the first half-hour, but I thought Through Donald's Eyes was pretty great, especially so if DT reacts to it. With that and Cathy Anne's "I know he's watching," we're probably going to see more Trumpbaiting over the next month (though I can't find any info whether there are any new episodes after 12/17).

Maren Morris, eminently forgettable. Lorne's just gotta have a Pay-to-Play scheme going on.
posted by rhizome at 12:01 PM on December 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


Strong's Cathy Anne is brilliant (I actually lol-ed at the arm psoriasis), and what perfect use of John Cena as Trump in the Eyes sketch.

"Hi, I'm John Cena. For those of you who voted for Hillary, I'm a wrestler."

I don't know him from Adam, but he really seems like a nice guy, a top notch entertainer, and a good sport.

McKinnon's Merkel was funny, but was her caricature based on Merkel's actual mannerisms? If other world leaders can be sports about being laughed at on a comedy entertainment show, why can't Trump?
posted by porpoise at 1:23 PM on December 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


I'm with you porpoise I haven't cared about wrestling for decades, but Cena seems to have some really good comic timing. The giant hands bit had me in stitches. Ask Steve Martin what the most important thing in comedy is. He'll say timing. Or maybe humility.

Buddy movie with Cena and Tatum? Cop buddy movie with Cena and Tatum?
posted by Sphinx at 1:30 PM on December 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


I thought this was a mostly weak episode with a few funny bits. I'd never heard of John Cena but he struck me mostly as a typical athlete host. You don't expect much so the fact that he has any timing at all is a good thing. I liked the monologue with "Wrestler? I'm Leslie Jones!" He did seem like a good sport.

A great premise for the cold open, Walter White as director of the DEA, though the timing felt a bit off, though I could watch Cranston do nothing but eat mashed potatoes and I'd still be smiling.

A bunch of great digs at Trump during Weekend Update. His reactions at this point are only going to help the show.

Yes, Cecile Strong is a treasure and if it wasn't for Kate she'd probably be the star of the show.

I enjoyed Where'd Your Money Go though Cena's Gronk impression was basically "generic dumb football player", though I suppose that's not too far off from Gronk.

Nice to see Dyke and Fats again. Lots of Aidy this week. I love Aidy.

Maren Morris? Yawn.

Hardly any Pete or Sasheer this week. Was Pete in anything?
posted by bondcliff at 1:45 PM on December 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


John Cena finally found a good tailor.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 3:15 PM on December 11, 2016


Seemed like Pete had a pretty busy Fall, maybe he's kinda taking December off.
posted by rhizome at 3:41 PM on December 11, 2016


Is the authorship of individual skits available, or even speculated/blogged about?
posted by rhizome at 3:42 PM on December 11, 2016


I don't know him from Adam, but he really seems like a nice guy, a top notch entertainer, and a good sport.

I didn't know who John Cena was before I saw Trainwreck, but he's in Trainwreck as one of Amy Schumer's gentleman callers and totally holds his own. He's also in Sisters and owns every single one of his scenes. The dude has legit comedic chops, and I love that he hosted SNL. He deserves to be adored by a wider audience.

He also seems to be a really excellent person. Here's a post on the blue from this summer you should check out.
posted by phunniemee at 5:22 PM on December 11, 2016 [3 favorites]


Here's a post on the blue from this summer you should check out.

Oh that's who he is. I remember seeing that video and thinking he was a good guy for doing it.
posted by bondcliff at 5:31 PM on December 11, 2016


A great premise for the cold open, Walter White as director of the DEA, though the timing felt a bit off, though I could watch Cranston do nothing but eat mashed potatoes and I'd still be smiling.

I just watched that, and damn, that was funny. (Walter White supports the wall because it will cut down on the competition; "Jake Tapper" says, you mean, like, jobs? And White just chuckles and says, "Sure.")
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:09 PM on December 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


The "Through Donald's Eyes" sketch was genius. And, I suspect, frighteningly close to accurate.
posted by orange swan at 7:55 PM on December 11, 2016 [2 favorites]


Oh, hey, SNL Trump and I have the same TV clicker.

Cecily Strong has several mush-mouthed characters -- Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party, and Porn Stars selling stuff on infomercials are also classics.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:14 PM on December 11, 2016


I'd like to thank DizzyOnBugSpray for getting the SNL posts together on FanFare this season. They've been fantastic, and a great way to keep track of the individual sketches on a show I'm sure to be drinking while watching.

I left last night's episode with a single strong memory and that was Cecily's appearance during Weekend Update. I agree with bondcliff that she's not the star of the show only because of McKinnon's existence. I never ever fail to find humor in a Keenan or Bobby reaction shot, but the ladies have been doing the bulk of the work the past few seasons.
posted by komara at 8:20 PM on December 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


This was kind of a weak one, but I fell hard for the Mighty Owl. That puppet.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 8:30 PM on December 11, 2016


John Cena finally found a good tailor.

I was looking at his suit during the opening monologue and thinking "That's not a real suit, that will tear off, right?"

This show seemed uneven to me. I loved the whole first part of it right up until update (though yeah the musical guest was fine but forgettable) but then it seemed to go downhill fast as far as live sketches. Where'd Your Money Go guy could have been more Gronk-y, though I am always a sucker for the game show format. Yankee Swap was just the down-punchingest sketch enough so I couldn't even really figure out what was funny about it. Erotic Book Store was ok and then the weird shitting owl sketch? Not my thing.

Cena was in literally every sketch and was terrific. Great comic timing, game for whatever, and didn't even fall back on his "I am really hunky" stuff every time the way Hemsworth sometimes had to.

The two new dudes are also still going fine though I want to see a lot more of VillaseƱor and Zamata and I missed Pete this week.
posted by jessamyn at 7:39 AM on December 12, 2016 [1 favorite]


Buddy movie with Cena and Tatum? Cop buddy movie with Cena and Tatum?

I have long wanted a rom com about two lifting partners who discover that , indeed the heart Is a muscle, starring Cena and Tatum called LUNKS IN LOVE.
posted by The Whelk at 7:49 AM on December 12, 2016 [5 favorites]


Love the "heart is a muscle" thing, kid, but ya gonna hafta lose the title. I'm thinkin' something punchy, like "Match Point" but not "Match Point," like "Bench Press" or "Leg Day" or "Push Up." [Puffs cigar]
posted by rhizome at 9:59 AM on December 12, 2016


I have long wanted a rom com about two lifting partners who discover that , indeed the heart Is a muscle, starring Cena and Tatum called LUNKS IN LOVE.

For several months, my Kindle advertised an MMA romance series at me every time I turned the power off. Knowing absolutely nothing about the books except for the cover art and basic premise, I choose to believe these stories are about two male MMA fighters in love.
posted by phunniemee at 10:50 AM on December 12, 2016 [1 favorite]


I have long wanted a rom com about two lifting partners who discover that , indeed the heart Is a muscle, starring Cena and Tatum called LUNKS IN LOVE.

Here's my new screenplay.

TITLE: THE STRIPES ON THEIR SLEEVES. One man has been unable to deal with the one simple fact that his life is hinged on a lie. He's been into other men for his whole life, his marriage is a sham. Another compatriot is just coming to the realization that he's in love with a man. A man he's in love with. He feels like his service has been a sham.

If you can somehow have Stephen Fry play an old Chief or General*, you have my twelve bucks.

Netflix here we come.

*I had the Army idea late, but now it seems kind of trite.
posted by Sphinx at 7:08 PM on December 12, 2016


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