S46.E10: John Krasinski / Machine Gun Kelly

[formerlyfreedom]

John Krasinski hosts, and Machine Gun Kelly is the musical guest.

 

Airing Saturday, January 30, 2021.

[Pete Martell]

 

[anna0852]

Kate is not acting at the moment 

[ebk57]

1 minute ago, anna0852 said:

Kate is not acting at the moment 

Her hair is fabulous.

This open is also fabulous. 

[freddi]

I was so disappointed in the cold open -- I do not need politics 24/7, but the world has changed for the better and the worse, and there is so much to target and either celebrate or skewer.  Oh, well.  

Edited January 31, 2021 by freddi

[Robert Lynch]

Jesus, what is going on here? I didn't laugh once. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

This is really sad.

Edit:  Ok, I'm liking the CNBC sketch!  Finally something creative!  😄

Kate and Mikey are amazing as these freaky ass twins!

Edited January 31, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[vb68]

I'm really enjoying the show so far.

Krasinski is such a natural at this. He could be a castmember.

The Dividend was delightfully creepy, and I loved John's lyrics to the Office theme.

The cold open was more social commentary than anything, but it worked for me. It summed up the moment pretty well.

[GoldenGirl90]

And now the terrorist watchlist includes white people!

😂😂😂

Edited January 31, 2021 by GoldenGirl90

[vb68]

Beck really went all in on the My Pillow guy. That was incredible.

And wow, Bowen as Fran Leibowitz was the impression that I could never have imagined, but I always needed.

[opus]

7 minutes ago, vb68 said:

And wow, Bowen as Fran Leibowitz was the impression that I could never have imagined

Yeah, didn’t have that one in the celebrity impression pool

[Ms Blue Jay]

Bowen as Fran on New York:

"Oh. I love it. It's the worst. Disgusting. I'll never move."   😄

[Galileo908]

And we're back!

Cold Open: "What Still Works?" Wow, a regular talk show in the cold open?! It truly is a new day, isn't it? Cecily was perfect to play Marjorie Taylor Greene. Trump might be gone, but the show found someone new to fill the void. And loved that they got Pete for the STONK Market talk. Loved seeing Kenan again...and yeah, as OJ Simpson, who somehow got the vaccine before anyone else. So...we just got "God damn" over the air. That still usually gets bleeped...right?

1 hour ago, freddi said:

I was so disappointed in the cold open -- I do not need politics 24/7, but there is so much to target and either celebrate or skewer.  Oh, well.  

Yeah, you have all this gold to mine with MTG...and they barely did anything with that.

Monologue: And this is where we get all the Office stuff out of the way. 

Wayne's World: WAIT WHAT aww it was just a teaser for a Super Bowl commercial... This show is currently testing my patience.

Blue Georgia: Aidy's back! This was just an odd sketch. If there was a sketch summed up as "both sides," it's this one.

The Loser: There's no better bully than an older brother. Andrew Dismukes is definitely getting some screentime tonight.

The Dividend: I was hoping that we'd get a proper STONKS sketch, but it's actually about the weird things you see in the background of zoom calls. The twins were delightfully creepy.

Now That's What I Call Theme Songs Sung By The Stars of The Show: Here's the requisite impression parade. I thought this was a a clever idea. Kyle as Baby Yoda singing The Mandalorian theme killed me, as did Kate as Margaret Thatcher. Other than that...meh. It doesn't help that with all the streaming services these days, most of these "big" shows aren't as well known in the cultural zeitgeist as they should be. I had no idea what most of these theme songs WERE, let alone how adding lyrics would make them funnier.

Covid Bubble: I loved that it was about someone getting arrested for storming the Capitol, and then they were ALL guilty slayed me. "Not sweet, racist, Angela!" Dead. I just wish that there was more escalation, you know? I think that maybe other agencies besides the FBI was arresting everyone? It felt pretty rushed.

WU: Yeah, there's a looooot to catch up on. "And now the terrorist watch includes white people! Yay for diversity." Beck as the MyPillow Guy was perfect. Bowen was great as Fran Liebowitz, but Kyle as Martin Scorcese was...just odd. Is Scorcese really like that in Pretend It's A City? It was great to see Cathy Anne again, but I was kind of disappointed that she WASN'T at the Capitol. 

Supermarket Sweep: I, too, watched that episode of Supermarket Sweep on Buzzr as few weeks back, writers. Kris and Gina were DEFINITELY a pair I saw on one of those old episodes, clothes and all. 

Subway: They had me at Beck's weird bald cap and big suit. Pretty big meh otherwise.

Top Hat: Oh, we DID get a 10-1 sketch. And it was a Ratatouille sex joke. That was great. The extra joke of Aidy as an Italian roach controlling Remy was...WEIRD. Pete as Peter O'Toole was yet another impression I saw coming tonight, but THAT was great. I was hoping Kyle would still be in the makeup for the goodnights...and he was! (As was Aidy in the Roach costume)

Why did I stay up for this? I have work in the morning and I stayed up for this.

Edited January 31, 2021 by Galileo908

[Ms Blue Jay]

6 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Bowen was great as Fran Liebowitz, but Kyle as Martin Scorcese was...just odd. Is Scorcese really like that in Pretend It's A City?

It's an exaggeration, but honestly, yes.

Somebody told me to watch PIAC because they thought I would like it.  Oh boy, I didn't.  Fran's humour just didn't work on me.  And Fran is just doing her bit and Scorsese is just laughing hysterically in the background at all times.  So yeah, Bowen and Kyle doing this really, really worked for me.  For me it was accurate.

[Dr.OO7]

I liked the (way too brief) tribute to Cicely Tyson at the end. I'm surprised her episode wasn't the vintage episode, but perhaps they couldn't find it?

[ebk57]

Yeah... after the open, there wasn't much there.  A few lines in Update (and no, Scorcese isn't like that in the series, which is wonderful - everyone should watch it!) including the wonderful Bowen-as-Fran and Cathy Anne, and then the Supermarket Sweep sketch were the only parts where I even smiled. 

 

Ah well... it has to get better, right? 

[vb68]

8 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

but Kyle as Martin Scorcese was...just odd.

I thought that was Dismukes.

Welcome to the party, Andrew. Nice to have Aidy back, too.

Maybe I just find Krasinski a comforting presence, but I thought he was pretty great with what they gave him. He really should have been in the regular rotation of hosts for awhile now.

[ebk57]

3 minutes ago, vb68 said:

Maybe I just find Krasinski a comforting presence, but I thought he was pretty great with what they gave him. He really should have been in the regular rotation of hosts for awhile now.

I thought he was totally charming and would love to see him come back.  After they get some new writers maybe...

[MrWhyt]

36 minutes ago, vb68 said:

Maybe I just find Krasinski a comforting presence, but I thought he was pretty great with what they gave him. He really should have been in the regular rotation of hosts for awhile now.

Yeah it was a pretty average episode IMO but I wouldn't put any of it's failings on Krasinski. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I like Krasinski and all, but the parts of the show that actually worked weren't because of him either.  This show is really suffering to due to the writing.  I admit that I liked the creepy twins, and Bowen Yang as Fran was inspired, and the celebrity impressions sketches are always up my alley.  But some of this was just soooooo bad.  That bullying sketch?  Blue Georgia?  Subway?  Ratatouille?  Oh boy.

It's always alarming when I watch an old episode that they air at 10 PM right before the new one.  The difference is so staggering.  They recently reran a Nicole Kidman episode that I've probably seen dozens of times from the 90s.  It was just so good.

[Irlandesa]

I thought the cold open was a good way to sum up all that has been going on recently so I liked the futile vibe they chose to go with.

I think they did just enough with Marjorie Taylor Greene.  She might look good for mocking but a good parody is exaggerating certain things about the person. I bet it's hard to come up with even crazier conspiracy theories than those she has already supported. I actually wonder how many people thought what she said during Cecily's impression were things the writing staff made up?

I giggled a lot at Blue Georgia. So happy to have Aidy back.  

I liked the sketch with the arrests but I wonder if they comically lost something when all were arrested.  My favorite was the first arrest when he was complaining about how being arrested hurt.  I'm surprised more didn't take the entitled route when acting out being arrested. 

Did anyone else notice Machine Gun Kelly picking up Pete (I think) and then both falling off the stage during the goodbyes?

Edited January 31, 2021 by Irlandesa

[nickp1991]

PETE DAVIDSON ON SNL PLAYING THE MAJORITY GAMESTOP HOLDER IS PRICELESS

[Robert Lynch]

I thought Cecily would have been great as the other congresswoman from CO since she is only two years younger than Cecily herself. I think Cecily is much prettier than the woman she portrayed. My honest opinion.

Edited January 31, 2021 by Robert Lynch

[ahisma]

The Twins sketch, Weekend Update, and the cold open were my favorites. It’s great to see Kate doing subtle comedic acting—it really works and it’s a nice change from her having to be more over the top than the real-life administration. 

Weekend Update had the truthiest truth:

• “We can have Rand Paul fight Logan Paul. That way, no matter who loses America wins.”
• Cathy Anne on how to prevent more insurrections: “Put ‘em in prison.”

I wonder whether Leslie is totally psyched they did a Supermarket Sweep sketch or mad they didn’t do it when she was in the cast.

 

[lovinbob]

Definitely a meh episode. I love John Krasinski to distraction, and he was obviously game for anything, but the writers didn't hit it out of the ballpark for him, IMO.

I didn't love the Pete-John kiss--feels like something that would have been considered edgy in the late 90s. Although, put me in the camp of someone who watched The Office on repeat in the last year and is extremely invested in the Pam-Jim relationship. 

[Pete Martell]

Just now, lovinbob said:

Definitely a meh episode. I love John Krasinski to distraction, and he was obviously game for anything, but the writers didn't hit it out of the ballpark for him, IMO.

I didn't love the Pete-John kiss--feels like something that would have been considered edgy in the late 90s. Although, put me in the camp of someone who watched The Office on repeat in the last year and is extremely invested in the Pam-Jim relationship. 

There tend to be three types of kisses between men on SNL:

- the '90s version, where men would shove their tongues around and smash their faces together like cartoon characters, usually followed by someone (often Chris Kattan) shouting OH MY GOD WHAT DID I JUST DO???????

- the Bill Hader type of kiss (which was what we got here), where two straight men keep their mouths closed at all times as the audience good-naturedly laughs, but not in a way which is as homophobic as the above. 

- Kyle Mooney kisses, where he and his male screen partner have genuine kisses, getting into the point of the sketch, not treated as a joke or as a reminder that straight men are kissing and to just be satisfied with awkward, chaste material. 

I don't have a strong opinion of John, but I think he was hamstrung by various assets not being there (no Office cameos, no Emily Blunt cameo). He was a likeable, charismatic guy, but I'm not entirely sure what would have worked for him other than what he got. I might have put in another character piece over the straight man roles. 

[Pete Martell]

9 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I think they did just enough with Marjorie Taylor Greene.  She might look good for mocking but a good parody is exaggerating certain things about the person. I bet it's hard to come up with even crazier conspiracy theories than those she has already supported. I actually wonder how many people thought what she said during Cecily's impression were things the writing staff made up?

It's a fine line in not making people like this seem overly funny or easy to like. I would have rather not seen her on at all, but I am glad they mostly played it straight. The decision during Trump's first few years to try to make fun comic creations out of the likes of Jeff Sessions or Sean Spicer mostly felt undeserved and cloying and tone deaf to me, especially everything with Sessions.

[MerBearHou]

I watched this episode solely for my favorite John Krasinski.  I did not laugh even once.  Lame, Lame, Lame.

[Ottis]

This whole thing felt off somehow. The audience seemed tentative. The jokes landed with thuds, for the most part.

MGK gives off a Green Day plus Eminem vibe. I looked up his second song because it was touching and learned it was about his relationship with his prematurely deceased dad and aunt. Really well done. So I streamed a bunch of his stuff and was less impressed. He has a real “I never had a chance but I’ll show you all, and also, I’m tough” vibe. Very teenage male. I guess that is what Megan Fox goes for.

i have no idea what the Fran L and Martin S thing was about. Too NY. 

[Traveller519]

I was amazed this was Krasinski's first time hosting. I thought he surely would have done so in the middle office years (I know Rainn did, and obviously Carrell). At any rate you could tell he wanted to be there and was enjoying it. I'd love to have him back in a more traditional format, post COVID.

I know MGK is Pete's friend, so I wanted to give him an honest shot, but hoo, he is not my cup of tea. Maybe it's an elder millenial elder Gen Z divide, but I can't imagine this guy not bowing out from a beef battle with Eminem.

The Subway sketch disappointed me. They addressed Jared, but to not address the Irish bread ruling or recent Tuna lawsuit on what amounts to current events satire blatantly displays the paid promotion.

[helenamonster]

I really liked the cold open--if it absolutely has to be topical (which I maintain it does not), at least this was something different, not a conga line of impressions just reciting the week's soundbytes verbatim. I also appreciate a chance for Kate to do something more understated (even if that translates into her just playing herself).

Nicholas Braun (Cousin Greg on Succession) actually does have a sort-of music career--he did a covid parody song (very Lonely Island) last summer. Wish they'd found a way to incorporate/capitalize on that, maybe even have him cameo (and he does way more on Succession than just say "uh" and "what"--we stan Greg Hirsch in this apartment!).

I did appreciate the Queen's Gambit swipe. The show is just about chess and drugs! That's it! She's still good at chess even when she doesn't take the drugs! I do not get the hype!

Ratatouille isn't the name of the rat. It's Remy. Does nobody in a writer's room packed with millennials know this???

The CNBC sketch was probably my favorite of the night. "The neighbor boy showed us pornography on his phone, and we didn't look away. We liked it. Why did we like it, Father?"

Great to have Aidy back!

Overall, definitely meh. Nothing on John, he seemed eager and happy to be there. But the show is now stuffed with writers and cast members who would have probably left at the end of last season if world events had gone differently, and it shows.

1 hour ago, Traveller519 said:

The Subway sketch disappointed me. They addressed Jared, but to not address the Irish bread ruling or recent Tuna lawsuit on what amounts to current events satire blatantly displays the paid promotion.

Right? I was waiting for a mention of the tuna, and nothing. But since this was most definitely paid product placement for Subway, better to bring up old outdated controversies (Jared) than new ones that could hurt current business. 

And I agree with Rocky and Dino. That protein bowl looks disgusting.

[vb68]

2 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

I don't have a strong opinion of John, but I think he was hamstrung by various assets not being there (no Office cameos, no Emily Blunt cameo). He was a likeable, charismatic guy, but I'm not entirely sure what would have worked for him other than what he got.

I wish they had someone play Jenna Fisher.  The setup was decent enough. (People have been binging The Office like crazy. Seriously the numbers Netflix released for last year were insane.) They did The Office cameos a couple of years ago the last time Carrel hosted. But the follow through with Pete as "Pam" felt both lame and lazy. I also think the whole Q & A bit with the audience works so much better with writers, who are less familiar than the cast.

Having said that, this episode was for all the people who hate celebrity cameos. It was just the cast straight through. Everyone was back, and everyone got at least a little bit of time.  ( I think I saw Melissa?)

2 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

It's a fine line in not making people like this seem overly funny or easy to like. I would have rather not seen her on at all, but I am glad they mostly played it straight.

There was probably no way around it with the news cycle the past week or so. It did feel very cautious, especially compared to Beck going all out with Mike Lindell. I still think Beck was a real highlight with that.

3 hours ago, ahisma said:

I wonder whether Leslie is totally psyched they did a Supermarket Sweep sketch or mad they didn’t do it when she was in the cast.

 

I thought it was a very curious sketch choice for that reason. I wasn't sure how to read that. Maybe it was an indirect message that they miss Leslie?

As someone else mentioned, I thought we were going to get a full Wayne's World sketch there for a second. Please don't toy with me like that.

Edited January 31, 2021 by vb68

[greekmom]

3 hours ago, lovinbob said:

Definitely a meh episode. I love John Krasinski to distraction, and he was obviously game for anything, but the writers didn't hit it out of the ballpark for him, IMO.

I didn't love the Pete-John kiss--feels like something that would have been considered edgy in the late 90s. Although, put me in the camp of someone who watched The Office on repeat in the last year and is extremely invested in the Pam-Jim relationship. 

Agree on the meh episode.

The Pete/John kiss, I was shocked because - covid.  I know that they probably test and wear masks but damn, COVID.

[meep.meep]

That was the worst opening monologue ever.

1 hour ago, helenamonster said:

I did appreciate the Queen's Gambit swipe. The show is just about chess and drugs! That's it! She's still good at chess even when she doesn't take the drugs! I do not get the hype!

Chess and drugs and drinking and fashion!

[Caseysgirl]

I think there is only a slim audience ( myself included) that would appreciate the Fran/Scorsese bit, which they devoted some time to. I happened to have seen the doc ( don’t even remember on which streaming service) and they were spot on with the impersonation of Fran & Scorsese did seem as though he was laughing uproariously at EVERYTHING she said.  That said,even when Fran Leibovitz was trending,she had a niche group who appreciated her very deadpan humor.

[Pete Martell]

Overall I thought this was a decent, middle-of-the-road episode, with no big highs or lows. I was pleasantly surprised at how they managed to use most of the cast (the first episode this season to have all cast members present), even if Lauren Holt and Punkie Johnson still aren't getting enough chances (at least Andrew Dismukes finally is). I'm not overly interested in John Krasinski (he seems to be very polarizing these days), but he was a game host, likeable, and able to blend in while still having a real presence. He even made the lazy, '90s type Q&A monologue charming.

My general opinion about political material on SNL is that while I know SNL has a very long history of political sketches and jokes, some good, some terrible, the show eventually began to taken a hollow "both sides" approach which (in my opinion) is woefully out of place in recent times, and has also been reluctant to write tough, harsh pieces or to really be outspoken against the worst dregs in the system. This detachment also led to increasingly lifeless cold opens, with the Oval office address pieces that became more and more tedious, finally moving toward what we have in recent years - checklist pieces that resort to goofy faces and no real point of view beyond muddling through what they think they are supposed to say to get a headline.

In that sense I thought this episode was a step forward. There were a number of sketches which talked about what had happened politically in the last month, from the Georgia races to the insurrection, instead of cramming everything into a 15-minute cold open and letting it hang loose. The cold open in particular felt much more focused than these have been in quite a while, with a strong backbone performance from Kate and good work from everyone else (my favorite was the return of Alex Moffat's Zuckerberg, a terrifyingly giddy robot). The FBI arrest and Blue Georgia sketches weren't as strong - the former was too padded and the latter kind of screwed up the ending and didn't do enough to make the point more clear - but they still had good moments. What I think would improve these in future (beyond tighter writing) is if SNL can ever get back some of the more down-to-earth performance style that has been so hard to find on there since the early '00s, give or take a few geniuses. Premises like these (especially Blue Georgia) are much funnier with subtler cast work. 

The non-political sketches were more of a mixed bag. The news sketch was one of the best "wow lol something crazy happens on a newscast" in several years, thanks to changing the approach up from being about incest or funny name jokes and allowing more interplay with the cast. Mikey and Kate were great as the creepy twins, while Beck (the real MVP this week) was great in his increasingly frightened reactions to them. The Subway sketch was nothing memorable, but did have a fun double act with Beck and John (in his one character piece of the night). Supermarket Sweep was pretty much the same Kate and Aidy sketch as shown a million times, but it was well-performed enough and I did appreciate the nod to the "best friends" of the old show (and the correct styling for David Ruprecht). I think I liked the return of the 'weird' 5-to-1 format a little more than I liked the Ratatouille sketch (which seems to have maybe come from Adult Swim anyway,, although Pete gave the perfect ending.

My main disappointment was in the pre-tapes, which continue the warmed-over feel they've had these last two seasons. I can understand why, given how many involved in them over recent years have left the show (Julio Torres, Dave McCary, etc.) and others are not far behind (Beck, Kyle, Pete), but "lackluster impression parade" and "umpteenth piece about someone inadvertently being humiliated and having crap jokes" have been done too many times. I did enjoy Chloe's Kim Cattrall impression (and Pete), and I thought Andrew Dismukes added a different style to the bullied and embarrassed teen role, but, eh. 

I still think Jost and Che are doing a steady job at Update, but I feel like it's time for them to move on, especially if it means I don't have to see Che riling up viewers with yet another "edgy" transphobic joke. It was good to see Cathy Anne again, even though it feels like she had already said anything she had left to say. Bowen and Kyle were also a hoot as Fran and Scorsese - Bowen continues to try new things, while his pairing with Kyle is the type of unexpected pairing that helps make the show more fluid with some people in the cast feeling so boxed in. My favorite part was the Mike Lindell appearance, which tapped so well into Beck's mania and petulance. 

[ahisma]

5 hours ago, Ottis said:

i have no idea what the Fran L and Martin S thing was about. Too NY. 

 Scorsese has a show on Netflix now called Pretend It’s a City that basically follows Fran Lebowitz around as she does standup and walks around New York cracking wise about city life. The sketch was dead on with Fran’s shtick. Scorsese in the show is mostly in the background cracking up, and unlike the sketch is not generally bending over wheezing or otherwise pulling focus away from Fran.

18 minutes ago, Pete Martell said:

my favorite was the return of Alex Moffat's Zuckerberg, a terrifyingly giddy robot

I loved Mikey as Jack and Alex as Mark! They have such excellent chemistry together after four years as Don Jr and Eric. I wonder whether this will be a new regular duo for them.

[Jody]

7 hours ago, lovinbob said:

Definitely a meh episode. I love John Krasinski to distraction, and he was obviously game for anything, but the writers didn't hit it out of the ballpark for him, IMO.

I didn't love the Pete-John kiss--feels like something that would have been considered edgy in the late 90s. Although, put me in the camp of someone who watched The Office on repeat in the last year and is extremely invested in the Pam-Jim relationship. 

          Hey LovinBob. I guess You have never seen The Vogelchecks ! That Is An Affectionate Family Where Every Body Kisses Each Other Regardless OF Their Geneder ! There is Fred, Kristen, Bill And Andy ! That Was Past 2010 !

[possibilities]

I laughed a lot but then I couldn't remember what was so funny. So I guess I'm in the mood to be entertained and I'm not going to sweat the details.

I do agree the monologue kiss was weirdly gratuitously homophobic. Why is it funny? If they put a woman in the Pam role, it would not have gotten out of the table read. But man kissing man! Hardy har har.

I thought the Lindell segment went on too long, but that's not really a big complaint. SOMETHING always goes on too long in an SNL episode, and it was otherwise spot on.

At first I thought the covid pod was going to be about how no one was actually quarantining, so they weren't really keeping each other safe by being in the pod. But then it turned into a domino series of insurrectionist arrests. Hm.

This was my favorite Cathy Ann appearance.

[Quickbeam]

Cathy Anne /Cecily bit was my favorite. I really laughed....otherwise kind of dull.

[Milburn Stone]

I thought the show got better as it went along.

Edited February 1, 2021 by Milburn Stone

[vb68]

4 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

Premises like these (especially Blue Georgia) are much funnier with subtler cast work. 

I get a little wistful thinking what Jan Hooks would had done with a premise like that. Just saying. Sigh.

[Pete Martell]

7 hours ago, possibilities said:

I do agree the monologue kiss was weirdly gratuitously homophobic. Why is it funny? If they put a woman in the Pam role, it would not have gotten out of the table read. But man kissing man! Hardy har har.

I didn't find it that homophobic, because I didn't feel like they were treating the idea as anything weird or sick, the way they did years back. It's just I also didn't find any of it very funny. There are a subset of viewers who would have found a kiss hot, but they didn't actually even really kiss, so my reaction was mostly just...OK??? You really didn't know how to end this monologue did you?

[Milburn Stone]

3 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

I didn't find it that homophobic, because I didn't feel like they were treating the idea as anything weird or sick, the way they did years back.

I want to agree with you, because I think there's been some progress, but the choice reflected an expectation on the part of the writers that a passionate kiss between two men known to be straight would get a big laugh from the crowd--which it did! There are so many layers to this. "Should we do anything for a laugh? Maybe; this is a comedy show after all!" "Yeah, but people shouldn't still be laughing at that in 2021." "Yeah, but whether or not they should, they're going to laugh." I guess most of all I felt disappointed in the audience for proving the writers right, with a close second to the writers who pandered. Maybe next year the laugh will be less, along with the temptation to pander.

[Pete Martell]

38 minutes ago, Milburn Stone said:

I want to agree with you, because I think there's been some progress, but the choice reflected an expectation on the part of the writers that a passionate kiss between two men known to be straight would get a big laugh from the crowd--which it did! There are so many layers to this. "Should we do anything for a laugh? Maybe; this is a comedy show after all!" "Yeah, but people shouldn't still be laughing at that in 2021." "Yeah, but whether or not they should, they're going to laugh." I guess most of all I felt disappointed in the audience for proving the writers right, with a close second to the writers who pandered. Maybe next year the laugh will be less, along with the temptation to pander.

I think there's probably always going to be a certain subset of viewers who will laugh or find it shocking, whether now, or ten, twenty, etc. years from now. I think there's also more of a factor now of people who may find it hot. With that said, SNL shouldn't need to pander to those types of viewers.

I do see it as lazy, crass, etc. so I don't mean to downplay any feelings that the piece was homophobic. I guess since I grew up with an SNL that, among other things, had sketches about how a man being raped makes him gay, I tend to see this as much more minor, although still very cynical and needless. 

[lovinbob]

They could have set up the Pete as Pam dynamic better, rather than just having them kiss each other onstage. Wistful glances in the hallway, maybe having them play a prank on another cast member, and/or have one of the guys be Pete's "Roy." Culminating in a Casino Night-style kiss.

 

Or maybe it's just not a funny idea all together.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Here's a tweet from Matt Rogers who actually runs a podcast with Bowen.  I've seen other similar tweets mocking SNL for this sketch .  I think other people feel that it's homophobic also.  Personally I take their cue.  It's not like two gay men were kissing for some kind of organic reason.  It's two straight men.  And it was obviously played for laughs.   It kind of feels like "queerbaiting" or gay cosplay or something.  

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, lovinbob said:

They could have set up the Pete as Pam dynamic better, rather than just having them kiss each other onstage. Wistful glances in the hallway,

Yeah, the way the sketch was, it didn't really make sense.  Your idea at least makes some kind of sense.

[Milburn Stone]

It was sort of like, "OMG, those two Christian actors are pretending to be Jewish! That's hilarious!"

[Pete Martell]

38 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Here's a tweet from Matt Rogers who actually runs a podcast with Bowen.  I've seen other similar tweets mocking SNL for this sketch .  I think other people feel that it's homophobic also.  Personally I take their cue.  It's not like two gay men were kissing for some kind of organic reason.  It's two straight men.  And it was obviously played for laughs.   It kind of feels like "queerbaiting" or gay cosplay or something.  

Rogers has a right to speak up, although I feel bad for the position this puts Bowen in, as he already has had to end up being something of a 'face' for SNL on matters of race or sexuality.

It's hard to say. I've seen some gay guys who thought the kiss was fun. I didn't really react much myself, other than thinking it was hacky. I reacted more to Che's transphobic joke on Update. But knowing some people were hurt (and yes, queerbaiting is a good word for it), I can understand their feelings. I hope SNL hears about it and might avoid this cliche in future.