S46.E12: Regina King / Nathaniel Rateliff

[Bachibawlz]

Where was Petey Davidson last night in SNL?? He’s the main reason I tune into the show.  Love that kid, hope he’s all right 

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Regina King hosts, while Nathaniel Rateliff is the musical performer.

Airing Saturday, February 13, 2021.

[Pete Martell]

 

[vb68]

They don't seem to be putting as much thought and effort into these promos as they did a couple of years ago. Maybe that's understandable with COVID, but it's still disappointing that these seem like like more than after thoughts now.

Here's hoping for a 227 sketch with Regina playing Mary! 

[Pete Martell]

10 hours ago, vb68 said:

They don't seem to be putting as much thought and effort into these promos as they did a couple of years ago. Maybe that's understandable with COVID, but it's still disappointing that these seem like like more than after thoughts now.

Here's hoping for a 227 sketch with Regina playing Mary! 

I think Punkie would make a fun Jackee. 

In recent years the first set of promos would be longer and more creative, and then this set would be what we usually get now (the bad jokes). I miss getting both sets of promos. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

 

[Pete Martell]

Dan Levy left a good luck note for Regina King. Sweet.

https://www.thewrap.com/dan-levy-regina-king-not-hosting-snl/

[formerlyfreedom]

I’m going to have a hard time getting the weed gummie song out of my head.

So far, Regina has been rocking it!

[vb68]

I'm finding some of this awkward as hell, like the Gorilla Glue and drunk signs sketches. But Regina's acting is fantastic, especially given the material. The weed Gummy sketch was ok, but it seems to me like they really didn't have any idea how to write for her.

Also, I love Beck's Mitch McConnell. I wish he did that one more often.

Edited February 14, 2021 by vb68

[ebk57]

I loved her yellow dress in the monologue.

(And next week, the very pretty Rege-Jean Page!!)

[vb68]

My station lost the feed or something. It went out in the middle of Che's Popeye joke.

[ebk57]

5 minutes ago, vb68 said:

My station lost the feed or something. It went out in the middle of Che's Popeye joke.

Was that before or after Lauren as the dating expert?  After that was Beck as drunk Tom Brady.  You didn't miss anything.

[vb68]

5 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

Was that before or after Lauren as the dating expert?  After that was Beck as drunk Tom Brady.  You didn't miss anything.

Thanks. It came back on during commercials when Update was over. I don't know what happened. I still had weather bulletins at the bottom, so I almost want to think they were censoring Che. LOL

And yeah, I didn't see Lauren or Beck.

Edited February 14, 2021 by vb68

[freddi]

2 minutes ago, vb68 said:

Thanks. It came back on during commercials when Update was over. I don't know what happened. I still had weather bulletins at the bottom, so I almost want to think they were censoring Che. LOL

I think the edgiest joke was about the name change for the Aunt Jemima brand.  It was not a sparkling Update.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

I think I only like the Weed Gummy sketch and Drunk Tom Brady ☹️

Okay I find myself laughing at this elbow one 😝

Edited February 14, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[Galileo908]

Cold Open: Gee, I wonder if anything significant happened in the past few days? You really couldn't make Trump's defense any more silly than what actually happened, so it was perfect to have Pete play Van der Veen and Aidy as Ted Cruz. Beck will always be amazing as Mitch McConnell.

"Pronouns for DOGS? Everyone knows they're good boys!"

Monologue: The voice of Huey and Riley Freeman is an Oscar winner. What a time to be alive. I thought she did a fine job, but honestly, as much as I like the idea of an Hype Man Kenan, he wasn't necessary here.

What's Your Type?: This was just a great premise. It's an MTV dating show with Regina King, who likes cringey white guys in their early 40s. Mikey, Kyle, and Alex were perfect as the cringey bachelors. I felt ALL of that. 

Pelotaunt: I feel attacked. An exercise bike that gaslights you into fitness. I am Melissa about everything.

Gorilla Glue: Regina King was PERFECT as the Gorilla Glue lady. This was great and silly. Don't know what was better: Regina's wig, or "Butt ruined." 

Signs: A Wine Mom intervention via someone receiving increasingly direct Wine Mom signs. I love it. "I sit in the dirt and drink" was the best one. 

The Negotiator: Pete was amazing and so weird as a Weed Gummy Bear. Weird, live action sexy weed dream Marge Simpson was something I didn't expect to see tonight...

WU: Ted Cruz's hair definitely gave Colin and Che some levity tonight. "Just because there's video evidence, doesn't mean there will be a conviction." Hard truth, especially with what happened in Buffalo. Representing Q-Anon with a literal witch was certainly...a choice. But Beck was great as Drunk Tom Brady.

"Proving my long-standing theory that if NBC just let me say it, the rating will go up!" That Jost bit was DEFINITELY written by Che, wasn't it?

And Lauren's bit...I've gotten dumped by text right before Valentine's Day, too, so that hit close to home.

Loved the bits about the Popeye's fish sandwich, Hi-C being "Clown Urine," and sending full bushes for Larry Flynt.

Fliona: Regina and Bowen were 100% into the sketch, but the audience just wasn't feeling it at all, which was a shame. It sucks when the set and the costumes were the best part.

Fembox: The Vagina Monologues but about elbows. I'm never gonna look at that word the same way again.

I felt the opposite tonight compared the past two weeks: The host killed it, I liked the material, but it was the audience that wasn't feeling it.

[MarquisDeCarabas]

 I thought the “if I say it the ratings will go up, was reasonably edgy though it’s not as funny when jost goes along with the I’m a secret racist bit

[freddi]

Has any other market been getting Billy Graham commercials right before the first appearance of the musical guest?  I saw it last week and didn't think much about it, but saw the same commercial at the same time again this week.  It is not a commercial I have seen anyplace else.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

Has anyone heard of this musical performer?

[MarquisDeCarabas]

1 minute ago, MarquisDeCarabas said:

 I thought the “if I say it the ratings will go up, was reasonably edgy though it’s not as funny when jost goes along with the I’m a secret racist bit

ETA I think fliona sketch needed to be faster to hit with the audience honestly. 

[ebk57]

2 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Has anyone heard of this musical performer?

I have.  I've seen him on a few late night shows in the past several years.  I like him.

[formerlyfreedom]

Regina definitely was all in, and her energy sold me on some poor writing. Musical guest was...fine.

Now I shall retire to bed and dream of Pete as a weed gummie.

[vb68]

11 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Has anyone heard of this musical performer?

Not at all. That's hardly new for me, though. 😛

Quote

I thought the “if I say it the ratings will go up, was reasonably edgy though it’s not as funny when jost goes along with the I’m a secret racist bit

I saw that one. I agree that works better when Che sneaks jokes like that in or busts him instead of Colin just saying it like a typical joke.

Edited February 14, 2021 by vb68

[opus]

14 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Has anyone heard of this musical performer?

I wasn’t sure of the name, but I had heard of _____ and the Night Sweats

[Jody]

36 minutes ago, vb68 said:

Thanks. It came back on during commercials when Update was over. I don't know what happened. I still had weather bulletins at the bottom, so I almost want to think they were censoring Che. LOL

And yeah, I didn't see Lauren or Beck.

 

         Some Times, I happen to miss Saturday Night Live. How Ever, I watch Online the Next Day so you can do that and see Michael Che and the Popeye Joke and the Dating Expert And Tom Brady the Next Day Online !

 

[Peace 47]

I really liked Nathaniel Rateliff’s first performance, “Redemption.”  That is a lovely song.

The writing for SNL is killing me, guys.  I don’t even know what to say about it, other than that I am not feeling it.  Like, a lot of people here seemed to enjoy the gummies sketch well enough, and it was mildly amusing, but I didn’t laugh.

18 minutes ago, MarquisDeCarabas said:

 I thought the “if I say it the ratings will go up, was reasonably edgy though it’s not as funny when jost goes along with the I’m a secret racist bit

I thought that was a sharp line and well-delivered.  The Q-anon witch wasn’t bad either, but could have been a little sharper.

[Arkay]

I honestly didn't find anything funny except Pelotaunt and Drunk Tom Brady. The audience didn't laugh much at all. I don't know if it's the writing or the pace of some of the sketches but the whole show seemed off to me.

[GoldenGirl90]

Tonight’s show just didn’t do it for me, sorry. Something seemed off. A lot of the jokes just weren’t landing or fell flat. I love Regina King though and only stuck it out until the end for her. 

[possibilities]

All I can say is that I never thought of Aidy for the Ted Cruz role and I hope it bothers him the way  having Melissa McCarthy play Spicer bothered the previous admin. I'm not ready to laugh about today's events yet, but I give them points for trying. 

I find Regina King's monologue dress mesmerizing. I also liked her jewelry and of course her hair. Basically, she's distractingly gorgeous. I can't even remember what she was talking about, but I thought Kenan being there as her hype man made it look like they didn't think she could carry it alone, which I find hard to believe would have been true.

What's Your Type was inspiredly distressing. I'm still cringing and might never get over it.

Loved Pelotaunt. 

Gorilla Glue... yes.

Birthday Party... was it meant to be a passive-aggressive intervention? Or were her friends just dimwits? 

Negotiator... okay. Sure. 

I laughed at WU several times. I guess the sloughing of my mood is gaining momentum.

I wasn't into Fleona. 

Elbows. I salute you.

Do dudes have night sweats? I thought that was a menopausal woman thing. I didn't want to listen to them, just on principle.

[Ms Blue Jay]

4 minutes ago, Peace 47 said:

The writing for SNL is killing me, guys.  I don’t even know what to say about it, other than that I am not feeling it.  Like, a lot of people here seemed to enjoy the gummies sketch well enough, and it was mildly amusing, but I didn’t laugh.

It's really bad.  I DID enjoy the weed gummie sketch, but that's still only one sketch.  90% of this is whack in my opinion and that seems to happen often.

[ebk57]

I loved Pelotaunt.  And found Weed Gummies oddly mesmerizing.  There were a few times I laughed, but I couldn't tell you exactly at what.  I thought Regina King was wonderful. 

Honestly, they need new writers. 

[MrWhyt]

28 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Has anyone heard of this musical performer?

I had not, but I liked him. Rest of the show was so-so, like the last few the host was into it but the writing wasn't the best.

[shapeshifter]

9 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I'm not ready to laugh about today's events yet,

I wasn’t going to be amused either, but I first noticed that everything is better with Regina King when she was on Southland and again on Leftovers so I didn’t need to laugh at the jokes with Regina King on the screen. 
The musician seemed perfect for the times, but maybe that was just the Regina King effect too, heh.

 

 

[vb68]

25 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Birthday Party... was it meant to be a passive-aggressive intervention? Or were her friends just dimwits? 

This is the one I wanted someone to explain to me what was funny about it? Maybe it was like an intervention.  It just seemed awkward more than anything. I was thinking it was one of one those situations in real life where you start to stare at your shoes.

Edited February 14, 2021 by vb68

[Pete Martell]

CO: GOOD: Alex Moffat gets some cutting, funny lines as Tucker, and the LFNY. Beck and Pete were strong in what they had to work with. Under 10 minutes. BAD: Kate is still a bad Lindsey, and if this was ever transgressive, it sure as hell isn't now. Aidy was...there. (I will say she looked like Ted Cruz)

Monologue: Regina King!!! Some good lines. Initially I wanted to say that she deserved her own monologue, but she seemed to loosen up a bit more with Kenan, and this is the type of blast of pure fun that Kenan so effortlessly dispenses.

WYT: A thin concept, with the cast going above and beyond to sell it. Alex (in a different type of role for him) and Kyle were the comedic standouts, but Mikey's weird channeling of Kristen Wiig's Judy Grimes character is what kept my attention.

Pelotaunt: A good pun and a fun idea for a pre-tape. Nice to see Melissa Villasenor given a larger role (and Lauren Holt getting one of her first comic bits). I did like this and all the different moments for various players,, but it felt too padded out.

Gorilla Glue: Kenan and Regina were flat-out channeling Tracy Morgan! This felt so much like his era that I kept looking for Maya Rudolph. Too long (again), but some genuinely funny moments and game performances (I would have cut Cecily's part but no big deal)

Wine mom: At first I wasn't sure on this, but the escalation of the alcoholic jabs and an escalating placid disbelief that was right in Aidy Bryant's wheelhouse won me over. And the first piece of the night that felt properly timed, which is nice.

Negotiator: From some comments I've read the main takeaway may be "weed doesn't do that," but this was a very well-put together piece which made good use of the quirkier talents of the cast. Loved Melissa as Marge Simpson, and Pete's "I'm a weed gummy" will stick in my head.

Update #1 - A pretty average night for Jost and Che, with my favorite joke being the Morgan Wallen repeat and the Star Wars Jewish joke (lazy but gave me a laugh). Some decent hits on the Trump acquittal, even if I have a feeling many will say they should have dove in more.

Update #2 - Oh look, it's our umpteenth Kate vanity piece that goes on endlessly because it's Kate. Another Wiig homage, I suppose. The idea of this was sort of interesting but not the way it was presented and not with this cast member

Update #3 - Lauren Holt has arrived...to the Update desk!!! Continuing the late early '00s vibe of the episode, this feels like something Cheri Oteri might've tried (just w/more aggression), and of course Aidy vibes are present. Not great, not bad. Glad it got some response

Update #4 - Beck continues his Update domination for the last 3 weeks (he was nearly on last week in a Lindell repeat). As a few people have mentioned, this had real Bruce Chandling vibes. Overlong and familiar, but dumb and goofy in a way that can easily entertain I'm sure.

Backstage: Regina projected confidence in another Maya-esque role. I think I will have to watch this one again as the rushing, card-reading and sloppy camera work got in the way. I am curious to see how long it will be before Andrew Dismukes hits the fancams in that getup.

Play: Another late '90s/early '00s feel (remember the Vagina Monologues?). Fun performance from Regina. Some of the most brutal camerawork ever on the show. Too much REACTING (keep Andrew and Chris; Mikey dragged it down). Too much of the Kate and Aidy greatest hits tour.

Final: I was worried that Regina King would be poorly used. Fortunately she had some entertaining roles she threw herself into. Her happiness at the end was infectious. There were a number of good moments and two of the more cohesive bits this season (wine mom; Weed Gummy). Another positive was use of all 20 of the cast,

 On the downside, this episode was sloppy as all get out, with some severe camera cuts and a rushed feel. This episode also put a big circle around how much Kate and to a lesser degree Aidy and Cecily, have had their time. Kate just stops the show dead for me at this point and I feel like we have seen her bag of tricks so many times now - I find it suffocating to the night as a whole. Aidy is not quite as suffocating, but I still feel like we've just seen it all. Cecily has taken a step back (as she said she would do), but I still feel like when I see her, it's a role that could be going to a newer cast member and that Cecily, fond I am of her and her quality of work, just can't add a new flavor to at this point. 

Of course you may say "what about Beck or Kyle or ___," which I get. I am just listing my own choices. I would also add Mikey to this, to be honest, as the "Mikey reacts" routine that I have defended him about in the past has started to become too tedious and defining.

So anyway, this was another pretty much boilerplate episode for this era, with some great moments, somewhat overshadowed by the problems which will continue to be there until May, at least. That is unless they really decide to shake these last months up. I hope they do

 

 

Cut for time. This has some fun moments (the end, and the bit with Mikey and Ego) but Kyle's done this so many times now, I am not sorry they cut it.

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by Pete Martell

[Melina22]

4 hours ago, Peace 47 said:

I really liked Nathaniel Rateliff’s first performance, “Redemption.”  That is a lovely song.

Never heard of him, but I agree. It's rare I don't skip the music 

[Robert Lynch]

7 hours ago, possibilities said:

All I can say is that I never thought of Aidy for the Ted Cruz role and I hope it bothers him the way  having Melissa McCarthy play Spicer bothered the previous admin. I'm not ready to laugh about today's events yet, but I give them points for trying. 

I find Regina King's monologue dress mesmerizing. I also liked her jewelry and of course her hair. Basically, she's distractingly gorgeous. I can't even remember what she was talking about, but I thought Kenan being there as her hype man made it look like they didn't think she could carry it alone, which I find hard to believe would have been true.

What's Your Type was inspiredly distressing. I'm still cringing and might never get over it.

Loved Pelotaunt. 

Gorilla Glue... yes.

Birthday Party... was it meant to be a passive-aggressive intervention? Or were her friends just dimwits? 

Negotiator... okay. Sure. 

I laughed at WU several times. I guess the sloughing of my mood is gaining momentum.

I wasn't into Fleona. 

Elbows. I salute you.

Do dudes have night sweats? I thought that was a menopausal woman thing. I didn't want to listen to them, just on principle.

They should have gave Aidy that awful mullet that Cruz was supporting during the trial. Shaved on the sides and party in the back. That would have completed the picture accurately.

[nilyank]

5 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

Cut for time. This has some fun moments (the end, and the bit with Mikey and Ego) but Kyle's done this so many times now, I am not sorry they cut it.

 

Not funny.

[Ottis]

When you just throw cast members out there with fake beards and suits who don’t look or sound like the people they are impersonating, is it still an impersonation?

Didn’t laugh until the opening moments of Gorilla Glue, and then it felt wrong the rest of the skit.

The “mom signs” skit had possibilities, but didn’t go far enough. Also, Geico did it better.

”Oh look, I’m high” humor is the laziest humor.

I don’t know what genre the musical artist was, but it was nice to see someone who wasn’t a 25yo with no life experience. I kind of liked the first song, which was sort of gospel. The second one reminded me of the Blues Brothers. 

Every character Kate McKinnon does sounds like an offshoot of her Guliani.

“Jets level.” Heh.

I like the SNL Tom Brady more than actual Tom Brady.

I did not understand the joke of the Fliona skit. Like, not even the structure or the punchline.

“Elbows.” None of them have printers? What? I have to say, Melissa always looks so fun in a skit. There should be more that feature her.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by Ottis

[ahisma]

I think I’m the only one here who liked the Fliona sketch, thought Gorilla Glue was just okay, and hated Regina’s yellow dress. Overall, though, I liked pretty much every sketch (except the cut-for-time) and loved several. Weekend Update absolutely delivered on the impeachment. And I was skeptical of the QAnon witch but ended up loving it. 

[SHD]

9 hours ago, MarquisDeCarabas said:

 I thought the “if I say it the ratings will go up, was reasonably edgy though it’s not as funny when jost goes along with the I’m a secret racist bit

Absolutely. All they had to do was to give this joke to Che to direct AT Jost, and it would’ve been at least 50% funnier.

[helenamonster]

I love Regina King, and thought she was great--it's awesome when actors known more for their dramatic work can shine on this show.

The writing however...yeesh. Unfortunately I don't think this is a problem that will be solved before the end of the season. I think it's a combination of actual writers who had hoped to be off the show and selling pilots by now and cast members who stuck around when their other projects got pushed back just being completely out of steam. Transition periods are always rough on SNL, but they're never this long, and the cracks are really starting to show.

Like the green room sketch--what was the pitch for that? "Regina is a diva who doesn't get anything she wants...also it's the '70s!" All premise with no punchline.

The audience also felt more sedate than normal, even compared to other audiences this season, which have all been reduced in size.

I thought Weed Gummies, Gorilla Glue, and the birthday sketch were probably the strongest. I see those types of signs in Home Goods and don't understand who they're for. I wouldn't buy them for myself or as a gift, even if the person I was giving them to did like a good drink. Something about it just feels so backhanded, and I thought the sketch captured that.

[nickp1991]

Alex moffat nailed tucker carlson voice

[TiredMe]

This one was such a disappointment. And again the host gives it their all but the writing let’s them down. They really need some new writers. I think I laughed once the entire show. 

[Fostersmom]

Yeah, this one was lackluster at best. Regina gave it her all, but the writing wasn't there at all. The yellow dress was cute, but I LOVED the white/silver wrap dress she wore to introduce the second song. It's a sad state of affairs when the dresses get more attention than the sketches. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

9 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

Cut for time. This has some fun moments (the end, and the bit with Mikey and Ego) but Kyle's done this so many times now, I am not sorry they cut it.

 

That's cringe humor. 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, ahisma said:

I think I’m the only one here who liked the Fliona sketch, thought Gorilla Glue was just okay, and hated Regina’s yellow dress. Overall, though, I liked pretty much every sketch (except the cut-for-time) and loved several. Weekend Update absolutely delivered on the impeachment. And I was skeptical of the QAnon witch but ended up loving it. 

The Fliona sketch wasn't a gut-buster or anything, but for some reason I found it totally charming and it was one of my favorites. It was just so silly. And agreed on the QAnon witch; once they settled into what the joke was, I enjoyed it a lot.

There was a YouTube comment on Lauren's weekend update bit that said she did too good a job making the audience empathize with her character, which just made the sketch seem sad. I kind of agree, but I still think there was promise there.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Human White Claw. Would that be considered good or bad?

Patented Passive Aggression: Pelotaunt. Probably my favorite sketch of the episode.

Of course they had to do a Gorilla Glue skit. Yawn.

The "I'm a Weed Gummy" song slaps.

Yeah, no, Colin. That bigot doesn't need you defending her, not even in jest. Wow, she really thumbed her nose at Disney, huh? 🙄

Baby carrots. Grown carrots.

Nathaniel Rateliff reminds me a lot of Neil Young back in the day. I like his style.

On a slightly tangential note, I think Regina King must have one of the best stylists in the business. She rarely makes a fashion misstep when she attends show biz events. Brava.

[possibilities]

I agree that RK looked fantastic in every single outfit. At first, I was: ANOTHER costume change? Then, I was: SHE LOOKS GREAT IN THIS! every time. 

[Blakeston]

 

12 hours ago, vb68 said:

This is the one I wanted someone to explain to me what was funny about it? Maybe it was like an intervention.  It just seemed awkward more than anything. I was thinking it was one of one those situations in real life where you start to stare at your shoes.

I took the joke to be that they were passive-aggressively mocking her for her alcoholism, while pretending that the vicious messages were just meant to be "cute."

I, for one, would much rather hang out with someone who displays the signs about blatant alcoholism than someone who chooses those stupid cutesy ones.

3 hours ago, helenamonster said:

Like the green room sketch--what was the pitch for that? "Regina is a diva who doesn't get anything she wants...also it's the '70s!" All premise with no punchline.

I feel like they didn't give Regina that much to do, and maybe they asked her what kind of role she'd like to play, and she said she wanted to play a disco diva? And then someone wrote a very weak sketch around the premise.

I'm honestly very surprised that they cast Black performers in 5 out of the 6 roles in the Gorilla Glue sketch. I get that the woman who went viral for putting it in her hair is Black, but that doesn't mean the other characters had to be. My guess is that it was Kenan's concept - or at least I hope it was his. If someone who isn't Black wrote this, that would be a very bad look. And I won't be too surprised if there's some online anger about this.

I'm as fed up wtih Kate's self-indulgent Weekend Update characters as so many of you are, but I actually really liked the QAnon witch character. That certainly wasn't the obvious direction to go with a QAnon character (I was dreading seeing some loud, obnoxious hillbilly character.) And some of her lines really cracked me up, like saying that she loves all children, including the sour cream and onion kind.