S47.E11: Will Forte / Måneskin

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Hosted by SNL alum Will Forte, with the Eurovision winner, Måneskin, an Italian rock band.

Airing Saturday, January 22, 2022.

[formerlyfreedom]

 

[seasons]

My cable guide isn't showing it's on tonight?

[peeayebee]

I assumed the band was pronounced man-skin. Silly me.

[vb68]

I always feel that both Will Forte and his tenure on the show are seriously underrated. He has a wacky, even absurdist, point of view and sense of humor that was different than any other person that I remember on the show.  He did the best five to 1:00am pieces. I'm very happy he's finally gotten his chance to host, and I hope he knocks it out of the park.

Having said that, other than MacGruber obviously, I have no idea what to expect. (And that's not a bad thing.)  The Falconer possibly, if anyone remember that? 

[JZL]

Måneskin oughta be a trip.

[ebk57]

White pizza - for when Italian is too ethnic.  

Fabulous

[vb68]

Kristin trolling for applause behind Will is.... very on the nose?

I'm glad she gets the joke of it though.

I would had loved Seth to be there too.

Edited January 23, 2022 by vb68

[Kimmmmmm]

Jesus...That Sara person is back on WU....time to turn it off...

[Ms Blue Jay]

LOL I like her

I loved Bowen too.  The fact that Bowen referenced Che Diaz.    CLASSIC

Also this Gaga thing:

 

Okay I'm legitimately crying laughing at "Guy who just bought a boat" telling Pete Davidson that his dick is "like a tuna can"

 

Edited January 23, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Galileo908]

Cold Open: Yeah, Laura Ingraham was the best to cover this really weird week. RIP America's Dad: Robert Durst. Yeah, the whole thing with the Green M&M is weird. I kinda hate that JAJ's Trump is so good. At least he's out of office so his humanization won't affect current politics. Much. Hopefully. The Wordle bit was great, even if I don't understand that game at all.

"Covid Negs: I'm going to your wedding!" The writers must have a field day pitching Fox News sponsors.

Monologue: Will Forte is always great. It really does suck when ALL of your castmates have hosted (some multiple times!) before he did. He did not disappoint. It's so weird to see that he's aged and looked so clean shaven. Getting the "wrap it up" music was just perfect, as was the early cameo by Willem Dafoe. Just from this one appearance, Willem Dafoe is gonna kill it next week.

MacGruber 1: What a great return. I cackled so hard at the reveal that he's an anti-vaxxer.

Kid Klash: Oh man, Double Dare parody. Loved that the sketch got so dark with Aidy being forced the find the flag. Loved that the flag was incredibly tiny.

MacGruber 2: This is by far the show's best take on covid. Of course he'd take Ivermectin for actual horse worms.

Cinema Classics: This was so silly. Will's weird accent had to be a gaslight too, right?

Threesome: I was not prepared for how Will Forte was going to look, he didn't disappoint. He's perfect as an Experienced Third. I thought the sketch was going to continue after Will had his "minor Cialis heart attack," but it ended right there.

WU: Oh great, now I want Bowen to replace Colin. And speaking of Bowen, loved that Chien Bao finally came back. I love how little fucks the two gave this week to everyone. OJ jokes are always welcome. 

Loved seeing Sarah Sherman back, too. Also, this was the best time for the return of Guy Who Just Bought A Boat, since Colin and Pete just bought a Staten Island ferry boat for...some reason. Pete was just in normal clothes, right? I wonder just how tipsy he was in that segment. He got everyone to break, that was great.

Songs about Spaceships, Toddlers, Model T Cars, and Jars of Beer AGAIN: This sketch is back! God, this is so stupid, but it makes me laugh. Once again, Will Forte's silly outfit makes the character. I can't believe the show got away with saying "Pickletits."

MacGruber 3: Ah man, MacGruber went full Q-Anon Shaman.

Man, I liked this episode. And Willem Dafoe is gonna kill it next week!

[vb68]

My network feed tonight was extremely choppy (to say the very least) due to winter weather on the east coast. I'm going to have to rewatch tomorrow on streaming, but I really liked what I saw and could make out. I have to agree that Will should have hosted way before now. He's such a natural.

29 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

The fact that Bowen referenced Che Diaz.    CLASSIC

I was hoping Colin was going to get called out as a real estate tease per a joke this week.  That is cool that Che Diaz got a reference.

Oh Galileo, hope you got through the past week without any complications. I did think of you. 😀

Edited January 23, 2022 by vb68

[opus]

8 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Wordle bit was great, even if I don't understand that game at all.

Ever heard of the game show Lingo? It’s that.

[MrWhyt]

really solid episode. I even liked Måneskin, after hearing they were an italian eurovision winner I was expecting large amounts of cheesiness. As mentioned above Forte's absurdiness (is so a word) was really underrated. Would have preffered Sudeikeis came back instead of wiig. WU killed again, especially guys who just bought a boat.

[opus]

1 minute ago, MrWhyt said:

I even liked Måneskin, after hearing they were an italian eurovision winner I was expecting large amounts of cheesiness.

I do love they broke big with a Frankie Valli cover (the first song tonight)

[Ms Blue Jay]

I gotta say, the Frankie Valli thing kind of made me roll my eyes because Madcon already has such a great cover of "Beggin'" in 2007 and this seemed like a ripoff to me......

[Peace 47]

What I liked about the cold open was how densely packed the jokes were:  it seemed very well-written.  (E.g., Laura finding Jared Leto’s joker to be the most relatable; she’s a fan of tennis because “love” is a bad thing; Novak not understanding that going to a charity event “dripping with COVID” could be a bad thing, all in the span of about a minute.)

That MacGruber sketch where MacGruber was a Capitol insurrectionist was kind of like that, too, in the joke-per-second ratio.  Very funny.

[Mediocre Gatsby]

I missed the first 10 minutes or so because my next-door neighbor in my apartment complex had some visitors and they all stood chatting outside the window where my over-the-air antenna is. First I moved the antenna as far as I could in that window (while they watched), then I asked if they could move over a few feet, then I got myself a drink and pulled a chair outside and said I would just watch *them* since I couldn't watch TV, and that made them move along. Luckily I'm in CA so I can watch the rerun at 11:30. 

Kid Klash made me laugh when the flag was so small, and the same color as the cream. 

I didn't like Sarah on WU, but Bowen was great as always and it was fun seeing Pete just losing it with the 3 guys who bought a boat. 

Loved MacGruber. 

Edited January 23, 2022 by Mediocre Gatsby

[freddi]

I loved the reflective geometric fabric Kristin was wearing in the monologue.  The dress looked like a Christmas tree ornament.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

Was it weird to anyone else that Will Forte didn't thank Ryan Phillippe at the end of the episode?  He had a huge part in this episode.

Personally, I don't love this trend of making beloved characters MAGA (Karen Walker on the Will and Grace revival absolutely broke my heart).  I don't see the point at all, I don't like it, I don't get what the writers are trying to say or what they're trying to do.  It sucks.  I'm not even a MacGruber fan though, so maybe I should just zip my lip and move on!

Edited January 23, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Pete Martell]

48 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Was it weird to anyone else that Will Forte didn't thank Ryan Phillippe at the end of the episode?  He had a huge part in this episode.

Personally, I don't love this trend of making beloved characters MAGA (Karen Walker on the Will and Grace revival absolutely broke my heart).  I don't see the point at all, I don't like it, I don't get what the writers are trying to say or what they're trying to do.  It sucks.  I'm not even a MacGruber fan though, so maybe I should just zip my lip and move on!

In the case of MacGruber, he'd always been painted as mentally broken as well as harboring prejudices (the Charles Barkley version was all about him being racist, and he was homophobic about his son).  What bothered me here was that I feel like we've heard these jokes before, many times, but MacGruber sketches were never known for their subtlety, and I thought Will did a very good job at keeping some intensity and mania going.

[Pete Martell]

Cut for time:

Can't say I'm sorry this got cut - feels like they were trying to capitalize on Chris Redd as Eric Adams last week, but this sketch is (like most tonight) too long, and  all the yelling between Kenan and Chris, and the commenting on the yelling by Chloe, does not work for me. Will also feels shoehorned in. 

[Scout Finch]

Well, this episode was a bust, aside from a couple of laughs during the cold open and WU. I really dislike Sarah Sherman's obnoxious persona and there was too much Kristen Wiig (not to mention that both have made unfortunate and unflattering haircut choices!). Visually, the band looked like they'd be right up my alley but the sound wasn't interesting enough to keep me from FFing through half of their songs. No Melissa. 😞

[ottoDbusdriver]

I'm still not sure what Maneskin was singing about.

[Kleav]

9 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

Pete was just in normal clothes

I think he was wearing stuff by Carhartt.

[Fostersmom]

11 hours ago, Kimmmmmm said:

Jesus...That Sara person is back on WU....time to turn it off...

I just can't with her. She's not funny, I don't get her "look" at all, and I've yet to see anything that makes me think she'll be back next season. The WU bit isn't at all amusing, it's just cringe. And a low rent version of Leslie's WU's with Colin. 

[cpcathy]

I would have given anything for an ESPN Classic sketch with Sudeikis.

As for the band, I don’t think they will last long but that bassist was slaying it.

 

[rollacoaster]

Maneskin reminded me of a coven of glamorous anime vampires come to life. I didn't understand most of what they were singing about, but, I wasn't annoyed by their sound. My teen daughter and I agreed that they would be cool to have playing in the background while we worked. 

Not AT ALL surprised that MacGruber turned out to be a MAGA. 

[meep.meep]

9 hours ago, freddi said:

I loved the reflective geometric fabric Kristin was wearing in the monologue.  The dress looked like a Christmas tree ornament.  

It looked like it was from the '60s, and if it was, it would have been made out of paper.

That sketch with Aidy Bryant and the pool full of cream was truly weird.

And JAJ does the best Trump.  He's the only one whose picked up on the weird way he moves his hands.

[chediavolo]

Not that funny tonight but I loved the band ( Who I had never heard of before) cover of Frankie Valli. I loved his voice , the sound of the ensemble. The visual. Everything. Which really surprised me because I haven’t liked much music since  the 70’s. Especially most of the musical guests on SNL. 

[Ottis]

Painfully unfunny. McGruber has always been unfunny. Pete apparently high on WU was more worrisome than funny. The endless country music skit was terrible. Forte was bland. Just PU.

[vb68]

7 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

Can't say I'm sorry this got cut - feels like they were trying to capitalize on Chris Redd as Eric Adams last week, but this sketch is (like most tonight) too long, and  all the yelling between Kenan and Chris, and the commenting on the yelling by Chloe, does not work for me. Will also feels shoehorned in. 

It's actually not an inaccurate depiction of that show. There is A LOT of yelling back and forth. If anything, Chris was very tame compared to the real Stephen A.  And the unfortunate thing is it just reminds me that the underappreciated  Jay Pharoah did a fantastic impression of Stephen A Smith.

Now that I have seen everything, I really do think my favorite thing on the show was the Guys who Bought a Boat. Sarah's routine on update really seemed old and played out this time. And it's only the second time she's done it.

1 hour ago, Fostersmom said:

And a low rent version of Leslie's WU's with Colin. 

The chemistry is not there at all. With Leslie, it was always heightened because she always seemed like she really did have a crush on him. And he definitely liked the attention.

Always loved MacGruber, but it did wade a little far into the hard core rhetoric for me. I get what they were doing, but still.  

Edited January 23, 2022 by vb68

[Joimiaroxeu]

It took me a while to recognize Ryan Phillippe and it was his voice that finally did it. He's bulked out since his Cruel Intentions era a million moons ago.

The second MacGruber sketch had me crying. Eating horse worms like spaghetti and chugging invermectin. WTF.

I love Bowen Yang. Chen Baio kills me.

That WE was wild!! I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard.

Sarah Sherman is ridiculously talented. She's should be careful not to wear out that Bizarro woke character's welcome though.

Måneskin's lead singer has got some glorious swagger. I'd love to see him and L'il Nas X do a collabo.

[madpsych78]

Here was the missed opportunity:

Instead of Sarah Sherman essentially repeating the same bit that she did the last time on WU, she should have directed her wokeness at Guy Who Just Bought a Boat.

[Scout Finch]

2 hours ago, cpcathy said:

I would have given anything for an ESPN Classic sketch with Sudeikis.

As for the band, I don’t think they will last long but that bassist was slaying it.

 

I loved his vapid expression and the "I'm Greg Stink!" Just the name was funny! The character I was begging to show up was Tim Calhoun. I watched a few of those old ones on YT yesterday and briefly tried to imitate him last night, perhaps thinking I could summon him to appear on SNL. ~Awkward hand gestures and talking just barely above a whisper. ~ Several people in the video comments sections said that he was their first ASMR experience!

1 hour ago, meep.meep said:

It looked like it was from the '60s, and if it was, it would have been made out of paper.

That sketch with Aidy Bryant and the pool full of cream was truly weird.

And JAJ does the best Trump.  He's the only one whose picked up on the weird way he moves his hands.

Out of all of the Trump impersonators I have heard, he is the only one who has absolutely nailed the voice! I looked away from the screen to focus on the voice and would never have been able to tell that it wasn't actually him.

[Kimmmmmm]

3 hours ago, Fostersmom said:

I just can't with her. She's not funny, I don't get her "look" at all, and I've yet to see anything that makes me think she'll be back next season. The WU bit isn't at all amusing, it's just cringe. And a low rent version of Leslie's WU's with Colin. 

Well said!!

[Pete Martell]

2 hours ago, vb68 said:

It's actually not an inaccurate depiction of that show. There is A LOT of yelling back and forth. If anything, Chris was very tame compared to the real Stephen A.  And the unfortunate thing is it just reminds me that the underappreciated  Jay Pharoah did a fantastic impression of Stephen A Smith.

Now that I have seen everything, I really do think my favorite thing on the show was the Guys who Bought a Boat. Sarah's routine on update really seemed old and played out this time. And it's only the second time she's done it.

The chemistry is not there at all. With Leslie, it was always heightened because she always seemed like she really did have a crush on him. And he definitely liked the attention.

Always loved MacGruber, but it did wade a little far into the hard core rhetoric for me. I get what they were doing, but still.  

I haven't seen the show, which probably doesn't help. I have seen Stephen A. Smith, but I think he's so one of a kind that an impression is never quite going to match up - you can't top that.

I feel like the Leslie and Colin back-and-forths were meant to be more playful by design, in part because this was a good way for Leslie to subvert expectations. Sarah is doing more of the traditional roasting other Update people (and Che) have done. 

On the one hand, I think it's played out (although I preferred this one to the first, as she didn't seem as shouty). On the other hand, this is probably the only thing SNL would let her get on because her main comedy is more extreme, so it's either this or sitting in the corner with Melissa and Aristotle and Punkie, etc. I hope she can find that balance to not just keep hitting the one-note.

She did have a sketch which was cut:

 

[possibilities]

Huh. I thought this was a very funny episode, and I'm not even really a fan of Will Forte. I guess I was in the right mood to laugh, but I sure wouldn't have anticipated that I would be.

I can't tell Andrew and Aristotle apart. Neither was in this week's episode, were they? 

[cathaireverywhere]

I really dislike Sarah Sherman.   Her haircut makes me stabby, and her constant yelling and smirking increases my stabbing urges.  Ok, I would never commit violence, but damn, she is not funny.

[Pete Martell]

16 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Huh. I thought this was a very funny episode, and I'm not even really a fan of Will Forte. I guess I was in the right mood to laugh, but I sure wouldn't have anticipated that I would be.

I can't tell Andrew and Aristotle apart. Neither was in this week's episode, were they? 

Aristotle appears briefly in the start of the second MacGruber sketch.

[Scout Finch]

48 minutes ago, Pete Martell said:

I haven't seen the show, which probably doesn't help. I have seen Stephen A. Smith, but I think he's so one of a kind that an impression is never quite going to match up - you can't top that.

I feel like the Leslie and Colin back-and-forths were meant to be more playful by design, in part because this was a good way for Leslie to subvert expectations. Sarah is doing more of the traditional roasting other Update people (and Che) have done. 

On the one hand, I think it's played out (although I preferred this one to the first, as she didn't seem as shouty). On the other hand, this is probably the only thing SNL would let her get on because her main comedy is more extreme, so it's either this or sitting in the corner with Melissa and Aristotle and Punkie, etc. I hope she can find that balance to not just keep hitting the one-note.

She did have a sketch which was cut:

 

So, still no Melissa? (Sorry to harp on it but after discovering her sweet and personable vlogs a year and a half ago she's become one of my favorite cast members!)

[Pete Martell]

54 minutes ago, Scout Finch said:

So, still no Melissa? (Sorry to harp on it but after discovering her sweet and personable vlogs a year and a half ago she's become one of my favorite cast members!)

She did get on a few times before Kate came back but since then, mostly crickets. 

[cambridgeguy]

Hoping for a lot of Melissa is a pipe dream at this point.  It's pretty clear that among the female cast Tier 1 is Kate, Cecily, and Aidy.  Tier 2 is Ego, Heidi, and Chloe.  Tier 3 is everyone else. 

[Peace 47]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

I can't tell Andrew and Aristotle apart.

I kind of feel this way about Sarah and Melissa.  To me, when they’re in a costume for a sketch, I have to do a double take on who it is because they sound and look similar to me.  When they were in the same scene for that Spectrum sketch earlier this season, my mind was really blown.  The fastest way for me to ascertain that it is Sarah is that Melissa never gets on the show.

I agree with what some said upthread about how Sarah’s shtick on Update seems quite annoying and played.  The audience last night, though (just like the audience several weeks ago) really seems to eat it up.

[Galileo908]

4 hours ago, possibilities said:

I can't tell Andrew and Aristotle apart. Neither was in this week's episode, were they? 

Don't feel bad. Alex Moffat and Mikey Day have been on the show for years and I STILL can't tell them apart.

18 hours ago, vb68 said:

Oh Galileo, hope you got through the past week without any complications. I did think of you. 😀

Oh, and thanks for being concerned. Don't worry, I'm fine.

[Scout Finch]

Too many people commenting on the upload over on YT seem to think Sarah is the Second Comedic Coming. Although it took me a while to like her, I actually don't mind the amount of Heidi Gardner because she's quite versatile. Surprisingly, not tired of Kate or Cecily yet, either, unlike how I was with Kristen Wiig at this point during her SNL run. Don't mind Ego except for her seemingly being in every sketch. Don't care for Chloe, at all, but unfortunately, she's getting tons of airtime. Really miss Beck Bennett although am still happy with the remaining guys...except for the writing trio characters due to being unable to understand why they're supposedly funny. 

ETA: I've grown to like Miley Day just for his great upset reactions, "Oh my god! No! That is not a thing!"

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by Scout Finch

[slasherboy]

Where was Ryan Phillipe? Guess I should look up more and not just listen.

[SomeTameGazelle]

3 minutes ago, slasherboy said:

Where was Ryan Phillipe? Guess I should look up more and not just listen.

Piper in the 3 MacGruber pretapes. 

A little MacGruber goes a very long way with me but I thought the variations on the theme worked reasonably well here. 

I enjoyed Willem Dafoe in the monolog but I was surprised they didn't bother to write any explanation for how Will was really going to host (nightmare? Violent attack to incapacitate Willem?) after all. 

I lost interest in the boat bit and Sarah Sherman's WU long before they were over. Loved Chien Bao though. 

Edited January 24, 2022 by SomeTameGazelle

[Avabelle]

2 hours ago, Peace 47 said:

I can't tell Andrew and Aristotle apart.

Andrew looks like a high schooler.

I didn’t think Pete was high, I just thought he genuinely broke alongside the other two. It was funny.

[slasherboy]

14 minutes ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

Piper in the 3 MacGruber pretapes. 

Thank you!