S48.E10: Aubrey Plaza / Sam Smith

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Hosted by Aubrey Plaza, with musical guest Sam Smith.

Airing Saturday, January 21, 2023.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Aubrey was an intern with SNL and spoke about it on Fallon this week.  She also spoke about auditioning for SNL but not making it to the "Lorne audition".

 

Edited January 19, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay

[SomeTameGazelle]

13 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Aubrey was an intern with SNL and spoke about it on Fallon this week.  She also spoke about auditioning for SNL but not making it to the "Lorne audition".

 

I was really hoping the promo would end with Aubrey murdering Chloe. (That sounds more brutal than I intended. I am not wishing for Chloe’s actual death. But as an end to the little scene they were performing, a bloody murder would have been very effective. And maybe Aubrey trying to impersonate Chloe to take over her rôle at SNL.)

[Pete Martell]

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Kenan and Seth speak a bit about Aubrey and Keke and a lot about SNL.  (Sorry Pete, I don't know if you posted this, your first video is blocked to my country.)

 

[Pete Martell]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Kenan and Seth speak a bit about Aubrey and Keke and a lot about SNL.  (Sorry Pete, I don't know if you posted this, your first video is blocked to my country.)

Sorry about that. This is what I posted (the promo). Hopefully it will work.

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

 

[Lantern7]

Bowen Yang as George Santos . . . you think Jon Lovitz is lingering over his phone, waiting for the time that he'd bring back his Pathological Liar to SNL?

I should watch The White Lotus, shouldn't I? I have HBO, I got HBO Max, Mike White was on The Amazing Race and Survivor . . . I really don't have an excuse not to watch . . . especially now that I need to get the in-jokes in "Black Lotus."

[Ms Blue Jay]

I was kind of disappointed with The Black Lotus.  Maybe because I knew they were supposed to do Black Succession and then they never released it.

But I was hYSTERRRRRRRRRRRRRICAL during the Miss Universe pageant.  

[seasons]

Love the surprise guests. Property Brothers, Tony Hawke, Amy Poehler, etc.? Liked the message for Aubrey from President Biden. Have to watch White Lotus and Parks and Recreation. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Allison Williams in the Megan 2 sketch lol

[Lantern7]

16 minutes ago, seasons said:

Love the surprise guests. Property Brothers, Tony Hawke, Amy Poehler, etc.? Liked the message for Aubrey from President Biden. Have to watch White Lotus and Parks and Recreation. 

That was Tony Hawk? Even more random than Jeff Probst in the Joker Wedding skit. Way better execution, though. "TONY HAWK!!"

ETA: I'm way out of the pop music scene. Is Sam Smith always this . . .  odd? And who is that lady with him?

Edited January 22, 2023 by Lantern7

[vb68]

I thought the show was already going well, and Aubrey is an inspired host as expected.(Seriously how did they not hire her as a cast member when she auditioned?) But I did not expect an actual reunion of Leslie Knope and April from P & R.  That put me in my happy place with a great big smile. I love how in character it was with Leslie always having a thing for Biden and thinking he's hot.

The Miss Universe thing was much funnier than it had any right to be, and Molly was cracking me up with their Nun bit.

Oh yeah, all the George Santos stuff was great too. I admit I was curious how they were going to handle it. I think Bowen already knows it could be his Palin.

19 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Is Sam Smith always this . . .  odd?

Do both songs count as Performance Art? I had no idea what was going on. But yes, by all means watch The White Lotus.

Edited January 22, 2023 by vb68

[Ms Blue Jay]

Yet even more guests?  Sharon Stone in the second Sam Smith performance.

[JeanJean]

It was totally worth sitting through the whole thing for the last sketch's line about a rhinoplasty.

Not that the rest was awful. It was okay. Some funny stuff here and there. I really, really liked Black Lotus. But the rhinoplasty line cracked me up.

I also really liked Bowen's George Santos.

Edited January 22, 2023 by JeanJean

[Galileo908]

And we're back!

Cold Open: Ha, Molly is Terry Bradshaw. Of course this whole NFL sketch was a set up for the requisite George Santos sketch. Bowen was perfect as him. Good thing I don't live in his district. (I'm in the next one over. It's been an...interesting few weeks around here)

Monologue: It's so weird seeing Aubrey Plaza blonde. And a random Joe Biden cameo, the first of hopefully many Parks & Rec cameos. Loved seeing another backstage tour monologue. And I called it early, Amy Poehler showed up, too. It was cool to see Akira Yoshimura again, too. And he finally got a line!

Miss Universe: Oh my god they made a sketch about the shrieking French contestant at the Miss Universe pageant.

And oh my god, they actually brought in the Property Brothers and Tony Hawk for no reason except to shriek their names. I couldn't stop laughing at this sketch. It was so silly, I loved everyone just letting loose in the silliness.

Was dying at "Where do you see yourself in five years?" "ALBANIA!" CANADA!" "DEAD."

Black Lotus: I never saw White Lotus, but I love that they brought back Chloe's Jennifer Coolidge. I liked this.

Taboo: Aubrey had the right energy for this. And I totally believe that she'd meet her husband while on parole, on ketamine, and on fire. Sketch wasn't long, either.

Nun Announcements: Fun premise with Aubrey's character questioning her faith, but the execution was too awkward for my tastes.

M3GAN 2.0: Three guesses to who wrote this sketch. Complete with Alison Williams cameo. Was this movie really a gay icon?

"It's like Bros, but for gays!" Shots fired. (And Bowen was in that movie!)

WU: George Santos is the gift that keeps on giving, isn't he? AND he showed up at the desk! Loved it. Gotta love a good Bartok shout out.

And of course Obama's REAL birth certificate was found in Biden's house.

I was hyped for the April Ludgate appearance! Aubrey really stepped back into that role like a glove. And it was only a matter of time before Leslie Knope showed up. Loved the callback to her Joe Biden love.

Avatar: I get the feeling Aidy and Kate would've been in this sketch. I was gonna give a shout out to that makeup department for coloring Aubrey's face blue in about five minutes...then they revealed that a light filter made everyone blue. That was honestly pretty cool.

Sam Smith 2: I don't usually comment on the musical performances, but what was Sharon Stone doing there? She looked as bewildered to be there as the rest of us were. Felt like the Pope was gonna come out and give a midnight mass again.

Dovato: Was not expecting this to be for a commercial for HIV medication. Perfect for Devon Walker. "What if I got my HIV from basketball like Magic Johnson?"

Black Widow: A noir about a femme fatale who marries old men who keep dying at natural causes was a great idea for a sketch. And HERE'S why Sharon Stone was here! I'm so glad they managed to squeeze this sketch in, I loved it. Also, loved that bumper with Aubrey as Sharon Stone's character from Basic Instinct.

All in all, fantastic episode. It was a crime that Aubrey Plaza hadn't hosted before, she's a natural here. I hope she comes back.

Michael B. Jordan hosts next week.

 

17 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

That was Tony Hawk? Even more random than Jeff Probst in the Joker Wedding skit. Way better execution, though. "TONY HAWK!!"

I didn't think the Property Brothers were the real ones until they cut back to them again.

Edited January 22, 2023 by Galileo908

[Ms Blue Jay]

I like how Aubrey Plaza announced Sam Smith each time in such a sexy way.  And how she created Sharon Stone's Basic Instinct look.  Aubrey was wonderful.

[xls]

3 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Sam Smith 2: I don't usually comment on the musical performances, but what was Sharon Stone doing there? She looked as bewildered to be there as the rest of us were. Felt like the Pope was gonna come out and give a midnight mas again.

I was just 'WTF is this?' 

and I have no idea who the host is but she wasn't bad 

[Thumper]

I didn’t know that was Sharon Stone.  😊

Music was weird.  I had to look up Sam Smith.  Who was the blonde who sang in their first piece?

I haven’t seen The White Lotus, but I laughed a lot during that sketch!

Great to see Amy Poehler.

[vb68]

12 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I like how Aubrey Plaza announced Sam Smith each time in such a sexy way. 

I caught that, too. Instantly iconic.

She needs to come back yearly.  She was made to host this show. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

7 minutes ago, Thumper said:

I haven’t seen The White Lotus, but I laughed a lot during that sketch!

It was extremely close to the real show!  I think that's why I didn't find it funny.  It's almost like it was made for people who haven't seen it.  There wasn't anything that was enough of a twist on the real show for me.

Edited January 22, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay

[Mediocre Gatsby]

8 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

It was extremely close to the real show!  I think that's why I didn't find it funny.  It's almost like it was made for people who haven't seen it.  There wasn't anything that was enough of a twist on the real show for me.

Ah, I fast-forwarded through this and the Avatar sketch because I haven't seen either. Maybe I should go back and watch. 

ps thanks, Galileo908, for adding the Miss Universe clip -- I had no idea why everyone was yelling! that's hilarious

Edited January 22, 2023 by Mediocre Gatsby

[JeanJean]

14 minutes ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

 thanks, Galileo908, for adding the Miss Universe clip -- I had no idea why everyone was yelling! that's hilarious

And the funniest part is that they're all yelling even though they have microphones!

[WendyCR72]

I have heard of Aubrey Plaza, so I am not COMPLETELY clueless this time. So, yay?

But it's sort of sad that, before now, I knew of Plaza best as...the voice of (the now-late!) Grumpy Cat in Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever.

It was actually a cute and not-cloying Christmas movie. I think Amazon video may still have it. (Poor Tartar Sauce [the cat's real name]!)

[Ms Blue Jay]

I love how Bowen said "Miss Ravache if you're nasty."

[Irlandesa]

I liked some of these and others didn't work for me.  I was mostly distracted by Aubrey as a blonde.  She looked so much like Chloe to me that in the M3gan 2.0 skit, I had a hard time telling them apart unless they were right next to one another. 

2 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

Was this movie really a gay icon?

Believe it or not, apparently yes.  I've seen it mentioned in a few places as being embraced by quite a few gay men.

I also feel kind of dumb because during the monologue with Aubrey and Amy, I found myself wondering if Amy remembered Aubrey from back then.  I completely blanked on the fact that they were in Parks & Rec together and I actually watched the show. I also forgot Biden had guest starred on it until Leslie Knope showed up. 

Bowen's Santos, especially the drag version, was amazing.  And I also loved Black Lotus.  I didn't love the beauty queen skit as much as others but I did crack up at Tony Hawk getting a name plate and the Property Brothers (who are much taller than I thought) only got Property Brother on theirs. Not even Property Brother 1 and Property Brother 2.

1 hour ago, Thumper said:

 Music was weird.  I had to look up Sam Smith.  Who was the blonde who sang in their first piece?

I loved both performances, personally.  I became absolutely obsessed with their first song "Unholy" because it came out right around the time that Adam Levine and the Try Guys cheating scandals broke out.  I remember thinking that it was amazing timing for Sam to have a song come out about cheating bastards. 

Anyway, the woman they sang with is Kim Petras who is on the single.  Sam (they/them) is also non-binary so I took their outfit as nothing more than an expression of the feminine and masculine aspects of their identity.  Their big feminine looking coat reminded me something I've seen Lizzo wear and it served as a good way to reveal Kim when her part came up.

I thought the second song, while gospel isn't something we normally hear, was beautiful.  I do admit, though, that I thought Sharon's right boob was about to pop out.

Edited January 22, 2023 by Irlandesa

[sheetmoss]

31 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

~

Bowen's Santos, especially the drag version, was amazing.  And I also loved Black Lotus.  I didn't love the beauty queen skit as much as others but I did crack up at Tony Hawk getting a name plate and the Property Brothers (who are much taller than I thought) only got Property Brother on theirs. Not even Property Brother 1 and Property Brother 2.

~

They're 6'5"s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Trini]

Wow, so many cameos!

[Angeleyes]

4 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Bowen Yang as George Santos . . . you think Jon Lovitz is lingering over his phone, waiting for the time that he'd bring back his Pathological Liar to SNL?

I should watch The White Lotus, shouldn't I? I have HBO, I got HBO Max, Mike White was on The Amazing Race and Survivor . . . I really don't have an excuse not to watch . . . especially now that I need to get the in-jokes in "Black Lotus."

Jon Lovitz did a version of Santos on The Tonight Show recently. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnqSc13BK7J/?igshid=MWI4MTIyMDE=

[cpcathy]

Great episode, maybe best of the season.

If anyone likes gritty movies, Aubrey is in and co produced Emily the Criminal on Netflix. So good and tense.

I can never understand what Sam Smith is singing, my ears must not connect with their voice. They won an Oscar and I still have no idea what that song was about!

Edited January 22, 2023 by cpcathy

[Pete Martell]

1 hour ago, Angeleyes said:

Jon Lovitz did a version of Santos on The Tonight Show recently. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnqSc13BK7J/?igshid=MWI4MTIyMDE=

Apparently Jon was also in the studio audience for Aubrey's episode, from what the Saturday Night Network podcast said.

[Psychobunny]

I missed a lot of the cameos. I didn’t think that those were the real property brothers. I need to go back and watch it again. I was also wondering who the blonde who looked like Sharon Stone was. Totally forgot about Leslie Knope and Biden.

Meanwhile, Sam Smith has a gorgeous voice. I wish someone would just write them a good song. I could have done without all the peripheral crap. I was just hoping to hear them sing.

.Bowen as Santos was fantastic. The fact that he also got to play Kitera seems almost too good to be true.

I also didn’t understand why the Miss Universe skit was funny until I saw the clip above. Thank you.

[SomeTameGazelle]

6 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

It was extremely close to the real show!  I think that's why I didn't find it funny.  It's almost like it was made for people who haven't seen it.  There wasn't anything that was enough of a twist on the real show for me.

I thought the twist was the attitudes of the staff who were not having it. But admittedly I only watched the first season of White Lotus and concluded it was not for me. I did think that Chloe's Jennifer Coolidge was more effective here than in the Xmas sketch just because all it needed to do was represent Tanya.

I thought this was a very strong ep. The only sketch that floundered for me was the Avatar one. I was thinking that it felt like we got to see a nice variety of castmembers and the cameos didn't feel like they took away from the cast.

[Kimmmmmm]

Great show..  and FOR ONCE I loved the musical guest. Somucj better than the abysmal junk they usually have. Save for Lizzo, of course.

[Ottis]

Best show in a long time, IMO, and I haven't even made it to WU, yet.

- The opening NFL skit (the Santos thing was fine, but some great lines like "the only way to make the sport safer, is to hit harder!"),

- Leslie Knope!

- Miss Universe skit making fun of the whole concept (I didn't know about a real Miss France screaming, I took it as making fun of beauty pageants, period)

- Taboo was manic and fun (and Plaza really went for it) ... I wish it would have gone on longer and gotten even weirder

- I would actually watch Black Lotus (I tried White Lotus for 2 eps, despised every character and quit watching ... it badly needs the hotel staff from Black Lotus, which is how I felt watching White Lotus)

- Didn't get the Nun sketch, if there was a point besides yeah, question all that crap, which is kind of like saying "remember to beathe." 

- Haven't seen M3agan yet, but yeah, from the coverage of it and social media, this is exactly its audience

I lost track of Sam Smith when he had vocal issues. he seems to have changed his vibe a bit.

WU next! Yeah, I record it - so what? :-)

[nickp1991]

FOX NFL folks no doubt enjoyed last night's Saturday Night Live

[Not4Me]

Aubrey was as expected a great host. Sharon Stone is aging like fine wine at 64.

[SHD]

Aubrey Plaza, whose kind of apathetic/sarcastic/deadpan persona doesn’t really click with me, was fantastic. She seemed right at home within the cast, as if she was a regular member of the group.

I was hoping to see her in a Please Don’t Destroy recorded bit. 
 

Sam Smith sure has changed since “Stay with Me” came out. I’m happy that they get to express their true self now, but the songs aren’t engaging to me. Beautiful wardrobe choices, though!

Edited January 22, 2023 by SHD

[EtheltoTillie]

This was by far the best show in a long while. Aubrey was great for this show. It obviously inspired great writing, and great cameo ideas. The Miss Universe pageant was hysterical, even though I hadn’t seen the real pageant till someone posted here.  I had no idea there was a recent source for the joke. But I’ve seen enough pageants where the contestants yell out their states or countries at the beginning, and I just counted it as random hilarity. 

Edited January 22, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[MrWhyt]

really good show would love to see her back as host. Didn't know about the backstory behind the miss universe sketch but found it funny anyways.

[Dr.OO7]

11 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

Sam Smith 2: I don't usually comment on the musical performances, but what was Sharon Stone doing there? She looked as bewildered to be there as the rest of us were. Felt like the Pope was gonna come out and give a midnight mass again.

It was gorgeous, but yes, it felt more appropriate for church/Christmas. And nothing against Sharon Stone, but indeed, that was a very strange and random cameo. But she looks AMAZING for 64. I honestly would have pegged her for 20-30 years younger.

[DanaMB]

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Their big feminine looking coat reminded me something I've seen Lizzo wear and it served as a good way to reveal Kim when her part came up.

I figured the outfit was hiding Kim so I wasn’t surprised when they were revealed. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

5 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

I thought the twist was the attitudes of the staff who were not having it. But admittedly I only watched the first season of White Lotus and concluded it was not for me. 

But the Season 2 staff is Sicilian and they are absolutely "not having it" either.  It was like SNL just took some of the show's dialogue and repeated it almost verbatim.

5 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

I was thinking that it felt like we got to see a nice variety of castmembers and the cameos didn't feel like they took away from the cast.

That's very true.

[lou ann b]

Just watched the cold open and the monologue..and all I can say is:

Akira Yoshimura is still at SNL! 

COOL!   

He's a legend.

Edited January 22, 2023 by lou ann b

[possibilities]

Is it me, my tv, or this week's show? I had trouble understanding a lot of the dialogue and it seemed like the captions were worse than usual also. 

From what I gathered of Sam Smith's first song, it was a glorification of cheating? And the 2nd was... idolatry? I don't know. I like Sam's sound, and look, but the lyrics, from what I could tell (which might be off because it seemed muddy to both me and the captioner), are a real turn off.

--

The Dovato commercial played it really direct-- homophobic actor, you psuck, bye-bye! The attitude is as disqualifying as being a bad dancer for a dancing role.

That's a real medication (I see the commercials all the time) so I assume it was product placement, and they decided to just make a comment about homophobia and otherwise make it an exact commercial. Very unlike the shade they've thrown at some of the other products they've done sketches about. I'm not objecting. I'm just surprised.

I wonder about the "hot salad". Was that a goof and she just doubled down on it, or did they really mean it to be a salad all along? 

--

When I saw they were going to do a Miss Universe sketch, I thought they'd be mocking this:

 

[Irlandesa]

10 minutes ago, possibilities said:

From what I gathered of Sam Smith's first song, it was a glorification of cheating? And the 2nd was... idolatry? I don't know. I like Sam's sound, and look, but the lyrics, from what I could tell (which might be off because it seemed muddy to both me and the captioner), are a real turn off.

No.  I've never interpreted the first song as anything other than criticizing the cheater. 

 

 

[Thumper]

46 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Is it me, my tv, or this week's show? I had trouble understanding a lot of the dialogue and it seemed like the captions were worse than usual also. 

From what I gathered of Sam Smith's first song, it was a glorification of cheating? And the 2nd was... idolatry? I don't know. I like Sam's sound, and look, but the lyrics, from what I could tell (which might be off because it seemed muddy to both me and the captioner), are a real turn off.

--

The Dovato commercial played it really direct-- homophobic actor, you psuck, bye-bye! The attitude is as disqualifying as being a bad dancer for a dancing role.

That's a real medication (I see the commercials all the time) so I assume it was product placement, and they decided to just make a comment about homophobia and otherwise make it an exact commercial. Very unlike the shade they've thrown at some of the other products they've done sketches about. I'm not objecting. I'm just surprised.

I wonder about the "hot salad". Was that a goof and she just doubled down on it, or did they really mean it to be a salad all along? 

--

When I saw they were going to do a Miss Universe sketch, I thought they'd be mocking this:

 

I had trouble understanding some of it too, but I have hearing issues so I thought it was just me.

That Miss USA costume looks heavy and unwieldy!  Love that Twitter comment. 😂

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

The Dovato commercial played it really direct-- homophobic actor, you psuck, bye-bye! The attitude is as disqualifying as being a bad dancer for a dancing role.

That's a real medication (I see the commercials all the time) so I assume it was product placement, and they decided to just make a comment about homophobia and otherwise make it an exact commercial. Very unlike the shade they've thrown at some of the other products they've done sketches about. I'm not objecting. I'm just surprised.

It's good that you got that spin on it.  I didn't much like it.  It just felt like homophobic humour to me.  I wonder who wrote it?  Did Devon have a hand in writing it?  Because some of us were curious to see more Devon Walker but if this is his type of humour I just don't much care for it.

[Galileo908]

18 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

Sam Smith 2: I don't usually comment on the musical performances, but what was Sharon Stone doing there? She looked as bewildered to be there as the rest of us were. Felt like the Pope was gonna come out and give a midnight mass again.

From looking around the internet (I was far from the only one wondering why Sharon Stone was doing there), the song was called "Gloria," and she was in the movie "Gloria," so it was kind of an in-joke. Most likely, she was there for the detective sketch and just tossed her in there.

18 hours ago, JeanJean said:

It was totally worth sitting through the whole thing for the last sketch's line about a rhinoplasty.

Oh yeah, I loved that. I always noticed JAJ's big nose, loved seeing a sketch calling it out.

Edited January 22, 2023 by Galileo908

[Not4Me]

59 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

It's good that you got that spin on it.  I didn't much like it.  It just felt like homophobic humour to me.  I wonder who wrote it?  Did Devon have a hand in writing it?  Because some of us were curious to see more Devon Walker but if this is his type of humour I just don't much care for it.

I was a little on the fence about it at first because of the sensitivity of the illness, and I was surprised the show took it there. But on the other hand HIV is now treatable and these commercials are shown on mainstream media outlets today; and the skit was intentional in  pointing out the actor’s homophobia, and eventually firing him. It was risky but I think it was ultimately done with a level of satire mixed with humanity.

Meanwhile I had to rewatch The Black Lotus only to realize Aubrey (who happens to be half Puerto Rican) was the Latina receptionist. I thought it was a new cast member, she’s that good!