The new episode of Saturday Night Live opens in the White House, where, per an explosive New York Times article, a cabinet meeting ended in a shouting match between Secretary of State Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernández) and Doge head Elon Musk (Mike Myers). President Trump (James Austin Johnson) attempts to broker a truce between the two.
The meeting doesn’t go well, with each man drifting off into their own internal monologues: Rubio just hears the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme; Trump’s thoughts weave between Adrien Brody and Waluigi before attaining a first ever bout of self-awareness, and Musk questions his decision to take over the government now that everybody hates him, his Tesla stock is tanking and his personal wealth has taken a hit.
This seems to be leading to something, but just when it starts getting interesting (when Myers finally shows up), it comes to an abrupt halt.
Myers’s turn as Musk last week was a much-needed course correction. The show was finally, properly going after the oligarch, who oozes second-hand embarrassment, with a brutal (but accurate) portrayal. This week’s feel less pointed, with Myers turning him into his Dr Evil character (himself based on SNL showrunner Lorne Michaels). Disappointing, to say the least.
Lady Gaga pulls double duty as host and musical guest. Fresh off the most memorable performance of SNL’s big 50th anniversary concert special, Gaga wants to remind everyone that, in her own words, “I’m an amazing actor,” even as she wants to distance herself from her last time hosting, since R Kelly was the musical guest that night. She pokes fun of her recent bomb, Joker 2, for which she won a Razzie: “[It] brings me one step closer to an EGORT. It’s like an EGOT, but it’s hurtful.”
She promises to “act, sing, and not do Joker 3”. It’s not much of a monologue, but you have to figure she’s saving the fireworks for later.
In her first sketch, Gaga plays an aspiring chef saying goodbye to her boyfriend (and his adorable pug) before leaving for culinary school in Paris via ridable luggage. He immediately regrets their decision to part and follows her on his own motorized suitcase. The initial sight gag of Gaga scooting around of the luggage is good for a laugh, but that’s all there is to it.
A tiny, Stuart Little-like mouse named Pip attempts to train for the big high school weightlifting competition. We get a classic ’80s training montage set to Gaga’s inspirational ballad. On the big day, Pip mazes out a measly 2 ounces himself, but when the gymnasium’s roof collapses on the other students, he provides the extra muscle needed to lift it and save them – all except for his bully, who gets liquidated. The animation – a mix of puppetry and CGI – is impressive, and while not on the level of Robert Smigel or Lonely Island shorts, these Dan Bulla shorts do stand out from the rest of the show aesthetically.
Gaga and Bowen Yang are a pretentious couple on a first date at a fancy restaurant. They start dancing in the middle of the room while carrying on a bizarre and personally revealing rendition of You Look Wonderful Tonight. A truly blue double entendre about Yang coming into money (“there weren’t any tissues around”) deservedly earns guffaws from the audience. I’m genuinely surprised that made it past the network censors.
Then, Gaga and Heidi Gardner play funeral planners obsessively pitching a Roaring ’20s-themed service to a woman whose father was recently murdered, replete with an old-timey bartender, gin rickeys and flappers. Kind of just seems like an excuse to have Gaga cut a rug for a few moments.
L’Oréal Easy Run Mascara intentionally smears all over your face to “let the world know: yes, I have been crying, and no, I’m not okay.” It’s unique formula of “being really, really low-quality mascara and also a little printer ink” makes it perfect for messy drama queens everywhere.
Yang excitedly introduces Gaga for her first song of the night. Wearing a sparkly red body suit, and surrounded by black-clad dancers, she performs her new single Abracadabra. It’s exactly the bombastic performance everyone was anticipating from her.
On Weekend Update, Michael Che brings on outspoken NBA commentator Kendrick Perkins (Kenan Thompson) to discuss the upcoming playoff season. Perkins spreads made-up facts and rumors about the recently traded Luka Dončić (“I ain’t no doctor, but by my estimations, I believe he gonna be dead by April), Larry Bird (“created by scientists in the back of a Cracker Barrel”), LeBron James (“He works undercover as a French superspy … the name is LeBron, James LeBron”).
Later, Colin Jost welcomes on Lady Gaga’s rarely seen husband, Lord Gaga (Mikey Day). The snooty British aristocrat tries to downplay his wife’s “hobby” even as he tries to cash in on her cachet by dropping titles of her songs – Born this Way, Bad Romance, Little Monsters – throughout his chat. The best bits are devoted to poking fun at Jost over his own famous wife making far more money than him.
A foursome of friends enjoys a nostalgic meal at chain restaurant Friendly’s. They lie about it being one of their birthdays to get the special birthday song and a free sundae. Things take a dark turn when the creepy Friendly’s staff intuit that she’s lying, resulting in a demonic black mass and ritual sacrifice. This falls on the wrong side of goofy.
For her second set, Lady Gaga moves from back-to-center stage in a kinetic rendition of the glam-rocky Killah. Then, she plays one of several older, book-loving women pitching Little Red Glasses. The colorful eyewear is great for ladies who have Celestial Greetings credit cards, make their own peanut butter, and “went down on Leonard Cohen”. A very specific sendup of a very specific type, this one slowly wins over the live crowd.
The episode concludes with another restaurant-set sketch, where Yang and Gaga sing to their fellow brunch goers about the need to stop using ubiquitous and annoying millennial/gen-Z speak such as “slay”, “bop”, “flex”, “bey”, “sus”, “giving”, “mother”, and more. Not nearly as cringeworthy as the last time the show attempted to send up modern slang.
As a night of sketch comedy, this was all very middle of the road. There was nothing memorable about it, but there weren’t any obvious stinkers either. But the main event was always going to be the musical performances. On that score, Lady Gaga certainly succeeded, delivering the exclamation point on the recent run of episodes and specials surrounding the 50th anniversary.
