Jenna Ortega, special guest Fred Armisen, and Tennessee Lt. Governor kept the laughter coming all night with X-Men parodies and "Parent Trap", as well as Tennessee Lieutenant Gov. Randy McNally's gay thirst trap reaction.

We had high expectations for Jenna Ortega's hosting role on Saturday Night Live after some entertaining promos this week. But she far exceeded those expectations.

This episode had many sketches that could be considered all-time greats. We are not complaining, even though it is rare to get as much material in the third episode of a three-part streak. The show felt almost like a new series, with renewed energy and playfulness all through.

Some of the younger performers, who are still learning the ropes on the show, also enjoyed a huge night. Perhaps it was because we didn't have a political open, that we were able to take a new path. We found ourselves laughing and smiling more this week than any other season.

Jenna was so strong that you almost forgot Jenna invited Fred Armisen (SNL) and Fred Armisen (Wednesday) to her big night. She even gave Fred the lead role in a "FreakyFriday" spoof. It was also worth noting that there were no "Wednesday” parodies.

Jenna was open to taking on any role, and she brought a wide range of characters and a full-on commitment. Jenna was an actor, whether she was a TikTok star, a superhero, or a frustrated Marvel mutant. She sold every performance and inspired the rest of the cast. We're eager to rewatch the entire episode with more creativity, great writing, and great performances.

We'll rank all sketches from worst-to-first, as usual. This includes the Monologue, Cold Open and "Weekend Update", as well any sketches that were not cut due to time constraints but found their way online. We will not include musical guests because they aren't usually funny -- except Ashlee Simpson. We end with a look back at the cast member who had the best week.

Monologue: Jenna Ortega

We were pleasantly surprised by Jenna's monologue after watching some funny promos before the show. She mostly spoke straight about her career and her passion for horror projects. There were some funny jokes along the way. She had a face people wanted to throw blood on and her horror remake of a toothpaste commercial she made at nine years. Fred Armisen was much more fun than her "Wednesday” co-star, when she briefly brought him on stage. While she had fun with him, so much of her piece was about how important it was to her hosting the show. It was sincere, sweet, and earnest. It was clear that she felt comfortable up there. While this wasn't much, it did suggest that she was at least ready and relaxed to go. We didn't know it would get so much better!

Red Carpet for Cold Open

Although we felt certain that we would be in for a group "LFNY", it didn't happen. Which was a nice surprise. It was a great honor to see them depart from this tradition. This is especially true for newcomers like Marcello Hernandez, who was Mario Lopez's host this week. This was a refreshing change of pace, with Marcello and Heidi Gardner acting as red carpet hosts, interacting with both celebs (like Chloe Fineman’s funny Jamie Lee Curtis, Mikey Day, and Molly Kearney’s indecipherable Colin Farrell, and Brendan Gleeson) as well non-celebs like Sarah Sherman, Michelle Williams' Jewish acting coach. The segment's final interview was set up by the pair, Bowen Yang appearing to be George Santos and pretending to being Tom Cruise.

Although it wasn't the most original or funny sketch, it was worth it to see "SNL' step away from being forced into a political cold open. This has been a problem for many weeks, and it's been affecting the opening every week for years. The energy was kept up by the many fun moments and outstanding performances from Heidi & Chloe. Marcello clearly enjoyed being in the spotlight. However, it was obvious how nervous he was early on against Heidi. He was able to relax a little and was fine. Although he didn't put any character flair on his performance like Heidi, he was competent enough to play the role of a straight man.

Exorcism

The story ended with this one kinda crashing down, but we enjoyed the idea of Ego as the upstairs neighbor who decides that she will just perform an exorcism because the demon is disturbing her sleep. Ego, who is always a joy in these roles, will not tolerate any nonsense from Jenna Ortega. The demon's levitation and insults were hilarious. It was just as disappointing that the "vessel" part of the sketch didn't work nearly as well. We actually hoped it wouldn't manifest through Kenan Thompson as that was how it first appeared. Instead, we got a real twist ending that was meh.

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Jingle Pitch

This is a strange concept for a sketch but the cast did amazingly with their portrayals. Bowen Yang was the law partner who gets "tanned up" at Luciano’s and continues to go into it in lurid details trying to get this bizarre musical duo to bring that vibe home to a musical jingle for the number. It's a common concept and anyone who's ever seen legal ads singing their phone numbers will be able to relate. It was even more amazing that they found a way to sing their phone number in a very catchy way at the end.

Ridiculousness

Jenna Ortega's "Wednesday", Jenna Ortega, was meant to fill that role. These bizarre and macabre anecdotes that she shared following MTV videos were too funny to be spoilt here. She was a TikToker, and she didn't seem aware of how bizarre the things she was saying. Chloe Fineman deserves credit for her reactions to Jenna's stories on Chanel West Coast. Mikey also did a great job as Rob Dyrdek, who is both too energetic and too old for this (oops!). and trying to keep it light.

Weekend Update

The jokes were very topical and we loved them. Colin Jost suggested that John Travolta would pronounce Viola Davis' name Volodymyr Zilenskyy in return for not allowing Ukraine's president to attend the Oscars. The boys had a lot of fun with Tucker Carlson's disinformation and Chinese disinformation. Michael Che also said that he could relate to Fox News' host making friends with a psychotic bigot "caust it's beneficial for the show." After a beat, Jost responded, "I don't get it."

Molly Kearney is the new Tennessee Lieutenant Governor. Randy McNally is still reeling from his scandalous comments on gay thirst trap photos. He made it clear that he is proud to be a conservative and supports firefighters and police officers. Colin then asked him if he meant "on-the line". Molly's playful playfulness was adorable throughout, portraying McNally as a little scamp. This helped to soften some of the most shocking comments. This was Molly's best performance of the season on a generally strong night.

Che was again on fire with his commentary. He got a groan for a New Orleans joke after Hurricane Katrina and for his response about a 98 year-old woman meeting her great-great-grandchild. "I wish that I had met my great-great grandmother to have said, 'Don’t get on the boat!' Another strong segment, with Che pulling home the strongest punchlines.

In a hilarious segment that we can definitely enjoy more of, "SNL” brought out James Austin Johnson, its strongest male impressionist for a long while. He did a bit where he just offered some of his characters. These were mostly two-second impressions that he claimed he could not use elsewhere, except for Trump ordering a drink. They weren't very good, but we loved Jay-Z's potential in the basement.

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The Parent Trap

Fred Armisen is back in a guest role, playing the role of a crew man. Jenna Ortega films one scene of their meeting. She'd film the second part later, just like the originals. However, this didn't get very far. Fred stole the show with his absurd portrayal of a 52-year old crew member, ad-libbing through classic scenes alongside his 11-yearold "twin," Jenna. It was mostly straight and she didn't break no matter how absurd his lines were. This worked well. The best part was that the surprise twist at end worked in this instance.

Road Trip: Please don't destroy

Jenna Ortega joined the boys for an epic road trip that included its own theme song. Each interruption to the song heightened the comedy perfectly, a strength of this team. Things got worse until the foursome could no longer stand each other. It was, in other words, a great representation of long road trips, and a catchy tune that is funny as hell. Every player in the car had their moment, from missing the exit to puking inside the car. This kept the momentum going from start to finish.

School vs. school

Jenna Ortega, Mikey Day and their incredible energy made this a hilarious parody of a quiz show. Jenna, as a Rogue-like teen, and Mikey as Professor X were both hilariously yelling at each other -- but Punkie Johnson from the opposite team was the one who had the most laughs for a reaction shot that she had to hold for at the least a third. Molly Kearney deserves bonus points for executing another role with deep prosthetics. Although she didn't get a big role, she was willing to do it. This piece was full of infectious energy and made us laugh. An all-time classic!

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Varsity Valley

This is one of our favorite sketches in a long time. It was typical teenage melodrama, with Marcello Hernandez & Jenna Ortega perfectly framing what happened behind them. They talked about their young love and how it ends. It was the madness that occurred behind them that was truly amazing. This scene was set in front of Waffle House. Every stereotype and story about Waffle House was being told in the background. At least eight actors were involved in the background scene by the end. Although there were many great moments, the entire sketch had us laughing and crying. This is one of those clips you just want to keep watching over and over again to capture every moment of comedy gold.

PLAYER OF THOUGHT

Marcello Hernandez got some important roles on the show. James had more opportunities to shine beyond his impressions. Bowen Yang, Chloe Fineman, and Kenan deliver solid performances, as always.

When it came time to pick the best performer this week, however, it was down to just two cast members. Mikey Day, who was as always amazing in his supporting roles, had us laughing nonstop as Professor X screaming at Jenna Ortega. He also did a great job in the "Varsity Valley” piece.

We went in a completely different direction this week. We were lowkey shocked by how Molly Kearney emerged suddenly as a performer hidden under makeup and prosthetics. Brendan Gleeson and Mikey were both hilarious and daft, and they brought laughter to every line of the X-Men parody sketch.

Their take on Lieutenant Governor was the key. McNally sealed the deal. Although it could have been just fun line deliveries, Molly made it so much more. Molly is now a standout on the show, and Molly seems to have found their niche.

"Saturday Night Live” returns April 1st with host Quinta Brunson, and musical guest Lil Yachty.

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Title: Jenna Ortega SNL Recap: Santos at Oscars, Waffle House Chaos in Season's Funniest Yet
Sourced From: toofab.com/2023/03/11/jenna-ortega-snl-recap-george-santos-oscars-waffle-house/
Published Date: Sun, 12 Mar 2023 07:25:02 +0000

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