• As an avid—nay, obsessive—SNL fan, it’s exciting when the show makes headlines outside of the comedy nerd circles. Yes, it’s an institution that folks casually tune into because they know when it’s on (Saturdays) but rarely does it reach the zenith of the zeitgeist anymore. It’s just always kind of there for people. However, when tech mogul/mega troll Elon Musk was announced to host the show two weeks ago, SNL was at the center of the cultural conversation again and this became the comedy news of the year. Anticipation hit what seemed like an all-time high. A chorus of rightful negative anti-Musk rhetoric quickly made the rounds about his ignorance surrounding public health regarding COVID, outlandish joke-y accusations about one of the men who rescued young soccer players trapped in a cave from a few years back and many other wrongheaded statements he’d made. Simply put, giving a platform to a billionaire (that, arguably, may have a few positive attributes with his devotion to a green future) who likes to run his mouth and has no comedic background (ugh, I guess he was on Joe Rogan’s pod) just felt gross. Plus, the fact that Dogecoin’s constantly volatile value hinged on this appearance seemed doubly wrong.
However, despite all of the above, I was excited. SNL rarely exudes danger and something this fresh could go a number of ways. The show could a.) troll Musk back secretly skewering him OR b.) Musk could make an outright fool of himself. Plus, even if you despise Musk, you have to give a show that’s been on the air for 46 whole years credit for surprising us this deep into its storied run.
It began innocently. The first image was of Miley Cyrus singing an earnest ode to Mothers. Not exactly the subversive satire one would expect from this appointment viewing. The cast introduced their Moms as they do every season (shout out to Aidy’s Mom who’s friends with my Mom and promoted “Shrill”) and we were underway. Finally, the Musk monologue we’d all been waiting for.
Elon called himself the first host with Asperger’s (Twitter was quick to correct him and rightfully give the title back to Dan Aykroyd) which was a tender moment. However, the rest of his solo screed was more of a self-deprecating victory lap written by a team of apologists rather than secret agents of chaos. I just wanted something that didn’t “celebrate” Musk or felt slyly preachy. Yes, some of his jokes were good and performed with the right dose of smug aplomb but I wasn’t happy that I enjoyed this slimy PR. I will say I thoroughly enjoyed his Tilda Swinton-esque Mom popping by in a sports coat similar to his own. Makes me think they dress like that at home.
With arguably the buzziest part of the show out of the way, now Musk actually had to act. Right out of the gate, he made Tommy Wiseau look like Brando. You would think with all the money and talent invested into the show, every sketch would be a banger and the seasoned pros could work around Musk’s limited abilities but somehow, quite a few stinkers made their way through the cracks this week. The first sketch, spoken entirely in Gen Z vernacular, showcased Musk ill at ease trying to commit to a doctor character who talked like “the kids.” Perhaps this was the trolling? To make him look bad? The only argument against that is it also made the show look bad. Yup. This was the stinkiest of the stinkers.
Somehow, the next sketch, mining the awkwardness of post-COVID conversation hit the jackpot with Musk as host letting him be his awkward, troll-y self to great effect saying things out loud that he shouldn’t to acquaintances at parties. Elon’s line, “Wow, that sounds like a unique experience you should tell everyone about” in response to the vaccine knocking his conversation partner (Heidi Gardner) out was excellent. The sketch as a whole really sang even though SNL has covered material like this throughout the course of the season most notably in the Bill Burr episode when couples “forgot how to talk to each other.”
The pieces that followed were hit or miss and mostly succeeded when Musk wasn’t onscreen.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve achieved very little success in comedy myself and am the opposite of an authority on the subject. That being said, I don’t think the Icelandic talk show would fly in a Sketch 101 class. Broad, no clear game and light on jokes. However, the fake trailer for “Murder Durdur” about a small town case in Philly complete with accents and crime show specifics down pat was a welcome surprise. Plus, kudos for having Musk play an out and out villain.
Finally, our last hope for a true takedown was Weekend Update. As much as people badmouth Jost and Che, they often fearlessly skewer those in power unafraid of consequences. Thankfully, they delivered. When Musk came on as the “Dogefather” (one of the “skits” he proposed on Twitter), after a bit of badgering, the co-anchors got him to admit that “Doge” was a bit of a hustle. In the real world, the stock plummeted almost instantly. Now, I don’t want to see anyone lose money (Full disclosure, I was scared to sign up for Robinhood myself once they asked for my bank account’s Username and Password even though it’s “secure”) but this was a nice comeuppance and they let the troll “troll” himself. Beautifully done satire. Also, outside of “The Dogefather” there were a few fantastic CVS burns.
The back half of the show featured a silly Wario courtroom sketch with offensive accents, the return of the show’s only major recurring character, Pete Davidson’s “Chad” going to Mars and an old-timey Western playing on Musk’s “dreamer” sensibilities likening horses to Teslas, the development of an underground transportation system and a new monetary system that isn’t made up of gold. Cecily Strong got in the line of the night here regarding Musk’s character as “Rich...I mean, smart!”
So, what’s the verdict? My humble opinion is Lorne and Co. kind of succeeded. It wasn’t close to the best episode of the season but Elon ended up looking silly in places and the show didn’t overly celebrate the guy. Musk inadvertently promised “skits” instead of sketches and delivered.
What will really be interesting here is to see how this one ages in five-ten years and hopefully he never hosts again.
• With that out of the way, that episode wasn’t the only thing to happen this week. I also spotted a few noteworthy projects that are deserving of attention. Here they are:
- The first is Elsa Eli Waithe’s sticker campaign that was written up in the New York Times. Elsa, a top-notch NY-based comedian (I’ve watched Waithe destroy any kind of room with ease) and social activist has been hard at work putting up stickers on streets where the neighborhood’s namesake (like Nostrand) was a slave owner educating all those in the neighborhood who were none the wiser. Simply put, I had no idea just how truly awful Peter Stuyvestant was before learning of this important project. Nothing about this article is “funny” per se but Elsa has transcended comedy here and done something very few comics actually do by putting their money where their mouth is and not just mining important issues for jokes onstage but actual social impact.
- Another highlight comes from comic and friend Katie Goetsch’s YouTube channel which has been a consistent delight. Songs making light of awful coworkers (“I Hate My Life And Am Taking It Out On You”) and wistful remembrances of pre-pandemic brunch (aptly titled “I Remember Brunch”) are a welcome entry into the musical comedy genre. Plus, her voice and ukulele skills are on par with Zooey Deschanel. Hoping there’s an album someday soon.
- Kentucker Audley is a favorite filmmaker of mine. From his goofy, straight faced video essays about “She’s All That” to his feature films like the charmingly low-budget “Sylvio,” he’s one of the few indie directors playing by his own rules. That’s not to mention how much I’m looking forward to his wildly surreal feature “Strawberry Mansion” slated for release this year. However, I think Audley’s most impressive and important contribution to the film canon is his fantastic Instagram “No Budge” curating excelling “no-budget” projects. A simple scroll of his page displays a wealth of fascinating underseen projects giving them a well-deserved platform. Should you find yourself looking for a fun, different IG follow with a bit of substance, this is it.
- I don’t know Scott Seiss. However, two friends independently shared with me his ultraviral supercut of his videos where he plays a disgruntled, “over it” IKEA employee. Anna Paone and I decided we’d trust our pals’ judgement and after multiple watches, both of us agree this more than lives up to the hype. Every one of Seiss’ videos follows the same formula: an IKEA employee stands in front of a green screened background, he imitates a customer asking a dumb question (“Why do they have you work on holidays?”), a beat drops and Seiss serves up some truth that cuts to the core of what every retail worker/server/underappreciated employee has ever felt. No need to give away a single joke; this is something you have to see.
Also of note: I read an interview with Seiss where he comes across as a humble guy who finally got his big break. However, he said something that really stuck with me:
“I did a lot of listening to the feedback. When I finally got a video that got millions of views and a ton of comments, I read the comments, made sure I understood exactly what people liked about it. I saw people commenting about how I don't blink a lot in the video, like I don't let the viewer go. I'm staring right at the screen. I'm angry. They were suggesting other retail things to do videos about.”
There is a path. Once you get to the top, figure out what people like and replicate it.
• Finally, I’d like to tell you about one legendary New Yorker profile, a movie that was way funnier than it had any right to be and a short sketch from a few years back I can’t help but share. Here goes.
- Mike Sacks talks to comedians better than anyone else. His books “And Here’s The Kicker” and “Poking A Dead Frog” are wonderful collections of conversations with writers ranging from George Meyer to Marshall Brickman to Merrill Markoe to George Saunders to Mike Schur to Amy Poehler. Both left an indelible impression on me. However, Sacks’ newest interview might be my favorite yet. His New Yorker profile/interview on elusive/never photographed/prolific “Simpsons” writer John Swartzwelder is absolute comedy catnip. Just unbelievably readable, funny and a fantastic portrait of a fascinating and private writer. I loved learning how Swartzwelder writes for Homer like he’s writing for “a big dog,” Swartzwelder’s decision to build a diner booth in his home to write in and anecdotes about his year writing at SNL during the ill-fated 1985 season. Plus, there’s a phenomenal writing tip that I won’t spoil here. Give the piece a well-deserved click.
“The Wrong Missy” (2020): I unfairly judged this movie. I saw the trailer where David Spade mixes up dates to bring on a trip accidentally taking Lauren Lapkus along for a corporate retreat weekend and thought, “There’s no way this can be good.” Well, being fully vaccinated and with gyms opening back up, I needed something mindless to watch while I ran on the treadmill (fully masked the whole time, of course). This seemed to fit the bill. Started things up and immediately found myself nearly falling while running because Lauren Lapkus is so incredibly funny as a carefree yet clingy new romantic partner for Spade (He’s fine doing a watered down version of his snarky persona). Get over the silly premise where three beautiful women are into Spade and stay to see a never-better Lapkus steal the show with her always on hand knife, mind games and overly graphic re-enactments. It should also be mentioned that Nick Swardson is fantastic as a nosy coworker who seems to know all of Spade’s passwords on even his personal devices in one of the film’s funniest running gags. Throw in some well-observed scenes skewering corporate retreats and you have what feels like a golden age Adam Sandler movie (I’m talking 1995-99) complete with a Vanilla Ice cameo. I LIKED THIS WAY BETTER THAN I SHOULD HAVE (Streaming on Netflix).
- Finally, I wanted to point the spotlight on the innocuously titled short film “How To Lose Weight In Four Easy Steps” written by Aaron Bleyaert. The title doesn’t sound funny at all. However, this quick 7.5-minute video starring Beck Bennett and Britt Lower from “Man Seeking Woman” impressively uses second person narration to tell a story embedded in a self-help format. I saw it five years ago and it’s been stuck in my head ever since. You can use adjectives like innovative, heartwarming, cinematic and funny to describe this thing but it’s better seen than discussed.
I’d say it’s a nice antidote to Elon Musk doing comedy as well.
Happy belated Mother’s Day, all. Make sure to like, comment and subscribe to all your Moms
