Sydney Sweeney Shines And Bowen Yang Is Straight In A Supremely Satisfying Saturday Night Live
Sydney Sweeney is still riding the shockwave that came from "Madame Web" bombing spectacularly hard at the box office. Though the mystifyingly terrible film set in Sony Pictures' own strange Marvel universe took the fourth place spot at the box office this weekend, where "Dune: Part Two" had no problem dominating, it just barely edged out the Fathom Events' special presentation of a couple of season 4 episodes of the Biblical series "The Chosen," and that's playing in nearly 1,000 fewer theaters (via Box Office Mojo). But that didn't stop Sweeney from cracking a joke at the expense of "Madame Web" and having a great time hosting "Saturday Night Live."
Though some would argue that Sydney Sweeney's range as an actress feels like it has limitations, her performance on "SNL" revealed that she has some eclectic comedic chops. In addition, despite not being known for her comedic skills, she had very little trouble adapting to the live sketch comedy scene. Unlikes comedian Shane Gillis last weekend, Sweeney had no trouble reading from the cue cards without looking like she was reading from the cue cards, and that's something that even the most adept actors struggle with. On top of that, the array of sketches offered plenty of originality, even if they weren't all home runs. "SNL" didn't even resort to doing an entire sketch about the infamous "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" experience in Glasgow that's been all over the web this week (though it did get a passing mention).
So let's dig into the highs and lows of Sydney Sweeney's episode of "Saturday Night Live."
What was the best sketch of the night?
Bowen Yang is only the third cast openly gay cast member to be part of "Saturday Night Live." More often than not, he leans into his natural flamboyancy as a homosexual man, and we love him for it. So we certainly weren't expecting Yang to play it straight just because a host as beautiful as Sydney Sweeney showed up. With the hilarious set-up that Bowen Yang is actually straight and playing it gay to help his comedy career, we get to see Yang in full bro mode, hitting on Sweeney and not wasting any time playing video games the morning after they've smashed. Sweeney might be in love with the cool Yang, but he's pretty busy, and he also has to keep up gay appearances. Sorry, Sydney.
Watching Yang be so nonchalant about being straight and give off total douchebag energy was such a delight. I hope there's a way they can do this again. While the novelty of the first time might be done, there's so much more that Yang could do to lampoon life as a straight man. He wouldn't even need an attractive starlet like Sydney Sweeney to be around. Let him bro out with Ryan Gosling or something. The possibilities are endless!
How was the rest of the episode?
As for the rest of the episode, there was a fantastic array of original ideas for sketches. The "Saturday Night Live" writers and cast didn't rely on their usual game show or talk show formulas, and unlike the Jacob Elordi episode, they weren't obsessed with using Sweeney's good looks be the driving force of too many sketches. Instead, we got a solid series of gems that made for an overall good episode.
Air Bud – Who had a sketch about the 1997 family sports comedy "Air Bud" making it into a 2024 episode of "SNL" on their bingo card? I don't know how this came about, but I'm certainly not upset that it did. While it might be unsettling to imagine Sydney Sweeney intensely hitting on a golden retriever (at least for the more normal parts of the internet), you can't help but love the clueless good boy just sitting there without reacting to anything but a sandwich (that he adorably chomped up with no problem). While it might have been entertaining if the dog didn't cooperate, which has garnered laughs plenty of times in sketches before, the well-behaved canine actually helped the sketch land firmly and hilariously.
Detectives – Never underestimate a Gen-Z woman with an iPhone. She will find out anything and everything, and that includes solving cold cases where the suspected murderers of various women have disappeared for years. At first, I thought this was going to be a riff on true crime podcasters working as detectives, but it ended up being so much better than that. Honestly, this isn't something that is limited to Gen-Z women either. It's amazing how careless people are about what is revealed about them on the internet, and all it takes is some sleuthing around social media and any tangential accounts to track people down, even if they don't want to be found. But having these detective interns be two young women with a bit of vocal fry and an aloof but efficient approach to investigation makes that concept really funny, especially when they find the chief's secret internet profile.
Please Don't Destroy – Gone Too Soon – We haven't gotten much of Please Don't Destroy in 2024. They had a cut-for-time sketch when Jacob Elordi hosted to kick off the year, and they roasted Dakota Johnson in what was easily the best sketch of her episode. But they sat out both Ayo Edebiri's stellar hosting debut and Shane Gillis' awkward but amusing stint. So having them back with Sydney Sweeney was great, even if it feels like it doesn't feel like they had a sketch that was tailor-made with her in mind. There's not a lot of escalation here, as the trio recount the nonsensical death of their friend in the Grand Canyon, which makes it not as strong as their usual stuff, but it's also just silly enough to still be funny.
Airbnb Design Commercial – Finally, even though we didn't get a full blown sketch about that awful Willy Wonka-inspired attraction across the pond, it was still big enough to land a mention in this sketch featuring the stylish designers behind those Airbnb's that you stay in when you're on vacation. Featuring the worst art, cheesy sayings on walls, and that one unsettling picture of the family that actually lives there, this skewering of the basic decorative sensibilities that these Airbnb owners all seem to share is something we can all laugh at, having experienced our share of awful condos, cabins, complexes, and other assorted cheap getaway residences.
Honestly, there wasn't a flat out terrible sketch in this episode, though it should come as no surprise that the political cold open centering around Joe Biden was probably the worst bit of the night. But even that was better than most of the other political satire cold opens we've seen this year. Otherwise, the "Hooters" sketch felt like it had a little too basic of a premise without any escalation, but the "Makeup Artists" sketch and the "Big Bench" sketch offered up some solid new characters, with the latter having the potential to be recurring (though it could probably use some punching up on the absurd side). The "Loud Table" sketch also offered a traditional 10-to-1 bit, something that doesn't happen quite so often because of the prominence of alternative comedy sensibilities on "SNL" these days.
How was Sydney Sweeney as a host?
Sydney Sweeney hosted "Saturday Night Live" for the first time, which has served as a rite of passage for many rising, young stars of Hollywood. Sweeney's career is still blossoming, and though she's best known for emotional and sexy antics on "Euphoria" and "White Lotus," as well as the dark thrills of "The Handmaid's Tale" and "Sharp Objects," she's blossoming into other arenas with the success of the romantic comedy "Anyone But You." Honestly, the disappointment of "Madame Web" will likely be a footnote among her successes, especially since she'll quickly be moving on with the upcoming horror film "Immaculate." On top of that, Sweeney's turn on "SNL" proved that she has the ability to cut loose and have fun with a variety of comedic roles.
Sweeney was quite comfortable as she took the stage, and the writers wasted no time taking a quick jab at "Madame Web." However, things got a little awkward when Sweeney addressed the rumors that she had an affair with Glen Powell while making "Anyone But You." Seriously, the audience reaction was so tense when it was brought up, to the point that it made Sweeney briefly uncomfortable. Of course, that all went away with a surprise appearance by Powell, who would also appear in a sketch towards the end of the night.
As for Sweeney's performance, she proved to be much more comfortable that many of the other hosts who kicked off 2024. She was far more loose than Jacob Elordi, much more engaging than Dakota Johnson, and she was infinitely more comfortable in the live setting than Shane Gillis. Though she didn't measure up to the greatness of Ayo Edebiri's episode, she certainly came away with a much better episode that I was anticipating, and that's always a pleasant surprise. As she continues her career, I hope we get to see her back on the show.
Weekend Update was a bit rough
Meanwhile, Weekend Update didn't quite take off this week. It wasn't absolutely awful, but this week's punchlines felt rather stilted, especially with a poorly-timed cut to Colin Jost that should have happened several seconds sooner in order to take full advantage of Michael Che's joke at his expense. Is it just me or have there been a lot more flubs coming from poorly timed cuts from the control room these days? I don't know if the new director isn't yet in tune with the nature of live comedy or what, but it feels like a problem.
Thankfully, it wasn't a total loss, because there were a handful of great punchlines at the expense of the sad old turtle known as Mitch McConnell. You can't help but laugh when "SNL" take aim at that fleshy bag of soup. As for the two guests at the Weekend Update desk, Heidi Gardner's "Woman Who Is Aging Gracefully" talking about confidence wasn't a winner for me. However, I did enjoy Ego Nwodim's sassy pregnant stingray. It was on the cusp of being something akin to Sarah Sherman's mocking of Colin Jost, but instead targeting Che as an illegitimate father. It wasn't thoroughly hilarious, but I wish there was a way to use Che in this fashion more often.
That's all for this week. We'll be back next weekend after "Dune: Part Two" co-star Josh Brolin hosts the show on March 9, with musical guest Ariana Grande. In the meantime, if you want to hear more about new episodes of "Saturday Night Live," be sure to check out "The Ten To One Podcast" wherever podcasts are available.