Saturday Night Live: host Ramy Youssef calls for ceasefire in otherwise muted episode
Ahead of Easter Sunday, Saturday Night Live kicks off with a re-enactment of Jesus’s resurrection, which is quickly interrupted by former president Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson). He’s come to hawk his new Bible, which “can be yours for the high, high price of $60”. His new, improved version “also includes constitution, and pledge of allegiance, and, I don’t know, maybe Miranda rights”. He ends his sales pitch with his version of the Lord’s Prayer: “Our father, who are in Heaven, hallowed beep-beep, bing-bing … trespass, daily bread, and please lead us into temptation, and pay our automobiles. In the name of the father, the son, and the Easter bunny, amen.”
As Trump cold opens go, this one is nothing special, but at least it has a purpose and a theme. It could have been edgier, but then, nothing the show could come up with could match Trump’s latest hustle for either hilarity or sacrilege.
Ramy Youssef hosts for the first time. The comedian and actor notes how big a weekend it is for religious people – Muslims, like him, are celebrating Ramadan; Christians are celebrating Easter; Beyoncé fans are celebrating her new country album Cowboy Carter.
His monologue takes the form of a standup set. He talks about living in a liberal bubble, the Biden teams’ outreach to Arab communities, and his dream of seeing a trans woman become president (“She’d be like, a lot of politicians talk about change … ”), before transitioning into a hushed, sincere prayer for peace in Gaza: “Please free the people of Palestine. And please free the hostages.”
It’s funny that only a few weeks after Shane Gillis flopped while hosting, SNL brings on his exact foil. If Gillis appeals to knuckle-dragging bros who only want to hear slurs, Youssef makes comedy for people who would rather applause in agreement than laugh. That said, his statements on Gaza are self-evidently just and unimpeachable, which no doubt means the pro-Israel hawks will lose their collective mind over it, just as they did earlier this month when Jonathan Glazer made similar comments during his Oscar acceptance speech.
Couple Goals is a game show where married couples test their knowledge of one another. Youseff and Ego Nwodim’s newlyweds take an early lead, until the second question reveals a dark glimpse into the hubby’s psyche. Asked to name each other’s biggest fear, Nwodim’s wife guesses heights, only to learn that the real answer is: “That you’ll die in a bizarre accident, and even though I had nothing to do with it, the police will assume I did it after discovering how much I’ve complained about you in text messages to my friends.” Things spiral from there. A repeat of a similar sketch from last season, but not nearly as dark or as funny as that one.
A music video from musical guest Travis Scott, Youssef, and the Please Don’t Destroy guys sees them go out for a night of clubbing. Things take an anxious turn when Ben, Martin, and John smoke way too much weed. Youssef, meanwhile, questions his choice of shorts and an earlier faux pas. The central premise is funny, but things never snowball the way the best PDD shorts do. And the actual song is annoying (and literally) one-note.
Immigrant Dad Talk Show sees Youssef, Marcello Hernandez, and Kenan Thompson play silver-maned, chain-smoking pops. After spending some time running down their disappointing sons (“He say to me, I’m working on my thesis. I say: ‘Thesis? THESIS a waste of time!’”) and praising their spoiled daughters, they welcome on their guest, new neighbor Kevin (Mikey Day), whose supportive and physically affectionate relationship with his own son horrifies them to no end. This could have done with more of the generational divide material from its first half and less of the “laugh at the dorky white people” stuff of the backhalf, not because there’s anything wrong with the latter, but simply because it’s a well that SNL goes to almost every episode (often more than once).
A high school basketball captain’s speech to his teammate’s during halftime is less about their sorry playing than it is about the unfortunate picture their coach accidentally sent to their group chat earlier in the week: “Did I want to see coach wearing only a fur thong and cat ears on all fours licking milk out of a bowl? No! But that’s no excuse not to play my ass off tonight!” The reveal of Devon Walker as the coach’s catatonically horrified son gets a huge laugh. One of the better sketches of recent episodes.
Ozempic for Ramadan is the new medication that helps suppress hunger for those struggling to fast during holy month. It’s just regular Ozempic, but “rebranded for a new, burgeoning Muslim demographic”. A prime example of how a clever idea does not a funny sketch make.
Following the first performance from Scott, it’s on to Weekend Update, where Colin Jost mocks the Trump Bible: “This Bible is mostly the same, but Trump’s version ends with Christ’s disciples storming Jerusalem to overturn the results of the crucifixion.” Michael Che, meanwhile, gets jeers after joking about President Biden visiting the site of the Baltimore bridge collapse: “Like that bridge, Biden is no longer connecting with black communities.”
Jost then welcomes their first guest, TikToker Piper Dunster (Chloe Fineman), to discuss irresponsible conspiracy theories surrounding Kate Middleton. She chides her fellow content creators before footage of her own TikTok shows that not only did she make crazy claims about Middleton, but she also posted early support for George Santos, the Titanic submersible, and “wet market bat” casserole. TikTok influencers deserve no shortage of ridicule, but Fineman and co aren’t interested in actually taking them on.
Later, Jost invites on the widow of deceased New York owl Flaco (Sarah Sherman in a ridiculous feathered costume). Asked about her reaction to learning her husband had a severe case of pigeon herpes, she deflects: “Why was there even an autopsy? When a bird basically explodes into the side of a building, who’s like, ‘How did he die?’” She gets some good mileage out of corny “Who?” jokes, as well as the requisite digs at Jost (“You know how it is, Colin, when you’re married to a big-time celebrity. They get to have sex with anyone they want and there’s nothing we can do about it, right brother?”).
A team of homicide detectives and forensic experts investigate a murder outside of a pizza parlor, only to be distracted by the bad, David Caruso on CSI-style one liner one team (Andrew Dismukes) member keeps trying to get over. He’s relentless in his efforts, even trying it out on the victim’s grieving widow. The slow build towards that moment gets some enjoyable tittering, but the end doesn’t stick the landing.
Scott returns for his second performance, joined by Playboi Carti, then the show closes out with an episode of NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series. Youssef, Johnson, and Chloe Troast play a quirky indie band whose performance is continually interrupted by a pushy new intern and would-be podcaster (Bowen Yang). Before anyone involved realizes
it, they’re all taking part in a new podcast. Fans of NPR/podcasts might find a couple things to chuckle at here.
A muted, NPR-focused sketch is actually a pretty fitting close to proceedings, given that the people who enjoy Tiny Desk are likely to be fans of Youssef’s brand of soft, socially conscious comedy. For everyone else, this will be another shrug of an episode.