‘SNL’ Recap: Lizzo Made It Twerk As Both Host And Musical Guest

We’re in a mega-holiday weekend (Ramadan, Passover and Easter) and for the people for whom music is a religion, Coachella? Anyhow. How would this third new episode in a row of Saturday Night Live lean into the holidays and news of the week?

What’s The Deal For The SNL Cold Open For Last Night (04/16/22)?

We start off promisingly, as the first thing we see is Bowen Yang in an Easter Bunny costume. More adorable than Ralphie on Christmas morning in A Christmas Story! Could this be as much fun as his take on the iceberg that sank the Titanic (also this week! oooh, the timing of it all). He teases us by filling in the lack of a bunny backstory: “Who is he?” Does this Easter Bunny do shrooms at Coachella? And then, as quickly as the cold open gets our hopes up, the rug gets pulled out from us, as this is…yet again…another catch-all cold open that crams as many disparate elements from the news into one sketch. So Dr. Fauci (Kate McKinnon) jokes that COVID cases, like Jesus Christ, “they’ve risen again,” but he’s not going to pray for the unvaccinated. Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (Cecily Strong) holds a chocolate rifle while worrying that the pastel colors make Easter too gay. NYC Mayor Eric Adams (Chris Redd) crows about how the NYPD “caught” this week’s subway shooter.

You know a sketch is dying on the red vines when the audience sits on its hands waiting for cast members to announce who they are. Mikey Day’s Elon Musk went over about as well as, well, Elon Musk. Chloe Fineman has opened the show before as Britney Spears, but the crowd wasn’t feeling it this time until she spun around and just said what’s going on with Brit Brit? Jesus Christ! No, wait, that’s Kyle Mooney as Jared Leto, because, uh, Morbius? The Kids Choice Awards? Leto’s Jesus complex?

And not knowing to leave well enough alone, they trot out Trump again so James Austin Johnson can vamp-riff, getting a genuine laugh out of such non-sequiturs as “SeaBiscuit and I eat biscuit.” He also claims credit for saying the pandemic would be over by Easter. “I just didn’t say which one.”

How Did The SNL Guest Host Lizzo Do?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B75B-kkYGI

Lizzo previously performed on SNL in December 2019 when Eddie Murphy made his big comeback as host.

She hosts/stars in a new reality competition dancing show on Amazon Prime Video, Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls, and has a new album coming out. In her monologue, she promised to set a record for the number of times “bitch” got said on live TV, even though she hates cussing in front of her mom, and hi mom! Lizzo’s mom is in the audience. Turns out Lizzo’s actual DNA test came back and “I’m really like 50 percent that bitch, 10 percent boss bitch, and 40 percent flute-playing, band nerd bitch.”

Even more heartwarming? She reminds us anything is possible because she once lived out of her car.

Lizzo played a stripper in Hustlers, but she also proved she can mostly hang with comedians in a live TV show. I say mostly because she did start to giggle a bit a couple of times, but more mostly, she was just having so much fun, that helped carry some sketches to the finish line.

First up, another early-in-the-episode game show. Kenan Thompson hosts “Guess That!” as Clint Litoris (really? really), which is a basic trivia quiz show, only things go awry once Lizzo mistakenly calls JFK Airport the Robert Kennedy Airport. She wants partial credit, or cash. Something! She threatens to quit the game, accuses the host of gaslighting her, and eventually the other contestants (Ego Nwodim and Chris) get in on the rule-breaking act. Once even the show’s crew turns on Clint, putting -$100 on his screen, he gives up. Which makes Lizzo’s character “the new Mayor of Gametown!”

SNL really wants in on the TikTok action. They ran a special campaign tonight offering a TikTok Live with behind-the-scenes footage during Lizzo’s monologue, and for the second time, they shoved a bunch of ideas into a TikTok experience. It all moves a little too fast at times, but we get to see Kate as a grandma scared by a horn, Chris mocking T.I.’s stand-up comedy debut, Andrew Dismukes in cat makeup explaining Ukraine? Bowen does that viral cover of “Tom’s Diner,” and Lizzo gets to laughingly swear with Sarah Sherman, then circles back to lip-sync to it later to hop on the trend.

Sarah Sherman started off making a big impression as herself behind the Weekend Update desk, but for the second week this month, she’s snuck a zany idea into the first half of an episode. Last time, she played Chucky from Child’s Play. This time, she’s “the Six Flags guy” from the TV commercials who danced and danced. But also that guy is Lizzo’s grandpa? That’s one thing for her first date (Mikey) to handle; quite another when her grandma (Ego) also is “a Six Flags guy,” as well as all their friends (Kate, Kyle, Aristotle Athari). Somehow this sketch lost momentum the more it filled with Six Flags guys, although Lizzo manages to save it at the end.

Lizzo also jumped into the “please don’t destroy” room for one of their videos, begging them to pitch her two new songs since she didn’t have anything to perform this week? The boys save her from certain death at the hands of Andrew Dismukes with their idea for a horny zookeeper, which leads into a playful, colorful music video.

Lizzo got much cozier with Andrew in two later sketches. The first, set in Ancient Egypt of 2000 B.C., has Cecily and Bowen wearing modern-day headsets somehow and coordinating the upcoming party/orgy for the God King. Andrew plays tender boy to Lizzo’s sensuous woman. Kenan wears a snake around his neck. Mikey will blow fire into people’s faces when they walk in. Aidy Bryant has rotten teeth and a sinister laugh to scare em off. Aristotle will play loud, abrasive music. Alex Moffat, Ego and Sarah are the only actual orgy participants, but Chris will fan them while standing proudly naked. Kate comes in late with a goat. Kyle will play puckish. Finally, when Punkie introduces the God King, it’s….well, one of those big set-ups for a small finish.

How Relevant Was The Musical Guest Lizzo?

Lizzo released the first single from her upcoming album on Friday. And she performed that song for the first time on the show. “About Damn Time” is correct. The song had flute twerking, dancing, and backup dancers. Were any of the dancers from her Prime Video show, tho? Please don’t @ me for not knowing the answer immediately!

For Lizzo’s second new song, Lizzo’s mom made it extra “Special” by getting to introduce her.

Which Sketch Will We Be Sharing: “Black Eyed Peas”

This sketch is both perfect AND 2000 and late. We’re treated to a flashback to the day in 2008 when the Black Eyed Peas recorded multiple hit songs, to see just how they did it. Lizzo and Aidy play producers from Interscope Records excited to see what the Will.I.Am (Kenan), Fergie (Cecily) and the other two (Bowen and Chris) have in mind. “Boom Boom Pow.” “I’ve Gotta Feeling.” “Let’s Get It…” what now? Their lyrical skills really were magic. Really makes me want to join the people in the place.

Who Stopped By Weekend Update?

Once again, gotta point out that they’re wasting some great possibilities for Update character visits by giving them short shrift instead as tiny parts of smorgasbord sketches.

So instead of say, Chris’s T.I. breaking down his stand-up meltdown, we’re treated to a non-celebrity Cesar Perez (Melissa Villasenor) making his own stand-up debut thanks to driving Colin Jost home from last weekend’s afterparty. Perez has “this mind of Mencia” which leads him to rip into his poor nephew, Carlitos, no matter how many times he apologizes for it afterward.

Update ended with a tribute card for dearly departed comedian Gilbert Gottfried, a cast member back in Season 6.

What Sketch Filled The “10-to-1” Slot?

We got two sketches in the final 10 minutes! First, at 12:49 a.m. Eastern, Mikey’s not sure how to conduct the DeVry Institute Orchestra through Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony without a flutist. Enter T. Onybanks, manager for the world’s greatest flute player, Beverly Gags (Lizzo). Aidy’s violinist admires Beverly’s breath control, while Alex’s bassoonist enjoys getting twerked on, and Kenan’s orchestra member can merely dream of the possibilities. Mikey’s conductor tries to get things under control, except Beverly can’t play a proper note while sitting down. She must twerk. So must they all!

Then at 12:56 a.m., Andrew’s character quits his job with a toast, and some investment advice for his friends (Bowen, Heidi, Mikey). Beanie Babies? “I’ve been holding onto these bad boys since 1993, and it’s time to cash in.” Wait. What? He can’t go back, because when he quit, he talked out of his butt like Jim Carrey’s Ace Ventura? Lizzo as his wife wants to be supportive, but she’s not sure if Andrew can make money drawing Mario, plus she’s pregnant. And on top of all of that, she cannot keep a straight face! Sadly, though, it’s not a happy ending for everyone in this sketch.

Who Was The Episode’s MVP?

Bowen Yang probably did the most character work of the night. Andrew Dismukes seemed like Lizzo’s favorite, for sure. Chris Redd keeps proving himself as valuable as anyone this side of Kenan Thompson to hold the whole show together. Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong keep on keeping on. It was perhaps so busy because they need a break? Well, they’re all getting one!

The next new episode is May 7, Benedict Cumberbatch hosts with Arcade Fire.

Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat for his own digital newspaper, The Comic’s Comic; before that, for actual newspapers. Based in NYC but will travel anywhere for the scoop: Ice cream or news. He also tweets @thecomicscomic and podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.