Saturday Night Live Review 05/08/21: A Rocket Scientist + SNL = Mission Failed
Mary Ellen Matthews, NBC, Saturday Night Live, Fair use
Elon Musk’s first time hosting SNL was something else.
Saturday Night Live was back at Studio 8H this past weekend after a month-long break. I was surprised when the host was announced. The host was Elon Musk, and I was very confused because it’s not like he is a comedian or anything. I did not have very high expectations for this episode, and I’m glad because this episode met zero expectations.
For a non-comedian hosting for the first time, Elon Musk did an okay job. He claimed to be the first person to host SNL with Asperger’s Syndrome, which is actually incorrect. Dan Aykroyd who was a cast member from 1975-1979 who returned to host in 2003 was the actual first person with Asperger’s to host. I just didn’t think Elon Musk was very funny, but that’s not his fault; he reinvented the electric car and is sending people to Mars. He isn’t a comedian.
Favorite Sketch: Chad on Mars
Obviously, my favorite sketch had to be the Chad sketch. Chad, played by Pete Davidson (one of my favorite people on the planet), is one of my favorite SNL characters and the sketches always make me laugh. This sketch is supposed to follow a team of Elon Musk’s own SpaceX on the Mars habitat. Between the jokes about Chad being a dad or Chad not even listening to the rules that could save his own life, this sketch did not fail to make me laugh. My mom even laughed, and she had a straight face the whole night. I’m so excited to see the other adventures Chad can go on in later seasons.
Least Favorite Sketch: Gen Z Hospital
Ok, this sketch was not it. Everything about it was bad. Between the cringe levels and the AAVE, I was not happy with this sketch at all. AAVE means African-American Vernacular English, meaning their voices were meant to sound like African-Americans even though Ego Nwodim was the only African-American cast member in the sketch. It really rubbed me the wrong way, and everyone on Twitter was mad about it, too. The cringe levels were also off the charts. It gave the same energy as when teachers try to talk and act all hip.
Weekend Update:
This week’s Weekend Update was not too funny either. I did not find myself laughing very hard, and want to know what really made me upset? Elon Musk was on Weekend Update! The host is never on Weekend Update. There are so many past hosts who would have done such a good job. Why did Elon Musk get to do it? I was just not very impressed with this week’s episode at all. Weekend Update is usually the thing that lifts the episode, but this one did not do that.
Miley Cyrus:
I was not impressed with Miley Cyrus. She literally just screamed. I would not even call it singing. What happened to Disney Channel Miley Cyrus? I miss her. The one good thing was the fact that she brought The Kid Laroi out to perform his song Without You that she is featured on for one of the versions. I still was not very impressed. I don’t know if it was my high expectations since Kid Cudi did such a good job on the past episode or what, but it was not it for me.
