SNL Scorecard: Emma Thompson/Jonas Brothers
In the penultimate episode of Saturday Night Live’s 44th season, the show went to a veteran actress to pull hosting duties. Emma Thompson, the terrific Brit, as far as I know has never hosted. If that is indeed the case, it’s a crying shame, because her filmography is testament that she’s truly one of the great actresses of our time, and if you’ve watched any one of her press appearances, it’s no secret she’s quite witty as well.
She was joined, on this Mother’s Day episode, by The Jonas Brothers, as well as some special guests, (which we’ll get to) and the result was, true to form…good, not great. SNL this year has been short on really unimpressive episodes (case in point, Adam Driver’s premiere episode, still my lowest rated of the season, actually generated two of the best individual skits of 2018). But, at the same time, there have been only a few truly good ones top-to-bottom. Emma Thompson, through no fault of her own, was part of yet another decent but not terrific show. Contrary to the recent bizarre trend of episodes that pick up steam a few skits in, however, this particular episode followed the more traditional path: starting on a relative high, then losing steam somewhere around Weekend Update.
Here's the sketch-by-sketch breakdown of the 20th episode of the season:
Sketch of the Night
“Perfect Mother”: 8/10
Between last year’s Mother’s Day sketch, the Christmas sketch, and now this, SNL is really trying to make sure I don’t have kids, huh? It’s crazy how the same premise every time has been so, so funny, even if it’s no longer unexpected.
The Good
“Monologue": 7.5/10
Clever and utterly delightful. As we’ve seen time and time again, it’s hard to go wrong with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on stage, but really, Thompson shone just as bright. The immensely affable actress, to nobody’s surprise, has terrific comedic timing.
“Weekend Update": 7/10
It’s not entirely clear, but I’m pretty sure the Weekend Update desk had just gotten completed before making it to air, as both hosts still seemed to be getting situated after the intros had finished. I bring this up because it was the co-hosts’, in particular Colin Jost’s, best performance in a while, and who knows? Maybe that near-mishap gave them the jolt of energy that was needed to put on a good set. Elsewhere, Heidi Gardner had probably her best appearance yet as the cringe-inducing awkward YouTube movie reviewer Bailey Gismert, and Pete Davidson had a humorous and sweet Mother’s Dady dedication.*
*The eagle-eyed will notice the subtle payoff for his “Jon Hamm” joke during the closing credits
"Etiquette Lesson": 6.5/10
I’m not sure really what the point of this skit was…maybe just that there’s no scarier person on Earth than tight-ass British instructors? Anyways, even if the skit ran out of steam somewhat, the initial interplay between Thompson and Leslie Jones’ characters was so much fun.
“Chopped": 6/10
To put it simply, what on earth was this?! It’s been a while, though, (maybe the Liev Schreiber “House Hunters” skit?) since we’ve had a full-on zany digital short. So, even though the crowd seemed a bit too weirded out to laugh throughout this, I appreciated it.
“Judge Court": 5.5/10
Although the setup for the central joke seemed funny, the actual payoff was a bit of a letdown. That said, I lost it at their catchphrases, and at their declarations of what they’d do for each other.
“Meet The Press Cold Open": 5.5/10
After experimenting with some non-political Cold Opens recently, it was a return to political content this time, and unsurprisingly, the sketch felt little flat. In terms of the writing, this was pretty low-hanging fruit, and (UNPOPULAR OPINION ALERT!!!) Kate McKinnon’s Lindsay Graham is far and away her worst impression. But the Mitch McConnell and particularly Susan Collins impressions were terrific enough, as were some of the politicians’ retorts, to make this a serviceable Cold Open, if not a particularly memorable one.
“Bad Girl Talk Show”: 5.5/10
I’ve really enjoyed Ego Nwodim getting more screen time in the last several episodes. This wasn’t the most humorous sketch, but she brought a ton of energy and kept what could have been a very dull skit otherwise entertaining.
“Continuity Errors”: 5.5/10
First of all, two ‘classic cinema’ skits in one night? Wild. The 10-to-1 sketch this week was not its usual bizarro skit, but rather one more on the nose with current events. It was a very simple joke, but still fun to see the various product ‘mishaps’ they came up with.
The...Less-Good
“Actress Scene”: 5/10
Reese De’What is one of my favorite SNL character names, and Kenan was super enjoyable. But again, the concept was funnier than the actual skit turned out to be.
"Beauty and the Beast”: 4/10
It’s Beauty and the Beast, but the Beast is just a gym douche! …is pretty much the joke here. There were some funny lines, and of course some nice shock value with the reveal of Pete Davidson’s mini-teacup character, but by and large, this was the weakest of an otherwise solid night.
Musical Performances
Jonas Brothers: 7.5/10
Even as someone who was never a big fan of the Jonas Brothers in their original late-2000s form, it’s pretty cool to see them back. It’s even cooler that they’re making some pretty good pop rock, and I don't feel bad saying it. It’s not quite a Backstreet Boys-back-from-hiatus sensation, but it still feels surreal to see them back on stage causing young women everywhere to shriek, after nearly a decade apart.
Of course they're still (relatively) young guys, so it's not like you're watching a trio of middle-aged men still trying to stay hip. But still, being just a few weeks removed from the extremely high-energy performance of more contemporary boy band BTS, the former teen heartthrobs' set seemed relatively reserved by comparison. That's not necessarily a bad thing; some might even call it musically mature. And indeed, after an occasionally pitchy performance of their hit single "Sucker," Joe and Nick Jonas' vocal prowess were particularly on display on their 2nd performance, a mashup of new song "Cool," and their old smash hit "Burnin' Up."
OVERALL SCORE: 6.13 (Comedy Only score: 6.00)