SNL Scorecard: John Mulaney / LCD Soundsystem

This weekend, after an Olympics-induced three-week break, Saturday Night Live returned to air. Nothing in the last few years has really felt normal or at least chill, but still, this week felt like a particularly chaotic one for the show to return from their brief hiatus, given the state of *gestures widely to everything.* Perhaps it was for the best, then, that for only the 2nd time this season, the show enlisted a familiar face as host. And as musical guest, for that matter. Yes, it was truly a white millennial's dream night, with John Mulaney as host and LCD Soundsystem as musical guest.

I'll admit, I rolled my eyes a little bit when they announced Mulaney as the host last month. I like the comedian, but always have found him a bit overrated with regards to the enamored, cult-like following he has cultivated. I also found it a pretty uninspired host choice because he had appeared on the last 4 seasons of the show already, with each instance (in my opinion, of course) being inferior to the one before, and given that he has no real major project to plug at the moment, it reeked of Lorne Michaels just trying to do a favor one of the show's 'favored sons.'

Put off by my snark and cynicism? Well, then you will be happy to know that I confess it ultimately turned out to be misplaced. Mulaney hasn't missed a beat in his long time in rehab and out of the public view, expertly helming one of the strongest episodes of the season yet, from his terrific monologue to his willingness to once again hilariously play the butt of most jokes in the various sketches throughout the night. It was a fairly triumphant return for Saturday Night Live, with the best writing, chemistry, and energy levels we've seen in 2022 at least.

Here's the sketch-by-sketch breakdown of the 13th episode of the season:

Sketch of the Night

"Monkey Trial": 8/10

What a concept for a sketch! I don’t know what I love more, the fact that somebody thought up this idea, or the fact that it was the first sketch that aired after the monologue. This was an absolute delight, though, which was made funnier by Mulaney’s dedication to pretty much just talk like himself instead of doing a monkey impression.

The Good

“Ukraine Cold Open"

The invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin and Russia has certainly sobered the mood around the World, and made for a weird week for Saturday Night Live to return to air. As SNL has done before, they fittingly used the cold open time slot to address the tragic circumstances, ceding the stage to the Ukrainian Chorus Dunka of New York to sing “A Prayer For Ukraine.” Given how something like this transcends comedy, it doesn’t feel right to give this a rating, but it was a really beautiful way to open a much-anticipated show.

“Five-Timers Club": 7.5/10

I was surprised when Mulaney’s monologue didn’t feature any reference to his fifth time hosting. I figured they might work the “Five-Timers Club” in the show somehow, but I didn’t expect a standalone sketch! This was delightful, and I’m glad Paul Rudd got a chance at redemption, even if it was to be the butt of jokes, after his fifth time hosting was a pretty sad affair. It’s not hard to hit a home run when you have such a murderer’s row of comedic talent in that room, but still, I enjoyed every second of this.

"Monologue": 7.5/10

John Mulaney has had an…interesting year-plus, to say the least. Always interesting to see how people in the public eye address very public difficult life events (such as a relapse, the end of a marriage, an emergence from rehab with a new, very big-name celebrity girlfriend), I respect him for just going all in. I had heard bits and pieces of this story when he appeared on Seth Meyers’ show last Fall, but it was good to hear it again in front of a studio audience. His bits about breaking up with his drug dealer, and bonding with his newborn son were pretty great. Maybe not his MOST memorable monologue, but certainly a strong start to the show.

"Nickolodeon Show": 7.5/10

This wasn’t actually the last sketch of the night, but it had the appropriate “10 to 1” energy

Again, it’s such a weird idea for a sketch, but when they fully commit to the weird, it makes it so, so good. Mulaney, Chloe Fineman, and Sarah Sherman (among others) barely being able to hold themselves together amidst the slime was a real highlight, as was Chris Redd’s improv with his troublesome fake mustache.

“Weekend Update": 7.5/10

When was the last time we saw a Weekend Update without any guests?? It was weird, but I have to be honest, I didn’t hate it. The lack of any add-ons kept the segment (relatively) short and sweet. This wasn’t Che’s and Jost’s best performance ever, but it was a really good outing from the co-hosts after a couple weaker showings in the first few episodes of this year. I appreciated Jost making sexual abusers the butt of his jokes, and genuinely appreciated Che’s ability to find some source of humor in the Russia-Ukraine war (and make an insightful point in the process).

"Blue River": 7/10

It was so funny to see Cecily pop up in a mock Blue River ad, nearly a decade after her original star turn. I have to imagine this is the natural progression of her character; slightly more emotionally stable now but every bit as unhinged. Compared to the O.G., I didn’t find this one quite as laugh-out-loud funny but it was still a hoot, and Heidi Gardner, so often playing the absurd characters did a great job as the fatigued “friend” of Cecily’s crazy character.

“COVID Dinner Discussion": 6.5/10

Another sketch based off a predecessor. The Aziz Ansari conversation one with Will Ferrell was such an obscure callback, though, that this didn’t feel overdone, it still felt funny and original. That said, I do think I enjoyed this one slightly less, and I think that’s perhaps because where the Ansari discourse was both everywhere and very compelling, I haven’t seen the mask conversation touch off a similar firestorm on both sides in the same way.

“Good Variant": 6.5/10

You know I’m never gonna be unhappy about PDD being a part of the show, and so it was fun to see them involved again, but this was probably their least memorable bit to date. I kept waiting for the main joke to have a bigger reveal, and then it never really did. That said, it was not without its funny moments (Paul Rudd on the keys, John Mulaney missing his “did someone say hungry?!?!” queue, the brief horror of the Pokemon realization). It also was just a lot of fun. So, as a comedy sketch, not particularly memorable. As a general mood-lightener and instant segue into the next sketch, quite good.

“Cupid Shuffle": 6/10

Yet another rehash of a previous John Mulaney sketch that I don’t think we needed a rehash of, but it was still fun all the same. I’m never gonna complain about a sketch with Ego Nowdim in it.

“Subway Churro": 5.5/10

As long as they continue to do sequels to the original “Diner Lobster” each time John Mulaney hosts, I’m going to continue to complain that they should stop doing sequels to the original “Diner Lobster” each time John Mulaney hosts. I get that the audience expects it and seems to love it each time, but they haven’t really been that good since the original, and a big reason is that they’ve just become so inside baseball for New York City. This was still more good than bad, because of the great production design, and again, because the audience seemed to love it, but gosh, I wish they would stop doing these.

Musical Performances

LCD Soundsystem: 7.5/10

I’ve always appreciated LCD Soundsystem more than I have been a bona fide “fan” of theirs. By that I mean, I know they’re a big deal in the music world, I have a number of friends and family that are huge fans of theirs, and I like what I’ve heard by them. But I also only know about 5 songs by them, and never felt particularly compelled to listen to more. Knowing how well-respected they are, though, and how integral they are to the New York scene in particular, I was excited to see their set.

Their first song, “Thrills,” wasn’t nearly as catchy or hook-y as many of their hits are, and James Murphy’s vocals felt particularly swallowed. That said, they certainly brought a lot of energy, and the band as a whole sounded good. Their second song, “Yr City’s A Sucker,” was much more the LCD Soundsystem I was familiar with. A sort of bizarre refrain, but intoned over an absolutely addictive beat and groove. Ironically, the audience seemed less into this performance, perhaps because it wasn’t quite as high-octane as the first, but I really thought this one tied up an overall solid set with a great second performance.

OVERALL SCORE: 7.17 ('Comedy Only' score: 6.95)