SNL Scorecard: Lady Gaga
It may have been over a month ago, and probably feels like a lifetime ago, between the long layoff for Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary celebration and the Oscars, but technically just two episodes ago, SNL had a host pull double duty as host and musical guest. Which means, that this weekend, for the 2nd time in 3 episodes, Saturday Night Live had their host double up. Yes, as I've always said, what is January's Timothée Chalamet if not March's Lady Gaga?
Timothée and Gaga don't have a whole lot in common, to be sure, apart from both being from New York City and both being nominated for a lead acting Oscar but not winning. And as such, their hosting stints on this show looked very different, too. But their episodes found a surprising spiritual kinship in one another beyond simply having a big-name star provide both hosting and musical duties: each episode featured some of the most off-the-wall writing we've seen from SNL in a long time, and a host that was gamely along for the ride every time.
I said this about Chalamet's episode some 6 weeks ago, and a lot of it rings true for this most recent one as well: "this was a reminder of what makes Saturday Night Live truly unlike anything else on television. . . it felt like the most deeply original show we've had in years. Whether it was inspired by an amiable host that clearly was a bit of an SNL nerd himself, or the fact that this was the last live show before their 50th anniversary extravaganza in a couple weeks, it seemed as if the writers decided this week to say, 'You know what? Anything goes. No bad ideas. Let's just throw it all out there, and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.' And it didn't all work! But it was all fun, and certainly different, and for that I'm grateful."
I wouldn't say the Lady Gaga episode felt as much like a throwback to 'old SNL'; this was, in many ways, a very modern show with very modern humor and one of the biggest contemporary pop stars in the game. But it was truly unhinged in the most delightful way, and another episode in which you could tell the writers and cast decided to just get weird with it, and everyone onstage was having the time of their lives. Whether Gaga came to town with sketch ideas of her own, or the cast and writers just knew they had in her a host that would throw herself fully into any wild idea they had, the host herself deserves MVP honors for this episode. And are we surprised? She's one of the greatest entertainers in the world for a reason.
One note in case you forgot- I know my rankings can seem a little arbitrary, and truthfully there have been times where even I will look back at scorecards and think "Now, why did I rate (x) an 8.5, if (x) from this other episode was only a 7...?". So, both to hopefully clear up my scoring system for any curious readers, but also really to help keep myself consistent, here is the rubric to reference:
10/10: Perfect, no notes
8-9.5/10: Very funny-to-hilarious, definite rewatch
6-7.5/10: Pretty funny-to-funny, but won't necessarily be a rewatch
4-5.5/10: Not BAD, but not particularly funny or memorable
1-3.5/10: Terrible/poor taste, to simply bad/unfunny
Here's the sketch-by-sketch breakdown of the 14th episode of the season:
Sketch of the Night
"A Long Goodbye": 8.5/10
You know, it really should have been a clue that we were in for a completely unhinged night of sketches when the first post-monologue sketch featured the host in a pseudo romcom, in which, when traveling by rolling suitcase scooter to the airport, she comes upon a friendly rolling suitcase scooter gang who offer her encouragement, only to lead her to reconnect with her true love, who catches her at the airport with dog in tow by— yes, flying down the highway in a rolling suitcase scooter. This is one of the rare sketches from recent years that felt less fit for SNL and more for Tim Robinson’s I Think You Should Leave, and if you know me, you know that’s immense praise. When it transitioned from the green screen to Gaga and Marcello gleefully scooting through the live studio audience, I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes.
The Good
“Wonderful Tonight": 8/10
Bowen Yang, outspoken Gaga superfan, had to be pinching himself that he was not only seeing one of his favorite pop stars ever helm the show, but starring in a sketch in which they play a couple! And more than that, getting to sing with her (and holding his own, vocally)!! Anyways, this was so much fun. It reminded me of a sneaky fave of mine from the Chance the Rapper episode several years ago, but where that one had me rolling mostly due to technical mishaps and the hilarity that ensued as a result, this one was just written to be out of pocket from the start, and I loved that.
“No More Slay": 8/10
“We stole words from other people, and we’re givin’ them back todaaaay” THANK YOU. SOMEBODY(S) FINALLY SAID (SANG) IT. SNL is often accused of painful attempts to be hip and young, and this was a fun instance of them turning the gun back on their accusers.
“Weekend Update": 8/10
A much more consistent outing this week than last from the co-anchors, whose best material came in the form of pummeling Trump and Elon Musk. The walk-on guests were on par with the level of the whole segment this week, too, which is to say, quite good. ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins probably isn’t a figure that too many in the live studio were going to know, so the fact that they still ate up Kenan’s impression was testament to how funny he is. And as for Mikey Day’s “Lord Gaga”… most of the time, it was just a silly bit that, while enjoyable, seemed like it was never going to fully amount to anything more than some punny riffs on Lady Gaga song titles. But, as is so often the case with Update guests, it discovered another level when he began trolling Colin Jost mercilessly.
"Pip": 7.5/10
Okay, perhaps this bit did feel like old-school SNL in the best way. A pre-recorded sketch, partially animated, that was more weird or silly than laugh-out-loud funny…but ended up being hilarious thanks to the unexpected ending, and the full commitment from everyone all along. Be it the host in her ‘token supportive girl’ role, Marcello as ‘token high school/bully,’ James Austin Johnson as the 'token milquetoast high school teacher'; everyone played their roles excellently, and it made the payoff pretty sweet.
"Mascara Commercial": 7.5/10
Amidst a night of crazy live sketches, this fake ad was more in line with a traditional SNL fake ad. But it still seemed appropriate for the host and the theme of the night. This had the same energy as “Diet Coke by Olay,” one of my faves from a couple years ago: the girlies poking fun at themselves in a wink-nudge sort of way.
“Little Red Glasses": 7.5/10
It felt counter to the rest of the show to end the episode on such a well-worn formula, as this one did with a ‘fake promotion for a very niche item’ we’ve seen from SNL a number of times, but at least it was really well done. This was a great little 10-to-1: silly, well-executed, plenty of Sarah Sherman. All the key ingredients.
“Monologue": 7/10
Gaga is a pro onstage anyhow, and also had hosting experience— albeit from over a decade ago —so it’s no surprise that she seemed vastly more comfortable in this monologue than so many other hosts, even comedians and accomplished thespians, do. This was a perfect little monologue to bounce back from the “meh” depressing political cold open and redirect the show on a good course. It won’t be remembered as a great, but it was fully of witty one-liners, didn’t overstay its welcome, and Gaga’s cheerful and lighthearted energy was infectious.
“Birthday at Friendly's": 6.5/10
This was one of the few examples all night where “delightfully bonkers” didn’t necessarily translate to a great sketch. I had a blast watching this, and you can tell the host and cast were having a blast, too, with the increasing absurdity and the truly impressive stage design. But, both because actual jokes were few and far between, and because the audience didn’t seem fully bought into it, this just didn’t quite land the way many of the other weird ones did.
“Funeral Home": 6/10
Just like the Friendly’s sketch, this was bizarre, extremely enjoyable, but never fully landed as a sketch past the original joke. It was far from bad, and I laughed out loud when Heidi Gardner’s character immediately broke her overdramatic promise to her clients, but on a night full of grand and absurd bits, this one wasn’t as memorable.
The... Less-Good
“Trump, Musk and Rubio Cold Open": 5/10
James Austin Johnson's Trump never fails to be brilliant, but it is no longer novel, and a brilliant impression can only go so far as the writing takes it, which once again, was not very far. There was one truly hilarious (and original) wrinkle in this one, when we went inside Trump’s and Rubio’s minds, and then they immediately got away from it in order to bring back Mike Myers’ lackluster Elon impression from a whopping one week ago.
Musical Performances
Lady Gaga: 9.5/10
I mentioned in my introduction that Gaga is one of the best entertainers we have, but in case you didn’t already know-- and if it wasn’t already clear through the early sketches that preceded her first live performance --she is also perhaps one of the best vocalists of any pop star, period. The list of musical guests that I can be confident are going to be terrific live, even on the unforgiving SNL soundstage, is short, but she is on it.
I am yet to listen to Lady Gaga’s new album, but she started with the one song I am familiar with, thanks to its release in the form of a jaw-dropping ‘music video commercial’ during the Grammys. It was always going to be hard to replicate the glorious chaos of that pre-taped ad live on a confined stage, but damn if that didn’t stop her. “Abracadabra” was visually stunning, and she sounded magnificent.
The second performance, of “Killah,” was a cut off of Mayhem that I had not yet heard, but was also vintage Gaga. Starting in the back halls, she traipsed through Studio 8H in her best St. Vincent-meets-Bowie-meets-David Byrne impression, wide-eyed and wild-vocaled. This one was not as immediately catchy a track, and her voice sounded a little more strained (understandable, given her nonstop movement), but it was another electric live performance from one of the best to do it, complete with an 11th-hour costume change.
OVERALL SCORE: 7.41 ('Comedy Only' score: 7.22)
Heading into SNL's first spring break, here’s where the episodes stand-- keep in mind the episode's overall score factors in the musical performance, so what I considered the funniest isn't necessarily the top-rated overall, etc.:
Ariana Grande/Stevie Nicks - 7.46
Lady Gaga - 7.41
Martin Short/Hozier - 7.39
Dave Chappelle/GloRilla - 7.38
Nate Bargatze/Coldplay - 7.27
Charli xcx - 7.21
Michael Keaton/Billie Eilish - 7.18
John Mulaney/Chappell Roan - 7.11
Timothée Chalamet - 6.96
Shane Gillis/Tat McRae - 6.59
Bill Burr/Mk.gee - 6.58
Jean Smart/Jelly Roll - 6.55
Paul Mescal/Shaboozey - 6.38
Chris Rock/Gracie Abrams - 5.50
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