SNL Scorecard: Maya Rudolph / Vampire Weekend

Last weekend held the penultimate episode of Saturday Night Live's Season 49. It's crazy to think that we are a. oh so close to having another season in the books, and b. just a few months away from being in the 50th year of the esteemed show.

In a season that's been full of new faces, among the cast, among the writers, and among the selection of hosts, a handful of the recent episodes have gone with a familiar name at top billing, and this episode had perhaps the most familiarity of them all. Musical guests Vampire Weekend, famous around New York City in particular, made their 4th appearance on the show, and the host Maya Rudolph was not only marking her 4th stint as host as well, but of course was also a cast member from 2000-2007.

I mentioned in discussing the Ryan Gosling show how this largely "meh" season had found its real highlights in these episodes with returning hosts, for one reason or another, so you'd be excused if you (like me) thought this show would be perhaps the best yet, given the comedic genius of Maya Rudolph and how the SNL alum could probably run the program at this point if she wanted to. Unfortunately, it didn't pan out that way, and instead went another route that so often seems to be an SNL trend: over-reliance on the comedic giftst and talent of the host to the point of very lazy writing, yielding a sadly underperforming episode. It was a noticeable uptick in quality from the Dua Lipa show last week, to be sure, but still much more in line with, frankly, what we've gotten for most of this season, which is "perfectly fine, perfectly serviceable, but hardly memorable."

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 19th episode of the season:

Sketch of the Night

"Coffee Commercial": 8/10

What a great late-show gem. An absurd premise, Maya Rudolph playing a ridiculous personality, fart humor… this was the exact energy I had been hoping to get from the whole episode.

The Good

“Weekend Update": 8.5/10

This was some of Che and Jost’s best material in a while. I was rolling from start to end with their punchlines. With better appearances (or no appearances) from the walk-on guests, this could have been an all-time. Sarah Sherman’s “RFK’s brainworm” and Heidi Gardner’s “Woman who’s not mad” were pretty much the same level - funny and enjoyable, but seemed to wreck the momentum the co-anchors built up a little bit by just going on a little too long.

“Monologue": 8/10

This one could have gone either way, grade-wise. It wasn’t the funniest writing, at least in terms of punchlines, and I could practically hear Twitter screeching about how “cringe” the co-opting of gay slang for the whole monologue was. But this was an homage, not a mockery, and what a great homage it was, with one of the most showy, impressive, choreographed monologues we’ve seen in recent history. 

“Landscaping Service": 7/10

A simple but clever premise, executed to perfection. Not one for the history books, but a peak 10-to-1 sketch.

"Please Don't Destroy - Explore Page": 7/10

It feels been so long since we got a Please Don’t Destroy video that I was already smiling from just seeing the trio back on the screen. This was not exactly the type of bit they’d return with, but they made the odd premise work. My only real complaint with this one is that it felt like they got to the punchline a little too soon. Maya’s “Uneesa Confidence” was hilarious and I could have watched hours more, but it felt like this sketch could have been elevated by a longer buildup to the big reveal.

"Can You Pick Me Up": 7/10

This one took a while to get going, and I thought it was gonna be weak, or maybe even an overly saccharine “Moms!!! Awwww <3,” but it kicked up several notches when Kenan’s “dad” dynamic showed up as a perfect contrast to Maya’s more savvy mother. The increasing chaos was hilarious.

“British Cavemen": 6.5/10

It’s not that making dumb British accents isn’t a deep well for great humor, it is. You know this just KILLED at read-through, but it just never really came together as a solid sketch here. Highly enjoyable, but more dumb than funny (and I say that as someone that loves dumb humor).

“Hot Ones with Beyoncé 2": 6.5/10

As someone who’s watched a fair amount of Hot Ones videos, the fake sauce names in this one absolutely killed me. Other than that….eh. I didn’t expect them to bring this sketch back, but I guess people did love the original. I felt pretty much the exact same about Maya’s “Beyoncé doing Hot Ones” as I did last time. Maya Rudolph can and will make anything hilarious, but you still have to write actual jokes to make a memorable sketch.

"Mother's Day 2024 Cold Open": 6/10

I don’t how or why SNL started making this an annual Mother’s Day tradition, but it’s sweet. Not really funny, save for a couple moms with surprisingly effortless comedic timing. But very sweet.

"Teacher PSA": 6/10

Students are at all-time lows for intelligence and behavior, and teachers are at an all-time high level of stress and burnout. That’s basically all that’s going on here, a perfectly serviceable sketch with Ego Nwodim’s bit being the only standout.

"Nurse Appreciation": 5.5/10

A nice, silly close to the show, but it just didn’t feel like it went anywhere when it had potential to.

Musical Performances

Vampire Weekend: 8/10

The Vampire Weekend fan in me was very, very excited to hear this choice of musical guest. I’ve been a fan of these twee, quirked-up white boys since their start back in the 2000s, and though their albums have been few and far between in the 15+ years since they began, they don’t have a failed body of work. The SNL fan in me was a little more nervous; I know how often good artists, maybe in particular ones with distinct and original sounds, don’t translate well to this stage, and I remember VW specifically being a victim of that trend and putting on subpar performances in the past. I didn’t want that for them again, especially when performing songs from their latest album Only God Was Above Us, which is easily going to finish as one of the best of 2024.

Anyways, as for how it played out?  Their first performance, of “Gen-X Cops” —which probably would have been my last pick of the album's songs I thought they were going to play —took a little while to find its comfort zone, but ended up being an electric performance with the climactic conclusion the song gives in the studio version.

Same goes for “Capricorn,” which ironically is probably my least favorite song on the album; this performance helped change my mind. What a great slow buildup for the crashing catharsis after the second chorus. This performance took the studio version to another level, for sure. All in all, a great outing for the New York legends.

OVERALL SCORE: 7.00 ('Comedy Only' score: 6.91)