SNL Scorecard: Woody Harrelson / Jack White

Fresh off of what was easily the funniest episode of the year thus far, Saturday Night Live took a 2-week hiatus before returning this past weekend with two familiar faces at the helm. It was a somewhat strange time to take their second-longest break of the season, just a month or so removed from their longest break of the season over Christmas. But one could certainly argue it was a well-earned break, after such a solid start to the calendar year in 2023, and the intrigue would be whether that time away would see the cast and writers rejuvenated and ready to come back with a banger, or if it would be a momentum-buster right as the show was hitting somewhat of a stride.

Unfortunately, it resulted in the latter. I can't say I'm a bona fide fan of either Woody Harrelson or Jack White, but I do have a positive opinion of both, and given that both were making their 5th appearance on the show-- a fact that was touched on multiple times throughout the night --and Harrelson's last couple hosting gigs in recent memory were quite good, I was optimistic about the quality of the episode to come. However, after a strong start to the night, the host's rambling monologue set the night off on a weird note (more on that later), which set the tone for an uneven episode that had a couple memorable moments, but for the most part, was just bizarre and flat.

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

Sketch of the Night

"Cologuard": 8/10

On a night where the live sketches were largely off, it’s no surprise that the biggest highlight was another solid mock ad from SNL, one of the things they do best. This was in line with Adam Sandler’s “Rectix” ad from a couple years ago, in that it’s a medical product that takes an… interesting turn. The second twist at the end was cleverly done, too.

The Good

“Submarine Launch": 7.5/10

This was the most “10-to-1” non-10-to-1 sketch ever. I wonder if it would have made me laugh even harder if it was in the slap-happy hours. As it was, though, I still cracked up throughout the whole thing; this was a clever way to integrate internet humor with real-world contexts.

“Trump Train Visit Cold Open": 7.5/10

If you recall, before the break, SNL had actually put together a couple unusually strong Cold Opens back-to-back. They maintained the momentum with this one, which employed the foolproof strategy of letting James Austin Johnson just riff in his spectacular Trump impression. My absolute disdain for the fact that Trump is once again going to be in the public eye is offset only by the potential for more “JAJ as Trump" sketches. Unfortunately, they ruined the momentum with poor use of Chloe Fineman as the Georgia lead juror, whose real-life TV appearances basically made her a ready-made SNL character. This might have been rated even higher with a better application of her character, or without her altogether.

"Weekend Update": 7/10

“Hit or miss” was the theme of this Update segment, and there were more hits than misses, fortunately. But it was far from the most consistent performance from the co-hosts, with some really funny moments offset by several “meh” one-liners as well. “Hit or miss” extended to the guests, too: the studio audience must not have been really familiar with who Bill Walton is, because JAJ’s impression was dead on and delightful. Heidi Gardner’s ‘mom who loves her son,’ though, was a little too one-note, and ended Update on a weird vibe.

"Jail Scene": 6.5/10

This was less bonkers than many of the “fresh out the gates” sketches this season, but still a pretty random idea for a joke. I thought the extent of it was just going to be Ego Nwodim and Kenan making the occasional dig in the background, and didn’t expect them to become the main characters. I cracked up at all the talking over each other, though. It was a simple bit, but I enjoyed it.

“Please Don't Destroy - The Stakeout": 6/10

I love the Please Don’t Destroy guys, and Ben in particular has been the one that’s cracked me up the most, dating back to their days of Twitter/Instagram fame. Which is why it pains me to say it, but I think this Ben-centric one was their weakest sketch yet, at least of the ones that have made the live show. To be clear, it was still humorous, and more good than bad; the reveal and Woody Harrelson brandishing a gun were both laugh-out-loud moments. I think it just felt a touch too bizarre; their schtick seems to work best when it really is just the three of them in their small writing office, and taking them to a completely new setting didn’t really work as well in this case.

"Beautiful Gym": 6/10

Okay, I get it now: this definitely had to be the 10-to-1 sketch. It never really went anywhere, to be honest, but I appreciated the concept of “gym bros, but make it boujee and homoerotic.”

The... Less-Good

“The Hippo": 5/10

This was a decently funny bit, and whether intentionally or unintentionally, raised some good questions about method acting and prosthetics in movies. But nothing really compared, humor-wise, to the reveal of Woody Harrelson in the fat suit; everything else felt less funny or fresh from that point forward.

“Monologue": 4.5/10

It’s Woody Harrelson, so a bit spacey and all over the place should be expected. But wow, was this spacey and all over the place. I had a smile on my face most of the time, and there were a couple hilarious moments, but for the most part this just seemed a bit too wandering to keep the audience on board. I initially rated this slightly higher when I wondered if I was imagining what seemed to be a thinly veiled anti-vax gag at the end of his monologue. Seeing so many Internet voices picking up on what I picked up on, though, confirms my fears. Look, to each their own, and I’m not going to decry Harrelson his personal opinions, however dumb they may be, but there’s no question it was an incredibly awkward way to end the monologue and segue into the rest of the show.

“Slingshot": 3.5/10

This wasn’t offensive or painful in any way, just dumb. Kenan’s joke about “painting the planes” made me laugh, but the rest of the 'humor’ was supposed to just be that he passes out on rollercoasters, I guess? There are like a million YouTube videos of real-life people having this exact reaction, so it’s not exactly a novel concept. This felt very much like a half-realized idea of a sketch.

Musical Performances

Jack White: 8/10

I’ve always been more of an appreciator of Jack White than a fan, which is something I feel like I’ve said about numerous musical guests this season. But, I had in mind his musical performance in one of the early “COVID season” episodes a few long years ago, and how much he rocked the place despite the weird setting, so I was optimistic about him as a performer.

Boy, he did not disappoint in terms of bringing the energy. His first performance, a medley of two tracks off his 2022 album Fear Of The Dawn, turned the enthusiasm up to an 11. In truth, it was so chaotic and screechy at times that I actually couldn’t tell how much was intentional, and how much (if at all) were him or his band playing some bum chords, but it certainly was a face-melter. His second song, “A Tip From You To Me,” considerably more chill, brought a much different energy near the end of the show, but arguably sounded even better, both musically and vocally.

OVERALL SCORE: 6.32 ('Comedy Only' score: 6.15)