Hello boils and ghouls, welcome toSNL in Review: Halloween edition as stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze hostsSaturday Night Livethis week with musical guestFoo Fighters.
Usually, episodes like tonight produce sketches that tap into the macabre.SNLhas a storied history of this, likeDavid S. Pumpkinsor the infamousFear performance.
Horror comedy is an illusive brand of humor, lots of hits and a ton of misses. I am joined tonight by former cast member Gary Kroeger. His favorite horror comedy isBeetlejuice, which is fitting as one of his firstSNLepisodes back in season 8 was hosted by Michael Keaton… on Oct. 30, the Halloween show. He says: "All I remember about the Michael Keaton show is that I thought we let him down. He was there every day staying late, fully committed to being part of the process, but I don't think the show showcased his talent very well."
I asked Gary what audiences should expect with a stand-up like Bargatze in charge tonight: "A stand-up is the host that the writers feel most free with. There's a feeling that there is no reason to limit what they do because it's going to be funny regardless. Stand-ups know how to deliver the joke and so the comedic thread of a sketch is never lost on them. When I was on the show the best examples were George Carlin and Eddie Murphy.
Both transcended easy definitions, but they knew where the joke was no matter what they were doing. And if a sketch were going south they had instincts to save it. Don Rickles was another example. Rickles in one sketch just decided to go off script and the result was hysterical, even for those of us standing in front of the camera. I, I proudly recall, did not break character!"
Here's hoping tonight's show will be equally hilarious! (And, maybe, include some scares.)
In an interesting development,Mikey Dayis playing President Joe Biden, celebrating Halloween in the Oval Office. This is classically executed – I can't tell if Day has his own take on Biden, or if he's channeling James Austin Johnson. Let's brace ourselves for more of this, with Donald Trump as the presumptive 2023 GOP nominee.
A new aide enters the room – actually, no, it's the new Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (Michael Longfellow). He is very bland, and has an "adult Black son" (Devon Walker). Kroeger shares: "The new political impressions are rock solid! As nuanced as ever. We have a new House Speaker and I thinkSNLwill have a field day with this ultra-conservative, tin hat wearing clown from Louisiana."
Another surprise!Christopher Walkenshows up. He is playing the Spirit of Halloween. In South America, they maybe call him Papa Pumpkin. This is his first appearance on the show since 2008! Pretty interesting cold open. A glimpse into the next year.
More on Day: It is tough to do a really fresh Biden, in my view. Kroeger says: "I loved doing political figure impressions. Besides Mondale, Ted Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy, I did do Yassir Arafat on a Donahue spoof… With Mondale I looked for a sympathetic approach… I developed imitations by listening to hook phrases. I didn't need more than a couple of days with a recording of anyone to find that phrase that put my vocal chords in the right position. But it's more than just a voice, you also look for something to exploit in their personality. For me, Bobby Kennedy was always trying to please his brother, and that gave me - with Joe Piscopo as JFK - an angle for the sketch. With Teddy, sadly, it was his need to absolve himself of guilt."
Monologue
Bargatze comes out to discuss the future, picking up his daughter and county fairs — really solid bits I assume are from his stand-up act. He shares that his dad was a magician growing up, back in the '80s — when you could fistfight an orangutan. The crowd is into this episode. Bargatze is a little nervous, but holds himself well. This is obviously a breakthrough moment for him, and he delivers. It's fun giving someone less traditional a chance to host ("I'm as shocked as you are that I'm here," he tells viewers). In previous eras of the show, bookers had to be more creative with their choices. I recommend watching this monologue to get a sense why he's become so popular. It's a solid block of stand-up and just fun watching someone make the most of their moment, like that Mark Walhberg movieRock Star.
Gary Kroeger says: "I loved Nate Bargatze the first time I saw him a few years ago. He is the non comic, comic. Meaning he is just telling stories that — at least seem — real and how he relates his authentic persona to the situation is the source of the humor. He is an Everyman who is not every man. How he admits his shortcomings is so relatable that you laugh at him even if his jokes aren't told in a classic, set-up/punchline format. He is the upper echelon of working stand-ups even though his approach is very different. It isn't wildly observational or acutely satirical; he is, instead, the funniest guy at the barbeque with the hysterical story about what just happened to him."
"Chef Show"
Contestants visited a historic Black church to learn the origins of soul food. A few years ago, Louis CK might have played Nate Bargatze's part here. "Yes, I'm sorry," Dougie (Bargatze) says in a twist after he's announced as the winner. He's a white guy from Rhode Island. The judges (Kenan Thompson,Punkie Johnson) are very confused.Top ChefhostPadma Lakshishows up as another sign that the show is working around the strike by using other types of performers. This fall, a chilling new vision of horror! This trailer is essentiallyA Christmas PrincemeetsMama. Two almost human actors with human sounding voices find each other in their quaint hometown, in this funny spoof of terrible tropes. Hallmark has cornered the market on Christmas, now they are going after Halloween. This is funny! Watch it. FormerSNLcast memberVictoria Jacksonweighs in that she is "LOVING SNL tonight! Nate Barghazi did a smart, funny, great monologue and the first two sketches were excellent!" In a new country, there are a lot of questions – with these Revolutionary War soldiers, they question George Washington about the metric system, temperature scales and George Carlin-esque trivia about the game of football. Remember whenRussell Brand played George Washington? (Fallon also played thefirst president on Update once.) Kroeger says: "The cast seems to be more and more ensemble driven than in past years. Maybe that's simply because it takes time to emerge as prominently as past stars, but I'm watching James Austin Johnson and Michael Longfellow. Molly Kearney is terrific. Chloe Fineman is the emerging, if not already emerged, presence on the show. And Mikey Day! And Bowen Yang! In short, the show is in no short supply of new talent." Jackson says she enjoyed "the brilliant ending to the George Washington sketch — which had to have been written or highly influenced by Nate — had a brilliant racist reference ending. Racism was handled funny in a couple of the sketches, the cooking show sketch. Nate's deadpan face and him staying in character really allows me to laugh." This parody song is a direct concept from JAJ's stand-up. When he frames it, it's a spoof of post 9/11 country music, and how terrible and trite it is. This music video still works, but I think that context makes the concept work even better. Funny to seeDave Grohlhere. Jackson says: "I have lived in Nashville 11 years now. Lake Beach music video was spot on." SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher (Sarah Sherman) warns kids from becoming scabs during the actors' strike. This is barbed — I like it! It is taking shots, and Sherman is really funny channeling the quirkyNannystar-turned-labor leader. Recently, SAG-AFTRA released guidelines for members looking to "celebrate Halloween this year while also staying in solidarity" with the strike. The union encourages members to "dress up as characters from non-struck content, like an animated TV show." It's been mocked and criticized – Drescher gets hit too, but Sherman lands a nice pro-union moment about breaking off a piece of Kit Kat bars… metaphorically speaking. This is a classic. But let's go a bit deeper. Tonight's episode continues the show relying on stand-ups and non-actors this season as the actors' strike continues, which has drawn some criticism. I asked Gary for his thoughts, given he's an actor and proud union man. He has this nuanced take: "A show has an obligation to their audience as well as the company of actors. In terms of a comedy show, the obligation is to bring comedy to the screen. But you also have to show solidarity to the union that protects you. The loophole you mention is of course the SAG Net Code which covers talk and reality performers but I think putting comedic actors into that category is a stretch. Nevertheless, that is the loophole, it is provided, so why not take it? The question is, does this diminish the effectiveness of the strike? I think it does… [still] if I were onSNLI'd probably be right there working on the show and happy to be working.""Hallmark Horror"
"Washington's Dream"
"Lake Beach"
"Trick or Treating"
