When I hear about comedian Shane Gillis, it’s like when someone talks to me about New England for too long: my eyes glaze over because that is not my business. That is white people’s business to sort out amongst yourselves. I entered this episode understanding that I am not Gillis’s target audience, and he doesn’t need me to be.
Being fired from Saturday Night Live in 2019 for those little resurfaced podcast clips seems like it worked out well for Gillis: he’s got a fanbase, a successful podcast, and a thriving career among people who love using the bald eagle emoji and have alarming browser histories. Lorne Michaels told The Wall Street Journal last October that he was angry when NBC higher-ups decided to fire Gillis, and considering this is Gillis’s second hosting stint in two years, it seems like Michael’s sentiment still stands. I will say that it is impressive to leave a job unceremoniously and be welcomed back so emphatically. When I quit my job as a fact-checker at this magazine, my boss said, quite literally, “No problem.”
Clearly, Gillis has something I don’t, so I tried to go in with an open mind and heart. I watched some podcast clips beforehand, which I found incomprehensible. But perhaps this episode would surprise me. Perhaps it would somehow change my opinion towards the right-wing podcasting community.
It did not change my opinion, and I did not really have fun, but it met my expectations, which were low. You know you’re down bad when you’re viscerally relieved to see Colin Jost. Well, that’s not exactly true: I’m happy to stand up to the haters to say that I like Jost, but you get the point. Thematically, it felt like an episode where each sketch feels like one you’d send to someone’s dad: for a “regular guy” who “doesn’t want to talk about politics.” Gilis has been talked about as a guy who has broader appeal across the political spectrum. But to me, it feels like the “broadness” is pretty narrow to his fanbase, which is who this episode catered to in a way that felt limiting.
Gillis started his monologue with the assumption that he’d lose the audience. The SNL audience doesn’t have anywhere to be, and if you want to get them on your side, you can. There were a couple of pops, including a Joe Biden impression, that worked well. The rest of it felt halfhearted, like a bit about Trump wanting Greenland that sort of just trails off. The sketches played to Gillis’ strengths of playing some kind of “everyman”: a dad, an alcoholic, a few weird, gross guys, et cetera. And I didn’t just come here to be a hater (that’s for texts). There are glimpses of how he could’ve been used positively as a featured player, like in “Winery Tour,” he plays a hapless boyfriend who can’t photograph or pose for Instagram. At one point, his girlfriend (played by Heidi Gardner) coaches him into posing using increasingly goofy directions, and Gillis delivers. When Gillis was having fun (like in “Doctor’s Office,” alongside Emil Wakim), the audience was too. And there were other moments across the show, too. I just wonder how much having to write around his whole vibe stunted the possibilities of what could’ve been a sillier, weirder episode. Overall, it was a pretty rough watch, with the return of the Mid-Day News sketch and Weekend Update as the high point. Tate McRae, who I recently learned is different from Addison Rae, was very good.
Here are the highlights:
Everyone does well in this, but it’s Bowen Yang’s JD Vance (“…haven’t said thank you once in the fifteen seconds I’ve been yelling at you.”) and Marcello Hernandez’ ‘s sullied Marco Rubio that get me. Also, shout out to whoever worked on Hernandez’s hair, makeup, and costume — making the Rubio hairline so far up made his facial expressions more pronounced and added to the sketch. Also, Mike Myers popped in as Elon Musk, which worked for me.
This depression commercial parody is a high contender for getting sent to fathers worldwide. The no-pants intervention reveal was silly, and Gillis sells it throughout. I don’t think it worked for me, but I appreciated it for what it was.
This is easily the best sketch of the night. I’m glad they brought this one back. Ego Nwodim is a star, and Gillis is sharp in it, too. (Maybe a little too comfortable? Well, for our purposes, it worked). So many great lines in a quick-paced game that escalates in a satisfying way.
In this Please Don’t Destroy short about a music competition (“Let’s see if you have The Voice … The Sound, sorry.”), a contestant (Gillis) has the voice (sound, sorry) of an angel, and all four judges hit the button to turn around. Turns out he’s a weird freak, and the judges keep going back and forth on whether they want to move him forward. The game of being repulsed but then pulled back into wanting to give him a chance heightens and moves quickly, and there’s strong character work from everyone involved. Martin Herlihy’s British guy and Ego Nwodim’s character zooming away on her chair really tickled me.
Weekend Update felt sharp and well-paced. Some favorites included Colin Jost on Elon Musk and Karla Sofía Gascón and Michael Che on the Black hosts leaving MSNBC (“Only one more to go.”). The Andrew Cuomo joke really got me. (What can I say? I love it when someone makes a goofy sound). Jane Wickline’s trolley problem song was dark and silly and augmented by a trolley problem image for those of us at home. Marcello Hernandez’s movie guy character, a bombastic enthusiast who has not seen movies but loves Spongebob, was also really fun.
• Tate McRae! I’m experiencing early-onset entry into “learning about musical guests from SNL.” Her performance of “Sports Car” was fun and sexy, and she had incredible choreography. She felt very Britney. Congrats on this diva for having a good night. A friend (Tate fan) told me that Tate fans are called “Tater Tots.” (Or maybe it was just “Taters?” “Tates?” The bar was very loud).
• Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim got to work this episode (and thank god).
• In “Winery Tour”: “Act like you have an egg in your mouth. Egg in your mouth and smile with your nose. Hands out like you’re catching a baby.” I said it earlier, but this felt like a strength for Gillis. Maybe a missed opportunity to not be sillier and weirder.
• I’m sad at what could’ve been with some of these sketches. Some could’ve gone veering into the absurd but stayed one-note. During “Wedding Interruption,” where a bride has to answer for a bunch of redeemable sex coupons she’s handed out over the years, I wrote “What are we doing here?” in my notes, and then wrote it again because I forgot I already wrote that down.
• I was half-expecting another male podcaster sketch, but maybe too close to Shane Gillis’ whole thing?
• A sweet tribute to David Johansen at the end.
