SNL S50 E14: Lady Gaga Returns

Lady Gaga returned to host Saturday Night Live for the second time, and her fifth time as the musical guest. We know that Gaga is super-talented and she didn’t disappoint.  The sketches were fun and weird, and she fully committed in every sketch.  So let’s get into it!

Cold Open

This week’s cold open centered around the dynamic duo, Trump (James Austin Johnson) and Elon Musk (Mike Myers), addressing the alleged shouting match between Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernandez) and Elon as Trump attempts to smooth things over. As Marco is talking, we hear Trump’s inner monologue through voiceover. After going on about Adrian Brody and Waluigi, he asks himself, “What is this? I’m thinking things, but I’m not saying them out loud. I should do this more often. I won’t, but I should. “ Ah, if only.

Mike Myers is back, as the wacky cyborg/unelected president.  He does his bizarre little dance, before having his own inner monologue about how his plan is working, except that everyone seems to hate him, Tesla stock is crashing, and his personal net worth has decreased by “100 billion dollars”, in the voice of Dr. Evil, as he raises his pinky to his mouth. I’m seeing a running bit here with the Elon-Mike Myers-Dr. Evil connection.

A Long Goodbye

The sketch starts out with Marcelo Hernandez and Lady Gaga as Jeremy and Alicia, a couple breaking up because she is leaving for cooking school in Paris. Jeremy tells her to go have a delicious life, and she rides off on the rideable luggage he gifted her. 

As she is riding the suitcase on the highway on her way to the airport, she’s approached by a gang called the ‘Sons of Samsonite’, who have been riding luggage from New Jersey to New York for the last three years. They tell her there are culinary schools all over the world but love is rare.

Then we see Jeremy, coming after her, on a suitcase. They weave through the studio, scaffolding serving as a tunnel, and back to the green-screen airport backdrop, but she’s missed her flight because it left three hours ago. Apparently rideable luggage, while convenient, isn’t the quickest way to get around.  Jeremy tells her he’s going to Paris with her, and she looks forward to their delicious life.  

I enjoyed this, and while not super LOL funny, it felt fresh, weird and different.

Midnight Matinee

I’ve really been enjoying the midnight matinee series. A unique kind of digital short, usually having a relatable premise with a dark twist. This one centers around a high school weightlifting competition. Marcello plays the jock and bully to fellow student, Pip, who also happens to be a mouse. He declares that Pip couldn’t possibly win the competition, as the class bursts into laughter.

Gaga plays Pip’s friend, singing to him an encouraging song, as we see a training montage of Pip getting into shape. On the day of the competition, Pip is the last competitor and has to lift more than 500 pounds to beat Marcello. Sadly, he’s only able to lift two ounces and must suffer the ridicule of the entire school – or at least the people in the gymnasium. Just then, the ceiling collapses, trapping students under the debris. The teachers attempt to lift a heavy metal beam off of Marcello, but can’t – it’s about two ounces too heavy. The beam is then miraculously lifted off of him by who else but Pip. Marcello gives a heartfelt speech, expressing his remorse, but it goes on for too long and Pip drops the beam on him, splattering blood onto the crowd. Was it an accident? Did the beam just get too heavy? We’ll never know. A delightfully twisted ending.

Easy Run Mascara

This commercial for L’Oréal’s Easy Run mascara, was one of the highlights of the episode. It’s basically a low-quality mascara that runs easily, making it look like you’ve been crying, for those times when you just need the attention. The mascara that says, “Yes, I’ve been crying, and no, I’m not okay.”  Spectacularly unhinged, with a touch of darkness in perhaps my favorite line, “Funerals are for everyone, why should the widow get all the attention?“

Weekend Update

Mikey Day won Update this week, playing Lord Gaga, Lady Gaga’s husband. He’s dressed as someone from the 1800’s, and refers to his wife’s career as her hobby, thanking SNL for indulging her. When Colin Jost points out how successful Lord Gaga’s wife truly is, having won 14 Grammys and an Oscar, Lord Gaga deflects, implying that her career doesn’t pay well.

He goes on to talk about how shameful it would be for a husband, to have a wife who makes more money than him. How embarrassing it would be to sit behind the Update desk, “knowing your wife’s income dwarfs your own.” Clearly roasting Colin, whose wife, Scarlett Johannsen’s net worth is significantly higher than his own.  Watching the Weekend Update guests make fun of Colin never gets old, and he and ScarJo have an awesome sense of humor about it all.

Friendly’s Birthday

Four friends are eating at Friendly’s, and as the staff sings the “Friendly’s Birthday Song” to another customer, Bowen’s character tells Jenny (Heidi Gardner) that he told them it was her birthday. She gets nervous and her friends tell her not to worry about it, it’s not like she’ll get in trouble.

The employees then ask her to swear that it is her birthday, and she says that it is. The restaurant then gets darker, as they question her further. The staff is then dressed in red hooded capes and Keenan Thompson says, “When you lie about a birthday at Friendly’s, you must pay the ultimate price.”  They summon Lamashtu, and Jenny has to drink a cup of his blood. The restaurant has transformed into a full satanic ritual, complete with demons and a python, and Jenny must go into the “cage of false birthdays”.  The sketch ends with the friends being given the birthday sundae – made from Jenny’s heart with a little birthday hat, and the slogan “Friendly’s – don’t you dare lie to us”.   

I loved how ridiculous this was, taking that relatable situation of lying about it being someone’s birthday, and the inevitable worry of being found out – and taking the punishment to the extreme.

Parting Thoughts

This was a really funny episode and Bowen Yang and Lady Gaga together was so fun to watch. Gaga’s performances of “Abracadabra” and “Killah” were incredible, with extravagant sets and choreography, and she is amazing.  I haven’t seen her live, but I think I need to. 

The show is off until March 29^th with the host not yet announced.  We have six episodes left in Season 50 and can’t wait to see what’s in store.  Thanks for reading!