“Saturday Night Live” got in the holiday — er, sorry — Christmas spirit in this week’s cold open, the last of the year. President Trump, performed as usual by the frowning Alec Baldwin, and the first lady, Melania Trump, played by Cecily Strong, trimmed their tree, giving them (and the show) a chance to do a little reminiscing.
Mr. Baldwin remarked that this was “the greatest year in the history of America and maybe the entire Planet Earth,” to which Ms. Strong responded, “Rest in peace.”
Just as it seemed that Mr. Baldwin’s character was going to get presidential at Ms. Strong’s urging, he said, “It’s Christmastime. Soon White Santa will be coming from house to house taking presents from Muslims and illegals and giving them to American children.”
Mr. Baldwin then invited a parade of White House aides to hang ornaments. Kellyanne Conway (Kate McKinnon) offered one with a picture of “disgraced F.B.I. director James Comey.” When Mr. Baldwin asked what she wanted for Christmas, Ms. McKinnon said: “I want out.”
Aidy Bryant showed up as Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, with ornaments that featured mugs of her predecessors, Anthony Scaramucci and Sean Spicer, “whose mangled corpses I stepped over to get this job.”
Vice President Mike Pence (Beck Bennett) was next in line, apologizing for slurring his speech. (He blamed a ginger ale.) Then came this exchange, prompting one of the show’s loudest laughs:
Mr. Baldwin: “Are you here to deck the halls, Mike?”
Mr. Bennett: “Oh, I don’t like that song because it mentions ‘gay apparel.’”
Continue reading the main storyOmarosa Manigault Newman, the White House aide who left her job this week, appeared outside an Oval Office window in the form of Leslie Jones, before being promptly dragged away again (more on her later).
Scarlett Johansson made a cameo as Ivanka Trump, offering an ornament of Roy Moore, the Alabama Republican who on Tuesday lost his bid for the Senate.
“I thought for sure he would win, until he lost, then I said I always knew he would lose,” Mr. Baldwin said, referring to Mr. Moore. “At least America knows that I finally supported an accused child molester.”
Ms. Johansson responded: “As I said, there is a special place in hell and we’re all there.”
Kevin Hart’s Interesting Monologue
Kevin Hart was the “S.N.L.” host (a three-peat), and his monologue focused mostly on having his third child.
I can admit to everybody that I wasn’t — I wasn’t excited about having a baby in the beginning. When we had the idea of having a baby, I wasn’t thrilled. I didn’t know if I wanted the baby. That’s me being honest. Don’t judge me. I’m being honest. I didn’t know if I wanted the baby. The reason why is because I have got two babies already. My daughter is 12. My son is 10. I told my wife, I said, “Babe, I got the best of both worlds. I did it. We married. So technically, those babies are your babies.” That’s what I told her: “Those are your babies, too.” She said, “I know, but they are old and I want new ones.” I said, “Well, first of all, don’t talk about my kids like they’re used cars. Don’t do that. O.K.?” These kids run perfectly fine. There’s nothing wrong with these kids.
The monologue was interesting given that just this week, Mr. Hart had admitted on a New York radio show to cheating on his wife while she was pregnant.
‘Weekend Update’ Character of the Week
Ms. Jones returned as Ms. Newman during “Weekend Update,” insisting that she hadn’t been fired.
“That’s right, I quit,” Ms. Jones said. “I deactivated my I.D. card. Changed the locks on my own office. I escorted myself off the premises. And then I threw myself into the bushes.”
And then a security guard showed up to — once again — escort Ms. Jones off the set.
Or maybe it was the other way around.
“You better take my arm, because I’m escorting you out of the studio,” she said, referring to the guard. “And you better throw me into the Christmas tree.”
‘Weekend Update’ Jokes of the Week
This was the first “S.N.L.” episode since it was announced that Colin Jost and Michael Che would become the co-head writers for the show.
Mr. Jost: “Doug Jones has become the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Alabama in over 20 years. Said Roy Moore: ‘Gross. Over 20 years?’”
Mr. Che: “Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez tweeted, ‘Black women led us to victory and we can’t take that for granted.’
“Hmm, but I bet you will. And you know why? It’s because Democrats know that black people aren’t really Democrats. We just vote for the guy that looks less likely to put us on a boat. Here’s how I vote. I look at both candidates. I listen to them speak and then I ask myself, ‘If I got pulled over, which one of these candidates would I rather see approaching my car?’
“And it’s almost always not the one on a horse.”
Mr. Jost: “Police in Illinois arrested a man for drunk driving after he crashed his car into a ditch and told officers that his name was Burger King. Police then took out their Tasers and had it their way.”
Mr. Che: “The F.C.C. approved a controversial plan to repeal net neutrality regulations. The move was spearheaded by F.C.C. chairman Ajit Pai, who I assume Trump picked because he looked at him one time and thought, ‘I bet this guy does computers.’”
Sketch of the Week
Poor Shaquille O’Neal! This week, “S.N.L.” took on the popular TNT basketball studio crew, featuring Charles Barkley (Kenan Thompson), Kenny Smith (Chris Redd), Ernie Johnson (Alex Moffat) and Mr. O’Neal being played by Mr. Hart. And while there were some digs at Mr. Barkley, the real butt of the sketch was Mr. O’Neal.
At one point, Mr. Hart wished those of the Jewish faith a “Happy Harmonica.” Much of the sketch was non sequiturs from the O’Neal character — which, if you’ve ever watched NBA games on TNT, isn’t too far off.
Here’s a smattering:
“Shaq can’t ride no horse. Feet don’t touch the ground. But you can’t beat a dead horse, because dead horses tell no tales because they’re horses, who lost their tails.”
“Yeah, well, let me tell you something. Every dog has his day. But it’s nighttime — no time for dogs. Dogs don’t sleep. So, it’s cat time. Cats come out at night. Freaks come out at night. Shaq-a-freak.”
At one point, Mr. Thompson responded, “Shaq, it’s like a whole bunch of words got jumbled up in your brain and the fire marshal said, ‘Everybody out!’”
And then there was the physical comedy, when Mr. Hart emerged from behind the studio desk on stilts to convey Mr. O’Neal’s height.
Kudos to Mr. Hart here. His portrayal of Mr. O’Neal wasn’t spot on by any stretch, but it was funny. It was surely a writer’s dream, in which a bunch of random words could be thrown at a performer with a guarantee they would get laughs.
Gross-Out Sketch of the Week
“Office Phone Call” revolved around Mr. Hart, who, instead of just excusing himself and going to the restroom during meetings, concocts elaborate phone calls to leave. This was a great example of the surrounding cast somehow managing to not break character during a sketch that plays to Mr. Hart’s strength: being absurd.
Tonight, we raise our glasses to those who have to play it straight in sketches.
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