After A Poor Monologue Bill Burr Delivers Laughs On 'SNL' With Mk ...

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — Episode 1870 — Pictured: (l-r) Musical guest Mk.gee, host Bill Burr and Sarah ... [+] Sherman during Promos in Studio 8H on Thursday, November 7, 2024 —

Rosalind O'Connor/NBC via Getty Images

Bill Burr returned to Saturday Night Live to host for his second time and was joined by musical guest Mk.gee. Burr previously hosted in October of 2020 and turned some heads with what some dubbed an offensive and crass monologue. Similarly, this week’s episode was a little crass; however, other than a disappointing monologue from Burr, this episode was very funny. After Tuesday’s election, maybe we could all use a laugh.

Overall, this episode showcased more of the cast than in past weeks and delivered some great laughs. There were a couple of missteps and a surprising number of jokes about abuse sprinkled in. However, this episode also has a lot of laugh-out-loud sketches and felt like a strong week for the show.

Cold Open

This week’s cold open featured a message from Bowen Yang, Heidi Gardner, Kenan Thompson, Colin Jost, Marcello Hernadez, Sarah Sherman and Ego Nwodim, namely that they were pro-Trump this whole time. SNL has become synonymous with its political cold opens, and their obvious lie really works here. Coming back after the election was a hard task, and this could have easily gone wrong, but this cold open handled it masterfully.

Monologue

Burr’s monologue was easily the low point of the week. It is surprising when a stand-up comedian’s monologue goes wrong. Maybe audiences hold comedians to higher standards than pop stars or actors. Maybe Burr’s brand of humor is a poor fit for SNL. Even with these factors, this monologue really doesn’t work. Last week, John Mulaney started with a disappointing joke about Asians but saved his monologue by the end. This week, Burr started with a disappointing joke about Asians but didn’t win the audience back over, and it is pretty palpable.

Rorschach Test

This sketch follows a psychological test at a firehouse where one firefighter keeps seeing sexualized art of cartoon characters. This sketch is crude and a little dumb but really funny. There is something great about how the audience is shown both what he is seeing and what the other firefighters see.

Buffalo Wild Wings

The sketch is a commercial for Buffalo Wild Wings that gets interrupted by a very Boston fan. While this sketch is very similar to a Dunkin Donuts commercial parody from 2016, Burr really sells his performance as a disgruntled Patriots fan. It isn’t breaking any molds, but it has a lot of great little moments.

Sex Rock CD

Sex Rock CD follows a son talking to his father about a hair metal band from the 1980s. The framing device is somewhat confusing, as it starts as a commercial for a Best of CD that isn’t perfectly carried throughout tonally. However, it doesn’t really matter because this sketch is really fun. It is hard not to laugh every time they cut to the band, Snake Skin. Andrew Dismukes, Sherman and Johnson are just so likable as the band.

The Janitor

A Good Will Hunting Parody doesn’t feel exactly timely in 2024, but this one is really good. The sketch follows a mathematically brilliant MIT janitor who fails to clean up a large pile of puke. While the humor is a little gross, the attention to detail (even the music is evocative of Good Will Hunting’s iconic score), the heightening, Johnson’s Robin Williams impression and physical comedy make this sketch great.

Calling Dad

In this sketch, Devon Walker and Dismukes try to call their dads to talk on the phone. While this sketch is funny, there is a quiet heartbreak to it as it explores how men often don’t feel empowered about their feelings, even with those close to them. Many of the sketches in this episode look at masculinity and this one really works.

Mk.gee

Mk.gee played two songs: ROCKMAN and Alesis. While this writer was not familiar with the rocker before this episode, Mk.gee’s performances were cool in a dreamy, 1980s-evocative, indie kind of way.

Weekend Update

This week’s Weekend Update had some good jokes. There is something funny about Michael Che drinking at the desk. Nwodim and Thompson delivered solid characters. However, overall, it wasn’t wildly memorable.

Bald Guys

Last week, Mulaney brought back a long-running musical sketch about New Yorkers ordering food at odd places. While the first time he did the premise, it felt inspired (when it was about ordering lobster at a diner set to the music of Les Miserables), it had become stale the multiple times they have done it since. However, this sketch feels like a spiritual successor to Diner Lobster. It takes a big swing that might not be for everyone, but it feels inventive and risky. The sketch starts with two people on a date where nothing strange has happened and ends with an original musical number about being bald.

Trauma Support Group

There is nothing wrong with this sketch. However, it is eclipsed by other sketches this week. Yang delivers a characteristically good performance as a man who makes his group therapy session all about him. If this had aired another week, it may have even been a stand out, but this episode had some really amazing sketches.

I Got One

This sketch feels like classic SNL. Newcomer Ashley Padilla shines as a woman who tries to tell a joke at a work dinner. It is bizarre in all the right ways.

SNL returns next week on November 16 with Charlie XCX as both the host and musical guest.