A playful competitive spirit is at the heart of the Steve Martin and Martin Short partnership. So, by that logical extension, the two of you should be the funniest when imagining yourself at each other’s funerals.
That was the idea behind the opening monologue of this weekend’s Saturday Night Live. It paired the perennially popular comedian (and star of the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building) as hosts for a holiday-themed broadcast. Musical guest Brandi Carlisle.
At the entrance, Short and Martin humorously step into each other’s conversations, comparing how many times they’ve hosted “SNL” solo (Martin’s a whopping 16, Short’s just 3), and nostalgia for the early days of the series. indulged in Showing him a photo of himself with Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi and Mick Jagger, Martin joked after taking the picture that he “all tested positive.”
Then some good-natured zingers at the expense of each other. Working with Short is “like World Cup football. For some reason, you just don’t get into it,” says Martin.
Seeing Hulu’s show “like Steve in a urinal. Streamed for 32 minutes,” there was a brief backlash.
Martin then set the segment’s central premise, stating that he realized Short had not lived forever. ”
“So I thought: why wait?” he continued. “So what I did was write your eulogy so you can hear it now.”
Starting with a hypothetical remark, Martin said: Marty did not want cremation. he was too late But Marty’s last words, “Tesla Autopilot, Engage,” always haunt me. ”
Short then launched his own tribute, stating: But this doesn’t seem to be the time or place. He said, “Steve always looked down on everyone, so I know he’s looking down on us now.”
Martin said of Short: But sadly, that was before he played Jack Frost in Santa Claus 3. ”
And Short said of Martin, “Seeing you in a coffin reminds me of the classic SNL sketch Dick in a Box.”
Finally, Martin aloud wondered, “With Marty gone, who can I work with?” That’s the clue to the cameo appearance of her co-star Selena Gomez in “Only Murders,” asking, “What about me?”
This week’s new holiday criteria
In this week’s opening sketch, “SNL” skips the familiar topical satire and finds Bowen Yang, Cecily Strong, and Keenan Thompson standing in front of a Christmas tree to discuss how to deal with the anxiety that’s built up over the past few months. I gave priority to the part of the music that I was worried about. (Yang cited the main sources of concern: “War, climate change, documentary about Prince Harry Meghan Markle”.
Interrupting the song, they explained that the vacation had no problem putting off their personal worries for a few more weeks. sang.
In another poem, Yang asked: / Years ago, didn’t we all basically agree /Shouldn’t Hitler ever come back?” (Thompson said, “And why are his new fans black?” ?”)
Old holiday criteria for this week
Like the Irving Berlin composition that inspired it, the 1954 film musical White Christmas may become a seasonal classic. But let’s admit there are at least some odd numbers. like “snow” Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, and Danny Kaye board the train and squat about the freezing precipitation like they’ve never encountered it before.
That scene is absurdly affectionately parodied in this sketch, with Short, Martin, and Strong singing feverishly about snow, even though they don’t seem to understand what it is. (If you like watching Short and Martin in the Christmas sketches, enjoy these more segments they perform. department store santa and elf and run An overly violent reimagining of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. )
Weekend Update Joke of the Week
On the Weekend Update desk, anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che discuss the aftermath of the 2022 midterm elections and Basketball player Britney Griner released As part of a prisoner exchange with Russia.
Jost started:
It looks like it’s going to be a good week for Joe Biden. He got Britney Griner back, kept his marriage gay, and only got 14 more sleeps until Santa. Arizona Senator Kirsten Cinema announced that she had left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent after noticing that someone was actually waving at the person behind her. Please be careful,” he explained.
He continued:
WNBA star Britney Griner has been released from prison in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Bout said he averaged 5 points per game and he only had 2 rebounds, so this is actually a great trade.
Che then pivoted to the Georgia spill.
Raphael Warnock defeated Herschel Walker in Georgia’s Senate runoff. But I don’t think this is the last we’ll hear from Herschel Walker. That is, unless he is your biological father. Raphael Warnock’s victory means Senate Democrats won’t have to rely on Vice President Harris for a tiebreaking vote. Harris can now focus on his top priorities while waiting for the bike accident to get worse. [A screen behind Che shows President Biden falling off a bike.]
90s nostalgia this week
If you’re going to put Martin and Short together in a series of pop culture comedy sketches, you’d better pay homage to either “Three Amigos” or “Father of the Bride.”
“SNL” chose the latter with this bogus ad for “Father of the Bride Part 8.” The ad casts Martin as the titular father, Heidi her Gardner as her menopausal daughter preparing for her eighth marriage, and Short as her planner for a glamorous wedding. Kieran Culkin as a character and himself is a reminder that yes, he really was in the previous installments of the franchise.