Episode 88 - Lady Gaga (Season 50)

[00:00:05] It's the Ten to One Podcast with your host Brad Olman, featuring Ben Conowitz and Nate Laux. And here's the podcast! Hello everyone, welcome to our podcast. It might sound a little bit different. It might sound a little weird, the audio might not be as good as it usually is because we're recording remotely. Why are we recording remotely guys?

[00:00:34] Well, Ben, would you like to explain? I mean, my two kids have horrible fevers and influenza A, and so Brad didn't want to come over because he doesn't like my kids. Yep, that's what it was. That's actually pretty much the right idea. We're being safe than sorry, right? We're being more safe than sorry here guys.

[00:00:59] Yeah, it is one of those things where we're trying to, because Brad's going to Nashville, I think in a couple days. Yeah, so trying to keep him healthy and Ben sick. So, but we're excited to talk SNL. We didn't want to miss an episode of a week. And, you know, when Lady Gaga is on, you gotta talk about Lady Gaga.

[00:01:26] Now, I was not familiar with Lady Gaga until this show. Were you guys aware of who she was? I, as a huge Joker Folie Droit fan, that's all really the only reason I knew her. I love that you pronounced that, tried to pronounce it correctly and came off infinitely worse. Yeah, because I don't even try to pronounce it. It's Folie Droit. Oh, no. Oh, no.

[00:01:55] It's Folgris. Folgris. Yeah. So, before we dig into the meat and potatoes of this new episode, I wanted to give a quick shout out to the Lonely Island Seth Meyers podcast, because they did do an entire episode talking about the 50th anniversary special, which is a lot of fun to listen to.

[00:02:14] Because not only do they talk about the special itself, but they also talk about the homecoming concert, since there were a lot of bits and cool things that happened there, including the Lonely Island medley that was such a big hit. And they do talk about putting together the anxiety song and sketch for the 50th anniversary. And so, there's a lot of good stuff in that episode, too, that you should go listen to if you haven't checked it out already. Yeah, I haven't listened to that one yet. I am caught up, but just not to that one.

[00:02:42] And I wanted to mention, too, something about, before we get into recapping and reviewing each sketch, Lady Gaga is actually a member of the Five Timers Club now, and they didn't celebrate it. But we don't celebrate musical guests five timers, right? Oh, so she's been on the show five times, but she hasn't hosted five times. Yes, she's hosted twice that she's hosted now. Yeah. This is her fifth appearance as a musical guest. Yeah, that's not a thing.

[00:03:12] Oh, so I do think that they do get some kind of special recognition for it being your fifth time as a musical guest. Not in the way that they do when it's your fifth time hosting. But, yeah, so that's probably why they didn't do it. Yeah, they didn't really do anything. I thought that was a missed opportunity. Though, you could tell, like, just also just following all the cast members, this is a cast that loves Lady Gaga. Oh, yeah. Bo and Yang particularly loves himself, some Lady Gaga, and they were having a lot of fun this episode.

[00:03:41] Yeah, Bo and Yang has an Alejandro tattoo on his arm. Does he? I didn't know that. He does. I didn't know. Yeah. Okay, so he's a big deal. All right, you guys ready to get into this? Yeah, let's dig into this episode of Oops, All 10 to 1. Oh, my God. I'm so glad you said that because I thought the exact same thing. Right out of the gate, I was like, holy shit, they're really blowing their 10 to 1, like, wad early. And that's like, oh, nope, they got them all. All right, cold open Trump, Musk, and Rubio meeting.

[00:04:11] This featured James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump. Marcelo Hernandez as Marco Rubio. And former cast member and Canadian Mike Myers making a cameo again as Elon Musk with Mike Myers incorporating his Dr. Evil reference. Donald Trump attempts to keep the peace between Marco Rubio and Elon Musk during a meeting at the Oval Office.

[00:04:32] This is allegedly something that actually happened with Marco Rubio yelling at Elon Musk for essentially firing people in the Secretary of State's office or Secretary of State's without Marco Rubio knowing and approving of it. And, you know, essentially Rubio saying that Elon Musk is overstepping his policies kind of things. So they bring this to the show. What do you guys think?

[00:05:02] We'll start with you, Ben. Did you think that this was a good political cold open? What do you think of that? But also, what do you think of Mike Myers in this? So this is this is fully I am fully understanding that this is Mike Myers as the human version of the cat in the hat doing Elon Musk. That's all this is. I see if you see we've watched Brad and I watched cat in the hat not that long ago. These are full on cat in the hat mannerisms.

[00:05:30] And yes, Elon Musk shares a little bit of the jumping around and things like that and the hand gestures. But I am I am just convinced that he's like, nobody's going to notice. I'm just going to do cat in the hat. Well, honestly, I kind of make sense if you think about it, because in the cat in the hat, the cat comes in and just starts creating absolute fucking chaos and doing stupid things and causing problems. And so, yeah, Mike Myers making the cat in the hat into Elon Musk is kind of perfect. You know, I mean, it makes a lot of sense if that's truly what he's doing.

[00:05:59] I'm you know, I do wonder because Dana Carvey had done it first and then he was sick for the 50th and then they had Mike Myers do it after that. And then so now it's like Mike Myers is just taking that over. I wonder if Dana Carvey I do wonder about that. Like, is Dana Carvey butthurt because he does love the show and wants to be on all the time? Like, I haven't seen any articles about that aspect of things. Have you guys? No, and I doubt it.

[00:06:25] You know, I mean, I'm sure that he was bummed that he missed the 50th, but it was also his choice to not attend. It's not like they said, hey, buddy, don't come. You're sick because Martin Short was there with COVID and gave it to everybody. So, no, what I'm saying is after the 50th, now that he's healthy again, he's not taking back over the Elon Musk. It was like they just transferred over to Mike Myers and now it's been Mike Myers. I feel like when Dana Carvey was Elon Musk, he didn't have to do much because they never really did a sketch that was like centered around Elon, right? Sure.

[00:06:55] So, I feel – He just jumped around as a cameo appearance almost. Yeah, and so I feel like if they – since they needed someone to be there more prominently and he had already done Biden for most of the season, that having Mike Myers come in and do this, especially since he had a much different take that was like solid and does something that is more absurd than Elon Musk himself, then I think that that's probably just a better idea. And Dana Carvey would probably agree. No, so the – go ahead, Nate.

[00:07:24] So, do you guys think that, you know, again, it's playing the characters up. Tina Fey took Sarah Palin and turned it up to 11, right? Like, do you think this works for Elon Musk? Do you think he's getting the right eccentric – what was it? What are my – eccentricities. Thank you.

[00:07:46] Is he giving the right eccentricities out of Elon Musk and kind of bringing them out or is he just doing something silly? I think it's a bit of both. I think that when he's speaking as Elon Musk, like in character, he's doing a good job of like kind of capturing his cadence and his voice. But then it is also over the top by portraying him as a robot and, you know, having stupid outbursts to say and things like that. So, I think it's a nice mix of the two.

[00:08:15] Yeah, I like – I mean, I like him as Elon. I think it's a good choice. Mike Myers is just such a venerated cast member from – you know, he's an all-timer. So, anytime you have an all-timer comeback for any reason, I like to see it. To this actual sketch, it's one of those things where the political column we've talked about is like not our favorite thing in the world. But it's impossible not to cover this stuff right now because the world's on fire.

[00:08:42] So, they – SNL must do this. I mean, I'm not even going to say don't do cold opens that are political anymore. Like you have to. You got to cover it. And so, if they're going to, then you're bringing in Mike Myers. You're having, you know, James Austin Johnson doing his fantastic Trump and you're just kind of covering what's happening, you know, with $8 million spent on transgendered mice. It sounds made up because it was.

[00:09:06] Like, just like at least having a satirical counterpoint to the nonsense that he's spewing on a daily basis is – I'm always – now I kind of look forward to seeing like what they're actually going to do with it because it is so chaotic. It's almost like which things are they going to choose to pick out. Yeah. I don't know. I thought it was fine. There was nothing great about it. This was a step down from last week for sure.

[00:09:37] There's just nothing – yeah. It just – I don't know. Maybe it's because my – I'm trumped out already, right? We're like three months into this presidency and I'm already kind of over it. And, you know, we parody events that actually happen and it's hard to, you know, make light of some of them. And it was fine. There was nothing wrong with it. Like you said, Ben, I think they're doing what they have to do, right, in many regards. But I just – I don't know.

[00:10:07] It was just fine in my opinion. Yeah, that's fair. All right. Moving on. Monologue. Lady Gaga discussed being a pop star in her 30s, her role in Joker 2, and shared the story of how she met her fiancé. You know, she's charismatic, this Lady Gaga. I really – I really like her. And I honestly didn't know – I don't know. I didn't know a ton about her. Like obviously I know her music. I've seen her in a lot of films.

[00:10:36] But I forgot about – I forgot the first time she hosted what her personality was like. But she's just a lot of fun. I really just liked the monologue. I liked her. She comes across very endearing. Like I don't know. I just really liked it. I loved that they incorporated Bowen early on in this, his love for her. Bowen, are you happy? You know? Like he does – ladies and gentlemen, Lady Gaga, you know? Not yet, buddy.

[00:11:04] But yeah, I just really, really enjoyed her coming out and doing her thing. Brad, what did you think? So I appreciate the comfort that she has on stage and it's clear that she's happy to be there and knows how to do this. I do think that there's a part of her delivery in the monologue that doesn't feel quite as genuine as you would want it to be. Like it feels like she's putting on a performance rather than talking as herself.

[00:11:32] So like that kind of bugged me a little bit. But I did appreciate how, you know, she did address, you know, Joker 2 and made some good jokes about that. I like the reference to getting a Razzie and getting closer to having an Igort. I love that. Yeah. Yeah. So there was some good stuff there. And so, yeah, it's – I'd rather have this, you know, than anybody who doesn't know how to hit the punchlines or anything like that any day of the week. So – Yeah, she can come across a little bit as a theater kid, right?

[00:12:00] Like there's a little bit of a performance to her. But I can tell you this. Like I know we don't talk about our musical numbers, but I don't know if you guys watch them. I mean she is a perfectly choreographed person. Like she just – I mean those numbers, she was using the whole studio. Like what an incredible – like just what an incredible performer. So I agree with you. There was a little bit of a performance there. It wasn't just, you know, all shucks kind of coming out there.

[00:12:30] Though I think it came across a little bit. And she seemed to be a little nervous because she rushed part of it. But again, though, I still thought she was endearing. What did you think, Ben? No, I mean it's – I was surprised that it had been 15 – you know, sorry, 12 years since she – I just had assumed that she was just on the show a few years ago, you know? That's how kind of like comfortable she is on SNL. You kind of just forget that she hasn't done it in a while.

[00:12:57] So one of the most endearing things you can do as a host is to be self-deprecating. And so the Joker stuff and talking about, you know, don't go back and look at 2013 with musical guest. Or with R. Kelly. R. Kelly. Like, I just – that level of self-deprecation is incredible. You have to have utter supreme confidence to talk about all the things she talked about. Being an aging pop star, it rolls right into that self-deprecation. So, you know, I want to root for her the entire time.

[00:13:27] I've got no worries that she's going to be a consummate performer because that's what she is. So I was really looking forward to it after the monologue. And I'm glad you brought up the musical performance, Nate, because even though we don't normally talk about them, this one was particularly cool, the second performance, because I believe this is the first time that the rest of Studio 8H has been used in such a prominent way for a performance where they actually set up lights and stuff in the hallways for the performance, which was pretty cool to see.

[00:13:55] We were – Ashley and I were talking about the 50th and all the props people and the costuming and all that. And as soon as we saw the lights in the hallway, I'm thinking immediately like, yeah, props nailed it. They got in there and they just rigged it all up and it was – and they were asked to do something they probably never had to do before and they made it look perfect. No, even the camera shot that they did from the hallway, they looked like a security shot, you know? Yeah, yeah. I mean, this is what I'm saying.

[00:14:25] Like everything was just choreographed so perfectly. And they're literally just in a hallway, right? Like, I don't know. I just also, you know, and we'll segue into this next sketch because they also used the studio in the hallway for this sketch as well, A Long Goodbye, a sketch where Marcel Hernandez played a man who regrets letting his lover leave for culinary school.

[00:14:51] And they definitely like – again, they were using like every inch of Studio 8H in this sketch. And it was just – So then I need you guys to tell me while I respect everything that went on in this sketch, I don't get it. Oh, I thought it was funny. Like, I thought it was silly. Like – It was very silly. And there were moments that I thought were chuckle-inducing.

[00:15:16] But I just – I guess it was just so all over the place I didn't really – it's just over my head, I guess. I think it was just a weird bit, you know? Because like there – I think that this scooter luggage has been trending on social media lately, which is probably why it popped up like this. Oh, I didn't know that. I didn't know that. Yeah, I think it's been more popular recently. People have been like showing it off or like it's been in videos and stuff like that. So I think that that's probably part of it. But also it's just like a weird, funny, physical gag to do.

[00:15:46] And yeah, this was like right out of the gate I was like I can't believe that they're starting with such a weird premise and a weird sketch. And then yeah, like I don't understand like why they decided to use the actual like background under the bleachers of Studio 8H for like going through the tunnel and then actually going through and seeing the audience and everything. It felt like such a weird choice that took it to like a strange meta – Very absurdist.

[00:16:15] Yeah, it just – it didn't make sense but it was also funny still. Yeah, like the Sons of Samsonite thing made me laugh. Yeah. It was definitely a 10 to 1 sketch early on. Switching from the live puppy to the fake one. All the stuff. But it was such a like so obviously fake dog too that it also made it funny. Right. No, and like I think that's purposeful of course because they're not trying to like get away with using a stuffed animal.

[00:16:44] Everybody knows. And so again, these are just – it's the same choice of cutting through 8H instead of doing a green screen is the same choice to use a fake dog when the real one was just there. It's absurdist and they're really just going for that angle I guess. And it was just weird. Yeah. Yeah. It was definitely weird. I don't know why it hit me. I thought it was silly enough. There was some escalation to it. Like you said, when the dog comes – they start with this real dog and then they clearly move to a fake dog.

[00:17:12] It's just all dumb but it worked for me. So I like this. Yeah, I laughed out loud when – right off the bat when she gets on the luggage and leaves and he's like, wait. And she perfectly stops and just backs up and it takes a minute. I laughed. That's great. It was very similar to that sketch with the sexually strong on Bill Hader's lap on the rascal. Do you remember that sketch? Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[00:17:42] Because that's where they leave and they back up to come back and then they get caught in the furniture and everything. Yeah. It's very purposeful, right? So, I mean, this was very well laid out and they definitely nailed their cues. They were just weird cues to nail. All right. Moving on. Saturday Night Live Midnight Matinee. Pip, Lady Gaga, played a student who motivates a classmate to participate in a weightlifting competition.

[00:18:09] The sketch featured Lady Gaga singing a song about Pip's training which involved using a hot dog as a heavy bag and bench pressing blocks of cheese because Pip was what? Pip was a mouse. And so this was absurd and delightful. I don't care. I don't know what you guys are going to say about it. I loved every bit of this. I love the callback to the referendum for the roof and the roof is the thing that fell down.

[00:18:38] I love the film. Like, it was just Dan Bulla. Dude, you're killing it right now. Everything he's doing right now is just killing it. Ben, did you like this one better than A Long Good Night? Yes. I did. A Long Goodbye. I like this one a lot better. It all structurally fit. You know, this one is absurd, but it stays in its own universe.

[00:19:05] They built this universe with this mouse and the awesome, like, if only we could lift two more ounces. And you tried your best to save him, right? Like, that wasn't on purpose. And the sunglasses and the walkaway. I mean, everything about this was hilarious. I thought this was hilarious. I will stand by this. Pip did nothing wrong. Pip did nothing wrong. Brad, what did you think, bud? No, I thought this was great.

[00:19:31] And I was glad that this didn't go the same route as Beppo. Like, I was worried that the punchline was going to be him just getting completely crushed by weights. And I liked that the twist was something a little bit different, where he was strong enough and he just let a guy get killed. So that was good. I liked James Austin Johnson's part in this, too, especially his just, like, little chuckle. Obviously, Pip's not going to do that. But, yeah, everyone was great in the sketch.

[00:20:01] It was very whimsical, very, very fun. Great, great dark punchline at the end. Just, yeah, good stuff. The animation felt like Tiny Horse to me a little bit. Yes, yeah, and that's why Tiny Horse is part of the Dan Bulla thing at the end. And they also, if you notice, they put Beppo in the end there now, too. Yeah, I love this. I can't imagine how much time. I mean, do they only give this a week?

[00:20:29] Or is this something that they give longer than a week to work on? No, these are typically also done in a week, too. That's a lot. That's a lot of stuff. I did learn something recently, though, where, because they did. Did you listen to that Michael Bryan episode of the Lonely Island Seth Meyers podcast? I did, yep. They talked about working on the Sea Monkey sketch. Do you guys remember that one? Yep.

[00:20:59] And that one was one where they knew they were going to do it at some point. And so they turned in the stuff to, like, animators to do for, it was called Grow a Guy. And so they turned in the animation for that one, and they waited for it. And it took them, like, a couple months or something to get it done. And so then by the time it was done, Charlize Theron was the host. And they were like, okay, well, let's see, you know, if she wants to do it. And that's what they ended up doing.

[00:21:25] But so that was one of the instances where they did have to do something further ahead, and they just had to wait for it to come together, which was interesting to hear. Yeah. All right, moving on. Wonderful Tonight, a musical sketch featuring Lady Gaga and Bolin Yang singing and dancing in the middle of a restaurant during her first date. Now, Brad, you recently came into some money. What? What did you think of this? Hold on. Where? Where is it? You didn't come into some money?

[00:21:56] No, it was just an old newspaper. Yeah, there weren't any tissues around was a great line. That was just so good. It made me laugh so hard. Yeah. I mean, yeah, I had to take a beat. And I was like, oh, my God, they got away with one there. Yeah, that's what I was going to say. How did the censors let that one get by, right? It was really, really, really funny. What did you think of this? I thought this was okay. I thought it was funny.

[00:22:25] And the highs were high. But then it was like one of those things where I'm like, oh, that's so good. And then I was quickly down again. And, you know, it just didn't feel as consistent through the whole thing as I wanted it. But maybe I'm wrong. What did you think, Brad? Yeah, for a sketch that is only just over four minutes, it does feel like it's not getting the most out of its mileage. And they probably could have amped up the absurdity or made it a little bit funnier. But I enjoy the premise. I think both Bowen Yang and Lady Gaga are great.

[00:22:54] And I'm sure Bowen was losing his frigging mind being able to sing with Lady Gaga like this. It's got to be crazy. Yeah, I'm just happy for him. I'm just happy for him. But yeah, super enjoyable. Not the funniest of the night, but it was still pretty good. Ben, what did you think, Brad? No, I enjoyed the outrageous stuff that they were saying. Again, it went on a little too long for what they were trying to milk out of it. But the things they were saying were very enjoyable.

[00:23:23] It wasn't like I was bored by this. It just, like you said, Nate, the highs were pretty high. But it just kind of went on and, you know, okay. It's almost like they wrote a bunch of jokes and it was like, okay, here's where we're going to put them. Yeah. And we're going to rely on, you know, Gaga's and Bowen Yang's chemistry to have fun. And they were clearly having fun. They were. They were. And I'm sure when you write it, you're also hoping that there's a magical moment, right?

[00:23:49] Probably a break or something where, you know, they just, you know, they just have a lot of fun. And they did, but it didn't necessarily, the magic in that moment didn't necessarily call us. And it still kind of felt like a 10 to 1 because it was just so, the stuff they were doing was just so weird. You know, they're dancing in the middle of a restaurant and doing a You Look Wonderful Tonight parody almost. Like, I don't know. It just still kind of felt like a 10 to 1.

[00:24:17] Yeah, I agree that this one also had some 10 to 1 vibes to it. Well, there you go. All right. Moving on. A funeral home. Lady Gaga and Heidi Gardner played funeral homeowners planning a funeral with a client. This one was, this one was, I didn't get this one as much. I tried. I mean, I did my best, but I didn't. I was really trying to find like, this just seemed like Heidi being weird. I go having some good one-liners.

[00:24:46] But I don't know. Maybe the whole idea just didn't come together. It felt like, let's do one more musical thing with Lady Gaga and see if this one hits. But I feel like maybe I'm wrong on this. Ben, what did you think? I think that, like on paper, it's funnier than it is as a sketch. Because if you tell me this premise, I'm sure this is one of those that killed at the table read. Because it's like you're turning a funeral into a murder mystery.

[00:25:15] And Ego's character is like, yeah, but my father was murdered. And it's unsolved. Like that right there is a great premise. Like it's a great bit part of it. And it just didn't come to life as much as maybe they were hoping for. And the idea that it almost feels like a I think you should leave sketch where they're trying to really push the 1920s flapper stuff. And it's like, or we could just do, you know, a celebration of life. Like if that's what you want, you know, we could definitely still do that.

[00:25:43] And they just have this underlying agenda that they're pushing the whole time. And again, on paper, this sounds very good. There was just something about the execution that just fell a little flat. That's all. Yeah, I think that conceptually the idea of like, you know, politely pushing a themed funeral as being a roaring 20s party basically is amusing in itself. I think where the sketch faltered a bit is it seemed like the timing between Lady Gaga and Heidi Gardner was off. Or they were supposed to say some things together.

[00:26:12] And it felt like maybe they were supposed to kind of say the same thing. And they didn't quite match up. And so I think that they just didn't have a good like chemistry or partnership when they were supposed to be like a duo. Like I feel like if it was Kate McKinnon and A.D. Bryant, they would have crushed something like this. Yeah. I did think that I liked that how it escalated in the end to them actually doing the little musical performance and Andrew Dismukes getting into character and being excited about it. But, yeah, I do think that it didn't entirely come together.

[00:26:42] And I think it's largely just because it didn't feel like it – it relied on the shoulders of Heidi and Lady Gaga. And they just didn't keep it together very well. I did like Keaton coming in as the bartender and like saying I listened to the podcast and like you should be careful who you hang around with. Like that was a great addition and that was part of the escalation I really enjoyed. The escalation of them like actually dancing and him proposing. And, I mean, they were definitely trying to escalate. I will not fault them for that. Yeah.

[00:27:12] All right. As you guys know, I love SNL commercial parodies. And we have one now. And as you know, I love smeared mascara. Yes. This is a mascara commercial parody for a new mascara, L'Oreal Easy Run. Make a statement when you walk in the room and that statement is, uh-oh. And I will say this. It's not my favorite commercial parody.

[00:27:39] I thought Ashley Padilla was doing some fun stuff in this with her kind of maniacal laugh. The laugh was so good. Take it to the next level and just start laughing. Yeah. There was some great things that I think. I wonder if she wrote this, by the way. I don't know. But, like, she seemed to feature in this pretty well and her stuff was really, really funny. And I thought it was good. Not great. It's not one I'm going to remember.

[00:28:06] But I had enough laughs in this to have some fun. Brad, what did you think? Yeah. I think this is a perfect example of a solid commercial parody. Not an instant classic, but having someone like Lady Gaga do a proper makeup commercial as a parody just makes sense and it works really well. And, you know, I think that it's a simple punchline, but it's one that still works and it's got a great visual gag that goes along with it. So, yeah, I definitely enjoyed it. Yeah. I'm a fan of any time that you do that.

[00:28:37] It almost felt Tina Fey-esque, right? Yeah. It almost felt like a Tina Fey thing that she would do and make note of it. Ben, what did you think? Did you think it was great? Good? Yeah. I enjoyed it a lot. Again, not an all-timer, but very serviceable. The number of different things you can do with why is the mascara running or the number of moments that you could take over because of it. And like, why should the funeral be just about the widow? You know, like that was very good. There were so many very solid deliveries about what you could do.

[00:29:05] And then when Padilla takes it to the next level, I really did laugh. I laughed out loud at that. Like, that was a really good escalation. So, overall, this is an above average commercial parody for me. All right. Moving on. Weekend Update. Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news. Like Donald Trump Jr. considering a presidential run in 2028. I know for a fact Ben is excited about that. Come on. But, Ben, can you do me a favor?

[00:29:35] While Brad writes his number down, will you give a little bit of an explanation of what the barometer is? The barometer is a scale of one to 100. It's actually zero to 100. We've never had a zero. But we have had over 100 before, which is why he had to recalibrate this freaking thing. It's supposed to be the level of interaction between Colin Jost and Michael Che. It's evolved into something else entirely.

[00:30:05] I don't really get it anymore, but I feel like it's still at its heart. Are the co-anchors having a good time with each other? Kind of wink, nod inside baseball, inside jokes. And then overall was the weekend update episode, part of the episode, a very good weekend update. Put those two together and you're going to come up with a higher number than a lower one.

[00:30:29] And I think this time around, I'm going to say that it was probably a, I'm going to say an 88. I'm going to go 88. Yeah, I know, I know it's been recalibrated. I know that. But I thought this weekend update was freaking fantastic. I'm going to go, so I'm not going to go like 99 or anything, but I am going to go in the 90s and go with a 92. Brad, what is the score?

[00:30:56] Guys, you have to get back in tune with the barometer. It's not, it's been recalibrated. And you're shooting for the moon here. This was not one that had like a bunch of back and forth. It had a few good moments. This was a very good one. Yeah, no. They had a little bit of back and forth. No, they did have a few good moments of back and forth. And it was a solid rendition of weekend update. But because it's been recalibrated and we have to keep things in check and we have to remember how good things are when they're the absolute best. Recalibrated. Yes, there you go. I love it.

[00:31:24] Thank you, Ben, for more branding for Brad. I gave it an 85. Well, you know, 88 is not far off an 85. We're talking about zero to 100. Okay, but you wouldn't win the showcase if that were your bid. I'm just saying. It was three hours. So you didn't get the car. You didn't get the RV. You didn't get the trip to Omaha. So reel it in. So what did you hate about this? I didn't hate anything about it. Well, I feel like it was very, very funny.

[00:31:54] There was great chemistry. There's some really, really fantastic jokes. My favorite joke was calling Honey Smacks labia puffs. Especially because once they showed this, Cheryl, you're like, oh. Oh, no. They are. White Kanye is just so funny. White Kanye got me. White Kanye got me good. Imagine having 14 children and no family.

[00:32:25] Like, it just. A lot of great jokes. Yeah. There was just a lot of really good one-liners in this. I don't know, Brad. I just feel like you're being negative now. No, I'm not negative. I gave it an 85. That's a solid B. I guess. I think you're wrong. But, you know, it's fine. It's whatever. I think you're wrong. Well, let's talk. All right. Let's move on. Let's talk about Kendrick Perkins.

[00:32:54] Yes. Kendrick Perkins played by Keaton Thompson. What's his name again? How long has he been on the show? Newcomer. Keaton Thompson is Kendrick Perkins discussing the NBA playoffs. Ben, you're a basketball guy. Are you even watching the NBA playoffs or no? Yes. I have been checking out the highlights when I can, and I'm watching a couple of, I'm watching

[00:33:21] the NBA, especially, I mean, he talks about it in this, in this weekend update. Even for people that don't know much about basketball, the, the trade of Luka Doncic from the Mavs to the Lakers was, was an insane deal. Everybody that even knows anything about basketball is going, why in the hell did the Mavericks get rid of Luka Doncic, who is a like entering his prime at 25 years old, a consummate VIP or a MVP candidate.

[00:33:50] And they traded him for like 32, 33, 34 year old Anthony Edwards or Anthony Davis. And for nothing, like if you would have got like four first round picks too, it would have made sense. I can't believe that the NBA didn't veto this trade, which how, with how lopsided it was, honestly. And that, this is the first time they're talking about it on SNL, of course, but. Sorry, hold on a second. Sorry. I blacked out because of all that fucking sports bullshit. What happened? So. So wait a minute. If I understand correctly, Luka Bratzky got traded to.

[00:34:19] No, Nate Bergazzi. Nate Bergazzi. Okay. Yeah. Yep. So one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history, Kendrick Perkins is a real commentator. He used to play for, uh, for a team in the NBA. He does make mistakes sometimes and say some silly, weird stuff. And that's kind of where this is coming from. Uh, Charles Barkley famously called him an idiot this week for real. And so they, they brought it all together. And I really enjoy Kenan Thompson as, uh, as Kendrick Perkins. This is a hilarious take.

[00:34:47] Do you like this better than his, uh, LeVar ball? No, that's a different thing. LeVar is obviously taking, he's taking it to the next level of being just egotistical. Perkins is just, it's, it's almost a mixture of like Anthony Crespino where he's like saying weird stuff. That's just not technically, are you sure that's what it was? Like, that's great. Weirdly enough, it feels like Anthony Crespino mixed with Kenan Thompson's Charles Barkley. A little bit. Yeah. It's a, but yeah.

[00:35:15] And then him taking the beard off and then, you know, him being like, well, what the beard says, I told you. Cause he said before I take my beard off at night and then he actually took the beard off. I thought that was hilarious. Yeah. I don't give a shit about sports or any of that nonsense. And this was still very funny to me. So it definitely worked. All right. Moving on. Mikey Day is Lord Gaga talking about supporting his wife, Lady Gaga, uh, with a joke about men whose wives make more money than them said right to Colin Jost.

[00:35:45] Um, that was, I think the highlight for me of weekend update. It was, it was, everyone knew where he was going. I mean, the joke was right there. Still so funny. I mean, yeah. Because Colin Jost is squirmed. Belaboring it so much and really laying it on thick without saying it was just the right move there. I thought it was so funny. I was also really surprised that it wasn't Sarah Sherman doing this character.

[00:36:12] Cause it felt like a classic Sarah Sherman bit of a way to dig into Colin Jost. So the fact that they can spread this around to other characters who aren't played by Sarah Sherman is a lot of fun. Um, and I also just love like the cluelessness of him not knowing that Lady Gaga makes a bunch of money is very successful. You know, it just, it was a nice way of, uh, digging into like a little bit of escalation, a little bit of absurdity, and then capping it off with making fun of Colin Jost. Yeah, it is.

[00:36:41] Uh, anytime Colin Jost is the butt of the joke. And I say this to somebody that genuinely loves Colin Jost. I love that. That's why it's kind of why I thought you were going to give a little higher weekend update, um, redometer score because you've used the weekend update bits before in there. You have used them before. Oh, for sure. But, but I thought that was very good. Very funny. I, I, you can hear Michael J laughing. It just, I don't, you hurt me.

[00:37:11] Well, I don't know. Talk to your therapist about it, I guess. Oh, I will. Believe me. I will. No, uh, one of the things, uh, that I also will shout out real quick from the 50th anniversary recap that Lonely Island Seth Meyers podcasted is they gave a special shout out to Colin Jost because of how much work he did on the 50th as a writer. He wrote even more than I would have guessed. And, uh, he did a lot of good stuff for that 50th anniversary special.

[00:37:38] So when you guys listen to that, you'll be like, wow, that's pretty incredible. Now, nobody brings him up as a potential for taking over for Lauren. Is that a potential you think or a possibility? I don't know. I'm not even sure it's something that he would want necessarily. Maybe, maybe he does. I'm just not sure if he has the same temperament or like comedic, uh, eclectic. What's the word I'm looking for?

[00:38:07] Is eclecticity a word? I don't know. Um, yeah, I don't, I'm not sure if, if he would be as good as someone like Tina Fey. Um, but it's an interesting, it's an interesting thing to think about. Yeah. I mean, the thing about Tina Fey is obviously she's been a showrunner. She's got, she's got the, she's got the experience more so than Colin does. Yeah. I just, it does seem like he does a lot more behind the scenes than people give. I mean, we want, we read a lot of times his writing skills, you know, um, you know,

[00:38:37] listening to this podcast, he seems to also be a pretty good mentor for a lot of young writers and cast members. And he encourages that like there, there, there just seems to be a pretty, you know, but then again, there's, there's, there's guys, there's room for people like Steve Higgins, right. That have been on the show forever that are integral to the show. Right. But aren't, aren't the head person. Right. So maybe that's just Colin's role. I just can't picture what Colin would do. I know he's got a standup career.

[00:39:03] I know, you know, he writes and stuff like that, but I just, I didn't know that. You didn't know that. Yeah, man. No. Have you watched it? Is it good? Yeah, it's fun. It's the only time that I feel super smart watching Jeopardy. All right. Moving on birthday at friendlies a sketch about a dinner at friendlies that gets intense when friends lie about having a birthday to their waiters.

[00:39:29] Um, what do you think are the chances this was written by Sarah Sherman? Pretty high, pretty high. Uh, this was, this was a lot of fun actually. And man, for an episode that is full of a lot of 10 to one sketches, this felt probably the most 10 to one. Um, I, I love the turn it made. It, it, it never quite hit like big peaks for me as far as like big laughs.

[00:39:54] I just appreciated how ridiculous and dark it got and the, the increasing reactions. And also Bowen Yang's just like totally chill about the whole thing. Yeah. Bowen Yang was a great part of this. No, I mean, really, I think though, what we can agree is the, the, the real kind of hero of this is Lamashtu. I'm like, who is Lamashtu? Oh, I looked him up. A demonic Mesopotamian deity.

[00:40:25] Just, just in case you wanted to know where Sarah Sherman or whoever wrote this is getting these from. I mean, just, it just, it was just so great. Like I just, it, it was, I bet, I bet, please don't destroy. I'm going to guess. This is my theory. Please don't destroy. And, uh, Sarah Sherman wrote this sketch. I don't know, but that's my guess. Why? I think it had great escalation.

[00:40:50] Um, and it had incredible absurdity. And I feel like those, those, that team together is what, this is what comes out of it. I'd like to, I'd like to point out that it's not all purely a creation of whoever wrote it because, uh, there's a little bit of temple of doom there at the end. Yes. Yes. Um, although I, I, I will point out, I'll push my glasses up a little bit and be like,

[00:41:18] uh, well, because the reason for this, the chant. That they were doing, they added an extra syllable to it and they weren't saying it how it's said in the movie. So just saying, you gotta, if you're going to do it, you gotta do it right. I also loved how annoyed Bowen was in this.

[00:41:42] Like, you know, it just, it just, every character had something that at one point in the sketch got me to laugh, which is what a good sketch does. Right. Right. Even if you're not the featured part of the sketch, if you're doing something in the sketch and it could be just disassociating or, you know, um, uh, an eye roll at the right time, it, it, it just makes the sketch that much better. Right. Right. And I don't know who all was in the sketch, but it seemed like everyone.

[00:42:12] It was, it was definitely an ensemble. Um, I don't know. I liked this better than I thought it would. Uh, I thought it would. And it was absurd and wonderful. And it wasn't even the 10 to one. So, um, all right, moving on little red glasses, uh, women showing off their little red glasses, uh, this was definitely, um, I know women that these, this, this old women,

[00:42:39] like, you know, like seal kind of what's his age that where, uh, for the listener, that's my mom. She's 68 years young. And this would definitely be, I think she probably got a pair of little red glasses. Yeah. Right. It, it, it, so I felt like, okay, this is who we're going after. Right. Um, and I don't know that my mom's ever gone down on Leonard Cohen. However, I could ask her.

[00:43:06] And I also know, I know, so there's these, this group of, uh, I'll call them, um, baby boomer Democrat women that very much fit this bill. Um, and there was a line in this that made me laugh. I was ahead of the curve on gay marriage and that's where it stopped.

[00:43:30] It's very much, I think a, an appropriate joke for a demographic and for a group of, of, of people that I totally understood that joke for. Um, this is a very specific audience. But that said, I thought it was funny, but I didn't think it did enough. Like they're just, it wasn't enough for me, but it was, I got it and I got where they were going.

[00:43:58] I love the observation that they made because I never would have. Yeah. I never would have brought this group out. Right. Yeah. But I think that that's the, the trouble with this is because it is such a specific thing. You, you run out of runway pretty quickly to like make it something. Cause like there's about six things you can say, okay, now we said those six and like, what are you supposed to do to escalate? What are you supposed to do to really broaden it, make it appeal to other people? You know, it kind of is where it is. And there are limitations to how funny it can be. Yeah.

[00:44:28] I do think it is still funny though. Cause it does have that vibe of like the big dumb hat sketch or the, the sequel big dumb cup sketch without the absurd escalation. But I think that the punchline itself and the, the fact that like all the women had like their character down to a T of like how to play it perfectly and the look, you know, props to the costume department and the prop department for absolutely nailing props to props. Uh, yeah. So it was just, it was funny. I absolutely laughed at it. Um, it's not going to be, you know, an all time great for me or anything like that, but

[00:44:57] I, I absolutely got some good laughs out of it. And that's good. That's kind of like this entire episode is this sketch is a microcosm of the entire episode where I enjoyed myself the whole time here, but nothing is going to stick to me to be like, wow, this is an all timer. They were just generally enjoyable. But I think, I think it's also good though. I thought Pip was very good. Yeah. I think Pip is probably the one great sketch, but I, I do feel like Lady Gaga definitely deserves credit for being a great host. I think she fits in, uh, pretty much as well with the cast as someone like Ariana Grande

[00:45:27] did or something like that. She's not quite as skilled on the, the comedic side of things, but she, she has some, some range. She knows what she's doing. She knows how to, how to act and fit in with the cast. And so it, it never felt like a dud. I wouldn't even say that there was a terrible sketch in this episode. Uh, we're not done yet though. We're not done. There's one more. You're not, you're not, you're not, you're not, you're not, you're not, you're not, a, we were done. You were wrapping up.

[00:45:56] Hey, hey, hey, you don't, you don't correct me. You don't correct me. Well, that's it. Who's your MVP, Brad? Uh, Luca Brasi. Luca Brasi. All right. No more slay. Final sketch of the night. A musical sketch where Lady Gaga and Bowen Yang sang to friends about overusing the word slay. Slay. Um, yeah. What did you think, Brad? Fine. If you want to talk, talk about the sketch.

[00:46:26] I appreciate the sentiment behind the sketch because man, do I hate so many of these stupid fucking sayings that are just all over TikTok. I hate seeing on social media. Oh my God. This totally slays that fucking slaps. Like I'm going to slap the shit out of you. Whoa. Yeah. I said it. I'll hit, I'll hit everyone. Um, but yeah, so I, I liked the sentiment. I think that the premise is amusing. I'm not sure the musical approach was the way to go. It kind of felt shoehorned in.

[00:46:54] Um, even though it was great to see Bowen Yang singing with Lady Gaga again, and I liked the stuff that they called out. It just didn't quite feel like it came together as like a full cohesive sketch. Now, this is another excuse for them to get together and sing, which, you know, again, if that's what the whole cast is here for it and, and Bowen and, and Lady Gaga probably were having the time of their lives and Bowen especially. Um, but yeah, it was, it did feel a little short and like that's, that's, that's the pathway they took to, to deliver these jokes.

[00:47:24] It was fine. I, but I, cause I do, I agree with that. Like I'm over the giving and the, the sus and all that. Um, but it's, it was fine. It was, it wasn't terrible, but it was, it was fine. Yeah. Uh, what I'm, I'm not over, um, is, uh, you know, oh, uh, shoot. Good. People are still saying, oh, shoot, Nate. Yeah. A lot actually. Uh, no, no, no, no. Uh, what I'm not over is the lovely Island, right?

[00:47:54] Uh, Andy Samberg, when he shortens words and, uh, the way he speaks in shortened words, uh, if you ever listen to him talk, I am not over any of that. I think it's funny every time he does it. He's the only one doing it and nobody is running those. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. No, yeah. No one's like, every time he comes in, he's like, I got some job, you know, like, uh, instead of coffee, I've got some job. It just makes me laugh. It's so not, it's so not cool. Exactly. That nobody's going to take that and run with it. And that's why we like it. Yeah, exactly.

[00:48:24] Yeah. All right. Let's go to sketch of the night first. It's, um, uh, Saturday night live midnight, matinee pip. Like, uh, if it's got to be a pre-tape, then it's going to be pip. Uh, you know, it can be a pre-tape, you stupid shit. I'm saying that if it, if you guys are saying that it can be a pre-tape, then you don't have to qualify that. Just, just pick it, just pick it. Every, every time you say that it's got it, you got to say, is it a live sketch or not? Oh, you're dumb. You're such a dummy. Dumb, dumb.

[00:48:53] Well, I don't know what you're talking about. It's pip. Um, it's Kendrick Perkins on. We can update it for me. Like if it, cause if it was, if it's a live one, no, that you, we don't choose. We get an update. Yeah. I feel like the, I feel like because of the whole pre-tape thing, like the rules are kind of out the window. Uh, Nate, uh, who was your MVP? Hmm. MVP was hard. I'm going to go with Bowen Yang. It's Bowen Yang. Yeah. Just because I, I want him to have it.

[00:49:23] Like he, he, he was so in it. He needs it. Exactly. And if it wasn't Bowen Yang, then it was Mikey Day. Yeah. Mikey Day did a great job. Um, and then I also give a shout out to Ashley Padilla. I think she had a good episode as well. Yeah. I think, I think. I also loved Keenan just popping into the, the, uh, the flapper sketch, you know, the 1920s, 20s as the bartender.

[00:49:50] And then the Kendrick Perkins, he had a, when he was in the episode, it was very good as always. No, this seems like an episode that at the end of the, at the end of the night, they should have felt good about. Right. Like the whole episode, it was, it was a very good episode. I thought it was, uh, better than the Shane Gillis episode. Um, and I think I laughed, I laughed harder at the Shane Gillis episode. I did.

[00:50:16] I think that these, I think these sketches were maybe more enjoyable overall, but I laughed harder at the Shane Gillis episode. Yeah. I would agree with that. No, I thought this was a, I thought this was just a good episode. Like actually both of them were very good episodes, but I thought this one, I thought Lady Gaga was a better performer than Shane Gillis. I'll give you, I'll give you. Yeah. Yeah. I would agree with that as well. But I think that the episode overall, Shane Gillis episode was funnier. You like the sketches better.

[00:50:43] Just watching, watching the, the dad's house thing and watching the Muppet and then him being like, you know, after what you did to me last night, like that was incredible. Like it's, that's that I'll think about that, you know, from time to time and laugh like that, that was an indelible, uh, uh, I'm going to remember that and a couple of beers and a little bump. Like that's, that's pretty much hilarious. Like you can't really get away from that. Uh, all right. Uh, Ben, what's, what's our next episode? Uh, yeah, no.

[00:51:11] Uh, as I texted you guys during the live show, it's Chris rock. Uh, it is not how things work. It's not Chris rock. I will say we did talk about this in our, our text thread is, it is very weird that when they don't have a new episode, they tease next weekend as if it is a new episode. Like I wonder if they're trying to trick people who haven't seen it. I swear to God, it was like, it was like March 15th, Chris rock. I'm like, Oh my God, he just hosted, but he's back again. I fell for it immediately. Yeah.

[00:51:39] And I listened to you to know, Ben texted us immediately. He's like, guys, guys, Chris rocks back. That felt so stupid. It was because Brad was even like, I don't know about that. I'm like, no, it's for sure. Yeah. I was, I was like, why are they bringing him back? He just hosted in December. Like it wasn't very good. Yeah. No, it's a, it's, they're taking a couple of weeks off. Uh, it seems like March 29th is going to be, uh, the next new episode, but we don't know who's hosting it. So we'll have to wait and see what they have in store.

[00:52:07] I would assume we'll see something about it this week. Uh, Charles Barkley, Charles Barkley, Charles Barkley. All right. Who, who, who do you guys expect to see? Uh, I mean, they could do Chris Pratt with the electric state coming out, even though that movie apparently sucks. It could also maybe equally be Millie Bobby Brown since that would be something that could be fun. Uh, you know, she's a young, young star that the kids like to see. Um, the kids like to see the, you know, Millie Bobby Brown.

[00:52:35] What about, uh, is it Adam Scott from Adam Scott? That could be cool. Yes. And severance is pretty hot right now. I wouldn't mind seeing, uh, seeing him host. What about another comedian? Is there any other, um, comedian that's, that's hot right now? I, uh, I said Nikki Glaser. I think Nikki Glaser could host. I think that could be really fun. I wouldn't, I wouldn't, that would be hilarious. Yeah. I'm trying to think of anything. I mean, honestly, the sad thing about a lot of the comedians right now is the ones that

[00:53:04] seem to be getting Netflix specials are like the right winger Joe Rogan ones. So, um, nobody I'd really love to see on the show. How about, how about Bill Murray and Pete Davidson co-host for Riff Raff? That would be great. You know what? Bill Murray did say that he wanted to do it one more time. Uh, and he thinks that he could, he could do it. And I would be totally happy if he did that. Um, the timing doesn't quite work out because Riff have already hit theaters last week,

[00:53:33] but I mean, anytime bringing, bringing Bill Murray and people are going to be excited about that for any reason. Right. You just use that as the reason. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I don't know. Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben for the accountant too. Yeah, that could work. Um, he's, he's been a little in the news for being a little weird lately. Like saying how he'd, he'd get back with Jennifer Garner and all this stuff. And it was like, Jennifer Garner had to say, she had to release a statement. Like, I don't really have an interest in getting back with my ex.

[00:54:03] Do you really say that? Yeah. He had mentioned it. And she, she, so like I, the tweet that I read or the, or whatever it just said, wouldn't it be great to be able to just have your team put out a response to your ex kind of pining for you? Like her response was just definitely vetted through her media people. And it was like, Ms. Garner does not have an inclination to get back with any of her exes at this point. It was just very professional. And meanwhile, Affleck's like, I got you, Duncan. What are we doing? Yeah.

[00:54:32] Um, you know who I'd like to see back? I don't think she's got anything coming out, but, uh, she was, I think, I think we saw her on the, she was on the 50th. I think was Melissa McCarthy on the 50th. Did she come out? No. Or did I, did we see it? I saw her on something else. And maybe she was, she was, she was, she cameoed at licking the windows. Yeah. Yeah. The montage. That's what it was. Uh, I think I would, she hasn't hosted since 2017. I don't think she has anything new coming out.

[00:55:01] I would love to see her. Oh, still any, she's just got an open invitation. Yep. Um, yeah, I don't know. But I would just love to end this season. You know, we've got like six episodes left with, I don't care if anybody has anything new to promote, just bring back the best ones, right? Bring back. You know what? Uh, Vanessa bear. Just, just, just let me have my, just let me have it. I would love it. I would love it. I would, I would love to see Mike Myers host again. Honestly. Yeah.

[00:55:31] Um, we've, we've all, and I, I see that this is, this is an internet thing as well, which I didn't know, you know, we didn't even talk about it. You know, there's a big group trying to get body and Moynihan to come back. Uh, to host. And the three of us would be Gaga. Gaga about it. Yeah. That would be my bow and Yang lady Gaga. Okay. Well, let's just wrap it up then. All right. Um, so we'll be back, uh, in a couple of weeks. We have another podcast as well.

[00:55:58] We won't have a new episode this week because again, uh, we're quarantining Ben, uh, in his house from sickness. Uh, but we have a podcast called gold flicks yourself, which we talk about movies and trailers and play games and have fun. Sadly, there won't be a new episode this week. Cause that one is a little harder to do remotely and have as much fun with it. Nate just said that. Um, but I just, you're so tuned out. I guarantee you're, you're on your phone. So guys literally just said, I don't know.

[00:56:27] I don't know if you heard, but the Ben's kids are sick. Uh, so you're not even in the same room. And I know how dismissive you were being just now where you were just like in your own little world. Oh, you're such an ass. We couldn't do go flicks yourself this week. So, uh, hopefully, hopefully next year. What are you guys talking about? Who's going to take over? Not Tina Fey, but what, what guy were you talking about? Let's talk about the friendly sketch.

[00:57:01] Oh, Chris rocks hosting the show. Guys, who, who do you think should finish out the season? Oh my God. Lord Michaels is leaving SNL at the end of season five. Help me out listeners. This is, this is hard for all of us. I know. Uh, Hey, we want to give a shout out to all of you that have subscribed and rated. Thank you so much for doing that. Uh, a special shout out to our growing YouTube community as well.

[00:57:28] Um, I love our comments on YouTube and, uh, our viewership there continues to rise. So thank you so much for that. Um, we'll be back here in a couple of weeks, uh, with another episode. Be good to yourself. Be good to others. Bye-bye.