Saturday Night Live Recap: Melissa McCarthy
In another life, Melissa McCarthy could’ve had a stellar run as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. This is what kept occurring to me while watching the two-time Oscar nominee crushing it on last night’s show. This latest episode marks McCarthy’s sixth time hosting SNL, which makes her one of only four women to host the show more than five times (the others are Drew Barrymore, Tina Fey, and Scarlett Johansson, if you’re curious). As seen on last night’s episode, she blends in seamlessly with the rest of the cast, acquitting herself equally well when starring in a sketch, as in “Free Sample,” as well as when taking a more supporting role, like in “Cousin Planet.”
You can spot a McCarthy character coming from a mile away. They’re usually turned up to 100 on every level: unpredictable, overbearing, and blessed with a bonkers physicality that can squeeze a laugh out of even the most reluctant viewer. McCarthy, who bagged an Emmy for hosting SNL in 2017, has a level of ease and familiarity on the Studio 8H stage that’s difficult to fake.
Last night’s episode opened with a Pentagon press briefing, starring Colin Jost as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, fielding questions on a potential war with Venezuela. (“Pretend I’m a random fishing boat and fire away!”) Usually, I find that Jost works best behind the Update desk, but his Hegseth has definitely improved from its last outing. Jost is not the most gifted impressionist, but I don’t think the real Hegseth’s voice and mannerisms are particularly recognizable anyway, so it doesn’t really matter in this case. Other highlights of the cold open include Sarah Sherman as a terrifying Matt Gaetz, and James Austin Johnson’s Trump having a wet dream about New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
The show hummed right along into McCarthy’s monologue, which saw her engulfed in a metric ton of fake snow and battling it out with Marcello Hernández dressed as a Christmas elf. The monologue, which displayed McCarthy’s confidence and comfort as an SNL host, was a good omen of things to come in this solid episode.
Here are the highlights:
Free Sample
McCarthy stars as a grocery shopper who takes Jeremy Culhane’s offer of a free sample as a declaration of love. There are so many specific, excellent character details in this one, like McCarthy’s character being abandoned in infancy and owning six dogs that she tied up right outside the grocery store. One of the biggest laughs of the night comes from this sketch, when McCarthy’s character pushes Ashley Padilla’s cart (containing her baby) offscreen. Culhane shines here, too, as the straight man (I especially liked his line reading of “I don’t know you”) who inevitably falls for the McCarthy character at the sketch’s logical conclusion.
A Helping Hand
This digital short sees a 12-year-old boy getting more than he bargained for after helping a kooky elderly neighbor, played (basically wordlessly) by McCarthy. The heightening of this sketch worked really well for me. After McCarthy’s neighbor hog ties the 12-year-old’s bully (Marcello Hernández), you might not be sure where else the sketch could possibly go — but then a couple of escorts show up on his doorstep after he’s rebuffed by a crush, along with a pimp played by Kenan Thompson. This digital short is a lovely addition to SNL’s creepy Christmas neighbor canon.
UPS Delivery Driver
McCarthy’s powers of physical comedy were on full display as a UPS delivery driver getting a talking-to in this terrific sketch. This character is classic McCarthy, from her impressive displays of anger (captured on videotape) to her repeated, dramatic fake faints. Mikey Day, playing one of the driver’s managers alongside Padilla, nearly breaks while trying to wrest an affidavit from McCarthy’s mouth. It’s just good stuff all around, culminating in McCarthy’s character revealing she’s given this company “the best 17 days” of her life.
Sunday Supper
Andrew Dismukes channels his best Tim Robinson in this late-episode highlight, as a guy who really just wants his friends to have Sunday supper with him. Dismukes is perfectly calibrated here, and by the time his character walks down the stairs carrying a bindle, you know more or less exactly where the sketch is going (in the best way).
Christopher and Guillaume
This ten-to-one sketch is just an excellent bit of character work from McCarthy and Bowen Yang, who star as an (unexpectedly straight) couple interviewed by the local news for their Christmas decorations. Though the sketch perhaps never quite finds its game, it makes up for it solely based on the fact that McCarthy and Yang are so fun to watch bouncing off of each other (“Gay?” “Town?”). Here’s hoping this isn’t the last we see of Christopher and Guillaume.
Cut for Time
• Musical guest Dijon was predictably excellent, with a backing band including none other than Justin Vernon.
• “Cousin Planet” very nearly made the highlights for this episode. I really enjoyed Jane Wickline and Veronika Slowikowska together — the whole thing had a very Beck Bennett-Kyle Mooney feel.
• New featured player Jeremy Culhane had a solid showing this episode, with supporting roles in both the cold open and the “Free Sample” sketch. I hope we see more of him this season!
• “Truth or Dare,” starring McCarthy, Chloe Fineman, Sherman, Padilla, and Wickline as a bunch of repressed Southern housewives (maybe a Hunting Wives reference?), was fun but a little one-note.
• “Head of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, seen here watching the end of Marley and Me.”