‘SNL’ Recap: Ana de Armas, Karol G Not To Blame For Así Así Episode

Como se dice “comedy dicey”? Something got lost in translation this week inside 30 Rock. Colin Jost may not have been bothered by Ana de Armas opening her monologue in Spanish (despite what Sarah Sherman joked), but aside from Spanish-speaking cast member Marcello Hernandez, few of the cast really clicked with this week’s guest host. I don’t blame her. Perhaps this week’s “Spring Fever” heat wave in New York City was to blame?!?

What’s The Deal For The SNL Cold Open For Last Night (4/15/23)?

Indeed, temperatures broke 90 degrees in Central Park on both Thursday and Friday, and sometimes Saturday Night Live forgets that it broadcasts nationally (and globally) to focus on the newsiest thing in New York City.

And so it was that the show opened with Heidi Gardner and Bowen Yang as red carpet style anchors for the First Warm Day of the Year in Central Park to greet the freaks who came out to play. Such as a goateed power walker (Mikey Day); two perverts with binoculars (Michael Longfellow and James Austin Johnson); a woman learning to Rollerblade for the first time (Molly Kearney); park employees who don’t care about their job (Devon Walker and Punkie Johnson); a woman pacing on her phone trying to explain where she is in the park (Ego Nwodim); a grown man alone with a drone (Andrew Dismukes); a crazy man with microphone (Kenan Thompson) with a woman to debate his nonsense (Sarah Sherman); a wealthy woman (Chloe Fineman) with child; and that guy with a clipboard just asking for a moment of your time (Marcello Hernandez).

This would’ve worked a whole lot better as a pre-taped bit, filmed in the park with quick cuts and voiceovers, but then it couldn’t be the cold open, so…um…yeah.

How Did The Guest Host Ana de Armas Do?

Ana de Armas made her SNL debut speaking in Spanish, then explained that as a Cuban native, she only began learning English at 26. She turns 35 at the end of this month, when she says she’ll become an American citizen! She also reminded us that she received an Oscar nomination for playing Marilyn Monroe in Blonde, and the commercial breaks reminded us she’s starring in a new Apple TV+ film next weekend with Chris Evans called Ghosted. But she also proved herself an affable sidekick to Daniel Craig’s James Bond, and will star in a John Wick spin-off, so she should be up for anything. Right?

So why are we starting with a game show again? And it’s not even the actual premise, because this is a play on a recurring bit involving Mikey Day playing the schlub with a hot wife/girlfriend, just as he has done in past seasons with Margot Robbie and Jennifer Lopez, every time flustering Kenan Thompson’s character, whether he’s a TV reporter, an HGTV personality, or this time a game show host. Perhaps the freshest contribution to this bit is naming Mikey’s character, as Kenan realizes aloud: “Your name is Matt Pat Schatt?” If this is the first post-monologue live sketch, though, we’re in for a long slog.

The Barbie movie trailer created lots of buzz and a selfie meme generator this past week, so how about a parody focused on the American Girls dolls, set in frontier Americana days? Chloe, Heidi, Sarah, Molly and Ego play the different dolls come to life, which means Ego’s stuck in the role of a runaway slave, while Sarah and Heidi have to deal with the effects of cholera. Or not deal.

Ana and Ego are vocalists brought into the recording booth to help Young Spicy (Devon) and his producer (Kenan) by bringing that final flourish to his rap single. Instead of dropping something hot, though, they’re dropping disses about Young Spicy’s scholastic and sexual prowess. Ana actually sounded great on the mic. And Kenan did have fun with a running side plot about him wanting to break for lunch… “tzatziki sauce on the side!”

Earlier this season, SNL leaned into Marcello’s bilingual fluency to go relatively off cue cards with guest host Pedro Pascal for a fun family sketch. Ana’s likewise clearly having fun with Marcello, this time as new transfer students, unintentionally taunting Mikey’s Spanish teacher for his lack of fluency in class. They bring in musical guest Karol G (herself Colombian) to help teach the other students, just because they can. It’s cute and all, but it also symbolizes how much the show seemed to be clueless about pitching fully-fleshed ideas for de Armas?

I don’t know why this week’s guest host was at last week’s SNL afterparty, but the “please don’t destroy” boys have bigger problems. Namely, their “hangxiety” is real. They did make fools of themselves in front of the rest of the cast. But so did everyone else?

After Weekend Update, Lisa from Temecula is back! AKA Ego’s character whose table manners wind up violently shaking the dinner table. Lisa and sister Trina (Punkie) attend a wedding reception, and Lisa thinks Ana is hitting on her, while Bowen and Molly once again have the honors of sitting with Lisa and Trina. This time, Lisa is literally tossing the salad. For some reason it’s not winning over the live audience like a recurring character should?! Even Lisa’s line delivery of “oh, cause we gay?” doesn’t hit the same as when she asked, “cause we black?” last time. Lisa from Temecula might just have caught lightning in a bottle that first time. Or maybe they can try once more, but put her in a completely different environment to surprise us?

How Relevant Was The Musical Guest Karol G?

Karol G also made her SNL debut, hot off her new album,“Mañana Será Bonito,” becoming the first all-Spanish album by a female artist to hit #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Her first song opened with the refrain of “Don’t Worry Be Happy,” which makes sense once you realize that Bobby McFerrin is a credited writer on “Mientras Me Curo del Cora.” It translates to “While I Heal My Heart,” and when she finished singing, everyone clapped with joy. Healing is a gift!

For her second song, she could wear sunglasses indoors at night, because “Tus Gafitas” is about her lover leaving their glasses behind in her car. It’s a big ask to put a convertible in an office building, especially if you’re not going to sit in it, but “Tus Gafitas” is a great song to drive to, I’ll give her that!

Which Sketch Will We Be Sharing: “Enter Stage Woof”

Woof. Rough week. The “Spanish Class” sketch obviously will get plenty of traction, but it has been a while (since Kate McKinnon was roaming the halls of 30 Rock) since we had some chaotic comedy thanks to incorporating live animals in a live sketch. Enter “Enter Stage Woof: Acting School for Dogs,” with Ana and Chloe, the latter of whom found herself with increasingly tough stage partners. The first dog, a golden retriever, refuses to budge, causing Chloe to say: “Henry’s doing a little improv!” But that’s nothing compared to seeing Chloe with a mouthful of noodles, trying in vain to re-create that Lady and the Tramp moment with a dog named Romeo. Nor can she convince little puppy Jelly Bean to “destroy Seattle.” This was, however, the only live scene in the night with any real sense of danger or excitement.

Who Stopped By Weekend Update?

Three visitors for Colin Jost and Michael Che behind the Update desk.

First up: Kenan as Funky Kong, who thought he’d be all over The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but barely scored more than a cameo! What up with that?! Indeed, this Funky Kong liked to get up and on his groove, calling for the beat much like his iconic talk show host character, Diondre Cole.

As Meditation Guru, Genesis Fry, Sarah is here to ask: “Are you ready to meet Colin, Colin?” It’s really just a new way for Sarah to roast Jost, as she told us how nobody wants to take a photo with him when he leaves the building, that he treats his driver as a sub-human, that he rewatches Update at home to see how many more laughs Che got than him, that he was fuming about tonight’s bilingual monologue, and that he’s never worked a hard day in his life. Dang. She really is a guru!

Last but not least, Che allowed Molly their own introduction, lowered from the ceiling by hanging cables, to talk about the Republican onslaught of anti-LGBTQ legislation sweeping the nation. As SNL’s first out nonbinary cast member, Molly is in a similar position that Bowen was in a few seasons ago, coming on Update to talk about the very serious rise in hate crimes and hateful legislation and asked to find humor in it. Molly took to delivering a pep talk to kids to let them know “your job is to focus on being a kid,” and to find the optimism in little things such as SNL crew members knowing their pronouns.

What Sketch Filled The “10-to-1” Slot?

At 12:56 a.m. Eastern, there’s just enough time for this live sketch set in a nail salon. The catch? Bowen’s Greg doesn’t want to get his nails done, because he just finally set the Guinness World Record for longest fingernails: “I can’t cut them after one day of being famous!” But Greg’s gal (Ana) wants him to deliver on his promises to learn “Wonderwall” on guitar and do “hand stuff” with her. It’s the least he can do after she wiped his butt for 12 years?!? There’s a false ending, where Greg splits and goes running into the Washington wilderness, leading to a Twilight moment (?!), only to return for an almost happy non-ending.

Who Was The Episode’s MVP?

Looks like the week’s heat wave really kept the writing staff from finishing any ideas, eh?

So who kept this week’s episode from becoming a complete disaster? I mean, it was still better than the Woody Harrelson episode. So, who made it work? Mikey Day was the butt of the joke in three sketches, and in one, quite literally. Kenan Thompson was everywhere, doing his thing. Sarah Sherman and Bowen Yang are still the show’s standouts, but they didn’t get enough to do this week. I have to hand it to Molly Kearney, though, for hanging in there, and also for hanging in there.

Next week? It’s a repeat (Travis Kelce), and the show is off for two weeks, returning with a new live episode on May 6, with Lil Uzi Vert and Pete Davidson back as host!

Next show!!! pic.twitter.com/AMdCeLXGOk

— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) April 16, 2023

Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat for his own digital newspaper, The Comic’s Comic; before that, for actual newspapers. Based in NYC but will travel anywhere for the scoop: Ice cream or news. He also tweets @thecomicscomic and podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.