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Shane Gillis’ fingerprints were all over last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live.
Fresh off of SNL’s 50th Anniversary Show (which had some people upset), the long-running sketch comedy chose Shane Gillis to host once again. The comedian first hosted SNL back in February of last year, which was at that point a huge development in the saga, considering the comedy show had once announced Gillis as a cast member, then parted ways with him after “offensive” material was uncovered in some of his previous work.
When he hosted the first time around, it was almost as if the SNL audience was told not to laugh at the material he included in his monologue. And it was much of the same last night, when the uberly-popular stand-up comic stood on the historic Studio 8H stage and cracked some jokes about Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Ken Burns, and the Civil War.
Once again, the house band featured behind him didn’t look like they were enjoying themselves:
Part of me just thinks that Shane Gillis should skip the stand-up monologue in future hosting gigs. It would be just as funny to come out and say, “Hey, you all are going to hate this anyways, so we’re just going to jump right into the show.”
Because once Gillis and Saturday Night Live does get rolling with the actual sketches, they are traditionally solid. To me, it seems like SNL is willing to push the envelope a bit more when Shane hosts. Why? Because if anyone gets upset, they can just say, “Well look who is hosting.”
And despite what you might read elsewhere on the internet, bringing together Gillis and SNL does work on a comedy level. I’d even argue that when the stand-up hosts, the show is able to remind viewers that it can still do sketch comedy as good – if not better – than anyone else. To prove it, I’ve highlighted the three sketches that stood out from Shane Gillis’ second hosting gig.
Honorable Mention – “Wedding Interruption”
Consider this one an honorable mention, or just number four on this list. This sketch was buried later in the episode, but it still deserves some time in the spotlight. Gillis plays a man who jumps into the part of the wedding ceremony where the officiant asks if there’s anyone that wants to speak now, and the reasoning he has for not holding his peace starts a comical chain reaction.
3) “The Sound”
This “Please Don’t Destroy” video was a straight parody of The Voice. It basically asked the question, “What if the judges turned around during the blind auditions stage of the show and were horrified by what they saw?”
Shane Gillis played a scooter-riding weirdo with a golden voice, and as he usually does, he nailed the character. There was even a well-placed cameo from pop-superstar Tate McRae at the very end of the pre-recorded sketch.
2) “Dad’s House”
If there’s one thing that Shane Gillis is good at, it’s being comfortable with the uncomfortable. This sketch was basically a parody of every children’s show (think of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood), only this time around, the location for the program was at the sad, disheveled house of a recently divorced dad.
Seems like an idea right out of Gillis’ notebook, or one of the SNL writers had been waiting to pitch this one for when Shane rolled back around. It was one of those situations where the execution was just as good – if not better – than the idea itself.
1) “CouplaBeers”
Okay… this might be one of the best SNL sketches in the past decade. The sketch comedy is known for producing some funny, fake commercials (there was even a segment dedicated to it in the SNL50 show), and Shane Gillis being the spokesperson for a medication called “CouplaBeers” was… iconic.
Obviously, the premise of the sketch is simply self-medicating by having a couple of beers when necessary. There’s even a bit inside the bit where another fake medicine called “ALilBump” is plugged. The two-minute video is packed with laughs, and the ending is icing on the cake.
The post 3 Sketches From Shane Gillis’ Second Time Hosting SNL Are A Reminder That ‘Saturday Night Live’ Can Still Be Funny first appeared on Whiskey Riff.