Most of the ‘SNL’ Cast Members Are Turned Into Lawyers for Insane New Sketch

How do you remain topical when you air at the end of the week? That’s a problem plaguing Saturday Night Live, and it’s only gotten worse as people on TikTok can drop sketches the same day certain events occur. How do you make jokes about Pam Bondi’s disastrous hearing when that well has already been drained? You still do, because you have to try, but then, you go another route. Try something more evergreen.

I’m not saying that’s easy, though you’d hope a weekly comedy show that’s been around for 50 years would have some grasp on the idea. Getting laughs involves more than simply referencing things that happened a few days ago. Sometimes, you need an idea, and then you escalate that idea until there’s nothing left and the sketch just sort of … ends. And I mean that as a compliment!

To give you a look behind the curtain, Dustin asked me to start reviewing specific sketches, and, at the time, said that I could tell him when he was wrong, because why shouldn’t one of the best bosses I’ve ever had work hard to retain his title? That said, I didn’t expect to disagree with him that much. We find humor in a lot of the same things. But here we are, two weeks in, and I am once again picking a sketch he did not think highly of.

The premise is pretty simple: It’s a commercial for a law firm with decades of experience. Then, another lawyer shows up (Amy Poehler in a wig, mustache, and fake muscles), and claims she has even more experience. We then move on to octogenarian triplets, clones, Dracu-Law (I cackled), and Bowen Yang as an ancient tree who was also the lawyer for Zeus, played by the always wonderful Kenan Thompson.

Escalation is the name of the game for this sketch, and that’s kind of all it needs, aside from committed performances from nearly everyone in the cast. If someone isn’t playing a lawyer, then they’re a client. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen so many cast members in one sketch. It’s enough that they still need extras to play clones.

This works because it’s both specific and silly. Yes, it’s mocking law firm ads that we are all familiar with, but throwing in the idea of them competing over who has the most experience gives it a unique spin. It’s not an idea that will set the world on fire, but looking at something mundane from a funny angle and then pushing that idea until the wheels fall off is prime sketch comedy. This was the kind of sketch you could find at UCB or the Groundlings on a Thursday night, and I mean that as a compliment. Those are the roots of this show.

It also helps that everyone involved is doing something they’re good at, even if it’s as simple as Mikey Day playing an injured client who just doesn’t want to work. Sarah Sherman, playing Dracu-Law (so stupid, so funny), feels so perfect I’m surprised it hadn’t been done before in any context. Poehler’s over-the-top performance as a jacked older lawyer is equally as apt. It’s like they had the idea first and just started plugging in everyone’s strengths. New cast members like Veronika Slowikowska get more chances to shine. Everyone gets a laugh. It was nice!

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention that I watched most of SNL with my kids this morning. It was their first time. The question “What’s so funny?” was asked several times, which is understandable. Most of my explanations did not pass muster. When this one ended, one of my kids said, “It’s funny that they kept saying ‘not so fast.’” Is he four? Yes. Was he wrong? Absolutely not. They both laughed quite a bit, and while that isn’t why I picked this one, it certainly helped (they also liked Poehler’s goth mom, which made my wife have to lie about what vaping is).

I agree with Dustin’s point that the show fired and hired a bunch of new writers and that they’re clearly trying to find their footing, but I liked that they’re finding it by taking some more old-school swings. They’re trying to be funny, and they aren’t doing so by combing through SEO aggregates. It’s somehow simpler than that. They’re coming up with ideas that make them laugh and doing them. It may not please the algorithm, but who cares? We’re all gonna be dead in, like, six weeks max.