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Dave Chappelle's Longest Monologue in 'SNL' History Derails the Episode

By Dustin Rowles | TV | January 19, 2025 |

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Header Image Source: NBC

Cold Open — The MSNBC anchors all insist they will stop breathlessly responding to every Trump tweet and talk about things of substance, but they keep getting interrupted by … Trump tweets. I hope that SNL takes their own satirical advice in the coming years and decides not to devote every cold open to that man. My feeling, however, is that James Austin Johnson will get a lot of screen time (unless the administration throws him in Guantanamo). (Score: 4.5 out of 10)

Dave Chappelle Monologue — Well, it was 17 minutes long, the longest monologue in SNL history. Even putting politics aside, it wasn’t particularly good — he’s reached the point of his career when he complains about how hard it is to be famous. But I’ll give him this: The last 90 seconds about Jimmy Carter was fantastic. (Score: 5 out of 10)

Immigrant Dad Talk Show — Marcello Hernandez brings back what is now one of the show’s better recurring sketches, where he and another Dad mostly talk shit about white people and how much they hate their sons. I’m really trying not to be distracted by the cigarettes here and in the monologue, but goddamn, it is 2025. What are we doing here, Chapelle? (Score: 6.5 out of 10)

Evaculation Alert — Because the monologue ran so long, there are only TWO sketches before Update this week. Here, a family being forced to evacuate finds out their Dad is not who they thought he was when he pulls out $500,000, two handguns, and a secret family from the walls of the house as they are preparing to leave. The actual skit is not that funny, but the blood geysers get me every time. (Score: 5.5 out of 10)

Weekend Update — The political jokes are too damn tame for the episode ahead of the inauguration, although I liked Michael Longfellow complaining about the TikTok ban and Sarah Sherman’s Nosferatu, mostly because Sarah Sherman always uses her segment to talk shit about Colin Jost. (Score: 6 out of 10)

Police Station — A guy comes in to report his wife is missing, but manages to get out without reporting her weight. That’s the joke. They’re only doing four sketches this week (aside from the cold open), and this is the best they can do. (Watch Here) (Score:: 3.5 out of 10)

Pop the Balloon — And one of the four is a pretape. Sad. Also, it’s not very good. It’s a dating show sort of thing, feels like it was a leftover idea from The Chappelle Show twenty years ago. I’m sorry, Mat, but there is no sketch of the week for you. Terrible start to the new year. (Watch Here) (Score: 3 out of 10)

Average Score: 4.7. I get that Lorne Michaels loves Dave Chappelle, and I understand that he was once the best stand-up around. But that was a decade ago. Now he rambles, and taking up nearly 20 percent of the episode with his own material is self-indulgent as hell. Chappelle didn’t host the show. He hijacked it.