'SNL' Highlights: Molly Kearney's Anti-Trans 'Update' Segment Steals the Show

By Dustin Rowles | TV | April 16, 2023 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | April 16, 2023 |

Cold Open — It’s a Red Carpet show for the First Warm Day of the Year set in Central Park where it is 90 degrees two months ahead of time. It’s hosted by Bowen and Heidi, the jokes are hilariously specific, and while it’s a very New York sketch, the rest of us will recognize at least a few of these characters. Best of all, it’s not political and there is no Trump to be found. Huzzah. (Score: 6 out of 10)

Ana de Armas Monologue — She learned English from watching Friends, she tells a great story about her Dad and Robert DeNiro, and there’s even a nice callback. I’ve obviously seen a lot of de Armas on screen, but I don’t think I’ve seen much of her out of character. She seems lovely, and so is the monologue, although it is not that memorable. As the rest of the show illustrates, she’s a very fun, high-energy host, even if most of the sketches are mediocre. (Score: 5 out of 10)

The Dome — It’s a game show where they never actually get to the game because Kenan — the host — is so perplexed as to why a character played by Ana de Armas would be married to a dorky, Mikey Day character named Matt Pat Shat who taste tests dog food for a living and has multiple nipples. Hmmm. Yes, de Armas is very pretty. I hope that the writers find something else with which to work. This one was OK, at best. (Watch Here) (Score: 5 out 10)

American Girl Trailer — Instead of the Barbie movie, it’s a movie about America Girl dolls and their harrowing, traumatic backstories and their parents who all died of old-timey diseases. Also, some of them die of tuberculosis. Modestly funny! (Score: 6.5 out of 10)

Young Spicy — de Armas and Ego play women who say sexy things into a mic for a Young Spicy track, which mostly entails them insulting him with their sexy voices. I laughed more than a few times, and this is low-key the Mat sketch of the week. (Score: 6 out of 10)

High School Spanish Class — Two students who speak Spanish as their first language transfer into a high-school Spanish class, and the teacher cannot keep up. The premise is obvious, but sweaty, desperate Mikey Day makes it work. This one is for you, Seniorita Stevens, who would never get caught flat-footed! (Score: 6 out of 10)

Please Don’t Destroy — The guys recount all the drunken embarrassing awful things they (and some of the other cast members) did at the Afterparty. Genuinely funny, especially Chloe Fineman and the gun. Plus they coin a new word: Hangxiety (or Hangover anxiety). (Score: 7 out of 10)

Weekend Update — Che and Jost are reliably great, Kenan shows up as a Super Mario Bros. character, Funky Kong, who was cut from the film for being sexist (watch here), and Sarah Sherman plays Meditation Guru, Genesis Fry, who trots out the most reliable joke on “Update”: She makes fun of Jost, and it is fantastic. Finally, Molly Kearney (who is non-binary) comes out to discuss all the anti-trans bills, and they are so funny and so wonderful that you might be left laughing and crying a little at the same time. Fantastic “Update.” (Score: 8 out of 10)

Lisa from Temecula — There have not been a lot of recurring characters on SNL in recent years, but I like Ego Nwodim’s Lisa from Temucula. She always thinks that people are hitting on her and is rude as hell at a dinner table, this time at a wedding. Mostly, she just shakes the table and tries to make other cast members break. Bowen kept it together this time, although de Armas lost it a little. (Score: 6 out of 10)

Acting School for Dogs — When they bring out dogs for sketches, they rely on two things: The audience to fall for the cute dogs, and for all the comedy to come from the dogs refusing to cooperate. Gold star on both counts. (Score: 6.5 out of 10)

Nail Salon — Bowen Yang plays a character who comes into a nail salon to have his nails done after only one day of holding the world record for longest nails. His wife just wants him to do hand stuff! It takes a while for the episode to warm up, and it’s more average than not, but the episode (and de Armas) had a lot of great energy, even if this sketch wasn’t great. (Watch Here) (Score: 5 out 10)