The increasingly popular Amy Schumer is a great choice for SNL host this week considering her recent Outstanding Variety Sketch Series Emmy win — beating SNL. And Schumer’s first HBO comedy special airs next week, making this a great warm-up for anyone who has been living under a rock.
Her enthusiasm and willingness to take a joke to the extreme is the lightning bolt that SNL needs to keep the momentum going during their 41st season opener. Will the show turn into a glorified Inside Amy Schumer sketch? See how it all went down last night, below.
The Best
“Fox & Friends: Speaker of the House Cold Open”
Worth it for the “quick list of corrections” alone:
“Amy Schumer Monologue”
“You have a golden vagina, and I celebrate you.” Essentially a mini stand-up special, covering everything from women in Hollywood and boozing with Hillary Clinton, to Schumer’s Facebook relationship status with Bradley Cooper.
“Delta Flight”
An energetic performance from Schumer and Vanessa Bayer as flight attendants losing their cool. The physical comedy is on point, reminiscent of the SNL sketches of yore. “You can all watch San Andreas for free!” is something I can totally imagine a clueless airline worker saying in an attempt to reassure a packed plane after a traumatic experience.
“Porn Teacher”
Schumer is a porn actress whose seduction of one of her students (Kyle Mooney) keeps getting interrupted by an innocent classmate (Aidy Bryant). “Did I heard you mention an oral exam?”
“Guns”
When Hallmark-style advertising is perverted by guns, we get this. “Guns: We’re here to stay,” nailed the absurdity of the whole situation. Schumer is an outspoken advocate of stricter gun laws, so if you enjoy SNL‘s topical jokes about firearms peppered throughout the evening, we undoubtedly have her to thank.
“Ford’s Theatre”
A historical reenactment actress rewrites “herstory,” by making Mary Todd Lincoln an ass-kicking badass. The single-joke premise starts to lag a little, but Schumer screaming things like, “I only plow one man, Abraham Lincoln!” in a hoop skirt keeps the audience awake.
“Baby Shower”
The female cast members unite for a look at what happens when uber dramatic people can’t resist an opportunity to drive everyone around them insane. We’ve all met or know somebody like Schumer’s over-the-top bartender.
The Worst
“The Weekend Update”
More gun control gags, but the concept would have benefitted from a stronger point of view. I believe this is the first time SNL has tackled the topic of guns in this way, which is refreshing. Jay Pharaoh and Kate McKinnon appear as Solomon and Mrs. Santini — who we may be seeing more of since the crowd loved her reappearance.
“Hands-Free Selfie Stick”
Potty humor that trolls millennials, yet again. Schumer’s pitch-perfect line wins the sketch, though: “It takes pictures?”
“City Council Meeting”
Props for monster hands and including more humor about gun rights (Schumer plays a little girl who wants to bring her gun to school and doesn’t believe in gay marriage, natch), but things meander too much. Multiple cast members make appearances, and their styles don’t exactly mesh for a cohesive sketch (Mooney’s Dutch rapper seemed to go over the audience’s head).
Musical Guest: The Weeknd (with guest Nicki Minaj)