Scarlett Johansson joined SNL’s five-timers club with an appearance last night that featured a reel of her nearly mute appearances over the years in the opening monologue. But the writers did Johansson a solid throughout the evening’s sketches, making sure she had speaking parts and not casting her in scantily clad roles that could’ve been (I was almost sure the “Translator” sketch and several others were going to go there). See how it all went down last night, below.
The Best
“Alien Attack Cold Open”
A missed opportunity to reference Under the Skin, but still fun.
“Zoo Pornographer”
Johansson’s enthusiasm as a bobble-headed reporter helps nail the gross jokes.
“Fire Island”
Men behaving badly, women swaddling babies and talking about water socks.
“Translator”
Because discovering that your cat or dog loves Trump would probably be the worst thing ever.
“Olive Garden”
Exactly what we imagine Olive Garden is like behind the scenes.
“Complicit”
Yep.
“Weekend Update”
Kate McKinnon’s Jeff Sessions is the perfect, terrifying ventriloquist puppet.
“A Sketch for the Women”
This has happened to every woman.
The Worst
“Scarlett Johansson 5th Monologue”
If only because the Subway jingle makes us cringe.
“Shud the Mermaid”
Shud’s shocking appearance and behavior was funny when this character debuted, many sketches ago.
“Shanice Goodwin Ninja-Rivals”
I really wanted to love the return of Shanice, but apart from some fun throwback Hong-Kong-style camera cuts, things never quite pick up steam.
“Funeral Service”
The reveal of David as a bland white dude, who looks like he worked on Wall Street, as a musician who dishes up some deep club tracks didn’t have the oomph it needed. The audience barely laughed.
Musical Guest: Lorde