What do you get when you take one comedian willing to push boundaries, one actor who just admitted that he’s treated women like shit, and a very tense social climate where reports of sexual assault and harassment seem to be growing day by day? An awkward SNL that not everyone can appreciate. Find out how last night’s episode — and Larry David’s controversial Holocaust joke — went down, below.
The Best
“Paul Manafort’s House Cold Open”
Donald Trump, Paul Manafort, and Jeff Sessions taking a shower together is definitely nightmare fuel.
“The Price Is Right Celebrity Edition”
Alec Baldwin as Tony Bennett makes SNL‘s classiest poop jokes yet.
“Fresh Takes”
Larry David’s gossipy teacher gets darker and darker.
“New Wife”
Worth it if only to see Larry David dressed as a creep and say “thirsty bottom feeder,” while also breaking character in a fit of laughter.
“Career Retrospective”
Things get worse and worse for David’s ad executive.
“Weekend Update”
When can just we have more Leslie, please?
The Worst
“Larry David Stand-Up Monologue”
The monologue itself was fairly lukewarm, but everyone gasping at David’s holocaust dating joke should watch the documentary The Last Laugh. The film features Jewish comedians like Mel Brooks discussing if things like Holocaust jokes are funny or not. From Sheila O’Malley’s review:
“The Last Laugh” puts the question to Holocaust survivors, gathered in Las Vegas for a convention. “Is there anything funny that you remember about the camps?” Some say no way, and are offended at the question. But Holocaust survivors Renee Firestone and Robert Clary have a different take. Clary entertained his fellow prisoners in the camps, and much later appeared on “Hogan’s Heroes.” He got a lot of flak in his community for “Hogan’s Heroes,” who failed to see the humor in prison camps, especially a prison camp that doesn’t acknowledge that millions of Jews are being slaughtered off-screen. But Clary and Firestone talk about how laughter was one of the ways they survived the torment. Firestone, a wonderful bubbly presence, recounts a moment when Josef Mengele said to her during a “medical examination” that after the war she really should have her tonsils removed. How could anything be funny about Mengele? But Firestone looks back on the moment, perceives the sheer absurdity of it (and him), and it makes her laugh. Maybe it’s the ultimate “you had to be there.” In its own way, “The Last Laugh” is a celebration of Jewish humor, not just its importance as a survival technique, but also just how much it has shaped our culture.
“The Baby Step”
The joke about SNL vet Kenan Thompson still having to perform humiliating sketches is spot on at least.
“Beers”
An after-school special that doesn’t present itself right away and doesn’t finish with a major laugh, so it’s all very aimless. I am still a fan of the late-episode Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney weirdness.
“Press Conference”
Aidy Bryant’s Sarah Huckabee Sanders is really feeling herself, but I’m not sure anyone cares.
Musical Guest: Miley Cyrus