Charli XCX should be the perfect pop niche mix Saturday evening live– and maybe she is too? It’s becoming increasingly difficult to parse what counts as a zeitgeisty pop culture joke that’s perfect for the most mainstream sketch variety show on TV, what counts as a cute reference for a small segment of the audience, and whether any of these are worth it to pursue with. any special favor. Charli serves (and also, if I understand correctly, portion?) as both host and musical guest really helps to erase that line, especially when the show gleefully leads with material that has enough revivals to put the Spartan Cheerleaders to shame.

On the one hand, the first real sketch of the night was a follow-up to the “Domingo” sketch from just a month ago, with Chloe Fineman’s reckless Domingo volunteer girl now going haywire as her besties favor her with a song about their last weekend away together. —a combination of old-SNL mashing up a beautiful original sketch and a new era, doing so because the sketch apparently blew up on TikTok. (I’m not on TikTok, but I understand because I now think of that sketch every time I hear “Espresso.”) But at the same time, there’s something fun about jumping from Ariana Grande singing a parody of Sabrina’s Carpenter “Espresso ” off-key from Charli I can’t say I’d have a problem with Addison Rae leading a fake parody of “Von Dutch” for a trilogy capper in February.

So is this the hacky reprise or the crowd-pleasing encore? Is it a brat, or is this all a brat on Twitter while everyone runs to Bluesky? That’s the pop star’s dilemma, right? Figuring out when to play the hits, and when to find a new way to present your whole ideal? brat has the rare trick of doing both at once: distilling Charli’s personality down to something that feels intensely specific to her (for better or, if she’s starting to sound a bit like Lily Allen, maybe for worse), while semi-improbably turning those songs into hits .

Obviously one SNL episode has none brat-like replayability, although a few singles that wear out are always appreciated. For the first part of the episode, it felt more on the hacky side, simply because it took an annoyingly long time for the show to bring out a truly brand new sketch: you get more Biden and Trump and a miniature impression parade; the sequel to “Domingo”; a revival of the long-dormant audition sketch for the impression parade; and the reliably funny bake-off sketch that never quite topped the Eddie Murphy episode from a few years ago either. It’s a bit strange when the most original piece is yet another Digital Short. (It seemed like it was a leftover from one of Samberg’s weeks hanging out, but it turns out this was one of those weeks too; Charli shows up to help Samberg busy calling the cops on other white people. Pretty good! Not one for Lonely Island’s greatest hits, but no one else on the show is really into the parodies of the musical genre these days.)

But as the episode progressed, some more genuine brutality was discovered, not just in two of Charli’s musical performances – which, yes, influence this episode’s rating; What better way to highlight what could be the only copy of this season where I own every album from the musical guest?! — but in the wacky ensemble sketches: the “Banger Boyz” podcast, which took a sideways trip into the episode’s best kind of political material; the extremely silly (but new!) “It Girl Thanksgiving”; and an ideal skit for the end of the night where everyone is a little crazy (as befits catching a group of friends). Shrek the musical together). It’s also telling that the only original sketch that really failed, with Marcello playing a commercial acting coach, was the kind of Chris Kattan-y showcase sketch that overwhelmed the other people in it – except Charli, who did a fantastic job of pronouncing strange words . LIKE the teacher’s pet.

In the end, this really was a kind of It Girl Thanksgiving: gathering a bunch of obvious stuff and more niche references, doing some impressions that range from spot-on to one-note, and just doing your best to own it.

What was going on

Every now and then, a sketch led (or seemingly) by Bowen Yang will feel like it’s just spouting non-sequiturs for an imagined super-online audience. This Shrek However, the sketch was judged perfectly with its round-robin escalation and fast-paced, extraneous details; I love it when a sketch walks the line between true characterization and outright absurdity. Somehow, frighteningly enough, the sketch about idiotic podcasters managed to be the more grounded of the two brightest non-musical highlights of live shows; I may attribute that to the fact that Dismukes and company have a good ear for the mute bluster of what is apparently the main source of information, entertainment and possibly friendship for a not insignificant portion of the population.

What was out

In theory, those endless audition sketches are simple layups. Not every impression deserves its own sketch built around it, and the format leaves room for quick versions that can last as little as eight seconds. But wouldn’t it be nice if they, oh, I don’t know… dipped some movie stars every now and then? It’s not that the impressions of Martha Stewart, Janet Jackson or Bernie Sanders are so astonishingly precise that they transcend any reason to record them (sorry to Chloe Fineman, Ego Nwodim and Sarah Sherman, all great artists). But it’s a lot funnier to see a version of Sydney Sweeney at these auditions than… people who aren’t actors. It’s not that I’m eager to fact-check a comedy sketch. It seems like maybe someone in the huge cast can get an impression of Jennifer Lawrence, or Leonardo DiCaprio, or Dwayne Johnson, or Ryan Reynolds, or Blake Lively, or Ryan Gosling, or Channing Tatum? As long as we start working with Martha Stewart in 2024, we will have the entire staff of… The view on the next one?

Speaking of impression parades: Look, the idea of ​​Trump and Biden’s cozy little fireside meeting is tiring, but it’s also a perfect opportunity to gently restart the robotic formula of political cold opens. For example, why not write a dialogue between the two of them to take full advantage of two good impressions, rather than having them both recite things to the camera, and then introducing more and less good impressions? Well, it’s Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz! Should we?

Most Valuable Player (who may not be ready for prime time)

Sarah Sherman might sing more about Domingo, do her grieving animal widow, and make out with Shrek, but it’s Chloe Fineman who better embodies the Charli XCX spirit. Close, but Chloe wins this week.

Next time

Paul Mescal and Shaboozey, an unlikely combination that still gives the feeling that someone made a correct bet at some point.

Stray observations

• • Bad Audition Sketch Power Rankings: 1. Sydney Sweeney (Chloe); 2. Jojo Siwa (Chloe); 3. Adele (Charli); 4. Sebastian Maniscalco (Marcello); 5. Shannon Sharpe (Devan); 6. Bad Bunny (Marcello); 7. Leslie Mann (Chloe); 8. Troye Sivan (Charli); 9. Mikey Madison (Heidi); 10. Al Pacino (Dana Carvey); 11. Bernie Sanders (Sarah); 12. Fran Lebowitz (Bowen); 13. Martha Stewart (Chloe); 14. Janet Jackson (ego); 15. Charlie XCX (Bowen)
• • Did that Allstate ad count as a Please Don’t Destroy short, or were they cut? Sub-question: Were they shortened in tribute to special guest Kyle Mooney?
• • Oh yeah, Kyle Mooney was there! He is probably in New York to promote his film J2K (presumably he will be at a press screening on Monday evening). He’s also now part of SNL’s weird but kind of fun unofficial Season 50 guest list. We’re a third of the way through the season and at least one, usually two or three, former cast members have appeared in every episode, often more than once. Carvey has definitely logged more screen time than several cast members (and not just the newbies!). As this becomes less directly tied to terrible politically themed walk-ons, it also becomes more fun: OK, so this season there will sometimes be a Digital Short or a Carvey impression for a little bit of throwback. That works.
• • Where the hell was…? Here’s the part of the recap where I ask where the heck a certain cast member was. Where the hell was Mikey Day? Actually it’s fine; He’s in a lot of sketches, let him rest.
• • Don’t tell anyone, but my favorite Charli XCX record is Crash.