Michael Keaton returns to ‘Saturday Night Live,’ as does Alec Baldwin

For his fourth time internet hosting “Saturday Night time Stay” (final time was in 2015), Michael Keaton proved a grounding presence in a number of sketches. That’s not shocking on condition that at one time, he was one of many world’s hottest comedic movie actors — you would argue that he and “SNL” alum Eddie Murphy dominated film comedies of the Nineteen Eighties.

However that comedic sturdiness — Keaton doesn’t break character and he’s nonetheless bought crack timing and line deliveries — felt prefer it was on the again burner in an episode that didn’t appear to profit from Keaton’s abilities. After a monologue through which a couple of forged members have been dressed as considered one of his iconic characters, Beetlejuice, Keaton performed a cookie maker with a zombie-eye cookie that appears like a breast, a father whose son unwisely performs the track “Hey, Soul Sister” about his proposed interracial marriage, and a canceled Lyft driver roped right into a reside Uber-car recreation present.

It’s not that the sketches weren’t humorous. It’s that a lot of the items, plus a late-in-the-show restaurant sketch about misplaced love, didn’t actually permit Keaton to create memorable new characters. In truth, they appeared to make use of his dramatic-acting gear extra, like when he performed a tragic skydiving teacher within the first new Please Don’t Destroy video sketch of the season.

The exception to the drama-or-sidekick drawback was a sketch through which Keaton performed the stunt motion coordinator for a “Halloween” film through which he makes Michael Myers transfer like a contemporary dancer as an alternative of a serial killer. However the sketch was one joke stretched too lengthy, regardless of Keaton’s efficiency.

Musical visitor Billie Eilish carried out “Birds of a Feather” and “Wildflower” along with her band, together with her also-famous brother, Finneas.

For the fourth week in a row, visitor stars Maya Rudolph and Dana Carvey returned to reprise their roles, a number of instances, as Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden. However this time, Alec Baldwin, who used to painting former President Trump on “SNL,” was right here to play Bret Baier of Fox Information in a takedown of his interview with Harris this week. Baldwin as Baier interrupted Harris often, suggesting he’ll solely let her end when he goes to mattress. Kamala took interview breaks to show to a telephone digital camera and make fast TikTok spots (“See how I don’t let males interrupt my solutions? Very demure, very aware.”). Harris countered claims she will be able to’t deal with immigration cartels by saying, “If I used to be in ‘Breaking Unhealthy,’ it might have resulted in three episodes,” and complained that clips of Trump (James Austin Johnson) and Biden have been being performed out of context. And far hay was made out of Trump taking part in music for 40 minutes at a city corridor — Harris factors out that it appeared to be filled with homosexual anthems resembling “Y.M.C.A.” and “It’s Raining Males.” “Does he not hearken to the lyrics?” she requested.

Keaton celebrated the fiftieth season of “SNL” by mentioning that when the present started, he was a manufacturing assistant on “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.” What did they’ve in frequent? “A lot of puppets, tons of cocaine,” he joked. When he introduced up the phenomenon of grown males carrying Beetlejuice costumes for Halloween, he was joined by Mike Day and Andy Samberg (“The writers couldn’t jam Doug Emhoff into the opening.”), every in full ‘Juice costumes and hamming it up with their impression. Sarah Sherman, who is usually wearing vivid colours, wore a striped black-and-white go well with for the monologue, however stated it wasn’t a dressing up. After a lot prodding, Keaton lastly carried out the voice of Beetlejuice, however solely to say, “We’ve bought an amazing present!”

Finest sketch of the night time: This Store TV cookie is solely the breast

The Store TV sketches are reliably humorous as a result of the premise is strong: An artisan goes on to promote a product alongside hosts Rhett and Lindy, performed by Day and Heidi Gardner, however the product is at all times formed like genitalia or is unsuitable for TV not directly. Final time, Adam Driver had a naughty Santa chocolate; this time it’s Keaton as a baker who’s made a Halloween zombie eyeball cookie that appears precisely like a girl’s breast, full with a crimson velvet nipple middle. As Day and Gardner battle to maintain the present on observe, viewers calling in ask questions like, “Is the cookie obtainable in several ethnicities?”

Additionally good: TikTok’s algorithm, however as an ‘SNL’ sketch

“SNL” has completed this one earlier than, too, in 2021, however it works simply as nicely once more: a random assortment of TikTok moments on somebody’s smartphone. It’s loads of jokes in a brief period of time, some very topical. Harris, Rudolph and Eilish all seem as individuals subjected to dangerous singing from Bowen Yang as influencer Harry Daniels. Carvey returns as Biden on a steadiness board whereas Ego Nwodim performs a girl with many, many complaints about her native Chili’s restaurant. Bethenny Frankel, a tradwife, a person gradual dancing along with his cat, and “Name Her Daddy” podcast host Alex Cooper make appearances within the mock TikTok clips. Sadly, the individual viewing the movies misses the start of their son, as we study from a textual content message.

‘Weekend Replace’ winner: Emil Wakim says Christian Arabs are virtually French

Sarah Sherman returned to speak about what’s lacking within the Victoria’s Secret Vogue Present, together with contaminated stomach button rings and diapers, however Emil Wakim received the week by discussing what it’s wish to be each Arab and Christian. Wakim, one of many season’s new featured forged members, had an opportunity to introduce himself to the “SNL” viewers by speaking about how his Lebanese immigrant father was so successful that he’s now a Republican. Wakim scored with jokes about how rigidity in any room drops when he tells individuals he’s a Christian Arab (together with in Studio 8H). Wakim stated that his father at all times instructed him that his household is extra European than Center Japanese in its beliefs, and that they’re just about French. (The French, Wakim urged, would strongly disagree.) Wakim added that Christian Arabs are simply, “Bushy, sweaty, passionate guys … a Greek you’re kinda afraid of.”