“ SNL ” Season 46 Episode 14 Recap: Nick Jonas Hosts

Although he’s still primarily known as a pop star and one of the Jonas Brothers (reunited), Nick Jonas has slowly added extra credits to his resume. And it’s not just things like becoming a coach on The voice; Jonas featured in Midway, the Jumanji Fox movies and series Scream Queens. While none of these really brought out a new and vibrant aspect of Jonas’ character, screen time spawned more screen time. Now, upon releasing a new solo album and appearing in the upcoming favorite YA adaptation Walk in chaos, Jonas returns to Studio 8H as a musical guest (a role he has played before both solo and with the JoBros) and as a host, a role he is playing for the first time. While he’s comfortable enough on the camera to jump over any raised wooden initial scene, he shows more presence than comedic chops; no, not all pop stars will slip into things at 8am as easily as Justin Timberlake.

As usual, this week’s sketches are featured here ranked from best to worst.

Two friends (Mikey Day, Chris Redd) try out a fitness mirror, which features a cast of spinning training gurus (Jonas, Heidi Gardner) – and a woman called Shannon Delgado (Kate McKinnon), who appears to be trapped in the mirror by some malicious force. The slightly grimy and confused middle-aged woman’s first appearance is a big little shock, and McKinnon plays her muted panic perfectly. This sketch looks like something Day must have imagined, in that it tackles a weird, inexplicable yet incredibly specific phenomenon that becomes an obsession for at least one other person in the sketch. Azuzal (Pete Davidson), the demon in the mirror, might make his only appearance here but it seems likely that Shannon Delgado will return in a future episode.

Although Update begins by assessing the $ 1.9 trillion COVID relief bill just passed in the House, one of the best jokes comes with a mention of Trump. (For a preview of his keynote address to CPAC tonight, “Give Your Grandpa Some Cocaine.”) Michael Che zings Democrats first for their inability to get really angry, then Joe Biden for his idea generous to put vaccination centers in black churches. Both make good points, and he’s got a fun Jersey Beach joke, to boot. Kenan Thompson returns as the self-promoting LaVar Ball hype man, touting, among other things, LaMelo’s rookie year with the Charlotte Hornets. This character is well established and firmly established, but it’s hard to overstate just how good Thompson is at selling what might otherwise be mediocre material. His joy is entirely contagious.

Update’s second segment is a mixed bag, but Che delivers one of the best jokes of the night as he goes from coronavirus in black communities to police brutality. Cecily Strong is stepping in as Republican Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was in the news this week for ugly behavior regarding the transgender child of a co-worker. Strong is in his element here, taking on a disproportionate political figure and playing word games with his already outrageous comments. His play on the old rhyme “milk pudding, lemonade” is awesome (albeit unsettling), and his weird demonic sneeze is incredible. The latter is a testament to Strong’s physical prowess in comedy.

With so much confusion over who can get the vaccine, Anthony Fauci (Kate McKinnon) welcomes Governors Gavin Newsom, Andrew Cuomo and Gretchen Whitmer (Alex Moffat, Pete Davidson and Cecily Strong) to assess the “candidates” who are just trying to ‘get a shot. The premise certainly touches on one of the great anxieties of Americans eagerly awaiting some kind of post-COVID life, and McKinnon ushers the end-to-end sketch with aplomb. There are a lot of gags that feel stuck, like with Ted Cruz’s CPAC stand-up routine, but there are enough scams and specific complaints from citizens to keep things hanging. Again, it’s nice to feel the writers playing with unusual vanities in the cold, when they could easily emulate a cable talk show.

This filmed piece catches a team of SNL ladies (Chloe Fineman, Kate McKinnon, Melissa Villaseñor, Ego Nwodim) enjoying their loved ones’ outing to relax with a night of shows about the murder. The song is catchy, it touches on a real obsession that many women have with serial killers, and it rhymes “autopsy” with “Munchausen by proxy”. While this focuses on the juxtaposition between gore and women’s benign activities (eg eating pizza, doing taxes), it would be nice to hear it touch on the psychology behind the obsession as well. Jonas’ brief appearance as NXIVM guru Keith Raniere and Villaseñor’s confession on pastry shows are both cute last-minute gags in the sketch.

When the prince (Jonas) shows up at Cinderella’s house looking for his future wife, the glass slipper his sweetheart lost on prom night is really tiny. The sketch features two small acts: the first uncovers the mystery of the slipper, the second finds the prince denying a disturbing behavior with an enchanted, singing mouse (Aidy Bryant). While Byrant is great as a jolly rodent, the mystery (and the prince’s general ignorance) is a lot more fun than the details and fallout of the encounter. Kenan Thompson slips here and there as the prince’s footman; Although Kate McKinnon’s stepmom has the biggest line, Thompson pulls off the funniest moments.

In a bar for the first time since the coronavirus quarantines began, a man (Jonas) and a woman (Kate McKinnon) flirt and fall in love. A simple plot, but the joy here comes with the many little gags that writers have used to subvert the standard encounter. (For my money, the best is about the woman’s knuckle tattoos and her love for haberdashery.) This is one of Jonas’ main roles, and although he is able to match the tone of McKinnon, his performance does not offer many comic nuances. It works well, however, in part because of the sheer volume of clever little gags that keep the sketch moving. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that there is a meowing kitten in Lauren Holt’s arms in the corner of the set, and McKinnon does his best not to laugh.

Simple but discursive Dionne Warwick (Ego Nwodim) tosses Jonas, The Weeknd (Kenan Thompson), Dua Lipa (Melissa Villaseñor) and Machine Gun Kelly (Pete Davidson) into everything she wants to know. The tone of this sketch, illustrated by slightly dotted Warwick of Nwodim, is really what he got for it. Guest impressions don’t add much here, and we don’t hear much about Warwick’s niece Brittani (Punkie Johnson), but Warwick’s terse reviews and non-sequels keep things interesting. And the living cockatoo outshines everyone by screaming for 30 seconds before appearing, then appearing completely uncomfortable on the arm of a beast master (Andrew Dismukes). This sketch also contains the inevitable reference to Jonas’ marriage to Priyanka Chopra.

During a bachelor party for Mickey (Beck Bennett), his pals (Jonas, Kyle Mooney, Bowen Yang, Alex Moffat, Mikey Day) hire a few strippers and share this most intimate experience: making each other happy next to each other. This pre-recorded musical number allows almost all the characters to have a little moment of monologue: the father of the family, the marriage outside the tower, the future brother-in-law. Each of them has slightly different motivations for wanting to get tough on buddies. The writers touched on a strange element of the bachelor party, and the first reveal is excellent. But otherwise, yeah, it’s a lot of noise for boners, and strippers recognize it when all is said and done.

Jonas lays out the details: he’s a JoBros, he’s from New Jersey, and he’s done musicals in the past. Kevin Jonas comes by to make sure the brothers still make the band, then the cast members join Nick on stage to sing a slightly edited version of “Drink With Me” from The set. Kevin’s cameo has some fun lines (“’MMMBop,’ was that us?”) And there are some nice midlife-related observations in the reinvigorated song. There’s not so much a thread as a few fun little ideas wrapped together, but it’s better than an elaborate intro when there’s a chance to keep a sketch that might otherwise be cut.

While queuing for a ride in a theme park, a group of high school juniors (Jonas, Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Mikey Day) talk about who will ride together; the strange man is a kid they call Cuck (Kyle Mooney), who carries a life-size doll of Pixar’s jazz pianist Soul. These are mainly teenagers who hide themselves to avoid talking about their true feelings; diction and behavior feel true to reality. As a sketch, however, it doesn’t have much to do with it. There is a lot of repetition and the result seems predetermined. And you must feel for poor Mooney, who plays the fifth wheel, whether he writes the sketches for himself or not.

With Jonas doing double duty as host and musical guest, it’s obvious where his main talents lie. Although he continues in the skits, he is much more confident and impressive when he performs his songs. He could come back as a host, sure, but there is room for improvement. As for the individual sketches, the writers found something really fun with Shannon Delgado in “Workout Mirror,” and “Murder Show” has joined a constant stream of fun musical numbers over the past few weeks. And although the monologue was short, there is a “Home Makeover” sketch that has always been cut; it’s worth watching anyway. The next concert has been announced on the air: Maya Rudolph and musical guest Jack Harlow on March 27. SNL found its limited corona groove by doing sets of six or more shows, so expect a steady run until the end of the season.

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