Saturday Night Live recap: Ana de Armas charms Studio 8H

After securing her first Oscar nomination, Ana de Armas is a first-time Saturday Night Live host to promote her upcoming action-romance Apple film Ghosted. Earlier this week, de Armas’ frequent co-star Chris Evans discussed his aversion to the “terrifying” prospect of hosting considering himself “not a funny person.” In contrast to his trepidation, de Armas proves to be an enthusiastic and versatile host committing to characters and situations.

Best sketch of the night

A simple concept Yng Spicy, a new rapper, in search of a “sexy
and cool” producer tag for his new record, turns into comedy with a series of
misunderstandings. A fragile male ego in search of affirmation from a duo of
hot women, played by de Armas and Ego Nwodim, the rapper becomes frustrated as they
question his intelligence and cleanliness. The duo continues to deflate all the
fantasies he wants to project in a hilarious reversal of hip-hop bravado. Each
new setup manages to top the last like when the ladies are asked for something sexy
and return with a narrative about the realities of delivering a pregnancy. The
final dark twist into floating accusations of drugging and sexual impropriety
gives the sketch just enough edge.

Worst sketch of the night

Set in another game show scenario, “Matt Schatt Game Show”
as de Armas’ first sketch is a cause for alarm. A lazy sketch that simply
fixates on de Armas’ beauty feels superficial and one-note. Fortunately, the
remaining sketches allowed de Armas to show greater range. Completely reliant on the discrepancy of attractiveness of the couple, the sketch does not give anyone much to do at all. Perhaps it is best
to get this sketch out of the way early in the show, but it sparks a fear that
the entire episode would fixate on one aspect of de Armas’ persona.

Most uncomfortable sketch of the night

Sometimes everything going wrong in a sketch is hilarious.
Other times, everything going wrong is just uncomfortable. “Dog Acting School”
is the latter. It’s a shame because de Armas and Chloe Fineman look like an
interesting duo. However, the problem arises when the dogs enter the sketch. In
showbusiness, they say never work with animals or kids and this sketch proves why.
The dogs were fairly uncooperative and the attempts to get them in position
felt like something bad could happen at any moment. Instead of any comedy, the real
tension was if someone was going to drop a dog or not.

Right idea, wrong execution of the night

The original “Lisa from Temecula” became a surprise hit for SNL, so it makes sense to bring her character back. In recent years, SNL has drifted away from recurring characters. Part of that reasoning may have to do with the fear of being redundant. However, in this case it’s not the character, but the setting that is tired. Nwodim still delivers a hilarious performance, but the uninspired switch from a restaurant to a wedding dinner wears quickly. The sketch tries to hit a lot of the same beats from the original, which while funny fail to create anything new. The lesson here would be to continue with Lisa from Temecula, but put her in new and different situations. What would Lisa from Temecula be like in an office meeting, in court, or on an airplane?

MVP of the night: Ego Nwodim

Featured in four sketches tonight, Ego Nwodim continues to be one of the best performers on the show. Her presence continues to dominate whenever she is on screen. It is first proven with her excellent portrayal of a lady trying to find someone in the park, even interrupting the classic start to the show. Her skeptical delivery in “Album Recording Session,” anchors the sketch. She provides most of the punchlines for “American Girls,” and it would have been even better with more of her character. Finally, she earns the season’s first recurring character with Lisa from Temcula. The sketch itself is a little too repetitive, but Nwodim’s performance transcends the stale setting and continues to break her sketch partners.

Stray observations:

• How are all the SNL wigs so much better than the wig Ana de Armas is wearing in Ghosted?
• The fake nipples in “Matt Schatt Game Show” were impressive.
• “American Girl Doll Movie Trailer” is a great idea, but it would have been better if they had leaned more into the idea of a prestige drama movie trailer. It has so much potential and was reminiscent of the “Disney Housewives” sketch.
• The “Please Don’t Destroy: Hangxiety” is good, but unfortunately fails to live up to this moment from 30 Rock.