Armisen Delivers Strong Season Finale for SNL With Special Guests
It was a rough two weeks for SNL, but last night’s episode with Fred Armisen as host closed season 41 on a high note. Armisen delivered a bizarre but hilarious extended opening monologue, where Armisen shared an excerpt from his fictional one man show about how SNL changed his life. Armisen explained that he owes everything to the place where he got his start, and said that’s why he created a one man show, “Love From New York I Did Saturdays Right.” He shared excerpts, which included re-enacting getting the call to audition for SNL, and his experience trying out for the role of a lifetime, and impressions of a buddy from home who might have been Barney Rubble.
Other stand out Armisen sketches included a sci-fi space disaster that left Armisen the only astronaut able to get to safety via the ship’s only escape pod, a parody of Dead Poet’s Society with a surprise ending, a high school theater troupe performing “America the Beautiful, Question Mark?” and Armisen’s best role of the night, a sketch with old friend Jason Sudeikis with Armisen playing his girlfriend Regine.
No visit from frequent collaborator Seth Meyers, but there was a guest visit from Maya Rudolph on Weekend Update, Carry Brownstein showed up for a sketch about a Southern Rock band, and we got one final Larry David appearance as Bernie Sanders in the cold open before the election shifts away from the primaries and a song from Andy Samberg, “Finest Girl’ that will have America singing “Fuck Bin Laden” all day.
The only thing we don’t know yet is who performed on the infamous SNL stage for the last time last night. No departures have been announced yet, but odds are someone won’t be coming back when Season 42 opens in the fall. Will it be Kenan’s last year now that he’s joining up with the Marty and Maya variety show? Will that joke Michael Che made about Colin Jost being fired be prophetic? Will Che be back?
