A Hilarious Start to SNL’s Golden Anniversary!
To mark its incredible 50th anniversary, “Saturday Night Live” kicked off this week with a fantastic throwback opening sketch, bringing back fan-favorites Amy Poehler and Tina Fey to the stage. Poehler, also this week’s host, embodied Attorney General Pam Bondi in a sharp political parody of her Senate Judiciary Committee testimony. Fey made a surprise appearance as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, adding to the star power and comedic chaos.
Poehler, in character, famously quipped to the committee, “What’s up, nerds? Furious to be here.” When asked to affirm the truth of her testimony, she delivered a derisive laugh and a firm “No.” She humorously justified spelling “Bondi” with an ‘I’ by stating, “cause I ain’t gonna answer any questions.” She then described the Justice Department’s operations as “moving like Kash Patel’s eyeballs, very quickly in multiple directions at once.”
The sketch continued with Poehler playfully mocking various senators, including Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal (played by Mikey Day), remarking, “Even people in Connecticut go ‘damn, that guy’s white as hell.'” When questioned about the necessity of U.S. troops protecting Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, Poehler turned to Fey’s Noem, who dramatically entered the hearing, clutching a large automatic weapon. “Hold my gun,” Fey’s character demanded, tossing it off-camera.
Fey, as Kristi Noem, explained her name’s unique spelling (“with an ‘I’ ’cause that’s how I thought it was spelled”) and boasted about being “the rarest type of person in Washington, D.C. — a brunette that Donald Trump listens to.”
(A clip of Tina Fey as Kristi Noem, hilariously disrupting the Senate hearing.)
When Day’s character suggested Democrats were more eager to end the government shutdown than Republicans, Fey retorted, “Ha, that makes me laugh more than the end of ‘Old Yeller.'” A shocked Day asked, “When the dog gets shot?” to which Fey coolly replied, “Dogs don’t just get shot. Heroes shoot them.”
After Fey delivered an impromptu recruitment ad for I.C.E. (“Do you like to use zip ties because people in your life don’t trust you with keys?”), Poehler wrapped up the segment by asking the committee, “Does that answer your question?” Jeremy Culhane, portraying Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, responded, “No. Not even a little bit.” Poehler concluded, “Then our work here is done.”
(Another entertaining sketch featuring Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.)
Poehler’s Nostalgic and Candid Monologue
Amy Poehler returned to host SNL for the first time solo since 2015, sharing a heartfelt yet hilarious monologue. She reflected on her time in the cast, revealing that “being famous” was her first love, a love she still benefits from thanks to “amazing medications.”
She fondly recalled her childhood dream of becoming an actress, a dream she joked would only last “until they invent an A.I. actress who’s funnier and willing to do full frontal.” Poehler highlighted the liberating aspect of turning 50: “you start to not care about what people think.”
(Watch Amy Poehler’s memorable opening monologue.)
She cleverly linked this sentiment to SNL itself, quipping, “And that’s what’s so great about ‘S.N.L.,’” acknowledging that “She’s obviously stopped caring.”
Unforgettable Commercial Parodies
This week’s episode also featured delightful commercial parodies. Aubrey Plaza, Poehler’s former co-star from “Parks and Recreation,” made an appearance in a fake trailer for “The Hunting Wives,” a steamy Netflix drama. The parody showcased a world where seduction is rampant until Plaza’s character reveals a girlfriend, leading the other wives to pull their guns on her.
For fans of classic SNL fake products, there was a brilliant spoof for “Non-Non-Alcoholic Beer,” hailed as “the first non-alcoholic beverage that’s over 96 percent alcohol.” Cheers to that!
(Enjoy the hilarious ‘Non-Non-Alcoholic Beer’ commercial.)
Weekend Update’s Sharp-Witted Jokes
Colin Jost and Michael Che brought their signature humor to the Weekend Update desk, focusing on the Gaza cease-fire deal.
Jost kicked off with:
It is nice to start Update with some good news, for once. There is peace in the Middle East. The only downside is, there’s war in Chicago. Only Trump could “Freaky Friday” Chicago and Gaza. And I know Trump is upset that he didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize. But the last guy to send heavily armed men into an American city was Bane from Batman. Bane, who was also snubbed for the Peace Prize. And Trump deserves credit, I have to say, for brokering the cease-fire in Gaza. But I’m slightly skeptical since Biden also negotiated a cease-fire in Gaza nine months ago. Remember that? No? Well, neither does Biden. The actual Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this week to Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado. Or as Fox News reported it, “Trump Robbed By Deranged Hispanic.”
Che followed up with:
Many leaders in the Middle East are crediting President Trump with brokering the Israel-Hamas cease-fire. But it makes perfect sense to me. Because sometimes crazy people only listen to other crazy people. Like when you see a guy jacking it on the subway, you don’t just ask him to stop. No, you’ve got to take off your pants, too, and now we can negotiate.
(A compilation of the best Weekend Update jokes.)
Star-Studded Weekend Update Guests
Even after its massive anniversary celebrations earlier this year, SNL pulled out all the stops for its actual 50th birthday night. Pop sensation Charli XCX, a past host and musical guest, joined Role Model on stage for his performance of “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out.”
The show also orchestrated a nostalgic reunion, bringing back former Weekend Update anchors Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Seth Meyers (now host of “Late Night”) to their old desk. They engaged in a hilarious game-show-style “joke off” with current anchors Jost and Che, delivering rapid-fire punchlines about a woman in Tennessee who gave birth to a 13-pound baby. Memorable lines included:
- POEHLER: The baby “was so big, he slapped the doctor on his ass.”
- FEY: “and the new baby’s name is ‘Ahhhhhhhhh!’”
- MEYERS: “Damn, did she give birth to it or did it drive out?”
- CHE: “The second the baby was out, the woman zipped around the room like a deflated balloon.”
- JOST: “The baby’s nickname is Magician because it basically sawed his mother in half.”