Saturday Night Liveis back, baby! The Season 47 premiere with hostOwen Wilsonand musical guestKacey Musgraveswelcomed back several veteran cast members to Studio 8H, includingKenan Thompson,Aidy Bryant,Cecily Strong, andPete Davidson, and introduced three new featured players:Sarah Sherman,James Austin Johnson, andAristotle Athari. Some other cast changes includeChloe FinemanandBowen Yangbumping up to the main cast (yay!) and the exit of long-time cast memberBeck Bennettand featured playerLauren Holt.
Surprisingly, this was Owen Wilson’s first time hosting the show, though in 2016, he andBen Stillerdelighted fans with theirguest appearanceat the Weekend Update desk as theirZoolandercharacters Hansel and Derek, in which they talked about their other specialty: politics. Wilson got his start in film with the cult-classic filmBottle Rocket, which he starred in with his brotherLuke Wilsonand co-wrote with directorWes Anderson. Since then, he’s appeared in comedies such asWedding Crashers,Meet the Fockers, and theNight at the MuseumandCarsfranchises. He reunites (yet again) with Anderson on the upcoming filmThe French Dispatch, which was recently nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He also joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as TVA agent Mobius M. Mobius in the Disney+ seriesLoki.
Cheered on by his brothers Andrew and Luke in the audience, Owen kicked off the show with astrong monologuepoking fun at his cool, calm, and collected on-screen persona. The show leaned heavily on COVID (the everpresent elephant in the room) and the various ways the media has handled it — but never fear, the show also spent some time in sillier territory, showing the behind the scenes for a mail-in stool testing company commercial and imagining what aStar Trekseries starringJeff Bezoswould look like. It was abitof a bummer that Villaseñor didn’t get a chance to doher Owen Wilson impressionwith theactualOwen Wilson, but most unexpected was the absence of aLokiparody sketch. (Or maybe the entire show was made up of variants the whole time?) Nevertheless, Owen Wilson served his own glorious purpose as host, and we need to talk about it.
Let’s revisit some of the best moments from the October 2nd episode ofSaturday Night Live. Live from New York, it’s Owen Wilson!
5. Biden Unites Democrats Cold Open
Front and center for the cold open was newbie James Austin Johnson asJoe Bidenattempting to unite the Democratic Party on either end of the spectrum to support the passing of the new infrastructure bill. On one side was moderates Arizona SenatorKyrsten Sinema(Cecily Strong) who looks like “all the characters fromScooby-Dooat the same time,” and West Virginia SenatorJoe Manchin(Aidy Bryant), the “pain in [Biden’s] keister.” On the more progressive side was RepresentativeIlhanOmar(Ego Nwodim), who was just relieved that Biden didn’t accidentally call her “Kamala,” andAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez(Melissa Villaseñor), the “Cruella of the Met Gala.” Johnson, who’s known for his incredibleDonald Trumpimpression, had a very strong first show, appearing in nearly every sketch.
4. Women’s Talk Show
“Welcome back toThe Talking, where we discuss everything that women could have an opinion about at 11:30 in the morning.” This sketch was a scary good parody ofThe View’srecent on-air COVID test result snafu, in which two of the hosts were escorted away from the set in the middle of the show for testing positive for COVID. Here, Owen Wilson plays a doctor who interrupts the show’s very in-depth conversation about the stock market to give the hosts their test results and confirm some personal information about them in the process.
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3. NFL on Fox
2. School Board Meeting
People have a lot of questions about the new COVID protocols being implemented in schools, so to make sure everyone is heard, the Lucerne County school district has opened up their latest meeting to the public. What could possibly go wrong? In this sketch, the two board members (played byAlex Moffatand Ego Nwodim) do their best to satisfy the bizarre bunch of people who came to the meeting to air their grievances, even if theydon’thave a child in the school system. Things get off-topicprettyquickly, and like a lot of meetings, nothing gets accomplished. Also, Mr. Dot (Owen Wilson) stops by to inquire about a memo which hemighthave misread.
1. Weekend Update: Pete Davidson on the Met Gala
Pete Davidson stopped by Weekend Update in a lovelyNorm Macdonaldshirt to tellColin Jostabout his recent experience at the Met Gala, the celebrity-filled event known for elaborate costumes and fashion statements. Davidson joked about his own outfit, which he said made him look like “James Bond at his quinceanera.” He also explains his confusion as to how the 1980s was both the “gayest generation” and “the most homophobic,” how him sometimes wearing nail polish and dresses freaks out his uncle, and makes fun of Jost’s recent role inTom and Jerry. Colin Jost andMichael Chealsodedicated this week’s Weekend Updateto comedian andSNLcast member Norm Macdonald by showing some of his best jokes during his time behind the Update desk.
For more Owen Wilson, check outThe French Dispatch, which will hit theaters October 22nd, and streamLokion Disney+. Next week,Kim Kardashian Westarrives at Studio 8H to make her hosting debut.
KEEP READING:‘Saturday Night Live’ Season 47 Sets Owen Wilson, Kim Kardashian West, Rami Malek, and Jason Sudeikis as Opening Hosts
