The Elvis star makes his hosting debut with musical guest Lizzo as the show bids farewell to Cecily Strong.
Welcome Coneheads toSNLin Review: Christmas edition.SNLhas an illustrious collection ofholiday-themed sketches.
In fact, one might have mistakenlast week’s episodehosted bySteve MartinandMartin Shortas the annual Christmas show.
Austin Butler hosts ‘SNL’.NBC
But no, it is technically (officially?)
tonight’s episode, headlined byElvis’Austin Butler.
Weathers is an Elvis aficionado.
He even saw Presley live in Las Vegas the year before he died 15th-row center.
His take on Butler?
“I thought he did a really great job.
The best of it, what I was most impressed with, was his athletics.
His ability to move like Elvis, walk like Elvis, to even shift his weight like Elvis.”
I asked Weathers why people are still interested in Elvis decades after his death.
He says: “It’s an archetype, one of the greatest stories ever told.
Elvis Presley was one of the most charismatic, mesmerizing performers to ever appear on a stage.”
He says Elvis exceeds even the Beatles and Michael Jackson as a live act.
Will the show be able to tap into the charisma audiences were so drawn to this summer?
Weathers observes: “Cecily is probably the strongest link in the current chain.
At least cast members can one day boast, ‘I was there during ‘The Strong Era.'”
Mikey Day appears as his third least embarrassing child, Don Jr.
He also welcomes Kimberly Guilfoyle (Cecily Strong).
“Snore, what a waste of talent,” says Weather.
The rundown of Trump’s Christmas list is the highlight of this cold open.
Monologue
Butler notes last year’s holiday show was canceled due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
This year has a smart remedy: they stopped testing.
He talks about rumors his voice changed after playing Elvis.
They show a clip fromThe Carrie Diaries.
Some of his best childhood memories include watchingSNLwith his mom and impersonating Gollum fromLord of the Rings.
He notes: “He doesn’t to me really look like Elvis.
That’s how I think of it, not a literal portrayal of Elvis.
That’d be almost impossible to do.”
He says the production design of the movie was “miraculous,” and very authentic and well-researched.
“The selective realism really worked, and they really rolled the story together well,” he notes.
Nice to see JAJ in this kind of role.
One of the contestants, Troy (Butler), is strangely awesome at this game.
Other contestants suggest he’s cheating.
“There’s an X in that!”
Not a fan of the game show parodies, personally.
Weathers says he thinks it’s pretty good.
“A Christmas Epiphany”
It’s Christmas Eve, and Rich is out getting tanked.
This evokesIt’s A Wonderful Life.
Butler does a solid Jimmy Stewart.
Drunk, he stumbles home talking to himself.
He stares into a happy home, longing for what they have.
Inside, they see him and are terrified.
His presence drives a wedge in the family, tearing them apart.
Mikey Day’s angelic bartender reunites Rich with his lost love, Denise (Chloe Fineman).
Weathers likes this Capra parody.
Marzipan
“you’ve got the option to almost taste the taste!”
“Yuck, it’s perfect!”
says the strange cook (Longfellow).
I love how specific and strange this is it’s silly and absurd and barbed.
Love the accents, love Kenan, love calling out the weird ubiquity of this German treat.
Check it out, especially if this was forced on you growing up!
Jewish Elvis
Butler is dressed up as a woman!
We’re at a retirement home, and everyone is jazzed for Jewish Elvis (Sarah Sherman).
This is a tour-de-force for Sherman.
“Ruin me, Jewish Elvis!”
If this is our future post-Cecily, I think we are in good hands.
A total home run.
Love Sherman basking in the anarchy.
Weathers counters: “That sucked, sorry.
Davey Wilson used to say a music sketch or commercial parody died after 45 seconds…
I used to do the Jewish Elvis.
Elvis Aron Pressman, the Rabbi of Devon and Roll.
Lizzo “Break Up Twice”
Lizzo turns off her alarm and slinks out of bed.
The R&B-infused “Break Up Twice” is the seventh track on her sophomore album,Special.
She does not want to break up twice!
Patrick Weathers loves Lizzo.
“Loving this, wow!
Weekend Update
Colin Jost lays into Trump’s NFT cards.
Weathers likes the “mini-Madoff” joke.
Krampus (Bowen Yang) shows up.
The opposite of Santa.
He’s talking about shame, what his therapist says, and SZA lines that resonate with him.
Uh oh, his horn fell off!
“The demon was good,” says Weathers.
Jost’s Great Aunt Pat (Gardner) comes on to talk about holiday etiquette.
“Manners are the glue that hold society together.”
They exchange a kiss.
She orders a drink from Mikey Day the actual, underused Mikey Day.
They also smooch this time, so she can apply lipstick.
Aunt Pat has a funny line about calling Day and Jost “TV muppets.”
I like this a lot.
“The Aunt is funny.
I know women just like her,” adding it “is fresh and smart.”
He wants her to be a recurring character.
Cathy Ann (Cecily Strong) returns!
I think we knew this might be coming, given it is her last show.
She is here to say goodbye.
She is going to prison!
This is her first appearance on the show since January 2021.
The character and Strong blur together, as she notes she once anchored Update opposite Jost.
This is poignant, obviously it’s Strong saying goodbye.
Still, this was cute.
“That was a nice goodbye,” says Weathers.
White Elephant
A white elephant gift exchange a.k.a.
Yankee swap is a party game where amusing and impractical gifts are exchanged during festivities.
Sean (Butler) gets angry when his perfect gift gets stolen from him by Cecily Strong.
Mikey Day is back again as Santa.
He notes if someone gets a gift they really love, let them keep it.
Jennifer Coolidge Gets Impressed by Christmas
Chloe Fineman displays her spot-onJennifer Coolidgeimpression.
The show is clearly trying to give Fineman an opportunity to put her talents on full display.
The accuracy is there, I just wish it wasn’t as shoe-horned.
Fineman continues not to feel fully integrated with the show.
Lizzo “Someday at Christmas”
Lizzo covers Stevie Wonder.
“This is really nice, Motown,” says Weathers.
[It’s] real singing…
They call it TALENT.
She’s lovely to watch.”
Lizzo recorded this cover for Amazon Music.
The song is featured exclusively on the music streaming platform.
c’mon Don’t Destroy
Our boys are hanging with Austin Butler.
They celebrate their successful creative brainstorming with some wine, which gets spilled.
That leads to an overt pitch to Butler.
Plirts, plastic shirts.
Lizzo shows up, they want Butler to invest.
He isn’t convinced, especially when it’s revealed the plirts cause baldness.
Blue Christmas
Oh, um, another goodbye to Cecily Strong.
That makes it, what, seven total?
Okay, forgive the snark.
We will miss Cecily, I will miss Cecily.
I am a little nervous about this show in her absence; we have finally turned a page.
And, for the second time in this episode, Cecily sings.
Having her duet with (a fake) Elvis is a fitting final note for her, no?
“They are both flat, DAMN!”
Other cast members join in, including Colin Jost.
Still cool that we got to see Butler’s Elvis in this episode.)
Final thoughts
What did we think?Vote hereor sound off below.
Thank you again to Elvis expert Patrick Weathers.
His Elvis bona fides go on and on his aunt dated one of Elvis’ openers!
If you are interested, check out Weathers’latest album,The Deplorables, on Amazon!
If you want some content from me during break, check out this EW article on thebest and worstSNLmovies!
Have a great holiday and start to 2023!
Think of me until next time.
