RuPaul‘s Saturday Night Live hosting debut was far from a total drag.
To his credit, the Emmy-winning Drag Race emcee was a highly enthusiastic host, whose energy was apparent throughout the broadcast. The sketches, though, were just middling. Aside from a pitstop at a children’s library, and a digital short in search of Drag’s next “it” girl, nothing felt written with Ru in mind.
It was, however, a great night for Pete Davidson, who co-starred opposite Ru in the aforementioned short, as well as featured player Chloe Fineman, who finally got a chance to shine during Weekend Update.
BEST: THE LIBRARY
This library was open for business when Ru dropped in to teach kids about the importance of “reading” — aka throwing shade. What followed was a rib-tickling roasting of classic literary characters, including Eloise (“You need to call the front desk and get a hot oil treatment for that broom on your head!”), Madeline (“Girl, you better draw France right!”) and The Very Hungry Caterpillar (“What’s up with your foundation? Why you look so orange? And your body is green, girl. Pop off!”).
BEST: CHAD & RUPAUL
“Drag needs someone new,” but it probably won’t be Pete Davidson’s dimwitted alter ego. As soon as he sissy’d that walk, Chad fell face first into craft services. Nevertheless, his short-lived stint as Ru’s protégé was a hoot.
BEST: CHLOE FINEMAN ON THE 2020 OSCARS
Fineman finally made her mark with this excellent Update showcase, which featured a series of layered impressions, including Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland, Laura Dern as Big Little Lies‘ Renata Klein, and — my personal favorite — Meryl Streep as Little Women‘s Aunt March exclaiming “Florence Pugh!”
BEST: BOOP-IT
This commercial parody started off slow, then went to an extremely dark place, as the popular toy became an object of obsession for a divorced dad who can’t get his priorities in check.
WORST: FAMILY CHARADES
A round of charades was ruined when Ru’s family refused to abide by the one rule of the game. That was pretty much the only joke here. The reactions from the opposing team weren’t especially funny, and the sketch was too low energy for the post-monologue slot.
WORST: THIRSTY COPS
Ru and Ego Nwodim made an excellent pair. In fact, it was their delivery that kept me from fast-forwarding through this unnecessary follow-up to the 2018 sketch, which featured Leslie Jones as Nwodim’s fellow officer and Seth Meyers as the driver forced to endure their cringey pickup lines.
What were your favorite sketches this week? And what missed the mark? Watch all of the highlights (and lowlights) above, then grade the episode in our poll.
https://pmctvline2.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/rupaul-snl-season-45.jpg
