I’m probably misrepresenting both sketches by labeling them “throwaway”, but that’s what I think of when a skit has one overly simple joke or gag that carries the whole thing and appears unrehearsed but somehow lands perfectly.
This Saturday’s episode of SNL ended with one such treasure called “Lisa from Temecula” which reminded me of the rowdy bellmen of the 1996 sketch “Randolph Hotel”- a similar one-gag skit in which hotel bellhops Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan and Jim Breuer enthusiastically mishandle hotel guests’ luggage. That was it, that was the whole skit- they just throw bags around the hotel lobby, but it was funny enough at the time and in retrospect that 27 years later Tank and I still text about it at least once a year.
The single gag in “Lisa” is a restaurant table that shakes violently while Ego Nwodim’s character cuts an “extra extra well done” steak (because “COOK my meat”).
Host Pedro Pascal’s character is tasked with telling a mundane story about a dog while Ego’s Lisa cuts her steak, a challenge he is not up to. Bowen Yang gleefully breaks in support of Pascal, and that’s just the beginning. I’ve watch it nearly 30 times and I feel like I notice something new each time.
Anyone here from the Fantasy SNL League days still watching regularly? I think it’s as good now as ever with a lot of underappreciated cast members.
