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Brie Larson Makes The Cut On Saturday Night Live

Leigh Raper
May 8, 2016, 5:30 AM
Photo: Dana Edelson/NBC.

Hosting Saturday Night Live was the last leg of the victory lap Brie Larson has been on since she won all the awards for her performance in 2015’s Room. Even though that movie was a full-fledged tearjerker, comedy isn’t a problem for Brie. We all remember her star turn in that high school musical version of Peter Pan with Jonah Hill in 21 Jump Street, right? Even so, this was Larson’s first time as host. So, how did the night go? Here are three must-watch moments from Saturday Night Live: 1. Baby Shower: Brie Larson plays a mom-to-be at a baby shower thrown by the other moms in her new neighborhood. On the surface, things start out okay. But then, Larson’s character begins to realize that something is amiss. One of her neighbors mentions “the cut.” Then, it becomes clear that the moms all have the same haircut. “It’s a soft waterfall in front, but knives in the back,” Cecily Strong explains. They tell Larson that she won’t be able to escape it. She’ll know when it’s time. She tries to avoid the “curtains in the front, iron throne in the back,” but she knows it's hopeless when she offers to “fix a plate.” The sketch lovingly goes after those same moms that were parodied in the classic SNL commercial for “Mom Jeans.” As Cecily Strong says, when you’ve got the cut, “Your quotes will always be inspirational and your magnets will be hilarious.” Happy Mother's Day from Saturday Night Live.

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2. Game of Thrones: SNL took a swipe at what turned out to be the Jon Snow non-troversy from the HBO mega-hit. After a year of waiting to find out if Jon Snow was really dead (“He is super dead,” says Taran Killam's character) the reveal of his fate is mind-numbingly slow. “This is so slow! We all know he’s not dead,” says Cecily Strong. Kate McKinnon arrives as Melisandre to work her magic — magic that, of course, takes a long time. “My magic might not work. This is real edge-of-your-seat type stuff,” she says. Kenan Thompson makes one of his few appearances of the night, excited to see Jon Snow and disappointed he’s still mostly dead. “Pick up the pace, woman!” Brie Larson channels the frustration of Game of Thrones fans everywhere with the extended time wasted on the Jon Snow scene. “We only get 10 hours of this a year!” she says.
3. Near-Death Experience: Just like Ryan Gosling’s alien abduction sketch from earlier in the season, Kate McKinnon steals the spotlight in this sketch about three women who had a near-death experience. McKinnon’s details are radically different than those of fellow panelists Cecily Strong and Brie Larson. They had mystical, gentle experiences with angels and a calming light. McKinnon tells of a bumbling angel named Keith, who wasn't all that great. “I don’t think I was rolling with the employee of the month,” she says. Keith gave her an “epic lady-wedge” and returned her soul to her body like he was shoving “a carry-on into a crowded overhead bin.” The jokes themselves aren’t what makes the bit fun. As happened with Gosling, McKinnon cracks up her cast mates — and it’s infectious. Aidy Bryant and Bobby Moynihan barely hold it together. McKinnon herself almost breaks, as well. Saturday Night Live is always more fun when the cast is clearly enjoying themselves.
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Shoutout for an SNL deep cut: Dana Carvey returned for the cold open. Not as George Bush, but as the Church Lady for some Church Chat. She chatted with Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. She raised her eyebrows and asked about Satan. In a word, it was special.
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