“Saturday Night Live” ended its season with a wedding – a ridiculous, irreverent, thrilling, insane, fitting, gaudy, powerful wedding.
Rice rained on Seth and Stefon Meyers, the wackiest of couples finally together.
The pair had spent five years bantering at the “Saturday Night Live” Weekend Update desk, Meyers as the anchor, Stefon (Bill Hader) as the flamboyant city correspondent. Stefon flirted. Seth withdrew.
Stefon concealed laughs in his hands. Seth criticized Stefon’s outlandishness.
This weekend’s episode, the close of SNL’s 38th season, marked a swan song for the duo. Hader announced that he’s leaving the show. Meyers is also on his way out later this year, preparing to replace Jimmy Fallon on NBC’s late-night talk show lineup.
So Stefon and Seth shared their final segment together, with SNL alum Amy Poehler on hand for moral support. Stefon discussed his college career at UTI. He made the Dean’s List, he said – “Dean Cain’s list of homeboys not to mess with.”
He also addressed the scene at the club PANTS! – located on “that fake street from Seinfeld.” He suggested hitting the dance floor with a “Human Magic 8-Ball” … The description made Meyers recoil.
“You know what? You never respect me Seth,” Stefon said, waving his finger. “I didn’t want to do this here, but I met someone else. And he’s a lot like you, except he likes me for me. And we are getting married. Bye, Seth Meyers.”
With that, Stefon left. Seth tried to move on, reading the next story about a tree frog study. But then he stopped, distracted, yearning.
“Go to him,” Poehler said.
“But it’s too late.”
“It’s never too late … follow your heart.”
Meyers did, running out of the studio, looking for his “Weekend Update” partner as a montage of their past encounters played. He raced up the church steps (“The Graduate,” anyone?), stumbling onto the most unusual group of wedding guests ever assembled, featuring pop culture icons and characters referenced during Stefon’s various club reports. Alf in a trenchcoat. Fat Steve Urkel. Angels. Gremlins. Smurfs. Dracula. DJ Baby Bok Choy. Ben Affleck. Football players in drag.
And the groom … Anderson Cooper?!
Newscaster and fake newscaster prepared for battle, fighting over Stefon.
“Get ready for Anderson Cooper 360,” Cooper said, straightening his eyebrow and spinning, referencing his news show. Meyers wasn’t distracted, punching Cooper in the face to rescue his buddy, the pair returning to Rockefeller Plaza to cap TV’s oddest love affair.
The wedding marked an emotional high point to an episode full of tangential story lines – the resurgent host, the spark plug musical guest, the weight of yesterdays, the burden of goodbye.
Actor-turned-director Ben Affleck hosted the episode, using his monologue to discuss his Oscar acceptance speech for “Argo.” During the Oscar speech, he classified his marriage to Jennifer Garner as “work.”
Affleck devoted his SNL monologue to making things right. He even brought Garner onstage, telling her his true feelings.
“I couldn’t do any of the things I do without your support,” Affleck said. “You’re my angel, my life, and my world.”
“You’re reading that,” Garner said – and yes he was, the words written on Affleck’s cue card.
This episode was Affleck’s fifth time hosting the show. Affleck first hosted in February 2000. The musical guest was Fiona Apple. Subsequent episodes followed in 2004 (two of them) and 2008.
Earlier this season, Justin Timberlake’s fifth hosting gig was met with fanfare – and a reunion of hosting heavyweights such as Tom Hanks and Alec Baldwin, with JT admitted into the Five Timers Club.
For Affleck?
“Well they were just here for Justin Timberlake, so … no,” cast member Bobby Moynihan told Affleck.
The host poked fun at his career missteps during a skit showing Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad making an “Argo” response film – the aptly-titled “Bengo F–k Yourself.”
The fake movie showed Ahmadinejad (Fred Armisen) in a Red Sox cap, spoofing Affleck. Affleck, fittingly, played a sound man.
“Why would I agree to appear in this movie? Well, to be honest, I’ve long been looking to appear in a movie worse than ‘Gigli,'” he said, laughing. “As soon as I read this script, I knew I’d found it.”
Kanye displayed his brilliant bravado with “New Slaves,” a song that analyzes racism and the want for more. The song opens with the line “My mama was raised in the era when/ Clean water was only served to the fairer skin.”
A flashing screen behind him matched his frenetic, building pace by shuttering through images – and later focusing on his eyes, capturing his passion, his energy, the windows inside.
West donned a studded leather jacket for his other song, “Black Skinhead,” screaming into the microphone while silhouetted by a “not for sale” sign and flanked by images of barking dogs. The songs are both slated to appear on West’s upcoming album, “Yeezus” – yes, it’s called “Yeezus” – scheduled for release June 18, his first solo LP in three years.
This weekend’s episode closed a season of unevenness. After mainstay Kristen Wiig departed at the end of the previous season, the show struggled to find a new voice. Cast members such as Jay Pharoah and Kate McKinnon appeared poised to break out – and then seemingly disappeared for weeks at a time.
Moynihan and Cecily Strong developed into go-to talent. Taran Killam emerged. Kenan Thompson remained his usual funny self.
But barring the occasional wedding or a sad mouse in Times Square, something seemed off this season.
The show’s current state parallels past struggles. In 1995, critics left SNL for dead, with ratings hitting a two-decade low.
“Dying is easy. Comedy is hard. Fixing “Saturday Night Live?” That could be the hardest one of all,” the Associated Press wrote at the time.
“Gasping for breath in New York – it’s ‘Saturday Night,’” the Star-Ledger joked.
“’Saturday Night Live’ used to go over the edge. Now it’s just over the hill,” quipped a San Diego Union-Tribune TV critic.
But the show eventually recovered – and shined – with a groundswell of new talent such as Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon and Cheri Oteri.
“Saturday Night Live” can re-emerge. It’ll just take some time, especially when considering the impending departures. The season’s final skit showed mock punk group “Ian Rubbish and the Bizarros,” a group featuring SNL mainstays Armisen, Hader and Jason Sudeikis, all rumored to be leaving the show.
“We’ve been here all week. Well, look, it’s the last night here,” Rubbish (Armisen) said.
Rubbish started singing an upbeat, poppy song – “It’s a Lovely Day” – and friends joined the group onstage, including Armisen’s “Portlandia” co-star Carrie Brownstein.
“Life is changing fast/ The future’s just the past,” he sang, the stage lined by guitars, an awesome jam session – and the perfect swan song for SNL’s 38th season.