Aubrey Plaza And Tons Of Cameos Shake Up Saturday Night Live, But Weekend Update Steals The Show

Aubrey Plaza has a history with "Saturday Night Live" that goes back to her earliest days in show business. In addition to serving as an NBC page, just like Kenneth Parcell on "30 Rock," the "Parks and Recreation" star also served as an intern for "SNL" from 2004-2005. While working with the set design department, she made a brief appearance as a background player in one of Kristen Wiig's "Target Lady" sketches. So it's a proud full circle moment to have Plaza taking the stage in Studio 8H to make her debut as an "SNL" host in the first episode of 2023.

Though Plaza didn't mention her brief screentime on "SNL" during her monologue, she did reflect on the coveted internship and reunited with the set design department in the recurring monologue premise that has the host taking the audience on a tour of the studio. The opening bit set the stage for the rest of the night, because despite Plaza's enthusiasm and gift for comedy, a mix of bad timing, flat jokes, and awkward pacing made for an assembly of sketches that were inconsistently funny, no matter how hard Plaza tried. Plus, this episode was particularly loud with lots of jokes being shouted throughout the evening.

Taking a friendly get-together and turning it into an unsettling situation is a common premise at "Saturday Night Live," but when it works, it can make for quite the hilarious affair. This is one of those cases, as a neighborly game night welcomes a new couple into the festivities. The game is Taboo, and everyone is about to learn what a terrible, terrifying couple Mikey Day and Aubrey Plaza are. The object of the game is to guess the word on a card, but there's also a list of five words you can't say to describe it. That's no problem for Day and Plaza though, because their descriptors are incredibly unique, such as, "My nickname for your penis," or, "I am not legally allowed back in this state."

The first round is worth some good laughs, but the second round gets even more intense as Plaza gets increasingly aroused by how well they're doing at the game, even going so far as to ask to be choked. It's high-energy, and the punchlines made a one-note premise work incredibly well, and the sketch didn't overstay its welcome. Great sketch comedy!

The rest of the evening felt somewhat chaotic, and it would go from a handful of big laughs to jokes that didn't land because of stilted delivery or bad timing. However, there was still a lot of energy and enthusiasm to keep the show from going completely off the rails, especially when it comes to the assorted cameos that took place throughout the evening, which included the Property Brothers, Tony Hawk, Sharon Stone (hence the "Basic Instinct" bumper photo above), Allison Williams, and Amy Poehler. On top of that, there were a lot of timely pop culture parodies featuring the movies and TV shows of the moment. Speaking of which...

Avatar – This certainly was not an angle that I was expecting when it comes to parodying "Avatar: The Way of Water." In this sketch, Jake Sully and his Na'vi tribe are worried about being infiltrating by humans who now have their own Na'vi Avatars. They're not sure where to start looking, but it becomes rather clear to at least some of the group with Heidi Gardner and Aubrey Plaza appearing in basketball shorts and tanktops as a couple of "butch ladies from Arizona." It's one of those instances where a pair of amusing characters who could've easily appeared in a completely different sketch are put into a surprising environment, and putting them together results in something quite amusing. Gardner and Plaza are so good in this sketch, and there's even a decent ending with a surprise twist. Plus, I can't help but be impressed by the fact that the body suits and make-up worn by the cast were actually orange, and it was the set's lighting that turned them blue (stick around to the very end of the sketch to see it for yourself).

M3GAN 2.0 – Did you know that M3GAN is not only a box office sensation, but she's also following in the footsteps of the Babadook to become a gay icon? That's exactly why this faux trailer for "M3GAN 2.0" exists (with a real sequel on the way too). Chloe Fineman and Aubrey Plaza both bring M3GAN to life rather impressively, and they do so with much more dancing than you'll see in the actual movie. But beyond that, the way the trailer leans into the sassy dialogue with M3GAN hanging out in a gay nightclub makes us wish we could see this actually happen in the sequel.

Miss Universe – Remember when I said this episode of "Saturday Night Live" felt particularly loud? This sketch from early in the evening is one of the primary reasons. Taking a cue from the viral video of Miss France from the most recent Miss Universe pageant, "SNL" created a whole series of loud, strange responses. Despite being a one-note joke, it's the way each contestant yelled and what they actually said that kept it from becoming stale quickly. This was also one of the sketches that felt like it was perfectly paced for the premise, and the rapid joke succession never felt ruined or interrupted by flubs. It was an easy, simple premise, but I still thought it was rather enjoyable. 

Morning Announcements – For me, this was the worst sketch of the night, and it's a shame, because it feels like there's a lot of potential here. Aubrey Plaza is definitely the one holding this sketch together. She's got the funny lines, and her intensity in delivering them makes everything that much funnier. Sadly, something felt off about Molly Kearney here. I'm not sure if it was her stilted line delivery or timing, but it just didn't feel right, especially when it came to the "A Star Is Born" reference at the end, which felt entirely out of left field and made for a poor ending to a sketch that unfortunately never found its footing. 

Since Aubrey Plaza has a seasoned background in comedy, her hosting "Saturday Night Live" felt like a forgone conclusion. In fact, she probably elevated some of the sketches that otherwise felt like misfires, and she was never responsible for a sketch bombing either. However, I will say that Plaza's monologue gave me a cause for concern. As Plaza pointed out herself, there's something about her voice and manner of speaking that makes it sound like she's being sarcastic even when she's being sincere. That made her monologue feel rather forced, and it also resulted in some jokes just not working at all. The bit with the secret closet and the skeletons within it was a real dud. Thankfully, when Plaza inhabits a character, that kind of thing doesn't really happen. It's just a shame that the sketches couldn't have gone a little smoother throughout the evening. 

Though the rest of the show wasn't exactly a home run, Weekend Update brought the goods in full, both with the headline jokes and with the guests at the desk. 

First of all, Colin Jost and Michael Che were on a roll this week, and there was an especially giggly chemistry between them, laughing at both each other's joke, occasionally their own, and reacting to the audiences take on some of the edgier headlines. This is exactly the kind of rhythm I like to see between the Weekend Update anchors, and it helps that all of the timely and relevant punchlines were hilarious too. But it was the guests at the desk that really shined the brightest.

George Santos – Bowen Yang made his debut as troublesome Rep. George Santos during the show's cold open, with a sketch that tried to mix up their political satire with a surprising sports angle. It worked better than most of their political stuff in recent years, but some flubs from the control room and some poor timing really made that feel like a mess. Even so, Yang was stellar as Santos, and he was even better during Weekend Update with an ever-growing ensemble of lies. Santos seems to have a new lie revealed every single day, and the politician's look and mannerisms are perfect for Yang to skewer with comedy. 

April Ludgate and Leslie Knope on Working for the Government – Of course, this was the real treat of the night. Aubrey Plaza reprised her "Parks and Recreation" role as Pawnee government employee April Ludgate to talk about what it's like working for local government. Then, she was joined by Amy Poehler as the show's main character, Leslie Knope. What I loved about this is it wasn't a lazy attempt at comedic nostalgia, unlike that abysmal "Father of the Bride" sketch from when Steve Martin and Martin Short hosted. It stayed true to the characters, and even played up the idea of their mere presence at "SNL" as part of the gag. Leslie Knope's excitement is palpable, with a couple of meta winks to Poehler's history with the show. But the best part is when they let Knope take a crack at delivering a joke, and she passes on a couple of them because they're too mean. That's so adorably Leslie Knope, and I loved everything about this. 

That's all for this week, but be sure to check out "The Ten to One Podcast" soon for a more detailed take on the entire episode and every new episode of "SNL." We'll be back after Michael B. Jordan hosts the show on January 28.