The Best & Worst Sketches Of Michael Keaton's SNL Season 50 Episode

"Batman" and "Beetlejuice" star Michael Keaton returned to "Saturday Night Live" for the first time in nearly a decade to wrap up the last of four consecutive episodes of the late night sketch comedy series. Coming off two strong episodes hosted by stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze and recording star/perpetual theater kid Ariana Grande, there was a lot of hope that the cast and crew of "SNL" could keep the momentum going into this last episode of their first month back for the historical 50th season. 

Unfortunately, it seems like they might have been running out of steam a bit, because despite Michael Keaton's best efforts, the episode didn't really feel like it utilized the actor to his full potential. That's not to say Michael Keaton's season 50 episode of "SNL" didn't have some high points, because there were certainly laughs to be had, but there were far more average sketches than remarkable ones, and there were certainly a couple of genuine stinkers. But at least the assembly of fun guest stars hanging around for election season continues. One of them didn't even have anything to do with the political cold open, but they made good on an impression they've wanted to do for a long time. 

Let's dig into the best and worst sketches from Michael Keaton's "SNL" season 50 episode.

Shop TV: Halloween Cookies – For those who maybe don't know, this is actually a recurring sketch that has been done with several different hosts over the past couple years. The debut of this sketch came with Jerrod Carmichael, but it was improved with Adam Driver, who brought a suggestive chocolate Santa Claus to the shopping TV channel. This new version with Michael Keaton takes a cue from the second version by having him as the Cookie Guy who brings a zombie-eye cookie to the show, but unfortunately that cookie looks more like a woman's breast than a zombie eye. 

While the visual gags are doing the heavy lifting here, especially with that little nipple on the cookie, the reactions from Mikey Day and Heidi Gardner help sell it even more. But frankly, I'm wondering if there was a battle behind the scenes about how much the cookie could look like a bare breast. The close-up shots especially are quite revealing. I'm also surprised they didn't try to figure out how to add some decorative, edible tassels to the cookie. But I guess the frosting being slopped onto the cookie escalated the inappropriate nature of the cookie in a much more surprising way.

Tableside – Talk about ending the show with a whimper instead of a bang; this is quite the unfortunate example. While the premise of the sketch isn't bad, this really shouldn't have been the sketch that they ended the night on. The camera work in this sketch feels off, especially since the zooms into Keaton during his brief monologues feel like they're not giving Ashley Padilla her moments for laughs. The audience certainly still laughs, but it feels like their focus is often being pulled away too soon. Heidi Gardner is also good here, but overall, the sketch is just missing something. Even the final line is a complete dud, with the audience being unsure of whether or not that was a punchline wrapping things up.

But if I'm being honest, there were a couple sketches that felt like they could have been among the worst of the night as well. This one wasn't much better.

Think About It – Between the cold open and the TikTok sketch (more on that below), I figured we had enough political satire on the episode. This one provides a topical spin on the "Cash Cab" game show, with a conspiracy-believing Uber driver forcing his passengers to play a game show fueled by his nonsensical views on what's happening in the news. The punchlines just don't seem worth the ludicrous set-up, and again, we have the problem where what's being touted as ridiculous isn't really anymore ridiculous than what certain politicians are saying every day. It doesn't help that Michael Keaton is completely wasted in this sketch, not to mention that the background projection mistakes kinda take you out of the sketch. 

As for the rest of the episode, at least when it comes to the sketch line-up, it was aggressively average. Please Don't Destroy probably had the next best sketch of the night, making their first appearance in the 50th season with a riff on skydiving. Michael Keaton was great in this sketch as a man who suddenly lost all hope, and therefore may not make the best skydiving companion. But even that didn't feel like it packed the same fast-paced laughs we're used to seeing from the trio. Honestly, overall, Keaton's talents felt underutilized. 

Forbidden Romance – Another decent sketch came in the form of this bit set back in 1955, where a young man sings a passionate song about how much he loves a Black woman in an effort to convince their parents to provide their blessing for the romance. Unfortunately, that song is "Hey, Soul Sister," by Train, and I don't know if you've ever realized that this song is kinda dumb, maybe even problematic. On top of wondering exactly who this "soul sister" is that Train is singing about, there's also that cringeworthy line, "So gangsta, I'm so thug, you're the only one I'm dreaming of." This bit made hilarious use of that silly song, but it kinda fizzled out towards the end. But Dismukes did a good job selling it.

Horror Choreographer – Another solid sketch came in this "Halloween" bit that imagines a new sequel in the slasher franchise being filmed, but with a perplexing spin on Michael Myers. Mikey Day plays the new actor wearing the mask this time — but for some reason, rather than slowly stalking the two girls waiting for their impending death, this version of Myers has quite the theatrical and even sassy saunter, almost as if Michael Myers was in some kind of drag show. As we see, that's because Michael Keaton's choreographer character is trying to bring something refreshing to the table. The mere sight of seeing Myers lunge and move his body so dramatically is worth a good laugh, but the sketch suffers from not really having a satisfying ending, so the full result is just okay.

TikTok – Finally, "SNL" dug into doomscrolling on TikTok for a sketch that mocked this generation's addiction to the video app, as well as the many personalities that you see across the platform. If I'm not mistaken, I believe this is a concept that "SNL" employed during the pandemic when they were doing "SNL at Home" episodes. At the very least, they've done something like this before. And I remember it feeling equally as stale, because they're not doing anything that users on TikTok aren't already doing better. Plus, this one felt like it really shoehorned in more political satire with Maya Rudolph and Dana Carvey as Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. Even the framing of the sketch as being the scrolling of an irresponsible soon-to-be parent felt like it was far too easy of a joke. 

Shout out to Michael Keaton for doing the best with what he was given. The monologue set the stage for a good night, thanks to a couple of "Beetlejuice" impressions by Mikey Day and Andy Samberg. In fact, for those who listen to The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast (which you should be doing each week, especially right now when Andy is actually on "SNL" again), you'll know that this impression is actually a long time coming. For more on that, you can tune into the "Doppelganger" episode from back in May around the 42:55 mark.

Weekend Update continues to be superb this season. Colin Jost and Michael Che have been having a blast together, especially when it comes to Che making jokes at the expense of Jost, and even Jost poking fun at himself. That Bath & Body Works candle joke from the second half of the Weekend Update news headlines was particularly great. Though I will say, I think Che's "it's the '90s" bit has started to become a bit stale. It was funny the first couple times, but now it's time to move on. 

Having said that, Weekend Update shined even brighter thanks to the guests at the desk this time. First up, we have new featured cast member Emil Wakim (who joined the day Chloe Troast left the show) making a solid debut at the desk with a bit that clearly comes from his stand-up material. Set up as talking about voting in the 2024 election, Wakim uses it as a gateway to talk about his ethnic background and his surprisingly Republican father. This is the kind of confident debut that you love to see from new cast members. Jane Wickline recently took to the desk, and she was a bit nervous and awkward, but I'm still not convinced that it's not just part of her comedic presence. But Wakim's approach wasn't musical, and it didn't require quite as much focus or reliance on timing. Doing stand-up at the desk is much easier than doing a song, but either way, Wakim took the spotlight and ran with it. 

Then, Weekend Update wrapped up with one of my favorite recurring bits, and that's Sarah Sherman at the Weekend Update desk talking about a topic that intermittently veers into making fun of Colin Jost. This time, Sherman is lamenting the fact that the newly revamped and returning Victoria's Secret Fashion Show celebrated diversity both in skin color and body type, but they failed to really represent the reality of women out there. That's because the diverse assembly of models they picked were still basically perfect 10s, and Sherman wants to see the more natural side of women in their underwear. The topic itself is hilarious, but the jokes weaved in at the expense of Jost are icing on a tasty comedy cake. 

For a time, Alec Baldwin was appearing on "SNL" quite a bit as the man responsible for lampooning President Donald Trump, before James Austin Johnson came along with his superior impression. Since his last Trump appearance in 2020, Baldwin only appeared briefly at the end of a sketch in the November 2023 episode hosted by actor Timothée Chalamet, and he hasn't hosted since 2017. But Baldwin returned in a guest spot for the political cold open featuring Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris being interviewed on Fox News by reporter Bret Baier, played by the "Beetlejuice" star. Speaking of which, it's a shame that we didn't get something with Keaton and Baldwin together, because that would have been fun to see. (Fun fact: Alec Baldwin thought "Beetlejuice" might end his career.)

Baldwin's appearance as Bret Baier didn't require much of him as far as an impression is concerned, but the most impressive part of the sketch is that rapid-fire back and forth between him and Maya Rudolph. When you're reading cue cards live on television, doing the kind of fast-talking banter that was frequently used between Harris and Baier can be supremely difficult. But this is something Baldwin excels at, and Rudolph didn't have a problem either. Of course, Trump and Biden had to be shoehorned in there, and the punchlines about Trump's dancing to gay anthems were on the verge of being a little too late to the party. But at least Johnson's ranting about kids going to Zoltars and coming back "Big" offered a quick, hilarious punchline. 

Anyway, I'll be happy when election season is over, but sadly, we've got one more week to go with this nonsense. "SNL" veteran John Mulaney is returning to host November 2, the week before Election Day, and regardless of what happens with the political open, at least we know the episode will be a blast with such a comfortable host back. Be sure to check out our recap and review after the episode airs, and stay tuned to "The Ten to One Podcast" for even more on "Saturday Night Live."