The Best & Worst Sketches Of Bill Burr's SNL Season 50 Episode

Following last week's superb episode of "Saturday Night Live" featuring comedian and former "SNL" writer John Mulaney, showrunner Lorne Michaels decided to stick with seasoned stand-up comedian talent by bringing Bill Burr back to host for a second time. Burr isn't exactly the most versatile performer when it comes to sketch comedy or acting in general, but he can do a few things pretty damn well, especially if it involves being belligerent and from Boston, two things that go hand-in-hand. 

While Burr's first time hosting "SNL" in the fall of 2020 wasn't a home run, it had some solid sketches, including a memorable Sam Adams beer commercial parody. Unfortunately, it seems like the wind was really sucked out of the sails of the writers room this week, presumably because of the election results, and this episode felt pretty clunky, landing somewhere between aggressively average and just plain poor. 

Plus, Burr had a consistent problem keeping up with the cue cards and kept fumbling lines left and right, completely ruining several punchlines. Honestly, even his monologue (watch above) felt like it could have used some polishing. There are a couple bright spots, but overall, the episode leaves a lot to be desired. 

All right, let's take a closer look at the best and worst sketches from Bill Burr's "SNL" season 50 episode.

Rorschach Test – Frankly, I'm not sure how "SNL" got away with this, since it uses inappropriate versions of trademarked characters from Disney. Surely, it's covered under the parody section of copyright law, but I feel like Disney is not going to be happy with the sexualized portrayal of characters like Mike Wazowski from "Monsters Inc.," Elsa from "Frozen" and Bandit from "Bluey." While the technical details of this sketch are simple, the fact that the audience was able to see what Bill Burr's character was describing before swapping it out for a proper ink blot image was what really made the bit work. The images are horrifying, but you can't help but laugh, especially when it comes to all the little details in the image of Bandit. Granted, the ending is pretty crappy, but everything else is pretty good.

Bald Men – Did someone dust this sketch off from 1994? This feels like a dated musical bit intended for "Family Guy." Actually, it feels like a slightly edgier version of a sketch you might see on "SNL." Were the writers so exhausted from everything that they looked at Bill Burr and though, "Oh yeah, Bill Burr is bald, and we don't get too many of those hosts, so we might as well take advantage of this while we can." Nothing even comes of Mikey Day and Sarah Sherman witnessing all of this happening. You can see them saluting the musical number as it reaches its not-so-triumphant conclusion, but I feel like giving them some commentary in between lyrics might have strengthened the sketch, even though it wouldn't have improved upon the inherently weak premise. 

Buffalo Wild Wings – Though it doesn't quite match up to the greatness of the Pumpkin Spice Sam Adams commercial, having Bill Burr as a New England Patriots fan who is just running off at the mouth throughout the commercial still lands rather firmly, even if it ultimately ends up losing some steam in the back half. It's a nice touch that Burr's character has a broken arm again, and the antagonistic relationship between Burr and Mikey Day is still hilarious. 

Sex Rock CD – This sketch might have actually worked a bit better if Burr didn't keep fumbling over his lines. This was one of the more frustrating instances, because there's a good sketch here. The strongest parts come from watching Snake Skin sing their sex-fueled songs and talking about wearing women's shoes. Sarah Sherman and James Austin Johnson especially made this soar, with Sherman lending her wild eyes to the rock vibe and Johnson having the perfect playful metal laugh. 

The Janitor – "Good Will Hunting" is a staple of Boston-based cinema, so bringing this sketch out while Bill Burr is around makes perfect sense. However, I wish that the escalation was a little more absurd. It never quite goes anywhere beyond the incredulity about the puddle of vomit on the carpet, but of course, someone falls into it. James Austin Johnson does elevate the bit with his Robin Williams impersonation, though this was another sketch where the ending felt abrupt and unsatisfying. 

I Got One – This was a fun sketch to toss into the 10-to-1 slot at the end of the evening, and full credit goes to featured cast member Ashley Padilla for dedicating herself to the bit. However, while the premise itself is a satisfyingly odd one, the lack of escalation makes it feel a little less impactful than it might have if the weirdness was turned up to another level. Plus, the conclusion feels rushed, almost like something was cut between the second instance of the bad joke and the resolution of the sketch's arc. But I'm glad Padilla still got some time to shine.

Trauma Support Group – Speaking of Ashley Padilla, she's the main reason that this sketch actually had one big laugh in it. When Bowen Yang's troubled trauma support group member puts a cigarette out on her leg, the scream she executes was much louder and pain-filled than Yang was expecting, and it makes them both break for a few seconds. Otherwise, this was another sketch that felt like it didn't really go anywhere. But I'm glad they had a reason for having so many donuts in the background of the meeting, because otherwise, that was incredibly distracting. 

Calling Dad – Here's a sketch that ended up being more sweet than funny. It's incredibly safe, and it doesn't really go anywhere beyond two fathers expressing feelings about their lives and their sons under the guise of chatting about sports and cars. Occasionally "SNL" will have these sketches that feel a little more sentimental than funny, though there are a few chuckle-worthy lines here and there. Otherwise, you can tell that the "SNL" writers just didn't have strong satire in their hearts this week, and we can't really blame them. 

Well, Weekend Update was bound to run out of steam at some point, especially since it had been so strong throughout the first wave of episodes. Some of it comes from the fact that it's hard to laugh about the outcome of the election when it feels like there's a lot of doom and gloom around the country. However, I will say that Michael Che's punchlines landed better than Colin Jost, helped significantly by the drink that he poured himself. It's just a shame that he brought back his increasingly tired "It's the '90s" declaration. Thankfully, the second half of Weekend Update was stronger than the first half.

Unfortunately, both of the Weekend Update guests at the desk didn't improve the momentum of the show. Ego Nwodim's bit as the Woman Who Can't Find Something in Her Purse talking about how to be an active listener feels like an evergreen time-filler of a sketch with a lame premise. Meanwhile, not even bringing Kenan Thompson back as Michael Che's inexplicably upbeat neighbor Willie yielded any big laughs with regards to the 2024 election. It was just a rough week at "SNL" (and everywhere) overall. 

So how did "Saturday Night Live" handle the results of the election? Well, rather than bringing back Maya Rudolph for some kind of dramatic reaction like Kate McKinnon's turn as Hillary Clinton singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" at the top of the show, they actually did something unexpected. They didn't try to lampoon the election reporting or the speeches from either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. Instead, every cast member played themselves and acted as if they've been on Donald Trump's side the whole time. It's an amusing approach to the election's outcome, and one that allows them to poke fun at the president without doing it obviously. Even James Austin Johnson's brief appearance as a fantastical, jacked, Rambo version of Trump took things to a silly level, along with Dana Carvey's half-baked Elon Musk impression. 

Hopefully, with four more years of a Trump presidency, "SNL" can figure out a way to lean into more absurd approaches when forced to confront timely headlines. Or if we're lucky, "SNL" will simply back off from doing political cold opens more often. That's not likely, but at this point, "SNL" should focus on making season 50 as much of a fun affair as possible, and staying far away from political satire as often as possible is the best way to do that. 

We'll be back next week when pop star Charli XCX pulls double duty as host and musical guest on November 16, but for more about the latest episodes of "Saturday Night Live," you can check out "The Ten to One Podcast," available wherever you get your podcasts.