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10 Top Highlights From ‘SNL 50: The Anniversary Special’
Eddie Murphy, Meryl Streep and Steve Martin stand out in key moments from the live celebration of the historic comedy show
Lorne Michaels and guests say goodnight at the end of "SNL 50: The Anniversary Special."
Theo Wargo/NBC
Live from New York, a galaxy of stars from the worlds of comedy and music turned out on Sunday night to celebrate the 50th anniversary of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, and older adults were well represented in the lineup. The show — whose cast was once billed as the “Not Ready for Prime Time Players” by creator Lorne Michaels, 80 — has become a pop-culture institution, and the network devoted its full prime-time schedule to a live special that showcased many of SNL’s past and present stars, as well as frequent hosts (Alec Baldwin! Tom Hanks!) and musical guests (Paul McCartney! Lil Wayne!). The show ran just under three and a half hours, not counting a red-carpet pre-show, and several of the sketches suffered from the strain of trying to squeeze in too many famous faces. But there were many moments that stood out, from Paul Simon’s melodic opener to Meryl Streep’s surprise turn as a chain-smoking mother.
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Sabrina Carpenter and Paul Simon perform “Homeward Bound” to open the show.
Todd Owyoung/NBC
A ‘Homeward’ opening
Paul Simon, 83, opened the show with a sweet, plaintive performance of “Homeward Bound” accompanied by 25-year-old pop star Sabrina Carpenter. Simon noted that he had sung the song with George Harrison on SNL back in 1976, to which Carpenter chimed in: “I was not born then, and neither were my parents.” It was a perfect blend of old and new, in keeping with the way the whole show embraced its history as well as contemporary culture.
Martin Short, left, and Steve Martin kick things off with the monologue for "SNL 50: The Anniversary Special."
Theo Wargo/NBC
Martin's monologue
A tux-clad Steve Martin, 79, kicked off his monologue by describing himself as the show’s “newest diversity hire” and nodding to his age: “I feel like I’m 65, which is also not good. I do not mind getting older. Do you think these hearing aids make my ass look smaller?” He slipped in some topical humor — like a reference to vacationing in the “Gulf of Steve Martin” — and shout-outs to stars like Bill Murray, 74, and David Letterman, 77, in the audience. John Mulaney and Martin Short, 74, both crashed his short opener — a reflection of the show’s challenge to cram as many A-listers into the action as possible. Still, the monologue ended on another topical bit, with costumed ICE agents dragging Canadian-born Short offstage.
Leslie Jones, left, Tracy Morgan and Eddie Murphy bring the laughs during the “Black Jeopardy!” sketch.
Chris Haston/NBC
Eddie Murphy plays Tracy Morgan
Kenan Thompson returned as host of the long-running “Black Jeopardy!” sketch, with contestants played by Leslie Jones, 57, Tracy Morgan, 56, and (in a hilarious surprise) Eddie Murphy as Tracy Morgan — dressed as the comic’s giant-gold-medallion-wearing character Tracy Jordan in 30 Rock. Murphy, 63, delivered a spot-on impression that left Morgan and Jones struggling to maintain their composure. “I only eat four-cheese lasagna,” Murphy’s Morgan said. “If it’s only got three cheeses, I ain’t eating it.” In a genius twist, all three contestants struggled to answer a quiz-show question about a certain long-running late-night show that launched a bunch of careers. (You guessed it — Saturday Night Live.)
Tina Fey, left, and Amy Poehler take questions from some of the evening’s celebrity guests.
Todd Owyoung/NBC
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler quiz the stars
Halfway through a segment in which Tina Fey, 54, and Amy Poehler, 53, took questions from some of the evening’s celebrity guests, the duo basically admitted it was an excuse to show a bunch of stars who wouldn’t be appearing elsewhere on the special. In this case, the bit worked — thanks to some sharp writing and game performances. We see Jon Lovitz, 67, exiled outside Studio 8H and forced to sit at the American Girl Place store across the street from Rockefeller Center — so Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 64, could have a seat for her golden retriever. Keith Richards, 81, asked if anyone found a scarf he left backstage in 1988. Fred Armisen, 58, asked why Michaels cut one of his sketches after dress rehearsal more than a decade ago, then teased that he’s been revising the script and it will be ready “the next time [Kevin] Spacey hosts.” Best of all, Fey and Poehler introduced longtime backstage costumer Donna Richards, who’s “been dressing every host since 1977” and “has seen every host in their underpants.” (Richards quickly blurted out that Aquaman star Jason Momoa was her favorite host to dress — prompting Momoa himself to inquire about her availability after the show.)
Nothing compares 2 strong musical guests
The husky-voiced Miley Cyrus delivered a wonderful performance of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a Prince song that became a huge hit in 1990 for the late Sinead O’Connor — who made a notorious 1992 appearance on SNL where she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II on stage. Cyrus was joined by singer-guitarist Brittany Howard, bringing a rockier edge to the song.
Meryl Streep, left, plays mom to Kate McKinnon, center, as Pedro Pascal looks on during the alien abduction sketch.
Chris Haston/NBC
Meryl Streep as Kate McKinnon’s mom
The show’s best sketch — by a lot — reintroduced us to Kate McKinnon’s alien abductee Miss Rafferty, who faced a military panel interviewing her and other Americans about their experiences with extraterrestrials. As usual, Rafferty got increasingly graphic about what happened to her — especially in comparison to the gentler, less sexualized encounters of her fellow abductees (played by Pedro Pascal and Woody Harrelson, 63). “I was less cradled by light than grabbed by a giant claw,” she tells a general (Jon Hamm, 53). But she was soon upstaged by her mother — played by Streep, 75, as a chain-smoking, gray-wig-wearing mom who explains that Rafferty women “always attracted the freaks.” She turns out to be just as horny as her daughter — and just as hilarious — even delivering a punchline playing on one of the Oscar winner’s most famous films: “As far as underwear goes, this devil wears nada.”
Tom Hanks during the In Memoriam segment, in which "SNL" symbolically "buried" old sketches that might offend today's viewers.
Todd Owyoung/NBC
Look back and cringe
While the show featured clip reels for physical comedy and advertising parodies, the cleverest came near the end of the show, with Tom Hanks, 68, introducing a sly In Memoriam for characters and segments “that have not aged well.” It was more like a mea culpa, rounding up cringeworthy scenes that perpetuated racist stereotypes (sometimes with questionable makeup), normalized sexual harassment, and spotlighted stars like Robert Blake and R. Kelly who were convicted of serious crimes after they appeared on the show.
Robert De Niro meets Debbie Downer
The 58-year-old Rachel Dratch’s Debbie Downer made a welcome return as a bartender serving anniversary guests like Jimmy Fallon, 50, and Drew Barrymore — taking their drink orders while cautioning about the surgeon general’s recent admonition that “even one drink can significantly reduce life expectancy.” Best of all, when Robert De Niro, 81, placed an order, she asked him, “You talking to me? … I have a dry eye so it’s hard to discern if you’re talking to me.” It was the perfect blend of pop-culture callback and absurdity.
Jason Sudeikis, left, Kenan Thompson and Eddie Murphy take the Scared Straight program for juvenile delinquents to hilarious heights.
Chris Haston/NBC
Eddie Murphy and Will Ferrell are straight-up scary
Murphy came back for another standout (and risqué) sketch, this time joining Kenan Thompson and Will Ferrell, 57, as ex-cons who admonish teenage shoplifters as part of a Scared Straight program. The sketch’s twist is that the convicts’ personal histories sound suspiciously like movies — The Nutty Professor for Murphy and Elf for Ferrell — and they got right up in the faces of the teens to deliver pun-filled warnings about how they’re likely to be sexually violated in prison. It’s a fate that’s not unwelcome for Ferrell’s character, who describes himself as “tough as press-on nails.” There’s a fun meta layer to the over-the-top raunchiness.
Even the commercials got in on the act
The night’s advertisers leaned into the spirt of the evening with several specially shot comedic spots featuring familiar SNL faces. Ana Gasteyer, 57, and Molly Shannon, 60, reprised their roles as the double-entendre-dropping hosts of The Delicious Dish to chat up Samuel L. Jackson, 76, about his “sweet buttery buns” for a Capital One ad, while Volkswagen hired Kristen Wiig, 51, Bill Hader and Armisen to re-create their traffic-route-obsessed L.A. characters from their long-running “Californians” sketch. The Please Don’t Destroy trio of Martin Herlihy, Ben Marshall and John Higgins — who regularly produce sketches for the current SNL — get into some vehicular mayhem that would produce a big claim for State Farm Insurance. Current cast members Thompson and Marcello Hernandez donned matching pink hoodies to deliver a comedic rap for T-Mobile, while a spot for CeraVe dandruff shampoo showcased Bowen Yang and Sarah Sherman going full heavy metal in a head-banging band called Naumore Dandruf. In less than a minute, each delivered some big laughs.
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