Saturday Night Live recap: Michael Keaton hosts, Alec Baldwin returns as Bret Baier in Fox interview parody

Hey, Coneheads — it’s SNL50 in Review: the anniversary season recap. A decade ago, SNL was celebrating its 40th anniversary, and one of that season’s high watermarks was Michael Keaton’s triumphant return to host after a two-decade absence. His monologue with Taran Killam and Bobby Moynihan remains a personal highlight, particularly as it foreshadowed the eventual reprisal of his two signature movie characters, Batman and Beetlejuice. 

Speaking of, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice — a long-delayed legacyquel — is out in theaters and apparently not terrible. I have not seen it, in part out of fear. If nothing else, it justifies Keaton’s fourth hosting appearance. As former cast member Gary Kroeger recently noted to me: “SNL understands its legacy and its roots. Bringing back classic hosts and musical acts anchors the show with the past but also keeps it relevant. Michael Keaton and last week’s Stevie Nicks brilliantly redefine themselves as artists, and having SNL acknowledge that is a real plus to the show and its legacy.” 

Kroeger also points out that when Keaton first hosted back in season 7, “he was big off of Night Shift, but the real apex of his career was ahead of him still.” When Keaton hosted for the second time, he was riding Batman Return’s momentum before disappearing into character actor-land for a few years, eventually hitting a comeback with Birdman — which brings us back to SNL40 and now, tonight. SNL LORE, you have to love it. Buckle up: Billie Eilish is back for her fourth time as musical guest.

Cold Open

Lego man Bret Baier — inexplicably played by Alec Baldwin — is interviewing a “very demure, very mindful” Vice President Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph). He’s interrupting and bullying. Harris is looking to go viral. The crowd applauds Rudolph a few times. 

Baier shows a misleading clip of former President Trump (James Austin Johnson) quoting Big and Freaky Friday, as well as a “ja’brilliant” Ja’Biden (a returning Dana Carvey). Baier also cuts back to Trump at his Univision town hall as he dances to gay anthems like “It’s Raining Men” — a song famously co-written by Paul Shaffer! 

This is pretty good — watch it! Good pace, fun moments — the one-liners and dialogue actually crackle for once. My one critique is clearly, no one is waiting for or needing more Alec Baldwin on the show. He is not even in the latest Beetlejuice! I think it’s cool he’s planning to reunite with his Beetlejuice costar, Geena Davis, at a Comic Con in New Jersey, but will we see him with Keaton tonight? Or no? I am confused.

Gary Kroeger says, on this season’s cold openings, they “have become an institution. There is an expectation of up to the second relevance, a fun-to-watch impression, and a comment — or comments — on the state of their candidacy. That's where the satire finds itself, and sometimes, that satire can be interpreted in different ways according to each viewer's take on the characters. One person may perceive a characteristic as a criticism, and another may see it as a charm. For me, it's more interesting to not be sure what the actor/writer has in mind, so I get to apply my own opinion."

Monologue

Keaton recalls that when SNL started in 1975, he was a PA on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. In a bizarre moment, Andy Samberg (who isn’t a cast member) and Mikey Day come out as Beetlejuice and want him to say, “It’s Showtime” — this is what they did for his monologue last time, folks. Weak!  

I do enjoy their explanation for why Samberg isn’t in this week’s cold open — just odd to shoehorn a cameo into the monologue. And Sarah Sherman’s moment is cute. But meh — watch Killam and Moynihan’s take on this idea; it’s way better. 

Kroeger recalls: “I felt that we let Michael Keaton down. He came to play and hung out and was available 24/7 that week to come up with ideas. He was game for anything. I believe we were split between two studios and the time because of election coverage in 8H, and those shows lacked, in my opinion, the same energy. I thought we wasted a real funny and down-to-earth guy by not giving him enough to do.”

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"Shop TV"

Two happy hosts (Day and Heidi Gardner) meet with the Cookie Guy (Keaton) for a Halloween-themed infomercial. Ah, yes, a tried and true premise here, folks. Keaton has a cookie that looks like a breast — lots of innuendo and puns follow. MA-TV gets thrown on the screen; it is so suggestive. “Do those cookies come in different ethnicities?” asks a caller. One order comes from Pelican Bay State Prison.

Please Don’t Destroy - "Skydiving"

It’s jumping altitude in an airplane — our heroes John Higgins and Martin Herlihy are celebrating a birthday — but the vibes aren't right. Instructor Ben Marshall never feels weird, but today is off. The other instructor, played by Keaton, is having one of the worst days of his life.

This is a dark premise and the audience does not seem to know what to do with it.

"Forbidden Romance"

An interracial couple (Ego Nwodim and Andrew Dismukes) have brought their parents together for their blessing. Preacher Kenan Thompson is more understanding than Michael Keaton’s dad.

Dismukes says he has written a song to explain their love. And he goes for it with a ukulele: an origin story for Train’s “Hey Soul Sister”. The crowd is muted, but you have to respect Dismukes’ commitment. He wins over his parents if nothing else — they love their corny, awful white boy tune. In the process, he loses Kenan. He retracts his blessing. 

"TikTok"

SNL — even reluctantly — facing that it’s 2024 is always a good thing. This is fairly hit-and-miss — there are lots of references and hyper online deep cuts. Still, I much prefer this format to, say, a game show or commercial parody. So props for staying modern, even if the format is a challenge.

Another “very demure, very mindful” reference. And appearances from JAJ’s Trump (who, like Billie Eilish, chides Bowen Yang’s singer) as well as Rudolph’s thirsty, trending Kamala Harris. Dana Carvey’s Biden pops up too to dance. But it's fun to see how the new cast members get used and a pointed final moment regarding the app’s addictive tendencies. 

Billie Eilish performs "Birds of a Feather"

First: fun camera work and blue sky background. “Birds of a Feather” was released this summer as the second single from Eilish’s third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft. It is about deep love and a desire for lasting connection. Cute.

Weekend Update

The election is 16 days away! Colin Jost compares the two presidential candidates’ closing messages. 

New cast member Emil Wakim comes on to describe the election and being from Lebanon. Great stand-up material — incisive, commenting on growing up as a Christian Arab. “We are like Black dudes with anime backpacks.” One moment bombs, but he immediately recovers, blaming Colin. Very sharp. 

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show returned for the first time in four years recently. Sarah Sherman comes on the Update desk — the show was applauded for its diversity but she objects, in true Sherman fashion — “Where my midwest 4s at?!” She wants to see regular women in normal underwear, not 10s. She has one request: let her join next year!

“The 90s are back!” Yes! Well, maybe. I appreciate the sentiment.

"Uber Game Show"

Sherman and Bowen Yang are headed to the airport for a trip to Miami, but their rideshare driver (Nwodim) has thoughts. A lot of thoughts! Well, conspiracy theories. The ride turns into a game show — Sherman and Yang are captive participants in Nwodim’s wacky ideas and commentary. Michael Keaton also joins. 

Billie Eilish performs "Wildflower"

The candid “Wildflower” was also on her latest album. She previously played it live on COLORS. 

"Horror Choreographer"

We are filming the latest Michael Myers slasher, and the stuntman, Jaxson (Mikey Day), is being too theatrical. His Broadway coach (Keaton) sees the character as sensual, not stiff. The director (Dismukes) thinks the murder is too “sassy and flirty” and not deliberate enough. 

Shout out to former Michael Myers actor Tony Moran, whom I once met in Salem, Mass.!

"Tableside"

Two families are together at a restaurant and are “vibing!” Suddenly, the dad (Keaton) thinks the waitress (Gardner) is an old flame from Morristown, Mass., where he was doing summer stock as a young man. They connect over old flames and lost loves. Love the haunting music.

Final thoughts

• What did you think? Vote here. The crowd seemed off today... 

• Bringing back Baldwin to play Baier is so inexplicable. I have PTSD from that Trump era of the show. Kroeger shared with me: “I don't care for the fact that celebrities are brought in to do the political impressions. I'm not arguing with the success of it or the fact that viewership may go up, but I've always thought the cast should do everything on SNL with very few exceptions. That's the magic of the show to me, that there's a cast that can do anything put in front of it.” Guess Jim Gaiffgan was busy prepping for the Al Smith charity dinner...?
• I was reminded that SNL did a fun TikTok sketch with Billie Eilish in scrubs in 2021, but I couldn’t find it online. Let me know if anyone knows where it is!