Last Saturday, April 5th, the comedy world was electrified when Jack Black hit SNL’s stage after 20 years. The beloved actor and musician is known for his roles in Nacho Libre, Kung Fu Panda, School of Rock, and his comedy-rock group Tenacious D. Black was joined by talented musical guests Elton John and Brandi Carlile, and even contributed a few songs of his own. Here is my ranking of his best and worst sketches of the night!
The Highs: One Uppers
As a loyal (parasocial) consumer of SNL media, it is a pleasure to watch a sketch where the cast members are fighting for their lives trying not to laugh and break character. I’m happy to say that One Uppers is one of those sketches.
Built on the premise of those friends that just want to “one up” you, the sketch takes place at a restaurant where a group of college friends are waiting for Eddie (Jack Black) and Walter (Bowen Yang), who are running late for a dinner party. As the two arrive, the once ambient atmosphere turns into a passive aggressive warzone. Every time Eddie is asked a question, he answers it with a brag and a hair flip before an eagle cries in the background, and Eddie moggs the camera from various angles. No, you didn’t have a stroke reading that sentence.
The whole sketch is like this: chaotic, loud, and hilarious, especially as the rest of the dinner party adopts Eddie’s baffling hubris. If you liked SNL’s Debbie Downer, I definitely recommend giving this a watch!
The Lows: Times Square Kiss
This sketch follows a flirty American nurse (Heidi Gardner) and her husband (Jack Black) as they reunite after the nurse partakes in the infamous “V-J Day in Times Square” kiss that was taken in 1945.
I have to give it to the cast, they took a risk with this sketch, whether or not I completely enjoyed it. Don’t get me wrong, I chuckled a few times, especially when Black’s character brags about his position as an illustrator for the propaganda department, and how his racialist drawings inspired hundreds of millions to join the military. I just wasn’t able to ignore the distaste I had for this subject matter, as the photo has been the subject of criticism for some time. The nurse in the original photo, Greta Friedman, was simply grabbed and kissed by the sailor, George Mendonsa. What had originally been romanticized as a display of patriotism and affection was actually much more troubling, and as we move further away from the #MeToo Movement, I think that it’s important we don’t forget the values we gained from that period.
In summary, if you’re going to make a joke or a sketch out of assault, you better make me laugh so hard I lose the brain cells to think critically about it.