Harry Styles has proven time and time again that he is more than just a teenage heartthrob from one of the biggest boy bands in the world. From honing his vocal skills and agility, to dipping his toes in the acting world through shows like iCarly and films like Don’t Worry Darling, and now being a talented runner. If you thought that this was all impressive, it’s imperative you watch his Saturday Night Live episode, so you can add comedy to his stacked resume. This episode – used as a platform to promote his new fourth studio album, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. – challenged Styles through not only hosting the entirety of the episode, including acting in all the skits, but also performing two new songs from his album. Despite the pressure of doing double duty and returning to SNL after six years, Styles is now registered as “the funniest man in the world” in my humble opinion.
Having seen Styles on SNL in the past, I figured he’d be entertaining, but I was extremely impressed from start to finish. Firstly, his monologue highlighted real-life issues and hate he’s received in tabloids and on the internet, including queerbaiting, his bold fashion choices, and his sexuality in general. It was extremely fun and refreshing as a fan to see him joke about headlines or milestones in his career with such a light and joyful approach. He was outright and naturally funny partnered with these unspoken and personal situations throughout his career; it was a hilarious way to show he has heard about these rumors and still doesn’t care enough about them to confront them seriously.
The first sketch, titled, “Sebastian Maniscalco: New Lawyer,” where Styles played a lawyer who struggled in representing his client next to the extravagant and outlandish Sebastian Maniscalco defense attorney, was the perfect introduction to Styles’ impressive run on his first time doing the iconic SNL double duty. In this sketch you see him nail an American accent, but also utilize physical comedy. His switch from his American accent into the well-known Chicago comedian Maniscalco’s accent and cadence was perfect and jarring at the same time. Even the people I was watching the episode with felt as though it looked like Styles was having an out-of-body experience or as if it looked like he was possessed while performing. That proved to me that he impressed the audience, even people who aren’t fans of him, who couldn’t see him acting in such a loud and silly manner.
Other than that first sketch, my other favorites were “Best Buy: Mr. Pooty” and “Harry for Him.” Mr. Pooty, played by Kenan Thompson, is co-workers with Styles’ character in which we see Mr. Pooty confess in a staff meeting that he and Styles’ character have been secretly intimate and in love. Overall, Thompson and Styles were great scene partners, their energy being able to bounce off one another. While “Harry for Him” is a bit different, as Styles isn’t playing a character, but rather himself. It focuses on his fashion sense and how vibrant and loud it has been over the years by cast members wearing versions of iconic Harry Styles outfits including his 2022 Grammy look and his 2019 Met Gala look. Cast members are modeling an “everyday” version of Styles’ outfits through a new Target line called “Harry for Him.” It was a really clever way to include memorabilia of Styles’ style and have a truly funny skit to show off everyone’s comedic timing and chemistry.
Finally, the reason why Styles is doing SNL in the first place: his new music. Styles performed two songs, which happened to be my favorites off his new album, “Dance No More” and “Coming Up Roses.” Both are incredibly different but really surprising to hear, as neither of them are the two lead singles for the album. “Dance No More” was such a fun song for him to do, with his full band and background singer, even slightly planned choreography. This song was great to perform first as its loud horns and groovy beat kept the energy up for more sketches to follow. “Coming Up Roses” is a beautifully sad ballad featuring a symphony, bringing the mood down as we neared the end of the show. I thought Styles was vocally stunning as per usual, and despite a small lyric mess-up, the performance was near perfection. I appreciated his approach of not performing only singles as it gave more attention to some songs that indirect fans of Styles might not be listening to right now. Styles’ double duty Saturday Night Live episode was true proof that he can really do it all.