Steve Martin hosts SNL for the 16th time

Entertainment

Steve Martin and Martin Short hosted SNL together last night, with musical guest Brandi Carlile.

Steve Martin and Martin Short, co-stars of the Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building,” paired up to host “Saturday Night Live” last night after season three of their series was recently announced.

Martin has hosted the show a whopping 16 times since 1976. Last night was Short’s fourth time hosting. They were joined by Brandi Carlile, who promoted her most recent release, an acoustic version of her 2021 album “In These Silent Days.”

Cold Open

The show opened with a cute musical sketch about friends at a Christmas party “blocking it all out” until after the holidays. Bowen Yang, Cecily Strong, and Keenan Thompson sing about personal problems that they’re blocking out until Christmas — Thompson’s drinking problem and Yang’s mental health among them — before they’re joined by Sarah Sherman and Ego Nwodim and continue to make various cultural references. “Elon, why does he own all the stuff?” laments Strong, and Yang questions why Hilter is back, while Thompson wonders “Why are his new fans Black?” Devon Walker makes an Italian food delivery — garlic bread and 12 bottles of wine.

Monologue

It’s clear that Martin and Short have performed together for years — they bounce off each other, telling jokes at the other’s expense, referencing their past gigs on SNL (Short was a cast member for one season back in the mid ‘80s), and reading fake eulogies for one another. Selena Gomez, their “Only Murders” co-star, made a quick surprise appearance at the end. Steve Martin made a cameo in Selena Gomez’s first episode hosting SNL last season.

The Science Room 

Martin and Short play Dr. Science and Mr. Science, respectively, teaching a winter-themed science lesson. They bring on oversized child volunteers Cecily Strong and Mikey Day, who proceed to get all the answers to the questions wrong to the frustration of Martin and Short. 

Please Don’t Destroy — Chelsea

In the SNL writers room at 1 a.m., John reveals that he just got back together with his ex Chelsea, who the other writers have just finished insulting heavily as “the worst,” and “pond scum.” Turns out Chelsea is in the room. Along with her family on Zoom. And they’re engaged. And there’s a stenographer. There are cameos from various cast members, and an appearance from Sarah Sherman’s real dad. Martin invites everyone but the insulting writers back to his apartment. “You can all take one thing home.”

A Christmas Carol

In this dark twist on the classic tale, Short is Scrooge, waking up a new man on Christmas morning after his night with the ghosts of past, present, and future. He opens the window and asks the schoolboy (Sarah Sherman) below to go buy the prized goose down the street for Tiny Tim and his family. It’s Dickens word for word until the coin Scrooge tosses down to the boy slices him through the eye. Carnage and chaos ensue, with each amendment Scrooge tries to make backfiring. It’s a classic blood-squirting scene, if you’re into that.

Brandi Carlile

Brandi Carlile performed “The Story,” the title track of her 2007 album, and “You and Me on the Rock,” off her recent seventh studio album, “In These Silent Days.”

Weekend Update

Hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost took on the World Cup, Brittney Griner, Kyrsten Sinema, and the SantaCon bar crawl. Holiday shopper Mary Ann Louise Fisher (Ego Nwodim) came on to discuss her shopping tips, and a Wyoming couple (Chloe Fineman and Mikey Day) chatted about their recent book on keeping the spark alive in the bedroom.

Father of the Bride

Riffing on Martin and Short’s 1991 film and subsequent sequels, this skit has Annie (Heidi Gardner) getting married again — for the eighth time. Short does a French accent they hope is “still OK.” Similar to last week’s “Forcington’s Ridge,” this skit plays on ‘90s TV tropes, but this time brings in a couple of cameos: Kiernan Culkin and Selena Gomez (again).