The past two weeks of Saturday Night Live delivered back-to-back star power, memorable sketches, and plenty of viral moments, thanks to hosts Ryan Gosling and Harry Styles. On March 7th, Ryan Gosling took the stage along with musical guest Gorillaz, quickly making it one of my favorite episodes ever. His monologue gained instant attention as he chose not to speak about himself but to shine the light on Harry Styles, who would take the stage next week.
As he playfully put the spotlight on Harry, the two sang a rendition of “Sign of the Times” making the audience enthralled by their unexpected wit together. Harry’s performance in sketches and music were show stopping as he worked with many accents and hilarious new personas his fans have never seen before. It is a tough task (as I loved almost all of them) but here is my ranking of Ryan and Harry’s SNL sketches!
Among Harry’s sketches, he takes number one with “Sebastian Maniscalco: New Lawyer” as he played an American lawyer in a theft case with Marcello Hernandez as comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, the new lawyer in town. Between the chaotic energy and movement of Marcello doing a spot-on impression of the comedian, and Harry breaking out of his comedic shell playing a bothered lawyer, the two stole the show. This sketch was so funny it had me, family, and friends replaying it over and over with laughter.
Ryan Gosling’s sketches were tough to rank as all of them were amazing and original. Ultimately “Passing Notes” stood out as the top performer, landing at number 2 overall for its sharp humor and hilarious premise. Ryan and SNL cast member Ashley Padilla pose as teachers who are consistently being “roasted” by students during their anti-bullying presentation. Ryan and Ashley were surprised by castmates such as Hernandez and Day who changed their individual notes to be read aloud, right before the show, so their reactions were raw!
In the number three spot, Gosling’s “Otzela” commercial deemed it to be a sinister medication that is unexplored by the medical professionals who made it. The beginning had all the usual clips and music of a pharma ad but takes a turn when actors of the commercial don’t know exactly what Otzela actually is. It is a plaque psoriasis medication that is presented as a confusing drug that no one knows where it came from. Ryan and the cast members of Saturday Night encapture the perfect commercial tone and image as if it were an ad on cable TV.
Close behind was “Harry for Him,” ranked number four, which cleverly played on Harry’s iconic outfits and the confirmation that his style is unmatched. The sketch painted Harry to be a chic fashionista (which he is) as he recommends his past concert and award show styles on the male cast members of SNL. The cast men realize that Harry’s style does not exactly transfer over to the average man. This sketch appealed to Harry’s fanbase while also reminding regular viewers that his style is arbitrary but he is truly the only one who could pull it off.
An honorable mention goes to Weekend Update, which featured a standout Emoji Battle segment between Red Heart emoji and Aerial Tramway emoji. Mikey Day appeared as the Aerial Tramway emoji, going head-to-head with Marcello Hernandez as the Red Heart. The appeal of the segment was the chemistry between Day and Hernandez as they personified emojis on an Apple phone. The absurdity and commitment from both comedians made it one of the most talked-about moments of the segment.
With two high-profile episodes back-to-back, SNL proved once again its ability to blend celebrity appeal with creative sketch comedy. Whether it was Gosling’s unexpected monologue twist or Styles’ confident comedic return to studio 8H, these March shows gave audiences plenty to laugh and talk about!