Rosalind O'Connor/NBC
Hi — welcome one and all toSNLin Review. Do not adjust your dials, do not click away.
Tonight's episode is hosted by Glen Powell, who is starring in the latest adaptation ofThe Running Manas well as the Hulu showChad Powers. Powell previously appeared on the show last year when Sydney Sweeney hosted. (At the time, I said heshould be hosting!)
FormerSNLcast member — andstar ofThe French Italian— Aristotle Athari is a fan of Powell's work. He says: "When I sawHit Man, I was blown away by Powell's comedic timing. I love that movie, and honestly, anything [he does]."Top Gun: Maverickwith Powell was the first movie after COVID that made Athari "feel like the theater experience was back." Cast him inMaverick 2, people!
Last week, reactions to Nikki Glaser showeda bit of divisionin our ranks — more than 20 percent of you loved it, while a quarter of you straight up hated it. Stats! Let's see if there's more consensus tonight. Olivia Dean is the musical guest.
Cold Open
Ashley Padilla is White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and it's been a quiet news week! But reporters at this press conference mostly want to talk about Epstein!
Eventually James Austin Johnson's Trump again takes over. I think this was better with Padilla as the focal point. Allowing Trump to monologue and entertain about this topic specifically feels misplaced, as much as Johnson nails it. I kind of preferred Padilla working out the tics around Leavitt, who unctuously claims to "believe women." I also enjoyed Chloe Fineman and Kam Patterson's roles here. See what you think.
Monologue
It's been a wild year for Glen Powell. He knows we are tired of seeing his face. He's been working for a long time — even directing a student film where he lip-synched to Fall Out Boy!
His big break was in one of theSpy Kidsmovies. That's the framing for the bulk of the monologue. Being at 8H means a lot to him and his family. After working for years, he was supposed to host four years ago for Top Gun: Maverickbefore COVID delayed it. He tells a funny story about his UPS driver he met when he first learned he was getting a chance to host the Christmas show — now, years later, Powell has flown him here, he's in the audience. This is great! And has a great message about waiting for your dreams. Watch this!
"AI Photos"
A grandma's family has uploaded her old photos into an app where the AI analyzes the image and projects how the people moved. We see the recreations, and how the computer distorts the image, getting confused. The pet dog has no head, for instance. Powell plays the grandmother's now-deceased father, come to life decades later.
Lots of silly surrealism — a nuclear blast, a floating body, naked Mikey Day.
This is a real thing! Deevid, AliveMoment. Meh.
"Ex's Dad"
♪ I Miss My Ex's Dad ♪pic.twitter.com/NwhIGH7nsI
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl)November 16, 2025
A couple of our feature players (Ben Marshall, Tommy Brennan) sing a sad country song… about missing their ex's dad. Glen Powell plays the ideal male. Kenan is Gary, the dad they never had. Catchy.
Ben Marshall is back making short films and music videos for the show. Nice!
"Boys Weekend"
Glen Powell is getting married and he has invited a friend to the bachelor party. It's the stand-up comedian Sebastian Maniscalco (Marcello Hernandez). I guess this is an excuse for Marcello to do this impression? Very physical, nostalgia heavy.
The kicker here, inexplicably, is the return of Chloe Fineman's Jennifer Coolidge impression. OK.
"Norwegian Movie"
Oh boy, I do not like jokes like Swedish Chef or Jamie Lee Curtis inTrading Places, where it's the silly accent of Swedish or Norwegian people. So this irks me on a basic level. I enjoy the enthusiasm of the actors and how that contrasts with the intense Bergman style material.
Just to be on the record I'm not totally humorless here: James Austin Johnson is really good as Stellan Skarsgård!
"MacGruber"
Wow! This is an excellent treat. The return of MacGruber!Will Forte!!
Fineman replaces Kristen Wiig — and Powell is entertaining as the one man prepared to release the Epstein files. You can imagine where this leads with MacGruber…
First appearing on the show back in January 2007, a cult classic film was released in 2010. Then Peacock aired a revival back in 2021. We actually last saw the characteron the show in 2022, so it hasn't been that long. But a welcome return, even if Ryan Phillippe or Wiig didn't appear.
Really funny, and way superior to the cold open, which was a rather on-the-nose take.
"Bob Army"
An army soldier, Sublette (in-joke alert!), is transferred to a division that mostly "serves" — with their haircuts and attitudes. If you see a man with a bob, diva you better run! They report to Leslie Bibb, which is very funny. I love the hair-off and the overall goofiness here. Paris is Burning and its depiction of ball culture feels like a good frame of reference.
Their rivals are the bang battalion. Both groups are very sassy. I liked this.
Olivia Dean performs "Man I Need"
"Man I Need" is the third single from Dean's second album,The Art of Loving. It is pretty fun.
"Weekend Update"
Epstein emails dominate the segment. Colin calling Trump the "Forrest Gump" of knowing pedofiles is a brutal, funny line. Che has a number of savage lines too — including one about Bill Clinton. The crowd absolutely erupts. He says this is possibly his favorite episode ever.
After a quick joke about Colin Jost being related to Hitler (!) the segment ends! No colorful commentary from wacky characters tonight.
"Airport"
he's not the stepdad, he's the dad that stepped uppic.twitter.com/W95aWV8xcF
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl)November 16, 2025
Awkward sauce — an ex-wife picks up her daughter, who was kidnapped overseas. Her ex, Brian (Powell), hunted down the traffickers and killed them, a la Liam Neeson inTaken. Dennis — her current husband — is played by Dismukes, a classic turn. He's nervous and inadequate, but always makes sure to clean up his clothes at home. This is a funny continuation of how these action movies might end, and what the family dynamics are like knowing the father is an absolute badass. How do you exist around that person?
"MacGruber II"
We're back! MacGruber's friends are suspicious about his behavior. He doubles down, nervous about additional copies of the Epstein list that are in existence.
Olivia Dean performs "Let Alone The One You Love"
Dean is known for her soulful, jazz-infused pop style, blending warm vocals and an intimate stage presence that recalls a bit of Amy Winehouse. I'm sure she gets that a lot. "Let Alone The One You Love" is pretty winsome. She just played this on theToday Showa month ago.
"Hair Appointment"
not a lot of people could pull that offpic.twitter.com/iRuicW7T5z
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl)November 16, 2025
Friends meet for dinner before Friendsgiving. One friend (Ashley Padilla) is running late, she just got an exclusive appointment with a famous hairdresser. She enters — it's one of those chic celeb styles that a normal person cannot pull off.
Another hair sketch! Padilla's devastation and brave face really sells this. She's great. "Me toooooooooo…." "I like it!" Love her delivery, she reminds me of a young Joan Cusack.
I love how they give this room to breathe. Classic, add it to her highlight reel.
John Milhiser recently shared Padilla is "very funny. Insane how much she's in now. Go Ashley! She brings a real grounded performance to her sketch characters. I loved how she reacted after she farted in that fart sketch. 'Ohhhhhh no. Noooo. Ohhhh dear.' It was an unexpected reaction to farting. She was so disappointed that it happened. Almost like it broke her heart. She's brilliant. I also loved her Two People Who Just Hooked Up with Andrew Dismukes. Loved that these characters had an arc in their scene. They had a beginning, middle and end. They took their time. It paid off. It was refreshing to see. Jealous of those characters. Keep 'em coming."
"MacGruber III"
It's been pretty clear now MacGruber is on the Epstein list. He has an explanation, it involves playground sand and "Amazing Grace."
Final thoughts...
Vote please! And see you in December with Melissa McCarthy returning.
Pretty fun, well-rounded episode! Powell was great. And another Padilla classic.
Athari's new movie French Italian is streaming now on Apple and Amazon. In it, he co-stars with fellow SNLer Jon Rudnitsky. Athari told me: "I've known Jon for a long time—before either of our SNL runs, actually. Right before he left for New York to join the show, he helped me film an audition tape for The Daily Show. I didn't get the gig, but it was a damn good tape—thanks to Jon, and maybe a little bit to me."
Athari also says he is "really excited to see Jeremy Culhane on the show. We have a lot of mutual friends IRL, and I've been a fan of his for a while. It just feels right seeing him up there." He adds he's been "looking forward to seeing what more he does on the show. He's a great win." I loved Jeremy in the ex dad music video – his reactions were great.
Will Forte is actually on stage during the goodnights, next to the UPS guy! Nice touch.
Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly
