Is it me, or is this season of Saturday Night Live embracing slapstick a little more than usual? The current season has featured some epically bad bartending and the sight of Brendan Gleeson’s hand bleeding everywhere, among other moments. That’s not meant as a criticism — SNL is often at its best when it balances high concept work with physical comedy.
A sketch from this week’s episode managed to find the perfect balance of both. It’s set up as a scene from a teen melodrama, with host Jenna Ortega and Marcello Hernández playing significant others conversing in the parking lot of a Waffle House. As they do so, keep an eye on the restaurant’s window behind them as the scene there turns absolutely chaotic.
Oretga and Hernández play their roles with utter sincerity, which makes their obliviousness to the increasingly ludicrous goings-on inside that much funnier. And for all that this sketch is based around chaotic physical comedy, there are also a few beatifically-timed moments over the course of the sketch.
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The character debuted in 2016And for all that SNL presents Waffle House as a site of utter chaos, this sketch might well leave you craving a late-night visit there. Those hashbrowns are very tasty, after all.
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