Shane Gillis Manages to Make These 'SNL' Sketches Funny, But Just Barely (2024)

The Shane Gillis episode of Saturday Night Live was rough to watch. Picking out the best sketches of the night was a lot harder than you'd think, and it was because none of them were particularly great. At every turn, each sketch had something that was just insulting to people for no real reason. From a sketch about a sex doll mocking people with amblyopia to a frankly distasteful Forest Gump sketch, the episode left audiences wondering, "Who is this for?"

An episode that felt like it was never going to end, Gillis' grand debut on the stage of Studio 8H was beyond painful to watch. Some moments were at least passable to watch so let's talk about the "best" sketches of the night.

Rock Bottom Kings

Sometimes a host has some rough sketches. The problem with Gillis' hosting gig is that his best sketches are typical ones that barely leave a lasting impact. Like when Britney Spears auditioned celebrities for her audiobook. There are plenty of places out there where you can place online bets on a wide range of things, whether it be sporting events or moments in your life. Rock Bottom Kings is there to make sure that you have the best chance to win money on your friends when their lives are crumbling from a gambling addiction. The sketch is making fun of Draft Kings ads and how easy-to-access betting apps have made it easier for people to become addicted to online gambling. What made it at least passably funny was the blatant irony of it all.

It is simple and in the grand scheme of the rest of the night, it was one of the best. But on a good night at Saturday Night Live, this would have easily been just an okay sketch. This is saying something when episodes like Dakota Johnson's had stand-out sketches and this Gillis episode simply did not.

White Men Can Trump

Some comedians have great sketches, taking to the sketch comedy series naturally, but Gillis continued to deliver mediocre content the entire episode. What's the worst possible way to remake Like Mike in 2024? By using that same premise but applying it to Donald Trump's nearly $400 sneakers that are bright red, blue, and gold. The idea is that Gillis is playing a man who is really bad at basketball and talking to anyone, but when he wears his Trump shoes, he can suddenly convince everyone that he's good at this stuff.

Did he miss that shot? No, he didn't. You thought he did, but he didn't. He totally made it. A simple comedy game where they just had to keep upping what to have this man be lying about, it was one of the sketches of the night where we actually managed to crack a laugh. Especially when Mikey Day comes in at the end with his Joe Biden-inspired sneakers.

Bowen Yang as Truman Capote

Bowen Yang is often the best part of any given episode of Saturday Night Live and this time, he took to Weekend Update to debut a new character: Truman Capote. Capote hit the Update desk to talk about famous women. Slowly, it became obvious that Capote did not actually like women. Even Colin Jost pointed out that there is a show titled Feud: Capote vs. The Swans all about how he sold out his female friends for his work. An impression that just allowed Yang to make up facts about women and have fun, it was one of the stand-out moments of the night. Like saying that Amelia Earhart's crash was the reason we don't have female pilots anymore.

Yang's segment of Weekend Update wasn't uploaded to YouTube, but the full episode of Saturday Night Live is available to stream on Peaco*ck in the U.S.

Saturday Night Live

Comedy

A famous guest host stars in parodies and sketches created by the cast of this witty show.

Release Date

October 11, 1975

Seasons

49

Studio

NBC

Producer

Lorne Michaels

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