Last night, Elon Musk hosted Saturday Night Live. While Musk has made some onscreen appearances in the past — including lending his voice to a Rick and Morty episode and playing himself in Iron Man 2 — comedy can be a trickier task. At times, Musk’s presence recalled the late-80s period when a number of prominent athletes hosted the show, a time when SNL’s writers had to figure out how to make someone like, say, Wayne Gretzky mesh relatively seamlessly in a comedy setting.
One of the most successful efforts to work Musk into the SNL ensemble came via a filmed sketch about people interacting after quarantining for over a year. The sketch follows three conversations and occasionally reveals what the participants are thinking — including a guy who may be unwittingly flirting with his cousin.
That the sketch pairs Musk with Heidi Garner, who often plays characters with offbeat energy, works in its favor; so too does the fact that awkward interactions are literally the point here. If some of the episode’s sketches seemed designed for their meme potential (Gen Z Hospital, we’re looking at you) over all else, this one found a way to let Musk click with the ensemble more organically.
Meet your guide
More Like This
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
