Newsletter Signup Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com During his “Saturday Night Live” hosting debut, actor Jacob Elordi racked up more swoons than laughs. He is the internet’s sweetheart of the moment, after all. Back after a month off, the SNL cast welcomed the first-time host. Elordi, a 26-year-old Australian actor, is fresh off his success in the psychological thriller “Saltburn,” featuring a plot that practically centers on his attractiveness. “If you saw the movie, thank you,” he said in his monologue. “If you saw the movie with your parents, I’m sorry.” The teen heartthrob rose to fame with works like “The Kissing Booth” and “Euphoria.” His accompanying musical guest is another Gen Z favorite: Reneé Rapp, a budding pop star who recently played Regina George in the new “Mean Girls” movie. She gained prominence with her role as the original Regina in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” While she reprised the role for the recently released movie, her solo musical career is well underway. She’s even coming to town with Boston Calling this May. Elordi isn’t known for being much of a comedian, and many skits hinged on his tallness (he’s 6-foot-5), his hotness, and his Australian-ness — and sometimes all three. He mentioned in his monologue that he’s not big on public speaking, which certainly didn’t hurt his case as the internet’s “babygirl,” known for his boyish mannerisms that differentiate him from other hunky actors. Cue lots of funny, surface-level sketches with a ton of sex jokes. And some special celebrity guest appearances! The first cold open of the year featured James Austin Johnson as Trump, monologuing for several minutes about the campaign trail and his win in Iowa with pop culture references scattered throughout. “Where’s Lacy Chabert?” he asks, referencing the original “Mean Girls” star. “Her father did Toaster Strudel.” Johnson jokes about other presidential candidates and Trump’s appearance (“arms like a G.I. Joe,”) as his wig pin slowly pops out all sketch long. Here’s a twist: the sketch portrays Trump speaking to the media after his court appearance for the defamation trial against E. Jean Carroll, a former SNL writer. Elordi delivered a brief monologue, introducing himself and his recent thriller/comedy, “Saltburn.” He took questions from audience members (Sarah Sherman, Bowen Yang, and Kenan Thompson, among them) that referenced his Australian nationality and his previous work like “The Kissing Booth.” Self-admittedly not one for public speaking, he sincerely expressed gratitude to be hosting. In this “Bachelorette” spin-off, Chloe Fineman has spent the past three months dating a group of men under 5-foot-8. But during the season finale, when she’s about to crown her short king, the producers introduce a twist — Jackson (Elordi), who’s about a foot and a half taller than the other men (Yang, Molly Kearney, and Marcello Hernandez). His best qualities are that he still technically has a girlfriend, and he needs to borrow $200,000. She chooses him immediately. On his podcast, “Club Shay Shay,” former football player Shannon Sharpe recently sat down with comedian Kat Williams. And, according to this sketch, there are eight more hours of raw, unseen footage from the chat. Williams (Ego Nwodim) tells Sharpe (Devon Walker) that Hollywood made Kevin Hart — in the same factory where they make Teddy Grahams, in fact. He came up with Obama’s slogan. “Before me, he was saying, ‘Probably. I think we might.’” And Williams invented fruit, too. “Before me, trees wasn’t bringing nothing to the table.” Heidi Gardner and Elordi are on a date at the bowling alley, and the animations on the screen after each play are getting weirder and weirder. The silly animated bowling pins turn into dramatic vignettes, showing a tense family dinner during “Split,” a pin getting beat with baseball bats for not supporting his union brothers on “Strike,” and a serial killer and his “Nine” victims. One of the only sketches that doesn’t focus on Elordi’s looks, this one played on Alaska Airlines’ recent stint in the news for its midair window blowout. They’re changing their slogan to “Alaska Airlines: You didn’t die, and you got a cool story.” They’re making some safety updates, too. “You know those bolts that, like, hold the plane together?” says Elordi. “We’re gonna go ahead and tighten some of those.” Rapp performed “Snow Angel,” the title track off her debut album, and “Not My Fault,” the lead single from the new “Mean Girls” movie soundtrack that features Megan Thee Stallion — who made a surprise appearance. Another fun surprise? Rachel McAdams, the original Regina George, introduced Rapp’s second number. Colin Jost and Michael Che joke about the presidential election, male contraception, Tesla, and a new study that found that pregnant women vaping doesn’t harm the baby. Deobra Redden (Punkie Johnson), an inmate who recently went viral for attacking a judge during a hearing, came in to discuss his “great form” and the lack of security in the courtroom. “Even CVS shampoo got some glass.” The full female cast is at an AA meeting called “Women Supporting Women.” They turn away Mikey Day since it’s a women’s only meeting, but, of course, they have no problems with Elordi. And, low and behold, he’s a sex addict, too — they all swoon and stumble over their words. Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com Stay up to date with everything Boston. Receive the latest news and breaking updates, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
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