Ryan Gosling Giggles Through A Phenomenal, All-Time Great Episode Of Saturday Night Live

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Even though Ryan Gosling popped up during Kristin Wiig's induction into the Five Timers Club in last weekend's episode of "Saturday Night Live," the "Barbie" star had actually only hosted the late night sketch comedy show a couple times. Despite having just that pair of hosting stints under his belt, Gosling had already proven he was a reliable and hilarious host. But even with expectations high, Gosling made this third round hosting "Saturday Night Live" an absolute banger, delivering one of the best episodes that I've ever seen. And it wasn't just because of guest appearances by former "SNL" cast member (and recent host) Kate McKinnon or a cameo by Gosling's "The Fall Guy" co-star Emily Blunt. Even without those bonuses, this episode of "SNL" was simply phenomenal. 

So let's not waste anymore time. Come with us as we dig into the highs and non-existent lows of Ryan Gosling's latest "Saturday Night Live."

What was the best sketch of the night?

Beavis and Butt-Head - With such a great episode already established up until this point, I was worried that it was about to come to a screeching halt with this News Nation sketch digging into some kind of topical political satire, something that "Saturday Night Live" has not been consistently excelling at for years now. My worries were somewhat alleviated when this became a discussion about artificial intelligence. Then, they were washed away entirely through fits of laughter from both myself and the "SNL" cast when the premise of the sketch was fully revealed.

Kenan Thompson, who is meant to be an expert on AI, can't help but be distracted by a distinct member of the audience: Ryan Gosling made up to look exactly like Beavis from the animated series "Beavis and Butt-Head," complete with a laughably accurate pointy nose and poofy, blonde pompadour. Not even Heidi Gardner could keep a straight face when glancing at him. But then Mikey Day appeared as the even more ridiculously accurate Butt-Head, complete with a lifted lip, braces, and permanently furrowed brow, and this sketch skyrocketed to greatness.

Gardner absolutely lost it when she glanced at Day in as Butt-Head. Typically, when cast members break, they are able to stifle it almost immediately, but Gardner could not keep it together at all. This is the hardest and longest I've ever seen someone break, ranking right up there with Jimmy Fallon's fits of giggling. She wasn't the only one either, because not a single cast member could keep from laughing at Gosling and Day in full Beavis and Butt-Head makeup. You gotta give it to the extras surrounding them for keeping a straight face the entire time. That's impressive as hell. 

What makes this sketch great, though, isn't just the cast breaking. Sure, it helps brings some bigger laughs, but it's such an original way of doing a live-action Beavis and Butt-Head without simply doing a movie trailer adapting the cartoon. The fact that these two lookalikes don't actually talk like Beavis and Butt-Head makes it that much better. This is just brilliant sketch comedy. 

How was the rest of the episode?

Close Encounters (Cold Open) – Eight years ago was when "Saturday Night Live" and Kate McKinnon debuted the first ever Close Encounters sketch, with McKinnon playing a woman named Colleen Rafferty, who has been involved in a hilariously upsetting alien abduction while two other counterparts had a much more uplifting and enlightening experience. In the first rendition of what would become a recurring sketch, first-time host Ryan Gosling took part, and the premise returned when he hosted a second time. So it's only appropriate that Kate McKinnon came back to "SNL" for a third round, even after we were given what was deemed the "Final Encounter" when McKinnon left the series in May 2022.

While recurring sketches don't always match the magic of the first time, this was an excellent return of the sketch, largely thanks to McKinnon's interaction with Gosling after his character mentions how the aliens reacted to his "troll nose" of a male member. Gosling can't help but break as McKinnon crouches down below his groin and continues to linger as she describes this latest encounter. The fact that this was the cold open shows how far this bit has come, and it was infinitely better than slogging through something taken from the news headlines. 

The Engagement – Right after first commercial break following the monologue, "SNL" kept the momentum going with this outstanding original sketch featuring Ryan Gosling as a man who isn't too eager to follow through on a recent engagement with Chloe Fineman. No, it's not just because I was happy to hear Ryan Gosling urgently whispering my real name. But rather because the way Gosling gets increasingly concerned about following through on the engagement he rushed into without thinking things through. The escalation here is key, especially with Dismukes getting more and more uncomfortable with the situation. Gosling has a couple quick moments of breaking here too, which are good for some bonus laughs. 

Get That Boy Back (featuring Chris Stapleton) – "SNL" got a little country twang in one of their reliable pre-recorded music video sketches, thanks to musical guest Chris Stapleton. In a song in the same vein as Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats," we've got Chloe Fineman, Ego Nwodim, and Chloe Troast as a trio of women singing about how they're about to get even on the men who cheated on them. While Fineman and Nwodim have more traditional methods of getting revenge, Troast takes her vengeance to another level by initiating a mindf*** of a scheme that makes Chris Stapleton think he's shrinking by gradually giving him bigger shoes. It escalates from there as Troast camouflages herself in Stapleton's parents' house and makes his mom thinks it's haunted. Watching Fineman and Nwodim slowly distance themselves from Troast's unhealthy plans is so good, and it helps that the country tune is pretty damn catchy too. Great stuff!

Believe me when I say that I could go on and on about each and every sketch in this episode, because this is top-to-bottom one of the best episodes that I've ever seen. There wasn't a single dud this evening. In the interest of saving time, I've chosen to only dig into the top sketches above. But you should absolutely watch Gosling put on a Cuban accent while lamenting the fact that Kenan Thompson won't go clubbing with the original dog from "Beethoven." And you shouldn't miss Gosling and Bowen Yang trying not to laugh at each other as doctors not so stealthily delivering some bad news to a family in a hospital waiting room while promoting their new snack idea Cookie Crumbles. Plus, since we're cinephiles here, there's also a hilarious deleted scene from "Erin Brockovich" that's worth checking out. Even Weekend Update was on fire, with the desk appearances from Michael Longfellow and college basketball superstar and soon-to-be WNBA player Caitlin Clark landing firmly. 

How was Ryan Gosling as an SNL host?

Do we even need to answer this question after gushing about how amazing this episode was? Gosling was already one of my favorite "Saturday Night Live" hosts after just two times taking the stage in Studio 8H, but this episode solidified that he's one of the greatest hosts that "SNL" has ever seen. He's one of those actors who is effortlessly funny, and when you combine that with the fact that he's also remarkably handsome, you can't help but get angry at God for giving so many blessings to one man. It's simply not fair that Gosling can be such a gifted actor with impressive comedic and dramatic chops on top of the fact that he easily looks like a real-life Ken doll. The fact that I can watch Gosling work his magic and not be mad at him for being such an amazing talent speaks to how likable this guy is. This f***ing guy. 

Anyway, along with the amazing sketches throughout this entire episode, the monologue was masterful as well. Gosling sings a rendition of Taylor Swift's song "All Too Well" that's about portraying Ken in "Barbie," but it's interrupted by "The Fall Guy" co-star Emily Blunt, who is annoyed that he's still singing about Ken instead of promoting their new movie together instead. The monologue gets even better when Blunt enters the song to sing about "Oppenheimer," and the two end up giving us a Barbenheimer ballad to bring everything full circle. You love to see it. 

Cut for time: Papyrus 2

Did you think we were done? This episode of "SNL" was so fantastic that even one of the sketches that was cut for time ended up being great. In fact, it's a sequel to one of the best sketches that came from one of Ryan Gosling's previous hosting stints. Remember when Gosling lamented the use of the Papyrus font for the "Avatar" logo? Well, Gosling is back with a sequel that has a startling revelation and the return of former cast member Kyle Mooney in a key role. It's the perfect sequel to the original sketch, and the fact that it's funnier than some of the better sketches we've seen throughout the rest of season 49 just further demonstrates how awesome this episode ended up being. This one even has a perfect ending. 

Norm Macdonald was missed

Well, after the big news this week that O.J. Simpson passed away, I can't help but miss the late Norm Macdonald at the Weekend Update desk. The comedian was relentless in his jokes about Simpson and his infamous trial for the murder of his wife Nicole Simpson. So when Colin Jost and Michael Che touched upon the subject in Weekend Update, I wished Macdonald was still around for a brief return to the desk to offer the perfect punchline. But since we lost Macdonald a little while back, we'll just have to settle for the above supercut featuring some of his sharpest digs at O.J. Simpson. At the very least, "The Naked Gun" co-director David Zucker offered up an exquisite one-liner at Simpson's expense. 

"Saturday Night Live" returns on May 4 with Dua Lipa pulling double duty as guest host and musical guest.