Molly Shannon Brings Back Sally O'Malley On SNL, And The Jonas Brothers Join In
Whenever a former "Saturday Night Live" cast member returns to the show as a host, you would not get good betting odds on whether or not they will reprise one of their old characters, because it is a guarantee they will. If Will Ferrell hosts, you know he's going to trot out his Alex Trebek. When Molly Shannon took up her first hosting duty back in 2007, she brought back her high-kicking, red jumpsuit-wearing, definitely 50-year-old character Sally O'Malley. And for her second hosting duty 16 years later ... she brought back Sally O'Malley once again.
Interestingly, this is the first time on the show Shannon, now 58, has played the character where she herself is actually older than the perpetually 50-year-old Sally, but because she is one of the biggest bundles of energy you will ever see, her physical comedy skills are as tuned as ever. In the latest iteration of Sally, she has been brought in to be the new choreographer for the Jonas Brothers' Las Vegas residency, and she is going to have them stretching and kicking for thousands of people in packed arenas and wearing matching jumpsuits that leave very little to the imagination. You can check out the new Sally O'Malley sketch below.
She's still kicking
You know Molly Shannon is on her game when "SNL" pros Chloe Fineman, Bowen Yang, and Kenan Thompson are all trying to hold back laughter, and in Fineman's case, doing it very poorly. She even has the background performers visibly laughing, perhaps thinking they actually have made it off-camera. It's rare to see pronounced camel toe on network television, even late at night, and Shannon's desire to just totally lean into it and milk the visual for as long as the laughs continue is the kind of commitment every sketch comedy performer should strive to have.
You also have to give some light golf claps to the Jonas Brothers for being game to put on those Sally O'Malley jumpsuits and look ridiculous alongside one of the show's all-time favorite performers. I wish they were a little more charismatic or a little funnier themselves, but they understand the visual gag of them will be enough to sell the sketch. As per usual with "Saturday Night Live," Thompson is a low-key scene stealer if you bother to watch his small moves or catch his unusual line readings. The biggest laugh I got from this sketch was how he said the phrase "stage act," followed by a quick brush of his hair.
Molly Shannon has always been one of the first people I think of when I imagine "Saturday Night Live" at its best. Total commitment, totally unafraid, utterly bizarre. When "SNL" works, it's tapping into that energy, and Shannon is one of the best to ever do it.
"Saturday Night Live" returns next week on April 15, hosted by "Ballerina" star Ana de Armas and kicking off at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT.