Saturday Night Live: Carey Mulligan’s best sketches

Carey Mulligan has made a name for herself over the past fifteen years as a dramatic actress. But this weekend, fans got to see her in a new light as host of Saturday Night Live.

Mulligan herself acknowledged this during her monologue and said that she was very happy to get to show her sillier side on SNL. As she put it, “I’m used to working on these really dramatic films… so I’m very excited to be here tonight and let some of that out.”

The actress joined a list of surprising host choices so far in season 46. Adele, Timothee Chalamet, Regé-Jean Page, and Regina King are all known for things other than comedy but SNL still picked them to lead the show

So how did Carey Mulligan stack up against her predecessors? Here were the best sketches from her hosting debut.

Saturday Night Live with Carey Mulligan review: What’s Wrong with This Picture

This is a recurring sketch, but it’s such a strong format that it’s still funny with each recurrence. This certainly wasn’t the best iteration of the sketch, but it was quite enjoyable, and Chris Redd brought a great new energy to it.

Saturday Night Live with Carey Mulligan review: Star Trek Spinoff

The premise of this sketch wasn’t particularly strong, but Carey Mulligan and Mikey Day were excellent in their roles. This was Mulligan’s strongest performance of the night, and it’s worth watching just to see that.

Saturday Night Live with Carey Mulligan review: Lesbian Period Drama

SNL genre send-ups are always good for a laugh, and this one was no exception. Honestly, I’d love to watch a whole movie about Heidi Gardner and Carey Mulligan picking up rocks.

Saturday Night Live with Carey Mulligan review: The War in Words: Bertie and Mary

This was a classic Mikey Day sketch: very traditional, very well-structured, and always dependable for some good laughs. This was a great sketch for Mulligan because it didn’t require her to play a big comic character in order to be funny.

Other notes on Saturday Night Live with Carey Mulligan

• The cold open was very solid, and Kenan Thompson and Ego Nwodim make for a great duo. The highlight was when their characters tried to respond to Prince Philip’s death: “Girl, Prince been dead!” Nwodim’s character says.
• Mulligan’s husband Marcus Mumford had a very funny cameo during her monologue.
• Kate and Aidy’s costumes in “Study Buddies” were fantastic.
• Beck Bennett was delightful as Bruce Springsteen during “Weekend Update.” Bowen Yang was also terrific as The Iceberg that sunk the Titanic.
• I don’t know why, but something about the line, “You were voted by your peers as the students who were most likely to wear pantyhose” was really funny. (From the sketch “L’Eggs”)

What did you think of Carey Mulligan’s performance on Saturday Night Live? Where does this episode rank among season 46’s episodes? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.