{"id":786169,"date":"2026-05-10T08:45:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T08:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/786169\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T08:45:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T08:45:26","slug":"matt-damon-returns-as-brett-kavanaugh-in-snl-cold-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/786169\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Damon returns as Brett Kavanaugh in ‘SNL’ cold open"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s hard to believe, as Matt Damon noted in his monologue in this week\u2019s \u201cSaturday Night Live,\u201d that the actor of this summer\u2019s \u201cThe Odyssey<\/a>\u201d has only guest hosted three times during his lengthy career. (In case you\u2019re wondering, his frequent writing and acting partner Ben Affleck has hosted five times.)<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a shame because Damon checks all the boxes for what an A-list actor should do when they host the show: be super present, take every opportunity to do the silliest sketches without seeming uncomfortable, and bring at least some of their acting chops to bear to give otherwise lightweight sketches a little extra gravitas or emotion.<\/p>\n

Damon did all that and helped start the show off with an extra jolt of energy by returning as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the cold open<\/a>, along with last week\u2019s ringer, Aziz Ansari<\/a> as FBI Director Kash Patel.<\/p>\n

Not every sketch worked, like an early Godzilla parody<\/a> set in a command center that was simply a series of increasingly anticipated spit takes on poor Mikey Day. Things improved when Damon played himself in a pre-taped sketch about a movie made just for moms<\/a> ahead of Mother\u2019s Day; mom\u2019s fantasy? No conflict among the kids and a blissful marriage to Matt Damon.<\/p>\n

Damon also played one of a trio of middle-aged men (including Marcello Hern\u00e1ndez and Kenan Thompson) constantly getting beat up by \u201ctough guys\u201d<\/a> who are sometimes just children. He also played a frustrated dad in a strange cat litter commercial, a substitute teacher trying to get a classroom of students to dance<\/a> (unsuccessfully) and, memorably, an auctioneer in a fight with his auctioneer wife (Sarah Sherman). In these sketches in particular, Damon\u2019s acting skills helped elevate the characters he played, grounding them in sadness or frustration. It definitely helped.<\/p>\n

The \u201cOdyssey\u201d might turn out to be the summer\u2019s biggest movie hit. If that\u2019s the case, let\u2019s hope Matt Damon isn\u2019t kept from hosting \u201cSNL\u201d for so long after this week\u2019s solid job.<\/p>\n

Musical guest Noah Kahan performed \u201cThe Great Divide<\/a>\u201d and \u201cDoors<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

At Martin\u2019s Tavern in Washington, D.C., Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost) returned yet again to shout-bark at those around him, brag about the Iran War he claims he started and, of course, talk about drinking alcohol. But this time, he was joined by his apparent drinking buddy Kavanaugh, who held a gavel and immediately ordered a \u201csix-three decision\u201d (six beers, three shots of Jameson whiskey). Glowing in their victories, Hegseth bellowed, \u201cCan you believe I just started a war?\u201d Kavanaugh replied, \u201cCan you believe I ended abortion? Your body, my choice!\u201d Kavanaugh went on to show off what at first looked like a dinosaur-shaped district map for Tennessee before revealing it\u2019s his field sobriety test, when he was asked to draw a circle. Kavanaugh bemoaned the male loneliness crisis just before they were joined by Patel, who cried, \u201cDoes this bar take Kaaaaash?\u201d Patel showed off the bourbon that bears his name<\/a>. (\u201cSomehow this is a real thing that I, the FBI director, have made. This is real!\u201d) Kavanaugh revealed a secret: that the court is going to let Trump do a third term. \u201cTrump found the original Constitution and on the end, he wrote, \u2018Psych!\u2019 \u201d The three ended the sketch by singing Chumbawamba\u2019s \u201cTubthumbing\u201d with its callouts of their drink orders.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Damon previewed his upcoming film, even though he had to mention several times that \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d won\u2019t be out for another nine weeks. He also had to break the news that the lovely \u201cSNL\u201d tradition of bringing on moms of cast members wouldn\u2019t be happening this year due to Spirit Airlines shutting down. It turns out, after an audience member (\u201cSNL\u201d writer Jack Bensinger) asks, that only Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s mom was able to make it. Damon then recorded a video message to moms out there for anyone who didn\u2019t get a gift for them. \u201cYou deserve a night out\u2026 nine weekends from now,\u201d he said, suggesting the movie would make a great date night.<\/p>\n

Best sketch of the night: Do I hear best sketch of the night? Sold!<\/p>\n

A sketch as gimmicky as this one \u2014 in which the premise is two auctioneers (Damon and Sherman) are having a marriage-ending fight \u2014 only works if the performers are up to the task, and luckily both Damon and Sherman navigated the super-fast dialogue expertly and without looking like they were eyeing cue cards the entire time. The two went back and forth, auctioneering a discussion about weight, infidelity, drinking, their sex life and, eventually, terms of their divorce in front of their four young sons (who, adorably, hold up little numbered signs. Yes, they were played by adult cast members.). Even for \u201cSNL\u201d and for the last-sketch-of-the-night slot, it was a bold sketch for live TV and Damon and Sherman expertly walked the tightrope on this one.<\/p>\n

Also good: Your mom will only make it through 23 minutes of this \"\" <\/p>\n

\u201cSNL\u201d is no stranger to spiky sketch comedy takes on motherhood: remember \u201cMom Jeans<\/a>?\u201d For this year\u2019s Mother\u2019s Day take, it presented \u201cMom: The Movie,\u201d a film devoid of conflict or dramatic tension because \u201cMoms have enough stress. Why not let them feel good for a day?\u201d Ashley Padilla plays the mom in the film, enjoying argument-free time with her kids (Jeremy Culhane, Tommy Brennan and Veronika Slowikowska), who only deliver good news. She\u2019s married to Matt Damon, making her Rhonda Damon, and they met when he noticed her giant turquoise necklace after a movie screening. The film is streaming where moms are expected to find it: on HomeGoods Plus.<\/p>\n

\u2018Weekend Update\u2019 winner: This \u2018Update\u2019 segment is bananas \u2014 the round kind \"\" <\/p>\n

This week\u2019s \u201cUpdate\u201d featured three guest segments. Hern\u00e1ndez and Day played kamikaze dolphins<\/a> who work for the government, giving them a sense of porpoise (their joke<\/a>, not mine). Jane Wickline expressed her anger at people caring that she\u2019s always late in a funny musical rant<\/a>. But Culhane\u2019s return as Tucker Carlson<\/a> continued a dead-on impersonation that covered several topics, including the Met Gala\u2019s wild outfits, the new Michael Jackson biopic, and why eating round bananas is less gay than eating traditionally shaped ones. Culhane\u2019s impression is a thing of beauty, and this time it leaned harder into Carlson\u2019s tendency to express things from a very white point of view. In describing ASAP Rocky\u2019s pink robe from the Met Gala, he said the performer was, \u201cWearing my least favorite color \u2026 African-American.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s hard to believe, as Matt Damon noted in his monologue in this week\u2019s \u201cSaturday Night Live,\u201d that…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":786170,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[72698,26452,1582,276,321412,321413,108509,2961,224,5337,49069,27770,17241,16766,81626,1933,17823,6620,321414,2452],"class_list":{"0":"post-786169","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-auctioneer","9":"tag-brett-kavanaugh","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-damon","13":"tag-day-gift","14":"tag-jeremy-culhane","15":"tag-la","16":"tag-los-angeles","17":"tag-losangeles","18":"tag-matt-damon","19":"tag-mom","20":"tag-mother","21":"tag-sarah-sherman","22":"tag-sketch","23":"tag-snl","24":"tag-thing","25":"tag-time","26":"tag-upcoming-film","27":"tag-week"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116549408167675806","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786169\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}