SNL, a sketch comedy, political satire, and variety TV show, brings in a new host every Saturday night for over an hour of laughs. On March 4th, 2023, the two-time Super Bowl champion, Travis Kelce, took the stage as host and gave an entertaining performance. Two moments stood out as highlights of Kelce’s embodiment of the comedic persona: the opening monologue and an edition of “Please Don’t Destroy” in which three writers, Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy, are seeking the respect of SNL interns and they decide to take a self-defense class to stand up for themselves. Throughout the show, Kelce effortlessly joins the SNL cast and never fails to hit the mark with every joke he delivers. The constant booming laughter of the audience says the rest.
In this episode titled “Travis Kelce; Kelsea Ballerini,” director Liz Patrick gives viewers endless laughs. Kelce’s opening monologue follows the classic outline of personal praise, self-deprecating humor, and a display of lifelong love for the iconic late-night comedy. For just over 5 minutes, Kelce delivers hit after hit. After a slightly off impression of his teammate Patrick Mahomes, Kelce awkwardly recounts defeating his brother a month prior in the Super Bowl. Jason Kelce plays along in the audience as his brother playfully ensures the audience that Jason is happy with Travis’ win. Later, Travis pokes fun at his less-than-perfect academic career, in which he was, at one point, kicked out of both his high school and college football teams. To quote Kelce, “Even if you’re bad at school, you can still win the Super Bowl twice.” Kelce goes on to make fun of his brief career on reality television in his self-titled show, Catching Kelce, in which he hilariously gives out footballs instead of roses. To end off a memorable monologue, Kelce recalls watching SNL with his mom as a kid, and he thanks the show for honoring him with the opportunity to host. With that, Kelce embraces the SNL hosting gig with grace and kicks off over an hour of laughter-filled skits.
One segment in particular encapsulates Kelce’s performance and excellence in stepping into different roles. In an edition of “Please Don’t Destroy,” a recurring segment starring three SNL writers, Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herhily, Kelce takes the role of Kurt Lightning. Lightning is a self-defense instructor whose methods are questionable, to say the least. After three low-level interns relentlessly bully them, the three writers want to learn how to stand up for themselves. Inspired by a flyer, they enroll in Lightning’s class. After psychoanalyzing Marshall and Higgins, Lightning tells them to man up and proceeds to punch them in the face and send them sprawling across the floor in pain.
Kelce perfectly portrays the instructor who never doubts the morality of his violent methods. His character is elevated by the long, flowing blonde hair that emphasizes his laid-back, nonchalant demeanor. When Lightning calls up the third writer, Herhily, he instructs him to punch an old lady. Herhily reluctantly agrees, but the old lady deflects his punch and effortlessly disarms him, finishing it off with a flip. In a surprisingly shocking twist, the old lady pulls out a gun and threatens to shoot Herhily. As emotions are heightened in this climatic moment, Higgins and Marshall stand up against her and ultimately knock her out. A sudden uproar of applause from Lightning informs the writers and the audience that it was all a joke to prove to the writers their ability to fight back. Feeling newly empowered and confident, the writers are over the moon with the apparent respect they are receiving from the interns; that is, until they throw cups of hot coffee in their faces.
As the ending applause roars, it is clear that Kelce has demonstrated his ability to step off the football field and still give an incredible performance. Although technically, his first acting gig was on the set of Catching Kelce, this episode of SNL is where we see his true talent and ability to capture an audience and keep them laughing for the entire hour-and-a-half-long slot. Kelce’s willingness to play characters so different from his own persona stood out and made the show all the more entertaining. When hosts are not afraid to step out of their comfort zones, the show is at its best. Although Kelce was not the funniest host in SNL history, simply seeing a two-time Super Bowl champion dip his toes into comedy and stay afloat was humorous in itself. Even better was that Kelce nailed the comedic delivery and left the audience asking for more.
