Regina King Brings The Laughs As Host Of ‘Saturday Night Live’

Watchmen actress Regina King hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live for her first time ever this weekend, starring in five different sketches to show off her comedic prowess alongside her monologue.

“I’ve had a pretty wild career – if you’re black, you probably know me from being in some of your favorite movies,” King introduced herself shortly after taking the stage. “If you’re white, you probably know me from Watchmen, or this monologue right now.”

King’s monologue, which also featured regular cast member Kenan Thompson, lasted only a brief four minutes and mostly felt like an introduction to the actress’s Oscar-winning work, studded with one-liners and encouragement from Thompson.

Staring alongside Thompson again, King’s “Gorilla Glue” sketch was a mock advertisement satirizing the recently viral gorilla glue girl, who glued her hair down to her scalp in a mishap that landed her in the emergency room. Thompson and King play lawyers who managed to similarly damage their own hair and, like their real life counterpart, are preparing to sue. The sketch does a brilliant job of pointing out the comedy of the true internet sensation while adding a touch of wacky SNL flare – including an extra reference to Lil Uzi Vert‘s equally sensational diamond facial implant.

“Women’s Theater,” meanwhile, parodied feminist comedy and slam poetry, starring King alongside Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant as performers who have altered their sets to be more appropriate for a new audience of middle schoolers (and cable TV), but something about the way they describe their “elbows” is off, to say the least. The sketch is hilariously transparent, and King, McKinnon and Bryant’s performances are all stellar, but the supporting cast’s flat response leaves something to be desired.

In “The Negotiator,” King plays a cop who accidentally ate some weed-infused gummy bears before a hostage negotiation, and is forced to try to remedy the situation as she begins to hallucinate. The sketch is perfectly executed in its absurdity thanks to cast members Bryant and Pete Davidson, who star as two human-sized weed gummy bears alongside Marge Simpson and the Teletubby sun.

Disco star Fliona (played by King) is preparing for a concert, and has a laundry list of demands she needs to be met before she goes onstage – but has the production team met them? Not really, no. At the very least, has her manager (Bowen Yang)? No. Hair and makeup (Bryant)? No. The bassist (Thompson)? No. The simple yet effective gag of “70s Green Room” lies in its repetition, so King and her co-stars use their character acting to build a dynamic scene with more than a touch of glitter and 70s flare.

Finally, in a parody of an MTV dating show, King stars as a bachelorette looking for love among three painfully awkward contestants (Mikey Day, Kyle Mooney, Alex Moffat) – by choice. As King weighs her options, the show’s host (Cecily Strong) experiences early menopause and the DJ (Ego Nwodim) melts away out of pure disgust. The sketch was decidedly the audience favorite, and Day, Mooney and Moffat’s performances are perforated by pained laughter until the bachelorette ultimately is seduced by contestant Link and the two lovebirds run offstage.