How the “Domingo” Sketch Can Save SNL: SNL Sketch Review
The 50th season of Saturday Night Live has not disappointed. With the cameos of Maya Rudolph, Dana Carvey, and Andy Samberg and the return of the legendary Lonely Island, it wasn’t a surprise that another episode would gain popularity. However, a sketch about bridesmaids singing Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso gaining almost 90 million views was not on the SNL bucket list.
In Season 50 Episode 03 of SNL, this Ariana Grande episode was filled with quite interesting sketches, some I liked (My Best Friend’s House, Charades with Mom) and some I was not a fan of (The Hotel Detective, Bridesmaid Speech). Although I was disappointed in Bridesmaid Speech, it’s clear that social media, especially TikTok, was heads over heels over the Espresso rendition and Marcello Hernández’s Domingo.
This sketch written by Jimmy Fowlie, Sudi Green, Ceara O’Sullivan, and Allie Levitan begins with a wedding ceremony where Andrew Dismukes’ character, Matthew, is getting married to Chloe Fineman’s character, Kelsey. The bridesmaids, Ariana Grande, Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, and Sarah Sherman perform a rendition of Espresso about their bachelorette trip. However, it takes a turn when it’s revealed that Kelsey has been cheating on Matthew with a man named Domingo, played by Marcello Hernández.
As someone who watched this sketch the same night the episode aired, it caught me off guard that a large body of people enjoyed this sketch. It’s important to take into account the lowlights that other fans had.
For instance, the lyrics to the song were difficult to catch, especially on air without the lyrics given to audience members. Sometimes, live sketches on SNL could have an audio mixing problem that causes lyrics in songs to become muffled because the background music is too loud. This problem was resolved as the tiktok provided the subtitles.
The concept of the sketch felt like a joke SNL has made a lot of times where people sing and gradually reveal they have been cheating with someone else. Most recently, the Travis Kelce episode in season 48 aired a sketch with this exact premise but in a home setting.
It’s also significant to address that Marcello Hernández’s character didn’t help improve my enjoyment of the sketch. Hernández is able to be that guy who speaks Spanish and is the resident attractive guy in the cast. By making him play Domingo, I didn’t feel like there was any characterization and development. As Hernández rises and brings more fans to the show, I personally enjoy when he plays characters that develop overtime and uses Spanish as a strength to power through the sketch rather than just an accessory to get a laugh in. For example, in the Nate Bargatze episode in the same season, Hernández plays the host of Sábado Gigante, Don Francisco, in which he speaks Spanish a majority of the time and uses it as a tool to drive the sketch and his character. This is what makes his performance memorable.
To wrap my commentary up, the entire sketch revolves around singing Espresso poorly and then revealing that Andrew Dismukes’ character was getting cheated on. Before this sketch, Espresso wasn’t as popular as it was during the summer. SNL has used the lyrics of Espresso in their cold opens last season and this season. To bring back Espresso this season felt somewhat outdated. I understand the idea of Ariana Grande singing Espresso would gain likes and views (which it did) but in terms of how many times they already used Espresso in cold opens and Sabrina Carpenter performing the song already on SNL last season, I didn’t think it would be topical for TikTok.
Although I was not a fan of this sketch, there is a reason why it gained almost 100 million views and around 10 millions likes on TikTok, being the most viral TikTok on SNL’s page. I came to the conclusion of a couple reasons why after looking through comments of the sketch on social media and public forums.
The first 5 seconds of the posted video was Ariana Grande singing Espresso poorly. Having a pop star sing another pop star’s song is a striking showcase that these celebrities are aware of each other. In a world where most people are watching celebrities succeed, it’s hard to think that celebrities know about online culture or would celebrate other people’s work. This parasocial thinking many people have can constrain what one thinks of a celebrity’s existence. Especially with celebrities like Ariana Grande who don’t post about their daily 24/7, this provides a mysterious outlook for celebrities in which they might not care or know about the song Espresso. SNL is the place where celebrities can parody and joke around, a huge contrast for the mysterious Ariana Grande.
Another contrast is Ariana Grande, who is known to be a great singer, was singing out of tune purposely in the sketch. This contrast is an automatic chuckle to anyone who knows Grande.
Opening the sketch with these two ideas could be able to encourage viewers to stay and watch the entire sketch where they are wondering, why is Ariana Grande singing Espresso terribly?
On the topic of Espresso, it’s clear that this sketch wouldn’t have been as popular if they didn’t use the catchy tune of Espresso. It is another factor that many people who watched the sketch had previously listened to Espresso and are listening to the similar repetition of melody. This allows viewers to watch the sketch and gradually sing the lyrics that are being referenced like “the bridesmaids wanted a celebration” and “so we took a trip, bachelorette vacation”.
Further, this concept of Bridesmaids having a cringeworthy, ritualistic performance is a humorous yet relatable concept. SNL has already dabbled on this concept in the Quinta Brunson Season 48 episode with the Bridesmaid Cult Documentary sketch.
As the sketch goes on, it’s soon revealed that Chloe Fineman’s character, Kelsey, is cheating on Andrew Dismukes’ character, Matthew, with a man named Domingo. The concept of a woman cheating on a man is a common storyline in SNL sketches. Again, this is a funny trope that although they use a lot, is an amusing reveal.
Domingo is an interesting character as he only has a few lines in the entire sketch yet the viral audios on TikTok include his lines like “direct from Domingo”. The popularity of this sketch can be interpreted as the popularity of Marcello Hernández. Many videos on TikTok that have gained popularity have labeled Hernández as “Domingo”.
While I was not a fan of this sketch and believed sketches like My Best Friend’s House and Charades with Mom should have gained more notoriety, I am glad that the Bridesmaid Speech sketch has gotten viral. As years pass and SNL is still on air, it’s difficult to comprehend whether there will still be the same magic SNL once had. The most essential ingredient for SNL to succeed is an audience to enjoy SNL’s work. I can name hundreds of sketches that deserve to go viral but they haven’t due to the sentiment that “SNL is not funny”. While people can have their own opinions, the lack of being open-minded to sketch comedy is harming the future of SNL. Having a sketch and having cast members go viral is essential for SNL to survive; right now, this is our new Matt Foley, Debbie Downer, or David S. Pumpkins.
