'SNL' Recap: Brie Larson (And Her Mom) Wish You a Happy Mother's Day

Brie Larson made her hosting debut on Saturday Night Live, but for her monologue, The Room star had a little help from her friends — and their moms. She was joined onstage by several SNL cast members as they took over her opening monologue with Mother’s Day messages.

Larson stood by as Beck Bennett tried to make his mom happy by falsely claiming that the Oscar winner was his new girlfriend, while Bobby Moynihan asked his mom to record all of the episodes of Vanderpump Rules for him. Pete Davidson’s request to say something to his mother was shot down by Larson, so he brought his mom onstage to personally deliver the news that Larson didn’t have time for her. And Kate McKinnon’s starstruck mom also made a cameo, as did Larson’s, who said she thought her daughter’s offer to get her a front row seat to the hottest show in NYC meant they’d be going to see Hamilton, not SNL.

As expected, much of Larson’s SNL episode poked fun at the current state of the presidential race, including a Mattel Barbie spoof that had a Commander in Chief version of the doll looking suspiciously like Hillary Clinton. (The little girls in the sketch opted to play with an old broom instead.)

Weekend Update also gave the race some serious time, with co-anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost poking fun at Donald Trump’s “presidential” Cinco de Mayo tweet and his messy desk.

In addition, Sasheer Zamata delivered a long-winded defense of Larry Wilmore’s controversial closing to his White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech in which she replaced the “N” word with the word “McGriddle,” but then ended the bit by using the “N” word herself.

A drawn-out Game of Thrones spoof focusing on Jon Snow’s drawn-out death reveal, and two spot-on performances by three-time musical guest Alicia Keys, rounded out the episode.

Best Sketch: Near-Death Experience

Kate McKinnon stole the show in this sketch about three medical miracles who cheated death after being submerged in a car for 55 minutes. McKinnon, Larson, and Cecily Strong each had different accounts of their near-death experience as they were interviewed by American Medical Association docs once again played by Aidy Bryant and Moynihan. While Larson and Strong reminisced about gentle guardian angels lifting them and leading them toward the light, McKinnon described a not-so-stellar angel named Keith who roughed her up as he shoved her soul back into her body after mistakenly taking her to dog heaven. McKinnon lost it a few times, as did her castmates, which is a testament to her comedic skill as she delivered lines about “an epic lady wedge jammed up into my cookoo" and “the soul of a Scottish Terrier” who “set up shop in my right knocker.”

Worst Sketch: Kickstarter

Kyle Mooney’s digital short marked the return of suburban teen Chris Fitzpatrick, who was launching a Kickstarter campaign for his band, Discreet Annihilation. Larson did have a key cameo as rockin’ rapper C.C. Toxic, but the premise of the sketch — to raise $750,000 so the band could release a five-song EP and a Johnny Shadow movie — wasn’t exactly a hit. Not even a Fooblers drawing would make us want to donate to this campaign.

Best Use of Brie Larson: Baby Shower

Larson held court with all of SNL’s funny ladies in this sketch about a baby shower gone awry. Larson played a mom-to-be whose pregnancy fete was marred when her new neighbors asked her when she was going to take the plunge and get “the cut.” The experienced moms predicted Larson’s future “mom haircut,” which they were all sporting already. “It’s a soft waterfall in the front, knives in the back,” Strong explained. Larson’s character vowed that she’d never succumb to the dreaded mom ‘do, but she soon found herself overcome with the undeniable urge to fold a gift bag perfectly so she could reuse it and fix a plate of food for someone, meaning “the cut” was set to descend upon her. Not exactly Mom Jeans material, but the sketch earned Larson her biggest laughs of the night.

Episode MVP: Dana Carvey

Now isn’t this special? Our prayers were answered when Dana Carvey resurrected his classic Church Lady character for the cold open. After dissecting celebrities’ Met Gala fashions and Beyoncé’s Lemonade album, the Church Lady conducted interviews with a satanic Ted Cruz (Taran Killam) and Donald Trump (Darrell Hammond), whom she described as an “orange mannequin.”

The only thing that trumped Church Lady in this sketch was Trump’s quoting of scripture when he said, “Love your neighbor as thyself, and like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.“ Still, Carvey gets our vote as MVP of the night.

Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. on NBC.