'Saturday Night Live' Recap: The Rock Was (Pretty) Solid

So… what size does The Rock take in a smoking jacket? With his appearance on Saturday Night Live, Dwayne Johnson is one hosting gig away from joining Justin Timberlake, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin in the SNL Five-Timers Club, where five-time hosts get to kick back, relax, and trade war stories about the time they almost blew a line or had to deal with Horatio Sanz and/or Jimmy Fallon laughing their way through a sketch.

Of course, that fifth invite might have proved hard to come had Johnson flubbed his fourth time out. But the Furious 7 star earned the audience’s goodwill from the cold open, which found him bringing an old favorite — The Rock Obama, the President’s Hulk-like alter ego — up to speed on current events, and giving him a mate: She-Rock Obama, played by Leslie Jones. And during his monologue, he crooned a toe-tapping anthem directed at Hollywood casting agents, pitching himself as the perfect addition to any franchise, from Frozen to Boyhood. To paraphrase that tune, Johnson proved over the course of the next 90 minutes of live television that he’s not just franchise Viagra — he’s also SNL Viagra.    

Best Sketch: “Disney’s Bambi”

Here’s our money, Disney… now make this movie already.

Worst Sketch: “Escape From Jungle Island”

What started off as a great idea — The Rock as Indiana Jones! — quickly fell to pieces when it became clear that the writers hadn’t bothered thinking up any other, better (not to mention non-homophobic) jokes beyond Pete Davidson repeatedly sucking on various parts of Johnson’s body, to the envy of Kate McKinnon.

Best Use of Dwayne Johnson: “WWE Promo Shoot”

Yes, having The Rock play a WWE wrestler is a little on the nose, this sketch — in which Johnson’s grappler Koko WatchOut makes a promo shoot very uncomfortable by accusing his rival Trashyard Mutt (Bobby Moynihan) of having an STD, among other incredibly personal attacks — was cringe-comedy perfection.

Episode MVP: Kate McKinnon

The invaluable SNL star deserves this title for enduring “Escape from Jungle Island” alone. But then she went and offered up an ace impersonation of Robert Durst in “Improv Show,” giving us one more reason to love The Jinx.