Thank God Jack Black Didn’t Quit This Monologue

ABLUpdated 2 weeks Ago1 Mins read3

As the School of Rock chalkboard would denote, this is “hard rock.” Jack Black returned to host Saturday Night Live after a 20-year hiatus, delivering an episode so good that even Ms. Mullins would get into a tizzy watching it. But wait — Black doesn’t know if he can do it. He wants to bail in the middle of the monologue! It’s too stressful; it’s been too long since his last episode. Maddie Rice, SNL’s incredibly cool guitarist, is thankfully there to help: She starts riffing the opening chords to Aerosmith’s “Back in the Saddle,” and Black begins to reboot in front of our eyes. “You know what this song does to me,” he snarls. “It gives me the power to host again. Yeahhhhhhhh.” What ensues can only be described as a Dewey Finn fever dream complete with a visit to the risers, a somersault, a marching band, and 66 percent of the Glengarry Glen Ross leading men looking on with heart-eyes. (While we’re here, can somebody send the “Free Fallin’” sketch to Jeff Lynne? We’d like to know if they hit the bass quota.) Who would’ve thought God’s country was in front of us all along with a patterned shirt?