With her romantic comedy Anyone but You just crossing $200 million in an impressively long box office run, Sydney Sweeney continues to be among the biggest ascending stars in the entertainment industry. That was only amplified by a hosting gig on the latest edition of Saturday Night Live, where she indulged America with a Hooters sketch among several funny bits throughout the evening/early morning.
Sh*t also got a little real, though, for a minute. Sweeney beat back the rumors that she and her Anyone costar Glen Powell were having an affair while making that movie, explaining that her fiancée was there the entire time in a producing capacity.
The camera then hilariously cut to Powell in the studio audience as her husband-to-be, and he made a cameo later on to cuck Sweeney’s fictional boyfriend.
Sweeney and Powell intend to work together again on future projects, and why not? Anyone but You had some crackling chemistry and turned out better than the mixed critical reviews suggested. But at the end of the day, Sweeney’s SNL persona was simply searching for the love of a breakout stud basketball player.
That’s right. Probably the strangest sketch concept of the night came when Sweeney played a scene opposite a version of Air Bud:
What a good boy, first of all! It was a gutsy call for SNL producers to place a dog on center stage. You never quite know what you’re going to get when it comes to animals on the set. This Air Bud did not break character, didn’t bark a single time, and executed the bit of scarfing down his food without hands that had Sweeney all hot and bothered. Flawless performance.
Credit Sweeney, too, for being game for a rather challenging skit to pull off. Having to respond in very real time to a dog, no matter how well-trained, is difficult to sell. Maybe it wasn’t an all-time instant classic, but Sweeney did an admirable job with what she was given and established a decent rapport with Air Bud all things considered. The best part was probably the moment of betrayal, where it’s revealed that Air Bud already has a girlfriend.
Another highlight of Sweeney’s monologue came when she distanced herself from the Sony Spider-Verse film Madame Web.
You have to appreciate Sweeney’s willingness to laugh at herself, and lean into the bimbo stereotype multiple times with the ditzy cheerleader and the Hooters server. No offense to anyone out there who fills those roles in our American society. There are exceptions to such stereotypes. Figured I’d make that clear.
The point I’m getting to is, Sweeney is taking charge of her career and creative destiny, serving as an executive producer on Anyone but You and producing the upcoming horror flick Immaculate, which releases wide on March 22 following its March 12 premiere at South by Southwest. Pretty cool to see.
Now that I’ve stated all that for the record, for no reason in particular, here’s Sweeney bidding farewell to SNL viewers after her solid debut.
