Live from New York, it’s Cat-urday night.
“The Batman” star Zoë Kravitz proudly wore the Catwoman mantle while hosting “Saturday Night Live” this weekend with musical guest Rosalía. During her opening monologue, the latest actor to play the feline femme fatale onscreen was joined by a ragtag bunch of other cat people portrayed by “SNL” cast members.
“I currently have a new movie out called ‘The Batman,’” Kravitz announced at the top of the show.
“In the movie, I play Catwoman — sorry, the cat woman. To prepare for the role, I watched the movie musical ‘Cats’ every day for a year — which I actually heard was the same way Joaquin Phoenix prepared to play the Joker.”
Not a minute into Kravitz’s stand-up set, fan-favorite “SNL” player Kate McKinnon rushed the stage in a form-fitting latex cat suit resembling Michelle Pfeiffer’s iconic costume from 1992’s “Batman Returns.”
“Someone out here talkin’ bout cats?” McKinnon interrupted. “I’m Catwoman from the ‘90s — the one with the whip. You know, like cats have. Zoë … you’re part of a proud lineage of Catwomen, each with their own origin story.”
As Kravitz made several futile attempts to continue introducing herself to the audience, more and more catty characters came crawling out of the woodwork. Up next was Ego Nwodim — dressed like Eartha Kitt’s Catwoman from the 1960s “Batman” series — followed by Aidy Bryant as a frumpy cat lady and Chris Redd as comedian Katt Williams.
“I was the first Black Catwoman,” Nwodim declared after answering the sketch comedy show’s “Cat Signal.” “People called it campy. Turned out it was just super gay.”
“It actually does feel really nice having all this Catwoman energy up here, but I should really get back to the monologue,” Kravitz said. “So can we turn this Cat Signal off?”
Later in the episode, flamenco pop star Rosalía performed her hit tracks “La Fama” and “Chicken Teriyaki.” Here are some more highlights from Saturday’s installment.
Cold open introduces the president to TikTok
The first sketch of the night saw President Joe Biden (James Austin Johnson) and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki (McKinnon) meet with a group of TikTok creators to solve the crisis in Ukraine.
“People are saying this is the first war fought on TikTok — which is tough for me because I’m the landline of presidents,” Johnson’s Biden admitted.
“That’s why I need you. I understand [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. I understand war. But there’s one thing I don’t understand: computer.”
Amazon Go? More like Amazon, hell no
One of the episode’s digital shorts parodied a commercial for Amazon Go — which theoretically allows customers to waltz into an Amazon store, grab what they need off the shelves and walk out without physically paying for their items.
Customers played by white cast members couldn’t wait to try the “convenient” new shopping process. Customers played by Black cast members and Kravitz? Not so much.
“So it’s a trap,” said one skeptical shopper played by Punkie Johnson. “Where do you pay? … I always pay, OK? Who do you think I am?”
Maid of honor speech gets a little too real
In another standout sketch, Kravitz portrayed a maid of honor delivering a speech at her best friend’s wedding. By the end of her remarks, the groom was fearing for his life.
“She’s always had my back, even when nobody else agreed with me,” Kravitz said.
“She always said, ‘Sarah, if you’re sober enough to drive, then I believe you,’ and that meant the world to me, girly. And … when I’d make a mistake, she’d never make me feel bad. She’d say, ‘Girly, don’t beat yourself up. Nobody knew that thing was loaded.’”
McKinnon somehow makes adolescent romance even more cringe-worthy
During one painfully funny sketch, McKinnon portrayed an awkward math nerd seeking help from his equally geeky BFF (Bryant) while “sitting exceedingly close to the Hilary Duff of our algebra class” (Kravitz).
“I’m glad you called me,” a brace-faced Bryant said. “I’m the only straight boy in my ballet class, so I’m pretty much experienced now. OK so tell me, what’s your body language?”
‘SNL’s’ resident film critic reviews Oscar nominees on LSD
With the 2022 Academy Awards fast-approaching, “Weekend Update” co-anchor Colin Jost welcomed “SNL’s” resident film critic Terry Fink (Alex Moffat) to the show — 48 hours after he binge-watched all the Oscar nominees while tripping on LSD.
“First up: My pick for best flick, ‘Power of the Dog,’” Moffat’s Fink said. “Who let this dog out of the closet? That’s the question posed by director Jane Campion in this hysterical gay western. [Benedict] Cumberbatch rides high as the titular Dog the Bounty Hunter.
“That is, until bizarrely stepping through the screen just to make fun of my undies in the voice of my middle-school bully. Aside from that, it’s the best movie I’ve ever seen.”