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Perfect SNL 50: Jack Nicholson Surprise, Adam Sandler Standing O, Brilliant John Mulaney Musical, Amy, Tina, Eddie More! (Watch)

By Roger Friedman

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SNL 50 is just about perfect tonight. Three hours of historic comedy. The special will rack up Emmy nominations and awards.

Lorne Michaels painted his masterpiece tonight, an epic “Saturday Night Live” that earns an A plus.

From Steve Martin’s hilarious monologue right through Paul McCartney singing “Golden Slumbers,” the three and a half hour was loaded with laughs and tears.

There was also a major surprise. Jack Nicholson, long retired and very much reclusive, not only came, but he spoke introducing an act and looking great. He was accompanied by his daughter. It was a pleasure to see him.

Adam Sandler brought the audience to its feet with a poignant, sweet and emotional original played on guitar about the history of the show. That alone should win an Emmy.

Amy Poehler and Tina Fey conducted a hilarious Q&A with the celeb packed audience. Genius.

Mike Myers returned as “Linda Richman,” his hit spoof of his mother in law and he was “like butter.”

There were plenty of stand out performances including Eddie Murphy as Tracey Jordan who was standing next to him during “Black Jeopardy,” also Molly Shannon, Kristin Wiig, and Will Ferrell as MVPs.

The long show was full of highs and no lows, unexpectedly consistent. There was a lot of wink-wink breaking of the fourth wall, but why not after 50 years? So many people in the live audience were part of the show, it only made sense to call them out.

Not a minor part of the night were the videos. Some were new and many were old including the final film, made by Tom Schiller in the 70s, in which John Belushi walked through a cemetery where all his colleagues were buried. The irony, of course, is that Belushi died so young. He was the first. But the film ends in a joyous dance.

It wasn’t all tears. There were plenty of laughs. Jon Hamm interrogating Kate McKinnon back from one of her alien abductions was priceless. There was even an In Memoriam for skits that didn’t hold up over the years, would lead to cancellation now for not only the actors, but the audience, too, as Tom Hanks pointed out.

Here are some clips including John Mulaney’s brilliant musical,”Hot Dogs and Heroin”:

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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