> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theomnicosm.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Joseph Gordon-Levitt channels ‘Magic Mike’ and the son of the Most Interesting Man in the World - URL: https://www.theomnicosm.com/joseph-gordon-levitt-channels-magic-mike-and-the-son-of-the-most-interesting-man-in-the-world/ - Published: 2012-09-23T14:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2025-10-16T21:01:17.000Z - Description: A republished recap of the Sept. 22, 2012, episode of ‘SNL’ hosted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. - Author: Bill Kuchman - Tags: The Cold Open • From the Archive, SNL Season 38, The Cold Open, SNL, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, The Cold Open • Episode Reviews *I wrote* SNL *recaps for the original version of Popculturology (and its predecessor, The Bill Kuchman Chronicle) from 2012 to 2015\. The opinions voiced in these recaps may be outdated based on the events that have occurred since their writing. This article was originally published on Sept. 23, 2012.* Welcome to the second edition of *Sunday Morning Live*, **The Bill Kuchman Chronicle**'s look at the latest edition of *Saturday Night Live*. ### How'd Joseph Gordon-Levitt do? This is a tricky question. Every so often (more often than it should happen lately), *SNL* has a host who does great in whatever the show puts him in but winds up getting held back by poor-quality material or underuse. This happened to **Jason Segel** and **Charlie Day** last season. Unfortunately, **Joseph Gordon-Levitt** was a victim of this syndrome during his second *SNL* hosting stint. Gordon-Levitt was definitely an enthusiastic host, kicking the episode off with a *Magic Mike* striptease. While I know that many of Gordon-Levitt's fans loved this, you gotta wonder how this was relevant to anything. OK, sorry, I won't ruin the enjoyment people got from it. (Unfortunately, NBC hasn't released Gordon-Levitt's monologue online. This isn't my fault. I'm really sorry. I'm guessing that they don't have the rights clears to put the monologue — which features the song *It's Raining Men*— on the Internet.) There were large stretches of the show where it seemed like Gordon-Levitt disappeared, showing up mainly when *SNL* resorted to pre-taped bits. In the post-Digital Shorts era, should we expect more pre-taped sequences now? As the episode ended with a weird early cut to commercial (while a sketch was still going on), it was clear that this wasn't going to be a standout episode in *SNL*'s 38th season. Not Gordon-Levitt's fault though. ## Sign up Join the hundreds of ****Deep SNL Thoughts** subscribers who already get free editions including the episode recaps, news and more. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. ➕ Already a ****Deep SNL Thoughts** subscriber? ****Please consider becoming a supporter** by [****upgrading your account**](https://www.popculturology.news/?ref=theomnicosm.com#/portal/). 🍿🍪 Wanna add ****Popculturology** and ****Snackology** to your subscription? ****Update your email preferences** [****on your account page**](https://www.popculturology.news/?ref=theomnicosm.com#/portal/). ### What were the best sketches of the night? The episode started off strong with those pre-taped bits I mentioned, the best being a two-part spoof of the Dos Equis Most Interesting Man in the World commercials, featuring Gordon-Levitt playing the son of the Most Interesting Man in the World. (The first one is obviously the video in the last section.) These ones definitely had the feel of a Digital Short, which is what I'm assuming *SNL* is hoping to keep replicating. *SNL* clinched the joke when **Jason Sudeikis** appeared as the Most Interesting Man in the World only to berate his son. "He didn't even make the team! You pussy! You swam two laps, and then you puked like a dog. They had to drain the pool." As *SNL* has scaled back Sudeikis and **Fred Armisen**, **Taran Killam** has been given the keys to the show's future. Killam was in full "**Will Ferrell**/nude model" mode as he played a man pretending to be hypnotized by Gordon-Levitt. If you wanted male nudity, dinosaur sounds and **Keenan Thompson** getting dry humped, well, this was the sketch for you. ### Who stood out this weekend? With **Kristen Wiig** gone, *SNL* needs one of its female cast members to step up, and it looks like **Kate McKinnon** is going to be the one to answer that call. McKinnon made several appearances during Saturday's episode, the greatest one being her **Ann Romney** impression during *Weekend Update*. Despite the fact that McKinnon's Ann Romney seems nothing like the real Ann Romney, she created an entertaining and ridiculous caricature that dominated *Weekend Update*. Bonus points for **Bill Hader**'s **Rick Perry** popping up. NBC cut out McKinnon's Ann Romney singing a **Beyonce** song from the online version of the sketch, probably due to the same reasons as the *Magic Mike* monologue being missing. After debuting his **Barack Obama** portrayal last weekend, **Jay Pharoah** was a big part of Season 38's second episode too. Pharoah and **Nasim Pedrad** took on Michael Strahan and **Kelly Ripa** during the cold open, and then Pharoah finally got to show the world his absurd **Stephen A. Smith** impression during *Weekend Update*. *SNL* released a rehearsal version of Pharoah's Smith online last season, but this was the first time he got to do it for real. After being ignored for several seasons, has **Lorne Michaels** finally decided to give Pharoah his chance? ****Deep SNL Thoughts** is written and produced by ****Bill Kuchman**. Copyediting by ****Tim Kuchman**. 💰 Like what you’re reading on ****Deep SNL Thoughts**? [Send ****a one-time tip to show your support** for the newsletter. ](https://www.popculturology.news/?ref=theomnicosm.com#/portal/support) ➕ Already a ****Deep SNL Thoughts** subscriber? ****Please consider becoming a supporter** by [****upgrading your account**](https://www.popculturology.news/?ref=theomnicosm.com#/portal/). 🍿🍪 Wanna add ****Popculturology** and ****Snackology** to your subscription? ****Update your email preferences** [****on your account page**](https://www.popculturology.news/?ref=theomnicosm.com#/portal/). You can also follow me on [****Bluesky**](https://bsky.app/profile/billkuchman.bsky.social?ref=theomnicosm.com) and [****Instagram**](https://www.instagram.com/popculturology/?ref=theomnicosm.com). ![The Omnicosm](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/size/w1000/2025/05/the-omnicosm-wordmark-new-1.png) **Deep SNL Thoughts** is a publication of The Omnicosm.