Saturday Night Live season 47, episode 7's "New Military Weapon" sketch featuring Dog Head Man proves that the show is best when it's at its dumbest. The sketch was part of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu's hosting debut, in which the actor turned out an enjoyable, if not groundbreaking, performance. The episode was a mixed bag when it came to humor, but the "New Military Weapon" sketch was easily the highlight of the night.
"New Military Weapon" uses a pretty basic premise, one that's reused from the "Genetics Lab" sketch from three years ago. Scientists have managed to graft the head of a golden retriever onto a man's body, and are showing off what he can do. In "Genetics Lab," Dog Head Guy solves a Rubik's Cube, makes a phone call, and eats a sandwich. In "New Military Weapon," rebranded as Dog Head Man, he's even more impressive, able to "assemble a tech 9 carbine combat rifle faster than any human soldier," defuse a bomb, and of course, eat a sandwich. It's simple, but one of SNL's greatest ideas—have a real dog sit in front of an actor who has to use their arms without being able to see what they're doing.
The reason the Dog Head Man sketches work so well is that they perfectly capture the zany energy that defines SNL at its best. "New Military Weapon" relies on prop humor that's timeless and universally funny, as opposed to pop culture references or overtly political messages, which need context and the right kind of audience to really hit home. Plus, "New Military Weapon" features something that SNL audiences always respond positively to: the actors visibly struggling not to laugh, and at multiple times nearly breaking character.
SNL has been getting flack for a while now, as some feel the show just isn't funny anymore. While it's had some gems in the past five years, such as Ryan Gosling's "Papyrus," on the whole it seems that SNL's comedy has declined since its heyday. There are a variety of reasons for this complaint. One is that SNL's recent sketches, while funny as concepts, don't do enough with the execution to make them surprising or laugh-out-loud funny. Another is that the show has gotten too comfortable centering most of its comedy on politics—such as making fun of former President Donald Trump during his term—and hasn't been able to make that type of content sing. Finally, there's a common critique that SNL has to stop picking non-actors to host, as sketch comedy is a difficult enough task for many trained actors and comedians, let alone celebrities without improvised stage experience.
The Dog Head Man sketch avoids all of these pitfalls. While it's the dog who really makes the sketch and not Simu Liu, the Shang-Chi star has the expert sense to simply commit to his part and let Dog Head Man be the focus. Likewise, while the Dog Head Man concept is funny on its own, the physical comedy of it makes the execution the best part, as the actors struggle to keep it together while the dog scarfs down her ham sandwich, or the disembodied hands try to demonstrate knife combat skills. In the midst of an episode that does rely heavily on politics, such as SNL's "Republican or Not" game show, "New Military Weapon" stands out as a simple, original, and genuinely funny premise that doesn't require any context to work perfectly. The silly energy and physical humor make the sketch a success, proving that Saturday Night Live's dumbest is really its best.