‘SNL’ and Kevin Hart Journey to Bushwick, Brooklyn

The ‘SNL’ digital shorts may have begun as scrappy little projects fueled by random jokes and silliness, but recent years have seen them evolve into so much more. When they’re at their best, they play more like little short films that feel like complete entities. When they’re at their absolute best, they make you forget that you’re watching a 40 year-old comedy sketch show in the first place. Last night’s digital short felt more, alive, funny, and complete than just about any actual “live” sketch.

The sketch centers on three friends played by Kenan Thompson, Jay Pharoah, and guest host Kevin Hart, who are hanging out on the street corner of their Brooklyn neighborhood, swapping stories and keeping their eyes out for the cops. The scene deliberately plays with your racial expectations, constantly setting these guys to be up to no good when all they want to do is talk about the wine and painting parties they’ve been throwing, the pleasant days they’ve spent shopping with the girlfriends, and their very successful dog walking businesses. It’s very much a portrait of modern Brooklyn, which is home to silly hipster-level stuff like artisan mayonnaise shops.

The best joke comes late in the sketch (and it’s beautifully paid off), but the whole thing is just plain fun and pleasant to watch. If anything, it makes us want to watch an entire movie of Hart, Thompson and Pharoah just hanging out.