Amy Poehler’s Emo Mom SNL Sketch Hits Home for Fans Experiencing Perimenopause
Life is pain, according to this mom going through a major phase.
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Amy Poehler just debuted a new icon for middle-aged emo kids everywhere.
The former Saturday Night Live cast member, who just turned 54 in September, returned to host for the third time on October 11 and delivered an episode absolutely packed with kooky characters and memorable lines. There was a lot to love, but one sketch in particular seemed to hit home with a lot of fans.
In "Emo Mom," a family sits down for a nice dinner of rice and spaghetti, cooked by dad (James Austin Johnson). The kids (Chloe Fineman and Jeremy Culhane) wonder if they should wait for their mother Eileen, who is "out."
"Again?" Culhane's character says. "This is crazy. She's having, like, a total mid-life crisis."
"Kids, it's just a phase," says Johnson's character. "First it was Pickleball, then 3D printing costume jewelry..."
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Poehler then shows up, revealing Eileen's latest "phase." She's got pink hair, a lip ring, a spiky jacket, and a major attitude. The kids worry where their mother has been and who she's been hanging out with, and they try to empathize.
"Mom, we know this is a weird time for you, and your body is changing," Fineman says. "So we got you this book: When a Period Becomes a Comma: A Guide to Perimenopause."
"Oh my God, you're so embarrassing," Poehler snaps. "Don't talk about my body!"
Jane Wickline, Ben Marshall, and Kam Patterson played Emo Mom's emo friends
It's quickly revealed that in her spare time, mom has been vaping and watching anime with a nice group of goth/emo kids played by Jane Wickline, Kam Patterson, and Ben Marshall. And during the day, she's the school superintendent.
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After she politely and professionally handles a phone call asking her to fix the school HVAC, Poehler screams and unleashes a fury that almost feels a little too real.
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"Aaahhh! Work sucks and then you die!" she yells, throwing her phone at the window and joining her friends in a quick mosh session before really putting it all out there. "Try living one day in my twisted reality, raising two kids, taking care of my aging parents. Life is a nightmare! Vision? Blurry. Nerve? Pinched. Pelvic floor? On the ground. F my life. Also I forgot my Etsy password! God is dead!"
She'll always love her kids, of course, which is why she got a tattoo of their faces to keep them close. Unfortunately, the tattoo is highly infected.
"Life is pain!" she screams, and while the sketch may end, Emo Mom is forever.
Fans found SNL's "Emo Mom" to be "spot-on" and highly relatable
On Instagram and YouTube, commenters celebrated just how accurate the piece felt.
"This [sketch] should just be called 'perimenopause,'" one Instagram commenter said, while another wrote, "[Let's] be honest we have more reason to be emo now than a teen."
"Amy Poehler as host is fantastic," wrote one fan on YouTube. "She delivered one of the best performances in a long time. Life is so painful."
Another commented that the sketch was "the most accurate portrayal of perimenopause ever made."
Others just commented, "So me," and even Etsy got in on the fun.
"I'd give anything to see Eileen's Etsy favorites," wrote the online marketplace's official account, and we have to agree. She's probably got killer taste in Halloween decor. Now let's mosh!
Watch "Emo Mom" from Season 51, Episode 2 above, and stream every season of Saturday Night Live on Peacock anytime.
