emma thompson, amy poehler, and tina fey doing the mother's day monologue on snl.

Things We Saw Today: Emma Thompson, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler Interpret MomSpeak on SNL

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The Mother’s Day episode of Saturday Night Live is usually one of its best, where the host is usually joined by special guests, and the moms of SNL cast members often pop in for a cameo. Last night’s episode was no exception, where host Emma Thompson was joined during her monologue by SNL legends and moms Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

The trio offered a language lesson in decoding momspeak, explaining the meaning behind classic mom quotes and phrases. When your mom says that all she wants for Mother’s Day is “to relax in the backyard and maybe get a massage”, she’s really saying “how does one buy weed?”. Other translations include “you look tired” meaning “you look bad”, and “let’s not talk about politics” becomes “please don’t ruin Joe Biden for me, he’s what I picture.”

The three moms effortlessly cycled back and forth between quotes, delivering gems like “son, I love you just the way you are” meaning “I’m bored of waiting for you to tell me you’re gay, just do it so I can buy rainbow stuff!” The trio are delightful together, and there’s nothing better than Thompson describing “book club” as “getting turnt at Linda’s.” We also get Fey and Poehler rolling out their respective Philly and Boston accents.

Honestly, if the entire show was just Thompson, Fey, and Poehler riffing I would have been happy. Other Mother’s Day shoutouts included Pete Davidson bringing his mom onto Weekend Update, and later introducing her to Jon Hamm during the closing credits. Thompson’s monologue is sure to become an SNL Mother’s Day classic.

Happy Mother’s Day to you all, and in the meantime enjoy one the all-time great Mother’s Day sketches:

(image: NBC)

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Chelsea Steiner
Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.