Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Marcello Hernandéz: American Boy’ on Netflix, new ‘SNL’ star is more mama’s boy than Domingo

Marcello Hernandéz broke out on Saturday Night Live by playing a paramour named Domingo, and now he’s ready to show us all what he’s made of in his debut comedy special for Netflix.

The Gist: Raised in and around Miami by a Cuban immigrant mother and a Dominican immigrant father, Hernandéz went to college in Ohio, then moved to New York City to pursue his comedy career. Within a few years, he’d scored the New Faces showcase at Montreal’s Just For Laughs festival, and a few months after that, made his SNL debut in Season 48.

Now in his fourth season, the 28-year-old comedian has infused the legendary sketch comedy show with huge doses of Latino energy, not only in his own characterizations (from Domingo to most recently impersonating fellow comedian Sebastian Mansicalco so well that he joined Maniscalco to present this past weekend at the Critics Choice Awards), but also by incorporating Spanish-speaking hosts such as Bad Bunny and Pedro Pascal. Those “Protective Mom” sketches are not only funny, but also a clue to the kind of stand-up comedy he has to share, with many stories about growing up under the care of his own protective mama.

What Comedy Special Will It Remind You Of? Young SNL star who’s also a stand-up? We just saw another comedy debut this winter from his castmate Sarah Sherman over on HBO Max, but her special leans into her gonzo “Sarah Squirm” character. Hernandéz follows a pattern closer to that of Pete Davidson, although Marcello’s animated physicality actually draws closer comparisons to the stand-up he just famously impersonated, Sebastian Maniscalco.

Memorable Jokes: Hernandéz jokingly claims that his mother made him ready to dance anytime anyone came over to the house, from a very early age. Which may seem like just a bit to encourage him to act out now, but it’s also proven to be the case via home movies that play over the end credits.

There’s no such footage of young Marcello getting drunk and grinding on his aunt, but perhaps it’s best we leave that up to his reenactment and our imagination.

He says growing up with a single mom and sisters has taught him to view both women and relationships with women in a different light. Perhaps hot women stick with ugly guys (“frogs”) not because they’re wealthy, but merely because they pay attention well enough to remember the names of their partner’s friends. And everything women must do to maintain their looks is both violent and expensive, which he acts out, too, demonstrating everything from eyebrow plucking to the waxing of mustaches and pubic hair. “I had a single mom and I didn’t behave good. I know what I’m talking about,” he jokes while describing his interpretation of a Brazilian wax.

Or this: “If the eye could talk, it would say, please no more pencil” — “and that’s why men have to pay for the date, because by the time she gets to the date, she’s in debt.” 

Leaving South Florida for college in Ohio felt like studying abroad to young Marcello, because that’s where he learned about white people. Not all whites are bad, though! “If you are white and when you were little, your mom hit you, you’re Hispanic,” he jokes. “We accept you. We appreciate you. And Sweet Caroline….”

And why would Marcello’s mom ever hit him? He tells about how he got caught bragging about his supposed bad-boy behavior on the school bus at 10 years old, and how that tough talk backfired on him in a big way.

Our Take: Marcello’s mother may have hit him a lot, but not all that hard. And now that he has grown out of juvenile pranks, there is nothing but love between them, and it shows. She not only introduces him to the stage, but also dances with him once he gets onstage, and embraces him in a long hug when he leaves at the end.

Hernandéz tells us repeatedly how his mother raised him with the understanding that she had to work hard for him to enjoy everything he had then. It may have looked or felt nothing like the episodes of Full House he recounts to us with incredulity. But it’s somehow equally amazing and unbelievable to him that he gets to enjoy so much in the four years since he got cast on SNL. So when anyone asks if he likes being on the show?“I used to the guy at the top of the slide at the water park,” he says.“It is insane what has happened to me.”

But almost equally insane to him over the past year has been seeing how immigrants to America have been portrayed as dangerous, crazy criminals. All he has seen and known are immigrants who came to America to work hard and live out their dreams, and want to do so legally. “We’re not scary, and while people are not scared of us.” He reminds us that the white tourists at resorts love to make nice with the immigrants working there. And that Latinos aren’t grabbing and abusing kids. Those scary crimes are perpetrated by white people.

“We don’t do that type of crime. we don’t even like our kids,” Hernandéz jokes. Obviously, his mother loves him more than anything. And he’s prepared to share the love with her and with us.

Our Call: STREAM IT. This is a classic get-to-know-you debut special, and it’s fun not only to see how Hernandéz shines in the spotlight, but how expressive and emotional he gets displaying his love for his family and his culture. It’ll be fascinating and exciting to see where he wants to go from here.

Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat. He also podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.