Papyrus 2: SNL Brings Back Ryan Gosling's Ponytailed Font-Hater in Cut-for-Time Sketch
SNL alum Kyle Mooney revived his role as Avatar's "lazy" designer who faced off his nemesis, Gosling.
Actor and singer Ryan Gosling's April 13 Saturday Night Live episode was a strong one from start to finish, from the "Close Encounter" cold open with Kate McKinnon to his hysterically funny turn as a Beavis lookalike.
The Fall Guy star shares the same quality that makes Adam Driver and Emma Stone such excellent SNL Hosts: Equally adept at comedy and drama, he brings every ounce of his Oscar-nominated acting talent to sell a sketch's conceit. The show was so packed, in fact, that SNL dropped an additional cut-for-time digital short hours after air: "Papyrus 2," co-starring former cast member Kyle Mooney.
RELATED: Watch Ryan Gosling's SNL Monologue and Sketches from April 13
"Papyrus 2" was the sequel to Papyrus, a pre-taped sketch from Gosling's September 30, 2017 episode. As in the original, Gosling's character — a man in wire-rimmed glasses and a drab ponytail — is haunted by one thing: The fact that James Cameron's Avatar, "one of the most expensive movies in history, used Papyrus as its logo."
In the April 13 pretaped sketch, the man had started to heal with the help of a support group, and was learning to "avoid triggers," such as a poorly-designed flyer. He'd even started dating a special lady (Sarah Sherman).
But when he discovered the logo of the film's sequel, 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water, he was thrown into a fresh tailspin.
Eventually, we learn the family secret behind the man's font mania.
Ryan Gosling and Kyle Mooney face off in SNL's "Papyrus 2"
Gosling's character was in the dentist chair when he saw the sequel for the first time. "All my progress, all my work about to be undone when I see that title," he narrated. At first, he was heartened by what appeared to be a new direction with the sequel's logo design; gone was the original Papyrus.
"Again, not a huge improvement, but it made me feel like there was hope in the world," he said, as strings swelled over footage of Gosling smiling in bed. "Like maybe, if we raise our voice, change can happen."
But that all changed when he opened a Word doc and pieced it all together.
RELATED: Ryan Gosling and Kate McKinnon Reunited for SNL's New "Close Encounter" Cold Open
"He just put it in bold," he narrated, while seeking out the logo's designer on IMDb. "All the money in the world, and he just... put it in bold."
That's when "Papyrus 2" pulled a shocking reveal — one that led to an even bigger reveal, as Gosling told the logo designer (Mooney) why his entire life has been defined by bad font choices.
Watch the sketch above, and watch Saturday Night Live at 11:30/10:30c on NBC and Peacock, streaming the next day on Peacock.
