May 4, 2019 – Adam Sandler / Shawn Mendes (S44 E19)

by Anthony

FAMILY FEUD
characters from Game Of Thrones & The Avengers compete

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— I appreciate the fact that, apart from a quick C-Span bit up top, we’re not getting a political open for once here. Not sure, however, about the decision to instead focus on Game of Thrones and The Avengers. And I’m especially not sure about the choice to frame it around fucking Celebrity Family Feud. As I’ve said, these sketches only work when they’re rooted in some character drama, as they are in the fantastic Tracy Morgan & Chance the Rapper installments. When they’re just there as a loose frame for mediocre impressions, they become even lamer versions of those audition pre-tapes the show loves to trot out. 
— Also not sure about this sketch positioning Game of Thrones and The Avengers as the “two things all Americans can get behind” – though it is funny knowing that, since this aired 3 weeks before Thrones’ notoriously divisive (as in, some hated it, and some thought it was just merely lame) finale, this is the last time they could do that gag.
— I love the contrast of Beck’s extensive Thanos makeup and Leslie’s get up as “Groot”.
— Kenan’s Harvey’s comments to his guests feel particularly lame tonight. 
— Leslie: “Bitch I’m Groot.” Wonderful. 
— Okay, Harvey’s now getting in some solid digs on the notoriously poorly lit Thrones episode “The Long Night”. 
— Kate as Brienne of Tarth is some “well, I guess you gotta” casting. Also, boy is she mugging up a storm right away.
— Mikey as Tormund: “Isn’t she a snack?” Hur hur, ‘cus he wouldn’t talk like that! (I know the “bitch, I’m Groot” joke was basically the same thing, but holy shit can Leslie sell a line like that better than Mikey.)
— WOOF at that “maybe it’s Maybelline” joke.
— Kyle’s okay as Bran here, though that’s a role I actually think Dismukes would get cast in today, and I’d be interested to see his take. 
— So Kate’s just playing Brienne the exact way she does Angela Merkel but without the accent? What another powerhouse performance from our forever star. 
— That HGH joke deservedly died with the audience. 
— I understand corpsing sometimes, but Leslie’s acting like she’s literally hearing Kenan’s lines for the first time. 
— Between the Maybelline bit and now a line about her “boobies”, Cecily is really getting saddled with some of the lamest material here (which is saying something).
— Melissa shows up at the end here as Arya. For those worried it may be too much exposure for her, don’t worry, she doesn’t get any actual jokes. 
— LOL at Leslie’s late entrance on the LFNY. That little moment, as well as her general presence, raises this sketch a bit. However her corpsing also lowers it back down a bit (though not to the same degree), so swings and roundabouts. 
— Despite the changeup from its usual political setting, this was yet another overlong and mostly unfunny open in this era. Not a great start for such a special episode, but we’ll keep on moving. 
STARS: *½ 

MONOLOGUE
ADS sings a song about how he was fired from SNL; CSR cameo

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— Adam is coming off a bit charmingly nervous in his opening lines here, in a way that reminds me of some of his earliest appearances on the show. He’s mentioned several times that nerves were actually what kept him from coming back to the show, since he was worried he would just come off super rusty and out of place. I totally understand his reluctance, though I’m obviously glad to see Sandler back at 8H. Nice thing for Sandler as well at least is that, hosting an episode in the modern era, the material in the open is likely going to suck so hard, anything will seem like an improvement. 
— “I was 23 years old when I started here. David Spade and Rob Schneider were 25. Norm Macdonald was maybe 60.”
— Now Adam’s launching into a song about how he was fired from the show. His firing does make a bit of sense when you remember how awful his era got in its final 2 seasons, but it’s also fair for the man himself to still be salty over it.
— “I tried to call Lorne Michaels, but he never called me back.” Ouch. Although Adam’s quick to clarify that he’s joking.
— Pretty nice melody to this song.
— Love the quick Farley reference. Lots of nice references to things from Sandler’s time on the show throughout this monologue. 
— Chris Rock joins in on the fun here, since he was fired after continually expressing frustration with his lack of screen time and his desire to leave the show and join In Living Color.
— I laughed at Adam’s little comment to Chris as he left to keep chasing after his dreams.
— Whoa, Pete gets almost as big a reaction as Chris did.
— Adam and Pete seem to have a pretty fun chemistry. We won’t see too much of that tonight, though there is a cut Chad sketch that I’ll talk about at the end of the review. They would also link up about next season in Pete’s “Stuck In My House” music video from one of the At Home episodes.
— A really fun monologue overall, and a great boost of energy after the typically tepid cold open. 
STARS: ****

WAR ZONE REPORTER 
Snapchat filters farcify TV journalist’s (MID) report from a war zone

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— In typical Seiday fashion, this is amiable enough but extremely unambitious. It basically amounts to watching Mikey and Adam make silly faces.
— Having said that, Mikey does play his fear in contrast to his ridiculous filters well. 
— Why is Sandler’s character able to see the filters and not Mikey?
— Sandler is playing his amusement at the filters really endearingly.
— Could do without Beck as the anchor who’s really into the filters. That type of character worked in the Matt Schatt sketches, but I don’t think we need it here.
— Now Sandler’s character can control the filters? Feel like if they were going to break the reality of the sketch it could have been for a funnier bit than Sandler as a girl.
— Mikey continues to really sell his terror comedically here, with his panicked, hot-dog-filter-assisted performance at the end here being one of the highlights of this sketch. Especially love his quick aside of “oh my God, that’s a dead body.” 
— This sketch acts as a good microcosm of Seiday’s at this point in their tenure. By itself, it’s a fun, charming, mostly inoffensive piece. But look at the weight it’s been given: lead off sketch in the most important episode of the season. Sure, “fun, charming and mostly inoffensive” is a good descriptor of a decent amount of Sandler’s work on the show, but it still puts this sketch in a position where it looks worse than it really is. As it stands, this is truly decent fluff. 
STARS: *** 

HOLES 
(BEB), (KYM), (ADS) explain the topology of clothing via song

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— A bit of a divisive short. I remember not loving it when it aired, though as always I’ll go in with an open mind.
— Love Kyle’s Kenny G-esque get up.
— An incredibly questionable conceit to line a song around, though at least this feels like the lack of a concept is part of the joke, instead of, say, Pete lazily dedicating a song to “Gucci” sounding like “Tucci”.
— So I guess the lack of escalation is part of the main gag, but I still feel like there’s a way to move past just repeating the word “holes” over and over. Like the last piece, this is amiable enough, and I’m getting some chuckles, but it’s never quite taking off. Although this is still working for me a bit more than that piece, since Beck/Kyle silliness is more pure and charming to me than Seiday’s sometimes forced brand of fun.
— Do we think that boxer was Evander Holeyfield? (Ducks incoming tomatoes)
— Sandler seems to be having a ton of fun here. It’s actually fitting this was picked over the Chad piece, as this more in line with his preferred brand of goofery than those pieces. It also seems fitting to have Lorne once again put on something he at best doesn’t get and at worst hates. Feels like we’re back in a Kevin Nealon Update! 
— The butthole bit felt like it was trying a little too hard.
— It’s a bit hard to articulate what puts this over for me. It certainly walks a fine walk between “smart stupid” and just plain stupid, and I’m honestly not really sure where I land on where the piece itself lands. I think, if anything, it speaks to the enduring charm of Beck and Kyle that the piece still manages to work for me. It’s interesting this appears in a Sandler episode, as it feels almost Norm-ish in it’s defiant anti comedy, yet that aforementioned charm Beck and Kyle bring keeps it from feeling antagonistic towards the audience, as a lot of the Norm pieces can end up doing (which is a mode I can like for sure, but I also enjoy this flavor more from Beck and Kyle than I would them trying to do a fully Norm type audience-squirming piece). 
STARS: ***

ROMANO TOURS
Joe Romano’s (ADS) tours of Italy are not a panacea for your troubles

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— Now we’re really kicking into high gear, with one of my favorite sketches the writing team of Anna Drezen & Alison Gates would ever do. 
— For anyone who grew up on the East Coast, this will be immediately recognizable as a parody of the Perillo Tours ads.
— Funny lines here before we even get to the main premise of the sketch, such as Sandler calling Venice “the city of wetness”.
— Sandler’s earnest delivery of “if you’re sad now, you might still feel sad there, okay?” is fucking hysterical. This is the type of role he’s always been strong at, even if it’s not one of his modes that gets the most recognition, and he’s playing it better at this age than he may have ever been able to before. 
— Almost every line here is so funny and well-observed. I’d list some of my favorites but it’d just end up being the whole sketch. This is top notch work.
— Classic “Kenan reacts” moment in that third to last screencap. 
— Love Sandler’s little voice crack when saying “it really gets to me”. This is not only his most keyed in performance of the night, but among the best in his entire career at the show. 
STARS: *****

SANDLER FAMILY REUNION
ADS sees character inspirations & parents (JIF) & (KRW) at family reunion

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— The third in these “celebrity family reunion” sketches, following the Walken and Carrey installments. 
— I know Chris’s part was meant to feel lame and forced, but still. Woof. 
— Did like Chris’s “that’s kind of a lame answer.”
— Kyle and Mikey’s vocal impressions are a bit iffy, but they more than sell it on energy.
— Speaking of woof, holy shit was that Big Daddy bit with Shawn Mendes lame as hell.
— I do like that Sandler’s ridiculous gibberish talk acts as a sort of internal language in the Sandler clan.
— Pete is pretty fun as Little Nicky.
— Liked Kenan’s description of Sandler’s weird little hand movements as an “invisible clarinet” (always have wondered what’s up with that, truthfully). 
— Each of these sketches have one performer who walks away with the whole thing for me. Amy as the little girl in the Walken one, Cecily as Fire Marshall Bill in the Carrey one, and here it’s Melissa as Bobby Boucher. Absolutely hysterical impression.
— Leslie as Chubbs from Happy Gilmore is another extremely fun choice/portrayal. 
— Beck’s Sandler actually sounds more like Rob Schneider. 
— Kristen Wiig makes her first of two random cameos tonight here. I love me some Kristen (when it’s not one of her characters I very much don’t love) so I don’t really mind, but it seems a bit odd she’s in this episode more than anyone actually from Sandler’s era. Especially surprised we didn’t get any cameos from Spade, Schneider, Timmy Meadows or Norm, all of whom Sandler seems to still be close with. 
— I especially can’t be mad at Kristen when she’s playing the mom from Carrie, who isn’t even from a Sandler movie or SNL sketch, but an album track of his. What a treat for Sandler fans!
— Jimmy Fallon shows up here, which makes more sense as he’s always had a fun Sandler impression.
— Chuckled at the crowd starting to sing along with the words to The Chanukah Song, only to quickly realize they don’t know the words.
— Frequent Sandler collaborator (aka one of those 4 or so guys who show up in every Sandler movie but nowhere else) Allen Covert shows up to take a snapshot of the Sandler clan.
— Shawn Mendes getting in a second cringey bit for good measure, I see. This one had nothing to do with him, to his credit, but still, that “Shawn/swan” pun…woof.
— A fun sketch, if maybe the least of these reunion pieces. Still, outside of a couple lame bits with Shawn Mendes, a good time.
STARS: ****

RECTIX
erectile dysfuction solution Rectix is a buttplug, not a pharmaceutical

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— Lol at the bluntness of that Serpas description. Gotta appreciate he busted out both  “panacea” and “buttplug” for Sandler. 
— A juvenile but very funny reveal of the “pill” Sandler’s character takes for his erectile dysfunction. 
— Hilarious bit with the 3D model.
— I wish the sketch called out its own joke a little less, but I do like Sandler’s firm denial anytime Beck insists the pill is actually a buttplug.
— Overall, not much to say here. This did what a fake ad on SNL should do (I mean, it breaks the reality of the ad immediately, but I’ve learned to accept that modern SNL is never going to air a fake ad that actually acts like a real ad). This delivered the laughs and didn’t overstay its welcome. Certainly one of the best pre-tapes of the post Matt & Oz era.  
STARS: ****½ 

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “If I Can’t Have You”

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— Blue: This is one of the rare SNL episodes of the late 2010’s that I’ve seen, and yet I have ZERO memory of these performances. That doesn’t bode well.
— High-energy opening with Shawn and his backing vocalists belting out the song’s chorus.
— Something about Shawn’s voice sounds off, like he’s singing in a register where he’s not comfortable. 
— Is that acoustic guitar going to be played, or is it just for decoration?
— Okay, Shawn’s started to play the acoustic on the repetition of the chorus. Not that it’s audible- his guitarist’s part is overshadowing it.
— Speaking of which, I love that electric rhythm guitar. Probably the highlight of the song so far, besides the excellent work from the backing vocalists.
— ”I want all of you, all the strings attached…” Cue ladies of the audience cheering.
— Starting to get lowkey annoyed with the chorus. It’s a great chorus, but did we need to hear it so many times?
— I do love when songs go into half-time. It’s an effective variation here for the chorus breakdown.
— Shawn sings a great high note at the end of the breakdown. Why can’t the whole song be sung in that range? (I dunno, Blue, maybe because it takes a special kind of singer to pull that off in a pop song…)
— Along the same lines from earlier regarding instruments that aren’t being played, I just realized that the piano to Shawn’s left was not touched once during this performance. Talk about a spoiler alert!
STARS: ***

WEEKEND UPDATE 
Elizabeth Warren’s (KAM) candidacy emphasizes substance over style

Operaman sings about Game Of Thrones, the NBA, presidential politics

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— That “Everyone Democrats Held Accountable” feels like something I’ve seen Jost do before and better. 
— I enjoyed Che’s bit about Trump banking with Capital One.
— Some good impeachment material from the duo, even if it feels a bit like their takes never really went deeper than “boy, everyone involved in this is sure a bunch of clowns, huh?”
— Kate brings back her Elizabeth Warren, an impression that’s amiable enough but always seems too reverential to me to really register as comedy. Still, far from her worst political impression. 
—  At the end of her segment, Kate’s Warren declares “I’m gonna be V.P.” Oof, sorry, Liz. 
— Some classic Che induced audience groans after his altar boy punchline.
— Che’s “tragically, no one filmed it” when talking about a woman suffering 20 bee stings made me laugh.
— Sandler brings back his biggest SNL character (other than “silly singing guitar man”) with Opera Man.
— It’s strange seeing Opera Man sing about more modern stories like Trump’s impeachment and the Game of Thrones finale. 
— Fun self-deprecating bit about Sandler’s significant others in his films always being much more attractive than him.
— I enjoy the “here we go again / 70 year old men” moment enough, though it is odd that SNL keeps pairing Biden and Bernie together as if they represent the same thing. 
— Of the two Update correspondents tonight, Opera Man had the much funnier take on the Joe Biden inappropriate touching scandal, though Liz Warren’s “Amtrak masseuse” comment was alright.
— That Wendy’s line got a shameful big laugh out of me when I watched this live.
— Another fun meta turn with Opera Man commenting on the length of the gap between Sandler leaving the show and hosting.
— A very fun return from Opera Man. Nothing here was particularly hilarious, but then again the original sketch rarely was either. This one has always gotten by one pure energy, and it did here again.
STARS: ***½ 

LAST CALL
Sheila Sauvage has a nauseating threesome with (ADS) & wife (KRW)

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— The last call on Last Call, as this ends up being the final appearance of this reliable sketch. Probably for the best call, even if it was always one of my favorite Kate recurrers. 
— Sandler’s done this voice before, but it’s amusing here nonetheless. 
— Kenan mentions the CDC and viruses. Ooh boy, get ready to hear those two words enough for multiple lifetimes, buddy. 
— “I’m packing 5, if you measure from my hemorrhoid.” Gross. Love it.
— Kristen in her second pointless but fun enough cameo. She looks kind of like her Tan Mom character she once did on Update. 
— Kenan seems to be less of an element here than normal. Probably for the best, as his bits were starting to feel too repetitive, even with all the ‘whacky’ gags.
— The description of the “7/11” was pretty funny. 
— Kristen saying “we’re on board”, and then grabbing her breasts and placing them on the bar made me chuckle.
— Also love that during their makeout sesh, at one point Kristen starts straight up sucking Kate’s chin.
— “I didn’t finish, but I am done.”
— I love that for once Kenan’s character is really into this. All they had to do was go for an Italian theme.
— The drone strike ending felt like a bit too much.
— These feel purely designed to make the performers break at this point. They’re still fun enough, but it’s for the best this is likely the last we’ll see of them. Also since this is the last one, are we to assume the drone strike killed Kate and Kenan’s characters?
STARS: ***½ 

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “In My Blood”

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BLUE: Following up on that spoiler alert from his last performance, here’s Shawn playing the upright piano.
— Another adherent to the “one upbeat song and one ballad” format, I see. 
— I’m liking Shawn’s vocal performance here better than that of his previous performance.
— The stage lights come up to reveal several cellists backing Shawn. I’m glad we were given that visual cue, because they’re pretty quiet in the mix.
— Shawn switches mid-song from piano to guitar. Meh.
— The chorus, though epic, feels a bit premature. I feel like we haven’t earned this moment yet. It’s also pretty weak, lyrically-speaking- just the title line repeated several times.
— I can’t deny that this is a pretty song, but it didn’t do much for me.
STARS: ***

CHRIS FARLEY TRIBUTE 
ADS plays guitar & sings a tribute to his friend CHF

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— Anthony: And now we close out the show with Sandler’s famous tribute to his former cast mate and friend Chris Farley. 
— Very lovely melody here.
— Sandler originally performed this song on tour and in his Netflix special 100% Fresh. That version had a nice guitar solo in the middle and more profanity throughout (for example “sweeter than shit” instead of “sweeter than honey”). I actually think a lot of the profanity in the original feels a bit unnecessary, and prefer this version. Not to mention how haunting it is to see Sandler perform this song on 8H. I was able to get through the Netflix version okay, but I’d be lying if I said this one didn’t totally get me when I watched it live. Hell, I’m even a little misty eyed this time around.
— Sandler himself said that he had trouble performing the song in rehearsals due to the weight of it being 8H, and that he was worried he was going to break down on live TV. 
— Apparently nearly the whole crew came down to watch this live, which very rarely happens. 
— Sweet touch ending this with a clip of the Bennett Brauer wire blooper, one of Farley’s best moments.
— I don’t think I can really rate this as it feels like a performance more than a sketch (also, just feels weird to “rate” a guy’s tribute to his dead friend), but it was certainly a very touching and fitting note to end the night on.
— Blue: Anthony kindly suggested I share some of my thoughts on the performance of this song, as it’s essentially a musical performance (and a better one than the guest’s if you ask me…). 
— This song has a beautiful melody. So beautiful, in fact, that I used it as inspiration for one of my own songs, and since then I’ve been too embarrassed to admit that I can now name Adam Sandler as a legit musical inspiration.
— Love the audience’s reaction when Chris Farley’s image shows up on the screen.
— Also love the brief imitation of Matt Foley when Adam sings “in a VAN down by the RIVER!”
— “We said ‘slow down, or you’ll end up like Belushi and Candy.’ He said ‘Those guys are my heroes, so it’s all fine and dandy.’” Oh god.
— Really touching middle 8 when Adam sings about seeing Farley crying to a song that reminds him of his father, while a picture of Farley & his father appears onscreen.
— ”But a few months later the party came to an end, we flew out to Madison to bury our friend.” Double oh god. Adam sounds like he’s about to cry when he sings that line- I can’t blame him.
— That is the most beautiful way I’ve ever heard anyone sing “Grown-Ups 3.” Small margin, I know.
— Overall, I won’t bother critiquing this from a technical standpoint. How can I say anything critical about a heartfelt tribute to a deceased, beloved friend? The melody and lyrics are great, anyway, so I’d have no complaints from a musical standpoint even if I could separate my emotions from the performance. Playing this song at SNL was a major class act on Adam’s part, and I really respect him for doing that. 
STARS: N/A

GOODNIGHTS

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— Several cast members are understandably still misty eyed following Sandler’s performance, particularly Heidi, Cecily, Kate and (when you can finally see her behind Mendes) Aidy. 
— Sandler’s exclamation of “I love that I know this cast now!” was very charming.  

CUT FOR TIME: CHAD’S JOURNEY

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— As previously mentioned, a Chad short was cut from this episode. I’ve never been too into this character, only really liking his first appearance and the live sketch he was in from Saoirse Ronan’s episode, so…we’ll see.
— Interesting look on Mikey, to say the least. We’d strangely see this look on Mikey again a couple times, including the “Making a Man” sketch from the season 46 finale. Sorry, but Mikey’s cherub is more creepy than angelic. 
— These Chad pieces are always shot well at least, but this is doing very little for me in the way Chad pieces typically do very little for me. It just feels like kind of played of “dumb bro” humor.
— Sandler as Chad’s father is interesting casting, seeing how many have compared the two and their unique appeals.
— Mikey is, as usual, just a shade too subconsciously “comedy” in his straight man work for me here.
— Okay, shameful laugh at the only real interaction between father and son being “you got a big dick?” “Oh, no doubt.” 
— Eh, not into the ending with Kenan’s paramedic character punching Chad as he returns to life.
— Overall this was fine. It was slightly more ambitious than your typical Chad piece I suppose, but some new ingredients in the broth is ultimately the same stew.
STARS: **½  

IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— An extremely solid episode. The open was, as is typical for this era, a big scoop of shit, but once the episode proper got started everything was good to great. Sandler himself was a great host – he only truly exerted himself once, but he remained charming, game and committed throughout, which is all you can really ask of an SNL host. Tonight’s episode felt like what it needed to: a party, and I really like that to get there we (mostly) avoided pointless cameos and retreads like the show has often done in these event episodes, and instead just crafted a night of genuinely strong and fun comedy. 

MY PERSONAL CHOICE OF “BEST OF” MOMENTS FOR THIS EPISODE, REPRESENTED WITH SCREENCAPS

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RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Romano Tours
Rectix
Sandler Family Reunion
Monologue
Weekend Update
Last Call
Holes
War Zone Reporter
(CFT: Chad’s Journey)
Family Feud

TOMORROW 
Make sure to call your mothers, because Kabir is covering SNL’s annual Mother’s Day episode, this time with host Emma Thompson