October 24, 2020 – Adele / H.E.R. (S46 E4)

by Kabir

PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) & Joe Biden (Jim Carrey) have final debate

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— Big applause and “woos” for another political cameo-fest. The audience sounds like they’re about to see the greatest SNL sketch of the decade. Let’s hope they’re right.
— Well, it’s Alec Baldwin looking haggard and Jim Carrey looking like an untinted version of The Mask. Somebody stop him.
— Baldwin’s character mistaking a woman of color for Hoda Kotb. Hasn’t that joke been used many times on SNL? Maybe not with Hoda Kotb, but others?
— “Where I came from, if a girl gave you a third wave, you were practically married”? What? Is Biden from a fictional universe?
— Maybe I’ve forgotten the debates after two years, but was there really some outlaw energy happening that night?
— This is a huge yawn. Not even the “history lesson” aspect of this is interesting.
— Biden bingo? How original. Why did I agree to review this episode? Damn you, Puppetmaster Matt.
— This speech by Biden saying he’s not rich sounds like a first draft for some of SNL’s Bernie Sanders speeches.
— Man, the audience is ASLEEP. I don’t blame them. SNL should stop the pre-taped “woos” they dub onto every sketch open/close; it’s incongruous.
— They’re just re-using dialogue (“money from China,” “under audit”) from earlier WITHIN THIS SAME SKETCH.
— Great, Kate is back as Giuliani with a cheap, fake visual of him pleasuring himself. Snooze. I did get a mild chuckle from “is this a Borat?”
— This whole thing sounds like the snark which people spew on social media under the guise of humor. Instead of having Carrey’s Biden just stew, maybe he could actually say or do something humorous during this… comedy show?
— Okay, another tiny chuckle from “fracking: depends on what state I’m in.”
— Oh, good, a reference to a 24-year-old movie that no one remembers (Twister). Reviewer Tony points out that this was famously Fat Bastard’s favorite Helen Hunt film. Reading Tony’s comment was more amusing than this actual sketch.
— After the whole Abe Lincoln/Lincoln automobile mix-up by Trump, now Biden is comparing himself to an automobile. So, so lazy.
— This 11-minute sketch is mercifully over. Since we can’t give anything lower than one-star, that’s what this sketch will get.
STARS: * 

MONOLOGUE
host avoids swearing & thanks Sarah Palin for viewership of first SNL gig

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— Nice entrance from Adele, looking very excited-yet-nervous.
— This is pleasant enough but not many laughs. That’s fine when a musician is opening a show (as opposed to comedians doing a sketch, for example).
— Cute scene with Kenan and the swear jar.
— This moved along well and was a nice slice of Adele being Adele.
STARS: ***

FORTUNE TELLER
in 2019, psychic’s (KAM) 2020 visions confuse (BOY), (HEG), (EGN), (host)

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— I thought this might be the first sketch set in a fortune-teller’s parlor since the one with Laura Leighton in season 21. But Matt reminds me of one with Jim Carrey himself in season 36.
— Bowen just said it’s 2019, so this sketch is a flashback. Interesting way to establish that.
— I usually say the political sketches in this era are “history lessons.” This is like an inverse history lesson—about COVID, obviously.
— I was originally struggling with the real joke here; it all just felt like setups with no punchlines.  After re-watching, though, in a 2019 state of mind, it DOES sound somewhat bizarre.
— Bowen’s horror at being caught “eating in a restaurant” was good.
— I feel like there have been sketches where something like this was done more successfully. The best I can come up with is “Jeopardy 1999” from Season 2, where they pretend that Chevy’s career immediately fizzled and that “Baa Baa Black Sheep” was a massive hit (which it wasn’t).
— This could have been even tighter, but it was enjoyable once I really concentrated on 2019.
STARS: ***

THE HAUNTED MANOR
pool boy Chad doesn’t avenge ghostly (host)’s murder

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— Nice visual look to this.
— Oh, it’s Chad, who is both polarizing and erratic in his quality. Based on this episode so far, I wonder where this one will end up.
— Cool visual of the slit throat.
— Chad is less lackadaisical than usual, which is a bad thing. Part of his charm (when he’s funny) is being so monotone and apathetic.
— “‘Where’s Waldo?’ The yellow one.” Ha.
— Adele is at least doing a nice acting job.
— “Tig ‘Ol Bitties”? It’s an immature and lame phrase/title by itself, and even worse when it becomes an allusion within something else.
— That’s it? How is an SNL near-Halloween show so flat?
STARS: **

THE BACHELOR
romance drama spurs contestant host to sing her hits

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— Thank God. These are usually pretty good.
— Funny town names (“Bad, Iowa” and “Not Good, Kansas”).
— So this isn’t going to be the usual barrage of caricatures saying “can I steal him for a sec”? Uh-oh.
— Wait, isn’t there usually more than one rose on the real show?
— Nice turn to Adele singing “Hello.”
— This joke could get old but it’s nice to have Adele sing a bit of her songs. And the cutaways to the other contestants aren’t bad.
— This sketch could have been shorter, but I like that the contestants came around to the singing.
— Now she’s going full out and has left the set to sing within the audience. Always fun when SNL breaks format like this. Refreshing way to incorporate a musician-as-host’s music into the show.
STARS: ***

TRUMP ADDICTS OF AMERICA
People wonder how they’ll spend their time if he loses

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— This is ridiculous. I understand the premise and what they’re going for, but it’s just too realistic.
— Funny line from Kenan: “I am really worried for Rachel Maddow.” 
— Prescient to say that President Trump won’t go off-the-radar if he loses that election.
— There wasn’t much to this.
STARS: **

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Damage”

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— Blue: Something about Adele’s intro made me think that it could be turned into a meme the same way Daniel Craig’s Weeknd intro was. I’m not sure of how it could be utilized, but I’ll think of something eventually.
— Great opening shot of H.E.R. silhouetted against the bright yellow lights.
— I’m digging the vibe of this song and H.E.R.’s relaxed demeanor.
— Unfortunately, H.E.R.’s lovely lead vocals are being drowned out at times. @sound engineers of SNL, I just wanna talk…
— H.E.R. is approaching the higher notes (“be careful of what you take for granted”) with a breathy delivery that sounds relatively weak in comparison to her lower register. She sounds as if she’s either unsure of her ability to reach those notes or afraid to project her voice.
— I love the horn accents throughout this song.
— Nice subtle vocal run at the end.
STARS: ***

WEEKEND UPDATE
MEV does impressions while recounting experiences from quarantining alone

Village People’s (KET), (BEB), (BOY), (MID), (CRR) “YMCA” variant enjoins

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— Che usually comes off tired in this era, but tonight Colin seems weary: his jokes aren’t very sharp, whereas Che’s delivery and jokes are decent.
— Melissa’s “Little Rascals” bit was good… if you know anything about the “Little Rascals.” Which the audience apparently does not, judging by their lack of response.
— A Legend of Zelda joke? Stevie Nicks impression? This audience is EMBRYOS, it seems, and doesn’t get these references.
— Okay, maybe they’re just bored from the rest of the show, because they had no response to the Sia impression, either.
— Nice Norm Macdonald-esque joke about Popeye’s from Che, followed by a joke from Colin (about Barbie) that’s probably older than Norm. Yawn. The quality gap between the two is widening.
— As with so much political material in this era, the “YMCA” lyrics are just a recitation of “stuff that happened”—sans jokes. Interesting point from reviewer Matt that it’s fun to see Alex get to use some of his physical comedy chops, honed during his time on the Chicago Bulls Acrobatic Dunk Team.
— I assume it’s a mistake that there’s briefly a strange halo around everyone’s heads, from the blue lights.
— “Everything is legal if you sing it in a song.” So the joke is that they’re saying controversial things through music? Then why not do that instead of spending so much of the first two verses just re-stating the obvious?
STARS: **

VISITING GRANDMA
(MAR)’s lack of comprehension cuts through her grandkids’ circumlocution

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— I like Maya, but why is she getting a showcase when she already started off the show? There’s cast members who could’ve done this.
— Okay, this is a strange structure, but it’s… interesting. Not terribly funny, but interesting.
— Maya’s doing a decent amount with just one or two words. Reminds me a bit of her Glenda Goodwin character.
— “I am like a pet. I do not have money.” That gave me a chuckle.
— Weak ending.
STARS: **

AFRICA TOURISM
black men are why white divorcees (host), (KAM), (HEG) tout Africa visits

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— Why does Kate have an Australian accent?
— Adele “breaking” is funnier than most everything else in this episode. Reviewer Tony points out that it’s as much as anyone has ever started laughing on the show. I agree, second only to maybe “Debbie Downer.”
— If you weren’t noticing the string of men passing in the background, you might not get the alleged “joke” until Heidi’s character entered.
— This is coming off like a weak Family Guy cutaway.
— Like so much tonight, the ending was lazy.
STARS: **

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
musical guest performs “Hold On”

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— Blue: Strong vocals from H.E.R. at the beginning of this song.
— The backing vocals are starting to overpower the lead vocals. Again, where’s that sound engineer, we need to have a little chat about balance…
— H.E.R. went flat on the word “get” in the second verse (“how do I get somewhere comfortable”), which is the first issue I’ve had with her singing. She’s doing a great job so far. I’m especially admiring her fluid switching between registers.
— Although the guitar solo was a little simpler than I wanted it to be, it fits with the style of the song.
— Stunning vocal riffing towards the end, especially the gorgeous high notes. 
— I’m surprised by how much I loved that! I didn’t want it to end.
STARS: ****

ASS ANGEL PERFUME JEANS
jeans worn by (MAR) & (host) are fragrant & corrosive

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— Great ’80s look to this, and another Maya cameo for some reason.
— Like a lot of Beck’s pre-tapes, this has flawless production design and totally nails the era… but isn’t outright funny.
— The audience is so quiet, I have to wonder if they’re just not being mic’d, as in the very earliest SNL episodes.
— I’m giving an extra half-star for Beck’s performance—so over-the-top.
STARS: **½

GOODNIGHTS

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IMMEDIATE POST-SHOW THOUGHTS
— Good Lord, what happened here? Either this was comedy gold and I’m just a hermit who has lost his pop-culture bearings, or the writing this week was terrible? The audience even seemed to agree with me. You could hear a pin drop at times. This was like Season 6 or 30-level bad (since there was at least some ambition behind Seasons 11 and 20). Adele is an incredibly appealing performer and mega-famous, and the show failed her. By my math, this might be among the bottom 10 episodes of all time.

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

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RATED SEGMENTS RANKED FROM BEST TO WORST
Monologue 
The Bachelor
Fortune Teller
Ass Angel Perfume Jeans
Africa Tourism
Weekend Update
Visiting Grandma
The Haunted Manor
Trump Addicts of America
Presidential Debate

TOMORROW
It’s Halloween and Mulaney is back, as reviewed by Anthony