Her music doesn’t tell you that, but Adele is funny In the past she has only appeared as the musical guest of SNL, or as the glue that binds American families together, but her appearances less melodic make it clear that she has more than just a sense of humor. She speaks with an unconscious recklessness and takes fame in stride; she doesn’t just engage in the silly games she created to play on talk shows, she brings them up; she makes Beyoncé laugh and lets Jennifer Lawrence attack her in New York gay bars All that, and she has a deliciously nasty laugh
SNL didn’t confirm Adele until late last week, but even though she was a late guest, Lorne Michaels’ instincts about her turned out to be either a vengeful ghost or a noxious version of her- even, Adele throws herself into roles; despite her avowed nervousness, she seems rather at home She’s having so much fun, in fact, that she almost derailed a sketch by laughing so loudly Here is our breakdown, scene by scene
Much of the first half of Update is devoted to a dissection of the final debate, and much of it is Colin Jost lecturing Joe Biden about what he didn’t do The best time comes when Michael Che police for having a tough and weird week, then shamefully admits he thought the president was going to die of COVID-19 After some gags on the age of the presidential candidates, Melissa Villaseñor arrives for talking alone about the quarantine She delivers micro-impressions of Little Rascals, Link from the Nintendo Legend of Zelda games, Stevie Nicks and Sia While the entire room looks fractured, Villaseñor is such a likeable and talented impersonator that it has ultimately not important
Second Half Jokes Tackle Mitch McConnell’s Weird Bruises, Thanksgiving At Popeye’s, And The Terrible Things That Happen At The Playgrounds Near The Vatican There’s A Great One On A New Doll Barbie-themed Elton John, and the presenters are credited with following a really and deliciously silly joke by Phil Collins The update ends with an appearance from the ’70s costume collective, The Village People, singing a doctored version of « YMCA » to end the Trump campaign for using « YMCA » »The vibe is silly, the dancing energetic and everything Kenan Thompson does is gold It’s also a lot funnier the second time around, given the version released with the lyrics printed at the bottom – trying to pull together a lot information in syncopated lines, some details got lost I didn’t catch that line of Epstein on the live show at all
Ah, how ignorant, little distressed and hopeful we were just 12 months ago! This sketch, about a very savvy psychic’s predictions for his waaaaaay clients in 2019, serves the weird and amazing world of 2020 to those who have never heard of COVID-19 The Doritos wash, the use of books coloring page for adults, contempt of Louis DeJoy – all of these well-chosen details really give an idea of how far we’ve come since March While the titular character might not be the most detailed of Kate McKinnon, McKinnon sure does a great job of keeping the sketch moving – not to mention doing his best to get Adele to break up. Jeffrey Toobin’s thing seems a bit free, but that doesn’t upset the otherwise clever reframing of the absurd present
Considering SNL’s take on the debates so far, and the fact that Debate 3 was hosted on NBC, the content of this skit seems predetermined.As Kristen Welker, Maya Rudolph has a lot of dialogue but no tracks that stand out The general debate recap doesn’t come out much either The writers keep talking about Joe Biden’s inner monologue, and with it Jim Carrey has time to nibble a bit on the scenery Some of the jokes in which writers lean, eg, Biden Bingo, feel a little stale (For this reason, the appearance of Rudy Giuliani – who plays on his appearance in the new Borat movie – comes as a welcome, idiot aside) There has nice and neat writing, especially during candidates’ closing statements Here, Trump’s messy word salad sums up a lot about himself and his presidency, and Biden’s 70-year-old metaphors go to the heart of his call happily harmless
Unlike the usual Bachelor sketch format of shallow personalities gushing out of inanities, Adele’s presence here – like herself – changes everything With every little detail, domineering and needy Adele is standing girdling » Someone Like You ”or“ Hello ”in order to deal with her many, many feelings With HER as SNL’s musical guest for the night, this skit allows us to have our cake and eat it too: Adele sings a mix of her greatest hits, which just double down with comedic punctuation Although the sketch doesn’t extend or change beyond its initial premise, Adele’s utter desire to produce her character and art in make a winner
« bamboo » provided by the tall tall « tribal member » whom the ladies seem rather seduced with Yes, these mature women want their share of vitamin D, and all the suggestive metaphors make Adele laugh – so much that she misses her clues. There are lots of great little ideas here, eg connections so deep you can ‘feel them in your stomach’, but Adele will be remembered laughing
As they are gathered under their grandmother’s balcony at the elderly home, some adult grandchildren try (and fail) to communicate the hardships they are going through during the pandemic As a grandmother , Maya Rudolph is Perfect Add the Syllables, and she probably has less to say than all the other characters, but she fills in all the « What? » and claiming « O-kaay » This sketch works on many levels Most obvious: it’s a gag about grandma’s hearing and what she’s ready to hear Plus there’s an idea here that the nuances of millennial life mean nothing to the older generations – and maybe millennials are complicating things that, in the end, are pretty black and white
Can the nation handle another four years of « scandal, abuse and racial divide »? Voters in this ad suggest no – but if Biden is elected, what exactly are we all going to be talking about? This sketch is about the withdrawal that many Americans could endure after the constant barrage of tweets and headlines generated by Trump’s presidency There are painful truths here: Some people have made hate of Trump their ‘entire personality’, while others can’t help but be in awe of the ‘next level shit’ that Trump manages to achieve. escape This one is about the text rather than the performers, but the whole thing creates a nice rhythm (with the help of the editors)
This wispy ’80s jeans ad features plenty of feathered hair and whispered dialogue, but the Ass Angel scented jeans are definitely more dangerous than Jordache.With its bizarre concept and unusual trajectory, this is a real 10-on-1 sketch The frame is quite elaborate considering it’s pants that smell of cake and burn the wearer that said, the pounding Beck Bennett, the head-to-toe denim outfits and the Adele’s sleek American accent makes it all quite hypnotic While the 8H audience remains fairly calm and presumably baffled by it all, there will no doubt be stans online displaying Ass Angel tattoos in the near future.
The longer the irresistible monosyllabic lunk head Chad (Pete Davidson) stays in the stable of SNL characters, the more of a gimmick he becomes. While it’s admirable that writers want to raise the ante, supernatural circumstances don’t seem suit Chad This time around, as he visits a haunted mansion, a ghost (Adele) tries to scare him, then asks for his help in a revenge plot Adele does everything right, riding the wave of Halloween melodrama and finding little moments to fill every beat of her story And Davidson is still the same Chad Beyond the Improbable Setting, what seems to be missing here is what made the first sketches of Chad work so well: authentic and personal issues that keep the other person in the inexplicable roller coaster ride that is Chad
Adele speaks from the bottom of her heart about her first SNL appearance, weight loss, excessive swearing, and thanks to frontline public workers There are a few gags thrown in there, including the giant “de jure pot” that Kenan Thompson hovers over, and they’re perfectly good. It doesn’t seem entirely fair to put this monologue in our sketch hierarchy, however; while it’s nice to hear Adele settle in with whatever material she feels is right for her, it’s also as if she’s decided she doesn’t want anything too pleasant
As an actor and host, Adele clearly held her Even in sketches that required a lot of reading lines from cue cards, she had an easy way about her and, of course, with the skit « The Bachelor », fans didn’t want her music anymore As for Maya Rudolph, she’s making enough appearances this week to feel like she’s a regular cast member again
As a whole, the show featured a real variety of sketches and stayed pretty cohesive – there were some bright spots, like with the Village People track and Adele’s laughter over the cock jokes, but nothing stood out as truly stellar; there were lulls, but nothing was bombed At the very least, Adele confirmed her comedic skills on a big stage – making her the second successful host in two weeks Next week, SNL continues its five-week marathon with aptly host (and former writer) John Mulaney and musical guest The Strokes
Already subscribed?
Log in or link your magazine subscription
Adele SNL
World News – UA – Live Saturday Night Recap: Hello again, Adele
