SNL Scorecard: Adam Driver/Kanye West
Season 44 of Saturday Night Live is underway. Given the nonstop nature of the news cycle, particularly with this presidential administration, it felt like a long and empty summer without SNL. Perhaps exemplifying that point, ratings for the season's premiere last night far surpassed those of the same episode in 2017. It was an interesting year for the show last year' some episodes clearly shone brighter than others, but the true duds were very few and far between. Conversely, however, there were not quite as many episodes to write home about.
Last night's premiere with Adam Driver continued that trend. Certainly not a dud of a show, with no real poor sketches. But it also did have the feel of an episode that never really got off the ground, a sloppy and somewhat disappointing start to what is hopefully a great year for a great show.
Here's the sketch-by-sketch breakdown of the first episode of the season.
Sketch of the Night
“Kavanaugh Hearing Cold Open": 8.5/10
I came into the week wondering what politically-tinged skit the show would open on, as things had been weirdly quiet from the White House. Then, I realized, "Of course things seem quiet from the White House, there's a considerably bigger story dominating the airwaves." There was no doubt SNL was gonna give their take on the Kavanaugh hearings, and they did so in a terrific, appropriately edgy, 13-minute opener. Matt Damon as the likely Supreme Court nominee was a surprise casting, but he was tonally perfect as the shrill, vindictive, emotional judge. McKinnon's Lindsey Graham was of course hilarious, but all the cast (particularly Aidy Bryant as the "female prosecutor") shone in their roles.
The Good
“Career Day”: 8/10
Without a doubt the best use of the host. Adam Driver is a funny guy and a terrific actor, but is also uniquely bizarre, and the writing seemed to struggle all night with how to use his chops. This skit had Driver channeling Daniel Plainview from There Will Be Blood on a school's Career Day, much to the embarrassment of his son (Pete Davidson) and the bemusement of the teacher and her class. It was strange, ridiculous and delightful.
‘“New Look": 6.5/10
Everyone (myself included) was curious how, if at all, SNL was going to address cast member Pete Davidson's summer, considering his whirlwind romance with Ariana Grande was EXTREMELY public, essentially dominating the pop culture airwaves. The answer was: too much. Kyle Mooney's token "alternative SNL universe" sketch, though, was a comical way to approach it, albeit not the best of Mooney's canon.
“Coffee Shop”: 6/10
Pretty much a like-for-like rewrite of "Pizano's" skit from last year with Ryan Gosling, but still humorous enough. Driver's "tough guy" act is enjoyable, and Cecily Strong, who is just so good at the uber-dramatic characters, makes the most of this one.
The…Less-Good
“80s Party”: 5/10
This pre-taped short seemed like it was headed somewhere, and was not without laughs, but (in keeping with the theme of the night) never really had quite the bite that it could have had.
“Fortnite Squad”: 5/10
Most outlets are calling this skit the weakest of the night, making it all the more befuddling that it was the first post-monologue live sketch. I personally didn't mind it that much, mostly because of Mikey Day's terrific physical comedy, but it's true the premise didn't really take off.
“Weekend Update”: 5/10
Che and Jost, maybe the most divisive Weekend Update duo ever, were back in action just a couple weeks removed from their Emmys hosting gig. I am a fan, but will admit this was one of their flatter performances. The jokes seemed a little tired, as did the co-hosts themselves. Leslie Jones as Serena Williams was funny, and brought some much-needed energy, but that story already seems worn out. Pete Davidson also stopped by, mostly to bring up his engagement for the 3rd time in the show. I like Pete a lot, but this appearance was relatively weak, mostly regurgitating his comments and jokes from talk show appearances this summer.
“Monologue”: 4/10
This was...different. No song and dance, no "welcome the new cast member," Adam Driver didn't even really plug anything. So kudos for being somewhat original, but the result was quite flat; the one highlight, ironically, was Pete Davidson's appearance. If SNL had kept the discussion on him isolated to that, I would have been perfectly okay with that.
“Neo-Confederate Meeting”: 4/10
When I saw the context for this skit, I thought, "Nice, this will be a much-needed alt-right skewering." Instead it pretty much was just a punchline on how many white people are in Vermont.
Musical Performances
Kanye West (feat. Li'l Pump, Teyana Taylor, Kid Cudi, and 070 Shake): 3/10
No offense to Adam Driver, but most of the anticipation for the premiere revolved around Kanye West, for better or for worse. The rapper is already a nonstop lightning rod of attention, and that only increased with his bizarre ramblings on how slavery was a choice, as well as his sudden outspoken support of Trump. Throw in his announcement that his new album Yandhi, an apparent sequel to Yeezus, was to drop that night (which, uh, it didn't), and fans and haters alike were eager to watch. What all who tuned in got was first a simply awful performance of an awful song: West and talentless "rapper" Li'l Pump sang/mumbled/not-so-subtly F-bomb'd their way through the idiotic "I Love It," dressed as bottles of water. Second song "We Got Love," seemingly off the new album was notably better, but the performance itself was mostly dominated by Teyana Taylor, her outfit, and a minute-long spoken word excerpt. West and co. did one more song, "Ghost Town," during the closing credits, but though that song is one of his best of the year, it was cut off midway through and was slightly marred by his wardrobe choice. All in all, a horrendous outing for West, though maybe that was the point somehow? Who even knows any more.
OVERALL SCORE: 5.5 (Comedy Only score: 5.78)