SNL Scorecard: Adam Driver / Halsey
This past weekend, Saturday Night Live returned, meaning the show has now spanned from 1975 to 2020! Truly remarkable to think about.
The show eased back from the Christmas Break with a couple familiar faces as host and musical guest. Adam Driver and Halsey, respectively, both appeared on the program for the 3rd time. Halsey pulled double duty as host and musical guest last season after making an guest musical appearance earlier in the season. Driver, meanwhile, hosted the Season 44 premiere, and before that, actually also hosted the first post-Christmas episode back in 2016. It's interesting that he was pegged for the 'return' host in two different year, but considering both years were in the wake of a recent Star Wars release, perhaps not too surprising.
Another trend Driver's gig continued was awards show contenders hosting. The last four hosts were mainstays in the awards circuit in 2019-20. It hasn't translated to much luck, unfortunately: Jennifer Lopez and Eddie Murphy were snubbed by the Oscars, and though Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver were nominated, they will lose unless there is a huge upset of Renee Zellweger or Joaquin Phoenix in the works. But if Driver is at all bummed by that reality, he didn't show it this past weekend, throwing himself with full force into every character he played, to varying amounts of success. All in all, the night was a solid, if not memorable return to what has mostly been a weird and delightful season.
Here's the sketch-by-sketch breakdown of the 11th episode of the season:
Sketch of the Night
“Del Taco Shoot”: 7/10
There are two kinds of people in this World: those who find humor in absurd repetition, and those who do not. If you fall into the latter camp, then unfortunately this sketch is probably not for you. But as for me, I laughed more and more each time "Aw man, I'm all outta cash!" was uttered, especially when Adam Driver's bizarre Vice President of Branding was in frame.
The Good
“Weekend Update": 7.5/10
The Christmas break seems to have done the Weekend Update co-anchors some good, as Che and Jost both came out with great energy, and some sharp one-liners. But as it often is, it was the guests that elevated Update to the next level this weekend. Aidy Bryant's child tour guide Carrie Krum is delightful, and what a nice surprise to see Melissa Villaseñor behind the desk! Her appearances are few and far between, but she seems to always kill it, and that was no different here, as she strutted out some "original songs" for the Best Picture contenders. Tip: don't read the YouTube comments. Just....don't.
“Monologue": 7/10
I always have a special affinity for monologue formats that are wildly different from the usual trio of: cheesy original song, host takes questions from the audience, or host walks around backstage. It doesn't necessarily guarantee success, but in this case, it worked. Driver's insistence on being chill and the ensuing large gaps of silence would usually make for extremely awkward television, but the audience's discomfort just added to the humor.
"The Science Room": 7/10
The first iteration of this sketch was two years ago with Sam Rockwell as host, and in my opinion was severely underrated. So I was pleasantly surprised to see it back, and curious to see how it would work a second time. Turns out, still largely hilarious. I will say, Driver's steadfast commitment to his character actually worked against him this time, as Rockwell's frustrated stumbling over his lines and accidental f-bomb (on live television) only added to the hilarity of the "angry adult with idiotic kids" premise. But still, Cecily Strong and Mikey Day are just brilliant.
“Marrying Ketchups": 7/10
Basically all you need to know is that an SNL cast member or writer once worked in the food industry and heard the term "marry the ketchups" and has dreamt of writing this sketch ever since. This was so bizarre but I'm so glad it exists. It did seem like the one sketch where the host didn't fully commit to his strange character, but maybe he's just being overshadowed by how terrific Strong was, as always.
“Medieval Times": 6.5/10
This sketch wouldn't have been much of anything without Adam Driver, but I suppose that's sort of the point. Once again, the host's proficiency in playing needlessly intense characters worked to perfection, as the Medieval Times employee "Cameron," who felt a little too invested in his character's story arc. I laughed harder than I should have at his racial comments to Chris Redd and Bowen Yang.
“Sleepover": 6.5/10
For a fleeting moment, I thought this was going to be another saga of Aidy Bryant's "Melanie," a teen character who lusts after her friend's dads. Alas, that was not the case, although a similar joke comes into play. Still, between Driver leaning into his 'dorky dad unsure of how to talk to teen girls' character, and Kate McKinnon's wonderful troublemaker, this was really fun.
“Slow": 6.5/10
R&B singers' emphasis on "takin' it slow" is clearly not lost on Chris Redd, Kenan Thompson, and Adam Driver, who reveal through song just how extreme their commitment to being slow is. This was enjoyable, as almost all of Redd's pre-taped musical sketches are, but it got to the punchline, ironically, pretty quickly. Still a funny sketch, but it felt like more could have been done with this.
“Undercover Boss: Where Are They Now”: 6/10
Adam Driver's first turn as Kylo Ren going on Undercover Boss was so terrific, I really hoped they wouldn't bring it back. But that sketch was so beloved and ubiquitous, it was inevitable. As I feared, it wasn't nearly as funny the second time around, without Bobby Moynihan's provocateur and Leslie Jones' enraged coworker around. Still, Driver in character as Kylo Ren is simply hilarious in a comedic context.
“Cheerleading Show”: 6/10
This was such an interesting choice. Cheer is a pretty buzzy show right now, but it definitely doesn't feel like something everyone is watching. Like, how many people in the audience even knew this was a parody of a real Netflix program? I doubt a majority did. Luckily, the humor here was broad enough to earn some laughs even from those who don't watch the show.
“Alan Dershowitz Argues for Trump Cold Open”: 5.5/10
I'm all about trying out new formats for the typically stale political cold open, so this was at least original and held some solid quotables. Plus, as problematic as the running "get a celebrity to play someone in the Trump administration!" joke is, it is admittedly fun to get to see faces like Jon Lovitz's again. But sheesh, what a weird open. Setting most of the sketch in hell, with a Satan that looks eerily like Kate McKinnon's Justin Bieber? Mitch McConnell wearing a towel? Bringing the host out in the cold open (which is a very rare occurrence) just to play Jeffrey Epstein, who he looks nothing like? Strange choices, all.
Musical Performances
Halsey: 5/10
It's hard to not let personal bias sneak into the music ratings sometimes, and full disclosure, I've never been much of a fan of Halsey's music nor her singing voice. But I do attempt to be objective in these scorecards, and I will point out that I actually thought very highly of her two previous appearances on SNL. She belted it as a featured artist on Li'l Wayne's set last season, and I thought she did a very impressive job as both host and musical guest last February.
All that being said, I was not wild about Halsey's musical performances on the night. Both "You Should Be Sad" and "Finally // Beautiful Stranger," her second song had a Country feel, a genre I don't really find her cut out for. In her first performance, she leaned fully into that, opening her song in a cowboy hat while gyrating on a horse. She certainly knows how to entertain, as evidenced by that performance and her live painting last time out, so I don't think this was a disaster by any means. But on the whole, Halsey's songs didn't do a whole lot for me lyrically, and her vocals seemed more pitchy than what we've come to expect from her.
OVERALL SCORE: 6.46 (Comedy Only score: 6.59)