SNL Scorecard: Timothée Chalamet / Bruce Springsteen

It's no secret that Season 46 of Saturday Night Live got off to a sloppy start- so poor, in fact, that more than one media outlet asked why they were even bothering to try to put on a show. But they really have seemed to find their stride; I mentioned last week that I was concerned the extended Thanksgiving break might wreck their momentum, but those fears were assuaged by a solid return episode last weekend. This time around, those fears have been further allayed by yet another good episode, one that was arguably even better than its predecessor.

Host Timothée Chalamet clearly found the jump from dramatic acting to sketch comedy a little more difficult than I would have anticipated, seeing-- even at his young age-- how remarkably consistent and versatile of an actor he has proven to be. But it was obvious that once he got some nerves out of the way, he enjoyed himself immensely, and it certainly helped that he was buoyed by noticeably improved writing and energy levels among the cast. After the aforementioned dreary start to the year, we now have a 4th consecutive week of no bad sketches on the night!

Here's the sketch-by-sketch breakdown of the 8th episode of the season:

Sketch of the Night

“Coronavirus Holiday”: 7.5/10

With a stronger finish and without some of the sloppy technical glitches, this could have potentially been the best sketch of the season thus far. I was nervous at the outset that this premise would be too on-the-nose and groan-inducing. I ended up pleasantly surprised by just how witty it was. The jokes were simple enough, perhaps, but had a nice edge; this was some subtly dark humor. Also, how nice was it to have a sketch prominently featuring two of the newbies in the cast for the first time this season?

The Good

“December To Remember Car Commercial": 7.5/10

It makes me so happy when someone at SNL has the same reaction I have to a commercial and it translates to a funny sketch. My first memory of this was when Michael Phelps and co. parodied a T-Mobile ad I found very weird. Anyways, Beck Bennett playing a washed-up bum of a dad and Heidi Gardner his frazzled wife will never not be a winning combo in my eyes. This was a simple enough concept, but hilarious.

“Rap Roundtable": 7/10

I don’t think I ended up finding this quite as funny as I initially thought I was going to, just because as soon as I saw Pete Davidson and Timothée Chalamet’s getup, I was prepared to absolutely love this sketch. That said, it was still great, especially when they got into the performance of their song. The hardest I laughed was Chalamet’s response to his rap influences: “Um, like, Fall Out Boys?” In terms of original comedy, it wasn’t particularly anything to write home about, but in terms of a cathartic send-up of TikTok-era “musicians,” it was hugely satisfying.

"Dionne Warwick Talk Show": 6.5/10

Between this and the obvious Patti LaBelle reference earlier this year, I love how plugged in Ego Nwodim is to the antics of aging (and yet timeless) divas. She killed it here. This one took a little while to find its footing, perhaps due to the audience being out of the loop on the reference, but once it did, I really enjoyed it. Timothée as fellow heartthrob Harry Styles made too much sense. And I appreciate that it didn’t go on too long, but I do wish we got to see a little more of Melissa Villaseñor’s Billie Eilish and Chloe Fineman’s Chalamet. Both impressions are so, so good.

“Weekend Update": 6.5/10

Contrary to the rest of the show, Michael Che and Colin Jost have yet to really regain their pre-Thanksgiving form, in my opinion. Their energy was better this week than last, and some jokes were quite good, but there were a couple real clunkers. Fortunately they don’t need to shoulder the load as much as they did early on this season, thanks to better humor all around. And this one was still funny, thanks in no small part to the guests. I already love Kate McKinnon’s Dr. Weknowdis. It feels like it could be a vintage character, played by the likes of Gilda Radner or someone. And even though I was a little miffed that they played up the joke with Kate “breaking” again, it was again well executed. Melissa Villaseñor’s Dolly Parton impression was also phenomenal, but I mostly just enjoy the creative ways to get her impressions on the show.

“Dr. Fauci & Dr. Birx Cold Open": 6/10

Dr. Fauci becomes the latest impression conquered by Kate McKinnon. I think they’ve just decided that unless someone does a flawless impression, it defaults to Kate. This particular impression was a little weird; it definitely wasn’t bad, but it was almost like after years of playing so many Trump administration figures, she didn’t know how to imitate someone without subtly making fun of them, and Dr. Fauci does not need anyone making fun of him these days I also was surprised to see Heidi Gardner for Dr. Birx, not because I have anything against Heidi, but because I know Chloe Fineman had workshopped that specific impression. Anyways, this open was not particularly memorable, but there were some good lines in there, and I’m always a fan of them doing something that’s not politically related for the cold open.

“Sportsmax": 6/10

I really hate that Newsmax is even mainstream enough to warrant parodying but am happy to see them mocked, I suppose. This was, I think, funnier in theory than in practice, but still enjoyable. The highlight was definitely Chalamet’s and Pete’s crazed Jets fans…who knew those two were gonna be such a dynamic duo all night?

“Holiday Baking Championship 2020”: 6/10

I absolutely loved this sketch in both the Don Cheadle and Eddie Murphy episodes last year, but it didn’t work as well for me this time. For one, I knew the premise already, but I also think it’s because they didn’t focus quite as long on the horrid cake designs, and the contestants’ self-flagellating reactions. That said, between Timothee’s and Kyle’s, ahem, interesting cake designs and Cecily nearly breaking at the fudge explosion, there were enough laughs to be had.

“Monologue”: 5.5/10

The bulk of this monologue was a little inside baseball for New Yorkers, but a little pandering is good sometimes. Plus the references were recognizable enough. Young Chalamet is just so effortlessly likable, but his delivery was a little wooden. The humor definitely picked up, though, with Pete Davidson’s cameo. I referenced this last week, too, I am always down for content of Pete shitting on Staten Island.

“Tiny Horse”: 5/10

I love a good dash of weird, and this was nothing if not weird. I think I would have liked this more as a 10-to-1 sketch; it felt like a bit too heavy a dose of absurdity to drop in the first half of the show. But damn if Chalamet didn’t act his heart out.

Musical Performances

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band: 6/10

As is the case with most musical performances on SNL, but especially with older, iconic artists, you’re probably going to feel about their performance the way you already felt about them as an artist. And in the case of Bruce Springsteen, I understand and respect the artistry of the man, even if I don’t particularly understand the mega fandom. I think with people of my generation, you have to be raised on a guy like Springsteen to really ‘get it,’ and I wasn’t raised on Springsteen. So if you’re white-hot angry at me for not loving these performances more, blame my parents, is what I’m trying to say.

Anyways, the first song “Ghosts” wasn’t the most pleasant to listen to, if I’m being honest, but Bruce hasn’t lost much in the way of energy. It was an enthusiastic performance. The second song, though, “I’ll See You In My Dreams,” while a little less energetic, sounded a good bit better.

OVERALL SCORE: 6.32 ('Comedy Only' score: 6.35)