Cold Opening – Family Feud: Game of Thrones vs. The Avengers
characters from Game Of Thrones & The Avengers compete
- I have gotten quite tired with these Family Feud sketches, despite the fun performance by Kenan, and this premise, while I “get” it and what it is aiming for, I don’t feel is promising.
- Quite a poorly-aged start with Game of Thrones and the Avengers being the only things all Americans can get behind. Considering how badly GoT ended, with its rushed conclusion and the general MCU fatigue after Endgame.
- Alex looks great as Thor and his Chris Hemsworth impression is very fun.
- Great makeup on Beck as Thanos, though his lines aren’t anything special – the typical self-awareness from SNL that barely makes me laugh.
- Poor use of Leslie, complete with the whole “bitch” and sassy act.
- The Avengers intro was already rather rough (besides Alex & Ego), but Christ at the Game of Thrones introduction. The cast are doing their best (and Cecily did a solid Melisandre, as expected), but the writing for them is just rough stuff, especially that horrid Maybelline joke.
- Kate isn’t impressing me at all as Brienne of Tarth – a favorite character of mine from ASOIAF. She is just doing her generic English-accented shtick, complete with routine mugs to the camera.
- I did crack up at the “White Nonsense” line from Kenan. God bless that man…
- Leslie breaking….
- Melissa is actually pretty fun as Arya Stark, and unsurprisingly, her impression is probably the best take on any of these characters.
- Boy, I feel bad for my rating I am about to give, as I truly admire the apolitical nature of this cold open, the performances (minus Kate & Leslie…), but the writing, structure and general rhythm were all just plain bad to me. So, without further ado:
Rating: *1/2
Monologue
ADS sings a song about how he was fired from SNL; CSR cameo
- While I was never a fan of Adam’s film career, for the most part and his style of comedy in said films, I have certainly enjoyed him in past episodes I’ve seen of his era, and as I am now halfway through S17 in my watch, I’ve grown to appreciate a lot of his comedy from then.
- Adam is coming very likable and humble right from the get-go. I loved his quick talk about his history with SNL, losing his virginity in this building (to the Church Lady?!) and Norm being 60 years-old when he started the show.
- Good we are getting a patented Adam Sandler song for the monologue. The premise of it about Adam being fired is very funny and fitting with his general demeanor & persona. I loved the punchline of NBC hating the Jews as a reason he was fired.
- Lovely mention of Chris Farley, especially imitating his typical energetic delivery and gestures.
- A Chris Rock cameo. Expected with Adam hosting, though I remember expecting Rob or Spade to show up. His comically-brief cameo about being fired is very funny.
- The Pete walk-on gets a big applause from the audience. Adam assuring him he’ll be fired soon was hilarious.
- Yes! The whole fired/rehired turn is so fun and damn catchy!
- Very good & fun song as expected. A real turnaround from the cold open.
Rating: ****
Snapchat Filter
Snapchat filters farcify TV journalist’s (MID) report from a war zone
- This is a sketch I remember really disliking. Feeling it was typical Seiday attempt at being “hip” and coming off ancient in the process. Reading reviews of this sketch made me appreciate it more than before, especially seeing Covid-era attempts at using technology online which made this one age quite well in its humor.
- OK, I got a solid laugh from the filter of Mikey looking quite Chipmunk-y. Mikey’s straight man work is very good, as well as Beck’s responses to him in particular.
- The contrast between Cecily’s professional anchor and Beck’s increasingly being into the filters is solid.
- Adam’s goofy voices routine is fitting very well with this character. His hamminess is cracking me up so bad.
- This is such a likable, dumb sketch. Between Adam & Mikey, the contrast between Cecily’s solid deadpan and Beck’s goofiness & loving the filters, the pace makes this a pretty good sketch.
Rating: ***
Holes
(BEB), (KYM), (ADS) explain the topology of clothing via song
- For a Beck/Kyle music video, I’m not too sure about this premise. The whole “holes” in clothes isn’t too absurd a concept to mine laughs out of, in my view.
- I do like at least Beck & Kyle in this short – they are nailing those ‘80s/90s’ music video tropes. Some of the absurd visuals are good as well, but not as memorable as they could be. The Revolutionary era law signing one was the best visual so far.
- Adam bringing back the energy with his guitar solo, and his singing, with those teeth and hair (which has to be a Slash reference) is making me laugh.
- A huge laugh from the random buttholes at your funeral gag.
- OK, this wasn’t as meh as I remember it being. There were some fun moments, visuals and gags in this, though as a whole it felt below par for Beck & Kyle’s standards.
Rating: ***
Romano Tours
Joe Romano’s (ADS) tours of Italy are not a panacea for your troubles
- One of my favorite sketches from this SNL era.
- Adam Sandler is perfect for this premise. His delivery is hilarious from the get-go, especially the Jersey/Long Island line.
- “If you’re sad now, you might still feel sad there. You understand? That makes sense?” has always stuck with me from this sketch. Adam’s delivery is priceless in general here.
- The “Same Sad You” with the visual aids is having me in stitches. The increasingly depressing tone of this whole piece is fantastic, especially as we get to the whole “Can” & “Cannot” portion.
- A perfect sketch overall.
Rating: *****
Sandler Family Reunion
ADS sees character inspirations & parents (JIF) & (KRW) at family reunion
- A variation of the Christopher Walken/Jim Carrey family reunion sketches. I’m not too familiar with Adam’s filmography, but I definitely know how they are to “get” this sketch’s jokes.
- Kyle & Mikey are great imitating Adam’s typical vocal antics. Kyle especially is cracking me the hell up.
- Odd use of Shawn Mendes. Not to be mean, but he both came off awkward and out-of-place here, but harmless enough.
- Pete is stealing this whole sketch. I guess he is doing Adam from Little Nicky?
- Kristen Wiig cameo out of freakin’ nowhere. I could be annoyed, but Kristen is fantastic and actually, compared to others, doesn’t do as many cameos.
- Kristen is killing me here! Her various “No!”-s are priceless, and she fits perfectly back to SNL in mere seconds.
- Fallon cameo? Knowing Adam is a hero of his, it makes sense. His Sandler is uncanny, and I’ve always found him to be an underrated impressionist nowadays, due to how often terrible he is in his Late Night/Tonight Show eras.
- The brief singing between Fallon & his gibberish and Kristen yelling her “No!”-s was strangely very catchy to me.
Rating: ***1/2
Rectix
erectile dysfuction solution Rectix is a buttplug, not a pharmaceutical
- Tons of Beck Bennett tonight.
- Great to see a medical-themed SNL commercial – these are usually some of my favorites.
- Adam’s delivery is once again really funny, especially when he explains to Beck that Rectix is basically a buttplug…. but not really – the visual of the human being satisfied killed me.
- Very solid straight man work from Beck. One of his best moments from another strong season of his. I love how he doesn’t want to hear anymore of this whole Rectix buttplug talk.
- Aidy’s very funny with her deadpan – her speaking of cleaning it in the dishwasher is making this even funnier than it already is.
- Great ending.
Rating: ****1/2
Musical Performance – “If I Can’t Have You”
Weekend Update
Elizabeth Warren’s (KAM) candidacy emphasizes substance over style
Operaman sings about Game Of Thrones, the NBA, presidential politics
- I absolutely have no memory of the Bill Barr/KFC/Congress debacle, and I’m a very politically-aware person in real-life.
- Love the Democrats dealing with Trump being equated to how White parents deal with noisy kids at supermarkets from Che.
- Great quick bit with the list of everyone Democrats held accountable since Trump got elected. It manages to be funny without going the lazy (and cowardly) both sides-ism, which sadly the case with Update in more recent seasons at times.
- I loved the whole Trump hearing smiles/Sonic joke.
- As usual, Kate’s Elizabeth Warren is a great impression in terms of vocals and general demeanor; absolutely spot-on. With that said, I’m starting to get sick of this impression as it appears more and more (and I recall it being consistently bad next season) – becoming more of a security blanket than a satirical take. Not to get too political, I have tons of respect for Warren, but I find this take on her more and more “too safe” for me.
- Kate is very solid here, and this commentary is getting better. Her whole “look who’s there” disses about fellow candidates are cracking me up.
- Very dumb-but-funny salad joke from Che.
- Loved the Vatican gossip joke. Che’s “did you hear what happened to those altar boys?!” made me laugh out loud.
- Yes! Love the return of Opera Man. One of my personal favorite SNL characters, and, my favorite thing Adam ever did, on SNL and outside of it.
- The usual very funny & catchy lyrics from Operaman. Standing to me the most here are the Game of Thrones lyrics (so, so accurate), the basketball one (sorry, only familiar with Draymond) and the memorable “Here we go again!” about Bernie vs. Biden
Rating: ****
Last Call
Sheila Sauvage has a nauseating threesome with (ADS) & wife (KRW)
- Great to see this excellent recurring sketch back. Sadly, this ends up being its final installment, despite Kate staying three more seasons.
- Loved the “I’m not driving” line from Kate, complete with her showing off her leg brace. Her April shower line afterwards was just as good.
- Kenan’s reporting two new viruses comes off rather…. interesting considering a certain pandemic we would face less than a year after this episode aired.
- Kristen’s tanned look is great, and she is very fitting for this sketch’s style. Her being Adam’s wife & asking if Kate, their “third,” is a human was excellent and deserved a better reaction from the audience.
- I loved the double 69 & 7/11 lines, which always have been my favorites from this still-solid sketch.
Rating: ***1/2
Musical Performance – “In My Blood”
Chris Farley Song
ADS plays guitar & sings a tribute to his friend CHF
- Man, just what to say here?! A wonderful tribute to the legendary Chris Farley from Adam. It is always powerful when SNL echoes its past in such a way, in no vanity or self-indulgence, but remembrance and appreciation.
- For now, I’ll stop typing and enjoy this heartfelt, fun and genuine song celebrating this legend and hope, for now, not to tear up before it ends.
Rating: N/A
Cut For Time: Chad’s Journey
in the Afterlife, Chad (PED) meets dad (ADS)
- I was never too big on this character as you all know, but I am a bit surprised it was cut from the live show. None of the sketches seemed too long to me, unless Weekend Update was longer than usual for this short to be cut from the air.
- OK, I got a solid laugh from Chad’s home suddenly exploding from a microwave accident.
- Mikey is a gorgeous man, but when they try to make him look younger than he is, he comes off ancient. He is still good as the angel in this, and I always enjoy his straight man work, particularly when it doesn’t go to explaining/reacting.
- The dynamic between Pete & Adam is very well done here, though the typical Chad antics and turns feel tired, but not as usual. I do love Mikey’s performance as the angel. It somewhat reminds me of the great sketch he’d do with Adam Driver in a renaissance fair setting next season.
Rating: **1/2
Goodnights
- Man, it is truly a scene watching so many of the cast emotional after the Chris Farley tribute ended. It is a fitting ending to this episode seeing such special displays of emotions rarely seen in these goodnights of late.
Segments Ranked From Best to Worst
Romano Tours
Rectix
Monologue
Weekend Update
Sandler Family Reunion / Last Call (tie)
Snapchat Filter
Holes
CFT: Chad’s Journey
Family Feud: Game of Thrones vs. The Avengers
Final Thoughts:
- A solid and special-feeling episode. Not counting the cold open, this episode ranged from good-to-classic, especially a very strong string of sketches from Romano Tours till Last Call and concluding with the heartfelt and wonderful tribute to Chris Farley. Adam Sandler impressed me by being such a fun and game host and almost never relying on his well-known antics, and, when he actually did them, it worked very well in the context of the pieces they were in. I remain surprised he has to host again, after how successful an episode this was (and Eddie Murphy, too).
My Favorite Moments of the Episode, Represented with Screencaps:
Up Next:
- Emma Thompson finally hosts after dropping out 25 seasons ago.
My full set of screencaps from this episode is here
Great review as per usual Blood!
As someone who cannot stand Sandler’s style of humor (despite him, by all accounts, being a lovely guy offscreen), this turned out MUCH better than I would have expected. Sandler has clearly matured a lot and just seemed happy to be there and up for anything.
As juvenile as the Rectix short is, Adam and Beck both make it work thanks to their delivery. I like how Adam goes for an affable, laid back middle aged dad sort of vibe which is a good contrast to the scatological humor. Love that you highlighted this as a particularly strong sketch for Beck, as he always excels at these “progressively disgusted/outraged straight man” roles and this is easily one of the finest examples of it.
Romano Tours is, I agree, the strongest sketch of the night and a perfect vehicle for Adam. It’s a great relatable premise, executed well, and Adam’s delivery really help to sell the whole thing. Nothing much else to say, just a great sketch, helped by a particularly hot crowd.
I’ve never been too crazy on the whole Snapchat Filter sketch, although reading your review makes me realize it’s a pretty harmless little sketch and has some fun performances (Adam, once again, sells it well especially). I still get a little too much of a desperate “how do you do fellow kids?” vibe from this sketch to truly enjoy it, but it’s certainly far from the worst of these types of sketches.
The Sandler Family Reunion sketch is pretty fun and enjoyable, even though I generally can’t stand Sandler’s filmography. The cameos aren’t too distracting and both Kristen and Jimmy get plenty of laughs out of their parts. I agree that Pete is terrific as Little Nicky, though I’m a little surprised you didn’t highlight Melissa’s Bobby Boucher impression. It’s truly fantastic and even made both Adam and Kyle (!) crack up briefly. Obviously Melissa is a god tier impressionist so it’s little surprise she knocked this out of the park, but it’s still amazing how truly uncanny her impressions are.
As for that Chris Farley tribute…man! Talk about insanely powerful and emotional. As I’ve discussed before, I’ve never been the biggest Farley or Sandler fan and consider both to be rather overrated cast members. But all that being said, their friendship was so wholesome and it’s such a classy move on Adam’s part to dedicate an entire sketch slot as a tribute to his departed friend. The part about wishing Farley were still here and they were getting ready to shoot Grown Ups 3 is just so moving especially. At the end of the day, most of Sandler’s films are just excuses to hang out with his friends and have fun in some exotic locale. And you know what? Good for him! It may not be my personal cup of tea, but he’s living the dream and doing what he loves. And what could be better than that? Seeing the emotion on the cast members’ faces is the cherry on top. You can just tell that the whole group is like a family, even if obviously some are closer than others. Not much else to say except if this piece doesn’t get you emotional, you aren’t human!
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’d love to have Adam back as host. He clearly loves the show and the people there (his bit about getting to know this cast in the goodnights is just so wholesome) and is up for any and everything the writers throw at him. His warmth and commitment is a huge reason this episode was as good as it was, and it’s always great to see a cast member who departed the show under less than ideal circumstances do a triumphant return and be greeted with open arms (much like Eddie Murphy next season).
Thanks as always.
I have enjoyed Sandler’s work as a cast member more on rewatches (at the time I couldn’t stand him and avoided most of his films as a result), and this episode manages to get across his better points without trading on the worst (like just relying on annoying voices and shouting). SNL and nostalgia are huge double-edged swords, but Sandler gets the tone just right in paying respect to the past without being maudlin or desperate. The Farley tribute and the monologue are both very powerful in their own ways.
I remember Kate saying she wanted to have one more Last Call when she left, involving the whole cast, but I’m not surprised that didn’t happen. I do consider the good sketch with Nick Jonas to be in the Last Call universe, just a COVID version.
I remember some fans getting upset claiming Kristen was wearing brownface. Overall, this is one of Kristen’s better cameo nights, along with her cameos in Forte’s disheartening episode.
There was a lot of anger over the Holes pre-tape and even some claims it ruined the episode. It’s nothing fantastic but I do enjoy it, and it’s not too far off the world Sandler lived in during his time (I’m sure he loved doing the fake guitar solo). And this is one of the very very few pre-tapes Beck and Kyle get on together in their last seasons.
Romano Tours, the Monologue, and the Chris Farley song are all sketches I enjoy coming back to on Youtube because of how enjoyable they are.
I will say in the context of Adam Sandler hosting, I enjoyed the Snapchat episode. Even if it was a repeat premise ,its the most memorable