S46.E08: Timothee Chalamet / Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

[cambridgeguy]

So is this the first time Kate's impersonated a male who's actually respected?  I always thought she did Sessions/Rudy/Graham to annoy Trump, not because she's the only one in the cast who can pull it off. 

Sooner or later Biden and Harris are going to have to come back so I wonder if Lorne's hashing out the details with Carrey/Maya, or if the current cast are planning to give it a go.  We know accuracy isn't necessary (Sudeikis just talked loudly as Biden and Armisen stopped trying to sound like Obama).

[Tachi Rocinante]

39 minutes ago, Fostersmom said:

He was hit, or hit, I can't remember which, Lightening McQueen.... the "character" in the Disney animated movie Cars at Disney world.  

I took it as someone dressed up like Lightning McQueen punched him, ergo "being hit by a car".

Never liked Springsteen, and this did nothing to change my mind.  It's really something to make four (4!!) guitars sound lamer than one. Little Steven is useless.

"I see corn!"
"That's a marshmallow!"

[Pete Martell]

37 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

So is this the first time Kate's impersonated a male who's actually respected?  I always thought she did Sessions/Rudy/Graham to annoy Trump, not because she's the only one in the cast who can pull it off. 

Sooner or later Biden and Harris are going to have to come back so I wonder if Lorne's hashing out the details with Carrey/Maya, or if the current cast are planning to give it a go.  We know accuracy isn't necessary (Sudeikis just talked loudly as Biden and Armisen stopped trying to sound like Obama).

She briefly impersonated Mueller. That was probably for the same reason though.

There's no real reason to show Harris as she isn't doing a lot (the VP rarely does), but I wouldn't be surprised if they try to get Maya back to work with Kristen on SNL again (it was Kristen who helped convince Maya to play Harris, I believe). I guess we will probably be seeing Carrey again too for the Christmas show, but there isn't much need to show Biden at present so if they decide not to I don't know if anyone would be bothered.

Edited December 13, 2020 by Pete Martell

[madpsych78]

I didn't realize the real Birx was taller than Fauci but it's true! She's actually about the same height as Pence, who knew. 

I think Heidi was able to pull off Birx better than she pulled off Jill Biden. That one should have gone to Chloe.

I think one of the better impressions that is not on enough is Beck's Mitch McConnell. 

Although the Rona sketch may have been bordering on too soon, I would totally be up for a spinoff sketch featuring Oral and Genital ("call me Jen!") Herpes.

Edited December 13, 2020 by madpsych78

[jschoolgirl]

14 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

The audience wasn't booing Bruce Springsteen, they were sayin "boo-urns"! "Boo-urns"!

They were crying Bruuuuuce! Bruuuuuuuce!

[Blakeston]

What about the Lexus ad made it more product-placement-ish than other SNL fake ads?

They were mocking Lexus's "December to remember" slogan, and their "buy a vehicle as a gift with a big red bow on it" thing, so it's not like it was particularly complimentary.

[rmontro]

Thought this was a pretty strong episode.  I had no idea who Timothee Chalamet was, but he did a good job.  Good idea to get more young people involved, probably.  

Tiny Horse wasn't really funny, but I thought it was cute.  The horse, not the sketch.

Fairly weak installment of the Baking Championship sketch.  I don't find Kate's Dr. Weknowdis very amusing, but at least she does.

Dionne Warwick and the Rap Roundtable were pretty strong.

Glad to see the politics dialed back a notch.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

I got the feeling it was meant to show Dionne being out of touch.

Which doesn't work for me given what premised that skit. Dionne knew exactly what she was doing last week when she was lighting those little fires on Twitter. If it were someone less famous than she I think they'd be accused of clout chasing but that really doesn't work on her given her legendary status in the music industry over many decades.

There must be better ways for Dionne to try to stay relevant than starting social media nonsense with guys nearly young enough to be her great-grandchildren. This tactic unfortunately is making her look silly to a lot of people and I doubt that's what she was going for. But maybe she'll be a recurring character on SNL now.

[possibilities]

It's certainly possible Chalomet was booked far in advance, to promote his project which was then delayed, but I was thinking he had been  booked because he lives in NY. Less travel, less quarantine, safer, easier. 

The thing I enjoy about Bruce is how much other people enjoy him. To me, he sounds like Bob Dylan with a mouth full of novacaine and a too-loud band. I can never tell what he's singing about, and I prefer not to have to look up the lyrics in order to follow a sing. But the way other people just LOVE him is kind of contagious. I enjoy the general aura of joy that he inspires, even if I don't understand it.

I think if you've seen Warwick's recent tweets, that helps with he enjoyment of the sketch about her. They captured the spirit, which I think is not so much that she's out of touch as that she's able to cut through the general mood and ask things that probably should have been asked a long time ago, and because she's an icon, people she calls out or throws shade at actually feel honored by her even speaking to them. Chance The Rapper exemplifies this dynamic with her. Rather than feeling like she's disrespectful or clueless, he was thrilled she knew who he was.

 

 

[JZL]

5 minutes ago, possibilities said:

The thing I enjoy about Bruce is how much other people enjoy him. To me, he sounds like Bob Dylan with a mouth full of novacaine and a too-loud band. I can never tell what he's singing about, and I prefer not to have to look up the lyrics in order to follow a sing. But the way other people just LOVE him is kind of contagious. I enjoy the general aura of joy that he inspires, even if I don't understand it.

 

 

 

Same here.  His music is OK, but I'd definitely go to a show if reasonable because everyone would be having a great time.

I loved this episode, except for WU.  Kate's male characters are becoming one-dimensional and silly, and unfortunately, that's about all she's doing anymore.

The virus sketch was a once-in-a-lifetime (we hope) opportunity for some great gallows humor, and the herpes and Spanish flu bits added nice twists.  I don't give a flying fahew about Dionne Warwick's tweets, but the sketch was creative and funny regardless, and props to Ego's singing.  The cake sketch always gets me and the "I see corn!" "That's a marshmallow!" exchange was top-shelf scatological humor.

[Ms Blue Jay]

20 hours ago, saoirse said:

Oh, yes! The Dionne Warwick sketch has been the best of the night so far. Sending Machine Gun Kelly away was GREAT! 

I loved the Dionne sketch.

For me this was a huge improvement over the Bateman show which I thought was a nightmare!

[Pete Martell]

4 hours ago, Blakeston said:

What about the Lexus ad made it more product-placement-ish than other SNL fake ads?

They were mocking Lexus's "December to remember" slogan, and their "buy a vehicle as a gift with a big red bow on it" thing, so it's not like it was particularly complimentary.

I think it was the name of the car being prominently mentioned/displayed that might set some off. 

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

I think if you've seen Warwick's recent tweets, that helps with he enjoyment of the sketch about her. They captured the spirit, which I think is not so much that she's out of touch as that she's able to cut through the general mood and ask things that probably should have been asked a long time ago, and because she's an icon, people she calls out or throws shade at actually feel honored by her even speaking to them. Chance The Rapper exemplifies this dynamic with her. Rather than feeling like she's disrespectful or clueless, he was thrilled she knew who he was.

I think there were a few bits they could have trimmed that would have gotten this across even more, but overall I thought it was a decent enough way to showcase her recent Twitter spree while giving other cast members a chance to (briefly) shine. 

Dionne seems to have liked it, which is good.

https://people.com/music/dionne-warwick-reacts-snl-parody-ego-nwodim/

[heatherchandler]

6 hours ago, jschoolgirl said:

They were crying Bruuuuuce! Bruuuuuuuce!

@Galileo908 

Edited December 14, 2020 by heatherchandler

[SHD]

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

The thing I enjoy about Bruce is how much other people enjoy him. To me, he sounds like Bob Dylan with a mouth full of novacaine and a too-loud band. I can never tell what he's singing about, and I prefer not to have to look up the lyrics in order to follow a sing. But the way other people just LOVE him is kind of contagious. I enjoy the general aura of joy that he inspires, even if I don't understand it.

This is a really lovely view for a non-fan to take. It’s great that you can take joy in the joy he brings to others.

I never really knew so many people had trouble understanding so much of his singing. Certainly I’m not 100% on his lyrics, though. I’m sure I’ve been singing some incorrect lyrics for 30 years, same with Elvis Costello songs. And I kind of don’t care - ha ha.

[ahisma]

3 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

 

Quote

I got the feeling it was meant to show Dionne being out of touch.

Which doesn't work for me given what premised that skit. Dionne knew exactly what she was doing last week when she was lighting those little fires on Twitter. 

I think what the sketch was getting at was that most of Twitter was saying that Dionne can’t possibly be that in touch with Twitter to be that on point, so who’s running her account? (And between Dionne’s video and her niece’s appearance on a podcast, it’s still not 100% clear how much is her and how much is her niece.) SNL just leaned more into the “out of touch” angle, as it’s funnier. 

[Winston Wolfe]

22 hours ago, Arkay said:

. I know he didn't want to do it but after the year we've had, I wanted the fun of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." Just the way they do it would have have been a nice endcap for the year. 

To me the Christmas Season doesn't really start until I hear that tune - and Kenny Loggins' Celebrate Me Home. Good stuff.

[vb68]

11 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

I thought Heidi was good as Dr. Birx - the fact that she didn't do much kind of sold the (exaggerated) point that lots of people love, respect and listen to Dr. Fauci, but Dr. Birx, not so much. And Chloe could have done a fine job, too, but they would have lost the slight visual humor (and accuracy) of Birx towering over Fauci.

I re-watched the sketch and see your point. It was all about the comparison. I didn't like the sketch in general, and that probably affected how I saw Heidi's impression. I was just thinking that Chloe would have worked out the finer points of it. I never thought about the height difference, and had never noticed it.

 

11 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

 I suppose I'd rather Pete go on a high, rather than staying because he feels obligated (I'm not saying you are saying he feels obligated - I mean last season, he seemed to hate doing the show and basically said he was only staying because of loyalty to Lorne). I see your point though.

I certainly understand wanting Pete to leave on a high note. Heck I hope everyone gets that. As to his sense of obligation, who's to say?  I mean, I think it's obvious things have vastly improved since last season with him, and he seems in a much better place mentally.  Now it's also true he's in much higher demand for acting jobs and such. That could be a factor.

 

Quote

Same here.  His music is OK, but I'd definitely go to a show if reasonable because everyone would be having a great time.

The concerts are absolutely thrilling. And yeah, everyone is on cloud nine. I don't think you have to know much of the lyrics to get into it. I certainly don't even know every song. One funny incident I saw was when Bruce wanted a beer, and someone in the front row gave him one.  But it had an orange floating in it. He probably stared at it for a good 30 seconds, and then flicked it out while shaking his head.  Everyone laughed at once. 

Edited December 14, 2020 by vb68

[Arkay]

The Bruce of SNL is not the Bruce of his concerts. He's an arena guy who chews up the stage, clowns with his band, interacts with the audience over a four-hour, high energy show, and is too confined on the SNL stage. He's also, in my opinion, a brilliant lyricist and musician. If all I knew of him was this episode of SNL, I wouldn't get it, either.

Of course he wasn't playing arenas at the beginning of his career, but that energy was always there. I just rewatched Born to Run, Rosalita and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. The loss of the great Clarence Clemons is hard to overcome, although his nephew played the sax well. But it's all about the energy and interaction of Bruce, the band and audience that make his shows into such events. 

Edited December 14, 2020 by Arkay

[chediavolo]

On 12/13/2020 at 2:53 AM, madpsych78 said:

The Cartman/Bill Barr connection was cute, but whenever I see Bill Barr I just see Baby Sinclair from Dinosaurs. At least in looks.

 

The Dionne Warwick sketch killed and that needs to be recurring.

At first I thought people were booing for Bruce Springsteen because the sound sucked, especially on the first song. That sax also seemed out of tune with everyone else. The second song went better but still people were booing. 

 

They were not booing. They were chanting “Bruce”. Always happens at his concerts. 

[chediavolo]

16 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

That Rona skit. Yeah, might've been too soon. But I laughed at "call me Jen."

The Lexus product placement was on target IMO. Every time I see the commercial where the guy has bought two trucks and his wife takes the bigger one I can't roll my eyes hard enough. I think that company (which is not Lexus) is basically calling tens of millions of people--many of whom can barely afford to eat or may be homeless soon--losers because they can't buy a brand new gigantic vehicle right now, much less two at once. Ugh.

UO apparently but that was not a great Dionne Warwick impression IMO. But the impression wasn't the point I suppose. Now if they could work in a Patti LaBelle character it could get interesting to me.

I think Bruce Springsteen has had great work done on his face. He doesn't look like he's aged much at all. I barely recognized Steve Van Zandt though. I've never really been a fan of Springsteen but oddly enough I do have one of Patti Scialfa's CDs.

He has aged. He just keeps in great shape. His wife always looked decent  too but it looks like the dreaded menopause weight gain got her too! 

[Peace 47]

The audience gave no love to the Weekend Update joke Che told about how the election lawsuit plan was so crazy, Texas just had to execute it.  I always respect biting, vicious jokes like that.  Dr. Weknowdis burned all my goodwill towards WU, though.  It’s like Garth and Kat levels of annoyance for me.
 

I thought Rona family Christmas was very clever, and it was my favorite sketch of the night.  It was just one zinger after another.

I see upthread that people on Twitter were getting into it with Streeter Siedel for Lexus product placement in the “December to Remember” ad?  I don’t get it:  I remember a few years ago (maybe 3 or 4?) that the show actually acknowledged that it would be writing some sketches around advertisers.  There was an article in some trade publication (Variety, THR, something like that) about it, and I think someone posted it here, but I can’t find the article with light Googling now.  The trade off was that the commercial breaks were going to be shorter.  It was supposed to be a way to keep advertising value in the age of DVRs.  There was a Microsoft “robot” sketch that fell under this umbrella.  Unless the show has repudiated that strategy (or unless Lexus wasn’t part of that program), I don’t get why anyone associated with the show would deny it here.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Peace 47

[peeayebee]

I don't mind product placement as long as the sketch works. This Lexus sketch was funny and was well-written and acted. Like you said, Peace 47, with DVRs and online viewing, revenue raising has to be creative.

[lovinbob]

 

On 12/13/2020 at 2:53 AM, madpsych78 said:

The Dionne Warwick sketch killed and that needs to be recurring.

 

This reminded me of the SNL of my youth (80s and early 90s)--the kind of sketch Nora Dunn and Jan Hooks would do. Loved it. 

[Winston Wolfe]

On 12/13/2020 at 12:19 AM, freddi said:

Loved Bruce.  But yikes, that was a lot of close singing without masks.  

Bruce and Little Stevie have been doing that for decades (literally), it's probably impossible for them to stop at this point. My guess is, they all spend so much time together, if they were going to give each other Covid, it's probably happened already.

[BusyOctober]

Thank God the SNL show runners and writers finally figured out how to be funny (-ish) again. All they had to do was tell Alec Baldwin and Jim Carey to stay the F home.  

[Peace 47]

Regarding all this talk about in-episode advertising, I am reminded of Jack’s quote from 30 Rock, reacting to the writers objecting to product placement:  “Oh, Oh I’m sorry. That’s right, they’re artists, like James Joyce, or Strindberg. Get real kids, you write skits mocking our president to fill time between car commercials.“

I don’t have really strong feelings about this entirely separate point, but this is something else that had me thinking a bit about the episode.  I wondered if this occurred to anyone else, although let me stipulate that I don’t “cancel” the cold open over this or care all that much, but I wondered if this thought occurred to anyone else.  In the cold open, there was the slam on Birx passively sitting there while Trump speculated about injecting disinfectants, while Fauci got truth-telling credit and was only ribbed for not being able to throw a baseball.

They are both highly esteemed doctors, expert in their fields, who provided valuable guidance in a time of crisis, who both seemed to make a few (in my opinion, unfortunate) compromises during this pandemic:  Birx with her disinfectant reaction and Fauci reacting to the Woodward-Trump tapes by saying in an interview that Trump hadn’t said anything publicly at odds with task force recommendations in an attempted ... defense(? Not sure what his motives were) of Trump/ the task force after the tapes were released.  So in light of that, for me, the cold open had a twinge of cultural misogyny to it in celebrating the man and painting the woman as ineffective.  I took issue with this, too, in Dave Chappelle’s monologue joke from the other week when he said Birx’s disinfectant reaction was evidence of why women were paid less, which is why it stood out here.  If the cold open had been a little funnier, I probably wouldn’t have gone into deep thoughts about it, haha.  And I know Fauci was more of a public face to explain the situation to the general public, so I get his popularity versus Birx, too.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Peace 47

[Cornhusker12]

7 hours ago, Peace 47 said:

Dr. Weknowdis burned all my goodwill towards WU, though.  It’s like Garth and Kat levels of annoyance for me.

Absolutely. At this point McKinnon unfortunately annoys me more than any other cast member I can remember. She is talented but I'm praying she finally moves on after this season.

[SHD]

54 minutes ago, Cornhusker12 said:

Absolutely. At this point McKinnon unfortunately annoys me more than any other cast member I can remember. She is talented but I'm praying she finally moves on after this season.

Yes to this. She’s extremely talented, but she’s getting the “put her in everything” Wiig treatment, and with such a huge cast, it’s frustrating. 

[SHD]

8 hours ago, Peace 47 said:

The audience gave no love to the Weekend Update joke Che told about how the election lawsuit plan was so crazy, Texas just had to execute it.  I always respect biting, vicious jokes like that.  Dr. Weknowdis burned all my goodwill towards WU, though.  It’s like Garth and Kat levels of annoyance for me.

I loved that WU joke and that whole vibe they have. Another similar joke was when Che did the story about the 100+ year old woman who survived the Spanish flu pandemic and the current one, after which he said something like “But she was no match for my car.”

Edited December 14, 2020 by SHD

[juno]

5 hours ago, SHD said:

I loved that WU joke and that whole vibe they have. Another similar joke was when Che did the story about the 100+ year old woman who survived the Spanish flu pandemic and the current one, after which he said something like “But she was no match for my car.”

That joke had me in tears. I am not sure why...It was both compassionate and mean and made me laugh so hard I was crying.

[Phishbulb]

On 12/13/2020 at 1:50 AM, Arkay said:

Love Bruce and have been to many of his shows. I know he didn't want to do it but after the year we've had, I wanted the fun of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." Just the way they do it would have have been a nice endcap for the year. 

He did it with the band when they were the musical guest on the Christmas episode in 2015 when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted. So maybe they figured they didn't want to do it again so soon (ish). 

I wonder if Dua Lipa will do anything Christmassy this week. It's also possible it might be Kate's last episode, so she might get a musical sendoff as well. 

Edited December 15, 2020 by Phishbulb

[Cornhusker12]

On 12/14/2020 at 3:27 PM, SHD said:

she’s getting the “put her in everything” Wiig treatment, and with such a huge cast, it’s frustrating. 

Yup, and she's gotten that treatment for at least 4 years now, it's unreal.

Edited December 16, 2020 by Cornhusker12

[Pete Martell]

Ratings (household only):

https://www.showbiz411.com/2020/12/17/bruce-springsteen-e-street-band-saturday-night-live-with-timothee-chalamet-scores-72-5-higher-than-last-years-episode-same-week

Dolly Parton responds to Melissa's impression.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/9500382/dolly-parton-melissa-villasenor-snl-impression/

On 12/14/2020 at 8:25 AM, Peace 47 said:

I see upthread that people on Twitter were getting into it with Streeter Siedel for Lexus product placement in the “December to Remember” ad?  I don’t get it:  I remember a few years ago (maybe 3 or 4?) that the show actually acknowledged that it would be writing some sketches around advertisers.  There was an article in some trade publication (Variety, THR, something like that) about it, and I think someone posted it here, but I can’t find the article with light Googling now.  The trade off was that the commercial breaks were going to be shorter.  It was supposed to be a way to keep advertising value in the age of DVRs.  There was a Microsoft “robot” sketch that fell under this umbrella.  Unless the show has repudiated that strategy (or unless Lexus wasn’t part of that program), I don’t get why anyone associated with the show would deny it here.

I think last year Streeter said the deal didn't go through, or it may have just one time (there's a fast food sketch in season 42 that has big product placement vibes). He's said that the more recent sketches just use product names because they fit the sketch, in so many words. Some didn't believe that and felt that NBC must still be getting something even if the writers aren't (Streeter said he wasn't, I believe). 

I do think in many cases they are just using the name to add to the humor, but I did wonder when I saw Lexus up on the screen in big letters.

[possibilities]

Dolly Parton is such a gracious, delightful  human being. I love her response to Melissa's impression.

[Jody]

On 12/12/2020 at 10:55 PM, vb68 said:

The Rona Christmas sketch was so bizarre. 

         I Thought the Corona Virus Sketch was even Funnier Tonight than the First Time I watched that !

On 12/13/2020 at 2:27 AM, Irlandesa said:

He is also starring in the new Dune which was supposed to come out around this time but was bumped to next year.  It kind of makes me wonder how far in advance some of these shows were booked.  And for people who don't watch movies but do watch TV, he was in the second season of Homeland as the VP's son.

Anyway, I did like the episode tonight.  It felt like there were a lot of sketches and, for the most part, they were pretty economical. 

A Corona Family Christmas was silly and pun after pun but it made me laugh. 

Tiny Horses was bizarre and didn't make me laugh much but it was structured and acted so well--even that tiny horse gave all he had--that it unexpectedly made me a little emotional.  I did not want to feel emotional.

I loved the Lexus Commercial.  I especially loved the bit where it's revealed Alex got an earring to impress Timothee's girlfriend.  It's that kind of detail that just screams what a loser he is. 

Ego's Dionne impression was terrific, especially when she was singing. 

I know a lot of people have made jokes about "mysterious dumps of points" on Twitter during sports games but I did like how SNL built it into the Sportsmax sketch. 

I have to give props to the fake punches thrown tonight in the episode.  They looked quite real. 

Now that he's in 30 Rock with Seth's show, I did wonder if wanted to get his hands on any part of the show. 

       IF Alex was supposed to be the Neighbor that Beck Owned Money to, I Think That Was Mikey Day ! I Don't Think Alex Moffat was in the Lexus Commercial !

On 12/13/2020 at 2:02 PM, Pete Martell said:

She briefly impersonated Mueller. That was probably for the same reason though.

There's no real reason to show Harris as she isn't doing a lot (the VP rarely does), but I wouldn't be surprised if they try to get Maya back to work with Kristen on SNL again (it was Kristen who helped convince Maya to play Harris, I believe). I guess we will probably be seeing Carrey again too for the Christmas show, but there isn't much need to show Biden at present so if they decide not to I don't know if anyone would be bothered.

        Hello Pete. Now, There Will Be A New Episode On January 30 So We Don't have to Watch Kristen again ! Actually, I Think I Found Out From You About Next Saturday !

On 12/14/2020 at 7:25 AM, Peace 47 said:

The audience gave no love to the Weekend Update joke Che told about how the election lawsuit plan was so crazy, Texas just had to execute it.  I always respect biting, vicious jokes like that.  Dr. Weknowdis burned all my goodwill towards WU, though.  It’s like Garth and Kat levels of annoyance for me.
 

I thought Rona family Christmas was very clever, and it was my favorite sketch of the night.  It was just one zinger after another.

I see upthread that people on Twitter were getting into it with Streeter Siedel for Lexus product placement in the “December to Remember” ad?  I don’t get it:  I remember a few years ago (maybe 3 or 4?) that the show actually acknowledged that it would be writing some sketches around advertisers.  There was an article in some trade publication (Variety, THR, something like that) about it, and I think someone posted it here, but I can’t find the article with light Googling now.  The trade off was that the commercial breaks were going to be shorter.  It was supposed to be a way to keep advertising value in the age of DVRs.  There was a Microsoft “robot” sketch that fell under this umbrella.  Unless the show has repudiated that strategy (or unless Lexus wasn’t part of that program), I don’t get why anyone associated with the show would deny it here.

      Hello Peace. The Corona Virus Sketch IS Also MY Favorite Sketch ! I Also Thought IT Was Very Clever And I Thought IT Was THE Funniest Sketch On The Show !