S41.E06: Matthew McConaughey / Adele

[formerlyfreedom]

Matthew McConaughey hosts; musical guest Adele.

 

 

 

[Primetimer]

Are we still doing 'time is a flat circle'?

Read the story

[Traveller519]

Odds it's a singing monologue? I'm going about 68%

[VCRTracking]

[LADreamr]

Any word yet what songs she's doing? There's a lot to choose from on the new album.

[The Crazed Spruce]

I'm betting his monologue will be him trying to play off being left off of People's Sexiest Men list, but being secretly bitter about it.

[VCRTracking]

 

Any word yet what songs she's doing? There's a lot to choose from on the new album.

 

I definitely think "Hello" has to be one of them. I hope the second is "When We Were Young".

 

As for Matthew McConaughey I hope gets to play Wooderson from Dazed and Confused like he did last time.

Edited November 21, 2015 by VCRTracking

[LADreamr]

Yeah, I think "Home" is a given, too. Kinda hoping for "Million Years Ago" as the second one. That one has really stayed with me.

[opus]

Is MM still required by law to say "Alright, alright, alright"?

[prican58]

Forgot Adele was on tonight and I just caught her singing Hello. Can I just say she is just beautiful! And I really like the dress on her. 

[Galileo908]

Cold Open: Here's Fox & Friends to tackle the refugee crisis and of course it's so stupid and hilarious at how stupid they all are. "All Fridays matter" really seems like something they'd say. And Jay as Present  Ben Carson was much better this time around. And was this the first Fox & Friends sketch that didn't end with the long list of corrections?

Monologue: Seriously, the last time Matthew McConaughey hosted was 2001? And kudos on him for actually giving a monologue! When was the last time THAT happened? Especially when the host wasn't a comic?

 

Adele Thanksgiving: They nailed awkward family conversation so much here, it hit so close to home. Everyone singing to "Hello" to break the tension was absolutely fantastic. This one is going in my "best ever" list, I am serious. I did NOT want this to end.

 

Blues: This sketch was the exact opposite of that Laser Harp sketch from the Episode That Shall Not Be Named. I rather enjoyed the First World Problem Blues. Yeah, McConaughey's blues wasn't as deep, but he really sold the hell out of it.

 

3D Printed Human: Loved this one, McConaughey really sold "fake human" really well. His resting face was just hilarious. "Every single one of the bananas."

 

Star Wars Screen Tests: Yes! A new version of this sketch! This one had the actual actors! This one had some big shoes to fill (ie, the one with Kevin Pollack as Christoper Walken as Han Solo) but I deem this one a worthy successor. Loved Bobby as George Lucas, and then Danny DeVito as BB-8. Hell, J.J. Abrams, Michael Buble, Jon Hamm, the actual SW actors, AND Jay as That Guy From The Fifth Element were in this? Amazing.

 

WU: Really liked that back and forth on immigration. It could've gone on longer, but I liked it nonetheless. If I remember right, Vanessa Bayer's character used to run her own summer camp for child actors. But man, was her character funny. "Speaking of boys: Jared Fogle!"

 

Loved that Thanksgiving exchange, Colin's joke really would be lame while Michael's was a shot at Colin. Che really couldn't keep it together tonight, could he?

 

Even the David Ortiz bit was great. I don't know what was better: "Ships: It's like a plane but bad!" or "Smidgeon of Pigeon."

 

Should you Chime In On This?: Self-explanatory good sketch. It's Real Life Facebook Statuses: The Game Show. Again, this one really hit close to home. I love how the host has clear contempt for the contestants and none of them care. Aidy seems to be based on that middle-aged woman that vowed to destroy ISIS herself. And the final round with a special guest you shouldn't chime in on? Hillary Clinton. That turned this good sketch into a great sketch.

 

Right Side of The Bed: McConaughey really sold the hell out of his character. He really made this one work. And Kate as Ed Sheeran was something I didn't know I needed.

 

High Speed Rail: McConaughey really made this sketch. I have a feeling that this wouldn't have worked if anyone else was in his role.

 

Best of the season so far, easily. Seriously, every single sketch was great. The last two sketches were just okay, but McConaughey is just that great of an actor.

 

You know what's weird? Cecily looked a lot like Jenna Coleman from Doctor Who in this one tonight. Which

is pretty jarring considering what happened on tonight's episode.

Edited November 22, 2015 by stacey
Spoiler tag for another show

[vb68]

I'm a little surprised, though not entirely sure why, but McConaughey was a damned good host.  Pretty fantastic, actually.  He was into it and sure seemed like it meant something to be back there after all this time.  I've said it before, but that's all you need in a host.  And I don't even think he was promoting anything.  Keep on living, Matt.  I do hope you come back again.

 

Really enjoyed the whole thing.  Agree the Thanksgiving-Adele short is an instant classic.  And Update was on fire tonight.

 

And of course, Adele is more awesome than words could ever convey.

 

This one is staying on my DVR. 

Edited November 22, 2015 by vb68

[helenamonster]

Cold Open: Didn't they already use this for a cold open this season? The Amy Schumer ep I think? And they didn't even include the list of corrections which is THE BEST PART. I do enjoy Jay's Ben Carson though.

 

Monologue: I've already heard him tell this story. Next.

 

Hello: Jesus FUCKING Christ I was laughing so goddamn hard. I would have been fine with it just be a sketch about old family members being intolerably ignorant of current social issues (there was a recent sketch on Inside Amy Schumer that dealt with that) but then it turned into that and I was just like YES. Aidy getting bowled over by the wind. I laughed all the way into the commercial break.

 

Charlie's Blues Shack: Meh, it was ok.

 

3D Bio Print: I didn't really start laughing until Matthew started walking, that got a few chuckles.

 

Star Wars: Gah, I love these! And damn at all the real stars they got to be in it. Jon Hamm! My husband! And Emma Stone was hilarious. "I hear this movie is looking to be more diverse. I have experience playing Asian American characters."

 

Weekend Update: "Speaking of boys: Jared Fogle!" I died.

 

Should You Chime in on This?: I mean, the sketch just kind of made the same point over and over again, ignorant people talking about things they have no business talking about.

 

Right Side of the Bed: This sketch is getting stale, but I appreciate that they always end it with a cut to Kate playing a bearded male musician.

 

Amtrak: Meh.

 

A lot of it wasn't really that strong but I got enough good laughs in to enjoy it overall.

 

Adele, though. I remember her being on this show all the way back in 2008. They cut to her during the commercial break and I very clearly remember my dad saying, "That poor girl looks terrified." And she did, like she was about to puke. And then she just killed with "Chasing Pavements." And seeing her now, so confident and on top of the world and breaking records left and right...it's fantastic. I loved that little face she made at the end of "Hello." She's a delight. And her talent goes without saying. Damn. I love her so much.

Edited November 22, 2015 by helenamonster

[LADreamr]

I won't be able to see it for a while. What songs did she do?

[DrScottie]

"Hello" and "When We Were Young"

[VCRTracking]

The Adele Thanksgiving sketch was my favorite of the night. When they started lip synching and then wearing the hair, coat, fingernails and eyelashes I was dying.

 

Loved the Star Wars sketch with JJ Abrams and the stars Daisy Ridley and John Boyega.  Bobby looked exactly like George Lucas! I like that Emma Stone is acknowledging the whole "Aloha" casting thing.

 

Adele was fantastic. "Hello" is a great song but I am freaking love "When We Were Young".

 

eta:
Here's Adele watching the "Hello" sketch backstage:

Edited November 22, 2015 by VCRTracking

[nowandlater]

McConaughey last hosted Feb. 8, 2003, which by my math isn't 14 years ago.

 

Also, he's told that "All right, all right, all right" story a million times, especially when he was on the Oscar circuit last year.

[Samsnee]

It was ok. Mcconaughey was ok since he seemed game for anything. But the jokes and skits have become predictable that unless the characters are great, it's not very funny.

Like you knew where the game show was going as soon as you heard the title. But none of the contestants were really that funny.

And the Star Wars skit was wasted. Apparently none of the cast besides Jay can do good impressions. I mean we couldn't have gotten a Denzel or Will Smith?

[lovinbob]

I laughed a lot. Wasn't expecting McConaughy to be good but he was, albeit in a different way than the typical good host (Hamm, Baldwin, etc).

Should I Chime In was funny and I did like the final round with Hillary but I was kind of hoping Adele would appear in that one and the contestants would be unable to resist singing along.

[vb68]

 

Also, he's told that "All right, all right, all right" story a million times, especially when he was on the Oscar circuit last year.

 

 

Still it's interesting that they treated him like they do stand ups.  I thought it showed confidence in him that they didn't feel the need to rush cast members out there to help him.  And hey it wasn't another singing monologue.   (I personally don't mind those, though.)

[absnow54]

One of MM's Lincoln commercials played at the start of one of the breaks and I was convinced it was a sketch till nearly the end of it. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for Jim Carey to show up.

[Princess Sparkle]

I didn't really have any expectations for MM (I couldn't tell you anything about the episode he hosted previously), but I thought he did a really great job. He clearly threw himself into it and sold what he was given. I couldn't stop laughing at his walk and dance in the 3D printed man sketch, and for whatever reason, the line "I like ALL of the bananas!" really tickled me. I also liked his (I assume) quick improv when he flubbed the beginning of his line in the turkey sketch, and his deadpan "my turkey fainted" made me laugh harder than it had any right to.

As others have mentioned, the "Hello" thanksgiving sketch was fantastic. All of them slowly morphing into Adele was great, and towards the end, Aidy looked so close to Adele that I actually thought they snuck Adele into the sketch.

I also have to give a little shout out to Kyle, because "Should I Chime In?" was a little weak to me, but the way he delivered "I'd like to call myself a political activist, but I can't, because I'm a waiter" killed me.

WU was great again this week. The refugee back and forth was strong, the Jared Fogle joke combined with Michael and Colin's reactions to the audience reaction was great ('how did you think that was going to end?' 'We thought it would be uplifting!'), and the David Ortiz bit had me giggling myself silly, especially the Smidgeon of Pigeon. Keenan's line about how sometimes you want the taste of pigeon, but don't want to eat the whole thing had me cackling. And usually, I'm not Vanessa's biggest fan, but her "HIV is when your body says 'Oh boy!'" was hysterical.

There was also something incredibly endearing about Colin cracking himself up at his Nazi pun, and then Michael laughing so hard at Colin delivering the "Michael joke" that he adlibbed to try and get himself together, but still kept laughing.

Edited November 22, 2015 by Princess Sparkle

[Ohwell]

MM was ok as host, the show was meh.  

 

Am I the only one in the world not in love with Adele?  I mean, she can sing but her songs just don't do anything for me.  I'll be glad when the hype dies down. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Matthew's really good at this.  Sometimes I couldn't even tell the difference between him and the cast.  He looked so much like one of the castmembers in that sketch he carried.  The monologue was boring as shit but I prefer it over singing.  Good for him.

 

The Adele sketch, and obviously Adele, are great and the obvious highlights.

 

I hated Adele's dress.  She's so beautiful and the outfit was a miss for me.

 

Thanks for reminding me about the Vanessa Bayer WU character.  I liked that.  

Edited November 22, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay

[DrivingSideways]

This was a horrible episode.  Adele was the only redeeming value.  MM's opening 'monologue' was boring and pointless - was there a more controversial or big budget monologue they had to scrap last minute?

 

I also thought the Should I Chime In segment was bad.  All of the people were white and being told that if they didn't conform with the 'right' opinion, they should just shut up.  Shades of the college students who want to trash the First Amendment.

 

Cecily Strong and Leslie Jones are stars... they nail everything they do.

[Bees]

Cold Open: This was okay. Would've been better with the corrections but it seems like they were stumped for time. Dammit, the corrections was the best part.

 

Monologue: This was pretty refreshing. A non-singing monologue involving an actor. I know they've been pretty good with non-singing monologues lately last week notwithstanding but I still worry. I hope (hope meaning I'm fairly sure that they'll have Ryan Gosling sing next episode) the next singing monologue isn't until the Christmas episode because I'd feel pretty shortchanged if they didn't do something like that or at least a singing cold open.

 

Hello: While this was highly enjoyable and super great, the placing of this sketch was really weird. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I just think the placing was just odd. I did love this and it is true that Adele tends to unite people. I was actually thinking they'd use another song. It'd still be funny regardless of the song they used though. I loved how increasingly dramatic it'd get. God I hate Thanksgiving dinner sometimes. There's always some kind of overdramatic bitchfest my brother tries to pull if something doesn't go his way. 

 

Charlie's Blues Shack: Mehhh. I think I would've responded to this better if it aired after anything but the "Hello" short. It was okay. I did love how Kenan's character was like "Oh man that SUCKS" after McConaughey's talks about missing out on Facebook. I was hoping they'd go some pretentious douchebag from San Francisco stereotype with them. But alas they didn't. However, I did like the whole missing out on Facebook thing.

 

3D Bio Print: This was kind of lame but I did like the goofiness of Bruce. Though I really wish they would've revealed someone else to be the 3D printed guy. For some reason, I think that'd be much funnier. 

 

Star Wars Screen Tests: I was going to be all like "Hey, 1997 called, they want their sketch back!" but then I saw they had a couple of the real actors on the show and included other actual actors and it ended up pretty great. I did love Emma Stone snarking on her awful Aloha movie "I can convincingly play someone whom is a quarter Hawaiian" or something like that. And I liked John Boyega being all "Are you seriously having a black Storm Trooper?!" then seeing Jon Hamm as Hamm Solo was great. I loved seeing Maggie Smith in there being all "What do I do with this?" and then Bobby Moynihan as George Lucas was great too. I dunno, I think they were all great. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of Fred Armisen, I would've liked to have seen him as Prince in here. 

 

Weekend Update: I'm really liking the rapport between Che and Jost now. They're a lot looser now. Vanessa's character whom is the child actor is hilarious. That does feel like what a lot of child actors seem like. And then her delivery of some of the news was great too. "HIV is when your body goes 'Oh boy!'" was just great. As a Red Sox fan, I will say that Kenan does get the cadence of David Ortiz pretty spot on. Though I really don't get the purpose of his impersonation other than listing off things and saying them weirdly. There were a few amusing moments though. Though, just like the last time he was on, I was thinking 'Dammit, I'd like to see real David Ortiz on here!' but alas, my dream was not to come true. All in all, good Update.

 

Would You Chime in on This?: I will say that I love the set for this. I just wish the contestants were more like Kyle Mooney's character. The smug self-satisfied douchebags who act like they're all about the social activism but are only doing it to look good in front of whomever it is they're trying to impress. Though maybe it would've defeated the purpose of this show. I loved how the final round was Hillary Clinton coming in. She seems to draw many strong opinions. I would've loved to have seen if the host also lost out and blabbed out an opinion. It was an okay sketch I guess.

 

Right Side of the Bed: Why is this a recurring sketch? Seriously. Nobody really liked it the first time. I did like Kate as Ed Sheeran who then passed out from the oven cleaner fumes. It just felt like a waste or they were running out of ideas at pitching stuff and decided to go with this.

 

Amtrak: This was....not awful. It didn't really get that great until the gimpy hand coming up. Then the audience questions got a smile out of me. Anyways, it wasn't as ad as I thought it'd be but it doesn't mean it was great.

 

This show was really middle of the road for me. A few great bits but mostly just subpar.

[peeayebee]

I enjoyed this sketch. For some reason I hadn't heard that MM story before, so I liked it. He tells it well.

 

Adele is fantastic. I haven't gotten her new album yet, but I will. And thanks VCRTracking for posting that backstage pic. Love it.

 

The best sketch was definitely the Thanksgiving/Hello one. I absolutely loved the way the morphing into Adele gradually happened to each family member. Awesome.

 

I was afraid that in the 3D printing sketch, the fake man would turn out to be someone other than MM. That would have been too unbelievable. I loved MM's lines, the repetition of certain lines like "Who me?" and other oddities. Really well written.

 

I thought Bobby was the best in the Star Wars screen tests sketch. His George Lucas was great, and the Danny DeVito bit with rolling around as whatever that thing is called was so funny.

 

Kenan was hilarious in WU. A Smidgen of Pigeon was the best for me. I also thought the jokes and comments about the Syrian refugee debate was very good.

[DollEyes]

My verdict: loved it. One of the best episodes of the season. Matthew McConaghuey was great. I hadn't heard his Dazed & Confused backstory before, so I thought it was hilarious. The Blues & Amtrak sketches were OK, but the 3D sketch was hysterical, if predictable. I knew that Matthew would play him, but his skills at physical comedy made it work.

 

The Star Wars  audition sketch was epic. As if JJ Abrams, Daisy Ridley & John Boyega weren't great enough, Bobby Moynahan's George Lucas &  Jay Pharoah's imitations of Shaq as Chewbacca & Chris Tucker as Ruby Rhod from Fifth Element  made it even better, with Emma Stone and Jon "Hamm Solo" Hamm as the icing on the cake.

 

    The only things better than the Adele Thanksgiving/"Hello" sketch were her backstage response to it and her performance of "Hello" & "When We Were Young." Adele is everything.

Edited November 22, 2015 by DollEyes

[leighdear]

The thinner Adele gets, the more she looks like actress Sarah Paulson.  But she looked & sounded fantastic.   

 

And for me it absolutely was one of the funniest episodes in years.  

Edited November 22, 2015 by leighdear

[LADreamr]

The only things better than the Adele Thanksgiving/"Hello" sketch were her backstage response to it and her performance of "Hello" & "When We Were Young." Adele is everything.

Amen to all of the above. I've come around to "When We Were Young," too. It's pretty much playing on a loop today.

[cpcathy]

MM was ok as host, the show was meh.  

 

Am I the only one in the world not in love with Adele?  I mean, she can sing but her songs just don't do anything for me.  I'll be glad when the hype dies down. 

 

Me! Me! I don't think she's anything great, I don't have any of her albums (it appears everyone bought 21 or else get arrested??) I have other artists I like better.

 

I thought this was one of the best episodes of the season. The sketches were on point, edited well, and brightly funny. Matthew really did throw himself into the show, especially the blues singer sketch and the 3D printing sketch. I do recall his last show (thanks, VH1 marathon) and he was good in 2001 as well. Funny sketch with the cast about him trying to organize protesters on the capital, and everyone getting out of hand.

 

And of course, give me a show with Emma Stone, Jon Hamm and Michael Buble in a Star Wars screen test, I'm aboard 100%.

Edited November 22, 2015 by cpcathy

[Ohwell]

Me! Me! I don't think she's anything great, I don't have any of her albums (it appears everyone bought 21 or else get arrested??) I have other artists I like better.

Whenever I hear her songs, I feel like I want to go somewhere and hang myself and that is not good, lol.  Yeah, she's overrated. 

[prican58]

I will have to watch the show in its entirety, but I did catch the David Ortiz skit. At first it kind of offended me because I'm part Dominican and I thought it was being mean (and as a Yankee fan I am not his biggest supporter. No reason, he's just a Red Sox guy), but Kenan is such a fave of mine  that he quickly made me laugh. The Papi beard was perfect!

 

Kenan has the same effect on me as Tracey Morgan did at his peak. The second they come on the screen I bust out smiling and then laughing. They sort of telegraph that what they are about to do is silly and strange and it never fails.

[ACS]

No one has said it but this feels like the place.  Adele's cellist during "Hello" was giving me life.  She seemed to be enjoying herself so much.  You could just see the thought bubble above her head: "I'm on stage with fucking Adele.  This is livin'. L-I-V-I-N."  She's basically my hero.

[VCRTracking]

The thinner Adele gets, the more she looks like actress Sarah Paulson.  But she looked & sounded fantastic.

 

 

Christina Hendricks to me.

 

It's funny that Kate McKinnon puts on a different voice playing an old lady, when her normal speaking voice already sounds older than she looks.

[TheOtherOne]

I have to admit, I would have liked the Adele Thanksgiving sketch more if it hadn't reminded me too much of one of my all-time favorite sketches, the Adele sketch from one of Emma Stone's episodes, where everyone in the office started crying together when Adele's "Someone Like You" came on. That was brilliant. This just seemed like a retread.

Edited November 22, 2015 by TheOtherOne

[cpcathy]

The first Adele sketch with Adele was great, but for me, it's because it included the band Coldplay (who were the musical guests that night) also crying in the sketch!

[BatmanBeatles]

I think this is the first episode this season that I liked all the skits.

[Janimo]

ACS, you weren't the only one who noticed the cellist.

Overall, I think this episode was the  best of this season.

[BatmanBeatles]

I just realized that The Right Side Of The Bed characters remind me of Food Network's Neely's. They always showed us how much they turned each other on, then later divorced.

[Dev F]

Right Side of the Bed: Why is this a recurring sketch? Seriously. Nobody really liked it the first time.

 

I actually did like it the first time, but that's because the original version had a really strong central premise: Martin Freeman is an affable local contractor who becomes more and more befuddled and frustrated as the hosts keep cutting back to him for no reason. Subsequent iterations have instead tried to hang the sketch on the weirdo chemistry between the hosts, which was funny as a supporting detail, but when it's holding up a nothing premise like "Chef goes mildly crazy on oven cleaner fumes," it becomes the tail that wags the dog.

 

The thinner Adele gets, the more she looks like actress Sarah Paulson.  

 

Ha! I had that exact same thought!

[mtlchick]

 

Am I the only one in the world not in love with Adele?  I mean, she can sing but her songs just don't do anything for me.  I'll be glad when the hype dies down.

 

Me! I get that she's talented, is a fun interview guest and I give her bonus points for shooting the video for Hello outside of my hometown.  But her songs?  It's not giving me the "OMGIHAVETHEFEELSFOREVERYTING!" (Ok, maybe Someone Like You does but that's it.)

 

I actually never heard MM's monologue despite being an awards junkie so I did enjoy it for what it was.  I didn't get to watch after WU yet but I did enjoy the 3d printer sketch.

Edited November 23, 2015 by mtlchick

[Babalooie]

Two things:  Did they purposely misspell Hasselbeck as "Hasselback" in the cold open?

                    Did no one else recognize Suri Cruise as the little girl who said, "Thanks, Adele" at the end of the Thanksgiving skit?

[cpcathy]

I don't think that was Suri.

 

Another mistaken identity, someone upthread mentioned the original Star Wars sketch had Kevin Pollack. It was Kevin Spacey.

 

I'll run away now.

[Dev F]

Did no one else recognize Suri Cruise as the little girl who said, "Thanks, Adele" at the end of the Thanksgiving skit?

 

It was actually a child actress named Ava Giacchi. She's appeared a few other times in recent seasons, including in the Asian-American Doll commercial and the sketch about the CBS sitcom that keeps getting retooled. (I believe she was the daughter who gets retooled into Crazy Eyes from Orange Is the New Black.)

Edited November 23, 2015 by Dev F

[vb68]

In the Should You Chime In sketch, I thought it would have been funny if they turned it on its head when they got to the part about the girl playing playing quarterback.   I was sorta waiting for an "Awesome!" or "Good for her!".   I don't know.  It could have used  some type of twist like that.  

Edited November 23, 2015 by vb68

[theatremouse]

Adele, though. I remember her being on this show all the way back in 2008. They cut to her during the commercial break and I very clearly remember my dad saying, "That poor girl looks terrified." And she did, like she was about to puke. And then she just killed with "Chasing Pavements." And seeing her now, so confident and on top of the world and breaking records left and right...it's fantastic.

Interesting you say that because I was actually thinking she looked nervous last night too. Not about to puke nervous, but more nervous than I would've expected someone with her experience to be. She looked to be visibly counting. Her performance was great, but she didn't look confident to me. Edited November 23, 2015 by theatremouse

[Ms Blue Jay]

Adele is always nervous in these lived televised performances.  If anyone of you remember Skyfall at the Grammy's.  She looked so nervous and she actually seems more relaxed now.

[VCRTracking]

On the Graham Norton Show a few years ago she said she still got stage fright and once before her first big arena show in Amsterdam went missing for 10 minutes!

 

Now that I've seen some images, I do see the resemblance to Sarah Paulson.

 

Michael and Colin have found their groove I think. They've definitely gotten better IMO.

[lovinbob]

No one has said it but this feels like the place.  Adele's cellist during "Hello" was giving me life.  She seemed to be enjoying herself so much.  You could just see the thought bubble above her head: "I'm on stage with fucking Adele.  This is livin'. L-I-V-I-N."  She's basically my hero.

Absolutely! There is nothing better than performers who obviously love what they are doing.