We made it to the Thanksgiving episode which means we’re getting closer to the end of the first half of season 41! On the last SNL, first-time host Elizabeth Banks came to the show and delivered a hilarious performance making us forget about the disaster of an episode which was hosted by a Presidential candidate. Disclosure also made their SNL debut with two featuring Lorde and Sam Smith, respectively. This had to be one of my favorite episode of the season. Some highlights from the last episode include:
-A tribute to the victims of the terror attacks in Paris in the form of a bilingual message from Cecily Strong in lieu of a traditional cold open.
-A very funny monologue from Banks.
-A new music video with Banks, Cecily, Kate, Vanessa, and Aidy as a Backstreet Boys-like girl group.
-Pete, Bruce Chandling, and Olya returning to the Update desk.
-A sketch about the adventures of a young Ben Carson.
-The return of “A Mike O’Brien Picture”.
This week, Matthew McConaughey returns to the SNL for the first time since 2003 with Dixie Chicks as the musical guest. Adele returns to the SNL stage as the musical guest for the first time since 2008 when Josh Brolin hosted and cameos were made by Tina Fey, Sarah Palin, Alec Baldwin, and Mark Wahlberg as well as Amy Poehler famously rapping the Palin Rap. This episode is kind of a full circle moment for me since the Josh Brolin/Adele episode of SNL is the first SNL episode that I watched all the way through. So seeing Adele appear on this episode is a little bit of a nostalgic moment for me since she was the musical guest for the first SNL episode I ever watched. So with that, here’s my review of the season 41 Thanksgiving episode.
Sketch Rundown:
Fox & Friends Cold Open:
I love these sketches and I got really excited when the opening came on. I thought Kate was hilarious as Debbie Wasserman Schultz and I loved seeing Jay as Ben Carson again. Some of my favorite quotes from this sketch include “All Fridays Matter,” “Syria, locate nearest bathroom,” and “19,000 Syrians and Counting.” I loved how they had Leslie as the fact checker but I do miss seeing the corrected facts being scrolled up on the screen. It’s one of the things I look forward to when this sketch is on. Other than that, I thought this was a great cold open and a great way to start the show.
Matthew McConaughey Monologue:
In my honest opinion, I thought this monologue was just alright and not “alright, alright, alright” (I’m sorry, I couldn’t avoid it.). I thought the story was interesting but it was really boring. I found myself wanting the monologue to be over after the first minute or so. I felt that the monologue kind of dragged on and I felt that McConaughey wasn’t getting to his point fast enough. Again, this monologue wasn’t one of my favorites as I thought it was just alright.
A Thanksgiving Miracle:
I absolutely loved this sketch! I thought it was hilarious and I could 100% relate to Cecily’s character since I have some family members that are like the other characters in the sketch. I had a feeling since this was the Thanksgiving show that they would do some kind of Thanksgiving sketch. I loved how everyone was lip synching “Hello” and everyone was dressed like Adele. I loved the little girl in this sketch and thought she was adorable. I also loved the outdoor scenes with the wind and the leaves. This sketch was one of the best sketches of the night and it better be on the Thanksgiving special next Thanksgiving! This sketch is proof that Adele can fix everything, even dysfunctional Thanksgiving dinners.
Charlie’s Blues Shack:
I was very surprised that this kind of a sketch would be in the beginning of the show. This kind of a sketch is usually saved for the second half of the show towards the end of the show. I guess this was one of those sketches that went over well in the dress rehearsal. Although I didn’t think the sketch was super funny, I did like the Blues music.
3D Printer:
I thought this was a funny concept for a sketch even though it seemed a bit redundant at times. I loved when Bruce would start his sentences with “Who me? As for me…” and I loved his walk and his dancing. I also thought it was funny that Bruce would self-destruct after a certain amount of time.
Star Wars Auditions:
I always love these kind of audition sketches. I loved how they had cameos from J.J. Abrams, Daisy Ridley, and John Boyega. I loved seeing Cecily’s Sofía Vergara, Aidy’s Wynonna, and Bobby’s George Lucas. I loved seeing Jay’s impression of Shaq with Shaq auditioning for Chewbacca. I also loved seeing the John Mayer and Maggie Smith impressions. I loved Taran’s David Beckham and I loved the cameo from Emma Stone and thought she was funny. I thought Bobby was hilarious as Danny Devito and I loved the cameos from Jon Hamm and Michael Bublé. I thought Leslie was hilarious dressed as a character from Star Trek while auditioning for Star Wars. Overall, I thought this was a great sketch.
Adele “Hello” Performance:
I absolutely loved this performance and I love this song! I even loved the face she made at the end of the song. I did feel that the song was a little shorter and she might have sung the radio version instead of the studio version. This could’ve been for time reasons or that she didn’t want to risk her voice cracking on the high notes which, as a singer, I completely understand that. Regardless, the song was amazing, the performance was amazing, and Adele is amazing!
Weekend Update:
I this week’s Update had a strong start on both parts. I loved the back and forth between Jost and Che about the refugees. I thought Colin’s bit about lying about being a Christian was funny and true. I loved seeing Laura Parsons outside of a sketch and thought it was a great way to utilize this character. I know I’ve said this before but Vanessa is just so adorable! I also loved the segment where the anchors read a joke that the other one wrote. I liked the David Ortiz bit but I felt it was really redundant and the same exact jokes from the last time they did this character. I did love the website for “Go Outside” and the promo code. Overall, I thought this was a great Update.
Should You Chime In On This?:
I thought this was an okay sketch and a typical one saved for after Update. I loved the name Allen DeGeneres, “I got this job by accident.” I loved how it made fun of the different types of people who don’t know what they’re talking about and know nothing about the subject and how they shouldn’t chime in on things. I loved the “All Lives Matter” siren. I also loved Kate coming out as Hillary Clinton. Overall, I thought this was a good sketch even though it wasn’t my favorite.
Right Side of the Bed:
I’m surprised they brought this sketch back but it has grown on me and now I really like it. One of the reasons I like this sketch is the chemistry between Cecily and Taran. McConaughey’s character was weird but funny. I loved how he used the turkey as a puppet. One of my favorite parts of the sketch was when McConaughey popped up from behind the couch with the turkey wearing a mustache, nose, and glasses. I loved seeing Kate appear as Ed Sheeran. Overall, I thought this was a funny sketch.
Adele “When We Were Young” Performance:
I thought this was another great performance from Adele. I also thought the song was beautiful and I had it stuck in my head as well as “Hello.” I thought it was great to see Adele perform on the show again and it was great for me to have that full circle moment.
Amtrak:
I thought this sketch was just okay and the typical 10 to 1 sketch. However, I did like the Thomas the Tank Engine picture with the devil horns and mustache as well as the fake hand. I didn’t, however, particularly care for the “nice rack” comment. Like I said, I thought this sketch was just okay.
Overall, I thought this was a great episode. I didn’t really know what to expect from McConaughey but I was pleased with his performance. I thought Adele was amazing with her two performances. I could see both of them being on the show again in the future.
This has been my take on the SNL episode hosted by Matthew McConaughey with musical guest Adele. I’ll be back soon with a review of SNL hosted by Ryan Gosling with musical guest Leon Bridges. Please spread the word about the blog and subscribe to the blog. Also, follow the blog on Twitter @SNLblogger. I live tweet during new episodes on the blog’s Twitter so feel free to join in on the conversation. Feel free to start your own conversations about episodes in the comments section but keep them clean. Also, please feel free to give me constructive criticism about the blog so I can improve the blog in any way.
Thanks for reading!
Lauren
