Saturday Night Live, Season 40, Episode 10, “Amy Adams/One Direction”
Aired December 20, 2014 at 11:30 pm ET on NBC (East coast version watched for review)
Kristen Wiig?! Fred Armisen?! Mike Myers?! It must be the annual SNL Christmas episode!
The Host: Amy Adams is here to host her way through the garland and tinsel adorned set of the show this week, and she brings an effortless, absolutely charming touch to the stage. Right from her monologue, she appears cheery and genuinely enthused about the gig, which is beneficial, because with the Christmas episode, the host runs the danger of getting overshadowed by the inevitable surprise guest appearances that will occur throughout. Sometimes Lorne Michaels and company will bring out the cream of their contacts list (see: Any time Justin Timberlake hosts) and the episode threatens to buckle under the weight of all that notoriety. And while the show does leap out the gate with the cameos — Mike Myers crashes the “A Very Somber Christmas with Sam Smith” cold open as Dr. Evil to berate Sony and North Korea for their behavior regarding The Interview, and Kristen Wiig comes riding into Adams’ monologue on the hands of Christmas hunks — the show smartly chooses to let Adams be the star for most of the episode, lending her upbeat energy to a variety of sketches, and she matches wits and tones with the rest of the cast all throughout the night.
Musical Guest: The heartthrobs of a generation are here to provide the screams and the swoons. While the episode takes no time throwing One Direction straight into the episode, having them make an appearance in the second proper sketch of the night, “Girlfriends Talkshow”, their appearance on the show feels rather routine. The episode puts them in a sketch because, duh, and has them sing their songs in two different arrangements of five mic stands, looking all cute and appropriately edgy, what with their tattoos and bare chests and long hair and crazy hats. Still, even routine One Direction is a tantalizing boy band treat, all harmonies and vague lyrics and how important “you” are, here to supply the soundtrack for all your holiday romancing.
Best Sketch: There’s some magic in the air around 30 Rock this time of year that galvanizes all the creative energy in the various SNL offices to create something that is largely enjoyable, with practically no depressing bombs. The joy of the episode is watching the way the pre-taped bits and the live sketches so effortlessly ping-pong off each other. The monologue gives way to a great fake commercial needling Barbie dolls and racial stereotypes; the “Girlfriends Talkshow”, where Adams plays the captain of the dance team that Aidy Bryant has been lying to Cecily Strong about being a part of, goes perfectly with a chaser of Pete Davidson and Jay Pharoah acting as hypemen for an office Christmas party. But even on a night where we get to see Strong, Adams, and Kate McKinnon try to get guys at a bar to feed them garbage, only to be revealed to be raccoons who were turned into humans as part of a Christmas wish, the standouts of the episode are the back-to-back knockouts of the “Tenderfield Christmas Card” and the pre-taped parody of Serial, the true crime podcast whose first season ended this week (if you are at a loss, take a tip from Michael Che and “talk to white people”). The former sketch, which takes the bottom out of the Christmas Jammies video, undercuts the idyllic looking life of the family by revealing that the son was raised by dogs, the daughter may be a readymade serial killer, and the wife is having an affair with Ron (Kenan Thompson) who is now living with the family, making the dad (Taran Killam) feel like a “guest in my own home”. The delicious venom of the sketch makes the Serial parody all the more tasty, as the short captures the faintest details of the podcast, from Sarah Koenig’s wandering narration and perpetual disbelief, to the speech patterns and everyman charisma of Adnan, whose part here is being covered by Santa. While SNL is not always the best at being aware of what “the internet” is, there may be a change in the winds.
Weakest Sketch: While not a total drag, “A Very Cuban Christmas” comes off more like a list of ideas brainstormed during the writing process that was just performed without settling on a consistent tone or punchline. Bonus points, however, for Kyle Mooney’s killer Tony Montana impression.
Weekend Update: Update came into the season stumbling a bit, but it has been at full sprint for the past few episodes, and rounds out the first half of this season by comfortably jogging to the finish line. Decent-to-good jokes about recent political rumblings? Check. Innovative panelists like Bobby Moynihan’s Kim Jong-Un’s Christmas Gift Guide getting aborted and Willie (Thompson), a man who has unwavering positivity in the face of people telling him things like “I don’t know what that is Willie, but it’s spreading”? Check. A saw-it-coming-but-still-warmly-nostalgic victory lap for Garth and Kat? Check. Update is now lean and ready to go when the new year comes around.
Other Notes: Seeing Harry Styles hugging Leslie Jones during goodnights makes one wonder what kind of crazy adventures those two got into this week. Props to the show for having a sketch centered around a lesbian couple who are like, just a couple. The next episode will air January 17, with host Kevin Hart. And while a musical guest will surely be booked by then, it would be interesting to see instead Hart just do a single 10-minute standup routine. Happy holidays, dear readers!