‘SNL’ Recap: Adam Driver’s Prickly Persona Leads To Plenty of Laughs

HOST: Adam Driver
MUSICAL GUEST: Halsey
EPISODE: SNL Season 45, Episode 11
DATE: January 25, 2020

BIG PICTURE: Adam Driver returned for his third hosting stint in an episode that took advantage of his prickly persona, and the results were solid, if not quite hilarious. Former cast member Jon Lovitz made a rare appearance in the cold open as attorney Alan Dershowitz.

Politically, the cold open focused on impeachment as expected, but with some unique tactics. Opening with Mitch McConnell (Beck Bennett) and Susan Collins (Cecily Strong), Lovitz joined them as the president’s attorney, Dershowitz, saying, “It’s wonderful to be here, because I’m not welcome anywhere else,” as he recalled previous clients Jeffrey Epstein, O.J. Simpson, and Claus von Bulow. Dershowitz quickly had a heart attack and found himself in hell, where the devil (Kate McKinnon) waited with open arms. He wasn’t actually dead, she explained, but she just really wanted to meet him. This was followed by the revelation that the devil invented podcasting, and has commercials like, “Vaping. You’re never too young to start vaping.” Driver soon appeared as Epstein, and when Dershowitz asked what he was doing there, he replied, “just hanging.” He also noted that, “To me, the devil is a woman my own age,” a joke that didn’t get nearly enough credit from the studio audience. Overall, a well-executed and unique approach to the cold open.

MONOLOGUE/HOST: In the monologue, Driver spoke of how people assume he’s an intense guy in real life due to his intense roles, but said he could be chill as well. He then tried to demonstrate “chill” to the studio audience, failing miserably as he dictated to the band what to play and noted that, “people think I hate red carpet stuff, and I do, but it’s just because I’m bad at smiling.” At one point, he gave a Star Wars acton figure to an audience member as a gift, then told him, “If I see this on eBay, I’ll kill you.” He also dropped the line, “I’m in a movie with Scarlett Johansson, so I basically kissed Colin Jost if you think about it.”

Many of his sketches took smart advantage of his aggrieved persona, featuring him as an angry marketing executive, an angry kids show host, and an angry renaissance fair jouster. 

NOTABLE SKETCHES/PERFORMANCES: Driver followed-up his Kylo Ren Undercover Boss segment from four years ago, this time as intern Randy, facing indignities such as a stormtrooper dropping a “Deez Nuts” on him. As with last time, most figure out his true identity pretty quickly, especially since he keeps destroying printers and killing people. His biggest crime here, though, was the outrageously wrong use of “OK, Boomer.” Not quite as funny as the first time out, but well-played by Driver nonetheless.

At a commercial shoot for Del Taco, frustrated director Bennett gave Kyle Mooney the same line reading over and over – for “Aw, man, I’m all outta cash” – soon followed by Driver as the company’s marketing exec who quickly loses patience, repeating the director’s line reading and saying about Mooney, “We gotta beat the hell out of this guy.” This was a one joke sketch, but the show smartly kept it short and quick, maximizing the joke and then getting out just in time.

On PBS Kids, Driver played the host of The Science Room, doing experiments with kid volunteers Strong and Mikey Day. The problem? The kids weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, and Driver had no patience for them. Asking what comes first in the science room – hoping for the answer “safety” – Strong instead replied, “My sister said the guy always comes first.” As the kids were unable to handle a simple experiment like putting a needle through a taped-up balloon, Driver screamed, “You stupid, stupid kids,” and hurled a tape dispenser into a wall.

At Medieval Times, Driver played a knight taking his job way too seriously, creating his own costume and inventing a backstory of revenge way too intense for the people eating their chicken and potatoes as they settle in to watch some light jousting. Yelling that his wife had been ravaged, calling a princess a whore, and admonishing the crowd for cheering because “my family lay murdered” earned him a meeting with a not-too-pleased regional manager.

WEEKEND UPDATE: Some of the more solid lines tonight from Colin Jost and Michael Che: 

Che, re: impeachment: “You’re telling me the United States government can’t figure out how to remove a crazy dictator? We’ve been practicing all over the world for like a hundred years. We’re kinda famous for it.”

Jost, on Derek Jeter’s Hall of Fame vote falling one shy of unanimity, “…in case you’re ever wondering if Derek Jeter slept with a baseball writer’s wife.”

Guests at the desk included Aidy Bryant returning as 7th grade travel expert Carrie Krum, giving an enthusiastic review of hanging out at her uncle’s house (), and Melissa Villasenor commenting on the Oscars by singing original songs she wrote about the top contenders, all of which are the same song, pointing out that the nominated films are all about white male rage.

THE 10 TO 1 SLOT: Excellent use of the 10-to-1 sketch tonight as Driver and Strong played into the slot’s anticipated weirdness. When a waitress is told to marry the ketchup bottles at the end of a shift – meaning pour the contents of one half-empty bottle into another – we see the scene play out literally. Strong and Driver are two bottles of ketchup who go through an intense melodrama, including Driver deriding Strong when he learns she’s actually “catsup,” with Strong dropping the insult, “You’re not even Heinz, you dirty Hunt.” At the end, Strong runs off with a hot sauce bottle played by Mooney, noting, “He doesn’t need me to slap him in the back so he can perform.”

SNL returns next week with host JJ Watt and musical guest Luke Combs.

Larry Getlen is the author of the book Conversations with Carlin. Follow him on Twitter at @larrygetlen.

Watch the Adam Driver/Halsey episode of SNL on YouTube