While we may not have been treated to a rousing rap from Lil Timmy Tim, two-time Academy Award nominee Timothée Chalamet did get to highlight his passion for Bob Dylan even further in a “Saturday Night Live” episode that saw him pulling double duty as host and musical guest. In between sketches at the midpoint and back half of the show, Chalamet was backed up by singer/songwriter and record producer James Blake as he sang renditions of Dylan deep cuts “Outlaw Blues,” “Three Angels,” and “Tomorrow Is a Long Time.”
Before he picked up his guitar and put on his smoldering gaze however, the show started with a cold open that featured everyone’s favorite (kind of) musical theater impresario, Lin-Manuel Miranda. Poking fun at the kind of resistance liberal Miranda’s “Hamilton” endorses, a sketch that starts as a rousing recreation of the signing of the Declaration of Independence soon turns into a forum for Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) to spout nonsense and show off. Four more years of Trump in office may be a hard pill to swallow, but at least Johnson’s impersonation will keep us entertained during that time…if he continues to be allowed to of course…
Fully embracing the fact that this episode of “SNL 50” was essentially the kick-off to the final leg of his Oscar campaign, Chalamet used his monologue to celebrate the eight nominations received by his Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” including in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. In doing so, he also took some time to poke fun at the fact that he hasn’t managed to really win any awards yet despite being nominated many times by various voting bodies, even offering to perform an acceptance speech that the crowd ultimately doesn’t end up hearing.
Based on current prognostications, Chalamet’s main competition at the Oscars is Adrien Brody for his performance in “The Brutalist,” but after it was revealed last week that post-production used AI to adjust Brody’s accent for one scene in the film, his chances were put in some jeopardy (as pointless and silly as the backlash about this has been). Considering this, it was hard not to view the AI sketch from Chalamet’s “SNL 50” set as a subtle dig at his competitor. But even outside of that conflict, with this sketch “SNL” became one of the few platforms to actually push against the tech-industrial-complex and skewer AI for the stupid fad that it is.
The last sketch of the night has become a holding spot for some of “SNL’s” most out-there or flat out dirty material (see Charli XCX’s Shrek sketch) and with Chalamet in the driver’s seat, they certainly didn’t disappoint. Co-written by Sarah Sherman and centered by her hilarious performance, “Grandma’s Birthday” starts as a wholesome gathering of family and friends, but quickly turns into an outrageous display of modern medical science. Chalamet’s, as well as everyone else’s ability to keep their cool as they’re exposed to a new form of CPR may feature some of the funniest reaction shots of any sketch in recent memory and dialogue that will either make you sick or cackle in disgust.
Chalamet’s musical performances can be viewed below.
“Saturday Night Live” returns on Sunday, February 15 for the 50th Anniversary Special.
