It was sort of your typical “Saturday Night Live” — sometimes clever, sometimes not.
An opening sketch (“Endgame” vs. “Game of Thrones”) was so-so. A song by host Adam Sandler – recalling when he was fired from “SNL” – was sharp and funny. There were more ups and downs … leading into a “Weekend Update” that crackled with sharp lines.
And then the show vaulted to another level: For the first time in 24 years, “Opera Man” was there.
Using witty lyrics with mock-Italian touches, Sandler (shown here in his old, Clinton-skewering days) was at his best. He:
— Was into the Democrat Joe Biden (“Gropea, gropea/Snffa, sniffa/Young or olda/Makes no diffa”). And the Republican president (“Trumpa, Trumpa/Dumpa, dumpa”).
— Viewed the extremes of the Kentucky Derby. “Winning horse is magnifioso/Losing horse is delicioso.”
— Admired the “Game of Thrones” fuss. “We can’t wait for final show-a/So we can cancel our HBO-a.”
— And eyed the movie that matches Seth Rogen with the beautiful Charlize Theron. “Silly face, but he score-o/Where have I seen this before-o?”
And then, photos showed us where: In movies, Sandler has been opposite Jennifer Anison and Drew Barrymore and many more. That firing by SNL may have been justified — Chris Farley, fired at the same time, died two years later of an apparent drug overdose – but Sandler recovered from it quite nicely.