Weekend Box Office Results: Avengers: Endgame Is Tops Again, Surprising No One - Rotten Tomatoes

One word that evidently does not exist in the Endgame – “counterprogramming.” Three studios learned that the hard way this weekend (one perhaps harder than the others.) The Avengers march on into history though, shattering one of the expected records this weekend while coming up short on another.

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KING OF THE CROP: ENDGAME MISSES ONE RECORD BUT APPROACHES ANOTHER

(Photo by @ Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, @ Marvel Studios)

The Endgame is still strong. In just ten days it has passed $600 million, managing to do what it took James Cameron’s Titanic to do in 252. With nearly $620 million, the film is still $79 million ahead of the pace of The Force Awakens. That is down from the $110 million lead it had after last weekend. Part of that is due to Avengers: Endgame only having the second greatest second weekend of all-time ($145.8 million) behind Force Awakens’ $149.2 million. Marvel’s juggernaut also fell to third place on the all-time daily tallys for Monday and Tuesday on opening week and second place on Wednesday and Thursday (for non-opening days.) This weekend’s drop (59.2%) was in line with Age of Ultron’s 59.4% and Captain America: Civil War (59.5%) which is still rather impressive given it bested the all-time opening record by $100 million.

Looking forward to next weekend, its haul will be expected to be somewhere between Black Panther’s $66.3 million and The Force Awakens’ $90.2 million — Endgame could be in the realm of $745-823 million. Avatar’s final domestic gross was $760.5 million with a worldwide haul of $2.78 billion. Avengers: Endgame is now the second-highest grossing film ever with nearly $2.19 billion. The Force Awakens took 54 days to reach the $2 billion milestone. Infinity War did it in 48 and Avatar in 47. Endgame opened internationally in 25 markets on Apr. 24, 2019 and achieved the goal in just 12 days.

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ROTTEN RETURNS: DOLLS UGLY INDEED, AND LONG SHOT MISSES BY A MILE

Normally this section is dedicated to just one movie, but this is a bad weekend for one struggling studio and a wake-up call for another. STX Films had a hit this year with The Upside, though that was a fortunate pickup from its original home at the Weinstein Co. That and Second Act (with Jennifer Lopez) were its only successes since 2017’s A Bad Mom’s Christmas. A $45 million attempt to get into the animated game with Uglydolls (34%) is not going to help when it starts with just $8.5 million. Sure that’s better than Annapurna/United Artists Releasing got from Missing Link opening weekend but it’s less than Funimation received for Dragon Ball Super: Broly ($9.8 million) in January this year on just about a third of the screens as Uglydolls.

However it is Lionsgate’s release of Long Shot that is far more troubling. At just $10 million this weekend, the Charlize Theron/Seth Rogen romantic comedy is the lowest wide opening for the studio this year. Lionsgate’s successes as of late have been primarily because of their smallest budgets like Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral ($20 million budget / $73 million gross), A Simple Favor ($20 million / $53 million), Overboard ($12 million / $50.3 million) and Five Feet Apart ($7 million / $45.4 million). Compare that to the likes of Hellboy ($50 million / $21.7 million), Cold Pursuit ($60 million / $32.1 million), Robin Hood ($90 million / $30.8 million) and now Long Shot’s $50 million budget.

(Photo by Hector Alvarez / © Summit Entertainment)

Since the days of Twilight and The Hunger Games, Lionsgate has struggled to find a place in the current state of the franchise wars, unable to even finish their Divergent series. While they have had some major success stories like La La Land and Wonder, decent franchise returns from Now You See Me and John Wick and even a few surprises like The Hitman’s Bodyguard (which is now getting a sequel) and Hacksaw Ridge, the post-Wonder overlook is one where the only $20+ million opening with the Madea Funeral ($27 million) and their second best was Tyler Perry’s Acrimony ($17.1 million).

Long Shot is the 7^th straight non-Tyler Perry entry in the Lionsgate catalog to open wide and fail to to achieve an opening weekend of $15 million. Robin Hood, Hunter Killer, and Hell Fest could not even do it in five days. Lionsgate had so much confidence in Long Shot that they moved it from the first week of June into the wake of Endgame in the hopes of being the Notting Hill to Fox’s Phantom Menace, and it backfired spectacularly. Even with an 83% on the Tomatometer and critics praising it as one of the great surprises of 2019, Long Shot could go down as the biggest failure to market a Seth Rogen comedy since the Weinsteins couldn’t turn Zack and Miri Make a Porno into a success just months after Knocked Up grossed over $148 million. Long Shot opened to less than that Kevin Smith film.

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TOP TEN AND BEYOND: THE INTRUDER FALTERS WITH CRITICS BUT IS WELCOMED BY AUDIENCES

This week’s final newcomer, The Intruder, feels like a minor success compared to those two movies, besting Long Shot for second place with an $11 million opening and all on an $8 million budget. That’s more than Cold Creek Manor opened to in 2003 ($8.1 million) — the film where Stephen Dorff played the previous owner of a house that terrorized Dennis Quaid. That got a 12% from critics here, while The Intruder got a score of 27%. So here’s to minor successes.

As for major successes, Captain Marvel has just moved into 24^th place for the highest-grossing domestic total of all-time. Shazam! is not nearly in its league, but with over $355 million worldwide, it’s still a minor success for the DC Universe. That is more than the $338 million that Dumbo has accumulated to date, which, at the moment, puts the film in the red in the vicinity of Disney’s holiday bomb, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.

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THIS TIME LAST YEAR: AVENGERS RULED, BUT FELL BEHIND ALL-TIMER PACE

(Photo by @ Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, @ Marvel Studios)

The weekend prior, Avengers: Infinity War had the largest opening of all-time. This weekend it had the second-best second weekend of all-time with $$114.7 million, bringing its total to $453.1 million as it already began to fall well off the pace of The Force Awakens. Counterprogramming was offered with the role-reversal remake of 1987’s Overboard which made $14.7 million for second place while Jason Reitman’s Tully was another acclaimed disappointment with Charlize Theron that was released in 1,353 theaters and made just $3.2 million. Also opening in just 34 theaters was RBG, which went on to become one of the most successful documentaries of 2018. The Top Ten films grossed $158.9 million and averaged 60.5% on the Tomatometer. This year’s Top Ten grossed $192.4 Million and averaged 59.6% with critics.

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ON THE VINE: CAN PIKACHU BEAT THE AVENGERS? SERIOUSLY, CAN IT?

(Photo by @ Warner Bros. Pictures, @ Legendary)

A Pokemon with the voice of Ryan Reynolds is going to try its best to knock back the Avengers in its third weekend. Is Detective Pikachu really going to be a force this summer or has its appeal window shortened as people found new games to play? 1964’s Bedtime Story with Marlon Brando and David Niven is getting another redux; you may know it better as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Steve Martin and Michael Caine. This year it is known as The Hustle with Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson. Last year’s Book Club turned into a little surprise hit for Paramount. This year STX is hoping for the same results with Poms starring Diane Keaton, Jacki Weaver, Rhea Perlman, and Pam Grier in a comedy about a retirement community that starts a cheerleading squad; a film that could have sleeper hit written all over it. But can STX pull it off?

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The Full Top 10: May 3-5

1. Avengers: Endgame (2019) 95% – $145.8 million ($616.69 million total)
2. The Intruder (2019) 27% – $11 million ($11 million total)
3. Long Shot (2019) 83% – $10.02 million ($10.02 million total)
4. UglyDolls (2019) 33% – $8.51 million ($8.51 million total)
5. Captain Marvel (2019) 78% – $4.27 million ($420.76 million total)
6. Breakthrough (2019) 65% – $3.94 million ($33.22 million total)
7. The Curse of La Llorona (2019) 31% – $3.50 million ($48.10 million total)
8. Shazam! (2019) 90% – $2.45 million ($135.19 million total)
9. Little (2019) 46% – $1.47 million ($38.58 million total)
10. Dumbo (2019) 47% – $1.43 million ($109.70 million total)

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Erik Childress can be heard each week evaluating box office on WGN Radio with Nick Digilio as well as on Business First AM with Angela Miles and his Movie Madness Podcast.

[box office figures via Box Office Mojo]

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2019-05-05 18:20:02Z
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'Avengers: Endgame' crosses $2 billion, smashes second-week box office records - Fox News

"Avengers: Endgame" continued its global domination at the box office in a second week victory lap that saw the blockbuster cross the $2 billion mark in record time and unseat "Titanic" as the second highest-grossing film ever worldwide. Domestically, newcomers, including thrillers ("The Intruder"), well-reviewed comedies ("Long Shot") or animated family fare ("Uglydolls") were left in the dust to pick up the scraps.

The Walt Disney Co. estimated Sunday that "Endgame" added $145.8 million from North American theaters and $282.2 million internationally bringing its global total to $2.2 billion. "Endgame" is one of five movies to ever reach that threshold and, not accounting for inflation, is now second worldwide only to "Avatar's" $2.8 billion. "Avatar" reached $2 billion in 47 days of release compared with 11 for "Endgame," although in 2009 the theatrical landscape was different, most notably so in China.

"The sprint to $2 billion is unbelievable. We're in uncharted territory," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "Usually films like this are marathoners."

CHRIS EVANS HAS CHEEKY RESPONSE TO RUSSO BROTHERS' MESSAGE ABOUT 'AVENGERS: ENDGAME' SPOILERS

To reach "Avatar's" global record, however, "Endgame" will have to turn into a marathoner itself and the summer movie season is only going to get more competitive.

Still, "it's got a real chance at getting there," Dergarabedian said.

'AVENGERS: ENDGAME' IS MOST TWEETED-ABOUT MOVIE IN HISTORY

Domestically, "Endgame," which is still playing on 4,662 screens, scored the second biggest second weekend ever with a sum that would be impressive for any film on opening weekend. Even its 59 percent drop is notable considering how front-loaded it was. "Endgame" has now grossed $619.7 million in North America, making it the ninth biggest of all time, behind "Star Wars: The Last Jedi."

'AVENGERS: ENDGAME' DIRECTORS SHOCKED AT BOX OFFICE SUCCESS

New films entering the marketplace hardly stood a chance, but some saw successes even in the shadow of "Endgame."

In second place, "The Intruder," a modestly budgeted ($8 million) thriller with Dennis Quaid and Meagan Good, survived poor reviews and did the best of the batch with $11 million in box office receipts. The Sony/Screen Gems film was released on 2,222 screens.

DOMINO'S WORKER ASSAULTS COLLEAGUE WHO SPOILED 'AVENGERS: ENDGAME'

'AVENGERS: ENDGAME' LEAVES BOX OFFICE RECORDS IN THE DUST

Although close behind on the charts in third place, Lionsgate and Point Grey's "Long Shot," a politically-themed romantic comedy with Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron, failed to make a significant dent against its pricier budget. The film, which was the best reviewed of the newcomers by far, grossed an estimated $10 million from 3,230 screens, against a reported $40 million budget. But word-of-mouth could also help propel "Long Shot" to profits ultimately.

CHRIS PRATT SHARES 'ILLEGAL' VIDEO FROM SET OF 'AVENGERS: ENDGAME'

"'Long Shot' has a shot at staying power," Dergarabedian said. "But there's a lot of noise to rise above."

The unluckiest of the new movies was "Uglydolls," an animated film based on the toys featuring the voices of Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, Blake Shelton and Janelle Monae, which placed fourth with $8.5 million. STXfilms' first animated feature cost $45 million to produce after production rebates. It does, however, still have a China release later this summer.

'AVENGERS: ENDGAME' MAKES HISTORY, BUT AVOIDING SPOILERS PRESENTS NEW STRUGGLE

Industry-wide, the continued success of "Endgame" has also helped the box office deficit, which went from down 13.2 percent last weekend to down 10.9 percent this weekend. And Dergarabedian said that the industry may be on its way to a record summer, still.

"It's not just about one movie this summer," he said. "There's a lot more to come from every studio. Diversity of content will rule the day."

CHRIS HEMSWORTH LOOKS BACK AS 'AVENGERS: ENDGAME' BREAKS BOX OFFICE RECORDS

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

WASHINGTON POST SLAMMED FOR SPOILING 'AVENGERS: ENDGAME' IN HEADLINE

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1."Avengers: Endgame," $145.8 million ($282.2 million international).

2."The Intruder," $11 million.

3."Long Shot," $10 million.

4."Uglydolls," $8.5 million.

5."Captain Marvel," $4.3 million.

6."Breakthrough," $3.9 million.

7."The Curse of La Llorona," $3.5 million.

8."Shazam!" $2.5 million.

9."Little," $1.5 million.

10."Dumbo," $1.4 million.

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2019-05-05 17:23:37Z
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HBO's apparently working on three 'Game of Thrones' spinoffs, says George R. R. Martin - CNN

Bummed that "Game of Thrones" is coming to an end? Don't be.

Apparently, HBO is working on not one, not two, but three spinoffs of the wildly popular show.

That's according to George R. R. Martin. Except he doesn't call them "spinoffs" -- he's not a fan of that term -- but "successor shows."

In a personal blog post updating his fans, the author of the books on which the show is based said:

"We have had five different GAME OF THRONES successor shows in development (I mislike the term "spinoffs") at HBO, and three of them are still moving forward nicely.

"The one I am not supposed to call THE LONG NIGHT will be shooting later this year, and two other shows remain in the script stage, but are edging closer."

What HBO has said

HBO (which, like CNN, is part of WarnerMedia) has long been clear that it wants to maximize the mojo that is GoT.

"In the press at large, everybody said, 'there are four spinoffs' and they assume that means each one is happening and we're going to have a new Game of Thrones show per quarter," HBO programming president Casey Bloys told EW two years ago.

"That's not what's going on. The idea is not to do four shows. The bar set by [Benioff and Weiss] is so high that my hope is to get one show that lives up to it."

So, what will the shows that Martin mentions be about? He's not telling.

"But maybe some of you should pick up a copy of 'Fire & Blood' and come up with your own theories," he said, referring to his book that came out last year.

There you go. Let the wild speculation begin.

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2019-05-05 17:08:00Z
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‘Avengers: Endgame’ Crushes $2 Billion Milestone in Record Time - Variety

May 5, 2019 8:07AM PT

Disney’s “Avengers: Endgame” has officially surpassed the $2 billion mark in its second weekend in theaters, obliterating the record for the fastest film to reach that milestone.

“Avengers: Endgame” is now the second-highest grossing movie of all time, passing “Titanic” with $2.188 billion globally in just 11 days. The tentpole has earned $620 million at the domestic box office, becoming the 9th biggest title ever in North America. Overseas, “Endgame” has amassed a monster $1.56 billion, with $575 million of that bounty coming from China.

“Endgame” is one of only five films to ever cross $2 billion in ticket sales, joining the company of “Avatar” ($2.78 billion), “Titanic” ($2.187 billion), “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($2.06 million), and “Avengers: Infinity War” ($2.04 billion). It took “Avatar,” the previous record-holder for fastest film to $2 billion, 47 days to reach that benchmark.

Related

The epic finale to the current phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe got off to a record-breaking start last weekend when it debuted with a stunning $1.2 billion worldwide, including $357 million in North America.

Anthony and Joe Russo returned to direct “Avengers: Endgame,” the 22nd installment in the MCU. It picks up directly following “Avengers: Infinity War,” another box office behemoth that left Earth’s Mightiest Heroes scrambling after Thanos (Josh Brolin) eliminated half of life in the universe. The superhero blockbuster stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, and Paul Rudd as Ant-Man.

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2019-05-05 15:07:00Z
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Magnifioso, Delicioso: Adam Sandler Finally Came Back to ‘SNL’ - The Ringer

There was an incredible cognitive dissonance to watching one of Saturday Night Live’s most famous cast members from the ‘90s drop by to host (for the first time ever!) in 2019 and regale us with jokes about Game of Thrones and President Trump and Kevin Durant (maybe!) going to the Knicks. There was also an undeniable, blissfully uncomplicated joy.

There he was: Adam Sandler, the Sandman, with yet another imminent Netflix movie to promote (co-starring Jennifer Aniston!) and his pick of several dozen indelible Clinton-era SNL characters to reprise. With apologies to Canteen Boy, Opera Man was absolutely the right choice as a callback during what is hopefully not Sandler’s last hosting gig, in that the bit’s premise—Sandler dresses up like an opera singer and riffs on the news in a buffoonish Olive Garden accent—is just stupid enough to be timeless.

Let’s just say that he can still make a punchline like “Kentucky Derby very fast-o / One in first and one in last-o / Winning horse is magnifioso / Losing horse is delicioso” sing. Let’s just say that “Grope-a grope-a / Sniff-a sniff-a” is a transcendently puerile opening line to the theme song Joe Biden deserves. Let’s just say that if someone was gonna rhyme They afraid to impeach with Putin makes me his beetch, I’m glad it was him. The whole thing was absurd, and a little disturbing, and extremely great. “So very long since I’ve been around-ah,” Opera Man climatically wailed. “Twenty-four years and 24 pounds-ah.”

NBC

Sandler was fired from SNL (along with Chris Farley!) in 1995 and went on to become a critic-proof blockbuster movie star; Opera Man also included a quick bit about the new Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen romcom Long Shot, and how its “Pretty lady / Goofy man-ah” premise seemed awfully familiar. (Rogen was thrilled.) Indeed, Sandler’s monologue consisted of a song called, presumably, “I Was Fired,” with guest appearances from Chris Rock (also fired!) and Pete Davidson (keep trying!), and a final verse that ran as follows:

I was fired, I was fired
NBC said that I was done
Then I made over $4 billion at the box office
So I guess you could say I won

For those millennials (and younger!) not steeped in ‘90s pop-culture lore who thus might solely know Sandler as the guy who makes colossally polarizing Netflix movies, Saturday night must’ve been a little confounding. The dude is 52 years old, for one thing. (“I should have come back to the show before it was HD,” he conceded last week on Late Night With Seth Meyers.) And stripped of any context, he has the chill-but-volatile vibe of that distinct phylum of SNL host where there’s a three-percent chance he or she will forget the name of the musical guest while introducing the musical guest. (Shawn Mendes did a reworked version of “In My Blood” with four cellos; Sandler nailed the intro both times.)

The episode was thus split between the show’s usual, cheerfully hacky approach to current events (the cold open was an Avengers vs. Game of Thrones edition of Family Feud that featured Leslie Jones delivering the line “Bitch, I’m Groot”) and total nostalgia. (One skit was a “Sandler family reunion” that consisted of various cast members—and Kristen Wiig, and Jimmy Fallon—doing impressions of his various blockbuster movie characters.) Basically, to get the most out of this episode, you had to be old enough that this was all transpiring way, way, way, past your bedtime. Your reward was that you got to watch a 52-year-old guy crack jokes about CNN war-zone reporters using Snapchat filters, and still come across like a majestically dopey 14-year-old.

The episode as a whole was far from perfect—it included an early and spectacularly unfunny music video for a song about how “clothes are holes” in which Sandler somehow impersonated both Slash and Axl Rose simultaneously—but it was nonetheless a reminder of how perfect he always was for this show. He can underplay if you really need him to: The best skit that didn’t trade on past glories featured Sandler as a tour operator in Italy going to great lengths to remind depressed people that they’ll still be depressed while on vacation in Italy. (“The pictures you’re in are gonna have you in them.”) But as always, Sandler makes the most sense the louder and the bawdier and the dumber everything around him gets, which is to say that at one point Kate McKinnon was squirting Windex in his mouth in a bar while making out with Kristen Wiig. (Wiig’s tenure at SNL did not, of course, overlap with Sandler’s at all, but who’s complaining?) Impressively, given the quarter-century’s worth of history involved, he returned a conquering hero, but with the chops of an old-timer—and all-timer—who’d never left at all.

And for his final act Saturday night, he did something even more surprising.

Hello police snl made me cry??

— Bethy Squires (@BethyBSQU) May 5, 2019

Specifically, Sandler sang a shaggy and phenomenally tender song about Chris Farley, his old castmate and dearly departed friend. (His quite good 2018 Netflix comedy special 100% Fresh peaks with the same tune.) It was a disarmingly beautiful moment, sounding both improvised and deeply heartfelt, a teary-eyed tribute that captured both the comedy and the tragedy of one of the show’s other most famous cast members from the ‘90s. “After a show he’d drink a quart of Jack Daniel’s and stick the bottle right up his ass,” Sandler sang, a line that always gets a laugh, and always hurts, too.

It was moving on a level SNL almost never even approaches; the whole episode was, really, given Sandler’s inimitable mix of veteran savvy and forever-childlike defiance. He was happy to be there in a way that made you even happier to watch him be there. “To my wife and kids, I’m glad you guys got to witness that,” he announced during his goodbyes. “‘Cause I loved it here, man.”

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2019-05-05 14:12:05Z
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Which 'Game of Thrones' Star Has the Highest Net Worth? - The Cheat Sheet

Game of Thrones is easily one of the most successful shows of all time. Anyone who has social media understands the absurd number of memes, spoilers, and more that come along with every Sunday’s new episode. Some of the actors and actresses who portray the Game of Thrones characters are more well-known than others — but which star has the highest net worth?

‘Game of Thrones’ stars Maisie Williams, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, and Lena Headey | Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images

Maisie Williams: $6 million

After last week’s Battle of Winterfell, people are definitely rooting for Arya Stark, who is portrayed by Maisie Williams. Williams is making a reported $175,000 per episode for this final season, which may sound like a lot, but it actually isn’t even close to some of the other salaries. Either way, she’s made millions from Game of Thrones and is worth a reported $6 million today.

Sophie Turner: $6 million

Sophie Turner shot to fame with her role on the show; according to Refinery29, Turner’s character, Sansa Stark, was her first professional acting job. Clearly, things worked out. Turner reportedly makes $175,000 per episode, and she’s worth an estimated $6 million today. She’s also engaged to Joe Jonas, and the two seem to have a close, exciting relationship that fans love to watch.  

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvedlF8homg/

Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner have essentially grown up on the show.

Lena Headey: $9 million

Lena Headey is best known as Cersei Lannister on the show. She’s a British actress who already had an established acting career before landing her role on the HBO show. Refinery29 reports that she is being paid $500,000 per episode, but other outlets suggest the number is closer to $1 million. Today, she’s worth an estimated $9 million, and much of that is thanks to Game of Thrones.

Kit Harington: $12 million

It’s hard to forget Jon Snow, played by Kit Harington. Snow is one of the show’s most important characters, and Harington’s acting techniques made him perfect for the role. Harington has been in several films, but Game of Thrones was his first major small-screen role. Evidently, he’s done a great job, considering he makes a reported $500,000 per episode. Today, he’s worth an estimated $12 million.

Emilia Clarke: $13 million

Emilia Clarke is another actress making a reported $500,000 per episode, up from $300,000 in previous seasons. She plays Daenerys Targaryen, a critical character on the show, which explains her massive salary. Today, she’s the wealthiest female of any Game of Thrones cast member with a net worth around $13 million.

Peter Dinklage: $15 million

Peter Dinklage may be best known as Tyrion Lannister, but this isn’t his first acting gig. You might remember Dinklage as famed children’s author Miles Finch in Elf, otherwise known as the “south pole elf.” He also had important roles in X-Men and The Chronicles of Narnia. His acting resume has earned him a net worth of about $15 million, though Tyrion Lannister might be his best-known role of all time.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldeau: $16 million

Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldeau is the wealthiest Game of Thrones actor.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldeau is the wealthiest Game of Thrones actor, and he’s known for his role as Jaime Lannister. Coster-Waldeau has a long list of films under his belt, including Black Hawk Down and The Other Woman. He’s likely made the majority of his money from the HBO show though, considering he receives an estimated $500,000 per episode. Today, he’s worth around $16 million.

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2019-05-05 12:31:34Z
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Adam Sandler brings some nostalgic professionalism to an otherwise tired Saturday Night Live - The A.V. Club

Opera Man, Colin Jost

Screenshot: Saturday Night Live

“Wait, I can see on the TV I look silly.”

“I’m not an actor (unless I feel like it), I’m a movie star (with an exclusive Netflix contract)!”

Adam Sandler left Saturday Night Live in 1995, which seems about as improbable as Sandler’s boast about his often amiably lazy movies having made “over 4 billion dollars at the box office,” as the returning alum sung in his charmily silly musical monologue song, “I Was Fired.” Sandler indeed got canned back then, although it was largely the doing of then NBC president Don Ohlmeyer, who was engaged in a very public and ugly feud with Lorne Michaels for control of the show at the time. Chris Rock came out to contribute his own delightfully funny verse about his earlier own unceremonious SNL exit, while Sandler noted that also-fired Chris Farley (who was as big a presence tonight as much of the current cast) garrulously commiserated with Sandler at the time.

It was a fittingly genial fuck-you from Sandler (one lyric accuses NBC of “hat[ing] the Jews”), who eased back into his old launching pad with the ease of somebody with nothing to prove. Sandler’s time on SNL was undoubtedly phenomenally successful (until ratings started to slip along with viewers’ tolerance for the broad, bellowing anics of Sandler, Farley, and their fellow “bad boys”). And while Sandler’s proven himself capable of much more range than anyone then would have imagined when he was 23 (at least when he teams up with the right directors and decides to put “actor” back on his resumé) he mainly stuck tonight to what he was best at then, being silly and sweetly goofy.

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In Tom Shales and James Miller’s oral history of the show, onetime SNL writer Bob Odenkirk explained how Sandler’s success on the show was often frustrating, but never surprising, or even especially resented. Noting how he and others who were turning out the sort of smarter, more ambitious material that mostly didn’t make it to air, still couldn’t help but concede that Sandler got more big laughs and audience love by just “sort of dicking around.” (Odenkirk went and made his own sketch comedy legacy elsewhere.) Not that that’s all Sandler’s got, but dicking around has gotten him to where he is, and the episode didn’t mess much with that formula.

Best/Worst Sketch Of The Night

In a night of puzzling behind-the-scenes decision making, Sandler shone most in a pair of pieces that showed off his skills at underplaying in sketches that would have fit perfectly back in his heyday. The Romano Tours commercial was Sandler the comedy professional, playing it straight in a thoroughly satisfying deadpan sketch where Sandler’s tour booker patiently rebuts some bad customer reviews. This could be an invitation for mean-spirited yelling, or passive-aggressive abuse, but Sandler’s even-handed explanation that miserable people will still be miserable even when tossing pizza dough in Italy emerges with its humanity intact. Sustaining the joke admirably, the piece sees Sandler’s pitchman alternating between the low-rent glories of a Staten Island-booked package tour (“See some different squirrels.”), and not-unkind advice that, even on a wine-tasting tour of lovely Italian vineyards, “We cannot change why you drink or the person you become when you do, okay?” Packed with lines that good (“The pictures you’re in are gonna have you in them.,” “You’re not your sister.,” “In Italy, you will still have those bodies and feelings.”), the joke just works better and better the more Sandler stays with it. It’s a contained, fully-realized little gem.

Just as good, albeit in a different key, is the erectile dysfunction commercial for the suspiciously butt-plug-shaped ED drug Rectix. Bringing back memories of some of Sandler’s old meticulously produced belly laugh ads (Schmitt’s Gay comes to mind), the piece plays out in straight-faced perfection as Beck Bennett’s reticent grown adult son gradually realizes that his solicitous dad (Sandler’s) sage advice comes from his happy ignorance about the means by which his lemonade-making mom (Aidy) has slyly introduced ass play into the couple’s longtime marriage. Colon Blow, Oops! I Crapped My Pants—scatology played straight is the SNL commercial sweet spot. Points for Aidy’s serene smile, and the side effect warning: May cause a shift in couple’s power dynamic.

On the other hand, Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett’s music video “Holes (Clothes)” misjudges a reliable SNL formula almost entirely. Especially coming as early in the show as it does, the bit—where the guys’ ultra-serious duo Von Bonjour croons about the way that clothes are really just holes used to cover up your body’s holes—deflates an already unpromising idea with a limp production. Even some of SNL’s lesser music video parodies score points by nailing the sound and look, but Beck and Kyle’s deliberately offhand premise is let down even further by a similarly underwhelming production all around. This one just played out to baffled silence.

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Weekend Update update

Jost and Che dispensed with their end of the political material tonight breezily enough. (See below for more on that.) The episode seemed fixated more on the “light prop comedy” of Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) busting out some KFC to call William Barr a chicken than the fact that the Attorney General of the United States refused to appear before a congressional hearing about his obvious, Constitution-shredding efforts to exonerate the president he’s supposedly overseeing. Yeah, it was, as Jost put it, a pretty irresistible comedy spectacle to see “an old man go to town on a bucket of chicken at nine in the morning,” but if that’s where the satire ends, you’re doing less than the bare minimum. Jost did joke about the country apparently having no rules any more, while Che dug at the Democrats for treating the Trump administration’s blatant and escalating contempt for American democracy and the rule of law “like a white parent dealing with a screaming kid at the supermarket.” Then it was on to jokes about Applebee’s and marshmallow Peeps.

At least Kate McKinnon got to come out once more as her determinedly no-bullshit Elizabeth Warren. And if Kate’s Liz didn’t take Jost and company to task again by waving a copy of a certain SNL reviewer’s complaints about the show’s lack of political courage, the piece did see Warren mocking the ongoing slighting of her campaign by the press. I’m not sure why Warren is being given the decidedly Trump-ian trait here of giving her Democratic opponents childishly insulting nicknames, but she’s got a point about her substantive progressive policy proposals being overshadowed by the press’ infatuation with the sight of Beto O’Rourke doing “parkour in a Starbucks.” (“I guess, you know, I’m settin’ myself apart from the other candidates by sayin’ what I’m gonna do and how I’m gonna do it. Whoa, what a crackpot idea!”) If Warren’s specifics about, say forgiving college debt, or universal childcare are derided as too wonky compared to the coverage of the “clown car” of her Democratic opponents, I say bring it on, both in the national discourse and on SNL.

For the other correspondent piece, we take you to . . .

“What do you call that act?” “The Californians!”—Recurring sketch report

Opera Man, everybody! What the hell, it’s the sort of easy-going Sandler throwback silliness he can likely crank out in the shower in the morning (although Sandler did bring back writers Robert Smigel, Tim Herlihy, and Steve Koren to help out). And, of all the possible returning bits, Opera Man’s blend of light pop culture satire and high culture was destined to go down smoothest. Besides, on another night where SNL exhibited its intention to dial way back on the ambition when it comes to political material, Opera Man’s jokes about the Democrats seeming plan to nominate yet another 70-year-old white man for president was about as pointed as things were going to get.

I’m calling the Sandler family reunion a recurring bit, since it’s essentially just another Walken family reunion with some mediocre Sandler impressions swapped in. Seriously, for such a uniquely imitable former cast member, you’d think that the current cast would have some better Sandler voices in their pockets. It was up to the still-giggling Jimmy Fallon to drop by with a decent Sandler, something he auditioned with way back when. It’s cute enough stuff, but, while the cast was underused all night (a malady afflicting most former cast member comebacks), nobody really picked up the Sandler and ran with it, which was the only reason to do this sketch in the first place. (Unsurprisingly, Kenan comes off best as the Sandler-by-marriage who hasn’t really gotten into the schticky swing of things yet.)

And speaking of ringers, what was with all the Kristen Wiig tonight? I like Wiig just fine, but she never served with Sandler, so her two appearances (at the reunion, and later being gamely gross hitting on Kate’s returning Sheila Sauvage) served to highlight how hard the current cast gets elbowed aside whenever an old hand/big star feels like dropping in to play. As for the sketch—what do you say at this point? I loved Sheila’s last call barfly’s resilient, boozy bravery the first time out. Which I believe first aired around 1987, right? Anyway, Sandler, McKinnon, Wiig, and Kenan’s ever-horrified barkeep all went through the same old distasteful moves, as Wiig and Sandler’s swingers waver in their scabrous desire to introduce the equally noncommittal Shiela’s questionable charms into their greasy, cyst- and colostomy-bag-filled lovemaking. That this baseline tolerable rotten old chestnut didn’t steal the ten-to-one spot as is its wont is about all the good there is to say about it.

“It was my understanding there would be no math”—Political comedy report

I’m slotting the cold open in here, partly because that’s been the place where SNL dumps its requisite political sketch of the night, but mostly because the show goes out of its way to use yet another Family Feud sketch to announce a conspicuous surrender. I’ve been accused of being the only person who wants Saturday Night Live to do more political material, and, while I’ll concede that the show’s Alec Baldwin-dominated Trump material has been something of a mild-mannered slog, I’ll cop to that. If for no other reason than the show has the irritated ear of a president who’s not only actively advocated for governmental censorship of Saturday Night Live for being all mean to him, but whose mid-candidacy presence as host damaged the show’s rep to an extent it’s still trying to live down.

If the response is that SNL’s political courage and sophistication has always been more pose than practice, I can’t argue that much. But SNL has a platform, and one that it’s courted, developed, and climbed to intermittent heights of ratings (and even critical) success. Basically, throwing in the towel when you’re in the position to most directly affect a sitting president (who you arguably helped elect) is cowardly. Or lazy. Or cynical. Anything but ambitious. So starting off the episode with a head-fake toward another political sketch before jerking back to safely mediocre ground is your way of saying that all this heat is either too much, or too hard? Fair enough. But trundling out one of your most reliably unimpressive bits of quick-hit, uninspired celebrity impressions in its place is an act of contempt for anyone who thinks having a 90-minute stage of live TV satire involves some fucking effort. And courage.

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The sketch was what it was. Cute. Disposable. Filled with lackluster impersonations and easy, crowd-targeted references. (Props to Ego Nwodim’s committed Okoye/Danai Gurira, the one standout in the Avengers vs. Game Of Thrones matchup.) Nobody’s forcing SNL to do political satire. But if the mission going forward is to safely backpedal on politics, then you’d better be a whole lot funnier and more original as a sketch comedy show, because right now, you’re courting irrelevance on both fronts.

I guess the Snapchat sketch was . . . political? Using the ongoing and very real violence and political turmoil in Libya as backdrop for a harmlessly silly sight gag is in questionable comic taste, but here’s to SNL for remembering that Tripoli exists, I guess. Throw in some added disregard for the (again, very real and growing) threat to journalists around the world (and here in America), and, well, the joke about imperiled reporter Mikey Day being unable to control the Snapchat filters on his phone is still . . . cute? Sandler popped up to do his Iraqi Pete accent, while Beck Bennett’s analyst couldn’t stop gushing over how darn cute everything was, much to the disgust of Cecily Strong’s Brooke Baldwin. Politics, SNL style.

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I am hip to the musics of today

At least we know who Tom Holland will play should the boyish Spider-Man ever host SNL. Fun fact: Mendes was born three years after Sandler was fired from the show.

Most/Least Valuable Not Ready For Prime Time Player

Nearly every cast member proper got shunted aside for the chummy mush of another camera-hogging alumni reunion show, so here’s to Kate McKinnon, I guess. She does a really good Elizabeth Warren, a pleasantly ordinary Brienne of Tarth, and was really the only person to stand on her own tonight. Distant second to Ego Nwodim, who gave it her all in her customary single shot, while Aidy deserves some recognition for her slyly satisfied smile in the Rectix ad.

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“What the hell is that thing?”—The Ten-To-Oneland Report

I’d complain about giving over the last slot to Sandler so he could sing the Chris Farley tribute song he debuted in his Netflix special, but I have a human soul. Say what you want about Farley’s affect on Saturday Night Live’s already broad tendencies, or his (and Sandler’s) noted fratboy Republicanism, or the way he went out (a fate, Sandler sings, he was not only prepared for, but not-so-secretly courted in deference to his comic heroes John Belushi and John Candy), but it’s hard not to love a guy who made people laugh so much, and so freely. And Sandler’s song is a genuinely touching thing, mixing heartfelt and obvious love with clear-eyed digs at a beloved pal who died way too soon. For someone who watched Farley’s rise and crash with helpless, sometimes guilty laughter, Sandler’s whimsical lament that Farley isn’t around to make him happy anymore was as right a way to end Sandler’s first return to SNL as you could hope for.

Stray observations

• Sandler/Opera Man gives a musical dig to Funny People co-star Seth Rogen for stealing Sandler’s “schlubby guy gets the hot woman” shtick.
• Kenan’s Steve Harvey sums up Thor’s quest to restore Asgard as “some kind of white nonsense.”
• “It vibrates?” “What, did you think it doesn’t?”
• Jost’s list of people Democrats have held accountable: Scott Pruitt (sort of); Roseanne Barr.
• Che got two audience groans tonight, to his obvious delight. One a joke about the Pope berating hairdressers about gossiping (“Especially when that gossip is, ‘Did you hear what happened to those altar boys?’”), and the other when revealing that a newly discovered jellyfish’s “transient anus” only appears when it’s needs to expel waste “and on its husband’s birthday.”
• Pete Davidson also broke into Sandler’s monologue to sing about being fired. After Sandler reminded him he hasn’t actually been fired yet, he advised, “Be patient, ‘cause it’s comin’ soon.”
• Next week: Emma Thompson, people. Plus the Jonas Brothers, if that’s your bag.

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https://tv.avclub.com/adam-sandler-brings-some-nostalgic-professionalism-to-a-1834532093

2019-05-05 09:43:00Z
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