Timothée Chalamet’s musical guest appearance on Saturday Night Live was a season highlight, blending humor and sincerity in a Bob Dylan tribute that left audiences wanting more.
A Season Highlight: Timothée Chalamet’s Bob Dylan Tribute on Saturday Night Live
Timothée Chalamet’s musical guest appearance on Saturday Night Live was a season highlight, with his Bob Dylan-style tribute being funnier than his biopic and featuring deeper cuts.
During the monologue, Chalamet joked about moonlighting as an actor and musician, referencing Gary Busey and Lily Tomlin, who have also appeared as musical guests on SNL in alternate guises. The Blues Brothers, a John Belushi/Dan Aykroyd double act from the first five seasons of the show, served as a musical guest on two occasions in 1978.
Chalamet’s dedication to his Dylan tribute was sincerely sweet, even if it should have been laughably self-indulgent. However, it worked for him, and he seamlessly toggled between straight-faced sincerity and ostentatiousness. His fluent command of AI nonsense alongside Bowen Yang in a sketch had terrific grace under pressure.
A Medley of Bob Dylan Classics
Chalamet’s musical performance featured a medley of “Outlaw Blues” from Bringing It All Back Home, “Three Angels” from New Morning, and “Tomorrow Is a Long Time,” which doesn’t appear on a proper studio album. His dedication to the music was evident in his personal favorites selection.
A Season Highlight
Chalamet’s episode included delightful moments with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Adam Sandler, using them as one-off gags. The live sketches that worked on this episode were all enhanced by Chalamet’s ability to toggle between recessive and ostentatious. His pivot from straight-faced young-barista sincerity to ludicrous white-boy imitation of Def Jam was better than anything he did in Dune.
What Was On and What Was Off
While the night had its share of weaker sketches, including a chunk of the cast playing dog and Chalamet’s farting doctor bit, it also featured some standout moments. The bounce-house exercise sketch was alarming but funny enough with Michael Longfellow as the disbelieving anchor.
The MVP: Heidi Gardner
Heidi Gardner showed off her versatility by playing multiple roles in the podcast-doctor ad narrator, coffee-shop boss, woman who would rather burn her boyfriend than any calories, incestuously lustful mother, and cat. Her performance was a highlight of the episode.
Next Time
No one knows what’s next for SNL, but the big fiftieth anniversary special drops in mid-February, and it’s unlikely the host and music for March 1st will be announced before then.
