Latest news with #Forever31
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The SNL Sketch That Captured Millennial Anxiety
The best Saturday Night Live parody commercials have a hint of truth to them, even at their most absurd. But 'Forever 31'—the fake ad that aired during this weekend's episode hosted by the Abbott Elementary creator and star, Quinta Brunson—felt even more realistic than usual. It was the type of sketch that almost seemed designed to be shared on Instagram by people in their early 30s with the caption 'This is so me.' In the sketch, Brunson and SNL's female cast members hawked products for a brand called Forever 31, a play on the infamous mall store Forever 21. But instead of the cute going-out tops and flimsy miniskirts you could find at the latter, Forever 31 catered its clothing to exhausted women in their 30s. 'Introducing Forever 31, for the woman who's stylish but tired,' the voiceover explained as Chloe Fineman danced in an oversize sweater and loose pants. 'Fun, but not like 'fun' fun.' The clothes at Forever 31 were baggy yet chic basics in 'every color of the bummer rainbow,' including gray and beige. Brunson noted there was also navy blue 'if you're feeling skanky.' The collection featured a lot of big suits that recalled the former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne's famously oversize garb in the concert documentary Stop Making Sense; there were also looks that, as Heidi Gardner said, would 'make 'Diane Keaton look like a prostitute.' The aesthetic might have been familiar to those who've browsed the offerings of labels like Cos and, at a greater price point, the Row. But the ad also captured the anxiety that comes with leaving your 20s and thinking about what's ahead—whether that means the decision to freeze your eggs, the future of your relationship, or your parents getting older. Millennials, including several of SNL's current cast members, are the ones now experiencing that specific unease. Crucially, SNL understood that these were not the fashions of women who had stopped trying. The clothes were all actually quite stylish, nicely tailored staples for women who have other things on their mind. The look was a marked difference from, say, the 'Mom Jeans' parody from 2003, in which the Gen Xers Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hawked high-waisted pants 'for even the least active of moms.' By comparison, 'Forever 31' wasn't making fun of the clothing or the women wearing them; the slouchy designs might have been more appealing to the parody's imagined consumer than what the young and 'sexy' Gen Z counterparts have on in the sketch: booty shorts and high heels that evoke the mid-2000s. Many Millennial women would likely recognize them from their own youth—and now cringe at the throwback. [Read: Forever 21's brief, hideous life] Instead, the humor came from the ad's relatability. Millennial women have now lived through multiple culture-shocking events: economic collapses, dramatically changing attitudes toward body positivity, the #MeToo movement. Plenty of preoccupations keep them from overanalyzing what they are going to wear every day; although they don't want to look bad, many women are uninterested in dressing for trendiness over comfort. I'm part of the demographic whose aesthetic the ad is affectionately skewering. I definitely have similar items in my closet—and can attest to their logic. Once I find something I like, I buy it multiple times. I still enjoy a pattern now and then, but I know black is always reliable. There was also something fitting about having Brunson as the guest star featured in the ad. Brunson proved herself remarkably versatile throughout the episode, playing dissimilar roles such as a horny grandmother and a woman who challenged a gorilla to a fight. But she is best known for her role as the intensely chipper Janine Teagues on Abbott Elementary. Though Janine has a more colorful, school-teacher-appropriate wardrobe, she also embodies the phase of life that 'Forever 31' was addressing: She's confident in her personal style but less confident in her future. The character is a quintessentially Millennial overachiever, just like the women the fake commercial satirized. Ultimately, perhaps the only true issue with 'Forever 31' was that it wasn't advertising a real store. I could go for a Carmen San Diego–esque trench coat. Article originally published at The Atlantic
Atlantic
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
Sketch That Captured Millennial Anxiety
The best Saturday Night Live parody commercials have a hint of truth to them, even at their most absurd. But 'Forever 31'—the fake ad that aired during this weekend's episode hosted by the Abbott Elementary creator and star, Quinta Brunson—felt even more realistic than usual. It was the type of sketch that almost seemed designed to be shared on Instagram by people in their early 30s with the caption 'This is so me.' In the sketch, Brunson and SNL 's female cast members hawked products for a brand called Forever 31, a play on the infamous mall store Forever 21. But instead of the cute going-out tops and flimsy miniskirts you could find at the latter, Forever 31 catered its clothing to exhausted women in their 30s. 'Introducing Forever 31, for the woman who's stylish but tired,' the voiceover explained as Chloe Fineman danced in an oversize sweater and loose pants. 'Fun, but not like 'fun' fun.' The clothes at Forever 31 were baggy yet chic basics in 'every color of the bummer rainbow,' including gray and beige. Brunson noted there was also navy blue 'if you're feeling skanky.' The collection featured a lot of big suits that recalled the former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne's famously oversize garb in the concert documentary Stop Making Sense; there were also looks that, as Heidi Gardner said, would 'make ' Diane Keaton look like a prostitute.' The aesthetic might have been familiar to those who've browsed the offerings of labels like Cos and, at a greater price point, the Row. But the ad also captured the anxiety that comes with leaving your 20s and thinking about what's ahead—whether that means the decision to freeze your eggs, the future of your relationship, or your parents getting older. Millennials, including several of SNL 's current cast members, are the ones now experiencing that specific unease. Crucially, SNL understood that these were not the fashions of women who had stopped trying. The clothes were all actually quite stylish, nicely tailored staples for women who have other things on their mind. The look was a marked difference from, say, the ' Mom Jeans ' parody from 2003, in which the Gen Xers Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hawked high-waisted pants 'for even the least active of moms.' By comparison, 'Forever 31' wasn't making fun of the clothing or the women wearing them; the slouchy designs might have been more appealing to the parody's imagined consumer than what the young and 'sexy' Gen Z counterparts have on in the sketch: booty shorts and high heels that evoke the mid-2000s. Many Millennial women would likely recognize them from their own youth—and now cringe at the throwback. Instead, the humor came from the ad's relatability. Millennial women have now lived through multiple culture-shocking events: economic collapses, dramatically changing attitudes toward body positivity, the #MeToo movement. Plenty of preoccupations keep them from overanalyzing what they are going to wear every day; although they don't want to look bad, many women are uninterested in dressing for trendiness over comfort. I'm part of the demographic whose aesthetic the ad is affectionately skewering. I definitely have similar items in my closet—and can attest to their logic. Once I find something I like, I buy it multiple times. I still enjoy a pattern now and then, but I know black is always reliable. There was also something fitting about having Brunson as the guest star featured in the ad. Brunson proved herself remarkably versatile throughout the episode, playing dissimilar roles such as a horny grandmother and a woman who challenged a gorilla to a fight. But she is best known for her role as the intensely chipper Janine Teagues on Abbott Elementary. Though Janine has a more colorful, school-teacher-appropriate wardrobe, she also embodies the phase of life that 'Forever 31' was addressing: She's confident in her personal style but less confident in her future. The character is a quintessentially Millennial overachiever, just like the women the fake commercial satirized. Ultimately, perhaps the only true issue with 'Forever 31' was that it wasn't advertising a real store. I could go for a Carmen San Diego–esque trench coat.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'SNL' host Quinta Brunson once again teaches a comedy master class
When she appeared for the first time on "Saturday Night Live" a year ago, "Abbott Elementary" creator and star Quinta Brunson gave one of last year's best hosting performances, bringing great comic timing and characters to the show. It was no fluke. Returning to the show for her second outing, Brunson proved just as adept at bringing her comedic sensibilities to an episode that featured an overall strong lineup of new sketches. There was only one retread and even that one, a reprise of the standout "Traffic Altercation," was worth revisiting. It's interesting to compare Brunson's just-as-excellent second shot to two other comics who hosted in Season 49 and Season 50: Nate Bargatze and Shane Gillis. While Bartgatze's return was good, it didn't quite reach the peaks of the first appearance. And Gillis, inexplicably called back into service after a not-great debut as host, was much worse the second time around. But Brunson didn't lose a step since last year; she was funny playing a time-traveling Harriet Tubman who, along with Kenan Thompson as Frederick Douglass, didn't want to go back to the past in a "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" parody; went daffy as one of several bad employees at a leadership summit; played a model in an ad for Forever 31's sad, oversized clothing; and one of "Two B— vs. a Gorilla" (the other was Ego Nwodim), about trash-talking women facing off with a gorilla at the zoo. If that wasn't enough, she played a joke-spouting old-time boxer, Jerry "Jackrabbit" Tulane, who stops being so funny after getting beaten up multiple times in the ring, and one half of a feisty and unexpectedly sexy "OnlySeniors" couple in an insurance ad. Bruson scored again and again and even sang in the monologue; she should have an open invitation to return next season. Musical guest Benson Boone backflipped before performing, "Sorry I'm Here for Someone Else" and did not do a backflip before performing "Mystical Magical." He briefly appeared on Weekend Update as an Applebee's waiter, referencing his hit song "Beautiful Things," which Boone didn't perform. Just as President Trump has dominated news cycle after news cycle this year, so has he commandeered the "SNL" cold open: once again, James Austin Johnson played the hard-charging POTUS, delivering a string of executive orders with creepy lord of darkness Stephen Miller (an increasingly vampiric Mikey Day). Trump signed orders to deport "Sesame Street" along with Elmo ("Brought to you by the letter L for El Salvador"), pardon J.K. Rowling for transphobic comments and bring back Columbus Day for Italian-Americans such as Tony Soprano, Benny Blanco (who is Jewish) and Childish Gambino (the stage name of Donald Glover, who is Black). Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernández) appeared for an order to keep Hispanic babies from getting their ears pierced, and Trump also made moves to make the New York Times Connections game easier, turn the word "Recession" into "Recess" and outlaw ghosts. "Every Christmas Eve, I get visited by three ghosts. I don't know what the hell they're talking about," Trump said. Brunson began her monologue with jokes about the time she worked for a phone sex line ("By the end of my first week, I had only made $1.38.") before landing on the topic of her song and dance number: her height. The 4-foot-11 actress said, "They tried to cast me as a kid on 'Abbott Elementary' and I wrote that!" Eschewing a microphone that was too high, she sang about the great things about being small, such as being a cheap date with wine. She was soon joined by another diminutive star: pop singer Sabrina Carpenter, who compared notes with her, asking, "When you read short stories, do they feel like novels?" Former NBA star Dwyane Wade towered over the ladies, but insisted he's still short compared to other basketball players at 6-foot-4. "I just really want to be in the song," he said. Brunson and Thompson play elderly parents whose kids (Nwodim and Devon Walker) find out they've got life insurance through a service that requires them to have sex and spend a lot of time naked for online fans. "We set up our camera and do stuff to each other. And watch the money just start pouring in," they're told. When they're not interacting with their "Filthy little chat babies," they're spending time with their also-naked neighbors and (checks notes) sitting on cakes? In these uncertain economic times, it's a business model that seems very viable. Mikey Day and Brunson faced off again in separate cars (but didn't seem to recognize each other from last time) to battle with a series of hand gestures and facial expressions over bad parking on a ferry. Day's character can't forgive the other driver for parking too close, saying he needs more than half an inch, which invites a devastating response from the woman in the other car. Day's daughter Quinn (Chloe Fineman) participates with over-the-line sexual gestures, prompting Brunson's character to make gestures for a gardening tool as she tells him who he raised. Sure, it's a repeat, but again it's executed perfectly on both ends, with the only disappointing note being an appearance by Colin Jost, who's trying to sell the real-life ferry he bought with Pete Davidson. It's not that Jost is bad, it's just that it couldn't possibly live up to Mellssa McCarthy's appearance when they did a version of this sketch with Martin Short. Sarah Sherman and Bowen Yang played horny barflys at Applebee's who are sad about chain restaurants closing down. But it was Michael Longfellow's declaration of not getting a Real ID that won "Update" this week. Longfellow said, "You already gave me an ID. If it's fake, you fix it. The Pope is dead, let me mourn." It didn't quite follow, but Longfellow went on to joke about his light work schedule of 12 hours a week at "SNL" ("I'm just not in that much stuff this season.") before making up rules for air travel including, "If the TSA touches your crotch, they have to keep going until you climax." It's true, Longfellow has been a light presence this season, but in segments like this, it's clear he's got a great command of his delivery. It will be nice if he's back for Season 51 and gets more screen time to show off his talents. Sign up for Screen Gab, a free newsletter about the TV and movies everyone's talking about from the L.A. Times. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘SNL' host Quinta Brunson once again teaches a comedy master class
When she appeared for the first time on 'Saturday Night Live' a year ago, 'Abbott Elementary' creator and star Quinta Brunson gave one of last year's best hosting performances, bringing great comic timing and characters to the show. It was no fluke. Returning to the show for her second outing, Brunson proved just as adept at bringing her comedic sensibilities to an episode that featured an overall strong lineup of new sketches. There was only one retread and even that one, a reprise of the standout 'Traffic Altercation,' was worth revisiting. It's interesting to compare Brunson's just-as-excellent second shot to two other comics who hosted in Season 49 and Season 50: Nate Bargatze and Shane Gillis. While Bartgatze's return was good, it didn't quite reach the peaks of the first appearance. And Gillis, inexplicably called back into service after a not-great debut as host, was much worse the second time around. But Brunson didn't lose a step since last year; she was funny playing a time-traveling Harriet Tubman who, along with Kenan Thompson as Frederick Douglass, didn't want to go back to the past in a 'Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure' parody; went daffy as one of several bad employees at a leadership summit; played a model in an ad for Forever 31's sad, oversized clothing; and one of 'Two B— vs. a Gorilla' (the other was Ego Nwodim), about trash-talking women facing off with a gorilla at the zoo. If that wasn't enough, she played a joke-spouting old-time boxer, Jerry 'Jackrabbit' Tulane, who stops being so funny after getting beaten up multiple times in the ring, and one half of a feisty and unexpectedly sexy 'OnlySeniors' couple in an insurance ad. Bruson scored again and again and even sang in the monologue; she should have an open invitation to return next season. Musical guest Benson Boone backflipped before performing, 'Sorry I'm Here for Someone Else' and did not do a backflip before performing 'Mystical Magical.' He briefly appeared on Weekend Update as an Applebee's waiter, referencing his hit song 'Beautiful Things,' which Boone didn't perform. Just as President Trump has dominated news cycle after news cycle this year, so has he commandeered the 'SNL' cold open: once again, James Austin Johnson played the hard-charging POTUS, delivering a string of executive orders with creepy lord of darkness Stephen Miller (an increasingly vampiric Mikey Day). Trump signed orders to deport 'Sesame Street' along with Elmo ('Brought to you by the letter L for El Salvador'), pardon J.K. Rowling for transphobic comments and bring back Columbus Day for Italian-Americans such as Tony Soprano, Benny Blanco (who is Jewish) and Childish Gambino (the stage name of Donald Glover, who is Black). Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernández) appeared for an order to keep Hispanic babies from getting their ears pierced, and Trump also made moves to make the New York Times Connections game easier, turn the word 'Recession' into 'Recess' and outlaw ghosts. 'Every Christmas Eve, I get visited by three ghosts. I don't know what the hell they're talking about,' Trump said. Brunson began her monologue with jokes about the time she worked for a phone sex line ('By the end of my first week, I had only made $1.38.') before landing on the topic of her song and dance number: her height. The 4-foot-11 actress said, 'They tried to cast me as a kid on 'Abbott Elementary' and I wrote that!' Eschewing a microphone that was too high, she sang about the great things about being small, such as being a cheap date with wine. She was soon joined by another diminutive star: pop singer Sabrina Carpenter, who compared notes with her, asking, 'When you read short stories, do they feel like novels?' Former NBA star Dwyane Wade towered over the ladies, but insisted he's still short compared to other basketball players at 6-foot-4. 'I just really want to be in the song,' he said. Brunson and Thompson play elderly parents whose kids (Nwodim and Devon Walker) find out they've got life insurance through a service that requires them to have sex and spend a lot of time naked for online fans. 'We set up our camera and do stuff to each other. And watch the money just start pouring in,' they're told. When they're not interacting with their 'Filthy little chat babies,' they're spending time with their also-naked neighbors and (checks notes) sitting on cakes? In these uncertain economic times, it's a business model that seems very viable. Mikey Day and Brunson faced off again in separate cars (but didn't seem to recognize each other from last time) to battle with a series of hand gestures and facial expressions over bad parking on a ferry. Day's character can't forgive the other driver for parking too close, saying he needs more than half an inch, which invites a devastating response from the woman in the other car. Day's daughter Quinn (Chloe Fineman) participates with over-the-line sexual gestures, prompting Brunson's character to make gestures for a gardening tool as she tells him who he raised. Sure, it's a repeat, but again it's executed perfectly on both ends, with the only disappointing note being an appearance by Colin Jost, who's trying to sell the real-life ferry he bought with Pete Davidson. It's not that Jost is bad, it's just that it couldn't possibly live up to Mellssa McCarthy's appearance when they did a version of this sketch with Martin Short. Sarah Sherman and Bowen Yang played horny barflys at Applebee's who are sad about chain restaurants closing down. But it was Michael Longfellow's declaration of not getting a Real ID that won 'Update' this week. Longfellow said, 'You already gave me an ID. If it's fake, you fix it. The Pope is dead, let me mourn.' It didn't quite follow, but Longfellow went on to joke about his light work schedule of 12 hours a week at 'SNL' ('I'm just not in that much stuff this season.') before making up rules for air travel including, 'If the TSA touches your crotch, they have to keep going until you climax.' It's true, Longfellow has been a light presence this season, but in segments like this, it's clear he's got a great command of his delivery. It will be nice if he's back for Season 51 and gets more screen time to show off his talents.
