There’s no way that Olivia Rodrigo’s all-caps tweet could have adequately prepared me for SNL’s “Drivers License” sketch.
The tweet reads: DRIVERS LICENSE SNL SKETCH IS THE BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER IM SHAKING.
The skit is set in a small bar where a couple of rugged guys are playing a competitive game of pool. When host Regé-Jean Page’s character strolls over to the jukebox to play a song, no one in the crew thinks much of it.
That is, until “Drivers License” plays.
“Wait, what am I listening to?” asks Beck Bennett, standing up puzzled after preparing to hit the cue ball.
The group of tough men then begin to engage in the conversation that has been dominated by teenage girls, one that attempts to get to the roots of Rodrigo’s hit song. It’s a drama-infused exchange touching on heartbreak, outside influences, and of course, Joshua Basset and Sabrina Carpenter.
“[The song is] about a girl getting her driver’s license, but it’s bittersweet because it’s something she and her ex always talked about,” Bennett’s character explains. “That’s what I guess based on hearing it for the first time right now.”
As they establish the players that inspired the piece (“I think I overheard on the news that it’s actually about the kids from High School Musical”), the sentimental lyrics start to bring down the men’s emotional guards.
Pete Davidson has a soft moment lip syncing, opening the door for Page and Bennett to belt the end of the first chorus. (Can we pause for a second? If Pete Davidson was singing my song, my heart would be so full that I would quite literally melt into a puddle. How is Olivia still functioning?)
“I got my driver’s license 55 years ago,” says an elderly man played by Kate McKinnon. “Why is this hitting me so hard?”
And that’s the thing: no one in the room is immune to plaintive song. This is especially true of Mikey Day’s character who is tearing up at the thought of his “b— ex, Gina.”
For a moment, the men catch themselves drifting and flip back to their masculine characters to stir up a heated debate comparing Rodrigo’s work to that of other female pop artists.
“I still feel it’s Taylor,” Davidson instigates. “You got a problem?”
“With you being purposely reductive, yeah, I got a problem,” Page fires back.
The other men around the pool table are prepared to hold the argumentative guys back, but McKinnon interjects.
“Boys, boys,” she begins, stopping them in their tracks. “Open your hearts and listen. We’re about to get the bridge of our lives.”
Not only does their fighting cease, but the crew puts their arms around each other and they sway from side to side. Together, they shamelessly showcase their vulnerability by belting Rodrigo’s emotional lyrics.
It’s a scene that we all needed.
“Red lights! Stop signs! / I still see your face / In the white cars, front yards / Can’t drive past the places / We used to go to,” the crew sings into their pool cue microphones.
When McKinnon asks to play the bridge again, you really can’t blame her.
If you’re looking to watch the sketch yourself, you can find it here. If you’re looking to know more about the Disney drama, be sure to check this out.
And if you’re looking for me, well, I’ll be listening to the bridge of “Drivers License.”