Billie Eilish tried her best on 'SNL' but Kate McKinnon can make anyone break

It was a valiant effort, but Eilish couldn't hold it together.
 By 
Adam Rosenberg
 on 
In a still from "Saturday Night Live," Kate McKinnon and Billie Eilish stand side by side, smiling, in a hotel lobby, with both dressed as desk clerks for the hotel.
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Don't blame Billie Eilish. Who among us could stand inches away from Kate McKinnon, acting dryly silly, and not break out into hysterics?

The Saturday Night Live veteran seemingly made it her mission to get Eilish, the evening's host and musical guest, to break character and burst out laughing during their ad for an incredibly underwhelming hotel. The mission was a resounding success.

Eilish and McKinnon stand side by side as a "desk lady" and "the same person that's her," respectively, while they talk up the Business Garden Inn & Suites & Hotel Room Inn to the best of their abilities. It's just not a nice hotel though, and there's no putting a positive spin on the increasingly unhinged rundown of accommodations and amenities. Not that either woman tries.

Eilish is mostly focused on getting her lines right and not cracking up. McKinnon makes that task enormously difficult as she injects added weirdness into her performance, and intentionally turns it on her co-star. An oddly timed turn here, a pointlessly extended hand there. It's a miracle that the sketch doesn't fall apart. Eilish can't help the laughter, but the two see it through to the end and our day is enriched with laughter as a result.

Topics SNL

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Adam Rosenberg

Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.


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