“Saturday Night Live” announced in the fall that it was recruiting Jim Carrey to play former vice president Joseph R. Biden Jr., then nominated for the Democratic presidency and now president-elect. At the time, Lorne Michaels, the creator and executive producer of “SNL,” went so far as to say that Carrey’s performance would be “amazing and eventually surpass comedy.”
But Carrey’s departure from the role, which he had not played since November, was slower. Into the a tweet posted on Saturday afternoon, Carrey wrote that the time he played in Biden “should have been only 6 weeks” and that, although he considered the mission to be “the highest call of comedy debt”, he was “only one of a long line of proud, fighters with SNL Bidens! (As has long been known, the role was previously played by cast members and guest stars, including Jason Sudeikis, Woody Harrelson and John Mulaney.)
And by Saturday night, “SNL” had already put together another member of the cast, Alex Moffat, to play Biden in the opening sketch of the show.
The sketch focused on Vice President Mike Pence (played by Beck Bennett) who was preparing to receive a coronavirus vaccine. “I’m sure all Americans are happy to see me, the guy who let Covid spread everywhere, getting one of the first vaccines,” Bennett said.
He said he wanted to “reassure the American people that this vaccine is completely safe and harmless,” adding, “That’s why President Trump refuses to discuss or talk about it.”
Bennett then thanked “all Americans for President Trump’s confidence in your health.”
“He may not make him president anymore,” Bennett continued, “but he still deeply cares that he won’t go to jail.”
After receiving the vaccine from a doctor played by Mikey Day, Bennett said, “I didn’t feel anything.”
“Yes,” Day admitted, “it’s totally painless.”
“No, I meant for the last four years, I didn’t feel anything.” Bennett said. “I just watched the country burn.”
They were joined by Maya Rudolph in her recurring role as elected Vice President Kamala Harris. “How did you get into the White House?” Bennett asked, struggling to cover his exposed forearms.
“We won more votes,” Rudolph said.
Here, Moffat made his entrance like Biden, walking with a cane and wearing an orthopedic boot on one leg – only to turn a Willy Wonka-style hood and stand upright.
“You look different,” Bennett said.
Moffat replied, “I’m like Colonel Sanders – every time you see me I’m a different guy. There is a good chance that this time next year I will be Mario Lopez. “
Opening monologue of the week
This week’s episode, hosted by “SNL” student Kristen Wiig and with Dua Lipa as the musical guest, was the last live broadcast of the year, which meant, of course, a lot of sketches about Christmas. In keeping with the holiday spirit, Wiig used his opening monologue to perform a version of “My Favorite Things,” which began frankly but quickly drifted away in some strange places. While singing in a verse:
Jackets on ponies and bread on baloney,
Hawk and Shalhoub are my two favorite Tonys.
Going to the yard dressed as “Lord of the Rings”
These are some of my favorite things.
Rudolph joined her on stage to explain that these were not the correct lyrics and began to sing what he said was the authentic version of the song:
Pop rock on hot dog and mustard on lady,
Musical improvement by Mr Wayne Brady,
Sitting pretty naked on a bike,
These are just some of the things I enjoy.
Kate McKinnon also came out and gave it another try:
Beef empanades and beef chemichangas,
Pork empanades and a pork chemichanga,
Chicken fajita and chicken tacos,
These are some of my favorites.
Music video of the week
Who makes sure that every Christmas morning works like clockwork and that everyone in the family is well fed and comfortable while opening presents? That role often belongs to the mother.
But in this household, while the father, Bro and Sis (Bennett, Mooney and Chloe Fineman) sing about all the interesting goodies they have just revealed – a Nerf pistol, a telescope, a watch, a laptop and suitable hoverboards – What did Mother (Wiig) receive this year? A robe and … that’s it. Just a robe. (And the dog gets one.)
It’s not a happy holiday, although it’s comedically satisfying to see Wiig rhyming her way through her character’s passive aggression. (Now, please take this opportunity to make sure that you have received a suitable and personalized gift for your mother.)
Jokes of the week with Weekend Update
At the Weekend Update office, anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che prepared to say goodbye to President Trump and continued to discuss the launch of the vaccine.
Jost began by saying:
Well, guys, except for a reverse Christmas miracle, this is the last weekend update with Donald Trump still in office. Now, as president, he was mostly bad, but there were a few bright spots. So before he is tranquilized and moved like a dinosaur to “Jurassic Park”, I just want to take a moment to acknowledge some of his greatest moments in office.
The screen then showed a montage of important moments during President Trump’s term in office, set to “Shutdown Time” by Semisonic. These included:
“So America is not crying because it’s over,” Jost added after the montage. “She smiles because it happened. And then you probably cry a little. I don’t know, I’m still working with my therapist. “
Switching to the vaccine in a subsequent riff, Jost said:
The White House left it to the states to distribute the vaccine, because knowing Trump, I certainly thought it would be done through a live Powerball lottery. The evaluations would have been crazy and it would have been the first job for the White House for which Ivanka was qualified.
Che then moved the subject to a group of Trump supporters, noting:
During a pro-Trump rally in Washington, DC, protesters burned Black Lives Matter signs at two historic black churches. You know, I don’t want to be a judge here. But at some point, when you set fire to black churches, you have to stop and ask yourself, “Hey, am I the bad guy here?”
Vintage character of the week Kristen Wiig
If you bring Wiig back to host “SNL,” you’ll have her review some of the distinct and idiosyncratic characters she played so memorably during her show.
At the beginning of this week’s show, she repeated Mindy Elise Grayson, the past actress, who makes life permanently difficult for the contestants in the game show “Secret Word”. And if you stayed up until the end of the night, you should see her return to the role of the exciting Sue, the aunt dressed in a sweater who can’t help but ruin the surprises, even if she has to swallow an entire Elf on the shelf or collapse through a first floor window.
Here we hope that the surprises that await us in 2021 are just good.