This weekend, “Saturday Night Live” added one more question to the four that are usually asked at the Easter Seder: Why was this sketch not chosen as the open cold?
You had to wait until just before midnight for the political-themed satire that usually initiates an “SNL” broadcast – this one featuring presenter Maya Rudolph in her recurring role as Vice President Kamala Harris. Your task? For MC, an Easter meal intended as a call to unity.
“This has been a difficult year for all of us,” said Harris of Rudolph. “But I really feel like we’re about to see some light. And what better night to celebrate a new beginning than Easter – or as my adopted people call it, Pesach. “
Rudolph explained the four questions that would be asked at this particular Seder: “How is school? You ate? When are you going to give me grandchildren? And what’s up with the haircut? ”Then she introduced the man she described as“ my rock, my everything, my Semitic smoke show, my stepfather-daddy ”- Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman, played by Martin Short.
In the usual “SNL” style, they joined several cast members who played prominent political figures, including Aidy Bryant as Senator Ted Cruz, who brought cupcakes and Israeli-flagged pigs on a blanket. (“Well, we can’t eat pork or bread, so, thanks,” Rudolph told her.)
Chloe Fineman appeared as Ella Emhoff, the second daughter, model and stylist. “Am I breaking your eyes?” she asked. “Good. You may think I look crazy, but I guarantee that I’m the most normal-looking girl in Bushwick.”
Kenan Thompson arrived, playing Senator Raphael Warnock, and was asked by Rudolph to ensure that Georgia remained a blue state.
“It won’t be easy,” said Thompson. “They will do everything they can to prevent black people from voting. We would not vote for anything if they could. Not even ‘American Idol’. Jennifer Hudson would have been eliminated in the first round. “
Next, Alex Moffat joined the group as President Biden, a role he had played only once, in December. In that appearance, Moffat portrayed Biden overflowing with confidence after his first formal press conference on Thursday.
“It was so easy,” said Moffat. “Many critics thought I wasn’t mentally prepared enough, but I think” – he paused here to look at a card – “proved that everyone was wrong”.
Moffat then informed Rudolph that he was giving her responsibility to deal with immigration conditions. “Thanks for the opportunity,” Rudolph said dryly. “Such a fun and solvable problem.”
Moffat also reintroduced his colleagues to his not entirely domesticated dog, Major. Some pre-recorded snarls sounded, and that was Short’s cue to fight bravely on the floor with a stuffed dog.
Beyoncé personification of the week
If you are going to bring Maya Rudolph back to “SNL”, it is best that she plays Beyoncé Knowles-Carter in absurd circumstances. This time, the scenario was “Hot Ones”, the talk show in which celebrities answer questions while trying to eat spicy food.
Mikey Day played the role of its host, Sean Evans, and even he seemed confused about why Beyoncé appeared on the show. “I feel you,” said Rudolph. “I still can’t say if this is below me. But my sister Solange loves this show, so I said I would. “
Rudolph did not answer many questions, but she successfully incorporated an overheated, sweaty Beyoncé with tears streaming down her face after tasting a sauce that was too hot even for her.
Video of the week
Now that more than 39 million Americans aged 65 and over have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine (according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), what will they do with their new status?
Well, rap about it with pride, of course.
As Chris Redd raps in this video, playing an arrogant vaccinated senior:
Baby boomers, best generation
We got all the money, now we have the vaccination
Destroyed the economy three whole times
And when it comes to vax, we are first in line
Jokes of the week from the weekend update
Jost started:
Well, this week it kind of looked like Biden on the stairs. You thought you had to get better, but then it got worse repeatedly. Following the shootings in Colorado and Atlanta, President Biden called for universal background checks on the purchase of weapons. And background checks are a great start, but shouldn’t we also be doing current checks? Like, what are these guys doing now? How much “Call of Duty” are they playing? They recently DMed a girl “hey” 30 times? Or, if you want a gun, the gun shop needs to talk to at least five people in your life who agree that it’s a good idea to have a gun. It is not asking too much. You have to list three references in an application to work on Foot Locker.
“And the Republicans,” he added, “please stop pretending that it’s a Second Amendment issue and just admit it:
You love guns more than people you don’t know. These are your political ads; look at them: [Here a composite image appeared of several Republican figures posing with guns] “It looks like you are running for the presidency of ISIS. If you really cared about the Second Amendment, you would also care about the well-regulated militias. And I don’t know if you noticed when they almost hung you two months ago, but our militias are not over-regulated.
Che picked up the riff, replying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just bought a gun last summer, when all those white kids started talking about getting rid of the police. “
He then switched to Biden’s press conference, saying:
President Biden gave his first press conference, which lasted more than an hour. Wow, shout to Fixodent! At the conference, President Biden was asked if he plans to run for re-election in 2024, which is probably the best way to ask if he plans to be alive in three years.
Weekend update table segment of the week
Although Bowen Yang is often seen here playing characters such as Chinese Trade Minister Chen Biao, this week he appeared as himself to address recent efforts to curb hatred and anti-Asian attacks. Yang read what he said were calls to action he saw on Instagram, with headlines like “Six ways to check out your AAPI friends and say they’re so hot”, using the abbreviation for Asian American and Pacific Islander people and ” Call your senators and demand that they know about the lesbian characters in Sailor Moon! “
Recognizing that he had no easy solutions to these problems, Yang asked, “What can I say to help how insanely bad things are? If someone’s personality is Punch an Asian Grandma, it is not a dialogue. I have an Asian grandmother. You want to punch her. There is no common ground, Mom. “
All work and no fun of the week
If you are a fan of accurate parodies of Stanley Kubrick’s films, or just enjoy watching the “SNL” stars of the past reunite with your former castmates, there is something here for you. In this segment filmed called “The Maya-ing”, Rudolph roams the Studio 8H as if it were the Overlook Hotel of “The Shining”.
But nobody’s brain smashed with a bat – it’s just a clever opportunity for Rudolph to catch up with old friends like Tina Fey (playing the ghost of an original “SNL” writer) and Rachel Dratch (like herself, in a bathtub) Enjoy it your stay, Maya, forever and ever.