‘SNL’ Recap: Weekend Update Does Not Shy Away From Ripping Into Senator Al Franken

Props, I guess, to Saturday Night Live for trying something new in its politically-geared, too often Trump-focused cold open. With Alec Baldwin off for the week, the show tried to capitalize on this week’s revelations regarding Donald Trump Jr.’s communication with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange by blending the funniest character of the season so far – Alex Moffat’s Eric Trump – with a new one for Kate McKinnon, who played Assange.

Unfortunately, the sketch went nowhere, squandering both McKinnon’s impression – which was technically sound, but hasn’t found its comedic angle yet – and Moffat’s Eric Trump, who merely repeated the “Eric doesn’t know how toys work” joke from “Weekend Update” a few weeks back. (Though having Eric screw up “Live from New York” was a worthwhile twist on the tradition.)

Host Chance the Rapper was utterly charming in the monologue, as well as throughout the episode. A bit nervous and excited, he avoided politics to focus on Thanksgiving with a straight-forward song about our crazy relatives at the Thanksgiving table, wordlessly brought to life by the SNL cast as he sang. Especially in this SNL (and everything) age of “all politics, all the time,” this was a welcome throwback to SNL holiday songs of old, like “I Wish It Was Christmas Today,” or even the Tarzan, Tonto, & Frankenstein songs from the Phil Hartman era.

For the first sketch, Beck Bennett played Bruce Wayne, throwing a party for Gotham’s poor at Wayne Manor. Leslie Jones, Kenan Thompson and Chance, later joined by Chris Redd and Melissa Villasenor, play poor locals there to enjoy the food and give thanks – but also, they have a concern. Namely, why is Batman always so violently harsh to poor people? Apparently, beating up suspects then hanging them from a gargoyle 30 stories up by their underwear seems a tough punishment for littering or theft. Turns out Batman’s “tough on crime” policies don’t go over so well in black and Hispanic neighborhoods. A smart, funny take on disputes about aggressive policing, this also was a tough sketch for cue card reading.

Next, it’s ’90s music video parody time as Redd, Chance and Thompson play a smooth R&B/soul group. The video style is recognizable – they wear all white suits, with hundreds of candles lit all around them, bathed in a golden hue. They sing about a lost love, and the heartbreak is clear through the verse, with the object of their desire revealed in the chorus – Barack Obama. “Come Back Barack” taps into the despair among many – certainly including SNL’s viewing audience – about the current state of the country, with Thompson doing a very 90s talking-during-the-song bit, trying to figure out how Obama could be brought back to the White House (spoiler alert – he can’t). Maybe Michelle could run. No – let’s not put Michelle through that, Thompson says.

Thompson’s Family Feud returns for Thanksgiving, putting a different spin on this recurring sketch. Rather than offering up the usual gaggle of celebrities, Thompson’s Steve Harvey pits his own family against that of a long-time friend, Carol Didrickson, played by Aidy Bryant. The joke – one of this very white family’s kids is black, and looks exactly like Harvey. Chance plays Harvey’s secret son, whose parentage is revealed to the host throughout the sketch. Complete with a high fade, Steve Harvey-stash and a red suit the color of a stop sign, Chance would have played the perfect Harvey if he could have gotten through the sketch without cracking up. Still, a welcome alternate take on an old reliable.

I don’t usually comment on the musical guest, but a quick thought on Eminem’s performance with Skylar Grey. Doing three songs in one segment, the match-up of “Walk on Water,” “Stan,” and “Love the Way You Lie” came off perfectly calibrated for our cultural moment. At a time when people are debating whether it’s truly possible to separate an artist from their art, Eminem throws down on the illusion of celebrity. Em is Marshall, no more, no less, and any thoughts beyond that are folly. With all that’s going on in Hollywood now, it’s never been more important to remember that celebrity is bullshit – its glow is a meticulously-crafted illusion. People are people, for better and worse. Fame amplifies, but should never deify.

“Weekend Update” took shots at sexual harassers in its opening moments, with Colin Jost taking a few hits at Senator Al Franken, who, as a writer and on-screen presence, had one of the longest creative tenures in SNL history. Jost’s notion that, regarding the incriminating photo that popped up this week, Franken should have known better because he’s not a high school sophomore was entirely correct, if not at all funny. Surely there was a more creative way to take on a powerful man who did a stupid thing, and also spent several decades creating material for your show. Not a winning week for Jost.

At the desk, McKinnon returned as Jeff Sessions, talking about his complete inability to remember anything during his congressional testimony this week. Sessions, he says, has a memory problem due to a childhood trauma – “the passing of the civil rights act.” We also saw the return of Sessions’ possum tail. McKinnon plays Sessions with as much spirit as any of her characters, but something about the character is losing its appeal for me, as if she’s taken it as far as it can go, and never really found a center for the character’s attraction. This, the second appearance in a row, feels like overkill.

They also brought Kyle Mooney’s horrible stand-up comedian Bruce Chandling back to the desk. A stereotype of a depressed road comic, I was done with this cliched bit two years ago. Not sure why it’s being brought back now.

They also brought Pete Davidson to the desk to talk about Thanksgiving in Staten Island, and this bit was so warm, truthful and hysterically funny that it felt like it was imported from another show.

Both Davidson and Jost hail from Staten Island, and they have very different public relationships with their home borough. Davidson, in an interview a few years back, said that the worst thing about Hurricane Sandy’s effect on Staten Island was that it didn’t finish the job. Needless to say, Staten Islanders didn’t love this, and journalists from there in the Staten Island Advance and the New York Post ripped Davidson a new one for his comments.

Davidson’s desk bit was an overview, with Jost, of the remarkably different ways each is regarded by their home borough. Jost is seen as a hometown hero because, Davidson says, the handsome Harvard graduate, called the world’s Sexiest Joke Writer by People Magazine, represents what Staten Islanders want to be – someone who got out. Davidson himself, he claims, represents what they are: “a mentally ill community college dropout who got a Game of Thrones tattoo before watching the show.” This was a joy to watch, bursting with so much comedic truth that it brought SNL’s massive institutional mediocrity of late into sharp contrast.

Next, Chance plays a basketball commentator for the MSG Network enlisted to comment on hockey, despite clearly knowing nothing about it. Chance the Commentator is very cold, can’t pronounce any players’ names, and resorts to repeating, “let’s do that hockey,” and, “that’s what’s up.” Also, he clearly hates hockey, and doesn’t want to be there. Pretty redundant once the premise was established, but a game performance by Chance.

A rap mockumentary follows, with guest talking head appearances by Questlove and Common, that somehow pits a ridiculous current MC with no credibility, played by Davidson, with his old school equivalent, the Soul Crush Crew, played by Thompson, Redd, and Chance. A fun take on hip-hop’s silliest elements throughout the years, including some of the more outrageous outfits worn in the scene and the more nonsensical lyrical approaches.

Next comes a scene at an elementary school’s Career Day. Chance and Mikey Day’s dads, Bennett and Thompson, are general contractors, and the two boys try to hype their boring talk as they go, taking their enthusiasm to unreasonably sensual heights. Somehow, Chance winds up in his underwear by the end. A trifle, but a few good laughs here.

At first, the final sketch of the night, “Skank Babysitter 17,” seems like a straight-forward porn parody, with Heidi Gardner in the title role, and Chance as a “pizza delivery guy.” But then we see the child being sat for, and it’s Bryant, returning as the real kid in fake porn scenarios she started playing back when Amy Schumer hosted in 2015. When Bryant notices the pizza has a hole in the center – for the sausage, says Chance – she advises Gardner not to leave a tip. “No,” says Chance. “I give her the tip.” A fun ending to a better-than-average episode.

SNL returns on December 2 with host Saoirse Ronan, and musical guest U2.

Larry Getlen is the author of the book Conversations with Carlin. His greatest wish is to see Stefon enjoy a cheeseburger at John Belushi’s diner. Follow him on Twitter at @larrygetlen.

Watch the Chance The Rapper/Eminem episode of SNL on Hulu