‘SNL’ Questions Why Al Franken Felt The Need To Resign But Not Actually Apologize

SNL took a different and risky approach in last night’s cold open, passing on Alec Baldwin’s Trump or other White House players by focusing instead on how children might be reacting to today’s onslaught of news.

With Kenan Thompson as a department store Santa and Kate McKinnon as his elf, the sketch featured children sitting on his lap and, instead of asking for toys, asking questions about the news, such as, “What did Al Franken do?” “Is President Trump on the naughty list?” and “Why are football players kneeling? Do they hate the troops?” The approach was risky for two reasons. For one, depending on kids in a live TV setting led to a few line failings, although the risk was minimal here, as the few mistakes (save for Thompson answering one question that wasn’t asked) came off as adorable.

Riskier still was having liberal anxiety funneled though kids. While the “have children say what we’re thinking” gambit is cute and seemingly bold, it’s hard to see what the payoff was supposed to be once we get past the gimmick. McKinnon’s elf – first referred to by Santa as “Sugarplum,” she says that in “this environment,” it’s best if he just called her Amy – is a barely veiled stand-in for McKinnon herself, stating her views to the kids outright as McKinnon has sometimes done in her Kellyanne Conway sketches. Interjecting, in response to the kids’ questions, that 19 women have accused the president of various forms of sexual impropriety, or that “The tax bill is like Harry Potter. It’ll make your healthcare disappear,” the sketch became more of a soapbox than a cause for laughs. That said, special mention to the girl who knocked “I want a Barbie – unless the feminazis are gonna take that away from me, too” out of the park.

James Franco hosted for the fourth time – “the most times you can host without it being special,” he noted – and took questions from the audience, a once-overused monologue tactic we haven’t seen in a while. FOF (Friend of Franco) Seth Rogen was in the audience – not because his good friend Franco was hosting, he said, but he just happened to get tickets that week – and asked why Franco has hosted four times while he’s only hosted twice. In response, Franco asked why movies he does on his own, like 127 Hours, get Oscar nominations, while movies he does with Rogen get nominated for the Stoner Awards. (Rogen corrects him – they’re called “The Stonies.”) Fellow FOF Jonah Hill, looking quite svelte these days, shows up in the crowd before the end to rib Franco some more, and somehow Steve Martin, stuck in the second floor balcony, does as well, there simply to tell Franco he resents his success. A strange and frivolous, but casually fun monologue.

For the first sketch, Franco and Thompson play an executive and a security guard, respectfully, who have recently been fired from a company for sexual harassment. Both are there to apologize to the women they harassed, but while Franco’s executive is reviled, The offenses of Thompson’s security guard, whose language is more explicit but uttered with a smirk, are laughed off, and Franco grows more and more mystified by the response. While Thompson’s performance earned some laughs, it’s hard to decipher the point of this. A statement on the power of charm and charisma, funneled through the lower-status employee? Blue collar workers get off too easy? We’re being too hard on powerful white men? I can’t imagine that’s what was intended, but it sure seemed like it.

Next, Franco and McKinnon play gift-wrappers at Bloomingdales with Franco’s character a bit too enthusiastic about the joys of gift wrapping. After cutting his finger on the wrapping, he gets a bit of blood on the gifts – and by “a bit” I mean a torrent. This was a pure physical comedy sketch, as Franco’s finger became a full-on blood geyser, and was soon joined by his other hand when he accidentally chopped off some fingers. Leslie Jones had a mouthful of fake blood sprayed on her and seemed to be choking or freaking out for real, unable to get any words out of her mouth. Franco, McKinnon, and Kenan Thompson broke before the sketch ended, and this descended into nothing but blood-spewing chaos.

Next came a short film update of A Christmas Carol featuring Beck Bennett as Scrudge (Scrooge), an obnoxious asshole in modern times who dresses like a man from the Victorian era, treats everyone like shit, and does all of a fellow partygoer’s cocaine. He’s Kyle Mooney’s roommate, and when Mooney brings him to a Christmas party (to his friends’ dismay), Scrudge pounds whiskey and insults people. But when he goes to the roof for a smoke, Franco, having him listen in on how he’s being talked about, shows him what life is like when he’s not around – and, what people think of him. A cute, charming take on a Christmas classic, and a solid character for Bennett.

Next, McKinnon and Alex Moffat play public radio DJs hosting a local spelling bee moderated by Franco, who relates all the words to verbal abuse he suffered as a child from his step-father and his ensuing personal/sexual dysfunctions. McKinnon, like the kids, can’t believe what she’s watching; Moffat doesn’t notice. This was quick and simple, but even with Franco breaking, by the time he had the kids spell “Little Pig Boy,” I was laughing pretty hard.

Weekend Update was weaker than usual at first, with Colin Jost in particular finding many of his jokes landing with a groan or a thud. The segment took a stand against the Democratic Party for calling on senator and former longtime SNL cast member Al Franken to resign, with both Michael Che and Cecily Strong, as her junkie Cathy Anne character, mocking the party for thinking the moral high ground that caused them push for Franken’s resignation will matter in the long run, or to the fate of Alabama senate hopeful Roy Moore.

From Che: “The Democrats hold them self to a higher standard than anyone else, which is why they always lose. It’s the same reason the Harvard football team sucks – because you also gotta be a rocket scientist to play there, but to play for Alabama, you just gotta be able to spell Bama…Calm down, Democrats. You’re still politicians. You’re the party of morality the same way Don Jr. is the handsome Trump brother. Nobody actually likes you.” From Strong, about Franken (who Cathy Anne calls “Franco”): “Why are you gonna resign if you ain’t gonna apologize? And if you ain’t got nothing to apologize for, then why the hell are you resigning? I didn’t resign from Waffle House cause I wasn’t stealing syrup…Who [the Democrats] trying to show, the voters in Alabama? Right, as if everyone in Alabama has been on the edge of their seats, wondering what Kristen Jelly Beans is gonna do about Al Franco.” When Che responds that Doug Jones is close to Moore in the polls, Cathy Anne, turning into a regular font of junkie wisdom, replies, “C’mon – people lie. Who wants to admit supporting Roy Moore to a stranger…’Who, me? I’m gonna support the pedophile who likes slavery.’”

Also, I appreciated this joke from Che: “It was reported that while singer R. Kelly was away on tour, thieves broke into his Atlanta home and took nearly everything from him. Damn. I bet he was pissed.”

Then Che, noting that his angry viewer mail often comes from very liberal white women, says that he decided to try to see life from their perspective, and go undercover as a liberal white woman. At first, it seemed Che would be doing an updated version of Eddie Murphy’s classic “White Like Me” bit from 1984, where he went undercover as a white man, with full makeup. But Che, after selecting scarves and other white lady accoutrements, was asked about his makeup, and responded blankly. This was the joke – he’d be going undercover as a white woman, including wearing a blond wig, scarves, and Warby Parkers, but completely still himself in looks and voice. The premise worked, as we saw Che the white woman in various settings, including discussing the patriarchy with his lady friends over brunch, or telling “mansplaining” yuppie Moffat, “your masculinity is mad toxic right now, my ni**a.” A funny take on a current, urgent debate.

Next came a courtroom sketch revolving around the meaning of “Zah.” Witness Pete Davidson says he was having dinner eating “Zah,” which everyone understands means “pizza” except lawyer Franco, who insists that it means lasagna. The bit here is Franco’s lengthy repeated explanation of the difference, which becomes a deft bit of wordplay. Still, there was nothing really to this, and seeing it air just after Update didn’t bode well for the rest of the episode.

Next came a short film called “Christmas Charity” featuring Strong has a harried, hectoring career woman, and Franco as a homeless man. After berating her assistant on the phone while eating at a restaurant, Strong decides she wants to do something nice, and buys a coffee and pastry for Franco’s homeless man. Then, she takes it a step further, and brings him along for a clothing shopping spree. She can’t stop, and blows off work to take Franco for what turns into a quasi-romantic carriage ride (sans horse), then brings him to her apartment to clean him up and help him find a job. The twist at the end – Franco was playing himself, prepping for a role.

Franco played himself in the next sketch too, home for a family reunion with Heidi Gardner playing a cousin he hadn’t seen in 20 years. The never-went-anywhere cousin tries to spin it to make it seem like Franco needs help, but even an appearance by Franco’s brother Dave couldn’t give this one a purpose.

SNL returns next week for its final episode of the year, with host Kevin Hart and musical guests the Foo Fighters.

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 James Franco/SZA episode of Saturday Night Live